This week in my music classes I learned about the importance of connecting with a performance. As a musician, when you perform it is imperative that you give a show to the audience. You have to perform every song like it’s the last time you will ever play it. After reading this article and watching the video, I can honestly say this performance by Prince is one of the most inspiring and moving performances I’ve seen in a long time. Watching this video and keeping in mind the things I learned in my classes, I have come to discover that the key to performing well is to simply love what you’re playing. If you aren’t moved by the things you’re playing, there’s no way you can ever move anyone else.
I very much enjoyed this article. I enjoyed the author’s choice of language to describe what it’s like to be a fisherman and how important their work is. I also enjoyed his description of cooking Cod Cakes, so much so that it made my mouth water. If I were to comment on the article I would just say thank you to the author for raising awareness about how privileged we are to enjoy such wonderful food. I would also thank him for encouraging people to be thankful for the food they eat and also for instructing people to think about where there food came from and all the work that went into catching and preparing it.
A logical fallacy is any type of fault in an argument that someone makes. We hear and experience a plethora of logical fallacies in our daily lives. One area where I see it the most is in politics. Anytime I discus politics with my friends, or especially my family, they tend to unknowingly use a straw man fallacy. A straw man fallacy is when someone attacks a person instead of their policy or beliefs. People love to use this fallacy, especially with politicians like Donald Trump. Although I am not a Trump supporter, it does anger me when people only complain about him as a person and not about his policy.
When I created the draft of my analysis paper, I began by thinking to myself and sort of internally brainstorming. I thought about what I wished to reflect upon. After forming a sort of thesis for my topic, I decided to do a bit of free writing. I remember feeling very excited about writing this paper because it was a topic I am passionate about. Being excited about and enjoying the source material for my papers makes them extremely easier.
One tough spot for me in writing this paper was figuring out how I wanted to relay the message to my audience. I had to make specific rhetorical choices, such as including things about the emotions tied in to politics. Using the right strategy helped make my paper much more cohesive and effective.
Writing the problem/solution argument essay was a challenge. I began my writing process by finding a topic that interested me. After I found my topic, I began to search the internet for articles relating to my topic. This proved to be much more challenging than I had expected. It took me quite some time to find articles I could use to help my argument. I realized this probably meant my argument was too narrow. I then decided to expand my topic a bit in order to help find more materials to use. This helped me find more sources that supported my argument, and helped my paper deliver a stronger message.
My audience for this paper was an academic, well-educated audience that was interested in my topic. I chose to write in a way that helped my paper seem more credible and convincing, in order to help “convince” my audience. I made specific rhetorical choices while writing to help increase the attractiveness of my solution. This helped make my paper seem more credible and interesting.
Balancing this paper with my other course work was extremely difficult. However, it did not have to be. The professor gave us plenty of time to do this project. It would be extremely beneficial to use all of the given time wisely. I failed to do this. This resulted in me having to write a paper in the middle of one of the busiest weeks in my semester. My advice would be to use all of your time wisely so that you do not have to cram to do this project. Allow yourself plenty of time to find a topic that you can write about clearly and effectively. Do not be afraid to change topics if you are not finding the information you want.
I much prefer to write a reflection as homework instead of as a timed writing. Writing at home allows me to take time to organize my thoughts and give an accurate reflection of how I feel about an assignment or a topic. When I do a reflection as a timed writing in class, I feel rushed, and I feel as if I am not expressing myself clearly. I absolutely believe my reflections I write as homework are stronger than the ones that I write in class. I like the homework ones much more. The only positive about in class timed reflections is that they force me to think on me feet and my response is normally much more straight forward and descriptive.
Learning new technology is extremely beneficial. Learning new technology makes you competitive when searching for a job, it helps you be more connected to more people, and it helps you do things in your life way easier.
In my personal life, I learned photoshop so I could do some small graphic design jobs. Because I learned photoshop, I met more people, and made more money. I was able to promote local bands in the Memphis area and their shows. Here is an album cover I designed for a local band called Ecclesiast:
In my academic and work life, I had to learn how to use a software called finale in order to compose music. I began learning finale in 2011, and have been continually getting better and better. It helps me write different pieces for the different ensembles I participate in.
One of the most important things I learned in class today is how to use visual elements to help elevate my message on my website. Most people do not click on a website and spend time thoroughly reading through it. Having visual elements that capture the attention of the viewer will help people stay on my website and view all of its content.
I learned a new technique to help analyze my use of sources in my argument essay. My highlighted paragraphs help me to see where I may be using the sources too much, as well as places where I derive from the topic. I hope to use this technique to help me in any type of research paper I write in the future.
I am writing my problem/solution argument essay on the lack of funding in primary public schools in the state of Mississippi. This argument matters because education is one of the most important resources that a state provides to its citizens. Education has the highest return of interest of any government subsidized institution. Education also helps to create new culture for the country, which benefits all citizens. People should care about the quality and funding of the education children receive because of how great an impact education has on everyone’s life. An educated populace is much safer than a non-educated one. An educated population is also much more productive and progressive in their respective communities. Everyone would benefit from an increase to public school funding.
