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[clbunce6]

Final Journal

This is so true! This semester I definitely learned the importance of revising an essay. I have learned that every rough draft is a very rough draft and could always use the revision process!

[taliannabell7]

“How can I translate my writing process to other work outside of this classroom?”

I can translate my writing process to other work outside of this classroom in a wide amount of different ways. First being in a professional standpoint. In my job in the future I know there will be circumstances that I will need to professionally write certain things or send important emails. Another instance I can translate the writing process can be in a more personal and pleasurable way. I enjoy keeping a journal when I travel and have done so ever since I was little. Now that I am able to be more organized with writing maybe I can use that knowledge to create a more qualified and put-together journal.

[clbunce6]

I love the idea of our new writing skills being used for journaling! I also feel like my organization skills have improved and this will be useful for all writing in the future. Having a stronger writing process is beneficial in almost all aspects of life.

[clbunce6]

Tumblr Journal 13

I can translate my writing process to other work outside the classroom by thinking intentionally and critically. This semester, more than ever, I have improved on the way I view material. This can include anything from considering the rhetorical devices used by an article or thinking about the “they say” of an article and questioning why they decided to write the piece. 

This class has improved the way I perceive the world and it has allowed me to be less gullible when reading something. I now consider the credibility of what I am reading and look further into the actual reliability. This will allow me to consider the credibility in the real world such as how reliable a certain website is for job opportunities or if I am being persuaded by rhetoric. 

[nickgonzo119]

Journal 12

This semester, the most difficult assignment for me was the infographic. I am not very tech savvy and I lack creativity when it comes to things like that. The amount of frustration from that project was real; from things not resizing the way I wanted to things not turning the right color. The infographic was easily the most difficult project for me out of all my classes this semester.

I think i grew as a writer and gained some confidence in my writing ability. I still need to work on punctuation, but I think I have improved. I am excited to continue learning and growing as writer next semester in english 201, which I already secured a spot in Ms. Swinson’s class.

[taylorhendrixxx]

I didn’t even think about how annoying the infographic was to do, but yes I agree with you, while I am a very creative person and love art, computers are hard for me as well so I completely understand where you are coming from.

[clbunce6]

I agree with how frustrating the infographic was! I think the hardest part was just starting and trying to figure out what kind of layout would be best. But I was your peer review and your hard work definitely paid off!

[clbunce6]

Tumblr Journal 12

The most challenging assignment for me was definitely the rhetorical analysis. I think this was the most difficult for me because it was the least personal and creative project we have done. It was a much more structured essay and I often struggle on writing that is more research based. My writing has improved by the way I am thinking about the rhetorical situation of articles and considering the “they say” aspect of writing. Before this class I took articles at face value and did question any outstanding bias. Now I analyze and critically think about why the author has written this and what factors may have encouraged the author. I hope to improve more as this class goes on and grow better at more structured essays.

[griffinbolt]

Tumblr Journal 11

In his article “How tech created a global village — and put us at each other’s throats”, Nicholas Carr argues that technology is an effective communication tool that can either be used for good or bad. Technology can be used to help bring people together, but human nature can also cause technology to be used for social division.

-  The amount of time spent using technology among young adults has steadily increased from 2015 to now.

-  People who use social media for longer are more likely to develop symptoms of depression.

In my counterargument I include the logical appeal (logos) by providing facts and statistics on the use of social media. This infographic is not inteded for a specific audience, but is mainly catered to anyone interested in social media statistics/uses of social media. 

[thexaviertorres]

I do not really see your counter argument. What exactly are you countering? It seems more like you are support the technology argument rather than refuting it.   

[clbunce6]

I see where you are going with your counterargument but maybe focus on why technology can be harmful rather than including that the amount of time spent on technology is going up. That information can be very useful for your overall argument, but to prove your counter argument it might be better to stick with the negative parts of technology.

[clbunce6]

Tumblr Journal 11

My counterargument is that in order for Helen Lewis to make an adequate argument she must take into account the intersectionality of all women. This claim states that women are not a uniform demographic and without considering other influences such as race and class this argument is not accurate.

-Domestic tasks have been feminized making it likely that these chores fall back on all women in households.

-The wage gap takes into account all intersections of identities and finds the median value between women and mens annual income.

This article is a direct rebuttal to Helen Lewis’s argument. She specifically states how she disagrees with Lewis’s whole article and then goes onto explain why it is an inadequate argument. She uses a lot of ethos by referencing credible sources that align with her claims. She also incorporates pathos by describing the racial struggle and how painful this can be. This article targets anyone who has read Lewis’s article and to educate them on how it is not a truthful claim.

[vlg-at-uncw]

Journal 10

Evaluating sources is key because it helps determine credibility by trying to find sources of information’s potential biases and limitations. In HTWA’s chapter, “Evaluating Sources”, I was reminded of how to preview source materials for their key features and strategies. 

This knowledge helps me quickly and efficiently scan articles for any red flags that might indicate the source isn’t credible. In the long run, it saves me a great deal of time by saving me the trouble of reading the whole article and only realizing its weaknesses at the end. 

It’s shown me that any and every article needs to be evaluated as it’s always possible for a source to have limitations. The web is a melting pot for all kinds of information and it’s important to watch out for news that might be skewed to fit the motivations of sponsors and/or authors. In summary, no matter the source, it’s important to read with caution.

[clbunce6]

I definitely found this knowledge to be very time saving with it allowing us to see the credibility up front. Reading with caution will allow us to be more mindful of our sources therefore making our research stronger.

[clbunce6]

Journal 10

It is important to evaluate a source to determine why they wrote this and how credible their information is. You must evaluate the rhetorical situation to see if this source is reliable or not. The most important thing I was reminded was the evaluation checklist and specifically considering the audience for the source. Considering the intended audience helps with the evaluation of how credible the source is and why they wrote the source to begin with.

This knowledge will change the way I read articles because I now will be examining articles for key features while doing research. There are many factors that go into a credible source and there are also some dead give aways to sources that are scams, such as pop up ads. I don’t think I ever really considered this before so it will definitely make me think harder and be less gullible when it comes to believing information.

This will change the way I look for articles because I will now be paying more attention to the website I am on. I will be more willing to look at universities cites rather than a magazine company. I now know how to decipher which source is coming from a reliable website rather than wasting my time on media pages. 

[vlg-at-uncw]

Journal 9

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/black-progress-how-far-weve-come-and-how-far-we-have-to-go/

Authors: Abigail Thernstrom and Stephan Thernstrom

Audience: Those too quick to dismiss, or have become blind to black progress. Most likely educated Americans as the article is published by a research group. 

Purpose: To shed light on often overlooked black progress.

Setting: 1998, the article was written before the recent rise of social justice movements. 

Format/Medium: Article in the by the American research group Brookings.

[clbunce6]

I really love how you use skin tones as your color scheme. It makes the title cover more natural and helps the reader to have a visual of the argument. I think you could improve this cover by bringing the title down a little. This article does seem like it will be useful for her research. This article is showing black progress through the black lens just as Hughes article does. That lens will back up his argument on how there has been progressive change and how this is much more accurate than comparing numbers to whites. This article does seem very credible, it is written by Brookings Institution. The new article seems to be focused on black progress rather than the issues between certain racial lenses. This will be good to build your argument to have more information to strengthen your argument.

[clbunce6]

Journal 9

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40656-020-00346-7

This article refutes Lewis’s argument and article all together. He does this through the format of an online article. The purpose of this article is to address the idea of intersectionality and to state that gender as a whole is not a uniform demographic. The author, Lisa Richardson, is trying to argue the accuracy of Lewis’s claim and stating that it is inadequate. The audience is everyone who is accepting the argument in Lewis’s article and America as a whole to understand the importance of intersectionality. She claims that we need to focus on the demographics of women rather than addressing this issue as women all together. Without looking at personal characteristics such as race, class, sexuality, you are not taking key information into consideration. 

[vlg-at-uncw]

Journal 8

     The design was made by a team of artists for an Esty shop called SheltrCo, they aim to make social justice and protest items. The design features a quote by Desmond Tutu, a South African cleric best known for his opposition to apartheid and for winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. 

     The intended audience of this logo is people who care about social justice. The image’s purpose is to denounce silence and lack of protest in situations of injustice.By presenting silence as a black and white situation with no room for interpretation, the image uses pathos to force the audience to take a stance.

     The use of the fist, a symbol of rebellion, is meant to push people to speak up on injustices.  The image uses repetition with the blue tones of the fist and the writing, these colors contrast with the otherwise white background. Both text and fist are alined within the blue circle drawn around them, creating a clear and concise design. 

     The image symbolizes the act of speaking up in times of injustice which I believe to be the founding principle of social justice. 

[clbunce6]

I think that this design is so simplistic yet it gets the valuable point across. The overall aesthetic is very satisfying and the fist adds that bit of rebellion to prompt people to take action. Having visuals like this and spreading the word helps so much to make sure that everyone is informed and educated about the issues of social justice. It seems as if pathos is the most used and therefore the most effective rhetorical strategy for social justice. Our subject is such an emotional topic so bringing out emotion from the audience would be the most persuasive.

[clbunce6]

This is the website that I found this graphic on: https://www.dismantlingracism.org/racism-defined.html

I found this graphic by searching on google for graphic representing racism. The audience is all Americans in hopes of bringing awareness to the prevalent systematic racism. The images purpose is to give a visual to the racial bias in the prison system. Through this visual representation, it is hard to ignore the disproportion. This graphic appeals more towards logos and stating undeniable facts. 

In CRAP the contrast is the imbalance between races and this contrast helps further their point. The repetition is stating the number of people in every race and making sure the same idea is being proven throughout all races shown. The alignment is shown by keeping all of the groups of people in the same size box and altering the size of the people to keep the alignment constant. For proximity the groups of different races are close in proximity to show they are all apart of the same group.

This graphic goes along with the first articles we read as a group and this idea of imprisonment reflects the same ideas in that article. We as a country need to be more educated and aware of the effects of systematic racism and we can learn this through visual graphics such as this one.

[kwalsh24]

Journal 7

The tip I chose to write about is “A good lesson for any writer: make each sentence worth reading, and something in it will lead the reader into the next one”. This particular piece of advice stuck out to me because I personally have an issue occasionally adding “fluff” into my writing and I think that utilizing this tip when writing could really work to my advantage. Additionally, it helps me maintain my focus on the topic at hand and not run off on irrelevant subjects. The piece said “If a writer’s sentences have enough life and interest in them – with “every step an arrival”, as Rainer Maria Rilke put it – they will hold the reader and move the writing along.” which proves that you’d need to keep your writer interested in the piece. This was definitely an interesting read 

[ryan-stoney]

I think is very important to make the sentence worth reading. If you make the sentence boring and bland, the reader is gonna lose interest and not want to read your writing anymore. 

[clbunce6]

I agree that sometimes it is so easy so straw away from the main idea and start to add fluff sentences. With this tip from the reading it definitely makes you consider the purpose behind each sentence. Considering the purpose of each sentence will in return keep you on track with your thesis.

[clbunce6]

Journal 7

In the article, “How to write a perfect sentence”, the piece of advice that stuck out most to me was if it is possible to cut out a words always cut it out. He advices to use more simple sentences, “Orwell saw the plain English sentence as the sword of existential truth, a cure-all for the bad faith of modern life”. This stuck out to me because sometimes I think more words can make my point come off more accurately. But in reality more words make the sentence less clear and harder to read. This is gonna make me think of the value of each word in my essays and if it is necessary to have them. I learned to cut down the amount of filler words and if there is no need for them delete them. 

[bgonzalez1521]

Journal #6

In the past, I have always enjoyed peer review and it always had helped me. I tend to go off-topic a lot of times so what’s most helpful for me is just having another person to read my work. Also, what’s helpful is knowing what doesn’t sound right or doesn’t flow. I feel like for me there is no least helpful suggestion because the more suggestions the better. Maybe the little stuff like grammar or misspelled words would be the least helpful because it won’t help my overall essay. What I like about peer review is getting to read other people’s work and get to see their point of view.

[clbunce6]

I totally agree with struggling to stay on topic! I struggle way more with my overall flow rather than the grammatical errors. I love to get a second opinion on how my ideas are being presented and if my essays topic is effective.

[clbunce6]

Tumblr Journal 6

In my previous peer reviews the things that seemed to be the most helpful were the general idea critiques. I tend to have a hard time with sticking to my main topic and wandering off with my ideas. So it was always very useful when people would challenge the purpose for certain sentences and keep my essay very focused. 

There are no things that were ever not useful at all but sometimes just correcting grammar doesn’t help my overall essay. Not to say grammar isn’t important, but I struggle more with overall concepts rather than grammar issues. 

I really like all parts of the peer review process and I find it extremely helpful to get a second opinion on my work. I also find it to make me more confident in my work knowing someone else thinks it’s a good essay.