Thursday, September 29, 2011

Maura Weir Homework #9

What are the positive effects of legalizing marijuana?

What are the postive /negative sides of "big brother watching"?

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Maura Weir homework #8

     While watching Suheir Hammad i noticed how she used ethos, pathos, and logos. I noticed the use of ethos because she was very passionate about what she was saying. She was very persuasive while reciting her poem especially when she said "We did not vilify white men when they bombed Oklahoma" (Hammad 2:32). Her whole point in her poem is that her and her people are all associated with Osama Bin Laden and the terrorists of 9/11, when they did nothing wrong. She is saying that when white men commit a crime all white people are not associated with them and it is unfair. You can tell by watching this video Suheir Hammad uses pathos, because of the emotion in her voice. When she speaks she speaks with passion. She also uses logos in her poem. She reasons with the people in the audience but  especially when she says " I don't give a f*** about Bin Laden, his vision of the world don't represent me, or those i love" (Hammad 3:29). I think that's when her audience really got involved and really started listening to what she said.
     I find Suheir Hamad very persuasive, because she speaks with emotion, like she actually cares about what she is saying. She shows power when she speaks. I thought the audience found her persuasive too, because they clapped and screamed for her arguments. She reasoned with her audience which made them respond to her more. I think she had a strong argument because a lot of people agree with her.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Maura Weir homework #7

      One of the hot spots i found while reading The Pearson text chapters 3 and 5 was “Keep a problem alive through consideration of multiple solutions or points of view” (Reader 107).  One of the important things while writing an exploratory essay is asking questions instead of writing a thesis. By asking questions you can keep the essay more interesting and intriguing the the reader. The audience can decide how they want to interpret the paper instead of you telling them what is going on in the paper. 
     Another hot spot i found was "The essential move for exploratory thinking and writing is to keep a problem alive through consideration of multiple solutions or points of view"(Ramage, Bean, Johnson 107). I think this is one of the smartest things you can keep in mind while writing an essay. Multiple solutions keeps the audience guessing. If i know the end to something before i read it i don't find the essay interesting and i immediately tune out. When reading an essay i find it more intriguing when there are multiple points of view. I enjoy hearing from different people and points of view  in the essay. 
     The last hot spot i found was  "Instead of doing your research then beginning to write, “Your exploratory essay records the history of your researching and thinking process” (Reader 113). In high school i was taught to do the opposite, that is why this quote stuck out to me. Before i would start a paper i would have to write an outline and bring in the books i found my research in and show them to my teacher. I did not enjoy this because i found it more helpful to do research while writing my paper.
 
      

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Maura Weir homework #6

While reading Bros before Hos by Kimmel i found "The Real Guys Top Ten List" (Kimmel 4) to be really funny. It was funny because i found it so typical for guys. The first one saying "boys dont cry" is so not true. I live with two guys and i have seen both of them cry countless times. The other one saying "size matters" is veyr true for guys. I feel like guys live by this quote. All of my guy friends try to be the "biggest". My brother who is a sophomore in high school is small for his age and he has been taking protein for a couple years now, just so he can get "big". The other rule i thought was funny was "I dont stop to ask for directions". I laughed at this one because whenever me and my family go on road trips my dad refuses to ask anyone for directions even if it means a fight with my mom.
 The next hot spot i found was in the violence and restoration section. "The guy code and the boy code before it, demands a lot, that boys and young men shut down emotionally, that they suppress compassion, and inflate ambition...If  they embrace the code, they will finally be in charge and feel powerful" (Kimmel 55). This section in the reading was hard for me to read because i thought it was very sad. It talked about how violence was the answer. The boys would resort to fighting because of the dissappointment. I have heard so many stories of young boys resorting to violence when tehy thought they didnt fit in and i think it is sad and should stop.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Maura Weir Homework #5

     While watching the video "Doofy Husbands: Target Women" I thought it was very funny but over exaggerated. The part i find the funniest is when she is talking about a guy before he is married. Before the guy is married he will try and impress his girl friend, but as time goes by he is comfortable with her so he doesn't try as hard. But the part i found exaggerated was when she says "we work, we take care of our children, and we do it all without a shread of help from those lumbering man beasts know as husbands." In our day i do believe that men help take care of a family. I don't think men are incapable of taking care of a family.
     While watching Troopes vs. Women i found her to be very sarcastic. I agree with some of her points but others are are like the other video, sarcastic. I like the one quote by her when she says that women have their own brilliant and creative endeavors. I believe that we have our own ideas but her sarcasm makes it seem like we are only her for men. I think she went a little over board when she was talking about Hollywood movies. I have seen movies where the guys help the girls or where the girl is the hero in the movie.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Homework #4 August and Tannen

      In Eugene August's essay, Real Men Don't: Anti-Male Bias in English, i found that his statement, "As our boy grows he faces threats and taunts if he does not take risks or endure pain to prove his manhood"(August 134), to be true. I especially saw this in grade school and high school. In grade school if a guy wouldn't take a dare or refuses to fight someone he is usually considered a "coward" or "scardy cat". The boy would be ostrasized. A quote i dont really believe was ""When a young man marries, he will be required by law and social custom to support his wife and children" (August 136). In this day in age I have seen many women as the bread winners of their families. My mom and dad make an equal amount of money and most of the days my dad cooks the meals and my mom is doing the yard work. Other than my last quote I was convinced by Augusts article because it made me think of the boy as a victim and  English being prejudicial against men.
     I loved reading  Deborah Tannen's essay There is No Unmarked Woman, but this might be because I am a girl. I wan guys to realize what girls have to go through in the morning to get ready for the day. We have to do our hair put on our make up choose an outfit, because if we dont were considered a slob. My high school was an all girls high school and we had to wear uniforms. Although every girl was wearing the same shirt and skirt we each had our own unique style which Tannen agrees with "Instead of concentrating on the discussion I found myself looking at the three other women at the table, thinking how each had a different style and how each style was coherent" (Tannen 140). Each girl at my school wore her hair a different way, some had colorful socks and some had white, some wore make up and others didn't, but however someone looked I would always notice and judge them based on there appearance. Although i mainly agree with this article i don't agree with Tannen when she says "...I felt sad to think that we women didn't have the freedom to be unmarked that the men sitting next to us had" (Tannen 145). I believe that men are marked too, just not as much as women. Some men try to look good and others don't but they are both marked as either put together or sloppy.


Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Maura Weir Homework #3

In reading pages 64-69 in Everything's a Text i found four hot spots. One of the hot spots i found was the quote "They have nonetheless had their own worlds to grow up in and they arrive on our campuses as young adults, with opinions and languages and plans already in their minds" (Melzer, Shaugnessy 65.) This stuck out to me because i just arrived on a campus as a young adult and now i have to learn how to depend on myself and get away from always reaching out to my parents for handouts and always relying on them to fix my problems. Another hot spot o came across was “Writing is a complex, multi-layered process that can include both the personal and the academic.” (Melzer Coxwell-Teague 64). I found this interesting because in high school i always had to write to get a good grade on a paper. I never had time to write something personal for myself. I don't even think i know how to express something for myself. Now that i am in college and have a lot more alone time i think i am going to start writing to express my ideas and whats on my mind. The third hot spot that i  discovered while reading was a question asked in the text. "Who's the storyteller in your family? Relate a story frequently told. How has that person/story influenced you?"(Melzer, Coxwell, Teague 66). When i was reading this i immediately thought about my grandma. She is always telling me stories about how i acted when i was little, how i looked, or even the funny things i would say as a child. The last hot spot i came across was the quote “I would invite you to think about what experiences, both positive and negative, have shaped your understanding or misunderstanding of literacy” (Melzer, Coxwell-Teague 67). This caught my eye because last year i wrote a really bad research paper. As my teacher was grading it he called me up to his desk and told me that it was my worst writing. I was shocked because i thought i did a good job on it. When i reread my paper i realized it was not my best and that i could write better. The next paper i wrote i thought about the comments he made on my last paper and i wrote an A paper!

Maura Weir homework #2

     While reading chapter one in Everythings a Text i found this hot spot, “When you compose in college and beyond, your audience with always influence the way you compose and what you say” (Melzer Coxwell-Teague 13). This stuck out to me because of the class discussion about Malcom X. He made his writings based on his different audiences. It is very important to write for a particular audience. I believe it is very important to know who you are writing to. When you write to a particular audience the audience will find the material much more interesting. They will stay focused on your writing. Your writing will be much more interesting to the audience if it is written towards them. Another hot spot i found was the coca cola advertisement from the 1980s. I found it cool that coca cola made an add that showed how blacks and whites were equal.
     While reading chapter one of Pearson Custom Library English Mercury Reader i found this hot spot stated by John C. Bean, June Johnson and John D. Ramage, “writers write because they have something new or surprising or challenging to say in response to a question,” (Bean, Johnson and Ramage 8). I found this interesting because in high school i used thesis statements to start writing my papers but i never even thought to use a question. From reading this quote i noticed that a question could open up so many new ideas to write your paper. It opens you to multiple view points. It also gets the reader involved and they can have their own opinion about your paper.
     

Monday, September 12, 2011

Maura Weir Amy Tan "Mother Tongue"

     In the essay "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan I believe that she uses open form prose. If she was using closed form prose it would follow a strict pattern. Amy allows us to imagine what is going on. She paints us a picture of what is going on and how she feels. The use of open prose is evident when she is describing the scene where Amy has to pretend she is her mother while talking to the stock broker. Amy gives examples of how her mother would say things, and then how Amy actually said them. For example "My mother...whispering loudly "why dont he send me check, already two weeks late. So mad he lie to me, loosing me money." And then I would say in perfect language, "yes I'm getting rather concerned you had agreed to send the check two weeks ago but it hasn't arrived."(Tan 115). She also shares her personal experience when she is talking about how her friends heard the way her mother talked. For example "Yet some of my friends tell me they understand 50 percent of what my mother says. Some say they understand 80 to 90 percent. Some say the understand none of it, as if she were speaking pure Chinese"(Tan 114).
     I believe this essay is written for people like us. We are going through changes right now, like she was. When she is talking its like she is trying to relate to people her age. If she was talking to a younger group she would use a simpliar way to state things. If she was talking to an older group of people she would use less examples. She tries to put things in a perspective of an adolescent.
     I believe this essay conforms with the genre conventions of an essay because Amy Tan presents personal experiences and paints us a picure of what is actually going on. She gives examples of what she is trying to say to make the image more clear.