In Casey Neistat’s opinion documentary, he reveals some interesting finds about the amount of calories people are actually consuming. Although the New York City health code requires chain restaurants to display the amount of calories in each item on the menu, Neistat wonders if those numbers are genuine. He performs an experiment with certified food scientists to uncover the truth behind these numbers and wants to show his audience the true accuracy of the calories that he or she is consuming. He does this because there may be people who do not know how much they are actually eating or drinking, and this can be concerning for people who are trying to lose weight or become healthier. In this documentary, Neistat’s audience are the people who are counting calories for health reasons. We know this because he himself is doing this in the documentary and is going out of his way to show this audience the extra calories consumed that are equivalent to foods like the unhealthy Big Mac burger. He appeals to the audience in a variety of ways. He is logical. He does this by providing his audience with assurance by working alongside qualified food scientists who are experts at what they do. He is ethical. He does this by showing honest results throughout the documentary and showing himself buying the actual foods used in the experiments. Lastly, he also appeals to the audience’s emotion through humor and honesty. Light, fun music plays throughout the documentary, creative drawings that incorporate junk foods are used in the introduction, and his light-hearted personality brightens the mood of the film. Even fun blooper clips were spread throughout the documentary. If serious music was playing, and no creative effects were added, the film would have come off as more depressing and dark. This could have made his audience feel bad or insecure about what they were eating, but he took the opposite approach. Neistat’s opinion documentary was the complete opposite of Berends’ “Toys of War.” Whereas Neistat’s film was light-hearted and full of humor, Berends’ film consisted of an upsetting emotional appeal. He uses melancholy music which makes the film sad to watch. He wants his audience to understand the pain of the children and families in the Yida Refugee Camp and Nuba Mountains. There is no humor whatsoever in this film and for good reason. He wants his audience to sympathize with the refugees and feel their pain. He even films himself hiding under caves with the Nuba villagers as they are bombed by airplanes. Another difference is that he uses interviews in his film. These interviews show the children’s point of view and allow the audience to make a connection with them. Both documentaries are amazing and show great examples of logos, pathos, and ethos. Although very different, they both established their purpose.
“Project #1 Unit Reflection.”
I feel that my writing skills have improved in a few ways. When I was writing, I noticed that I was using my critical thinking skills more thoroughly. I was not just writing, but I was asking myself questions about what I was writing and the reason behind why I was typing the things in my paper. I also feel that my ability to analyze opinions and facts improved.
A few areas of weakness in my writing did stick out to me. I realized I have some trouble forming a conclusion after feeling that I have written everything I know already. This also goes in hand with my next weakness which is that I would get major writer’s block and have no clue what to write half way into my paper. I sometimes felt a sense of repetition also.
The most stressful part of my paper was trying to string it all together. I put a lot of pressure on myself which tends to make me spend too much time on each paragraph. Once I spend too much time on a paragraph, I begin to overthink about everything I have written and doubt my ability to write well. To put it simply, I over thought about each and every little word which made it hard for me to put it all together as one cohesive paper. I attempted to overcome this by taking short breaks. I would get up and walk around or work on my other homework. I have no clue if I was successful. I honestly believe nothing will ever fix my habit of overthinking. It has always been my biggest weakness in life as well. COVID-19 and online school really heightens this weakness too.
I want to remember how to use my critical thinking skills well. I feel that these not only come in handy in writing but also life. I truly believe this skill allows me to really think about what I am writing and why I am writing it. This skill will help me write an objective, honest paper.
“Common Read Thoughts”
We are students, and we are young. We are the generation of tomorrow. The power to make a difference is right at our fingertips, and all it takes is courage. Books like What the Eyes Don’t See show us the reality of that courage and what we as individuals are capable of accomplishing. I would never have thought that a pediatrician could take on the government and win. Well, she did, and her name is Mona Hanna-Attisha. She shows us in this book that if one strongly believes in something, then he or she can accomplish it. College students need to read more books like What the Eyes Don’t See because these types of books show past the smoke and mirrors of what we believe and show us the hard truth. These types of books remind us that the government we are supposed to trust is not always in the right. It is we the people who are capable of making the necessary changes if the government chooses to lie and hide behind the protection of power. Discussing, reading, and writing about books like What the Eyes Don’t See gives students a new perspective and challenges their beliefs of what they thought was true. Books like these show us college students the true power one human can have. We are young, yet we have the power to change the world.
“Willingham Response”
“The High Price of Multitasking” is an eye-opening article that gives us insight into the reasons multitasking is not a productive action. Willingham’s purpose in this article is to tell us the truth about multitasking and the consequences that come with it. I feel very strongly that this article is directed toward many age groups and not just the younger generation. Adults text and drive too. Technology is a large reason for much of the multitasking that occurs in today’s generation, but multitasking is not limited to just cell phones and television. Multitasking is nothing new, and every generation does and continues to do it. Willingham sees absolutely no efficiency in the act of multitasking and gives us proof from experiments to prove his stance. He heavily disagrees and has the proof to back up his opinion. Although he disagrees, he understands that people will continue to multitask, and he hopes people will become aware of their actions and begin to focus on one task at a time. Willingham’s article is not only convincing but also persuasive. Because he gives definite proof of the negative impact of multitasking, this article seems very convincing. I know an article is convincing when it makes me reconsider my stance on a topic. Because of the scary realities he states in this article, I believe this article is also very persuasive. Hearing that being on one’s phone highly increases the chance of him or her being hit by a car is terrifying. Facts like those make people think twice, and that is why I believe that this article has a very persuasive tone to it.
Claire Baskin
I have a love-hate relationship with writing. I sometimes feel like it is hard to enjoy writing when I am constantly obsessing over every possible grammatical error in my paper. Although writing is difficult at times, I have a special place for it in my heart. I consider passion to be one of my greatest strengths in writing. When I receive a certain topic that makes me feel a strong emotion, I can write about that topic for days and never lose interest. Another strength of mine is my creativity. I am an artist, and I always strive to be creative in every aspect of my life.
Writing is the one subject that always seems to be a struggle. One of my main weaknesses is making careless grammar errors. Commas kill me. Another weakness of mine is probably my worst weakness. I have a difficult time knowing when I am allowed to switch verb tenses. Lastly, many things cause me stress. It causes me stress knowing that every teacher has different writing rules and exceptions, and I never know what is exactly allowed. I catch myself overthinking too much on simple writing assignments, and this causes me stress also.
Unit Reflections
For each major essay assignment, you will complete a long-form reflection about your experience writing the paper. Your teacher will provide specific instructions for these reflections.
Weekly Reflections
Weekly Reflections are longer, more thoughtful posts that you will complete about every week of the semester. Topics for these posts will vary by instructor, but they will usually be completed outside of class and have a specific word-count requirement.
Daily Writes
These are 5 minute or less quick writes that we’ll complete in class most days. This will also include any in-class writing about the readings that we do. If you don’t bring your tablet/laptop to class every day or if you prefer writing on paper during class, you’ll need to type up and post these after class.