This assignment tests student’s ability in detecting the copy mistakes in a story. Students are required to choose TWO from the five stories given and use the copyediting symbols to edit the raw copy. 
After editing, they are required to rewrite the correct version.
Story 3:
'Do more with less' will improve quality of life
Consumer wellbeing is seen as a vital component that affects the quality of life, now and the future.
One reason is that the quality of life will drop if we do not have access to clean water, keep on increasing wastes and use of harmful chemical substances.
The objective of the 12th Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
It means the use of goods and services that meet basic requirements and improve quality of life while reducing the use of natural resources, harmful materials, and waste and pollution emissions throughout the life cycle, so as not to threaten future generations' needs.
According to the United Nations (UN), each year about a third of foods produced ends up rotting in the hands of consumers and retailers apart from spoiling due to poor transportation.
That one third is equivalent to 1.3 billion tonnes of food worth around US$1.3 trillion.
It was also stated that the world can save up to US$120 billion annually if people worldwide use energy efficient light bulbs.
There are some simple changes that can make a big impact on society as a whole.
Reduction of food loss and waste can contribute to the sustainability of the environment. For example, decreasing the production costs and increasing the efficiency of food systems as we can lose a lot if the transportation, storage and processing are not improved.
How can the consumers help to conserve natural resources? Consumers have to familiarise themselves to reduce, reuse and recycle in their daily lives.
I believe that we as consumers have been practising it since primary school.
Reduce, reuse and recycle should be taken seriously as these are small steps that we can do to help to protect natural resources and decrease waste. Even small contributions can lead to a big difference if it is done together.
One of the things that can be done individually is to reduce the consumption of plastic. So, use reusable bags instead of plastic bags in the supermarket.
Plastic bottles are unnecessary because you will throw them away at most after using them twice as it is dangerous to people's health if you keep using them repeatedly.
Secondhand stuff is also a good way to reduce waste. You can get second-hand clothes, books and more.
I believe more people today like to stroll around the street and stop by a thrift shop or charity shop, and these are actually another good improvement.
There are abundant things that can be recycled rather than thrown in the bin and piling up unnecessary waste. Recyclable items can be collected at the recycling centres.
In universities, there should be organisations or societies that focus on enforcing recycling to spread awareness to the students. What society can do is put several colourful recycling bins for the students to familiarise themselves and make it a habit even after they finish studying.
Governments, businesses and the citizens have to work together to achieve sustainable consumption and production. Increased resource efficiency encourages people to live more sustainably. For example, managing the wastes we generate and conserving water.
On a final note, sustainable consumption and production aim to "do more with less" by reducing resource use, degradation, and pollution while enhancing the overall quality of life.
Source: New Straits Times, December 13, 2021
Story 4:
Beware urbanisation consequences
When we think about urban cities, we would imagine their beauty, how developed they are, the job opportunities they offer, the endless entertainment provided, and a diverse community living together.
People also often associate moving to cities as a step closer to being successful. It is undeniable that urban areas do provide so many chances for us to learn and explore more.
However, how many of us realise how much urbanisation of cities impacts the environment? The cramped population in cities has caused many threats to the environment, which directly affect the quality of people’s life.
When most of the population is concentrated in an area, cases of poverty arise as so many compete with each other in order to survive.
Hence, the chances of getting a job with higher salaries are much slimmer and will create a wide wealth gap between societies. When cases of poverty increase, the economic wellbeing of the country is also affected.
This has made the first, second, and eighth Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include the "No Poverty", "Zero Hunger", and "Decent Work and Economic Growth" a lot harder to achieve.
I believe city residents should have quality life in all aspects rather than just having good jobs but still struggle survival.
A sociologist, Gideon Sjoberg, said a developed city should have a good environment and nature, provide sufficient supplies of food, and stability in economic and social aspects.
Let us consider how urbanisation leads to environmental hazards. Urbanisation includes taking up more areas to build living spaces or a place that is profitable which in most cases point to shopping malls. To do that, deforestation will occur.
Water and air are the two elements affected the most when deforestation occurs. Air pollution will worsen due to the decreasing number of trees to absorb harmful gas and emit oxygen, which will result in high levels of carbon dioxide in the air, worsening climate change.
Apart from that, animals are also forced to migrate as their natural habitat is destroyed. The consequences from this will be wild animals crossing the highway causing accidents, cases of wild animals getting into homes, pollution of the water ecosystem, and the possible extinction of species.
To make it worse, not only the lives of plants and animals are endangered, the lives of people are also threatened by the disasters that resulted from deforestation. They include soil erosion and flash floods which destroyed homes and taking many lives.
These unfortunate consequences have created harmful impacts to the efforts made towards reaching the SDG goals.
In this case, deforestation will be an obstacle towards reaching the 11th "Sustainable Cities and Communities", 13th "Climate Action", 14th "Life Below Water", and 15th "Life on Land".
It is very significant for us to be aware of this issue, in order to restore the Earth that benefit every creature in an ecosystem and someday progress towards a safer and more sustainable city living.
Source: New Straits Times, December 14, 2021
Comments