Explore and analyze, in writing and reading, a variety of genres and rhetorical situations.
For this, I have pictured a subway poster after the mask mandate had been lifted. There is a use of humor appeal with this poster, specifically on the “you do you” image. This image was used in an in class discussion for a free write. We spoke about the rhetorics of the poster and the message it is trying to convey to the audience. Before this the mask mandates were tight and there was even a version of this poster with the masks mandated.
Develop strategies for reading, drafting, collaborating, revising, and editing.
I have displayed my first and last drafts of the This I No Longer Believe essay. I tend to be stubborn with my writing and ignore a big chunk of feedback because I’m not sure how to tweak it the way they mean. Following suggestions that others have to offer can be the difference between a good essay and an excellent essay. This semester I have made it a goal of mine to adhere to feedback that I think is beneficial to my writing overall. This is clearly pictured in these two drafts that have gone through peer review. They are significantly different and have been revised many times.
Recognize and practice key rhetorical terms and strategies when engaged in writing situations.
During the semester we have been engaged in many writing situations to strengthen our understanding of rhetorical devices and how to use them in our writing. I have pictures the romance, gender, and sex appeal rhetorical devices. Textbook exercises have prompted us to take a closer look at rhetorical devices.
Engage in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes.
The use of peer review on blackboard has allowed me to connect with my peers and strengthen my writing process. I am able to know where they stand in writing and where I stand in comparison to them. In addition, I am able to get the help of a fresh set of eyes.
Understand and use print and digital technologies to address a range of audiences.
An example of digital technology we have used all summer is our Commons website. The website allowed for us to connect, post our responses, and facilitate the semester altogether.
Locate research sources (including academic journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles) in the library’s databases or archives and on the Internet and evaluate them for credibility, accuracy, timeliness, and bias.
In order to use the evidence in my research paper, I had to search for credible sites that were relevant to my topic and were accurate in information. My sources cited shows the different sources I have gone through in order to compose my writing piece.
Compose texts that integrate your stance with appropriate sources using strategies such as summary, critical analysis, interpretation, synthesis, and argumentation.
For the Rhetorical Analysis of social movements paper, I was able to create an argument and advocate for BLM while speaking against discrimination of people of color. I was able to summarize the impacts police brutality had on the people and interpret the actions of the police officers.
Practice systematic application of citation conventions.
In my research paper, I have a sources cited page where I show in MLA format where I have retrieved each piece of evidence from.
People Pleaser In the 7th grade, I moved schools. This would have been fine if it were a move from elementary to middle, but this was in the middle of the school years when everyone had already been acquainted with one another. The cliques had already been formed and the friends had already been made. Everyone knows that middle school kids can be brutal, so I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it. And to make matters worse, I was transferring from a private school with kids I’ve known all my life, to a public school with kids who were practically strangers. In other words, I was transferring from comfort and familiarity to change and the unknown. Private to public school was a big jump for me and fear of the unknown made me hesitate. My private school experience was very comfortable, not just physically, but socially. It was a small school, so everyone knew each other, and teachers were friends of parents. I remember at times my teachers would show up at my house as guests. It was more so a community than a systematic school. And to tie it all together, it was a predominantly Turkish Muslim school which I fit right into. Whenever kids from other backgrounds attended the school, I would hear remarks like “I hate this school” or “I miss my old school.” Hearing that always made me wonder: “what’s there not to like at this school?” I had never realized that I naturally fit the standard of my school. However, when I entered public school, I was in a completely different world. There were kids from all kinds of backgrounds, kids who already knew each other from elementary school, and A LOT of profanity. I felt like I was in a jungle every Monday to Friday. During my first weeks at my new school, I had made one or two friends, but I was too shy to speak so I didn’t say much. I was sitting at the lunch table, and a classmate who always had a high ponytail and that classic mean girl look on her face asked if she could speak to me. I knew that couldn’t be good but wondered what she could possibly have to say. She crouched down in front of me, as if I was some child in time out and said “I heard you were talking about me and my friends behind my back”- mind you I barely knew her or her friends, she continued, “I know you came from a private school but that’s not how we do it here”- as if we were in Scared Straight or something. She proceeded to tell me to stop talking about her behind her back. So, I sat the rest of the day thinking: “What was she talking about???” I don’t even know her friends’ names so clearly someone told her false information. As a kid in an unfamiliar setting, it made me panic it a bit. I thought if I just minded my business no one would have anything against me, but I turned out to be wrong. From then on, I made sure to always be aware of how I present myself to others. How did other people perceive me? What kind of person was I to them at first glance? Was I nice? Was I a pushover? Was I likeable? Through middle school I continued to wonder what makes a person likeable. I wanted to know how I could become appealing to others. So, I did what a kid does best. Imitate their surroundings. I paid close attention to those around me. Not only in school, but in life as well. How did people who were well liked act? How did kids who were popular act? What was it about them that people were drawn to. After “careful consideration” I thought if I was overly nice to everyone, even if I didn’t want to be, I would be liked. I found myself always agreeing with others and refraining from forming an opinion of my own out of fear of being judged. If I changed my personality to cater to everyone else’s expectations, I wouldn’t be judged. But that only made people take advantage of my kindness. I would take on most of the work in group projects because I believed it would make my peers like me more. I always brought one or two extra of the snack I would have for lunch that day because other students liked it. I took favors from people who would never do the same for me. I even let others copy off my work. I had made it so easy for others to mold me into whatever they wanted, all in efforts of being accepted. Nevertheless, after a few months, I started feeling a bit more comfortable. I thought I had gotten the hang of things. My environment wasn’t as unfamiliar as when I started off. I laughed louder, I took up a bit more space, and felt bit of relief. Until one day at lunch, one of the girls in my friend group told me that I had changed and that she liked the old me better. At first, I was confused as to what she meant but when I asked all she would say is “you just changed”. I’m glad that even though I was confused at the moment, I let her know that just because she told me she likes the “old me”, doesn’t mean that I’m changing back. I constantly think back to that event, and it is one of the very few things I actually remember from middle school. As I got older, I realized that she meant she liked it better when I was shy. When I was afraid to speak my mind. When I was afraid to say no. I was moldable to her standard and now that I had started forming my own personality, she was unable to get what she wanted from me. After high school, many of us went our separate ways and attended different schools, but now that people were free to say whatever they wanted, many things came to light. My best friend that I still that I still spoke to at the time would report back to me the things said behind my back. I found that despite my efforts to be liked, others still spoke badly about me behind my back. Even those who I thought were my friends spoke about me. It to me came as a shock that even people who I have never spoken to before had something to say about me. However, I had recently gotten back in touch with another friend from middle school. She was one of the few people who didn’t have unexpected or hidden harsh feelings towards me. We were sitting on big marble stairs and catching up while other college students were bustling around us, meeting new people. While so much had changed around me, my friend had remained almost the same as how I remembered her, even after all those years. That was a relief to see after all this drastic change we’ve been thrown in to in college. We caught up and spoke about our current happenings and laughed about our memories of the past. However, what caught me off guard was when the topic of our old classmates came up. She went on to mention how she noticed many of them strived for drama and recalled instances where they weren’t the best example of a good friend. This took me by surprise. I had spent so long thinking about how I felt I had been wronged in my past, but it was only ever an inside thought. Now that I had someone else to validate my feelings on the topic, I couldn’t help but do more thinking. It was only now that I realized my middle school “best friend”, who had reported everything said back to me, never tried to stop all the gossip. Instead, she pretended not to be my friend too. At the time I thought she was helping me be able to hear what people had to say with no restraint. I thought she was helping me see the true colors of those around me. But after another look with a fresh set of eyes, is clear the only reason she did so was to fit in. Having the same opinion as others meant validation but she wanted the validation of others at the cost of our friendship. When my friend and I parted ways, it dawned upon me that it doesn’t matter how you look, think, or act, people will always have something to critique about you. So why not do these things for yourself instead of others. Everyone in my past had different standards of what they considered “likeable” traits and because I wanted to be liked by others I tried to mold myself into these traits. It took me a while to learn from my experiences and finally realize that it is impossible to meet everyone’s standards at once. My standards and morals shouldn’t be molded by others, but instead, myself.
Recognize and practice key rhetorical terms and strategies when engaged in writing situations.
Engage in the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes.
Peer Review:
Understand and use print and digital technologies to address a range of audiences.
Commons:
Locate research sources (including academic journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles) in the library’s databases or archives and on the Internet and evaluate them for credibility, accuracy, timeliness, and bias.
Compose texts that integrate your stance with appropriate sources using strategies such as summary, critical analysis, interpretation, synthesis, and argumentation.
Practice systematic application of citation conventions.
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