Final Reflection

In the end, I really liked this class. I think it's the class that I learned the most about writing, types of writing, and using blogs and multimedia. I also really enjoyed making my final portfolio. I have never made a portfolio of all my papers or major projects instead of taking a final exam. I thought it was an interesting and an easier way to end an a semester. I also really liked Dr. Wielgos as a teacher and as a person. He's a good teacher and explains assignments very well. I will recommend this class to anybody who needs to take College Writing II.

Essay Reflections

Photo Essay
I thought the photo essay was a fairly easy and fun assignment. I never wrote a photo essay before and I liked being introduced to a new form of writing, or in other words, a different form of  communication. When I first started working on the photo essay, I found it kind of hard to find a topic that fit the assignment’s requirements. After a couple hours of brainstorming, I came up with the Field Museum idea. I like going to the Field Museum and I also felt that I should try to promote the museum to people who normally won’t go to the museum. In regards to the purpose statement and design plan, I had to make changes throughout the composition of the essay ranging from the format of the slides, how I was going to write my narrative, and what exhibits I actually was going to show in my photo essay. I also liked how Dr. Wielgos made rough drafts and different parts of the essay due at different dates leading up the due date of the entire assignment. I feel like that helped me truly develop my paper and keep me on task. In the end though, I achieved what I wanted to do I think I did well on my photo essay project. 

Rhetorical Analysis Essay
I felt like that this essay was a new way of looking at things. I have never written a paper before that also incorporated images that you had to analyze for it's deeper meaning. In regards to following my design plan, I felt like I did everything I set out to do. I believe I followed all the criteria for the assignment and remained within the rules and MLA format. I feel like this assignment could have been a little easier if everything wasn’t so focused on the terms ethos, logos, and pathos. But, I realize those terms are the core of the College Writing curriculum and need to be addressed within the assignments and essays. Other then that, I enjoyed the assignment for the most part.

Argument Synthesis
I felt like this project was kind of hard to write this paper. I thought the topic was really sophisticated was the sources were hard to comprehend at times. I know this an important issue that will eventually affect everyone in the world, but I felt like that topic is a little excessive for College Writing II. In regards to writing the paper itself, I thought it was a good way using sources to clarify or to back up an argument. I liked the use of quotes and direct statements from sources to support a paper's thesis. When comes to accomplishing my goal for this paper, I felt like I followed all the MLA protocol and supported my main ideas well. 

Researched Argument Synthesis
I felt that this project was a great way to defend an argument using data and research. I really liked being able to pick a topic of my choice. I really did not not like anything. I thought it was great assignment to end the semester.

Researched Argument Synthesis

Argument Synthesis Paper

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Class Work

Class Work

First Blog Post
Blogs are an easy way to access information or stories. Most blog postings are short and to the point, which is good for people who want info or stories now. In today's society, where most people have very busy lives and are always on the go, blogs can a good source of information. I think blogs can be useful if they are used correctly. Meaning, the information the blogs uses is valid, grammatically correct, and have good sentence and writing structure. Like all writers, bloggers can develop a personality. They achieve this by the way they write and the tone they use. You can figure out what the bloggers interests or expertise are. I believe most bloggers are people who like to write and and are good with computers and also social media. The only way to get your blog known is by getting peoples' attention through social media or big time websites that also have the same interests as themselves.

Coherence Between Writing and Designing
Coherence between writing and designing can make the your communication very easy to understand. When you are trying a stress a point of view or defend any argument of some sort, using pictures or a unique design can make that point of view or idea easier to understand. In today's society where almost every thing is going towards multimedia, having pictures or a distinct design and image will catch readers' attention.

Harry Potter Poster Analysis
I think the Harry Potter poster sends a clear and concise message. It’s describing a one last battle better Harry Potter and Voldemort. Also, the statement at the bottom “It All Ends”, gives the impression that one of them is going to die or be banished or whatever happens in the Harry Potter movies and the series will finally end. The setting of the poster gives the impression that the last duel between these two is going to be very intense. Both of the characters look very dirty and it takes place during a dark gloomy night. The fire at the bottom of the poster adds to the suspense of this battle. I believe that the wand in the middle of the post symbolizes that both of the characters are using magic to try to defeat one another.

Difference Between Work, Career, and Vocation
Work is defined as the job that helps you pay your bills and your daily living expenses. In other words, it is what you do for living. Like how I used to work at a breakfast place.

Career is a defined as a lifelong span of jobs that all fit within a certain type of profession. That would be like an accomplished and well-respected college professor. He has a established a career as a teacher.

Vocation is a calling or what you truly should be doing. It's like a banker who gets paid a lot of money but hates it. He likes being a grade school teacher, but doesn't like the pay teachers get. He is not following his vocation, or something he really enjoys.

Purpose Statements and Design Plans

Photo Essay Purpose Statement

Purpose:

The purpose of my photo essay is to give my audience a tour of the main attractions of the “Field Museum.” I personally like going to the “Field Museum” and I want to my audience, which is my scholarly peers, to gain some respect and awe for the “Field Museum” and maybe even see it for themselves one day. Worst case scenario, I want my audience to at least know what is at the “Field Museum.” In the end, my goal is to use the idea of the photo essay to promote the “Field Museum.” Since the project is based on pictures, it will be easier to describe the items at the museum using pictures then writing a paper about all the main attractions.

Audience:

My audience will consist of people of a scholarly background. For example, that would include my fellow classmates, other college students, historical tourists, and simply people who like history or historical items. I feel that the people I mentioned will be interested in my photo essay, because the one characteristic they all have in common is that they are people who are currently in or like an educational environment.

Context:

The reason why I am writing this photo essay, is simply because it is a school project. I will give a run down of my photo essay during class and will it be graded as well. Obviously, my class will be comfortable with this way of communicating, because it is a class assignment and everyone has to write a photo essay. 

Purpose Statement:

The purpose of my photo essay is to give my audience a tour of the main attractions of the “Field Museum.” I personally like going to the “Field Museum” and I want to my audience to gain some respect and awe for the “Field Museum” and maybe even see it for themselves one day. Worst case scenario, I want my audience to at least know what is at the “Field Museum.” In the end, my goal is to use the idea of the photo essay to promote the “Field Museum.” Since the project is based on pictures, it will be easier to describe the items at the museum using pictures then writing a paper about all the main attractions. The photo essay is a good writing technique for my particular story or in other words, promoting the main attractions of the “Field Museum.”

My audience will consist of people of a scholarly background. For example, that would include my fellow classmates, other college students, historical tourists, and simply people who like history or historical items. I feel that the people I mentioned will be interested in my photo essay, because the one characteristic they all have in common is that they are people who are currently in or like an educational environment. Personally, I think at least most of my audience will enjoy my photo essay.

The context of my photo essay is not very complicating. The reason why I am writing this photo essay, is simply because it is a school project. I will give a run down of my photo essay during class and will it be graded as well. Obviously, my class will be comfortable with this way of communicating, because it is a class assignment and everyone has to write a photo essay. The context part of my photo essay is very simply and to the point.

Photo Essay Design Plan

Purpose:

I would like my classmates and peers to at least think about going to the "Field Museum" at some point during their life. I want them to see all the history and treasures that are housed there. The Field Museum is a very special place and should be one of the great tourist and educational attractions of the world.

Medium:

  I will be using photographs. I want my photographs to show my audience the elegance of the all historical and present day artifacts that are on display at the Field Museum. I plan on going to the Field Museum on a Sunday afternoon and simply just taking pictures of the main attractions of the museum. I will be using my iPhone and then emailing them to myself so I can then copy and paste them from my email account to my Keynote presentation. In regards to my keynote presentation, I will use Avenir font with the font size ranging from 10 - 30 pt, based on the amount shape I have to write captions. My keynotes will also be all black with the pictures and captions towards the middle of the slides. Just to clarify, Keynotes can be converted to Microsoft Powerpoint so there should be no compatibility issues.

Strategies:

Ethos: To build good credibility, I will put serious effort into taking good pictures and doing research on many of the artifacts I choose to show within my photo essay. I want my pictures to be clear and concise. They will be big enough so they are easy to analyze. I also want to know the basic history and information about each artifact. I will achieve this by asking questions at the museum about the displays I don’t completely understand. 

Pathos: I want my keynote presentation to make people feel that the Field Museum is not just a boring school building. I will achieve this by explaining why some of the artifacts are significant to life on Earth and the history behind them. I also want my presentation to be easy to understand and not like feel a college level science or social studies class.

Logos: My photo essay is based on basic research and pictures I have taken at the Field Museum. I want to be able to give and explain the main facts of each artifact and be able to describe the pictures I took as well. I will achieve this by taking good pictures and knowing the basic information about the artifacts I am presenting. I want my audience to be able to recognize and/or know something about the main attractions of the Field Museum after watching and reading through my photo essay.

Arrangement: 

I will arrange my photo essay in a coherent and simplistic way. I will open up with a title slide and follow that with one or two slides that summarize each of main attractions at the museum. I will make sure I have between eight and ten slides of information. My first slide after the title will contain my narrative. In regards to the pictures, I want the pictures to be set up in a way that is easiest for my audience to understand. I will make sure the pictures are not bunched up and towards the middle of the slides, which means they may be manipulated in some way so they fit the slide. I will also put some sort of caption under each picture. The captions will be directly next to each picture. Their length will range from a simply phase to small paragraph, based what the picture is.

Testing:

I will test my photo essay and everything about it during the peer review process. I want someone else other than me to read my photo essay and see if it makes sense.

Rhetorical Analysis Purpose Statement and Design Plan

Purpose:

The purpose of my rhetorical analysis essay is to point out the strategies that particular written and visual arguments can employ. My topic is four Pro-America World War II propaganda posters made by the United States government. The ideas of the posters surround the ideas of not wasting gas, particularly in cars, young college age kids going off the war, women working back at home, the government and the work force working together, and the making of war weapons and materials. One of the reasons analyzing posters can be useful is that it requires you to understand not just what writers are saying, but also the purposes and motivations behind their ideas/arguments. In other words, you can find deeper meanings behind the idea of the poster. 

Audience:

My audience will consist of my scholarly peers. I want to go broaden their concept of World War II United States propaganda, and the idea of how to interpret other war propaganda posters. 

Context:

The reason why I am writing this rhetorical analysis essay, is simply because it is a school project. Obviously, my class will be comfortable with this way of communicating, because it is a class assignment and everyone has to write a rhetorical analysis essay. Most of the text will consist mainly of my analysis of the three rhetorical appeals of ethos which deals primarily with credibility, logos which is the logic of the writer’s argument, and pathos which deals with emotion. All that will be written within a 3-4 page paper between 1200-1500 words. In regards to testing my subject matter, I will read my essay to my family and see how they feel about it.

Purpose Statement:

The purpose of my rhetorical analysis essay is to point out the strategies that particular written and visual arguments can employ. My topic is five Pro-America World War II propaganda posters made by the United States government. The ideas of the posters surround the ideas of not wasting gas, particularly in cars, young college age kids going off the war, women working back at home, the government and the work force working together, and the making of war weapons and materials. One of the reasons analyzing posters can be useful is that it requires you to understand not just what writers are saying, but also the purposes and motivations behind their ideas/arguments. In other words, you can find deeper meanings behind the idea of the poster. This can be a very powerful tool for writers who are trying to make a real difference in the world.

My audience will consist of my scholarly peers. I want to go broaden their concept of World War II United States propaganda, and the idea of how to interpret other war propaganda posters. I feel that most young people in the world know none to little information about world conflicts such as war.

The reason why I am writing this rhetorical analysis essay, is simply because it is a school project. Obviously, my class will be comfortable with this way of communicating, because it is a class assignment and everyone has to write a rhetorical analysis essay. Most of the text will consist mainly of my analysis of the three rhetorical appeals of ethos which deals primarily with credibility, logos which is the logic of the writer’s argument, and pathos which deals with emotion. All that will be written within a 3-4 page paper between 1200-1500 words. In regards to testing my subject matter, I will read my essay to my family and see how they feel about it. Using with the three ethical appeals correctly can make a paper or poster more believable and more interesting to the reader.

Researched Argument Synthesis Purpose Statement/Design Plan

Purpose:

The purpose of my Researched Argument Synthesis Paper is prove why Division I college athletes should get paid or at least receive some monetary compensation for the amount money, popularity, and notoriety they bring in for the college or university. I believe Division I college athletes are a huge part of a college or university’s ability to pay for what they are do on a day to day basis and they are a good recruiting tool for not only athletes, but the everyday college kid who wants to have a great and memorable college experience. Most high school kids associate the colleges they are deciding between based on which schools they see on T.V. and in the newspapers headlines the most. I feel that Division I college athletes should get paid based on play on in addition to their scholarships. Scholarships should be treat the same way contracts. They decide what your pay rate would be and an other incentives players and schools may want to include in the scholarship. 

Audience:

My audience will consist of my scholarly peers, highly regarded high school athletes, Division I level coaches and school administrators. 

Context:

The reason why I am writing this rhetorical analysis essay, is simply because it is a school project. Obviously, my class will be comfortable with this way of communicating, because it is a class assignment and everyone has to the same the of essay. I will be using 6 scholarly sources from Lewis University’s library database. The paper itself will be in MLA format and and be 6-8 pages long and between 2000-2500 words. In addition to writing my research, I will also use forms of synthesis to validate my argument and data I provide throughout the paper. 

Purpose Statement:

The purpose of my Researched Argument Synthesis Paper is prove why Division I college athletes should get paid or at least receive some monetary compensation for the amount money, popularity, and notoriety they bring in for the college or university. I believe Division I college athletes are a huge part of a college or university’s ability to pay for what they are do on a day to day basis and they are a good recruiting tool for not only athletes, but the everyday college kid who wants to have a great and memorable college experience. Most high school kids associate the colleges they are deciding between based on which schools they see on T.V. and in the newspapers headlines the most. I feel that Division I college athletes should get paid based on play on in addition to their scholarships. Scholarships should be treat the same way contracts. They decide what your pay rate would be and an other incentives players and schools may want to include in the scholarship. I feel this a topic that gets overlooked a lot and should be put in the spotlight. 

My audience will be a wide range of people. It will consist of my fellow scholarly peers, or college and high school aged kids, highly regarded high school athletes, Division I level coaches and school administrators. All the people involved in my audience all have an say when comes to this topic.

The reason why I am writing this rhetorical analysis essay, is simply because it is a school project. Obviously, my class will be comfortable with this way of communicating, because it is a class assignment and everyone has to the same the of essay. I will be using 6 scholarly sources from Lewis University’s library database. The paper itself will be in MLA format and and be 6-8 pages long and between 2000-2500 words. In addition to writing my research, I will also use forms of synthesis to validate my argument and data I provide throughout the paper. This assignment is a good way to support an argue about an important and controversial topic.