Finals AND a wedding? (Morasa S.)

It's bad enough that finals put so much stress on college students, but in addition to that stress, my cousin's wedding date that has been planned for over a year now has fallen right in the middle on my finals. On Saturday May 9th is his wedding and I have a math final the day before and a chemistry final the day of! I'm not quite sure how I'll have time to take my exam saturday morning and take a 4 hour trip back home and try to look descent enough for the night. I guess that's the consequence of being a biochemistry major and deciding to go to school 4 hours away from home. To be honest, I would rather just do really well on my exams more than anything else.

They Say, I Say Chapter 5 Exercise 1 (Morasa S.)

Julie Charlip refers to the views of others in the excerpt and distinguishes her views from theirs in particular ways. She begins by quoting Marx and Engels that "Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other--the bourgeoisie and the proletariat." She voices her own opinion by stating, "If only this were true," in which she uses the technique of stating one viewpoint and disagreeing with using her own view. The passage then switches to where Charlip mentions that she asked a sociology professor his thoughts on the shrinking middle class. In this second instance, however, she does not immediately follow the professor's answer with her own opinion. Rather, she proposes a series of questions to get the reader thinking. Following the questions, she makes a general claim of what many Americans, and even her father would think of those situations. The passage is concluded with her own voice that she "always felt that we were in some no man's land, suspended between classes, sharing similarities with some and recognizing sharp, exclusionary differences from others." Charlip uses the technique of stating the views of others and then proclaiming her own.

They Say, I Say Chapter 4 Exercise 1 (Morasa S.)

In the passage by Jean Anyon, it seems as though the author has a combination of both agreeing and disagreeing with the summaries she presents on the issue that public schools in complex industrial societies make available different types of educational experience and curriculum knowledge to students in different social classes at the beginning of the passge. The combination of having both an agreeing and disagreeing stand on the issue was seen when Jean stated that little or no attempt was made in investigating elementary and secondary schools to see if proclaimed acclimations were true or false. Nevertheless, the author seemed to have taken an indirect stand on agreeing that education in public schools seem to be divided based on social classes by presenting an article that supported such an argument. Even though evidence was provided for both sides of the argument, the second piece of supporting evidence was more effective because of the fact that it was placed at the end of the passage. This would leave a lasting effect on the reader because it seems to be more of a closing statement for the overall passage. 

Composition @ VT Exercise 7J (Morasa S.)

(a) (a) This paper resembles the writing you would find in a magazine article. This is apparent in terms of the paper’s layout and design in several ways. One of the ways in which the paper is set up to resemble a magazine article is the use of its photographs and pictures. A second way in which the layout contributes to a magazine article resemblance is the use of double columns. Lastly, two other ways the design makes this look like a magazine article is repetition of the title on each page of the paper and having certain phrases from the paper enlarged and positioned throughout the paper.

(b)(b)  The appearance of this paper influences the way an audience reads it because certain styling techniques makes the reader think they are reading less than they are. The double column spaces the paper by not having its audience read the paper from left to right continuously. The addition of enlarged phrases and photographs also adds to the appearance that there is less to read because these two designs take up space in the paper. The enlarged phrases also have the effect of allowing the reader to get a preview of what is to come in the paper and provide an interest for appealing parts of the paper.

(c) (c)  If the images were removed from the paper and re-formatted to look more like a typical college paper, the paper would change by no longer looking like an article from a magazine and look more like a research paper. The paper would also probably not be appealing towards the younger Generaton Y audience it is intended for in its current format. The attention of younger audiences is captivated by images and less reading. The less they have to read to comprehend a concept, the more likely it will be that they read it.  

Spring Break Personal Post (Morasa S.)

Spring break had been much anticipated and it was nice to just have a week away from all of the pressures of classes and studying. Unlike most breaks, I wanted this break to simply be relaxing and spent at home. The first day back home, my mom had cooked a large home-cooked meal and my family and I spent the rest of the night watching movies. The rest of my break was spent relatively the same way. I enjoyed the company of my parents and my younger brother as we spent as day in New York City and the rest of the week simply shopping, watching movies, playing games, and of course, talking. Although my spring break didn’t consist of going to the beach like most people or riding on a cruise, it was spent just as I had anticipated. I got a chance to catch up on my sleep and spend time with the people I had missed most. It was a great way to be back home before going back in about two months. 

They Say, I Say "Don't Blame the Eater" (Morasa S.)

David Zinczenko's article on his opinion about children suing fast-food companies took me by surprise and completely changed my outlook on the much debated issue. I particularly enjoyed his introduction to his argument by taking the opposing side first and stating what the opposite argument would say to defend their case. His article was then built from the contrasting opinion which made it a very strong and persuasive piece. Another factor that took me by surprise was how easily I was persuaded to agree with Zinczenko's opinion on the matter. When I hear about this particular argument, I am usually very quick to say that people should take responsibility for what they eat. Nevertheless, I was able to see that some children do not always have the option to have meals prepared for them at home as well as the fast-food industries lack of informing consumers of calorie intake on it's products. The article was well-supported with factual evidence using statistics and easy to understand numbers. With these claims and factors, I particularly enjoyed this article and am very swayed in my opinion.

Review of Persepolis (Morasa S.)

It is often difficult to capture the same level of emotion a novel provides to a reader through a film version of the novel. The film version of Marjane Satrapi’s, Persepolis surprisingly captures the same heart-felt emotions by her audience by being consistent with the book. The use of the comic-strip style cartoons in the movie stayed true to the originality of Marjane Satrapi’s overwhelming and raw memoir that is presented in the form of a graphic novel. The comic childlike drawings are simplistic but simplicity is far from accurate in regards to the answers for the reader and the characters. The novel has vignette-like sections, which help show that each mini story is used to present a larger tale.  The story is of Marjane growing up in the 1980s during the revolutionary war in Iran and her struggles as a rebel and standing up for her beliefs without hesitation, even when knowing the consequences of her actions.

The animated film lacks humorous monsters or talking animals, which take away from the typical comedy most animated films, have. Instead, Persepolis uses simple cartoon figures and applies genuine human emotion to them. The use of black and white in the film also heightened the intent of the film by giving it an edgier feel. Some of the more serious and graphic scenes allowed the audience to not be distracted by a cast of human characters or bold colors, which would add a sense of innocence to the film.            

The film successfully used human element with an important backdrop of history and universal social commentary, which was carried out in animation. It demonstrated Satrapi’s struggle with those around her through several techniques. One of the techniques that made the movie appealing in respects to the novel was the pacing of the scenes. During scenes that were relevant to Satrapi’s life were paced slowly with the characters moving in slow motion. To positively contrast with the speed of the scenes, differing shades of black and white highlighted Satrapi’s emotions when dialogue was not present. These techniques amplify a disillusioned and spirited woman who becomes content after becoming true to herself.

Although the film was put together with all of the elements connecting, it was upsetting to see an important scene from the novel not present in the film. The part in the novel that I felt was important that was not in the film was "The Letter." In this part of the novel, the reader is shown that the Satrapi household's maid, Mehri, was not allowed to sit with the family during dinner. Satrapi's father also cut off a love affair Mehri had with the neighbor next door by telling him that she was not a part of the family and she was just a maid. This shows how social class was an important matter in the Satrapi household. I felt that this was an important matter in the novel by showing the type of living environment Satrapi grew up around and I was surprised that it was not included in the film. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Persepolis Book vs. Movie

After reading Persepolis, I was very impressed with the graphic novel. I admired the author's successful attempt at showing the dilemma's of  a young woman throughout her life concerned with remembering the past during the Iran-Iraq war. It showed this through the main character, Satrapi's relationships and experiences growing up. The comic childlike drawings are simplistic but simplicity is far from accurate in regards to the answers for the reader and the characters. The novel has vignette-like sections which help show that each mini story is used to present a larger tale. 

Prior to watching the film version of Persepolis, I anticipated a film that was not going to live up to the potential of the novel, like most films. However, I was impressed with the fact that the film was done in a comic-strip style which were reflected by the flat black and white hand drawn animations. The film continues to show Satrapi's struggle with identity during her teen yeas, loneliness, and homelessness. Nevertheless, a part in the novel that I felt was important that was not in the film was "The Letter." In this part of the novel, the reader is shown that the Satrapi household's maid, Mehri, was not allowed to sit with the family during dinner. Satrapi's father also cut off a love affair Mehri had with the neighbor next door by telling him that she was not a part of the family and she was just a maid. This shows how social class was an important matter in the Satrapi household. I felt that this was an important matter in the novel by showing the type of living environment Satrapi grew up around and I was surprised that it was not included in the film. 

One apparent differences I found between the novel and the film was that the brisk pace of the film failed to capture the despair of Satrapi in the scenes. As McCloud mentions, comics allow for the reader to allow time to pass while reading and also gives them time to go back. 

RA Interview .... and the weather

       I had signed up to become an RA for the fall and spring semesters of 09-10. I was really nervous during the application process, wondering if I would even be given a chance at an interview. At the same time, I was also worried about whether or not I would receive on-campus housing after applying for it. Luckily, I was able to receive on-campus housing and I even got an interview to become an RA. Unfortunately, the RA interview is this weekend, which follows up a week of endless exams and homework assignments that seemed to build up so suddenly. I'm at least hoping that the weather goes nicely this week to make everything else just a little less stressful.  I think I might have winter depression because the cold air always seems to get to me. 

Chapter 1 Graff Exercise 1 & Template Practice

Exercise 1

A. Our experiments suggest that there are dangerous levels of Chemical X in the Ohio groundwater.

In the Ohio groundwater, scientists proclaim that there are dangerous levels of Chemical X.
B. My own view is that this novel has certain flaws.
Many readers believe that this novel has certain flaws.
C. Football is so boring.
Some Americans find football to be boring.
D. Male students often dominate class discussions.
Scientific statistics show that male students often dominate in class discussions.
E. In my view the film is really about the problems of romantic relationships.
Film critics say that the film relates to the problems of romantic relationships. 
F. I’m afraid that templates like the ones in this book will stifle my creativity.

Writers worry that templates like the ones suggested in this book will stifle their creativity in writing.

Templates Using Eisner/McCloud

It is a common belief that comics are largely appealing to males. I have never personally been engaged in a series of comics except for sometimes reading some in newspapers. People often do not see comics as being considered as a piece of artwork. They are often viewed as simplistic images that correspond to short phrases or words. Nevertheless, Eisner believes that the montage of words and images allow a reader to exercise their visual as well as verbal skills. This philosophy may not be apparent to most people in regard to comics. On the other hand, McCloud seems to relate to most people by agreeing with the idea that the images are crude, poorly-drawn and they're semiliterate. However, he follows it up by suggesting that the images are iconic. I believe that people should give more credibility to the images in comics because they represent a basic view on what the author is trying to get across to his or her audience by establishing a basic image.

Eisner and McCloud Response

After reading both the Eisner and the McCloud reflections on comics, I viewed comic books in a different perspective than I have perceived them before. I had always seen comics as mere implications of imbelic cartoons without a serious purpose. However, both Eisner and McCloud appealed to me in different manners.

 From Eisner's response to comics, he tried to show that through the combination of short words and images, a reader is able to exercise both his or her visual and verbal skills. I can see this in the sense that comics are more complex than picture books because they usually have an underlying meaning that needs to be seen. Eisner shows that comics give the reader an artistic perception and is able to see a more intelligent objective. Eisner greatly focuses on the graphics of comics and how they intend to correlate with the comics meaning. He puts emphasis on how the images in a comic can show the reader a time period of the event in the comical scene. He also shows the effect of balloons and panels by suggesting that in order to compress time, the number of panels would have to increase, which makes a scene more segmented. Eisner’s views summarized, suggest that a comic attain sequential art and compare it to “grammar” in writing.

         As opposed to Eisner’s views on comics, McCloud immediately proposes that comics are seen as having “crude, poorly-drawn, semiliterate” images. This view highly contradicts the emphasis put on by Eisner and the importance of comical images. However, he negates this idea by saying that the simplicity of those images allows the reader to relate and recognize it to yourself.

         In both reviews, I realized that time was a big factor for comics. Eisner states that panels allow for time and McCloud also suggests that space does for comics what time does for films. In both cases, it is apparent that comics need to portray a sense of time to make it seem film-like. 

Gym Dilemma

I carried my day on as I normally would by going to my classes and finishing off the afternoon by going to the gym. I was fairly upset only to see that the track has been closed due to constructive maintenance. This meant that I would have to run on the treadmill by the weight room. For some reason, I find there to be a significant difference between running on the treadmill and running on a track. I realized I did not have much of a choice if I wanted to run for that day since it was very cold outside. I decided to run on the treadmill and ran a mile longer than I normally would. In addition to my increased time, I also felt more pain in my knees and had a painful experience on the treadmill. After thirty minutes of suffering on the treadmill, I headed back upstairs to the track to get on the bike. To my surprise and anger, the track maintenance had finished construction only several minutes after I had left downstairs. I feel as though an announcement should have been made so I would have not made my knees go through unnecessary pain. 

Essay R Feedback

To offer Essay R feedback to improve his essay, I would begin by telling the author that his thoughts and ideas seemed to be relevant but they needed more organization. He should have also made his thesis clear in the essay rather than state it as his title. It appeared as though his thesis was geared towards the idea that wrestling has changed since the 80’s compared to present day. With this thesis in mind, the author should have mentioned more significant differences between the two time periods. Instead, he blended wrestling from the 80’s and the 90’s together, which seemingly were not the same.

            I would also suggest to the author that he needs a clear view of his audience. His audience could have not been to a group of wrestling fans because they would obviously recognize the changes wrestling has gone through over time. He should be more aware to explain some of his thoughts or even the names of some of the wrestlers he mentioned. Essay R should also contained more evidence to support his thesis. One web source that was mentioned only in the second paragraph was not a primary source to allow the audience to support or believe his proclamations. With more structural organization, formality, grammatical and spelling corrections, Essay R could be much improved. 

Workshop Draft Questions

.    What does a workshop draft as a genre look like?

A workshop draft as a genre is close to a rough draft of an essay. However, I believe that it is even more informal than a rough draft and leans more towards an outline. In terms of essay form, it is not fairly structured and the way it is composed as a writing piece.

2.    What purpose should it achieve? Audience?

The purpose of a workshop draft is to lay the foundation for your ideas. It is a way to organize the purpose of your essay. The audience that it should be aimed towards is one in which your purpose applies to. A workshop draft in response to a scientific journal would not have the same audience as one responding to a political debate.

3.    How does the purpose and/or audience differ from a finished draft?

The finished draft has the ideas of a workshop draft composed as a thorough and organized essay. The ideas are brought together in closure and contain evidence as well as supporting commentary. The audience perceives a better understanding of the author’s purpose and sees the ways in which it is trying to be achieved.

VT Composition pg 62 Exercise 4m

Everyone has a different style of writing. The steps you take to go through in writing usually define the type of writer you are and how your writing is influenced. When I write, I usually prefer to be alone and somewhere quiet. Typically, a place like that would be in my room or at the library. I feel that when I’m alone and have my own space, my thoughts flow freely without distractions and allow me to quickly write my ideas down. For many writing assignments, I tend to write using a keyboard. The efficiency and speed of a keyboard help me move my thoughts along smoothly and write at a faster pace than if I were to write by hand. The conditions I write in correlate to where I write. Those conditions would consist of a solitude place where there are no distractions. Nevertheless, even writing in my room or at the library in a quiet condition, I always use the strategy of listing ideas to quickly jot my thoughts down before forgetting them. I usually do not outline because I feel as though I would forget my ideas while taking the time to outline, but by merely listing ideas, I can go back to them as a reference for points I wanted to make.

            During my drafting process, I often use my first draft to simply cluster my ideas into a set of words. By the second draft, I use for organization but concentrate less of grammatical or spelling structure, and by my final draft, I build all the pieces together. I use role revision in my second draft by rereading what I have wrote and placing myself in the perspective of my audience. I do this to see whether my audience would be able to understand my purpose and commentary from simply the information I have provided them with.

            My ideal writing circumstances revolve around my ideal writing environment. That would be one where it is a well-lit room, quiet, and free from outside distractions. Workshop and peer review experiences have showed me that my processes to get to my final draft are helpful. The first two drafts allow my peers to give good feedback and it also creates a leeway for new ideas. My writing process differs from some of my classmates in the sense that not everyone is willing to make their first and second drafts loose in context to give room for peers to make additions to the paper without altering its purpose. However, similarities between my writing and that of my classmates’ is that we tend to write in a comfort zone, such being our room. Strategies I want to try in my writing process are outlining. Although I am not a fan of outlining, I believe that it would be good in helping me improve my first draft. I would aim to outline after listing ideas. One part of my writing process that is unhelpful is always writing in my room or the library. I believe that if I tried a new environment, new ideas may also stir in my mind.

 

 

 

 

 

Exercise 2h - Bryan West Article

1.              I believe that the rhetorical analysis by Bryan West is in response to Gabriel McVey’s “Do Not Be Fooled by the Clinton’s Again” in the midst of the 2008 presidential election. I believe the writer’s main purpose is to show that McVey was unsuccessful in persuading the readers of the Collegiate Times that Hillary Clinton is an unqualified candidate for the presidency. The writer shows this by suggesting that people’s opinions cannot easily be persuaded, especially in matter related to politics and McVey’s attempts were a failed attempt. The audience appears to be college students, or more particularly, Collegiate Times readers. The audience for West may also be his professor. The audience seems to be apparent because the article was written for Ms. Reed’s class and the West also specifies that his paper is in response to an article featured in the Collegiate Times.

2.              Genre conventions that I recognize in the text are that it is a rhetorical analysis and it is also a distinct critical piece. I have written in this genre before for a school paper in response to the historical Iron Curtain Speech. I was to analyze the purpose of the speech and whether or not it was effective or not and in what ways. In this genre, I have read the Black Man’s History by Malcolm X.  Critical pieces are most familiar to me as opposed to simply a rhetorical analysis.

3.              Another genre the writer might have used to achieve the same purposes for the same audience is through sarcasm. This type of writing would allow West to entertain his audience and grab their attention more to get them to agree with his views more. The advantage of writing in the two genres he did is that it was straightforward and informative. The disadvantage was that it became tedious and dull throughout the article.

4.              If the writer was communicating with a younger audience, he would need to adapt his persuasive appeals by using a bit of a more informal approach. The vocabulary in the article would need to be adjusted to fit that of the younger audience. More comparisons to other life situations would need to be made to make connections for easier understanding.

5.              A teacher, a social worker, or a scientist should use ethos in a piece of writing. This would signify their credibility in their field of work and represent that in the paper.

Essay R

        After reading Essay "R," I would give the essay a grade of a D. At the beginning of the essay, it appeared as though the writer was going to write a well written essay on the changes that have occurred in wrestling from the 80's up to modern day. The essay started off fairly well by introducing it's audience to the names of popular wrestlers from both the past and present day. This technique was useful in attempting to familiarize particular people in the audience that are not familiar with professional wrestling. 

        It was towards the second paragraph that the essay became too informal and the author's purpose was not found nor supported. Throughout the essay, I was unable to find a thesis which immediately made it a weak essay. Also, the essay was poorly written in regards to the author's word choice and syntax. The author made inappropriate statements in his essay such as "they shoot WWE magazines constantly, and a couple of them have even posed for playboy," and "realized women could put on a good showing in the ring and gave them a shot." These statements shows women in a degrading perspective and I also believe it is inappropriate to write about how some of the female wrestlers were in playboy. That aspect of the essay in no way defended the author's view that professional wrestling has changed from the 80's as stated in his title. 

       The author's vocabulary was also vulgar in other areas of the essay. The sentence where he was trying to state that television shows contain a lot of atrocious language, it was unnecessary to use those words in his paper, "hearing a**, sh*t, d*mn, b*tch." This sentence was inappropriate and it did not relate to the rest of the essay. The author also posed too much of his opinions towards the end of the essay in such a manner that made it seem as though he was talking to someone as opposed to writing a formal essay. Lastly, the author had only one source to support his paper and it did not seem to be a reliable source since it was taken from a website. It was only the first paragraph that contained any citations and the rest of the paper did not.