This semester my English Composition 1 class gave me a different outlook on writing and the subject in general. In particular the way the professor, Sabatino Mangini, required us to approach our work was different than the way I was introduced to in high school. Throughout high school i dreaded my english classes because I never enjoyed writing and I wasn't particularly good at the subject overall. When it came to papers I often struggled with writing it because i never knew how to get my words and thought out on my paper and making it sound scholarly, which lead me to not caring about the work as much as i could. Our first formal assignment was a life choice memoir. Being 18 years old I looked at the project as a Huge life choice that I didn't think I made yet and it made me on edge about the paper and I could tell if was going to be a drag for me, and I felt I wasn't going to be dedicated to my topic. One of the earlier days of doing the paper we had a set time in class to just write. The writing didn't have to make sense or flow like a normal finished paper would. We had a word count and a time frame to make and that was it. For me that was such a reliving and helping process. After we took this approach in class it has changed my outlook on papers and my writing. I use this idea almost all the time now because I can get my thoughts out add in more information, and clean it up. After writing my thoughts about a possible life choice that I thought was a big enough life choice I started to at scenes and build from my thoughts during class. I am also in a smaller group ALP that is right after english comp 1, in the class we just catch up with each other and make sure we understand what is going on in the class before. In the ALP class it was a requirement for us to all read our life choice memoirs to each other. At that time I was nervous to share my work because I didn't believe my topic was life changing enough and I didn't think I was a good enough writer for my paper to sound ready. After reading my paper to the class the thoughts from the other people were a lot more positive than I anticipated and for me it made me more confident in my work and it made me look forward to reworking it and making it better. Another great part is during out time to write he wasn't right on top of us about what we wrote and how we wrote it. He met with us one on one and read the work and gave us good feedback on it to make our work better and to me that helps a tremendous amount because it allowed me to experiment more and learn at the same time on how to revise your work. To me this English Comp. 1 class had an impact on me that I think I can carry with me through my college years.
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11/30/2017 1 Comment Research Paper ReflectionIn this blog post I will provide a reflection on my Research paper. I did this reflection after posting my first draft of the paper, watching the short video Reflective Writing and going over the notes from my class today.
• Who did you work with to compose your research paper? Was this a good approach? I did not work with anyone on my research paper. I did however have a little help from my mom because I was having trouble at first as to how I should approach my paper. I think that having a little help getting my ideas to flow from my mom was a good approach because as for my life choice memoir she would ask questions that i wouldn't normally ask myself. • What rhetorical mode and genre are you using? The type of rhetorical mode I am using is argumentation. The type of genre I am using is MLA research paper. • When did you write this project? Good approach? I started researching about two weeks before the first draft was due. I started writing and putting my paper together about a week before the due date. I think it was a good approach because i wasn't cramming the whole paper in one session. Spacing out the first draft also helped me process how i want my paper to flow. • Where did you write this project? Good approach? I wrote my paper at my house typically later in the night. I liked this approach because I normally like to write in my room because I am not bothered as much and I can think more clearly. But this time writing at night when most of my family was already in bed was just as good because again, I was not bothered. • Why did you choose to write about your chosen topic? Good choice? I chose to write about my topic ( America should have free college tuition) because I believe it would be a great thing for America to try. Also, now a days college is overly expensive and lots and lots of people are spending a tremendous amount of their life after college paying back college tuition. • How did it feel to write this argument ("during, after, and since")? Do you have any "if only" moments that can help you revise the draft? When I first started writing about my topic I was unsure as to where to start the paper because I didn't have much knowledge of the topic. After doing my research i started to understand more about the topic and started to get my position on where I stood on the argument. After writing my paper I have a clear position on how I feel about the topic. So far I didn't have any “if only” moments after writing my first draft. • How will you revise your argument? I will/am revising my argument first by sorting out each part of my paper according to what it is about. Then I am planning on going through each section and focusing on what that section specifically talks about and how I can add and make it better. 11/14/2017 2 Comments Annotated BibliographyThis weeks blog post I will do an annotated bibliography for a possible topic for my research paper. Here I will provide four sources that will correspond to my possible topic.
-“Where To Invade Next”, Michael Moore, October 2015, http://fmovies.sc/watch/where-to-invade-next-2016-i.2-online.html -In the documentary “Where to Invade Next”, Michael Moore travels around the world looking to “invade”. He visited 9 countries looking for ways for America to benefit from ideas from other countries. The first country he “invades” is Italy, where no matter who you work for or where you work you are given 8 weeks paid vacation. The next place Michael visited was France. In France school lunches are prepared by actual chefs. Not only are they prepared by chefs but they meet with actual nutritionists to discuss if the lunches fit the nutritional requirement. Then, Michael was off to Finland where school is only twenty hours a week. In the documentary Micheal talks to a principal of a elementary school about the amount of time kids are at school compared to the time they are playing. The Principal states that she would rather them be playing and finding things in nature, then later ask questions and to be learning that way then, to be sitting in school all day. Slovenia was the next country for Micheal to go. In Slovenia they have free collage for everyone. While in Slovenia, Michael interviews a college girl who is originally from America but she can there for the free college because she was no longer able to afford college. In Germany workers have to only work 36 hours a week and still get paid enough to only have to work one job. If a worker feels as if they were stressed they were able to get a prescription from the doctors to go stay at a spa to cure their stress. Then, Michael went to Portugal where drug use was not qualified as a way to get arrested. In Portugal they don't consider drugs a crime therefore anybody using drugs there cannot and will not be arrested. Next up was Norway where when people did get arrested they were taken to “prison” but for Americans it would be seen as a getaway. The reason why Norway believed in their system was because the “prisoners” were unable to see their families and friends. In Tunisia they made it legal for women to get abortions they had free clinics and abortion clinics for women. The last stop was Iceland where they had the first ever female president. In Iceland they found that when women work or are in charge of more things, they tend to go more smoothly and chaos free. After Michael traveled all over to learn about what America needs to do to be better, he learns that lots of these ideas he wanted to steal, was already ideas that America had. -As you can probably tell from the documentary, Michael Moore thinks that there is a lot of things wrong with America. Through out his trip he informs everyone about ideas that other countries have that America doesn’t. Michael thinks that if America mimics these ideas, such as paid vacation, less working hours, and better schools, not only would America would be better but be happier as well. -This documentary is relevant because it covers the topic that i would like to do my research paper on which is allowing free college and education. In Slovenia, they have free schooling for everyone. Here in America most people come out of college already in debt because of how much it is to go to school. In the documentary Michael asked random college students if they know what tuition was, and they had no idea. There was actually people from America who went to Slovenia because they couldn't afford to go to college in America. -“Student Debt’s Grip on the Economy”, The Editorial Board, May 20, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/20/opinion/sunday/student-debts-economy-loans.html -This Article talks about the troubles of student loans. The article states that The cost of a four-year college is two and a half as much as in 1978-79. Also, they believe that it keeps the people who are getting out of college from getting on with their life from not becoming a house owner to delaying marriages because of all the loans being payed back. In 2003 nearly 40% of households headed by someone younger than 40 still was in student debt, nearly 20% owed more than $50,000. -Although the debt is skyrocketing, the wages for college-educated workers have rose 6.6 percent from 2014 to 2016. The wage gains need to be higher for the people coming out of college with loads and loads of debt because people ages of 21-24 are only making about $19 dollars and hour. -This article is relevant to my research paper because it shows how much of an issue debt and the price of decent education is to America. Also, how it effect the life of Americans long after their schooling is over not allowing them to move on with their lives. -“Why All Public Higher Education Should Be Free”, Bob Samuels, November 11, 2011, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-samuels/why-all-public-higher-edu_b_1099437.html -This article talked about the numerous benefits America would have by making higher education free. By making higher education free it would actually save money. In fact the government spends billions of dollars of profiting for schools and colleges and universities that have fairly low graduate rates. The article uses the university of California for example saying that if students get “priced out”, they either drop out or turn around and got to community college. However Community colleges that are defunded, therefore, making them cut their enrollments and raise their fees. Higher education is seen as the key to success but if all 18-24 year olds were in college the unemployment rate would go down. Therefore, government assistance would be needed less by people. -By making higher education free, it would allow students to not have to work as much to pay off all their loans. When this article was written (2011) only 30% of Americans who attended college end up graduating. If students didn’t have to work as much while attending school the rate of graduates would increase. Also, by allowing free education would allow students to have more money to spend, making the economy better. -This article is relevant because it shows the results and positive outcomes that free higher education would have on this economy. It also explains what and how everything would happen. -“Make College Free For All”, Bernie Sanders, October 22, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/bernie-sanders-america-needs-free-college-now/2015/10/22/a3d05512-7685-11e5-bc80-9091021aeb69_story.html?utm_term=.c604b5395780 -This Article provided the history of how college become so expensive. The article states that back in the 1950s and 60s it was possible for just high school graduates to come right out of high school and go into a decent paying job. Now a days its really hard to achieve that without getting a higher education. By raising the costs of schooling makes it harder and harder for Americans to get that education that they need in order for them to buy a house, raise a family, and even send their kids to college. -In 1978, it was possible to earn enough money worth a year of college tuition working just a summer job that pays minimum wage, this day in age it doesn't even come close. Today it would take a person with a decent job an entire year to pay the tuition in a public university. It is said that Americans are carrying more student debt than credit card or car load debt. - This article is relevant to my research paper because it gives that history of how college/tuition got to become so expensive. Also, it shows the drastic time difference of tuition back then and now and how Americans has to work twice as hard to just pay off their tuition vs. in the 1900s tuition was something someone could earn having a part time job. 11/6/2017 3 Comments Where to Invade Next? An Argument.In week 10, this blog post will include ideas of what I would like my research paper to be on. The research papers focal point is based off of the Documentary “Where to Invade Next”, which is summarized in blog post 9. Michael Moore stars in it where he “invades" other counties in mists of finding ideas that America can benefit from.
Topics: - American Empathy vs. Other countries - American Education vs. France, Slovenia, and Finland - Jobs in America vs. jobs in other countries Research Questions: Could Americans learn to be kind like other countries? Why do other countries focus on the whole child rather than just their academics? Should Americans get paid vacations and maternity leave? Arguments: Americans caring for others other than themselves could be better than any other solution to better our country. Schools focusing on the whole child( life experiences, health, and well being etc.) could prepare anyone in the future better than any standardized test. Jobs should be more involved in the safety and health of the people that are working for the companies. 11/6/2017 2 Comments Summary of Where to Invade NextThis weeks blog post is a summary about the documentary Where to Invade Next. The documentary is about a man Michael Moore who travels the world and “invades” certain places in search of certain things.
In the documentary Where to Invade Next, Michael Moore travels to different countries with the quest to steal other countries ideas. His plan was for every country he visits he would discover ideas that each country would do that America doesn't and “steal” the idea to bring back to America. The first country he “invades” is Italy, where no matter who you work for or where you work you are given 8 weeks paid vacation. The people of Italy believe that the more vacation workers have the less stressed they become therefore a better product outcome. Not only do they get way more paid vacation than Americans but they also get 5 months paid maternity leave in order for the mother to be with their babies for the start of their lives. The next place Michael visited was France. In France school lunches are prepared by actual chefs. Not only are they prepared by chefs but they meet with actual nutritionists to discuss if the lunches fit the nutritional requirement. American lunches are a half hour or maybe forty five minutes at the most, but not french schools, they have hour long lunches to give the kids time to eat. Also, in America lunches are served on styrofoam trays were as for France they give the school lunches real china that needs to be washed and taken care of. Your would assume that with the classier lunches they would have to spend a lot more than American schools, but no they actually spend less then schools in America do which in a way is mind blowing. Then, Michael was off to Finland where school is only twenty hours a week. In the documentary Micheal talks to a principal of a elementary school about the amount of time kids are at school compared to the time they are playing. The Principal states that she would rather them be playing and finding things in nature, then later ask questions and to be learning that way then, to be sitting in school all day. Slovenia was the next country for Micheal to go. In Slovenia they have free collage for everyone. While in Slovenia, Michael interviews a college girl who is originally from America but she can there for the free college because she was no longer able to afford college. Even though she was not a Citizen Slovenia stuck to their word of Free college for everyone, and gave her free college. After Slovenia Michael went to Germany. In Germany workers have to only work 36 hours a week and still get paid enough to only have to work one job. If a worker feels as if they were stressed they were able to get a prescription from the doctors to go stay at a spa to cure their stress. Then, Michael went to Portugal where drug use was not qualified as a way to get arrested. In Portugal they don't consider drugs a crime therefore anybody using drugs there cannot and will not be arrested. Basically legalizing drugs Portugals drug use decreased after that. Next up was Norway where when people did get arrested they were taken to “prison” but for Americans it would be seen as a getaway. The reason why Norway believed in their system was because the “prisoners” were unable to see their families and friends. Then Michael went to Tunisia. In Tunisia they made it legal for women to get abortions they had free clinics and abortion clinics for women. The last stop was Iceland where they had the first ever female president. In Iceland they found that when women work or are in charge of more things, they tend to go more smoothly and chaos free. After Michael traveled all over to learn about what America needs to do to be better, he learns that lots of these ideas he wanted to steal, was already ideas that America had. 10/16/2017 4 Comments Life-Choice Memoir ReflectionThis weeks blog post I read the short video Reflective Writing that is about the process of writing a reflective piece. Along with this post I will provide answers to questions about my Life-choice memoir, Choosing a Path, about an experience I have had where I had to make a life choice.
• Who did you work with to compose your life-choice memoir? Was this a good approach? After spending the day working on this project i had my mom read it a day later, this was good approach because after having someone else read the project i was asked questions that i wouldn't ask myself mostly because i was in that exact moment I'm writing about. • What rhetorical mode and genre are you using? The rhetorical mode that i am using is narration because i am taking about an event that has happened to me. The type of genre i am using is nona-fiction because this is an event that i did not make up involving real people. • When did you write this project? Good approach? I wrote this project about a week ago. I wasn't sure if I was going to keep this topic because I felt that it wasn’t life changing enough of this assignment. as the week went on i tried putting more effort into the draft and i learned to experience the event again as i continued to work and build the piece more. After sharing and finishing my first draft i think it was a good approach because if i didn't space out when i worked on it i would haven't have kept the topic. • Where did you write this project? Good approach? I started writing this project in class and then when i came back to the it a day later i had my mom read what i had (like I said I was unsure of my topic) at my house. I feel that this approach was good because usually in school i have a hard time focusing in on my work rather than if i was in the comfort of my own home. • Why did you choose to write about your chosen topic? Good choice? I chose to write about this topic because for me it was one of the few times i had to actually make a life choice. At this time in my project i was just starting high school so i was open to different beginnings but what happens and what choice i had to make changed my view not only on the people involved but the environment around me. • How did it feel to write this narrative ("during, after, and since")? Do you have any "if only" moments that can help you revise the draft? Coming back to this topic felt weird to me because at that time i was confused about the whole situation and what it meant to me. I didn't really have any “if only” moments writing this i kept having “what if” moments because going back i thin of the two people in the topic and what path they went down after and if I did the opposite of what i did i could be down the same path as them now. It helps me revise my draft because i now can understand how my life could be completely different than it is now, so i can write this project with more clarity. • How will you revise your narrative. I could revise the narrative by throwing in some hints of what happened to the two people in the long run after the specific event occurred. 10/5/2017 1 Comment Life Choice: Is This My Tradition?This weeks blog post I read the short story, The Village by Shirley Jackson. This story takes place in a what seems to be a normal town in the year 1947. The story is about a tradition that occurs every year, called the lottery. This lottery, unlike the lottery we know, is a tradition where everyone in the town gets put in a drawing but does not win a prize. Their names are put in a black box and whoever’s name drawn is automatically the victim of being stoned to death by everyone else. I will also talk about a tradition that America has, along with a link that is about the tradition that is being talked about. Lastly, I will share a time when I broke away from a tradition within my family.
Article on abortion: https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/12/02/is-abortion-a-human-right An American tradition that has similarities with The Lottery is abortion. In America, abortion is allowed and protected by the government. It is similar because there a lose of an innocent life, a life that does not get to choose whether to live or die. Although I do not have any personal opinions on the topic, I do know that it is a controversial issue that many people feel strongly about on both sides. There are so many groups who speak to this issue from religious and political to medical experts. Other countries may look at abortion in the same light as The Lottery, not understanding the origins and why it is an acceptable practice in America, Being raised in an Italian family, the seven fishes was a Christmas tradition the entire family enjoyed each year. We would all get together at my grandmother’s house where the entire place smelled of delicious food and the sound of happy relatives filled the air. I always enjoyed this tradition when I was younger and have many fond memories of it, however, as I got older my feelings towards this tradition changed. It was not that I did not like the tradition, rather, my priorities changed. I did not think spending time with my family was as important as spending time with my friends. I decided to not go one year and instead went to a friend’s house for a party. Although my family was very upset, I chose to go my own way and break the tradition. It was not until. my Grandmom died that I realized that some traditions are worth keeping. I wish I had not skipped that night but in the end it did make me realize that family traditions are a what make a family special. Introduction: This weeks blog post I read the short story Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway. Even though this story didn't come with much background it provided enough to infer what is happening. The story is about this man, who is American, and this girl. They are at a train station in Barcelona drinking beer. Throughout the story you can tell that their conversation is about abortion for the girl and her decision on wether to keep or not to keep the baby. I will also provide an argument to if the girl ended up keeping the baby and if she continues her relationship with the man. Also, I will provide a scene from a time when I had to make an important choice leave or stay in a situation.
This short story it is about a decision for the girl to get an abortion or not. In the end of the story I think she decided to go through with the abortion. I think she decided to go through with the abortion because she keeps asking about how the man feels about the situation and if they will be back to normal after the procedure. At that time pregnancy before marriage was frowned upon so it would make sense for that time for her to choose the man over the baby. You can also tell how they talk to each other, “oh cut it out” and “You started it”, that they are probably fairly young. Also, the man keeps telling her that abortion is natural and that it is not even a procedure so that she doesn't think it is as big as a deal as she thinks it is. The girl decides to stay with the man afterwards because he told her that after she goes through with the abortion, things will go back to how they were before. The girl kept telling him to stop talking about the situation so maybe she said that because she made the decision to go through with it and she didn't wanna keep being reminded of what she is doing when deep down she really wanted to keep both the baby and the man. I am currently in a difficult situation right now. I am unsure wether or not i want to stay with the guy i have been with for two years now. I am in this situation because I was never in a serious relationship like the one I am in now. We are both completely opposite with our views and our interests, but we believe that our opposites keep our relationship balanced. Because I was never in a situation like this, I don't know if my thoughts are normal this stage or not. My mom and dad were in the exact same situation that I am in now when they were my age. My dad never went to college and right away started working, just like the guy I am with now, and my mom was starting her freshman year of college just like me. They broke up for two years and ended up getting back together later on and getting married. I am so unsure wether it is the right thing for me to do or not and if I trust the fact that if things are meant to be they will be. 9/21/2017 1 Comment Life Choice: To Tell the Truth?Introduction: In this blog post I listened to the Podcast What you Don't Know by Lulu Wang. This podcast was about Lulu and the time her and her family found out her grandmother had stage 4 cancer and did not have long to live. Lulu’s family made a decision not to tell her grandmother about her own death. Throughout the podcast Lulu is indecisive on to keep to her culture or her grandmother’s. In this blog, I will discuss the reasons I agree with the family’s decision and a time when I had to tell a difficult truth.
Although I grew up in a different culture and country as Lulu’s family, I agree with the their decision to keep their knowledge of their grandmother’s dying from her. As I grew up, I realized that in this country it is normal for a family to be aware of a death or an upcoming death, however; in China, where the grandmother grew up, it is normal for death to be somewhat hidden. The grandmother had kept the same secret from her own husband about his own death so it would be unlikely that she would be upset that they did not tell her. Also, in China they believe that happiness is the best cure for illness so why would they tell her something completely depressing. If the grandmother found out she was dying she most likely would have started to mourn her own death. Instead, what the family actually did was put on a happy event for her so she would be happy. Even if the family did tell her and tried to keep her happy, the thought of her death would be lurking in her mind. This past weekend I had a difficult truth. My parents went away this past weekend and I was left in charge of my little sister. Part of my responsibility was to make sure she was home by her curfew, which was 10:30 PM. I let her go out to her school football game and expected her to text me if she needed any ride and to let me know where she was going. As the time past 10:30 I started to worry because she was not answering any of my calls and seemed as if she was nowhere to be found. I had to decided wether to call my parents who were 400 miles away and inform them about the situation, or keep my sisters trust and to continue looking for her. At around 11:30 I decided I should call them even though I knew my sister would be in a lot of trouble and possibly loosing her trust along with it. It impacted both of us in the long run because she got in tremendous amount of trouble and it also impacted me because she lost her trust in me as sister. 9/14/2017 4 Comments Life Choice: The Powers That Be? • Print out, read, and annotate My Name is Margaret (Maya Angelou).
• Write a 50-word introduction that provides the focus of the blog post (two-sentence summary of the story and transition to questions) and a link to the reading. • Write a 200-word argument that responds to this question: Did you agree with Margaret's choice to break the casserole dish and two green glass cups? • Write a 200-word narrative that illustrates a response to this question: When have you made an important choice to either resist or not resist oppression, challenge the status quo, or refuse to obey an authority figure? In this weeks blog, I read the short story My Name is Margaret by Maya Angelou. The story is about a young slave named Margaret and the events that led to Mrs. Cullinan, her slave keeper, shortening her name to Mary. Margaret saw this as disrespectful and chose to break the china valued by Mrs. Cullinan in revenge. Also, I provided a time when I chose to resist or not resist oppression and if I agree with Margaret’s choice to break the dish and glass cups. I agree with Margaret’s choice to break the casserole dish and two cups because her breaking the valued china was a metaphorical way of saying that she valued her name and her life and Mrs. Cullinan broke what Margaret valued. Margaret was a slave and she barley had any say in how things in her life happened, her name was probably one of the only thing of hers that she could call her own and Mrs. Cullinan and her friend disrespected that by changing it to Mary. Margaret breaking Mrs. Cullinan’s casserole dish and glass cups was a mild way of putting her in Margaret’s shoes. The fact that Margaret knew that breaking the casserole dish and glass cups could come with severe consequences, she still decided it was necessary. By going through this act it shows how much Margaret was really offended. When I think back to high school, going against the status quo was a unusual and difficult thing to do. There were many things that were considered “status quo” — especially drinking and drug use. For example, my two closest friends and I would always meet up before the Friday night football games. Ever since we started high school they started the routine of drinking or getting high before the games. I would get asked to join in but I could never get fully comfortable with the risk of running into a family member or a friends parent while I was drunk or high at the games. They would sometimes get mad at me for denying their offer as a way of judging them and their choices but drinking and smoking was not something I wanted to do. As high school went on, I watched many of my closest friends give in to the status quo. I challenged the status quo by doing my own thing and staying away from the situations that involved drugs and alcohol. Going along with the crowd seemed like the easy way to handle many situations, but I chose not to, even when it meant being judged and sometimes ridiculed by my friends. This also meant losing some of my closest friends because they did not understand and support my decisions. Hopefully, these decisions will have a positive effect on my life, just as Margaret hoped her action would have a positive effect on her life. |
Kacie Montanothis blog will be used to talk about the course and my views. Archives
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