In Class Assignment, Revision

When I write a paper, I revise it over and over again. I usually write a first draft and then I revise it multiplet times. I always struggle with my first draft because I never know how to begin writing a paper. My first draftis always a jumble of random ideas and sentences. When I revise, I usually expand on the ideas I wrote in my first draft. I also add a lot more detail. Sometimes when I revise I delete entire parts from my first draft. I also usually restructure my entire draft and move paragraphs around until I think my paper makes sense. To me, revision is the long process of editing and fixing my paper as much as it needs.

Out of Class, Authors Note to Rough Draft, Unit 3

This is my first rough draft to my Unit 3 paper. I am writing my paper on the definition of "bro". My paper needs a lot of improvement. I had no idea where I wanted to go with this paper so I don’t think it flows well. I am also unsure about the last paragraph about the different categories of bros. I don’t know if it fits with the rest of my paper so I am thinking about taking it completely out or just using parts of it throughout the paper. I also need to work on my intro paragraph and thesis statement and I need to add a conclusion.

Out of Class, How to Tame a Wild Tongue

In the article “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, Anzaldua disputes many definitions that all have to do with the Spanish language. She defines the term “tongue” as a language. She describes many different types of tongues or languages throughout the article. Anzaldua introduces the definition of “wild tongue”, which is speaking English with an accent. Her mother and her teachers wanted to get rid of her “wild tongue”, or her Spanish accent. Anzaldua also lists and describes the eight different languages that Chicanos speak in America. Some of the languages are new terms I have never heard of. She says that some of them are her “home” tongue. She defines a “home” tongue as the language she speaks with her brothers and sisters. She also introduces a definition called “pochismos” or anglicisms. These are Spanish words that are distorted by English. Some Spanish speaking people reconstruct their language with a strong English influence. This argument of the “pochismos” resonated with me because I personally speak pochismos at home. My mom is also a Chicano just like Anzaldua. She uses many words that are part Spanish but influenced by the English language. I also grew up with a nanny who does not speak English at all so we have our own language full of pochismos that are a combination of Spanish and English. I could never use the Chicano Spanish language I learned at home in Spanish speaking countries because it is not Standard Spanish. Anzaldua also defines the language called “Pachuco”. She defines the language as a rebellion language that is against both Standard English and Standard Spanish. She says it is a secret language because not everyone can understand it. Her argument about language terrorism also resonated with me. I think it is sad when people do not accept the melting pot of America. Everyone American came from a different country so it is impossible for the entire American population to speak “American”.

Out of Class, Pearls Before Breakfast

There are many definitions provided in Gene Weingarten’s “Pearls before Breakfast”. One definition that Weingarten refers to many times throughout the article is the definition of “beauty”. Towards the beginning of his article, Weingarten asks the reader if we have time for beauty. But his definition of beauty can be completely different than the reader’s definition of beauty. To Weingarten, he defines beauty as the classical music that Joshua Bell plays. Although it is great to have a talent like Bell, I do not define beauty with music. Later in the article, Weingarten goes back to the idea of beauty. He asks, “What is beauty?” He says some people define it as a measurable fact, or some define it as merely an opinion. Weingarten defines beauty as a little bit of both fact and opinion, colored by the immediate state of mind of the observer. Beauty is a very complex definition and Weingarten finds the middle road between two differing ideas of beauty.

Weingarten provides many other definitions in his article that are not as prevalent as the definition of “beauty”. One definition Weingarten provides is “violin”. He defines the violin as “an instrument that is said to be much like the human voice”. Yes the violin is an instrument, but I do not agree that it is much like the human voice. Weingarten also describes Bell as a “heartthrob”. He goes on to describe Bell’s heartthrob features. Not everyone has the same definition of a heartthrob. Another definition that Gene Weingarten writes about is “genius”. They want to test ordinary people to see if they recognize genius, referring to Bell’s musical talent. Bell says that “genius” is an overused word that can be applied to some composers whose work he plays, but not him. I agree that many composers are geniuses.

In Class Assignment, Today's Class Discussion

After today's class discussion, I have a much better sense of what the assignment is. The two example papers really helped me to understand how I am supposed to write this paper. Before, I was very confused about how to write the paper. I also had no idea what kind of word or definition was acceptable to write about for the paper. That was really confusing my idea of how to write the paper but now that I know the types of words we can use, I will be able to start my paper. I now have a better understanding of the types of words we can use for our paper after we brainstormed together and listed lots of ideas of words and definitions on the board. Picking a word will be much easier for me now. I am still not sure if I am going to use the Toulmin model for my paper. Maybe after I work the model myself I will understand it better and apply it to the argument of my paper.

Out of Class, Toulmin Model Reading

Toulmin’s model provides a working logic for a rhetorical argument. The basic model has three elements: a claim, data, and a warrant. The claim is the conclusion of the argument. The data is evidence for the claim. The warrant links the data and claim. For a more complex argument, Toulmin created a more detailed model which adds three more elements: qualifier, reservation, and backing. The qualifier shows that probabilistic nature of the claim. The reservation shows conditions in which the warrant does not apply. The backing supports the warrant. Toulmin’s model helps support the argument. Although this reading clearly states each element of the model, it seems like it can be difficult to decide which part of your argument fits with each element of the model. I am unsure whether to write the argument first and then fit it with the model, or write my model to fit the model.

In Class Assignment, Prewriting for Paper, Unit 3

I still do not know exactly what definition I am going to write about in my paper for Unit 3. I do know that I want to use a word or phrase that many people interpret differently. I want to find a word or phrase that can possibly be controversial. I also want to use a word that I can find plenty of information on. In my previous blog, I mentioned the definition of "marriage". The idea of marriage is a very debatable topic right now. It is debated both politically and religiously. And there are so many sources where I can research the definition. I want to use a word like "marriage" but I am still brainstorming words and phrases to see if I can find something else. When I research the definition for my paper, I am going to utilize many sources. I am going to use the English dictionary and also Urban Dictionary to find various definitions. I am also going to search in articles and other works of writing to gather more information about the definition. I want to use scholarly articles or speeches that show how multiple people interpret the word or phrase differently. I am also going to ask my friends and family about their thoughts on the definition. I will find many ideas from them. It will be interesting to see how everyone interprets things differently.

Out of Class, Definitions, Unit 3

Although there are many definitions of words that are currently being debated, it is difficult to brainstorm and come up with these words. We all use debatable language everyday but when you have to think of a specific definition being debated, it can be tough. One definition I thought of was the definition of marriage. I thought about this when my friends were arguing about what marriage means. One friend said a marriage is just a union between two people. My other friend debated her and said a marriage is more specific than a union; it is between man and woman. This is a perfect example of a definition that is debatable. Everyone seems to have a different idea of what marriage is. Another word that has multiple meanings is the word “love”.  There are all types of love. There is the love between husband and wife. Or the love I have for my dog. Or the love I have for food. There are all different meanings of love depending on the context. There are also a lot of words that some people use as slang but it has a completely different meaning in its proper term. One I can think of is the definition of “awesome”. To my dad, he calls something awesome when it is truly awe inspiring. To me, I say something is awesome when I just think it is cool. “Cool” is actually another slang word with many definitions. It can be used as the slang term, or it can be defined as a temperature that is not very cold.

In Class Assignment, Descriptive Writing

The forest is dark and woody. There are lots of trees and bushes. There are trees of all shapes and sizes. There are some really short and fat trees. There are also little skinny trees. But most of the trees are really big and tall, dozens of feet tall. When you look straight up, you can not see much of the sky because the tree branches are hovering up above. But you can see a little bit of sign light beaming through the tree branches and leaves. The ground is grassy but lots of dead leaves covor the green grass. When you walk on the dead leaves on the ground it makes a crunching sound. The main color scheme of the forest is various shades of greens and browns.
There is a narrow path that makes it easy to navigate through the forest. The path is naturally made by generations of people walking along the same route throughout the forest. Because so many people have walked alongt this same path, the grass is gone and it has turned into narrow dirt/mud path. The path goes through the widest gaps between treest. There are also creeks along the path.
I am walking along the path and I find a huge key just laying on the ground where I am about to step. It looks like one of those old skinny anciet keys. It is definitely not a key from modern day. It looks like it has been lost in this forest for a very long time. The key is a bronze or coppery color. It is rustic looking but I can tell it used to be shiny before it was covered in dirt from the forest.
Later on along the path I find a cup. It is submerged half way out of a pile of muddy leaves a couple feet away from the path. It is a plastic cup. It is very dirty but it does not seem like the cup is very old. I think maybe someone was having a picnic in the forest recently and forgot to throw the cup away.
I come across an obstacle along my path. The obstacle is a ginormous tree trunk. One of the tall trees recently fell and it happened to cut across the pathway. I look around to see if I can get around it some how. I walk around but I do not see any way to get around it. So I decide I must climb over it. The tree trunk is very large with lots bugs and dirt on it but I manage to climb up on to it and jump off onto the other side of the trunk.
After a long day of walking, I come across a long cabin. It is very quaint and small. It looks inviting so I go up to the cabin and see if anyone is there. As I approach the cabin, I see little elderly couple sitting on the porch. They invite me to come inside. I hang out there and eat with them and visit with them.
As I am walking along the path I find a fence. It is a little wooden fence. It is not tall at all, it reaches upto my hips. It does not seem like the fence was built to keep people out. It looks like the founce borders someones property. The fence is really old and is rotting.
On the other side of the fence is a huge pasture. The pasture seems to go on forever past the horizon. The grass is dewey. I see an endless number of cows and horses scattered around the pasture. I hop over the fence to the other side. I walk around and look at all the horses. The pastuer does not smell good because of all the animals.

In Class Assignment, What worked and wha didn't

This paper about a movie was easier to write than the first paper. I learned a lot from the first paper and I learned where I needed to improve. I hope I did a good job of not making the same mistakes of the first paper. The workshops always help me with my papers too because I like to hear other people's thoughts on my rough drafts. I always get new ideas from other people's comments on my rough drafts. The prewriting prompt questions were really helpful too. I watched the trailer of Mean Girls and it helped me with writing my brief summary of the movie. I also used my prewriting notes on the movie poster as a part of my paper. I used the movie poster as one of my outside references and I was able to find a lot of details in the poster that helped me with the argument of my paper. The film technique chart was interesting to fill out when watching the movie because I looked closely at the little details of the movie, but I did not really use many of the notes from the chart in my paper.

Out of Class, Authors Note to Final Draft, Unit 2

This is my final draft to my paper on Mean Girls. I made many revisions to my second rough draft. My rough draft for workshop 2 was incomplete so added a lot more since to this final paper from the last draft. I added more about the script of the movie and I added a conclusion paragraph. I rearranged my paragraphs so the paper would flow better. I also ended up reworking my thesis statement so it fit better with my paper. I created a different introduction paragraph because originally my introduction paragraph was a summary of the film. This new introduction paragraph relates more to the relevant pop culture of the movie. I also added my quotes from the outside references. I chose the movie poster and two movie reviews as my outside references. I am still unsure if I correctly incorporated quotes from the two movie reviews. On my last paper, my thesis statement and argument were not strong. I hope I have improved since my last paper and I hope my thesis statement and argument is much clearer on this paper. I enjoyed writing this paper much more than writing the Unit 1 paper on analyzing a space. Analyzing a movie was much more entertaining, especially since I wrote about one of my favorite movies. It was a lot easier to come up with ideas about the film to write about and analyze.