This semester flew by, but I definitely feel as if it was a very productive semester. I learned a lot my first year of college and I feel like I can implement a lot of it in my second year as well. I learned how to manage my time better and how to become a flexible learner in many of my classes. My studying habits changed a lot and I find myself integrating the information I've learned in my classes to other things as well.
College Writing 2 has taught me to appreciate citations a lot more, and to appreciate that writing is an effective method of addressing real people in real situations. My favorite part was that we wrote on things other than books; my last CW class required us to read for books. While I don't mind reading, I liked the documentary project and the Multimodal project. The documentary helped me learn how to write objectively and the multimodal helped me use rhetoric with pictures and music to display a message.
It's crazy that this is one of the last writing classes that i'll take. I might actually miss taking writing classes because writing has always been something that I enjoy doing.
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Multimodal reflection
4/19/17
Before I started the assignment I wrote two outlines because I wasn't sure what to present on. My first idea was to motivate my audience to spend their money on experiences rather than monetary items. My reasoning was that experiences build character and create memories whereas spending on items is a waste because trends change and those items lose their value very quickly.
My second idea correlated with the social media aspect that I was writing about for my micro theme and summary and analysis. This idea revolved around social media addiction and how people use social media so much that they forget to truly enjoy life. I thought the idea flowed well and was relevant to today's society.
The difficulty I had was making sure the pictures correlated well with the words on the screen because I wanted the pictures to communicate the messages as well. But overall the assignment was unique and I have never done anything like it. It was a good exposure to adobe spark as well.
Before I started the assignment I wrote two outlines because I wasn't sure what to present on. My first idea was to motivate my audience to spend their money on experiences rather than monetary items. My reasoning was that experiences build character and create memories whereas spending on items is a waste because trends change and those items lose their value very quickly.
My second idea correlated with the social media aspect that I was writing about for my micro theme and summary and analysis. This idea revolved around social media addiction and how people use social media so much that they forget to truly enjoy life. I thought the idea flowed well and was relevant to today's society.
The difficulty I had was making sure the pictures correlated well with the words on the screen because I wanted the pictures to communicate the messages as well. But overall the assignment was unique and I have never done anything like it. It was a good exposure to adobe spark as well.
Monday, April 17, 2017
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Free Write
4/3/17
The current project has revealed that I tend to stick to the way I was taught in high school whenever I write an argumentative. I feel like my teachers did an OK job teaching me how to be firm in my opinions and show that in an argumentative way. However this project is revealing to me my lack of ability to summarize and then analyze to a further extent than what I am used to. Analyzing is a key part in being argumentative so I feel like its hard to know where I have drawn the line. I used to write argumentative essays without regard to the opposing side, I feel like that is an ineffective method because it does not give light to the opposing side of the argument. It creates a better argument to be able to argue the counterargument.
I feel as though my arguments are well developed but I seem to be adding my own opinions more than I should. I think improvement lies in analyzing the quotes and utilizing her rhetoric more to support my claims. I think with a little more guidance from other editors, I will be on the right track to writing a better analysis.
It is challenging to balance the argumentative and analysis aspect of the paper, but I am sure that the summary and analysis will eventually flow.
The current project has revealed that I tend to stick to the way I was taught in high school whenever I write an argumentative. I feel like my teachers did an OK job teaching me how to be firm in my opinions and show that in an argumentative way. However this project is revealing to me my lack of ability to summarize and then analyze to a further extent than what I am used to. Analyzing is a key part in being argumentative so I feel like its hard to know where I have drawn the line. I used to write argumentative essays without regard to the opposing side, I feel like that is an ineffective method because it does not give light to the opposing side of the argument. It creates a better argument to be able to argue the counterargument.
I feel as though my arguments are well developed but I seem to be adding my own opinions more than I should. I think improvement lies in analyzing the quotes and utilizing her rhetoric more to support my claims. I think with a little more guidance from other editors, I will be on the right track to writing a better analysis.
It is challenging to balance the argumentative and analysis aspect of the paper, but I am sure that the summary and analysis will eventually flow.
Citations/Appeals/S&A
3/29/17
After reading and understanding MLA better because of the Purdue OWL, I have been able to intertwine a lot of the skills into my writing. While I do feel like there is room for improvement, it is interesting to notice the small details which I had previously looked over in other assignments.
A few problems I am seeing within my own work is I use my own voice too much; for some reason I thought the assignment was based more on opinion/argument but it seems to be more of a general argument with support from the rhetoric used.
I enjoy using rhetorical devices when analyzing works, but it's been a while since I have done so. My work is a bit rusty and I am hoping to have a one on one with Dr. Kyburz to improve my work and do a better job on this summary and analysis as well as gain important knowledge which I know I can use.
I think its a bit out of my range to focus greatly on ethos, logos and pathos since in high school my teachers always viewed those as "easy" rhetorical devices, however I feel like I underappreciated them because they truly make an argument more compelling. I hope that my skills improve as I utilize them more in my work.
After reading and understanding MLA better because of the Purdue OWL, I have been able to intertwine a lot of the skills into my writing. While I do feel like there is room for improvement, it is interesting to notice the small details which I had previously looked over in other assignments.
A few problems I am seeing within my own work is I use my own voice too much; for some reason I thought the assignment was based more on opinion/argument but it seems to be more of a general argument with support from the rhetoric used.
I enjoy using rhetorical devices when analyzing works, but it's been a while since I have done so. My work is a bit rusty and I am hoping to have a one on one with Dr. Kyburz to improve my work and do a better job on this summary and analysis as well as gain important knowledge which I know I can use.
I think its a bit out of my range to focus greatly on ethos, logos and pathos since in high school my teachers always viewed those as "easy" rhetorical devices, however I feel like I underappreciated them because they truly make an argument more compelling. I hope that my skills improve as I utilize them more in my work.
Summary and Analysis
3/20/17
Summarizing the documentary really helped me properly summarize this article; it was pretty cool to see that I had picked up a few skills from that project and was able to use them in this summary. It was as bit different in terms of format since this one was an actual article, and its so hard to paraphrase without analyzing and without taking the author's words verbatim.
The article I did is quite unique, as I was originally looking into finding something that had to do with how social media make us unapproachable but the article I found was much more focused on the monetary inequality which is associated within social media. The author discusses how advertisers make lots of money from users as compared to the amount of advantage users get from social media. This article posed disagreement from my part, so I chose it because it seemed challenging to analyze and decipher it.
The problem is not so much with summarizing but more so analyzing it without showing my own bias, I hope to develop the skills to analyze this through peer review and help from Dr. Kyburz.
The results of my Microtheme were not as favorable as i had hoped but i am optimistic to bring my skills into this assignment.
Summarizing the documentary really helped me properly summarize this article; it was pretty cool to see that I had picked up a few skills from that project and was able to use them in this summary. It was as bit different in terms of format since this one was an actual article, and its so hard to paraphrase without analyzing and without taking the author's words verbatim.
The article I did is quite unique, as I was originally looking into finding something that had to do with how social media make us unapproachable but the article I found was much more focused on the monetary inequality which is associated within social media. The author discusses how advertisers make lots of money from users as compared to the amount of advantage users get from social media. This article posed disagreement from my part, so I chose it because it seemed challenging to analyze and decipher it.
The problem is not so much with summarizing but more so analyzing it without showing my own bias, I hope to develop the skills to analyze this through peer review and help from Dr. Kyburz.
The results of my Microtheme were not as favorable as i had hoped but i am optimistic to bring my skills into this assignment.
Current Events - Chance the Rapper donates 1 million to CPS
3/13/17
Chance the Rapper donated 1 million dollars to CPS over the past week, a very commendable act done by the rapper. He did met with the mayor of the city to discuss the situation of CPS, and hoped to find some solutions to the growing problem in Chicago's school system. He gave 10 schools 10,000 to the arts programs which seem to always be cut from school funding. He recognized the importance of the arts, as it is music which saved him from the loophole which many inner city schools place students in.
While I do think Chance's initiatives were very admirable, an old friend from school expressed her opinion on it in a Facebook post. She claimed that while it was cool to see Chance donate money to CPS, he could have spent it more wisely. She added her personal experience as a CPS student and as a cousin to many current CPS students. She described her elementary aged cousins having recess, lunch, and all subjects in one class room packed with around 30+ kids. This caught my attention because it reminded me of the schools from the early American days where students were crammed into a schoolhouse. It's depressing to see that school districts in Naperville are able to afford Chrome Books for every student, but CPS cannot afford proper facilities to place their students. I don't think my friend's opinion was irrational, but she cannot blame a rapper for giving back to the part of his education which he benefited most from. Rather, its important to focus on how his initiative his influencing other celebrities and wealthy people to donate to the schools as well.
Chance the Rapper donated 1 million dollars to CPS over the past week, a very commendable act done by the rapper. He did met with the mayor of the city to discuss the situation of CPS, and hoped to find some solutions to the growing problem in Chicago's school system. He gave 10 schools 10,000 to the arts programs which seem to always be cut from school funding. He recognized the importance of the arts, as it is music which saved him from the loophole which many inner city schools place students in.
While I do think Chance's initiatives were very admirable, an old friend from school expressed her opinion on it in a Facebook post. She claimed that while it was cool to see Chance donate money to CPS, he could have spent it more wisely. She added her personal experience as a CPS student and as a cousin to many current CPS students. She described her elementary aged cousins having recess, lunch, and all subjects in one class room packed with around 30+ kids. This caught my attention because it reminded me of the schools from the early American days where students were crammed into a schoolhouse. It's depressing to see that school districts in Naperville are able to afford Chrome Books for every student, but CPS cannot afford proper facilities to place their students. I don't think my friend's opinion was irrational, but she cannot blame a rapper for giving back to the part of his education which he benefited most from. Rather, its important to focus on how his initiative his influencing other celebrities and wealthy people to donate to the schools as well.
Public Discourse- unsupported claims
3/9/17
In an age of information, what can we decipher as truthful? As I scroll down my Twitter feed, I come across several posts which can easily be fabricated; it is my responsibility to do my own research and utilize accurate sources before I believe what I hear. A claim without support is a weak, unreliable claim.
While many of us know that claims without proper citation are not reliable, these types of claims are commonly seen in our times. Anyone can make an unsupported claim and be applauded for their pseudo-intelligence.
My biology professor told us how as a professional in the biological science, seeing parents resist getting their children vaccinated is the biggest pet peeve for him; he finds it almost insulting to see ignorant people rob their children of a necessity because of some fabricated source which goes against support scientific claims. This type of public discourse endangers people and puts many at risk of getting something they could have easily controlled.
My biology professor told us how as a professional in the biological science, seeing parents resist getting their children vaccinated is the biggest pet peeve for him; he finds it almost insulting to see ignorant people rob their children of a necessity because of some fabricated source which goes against support scientific claims. This type of public discourse endangers people and puts many at risk of getting something they could have easily controlled.
A brief Summary of Social Media and Struggle for Society
3/17
In this post by Nancy Baym, social media and the impact it has had one society is discussed. She firsts talks about how its been around for ever, but recently has been labeled exclusively toward online websites like Facebook. However, she talks about how postcards, books, newspapers and such are the original forms of social media where ideas and thoughts are communicated to others.
She goes onto discuss social media in a different view regarding economic ideas. She discusses how although online sights act as if they empower people, the creators are really being empowered. She notes that Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook, is the 21st richest many in the world. She argues that while users may be fooled into thinking that they have some type of power through social media sites like Facebook, they are only fueling Zuckerburg's pocket.
Another point the author brings up is how online users are unaware of how much filtration the content which they view goes through. This is another example of how users are dis-empowered online. Users have no control over what is shown and what is not shown to them. Baym also argues that while social media is essential for today's means of communication, it is not a place to build a just society since everyone is more involved in profit.
This article views social media and its content, where my microtheme looked more at how it is making society more awkward.
She goes onto discuss social media in a different view regarding economic ideas. She discusses how although online sights act as if they empower people, the creators are really being empowered. She notes that Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook, is the 21st richest many in the world. She argues that while users may be fooled into thinking that they have some type of power through social media sites like Facebook, they are only fueling Zuckerburg's pocket.
Another point the author brings up is how online users are unaware of how much filtration the content which they view goes through. This is another example of how users are dis-empowered online. Users have no control over what is shown and what is not shown to them. Baym also argues that while social media is essential for today's means of communication, it is not a place to build a just society since everyone is more involved in profit.
This article views social media and its content, where my microtheme looked more at how it is making society more awkward.
Monday, March 6, 2017
Free write about microtheme
2/24/17
Free write:
Throughout this
course I have learned several things about myself as a writer. This course has
taken me out of the usual English class format where I annotate several books
and write boring 5-6 page papers on topics. I have learned a lot from the books
i've read and papers I have written because of the research that goes in behind
writing about abstract topics, but this class has taken that to a different
level. I have not read any books or have been forced to annotate but rather
watching a documentary reminded me that there are other art forms out there to
teach about certain things rather than just strictly sticking to books. I felt
very uncomfortable writing the summary because I was not analyzing anything. To
write objectively is exactly the opposite of what I have been traditionally
taught to do. I gained a sense of appreciation for the simplicity in writing a
summary because although It looked easy it was not easy to condense my thoughts
into a mere 3 pages. Writing without opinion is not my favorite form of writing
but as an aspiring scientist I feel as though it is necessary to keep my
writing formal and practice writing without much opinion being expressed. The
same idea is demonstrated through writing the microtheme, because while
one page seems easy, it is so hard to truly grasp the objective stance in
writing.
As a person in
general I don’t see much change in myself and I haven't really learned anything
about myself except that future me really appreciates when present me
does my work before its due and stays ahead because it means more time to sleep
and more time to study as well.
Regarding the nature of knowledge and
truth I would say that the documentary really did show me the nature of
both because the documentary did a fantastic job at capturing both sides of the
problem rather than being one sided. The documentary also taught me how
important it is to stay objective in different forms of giving information and
allowing the viewer to find their own
opinion through the facts and
experiences which were communicated.
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Fake News
2/16/17
Distinguishing between real news and fake news is a challenge we all face while scrolling down our Twitter and Facebook feeds. Did Donald Trump REALLY say that? Is that video of some event not covered by the news factual? Is every tweet, share, or article pure fact and not just a tool to troll the public? Fake news usually has a captivating, click bait title that purposefully creates anger within internet users; a great way to raise awareness in our community is by playing an interactive game which tests how prone the audience is to clicking on and believing fake news and keeps them entertained as well.
My idea for this forum is playing a Kahoot. Kahoot is a website my teachers used a lot in high school. Each participant must use their cellphone to choose one of the answers to a question on the overhead screen. The proctor would first design a quiz and insert images and questions, and then write up answers. The person to guess correctly and quickly gets the most points!
Now a great way to mix this game of Kahoot with this topic of fake news is by taking bizarre news article titles (real and fake) and seeing if the audience can distinguish between what is real and what is fake. To make this more interesting and difficult, I think who ever is making the Kahoot should find really out of this world but true stories to trick the audience. The point of this is to remind the audience to always do further research and not fall for everything they see on the internet! It would be really entertaining to see how many people click on real news thinking it is fake and fake news thinking it is real! I'm sure that by the end of the forum, many will leave with a better sense of awareness for propaganda on social media and in the news!
Reviews of Cartel Land
1/27/17
The critics of the New York Times and Variety seem to have similar ideas about the captivating film which Matthew Heineman produced. The writer at the NY times talks about his opinion on Foley and how he seems to be driven by racist motives. This idea was similar to what I thought in my blog post about Trump and his wall and how much of the efforts going into border control is rooted from racism for people of other cultures. The writer at variety also addresses Foley's seemingly purehearted intentions which were tainted by racist motives. I thought this was true because there's no doubt that when hunting down the same race of people who happen to be committing the same crime, that racism ideas and motives would arise. While there were many aspects of the reviews which i agreed with, there were certain points I oppose
The writer at the NY times debates if the documentary is a true narrative, due to the lack of focus on certain vigilante details which were left out. I thought it was an excellent narrative which highlight the more interesting and necessary parts of the story. I think that Heineman probably did get more information and footage but chose to leave it out because of his own judgement on what he wanted the documentary to capture,
Some differences I see with real reviews and my personal summary is the use of colorful diction to frame the story in a positive light while still including the unfavorable aspects of it. My review was very informal and slightly one sided where as the reviews were brief yet captured the positives and negatives of the movie and including some opinion.
The critics of the New York Times and Variety seem to have similar ideas about the captivating film which Matthew Heineman produced. The writer at the NY times talks about his opinion on Foley and how he seems to be driven by racist motives. This idea was similar to what I thought in my blog post about Trump and his wall and how much of the efforts going into border control is rooted from racism for people of other cultures. The writer at variety also addresses Foley's seemingly purehearted intentions which were tainted by racist motives. I thought this was true because there's no doubt that when hunting down the same race of people who happen to be committing the same crime, that racism ideas and motives would arise. While there were many aspects of the reviews which i agreed with, there were certain points I oppose
The writer at the NY times debates if the documentary is a true narrative, due to the lack of focus on certain vigilante details which were left out. I thought it was an excellent narrative which highlight the more interesting and necessary parts of the story. I think that Heineman probably did get more information and footage but chose to leave it out because of his own judgement on what he wanted the documentary to capture,
Some differences I see with real reviews and my personal summary is the use of colorful diction to frame the story in a positive light while still including the unfavorable aspects of it. My review was very informal and slightly one sided where as the reviews were brief yet captured the positives and negatives of the movie and including some opinion.
Sunday, January 22, 2017
Response to Cartel Land
1/22/17
When I began the documentary I was initially disinterested in it, because I know that the drug cartel problem is going to take a vigorous reform. Two things really stuck out to me when I was watching it; in light of recent events in American politics and the election of President Trump, I think that this film shed some light on why people in the South have such support for Trump's wall proposal and their racist motives. While I disagree with the wall idea, when Tim Foley expressed his drug addiction, how he stopped, and how the recession affected him, I could see where his negativity was rooted from. He talked about how he lost his job overnight, lost his home, and had to sell his things because every time he sought out a job in construction sites, he could not because illegal Mexican immigrants had occupied them. His motive sparked from how unfair he felt it was that he was not able to find a job because of them. When I heard this I felt bad for him, I felt like it was unfair that he could not find a job; but honestly so many people went through that problem and I feel as though he should have kept looking for jobs instead of taking military matters into his own hands and hunting down illegal immigrants. Another thing that really stuck out to me reminded me of our nation was a quote which Dr. Mireles referred to from the constitution, he said "Power comes from the people, if you are not united any idiot can govern you." With the division in our nation today including the movements, the protests, and all the violence post-election, this quote made me wonder when Americans will be united and see the flaws in our own governing. It affected me because although this documentary is about Mexico, it reminded me of our own nation and the division between nations all throughout the world. Another thing I noted was at the end the meth cook who worked for the police said that the drug cartel would never end, the business was flourishing far too much and it would be impossible to end.
I was really surprised when the autodefensas began going against what they were originally for. When Dr. Mireles was injured and Papa Smurf took over, it really surprised me to see how things went south. The autodefensas ended up working with the meth cooks who supplied them with guns and such. It was confusing when Papa Smurf claimed he was apart of three different groups, and they lost their initial purpose for forming the vigilante group. It was not only surprising, but quite disappointing to see how money, power, and recognition easily corrupted the initial peaceful efforts of the autodefensas. A few questions I have regarding this film is why did Dr. Mireles get such sudden backlash from everyone? What was Tim Foley planning on doing with the Mexican scouts who ran the cartel he found? Considering they did not show him formally turning them into police. Why were the meth cooks wearing police shirts, if what they are doing is so wrong? After the film I felt a bit sorry for Dr. Mireles because his efforts went to waste as he was jailed, and felt as if everyone was against him. This documentary evoked feelings of hopelessness in me toward the drug cartel; I believe that the corruption is too immense for it to decline unless heavy, proper protocols are put down.
Possible subjects I would want to research about the documentary are solutions for the drug problem and how the Mexican and American forces can work together to successfully eradicate the drug cartel. How can the Mexican government become more like the American government in the way they treat the poor population? I would want to research other vigilante groups in other regions to understand the autodefensas motives a bit better. How can American's like Tim Foley convince the American government to follow the regimes he has placed to prevent illegals from coming in? The concepts and questions leave me interested to do more research about this topic and discover more about the Mexican drug cartel problem.
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