A writer is defined as someone who can write a word, line, book, anything. They can come up with a thought or idea about a certain topic or it can just be random thoughts. Me as a writer however, is someone that says that they cannot write but can. I tend to write everyday whether its personal, texting, or posting something on social media. I would not declare myself as a real writer because I never can stay on topic. Also, I do not know the rules of writing and what to do and not to do. I think I just like to free write or creative writing. I do this to just write down my prayers and express feelings I have a hard time saying from my mouth. My writing although it means nothing to anybody else it means a lot to me, and it is basically for my eyes and whomever I decide to show it to.   

At the rate of technology, people especially kids spend all their time texting people rather than actually speaking to them. In the 21st century, there is a drastic need to know how to communicate and the speaker believes that people do not know how to do that in this day and age. The speaker continues and says there is no way to show people that you are listening if you are not actually listening. Giving eye contact, think of interesting topics, and nod and smile these are not skills to show that you are paying attention. She teaches us to interview people so we can have more engaging talks and interactions. Her first step is to not multi-task. I think it is a great step because like she says “do not think about your anger with a boss, or play with our keys.” She is trying to get across that in order to actually listen you have to be completely there physically and mentally. Another point that stood out to me was number six. She said to not equate our experiences with others. She makes a really good point and says that just because you think you have the same experience it is not the same. By the end of the Ted Talk, I feel like I know now how to have and carry a proper conversation. I know what to say and what to not say. I know listening is the most important step of them all.  

Essay 1

Grade:C+

Explanation: I think the essay was good and it explained the prompt provided. I think the student could have gotten a higher score had the grammar been better. It was very hard to read in some areas because i was having a hard time trying to figure out what the author was trying to say. I think the author could have had more evidence and/or sources. They had an example, but it would have been nice to see evidence. Also the example given i feel shifted a little from what the prompt was. The author did try to tie in the similarities, but he could have used a better example. Overall the essay was nice, I understood what he was trying to say, but it was areas the author could have wrote better. I think the score I gave was so high because I feel he tried to execute the prompt to the best of his abilities.

 

Essay 2

Grade: A

Explanation: I think this student effectively examined and answered the prompt provided. I was wearisome because I did not understand the direction the student was taking, but they seemed to have turned it around. I think not only did the student answer the prompt they also made their essay flow as well. It was understandable and easy to read. I think if the student had talked about the hackers sooner the grade could have been even higher. Overall I have no critiques besides those mentioned above. I think this essay is great and had all of the qualities of an A. 

 

“How Many Licks” 

 Commercial: https://youtu.be/O6rHeD5x2tI 

My Rhetorical analysis is on the Tootsie Pop “How Many Licks” commercial. I chose this because it is such a classic commercial that literally everybody knows about. Meanwhile it also does have some rhetoric in it. The Commercials theme is too seeing how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop. The kid is walking through a forest of some sort asking wild animals “How many licks do you think it takes to get to the center of the tootsie pop,” and each animal just passes him along until the last animal. The first Rhetoric is repetition. Next the author uses imagery because of the different animals and also the kid has no pants on. I am sure that there is more rhetoric in the commercial, but those are the two most abundant devices.  

The most abundant Rhetoric is repetition. The kid goes through the forest and ask four different animals the same question. “How many licks do you think it takes to get to the center of the tootsie pop.” They all have similar answers and say to “ask the next blank (whatever the next animal may be.) The kid gets nowhere until he gets to the end. The repetition of the question makes the viewers more engaged because they are all wondering the same question as the kid. The line of Repetitious question and answer eventually stops and the reader somewhat gets an answer to the question. Repetition is a really easy rhetorical device to stop and the commercial has lots of instances where repeating occurred.  

The next rhetorical device I thought of for the commercial was imagery. Imagery is easy when you are looking at a commercial because there are many things to look and as a viewer you don’t have visualize much of anything. However, the commercial is set in black and white. This automatically gives off as something that is older. Next you may notice that the kid has no clothes on. After watching the video several time, I noticed that the kid was walking in the forest naked. Many people would not notice, nor give it a second thought. However, I think that was intentional and can also be counted as imagery.  

The “How Many Licks” commercial is a very classic commercial and it has a lot of rhetoric to offer. Some examples I found were Repetition and Imagery. I am sure that there are many others that could be found in the commercial, but those were a couple I found to name a few.  

 

Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page	Finding the Good Argument Or Why Bother With Logic  Rebecca Jones
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words	The article was about the effects of arguments and how they can be different things. The author introduces it in the form of a cartoon to show that arguing is not always negative or has to be negative. The cartoon was there to show the funnyness of arguments rather than what people happen to think about most arguments.
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.	Ardent peace advocates, such as Jane Addams, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr., offer some of the most compelling arguments of our time through concepts like civil disobedience that are hardly inactive.
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?	It does not connect to the others because the subject was a little off from the others
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion.	What was the cause of this article. What made the author think of this?

 

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood. ACEs can include violence, abuse, and growing up in a family with mental health or substance use problems. Toxic stress from ACEs can change brain development and affect how the body responds to stress. Dr. Mona mentions how health care provides must be able to know the signs of when a child is in danger, and what to do about the situation.  

Things like racism, violence, and poverty can impact a child’s development because it could cause a child not to develop right. Violence would be the physical aspect of groth within a child. A child that is being abused could not grow their body properly. Abuse can be very detrimental to a Childs emotional and physical development.  

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) could affect literacy because children from those low-income families mostly will not care not attend school let alone care for an education if they attend school. Some families may need may need their children to get jobs to support their families. Kids put into ACE predicaments have a lesser lead than a child with no ACEs therefore always putting them last in many efforts.  

Dr. Mona made a difference in her community by finding the broken parts and fixing what needs to be fixed. She made a better place for parents to bring their kids to get checkups. She transferred to a better building, that was in a more convenient stop (near a bus stop), and by a farmer’s market so the citizens can maybe stop and get fresher, better food for themselves.  

One time that I made people aware of something was when a friend said something kind of offensive. She made a commit about skin color, but it was not a race thing because she was black it was just a dark skin versus light skin kind of thing. When I mentioned what she had said back to her, she did not mean to offend me and did not know that it came off that way. She quickly apologized because she did not mean any harm and she never said anything offensive again.  

As an individual, I feel like I cannot make a huge difference alone, but there are little things that I can do. As far as little things, I could sign petition, educate people, spread the word around. I am only a small percentage, but if I can get people to come together, we can make a bigger noise than myself alone.  

 

Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page	The Makers Eye
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words	The article is about the ins and outs of what makes someone a professional or unprofessional writer. It explains the differences of how beginning writes, write to get done, but professional writers write to have a canvas. Professional writers go rhrough thier work line by line and examine it in all ways possible. The author states that they must visually see the work and be be able to listen to it to get a clear understanding of whether the work sounds right or not. The point of this passage was to state that writers go the extra mile and the work that goes into writing is more than what is shown.
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.	“eye to page and ear to page” That is a concept that I have never heard. It is a very interesting concept to me.
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?	This article gives a broad understanding of how literacy is written or what goes through the mind of authors. People can go back to books they have read and think, this is what the author was thinking when he wrote this phrase.
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion.	Why is the writing process so tedious? Why must a writer constantly go over thier work so many times?

 

 

Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page	Literacy and Cultural Context: A Lesson from the Amish    Fishman, Andrea R. “Literacy and Cultural Context: A Lesson from the Amish.” Language Arts, 30 Nov. 1986, eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ363335.
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words	The Fishermans article talk about literacy in a family and being a thing that everybody does. The whole family from the father to the youngest child knows how to read. The thing that baffles me is why the family learns to read. Everyone seems to read for some religious affiliation. The article is such a contradiction because everything i.e. chores, farm work come before school and the kids are not suspected to continue schooling after the eighth grade. The family talks about everyone reading, yet it seems they are not pro–schooling in the family.
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.	The concept of Amish people. You hear about them, but until now I never had a concise idea of Amish people or how religious they are.
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?	I think this is the upper side of literacy. It is showing the impact literacy can have on a religious family, who do not necessarily agree with school or homework.
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion.	Why was there a wide variety of German books in the Fishers home? Is German apart of Amish culture?

 

 

1. Literacy is the knowledge of being able to read or write fluently or in a rudimentary way.  
2. It depends in the way a person approaches sponsors of literacy. However, in a negative light it has been past AP teacher because based on my literacy and test taking skills, by me making a three or above on an AP test it makes the teacher look well rather than the student.  
3. Mrs. Smith is a three year teacher at Clinton High School who teaches regulars English two and AP composition to eleventh graders. She has a full load, but she is determined to try and teach her best to both grades she teaches, and both levels she has to teach at. Many obstacles come in the way. She misses a substantial amount of the year due to pregnancy, and eventually maternity leave. Although, she is my AP teacher and wants to see her student strive, it is hard because she is absent, and all teachers know students do not learn when there is a substitute. Time fast-forwards and we are not only learning AP material, but also basic English material to top it off. The year progresses and Mrs. Smith is near her maternity leave and the AP test is months away. As a student I felt like I learned nothing because I was not being taught anything, nor was I able to follow along with the lackluster of instruction we did have. Mrs. Smith leaves and the AP test is six weeks away. Mrs. Smith tries to cram all the knowledge that goes into one ear and out the other. Time speeds up and AP test are here. Everyone tries their best and is happy no matter the outcome. Mrs. Williams the other AP teacher gets lots of recognition because of her students outstanding scores, While Mrs. Smith gets little recognition for the few students who actually did well. She gains recognition from those students who did well, but the rest of the students were considered less because we did not try hard enough, and we could have made better grades. Nobody looked at Mrs. Smith and blamed her for the non-passing grades because she taught us, but they shone a light on those students who did pass and she was congratulated for those who passed.