September 2020

Reading Journal

 

Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page	Finding the Good Argument OR Why bother with logic? By Rebecca Jones
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words	In this article, Rebecca Jones basically talks about the premise of a good argument and what that really means and the appeals or what draws people in. An argument typically has a negative connotation around it. A lot of people think an argument is just two people going back and forth and rarely do people say “Great argument have a nice day!”. That is the same in an argumentative paper. There are two sides and you are showing one side of the so-called argument. You provide evidence and draw the reader in. The appeals are something that describes what captivates the reader and can be centered around logic or other things. Logos uses logic, Ethos uses values, and Pathos uses emotion. Understanding these appeals can help understand what draws people in and can help with an argumentative essay.
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.	Logos: Using logic as proof for an argument Ethos: Calling on particular shared values Pathos: Using emotionally driven images or language to sway your audience
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?	This reading connected to the other articles we have read in our writing class because it really explains and gives examples of how to become a better writer in all aspects. We focused on other types of essays and this article helped provide information on how to be a great argumentative writer.
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion.	I would say one question I have would be is it okay to be biased in an argumentative paper? Is it okay to share your personal thoughts on the topic or should you mainly stick to talking in third person.

 

1. Adverse childhood experiences or ACES is best defined as “potentially traumatic effects that occur in childhood.” Some examples of this can be domestic violence or abuse, neglect, sexual abuse or harassment, or even just witnessing any of these things in your house growing up. Toxic stress is a stress that a young and still developing child feels that can be very damaging to the development of a child.
2. Adversities like poverty, racism, and violence can impact a Childs development by adding stress and trauma to their lives. If a child lives in a very impoverished home, it can set them back in aspects like education and even just getting enough food to eat. Racism can make a child feel like there is something wrong with them or they are not enough just because of their skin color. Violence can be very traumatic for anyone but especially a child. By exposing a child to violence or inflicting violence on a child at such a young age can be severely damaging and can greatly impact their development and who they are as a person when they are older.
3. ACES can affect literacy by changing what someone writes about. If someone expierenced any of the above stressors or traumatic events as a child and they are big in writing or writing is their escape, by going through all of those things, they can end up writing some pretty powerful words about their story and what they have been through.

1. Dr. Monas actions made a huge difference in the community of Flint by showing the problems that they were having and not even aware of. By standing up to the government and telling them there drinking water was not safe and showing them that the world they were living in was not what it should be, she made a huge impact on the community and helped the community with not only safe drinking water, but helped them with many socioeconomic issues and allowed them to all come together.
2. In my life, I can think of simple times that I showed people a problem they were doing and not even aware of doing. The first thing that comes to my mind is a very simple issue but nonetheless, a problem. I started noticing that my sister would walk around and leave the lights on everywhere in the house and always over serve herself at dinner. One day, I brought it to her attention and told her it wasn’t good to leave the lights on all around the house and to waste the food she was wasting, and she said she never even noticed her leaving on the lights. She also said, she felt bad if she didn’t serve a lot of food because she thought we would think she didn’t want to eat what my mom made, but in reality she just wouldn’t be that hungry. After telling her she was being wasteful with the food and lights, I noticed she changed her routine and would always turn the lights off when leaving and would stop serving herself so much food at dinner.
3. I think simple things I can do to make the world a better and safer place is to be kind to everyone and in the times we are in right now, wear a mask whenever I go out and sanitize before and after touching anything. It is easy for people to keep the world safe right now if they follow simple precautions that can really help keep people safe and clean in the long run.

 

Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page	The Maker’s Eye By: Donald Murray
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words	In the article by Donald Murray, he talks about how the steps it takes to write and how writing styles can be different whether you are a beginner or a professional. He also discusses the “seven elements.” The seven elements are a trick or a way to help you in your writing. He talks about the Maker’s Eye and how it is never truly satisfied because a good writer can always see places for improvement. I really liked this article because it took a deeper look into what it takes to write something and it even provided helpful tips on how to improve your writing.
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.	Detachment: Writers sometimes have to learn to protect themselves from their own egos, sometimes you need to step back in order to see how you can do better
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?	This reading connects to all the other articles we have read because I think it really puts an emphasis on the importance of drafts. No writer has ever sat down one time and wrote every word perfectly. Writing is a process and all the articles I have read execute that perfectly.
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion.	I would say my question is what are some more helpful ways to not let “writers ego” get in the way when you are writing and how to not get hung up on your first draft.

 

1. I would say literacy to me is my reading and writing. I love writing and I always have so I think to me, literacy is the level of writing I do and the process of how I get to the finished product. Literacy isn’t just about the end of the essay and the perfect submission. Its about the process of how you get to the perfect essay in the end and the work put into it.
2. I would say one of my Sponsors of literacy would be my sister. She has always loved to read and write, and while I may not be a big reader, she really inspired me when I was younger to write everything down and take pride in my writings. From little paragraphs to a big essay due, she always told me to do the best I can and treat every writing like its a 100 point paper. In high school, I would always get her to proofread all my work and fix any mistakes before I would make any submission because of how much I valued her opinion on my writing.
3. One afternoon when I got home from school I went to my sisters room right when I got home. I had my huge persuasive essay due the next day and I had to make sure it was perfect. Whenever I had anything due I would always ask her to proofread it and make sure it was the best it could be. I was always good at persuasive essays but my sister, was perfect at them. As I went into her room I asked her to please look over my paper before I turned it in the next morning and without hesitation she took my computer and began to read all 7 pages of my essay, only stopping a few times to add a comma here and a period there. After reading my paper, she gave me her advice, tweaked a few of my intros and body sentences and I was on my way. I always was very confident in turning in my essays after she read it because I felt as if my English teacher had just looked over it. Thats why my sister is my sponsor of literacy. She always pushed me to make my work the best it could be and has never complained about looking over any of my work.

 

Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page	Literacy and Cultural Context: A Lesson from the Amish, By: Andrea R. Fisherman, Pgs. 842-849
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words	The article follows two families, the author’s family and the Fishers. The fishers are a much more old fashioned amish family. They don’t read their children bedtime stories, don’t help them with their homework, etc. They are not a literacy orientated family. If there are books in their house, they are very strongly controlled and solely try to focus on religion. However, Eli Jr. became literate and wanted the same for his family so over time he would read and write more. The article also discusses the difference between amish readers and amish writers and the difference between traditional english readers and writers. I thought the article was really interesting because it provided an alternative view of writing and reading that many people haven’t heard of and how the way you are raised can have a huge impact on the way you read and write.
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.	Amish writing: the start of a letter, typically says (of love, of Christian love, in the name of Jesus) Ends in: goodbyes, religious or philosophical thought
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?	I think this article connects to the very first article I read about breaking English reading and writing norms. A lot of people think reading and writing and literacy overall has to go a certain way, but it doesn’t. This article provided another perspective of writing and reading and was a perfect example of how someone’s background and the way they are raised has a huge impact on what they write about and the way they write it.
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion.	I would say my question would be can the way you are raised and the way you write be detrimental at times? Meaning, is growing up a certain way and learning how to write a way that differs from the normal be harder to make it as a writer or harder to understand certain concepts down the road?

 

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2020

10AM:

message on text

3 words

to my dad

11:44 AM

picture on snapchat

6 words

to my roommate

11:56 AM

text on snapchat

8 words

to my friend

2:48 PM

call on phone

2:38 long call

to my mom

5:18 PM

text on snapchat

18 words

to my friend

6:05 PM

FaceTime call

20 min long call

to my friend

6:20 PM

text on iMessage

6 words

to my mom

 

Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page	What is Literacy? Author: James Paul Gee, pgs. 18-23
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words	This article is about the different kinds of discourses in literacy and how no one is alike. He uses the term “discourse” to represent literacy and he even goes further to say how the term discourse has many different definitions, however the way he is using it is in relation to language and social networks. He talks about how discourses are as he would say “ideological” and how they are almost like cliques. If you dont speak or think the way everyone else in the discourse does, you are not in it. He also discusses primary and secondary uses of language. Primary is almost what we were born knowing and grew up in and secondary is an extension to what we already know. I really enjoyed this article because I think it put literacy into a better perspective for me. It showed all the little things that go into language and writing and I really liked the primary and secondary uses of language because I thought the explanation of that was very accurate.
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.	Literacy discourse: a socially accepted association among ways of using language, of thinking, and of acting that can be used to identify oneself as a member of a socially meaningful group or “social network” Acquisition: a process of acquiring something subconsciously by exposure to models and a process of trial and error…
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?	I think this article connects to the last one I read about language and writing and sponsorship. I think it kind of shows that there can be a stigma surrounding writing and language and that it has to be a certain way or it’s wrong, however that is not true. There are so many different styles or writing, and it especially differs when you have people from different backgrounds.
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion.	I think my question would be, would primary or secondary use of language be considered more important than the other. I know primary is the foundation of everything, however, without secondary there would be no learning or build on to what you already know.