Blog 15

Discuss the ways in which Ehrlich describes cowboys. In what ways does her tone fit her purpose and help her convey her purpose?




      Ehrlich describes cowboys in a light hearted, friendly way. She makes them seem more relatable to most men, instead of the societal portrayal of the average "Marlboro Man". She uses light, friendly, caring words to make her tone more friendly and patient. She makes cowboys out to be kind, caring men, instead of the usual rugged, tough men that we see in movies and such.

Blog 14

Discuss the three reasons Sante gives for a breakdown of secrecy (Soviet Union/KGB, internet, “confessional culture”/media). Do you agree, for example, that the Internet is a “nemesis” to secrecy? Defend your answer.




       Sante mentions the Soviet Union's break up and the amount of secrecy that came out with the destruction of the USSR. Sante's point is that with internet and media, nothing is private. Anybody anywhere can access private information, even if it wasn't meant to be on the internet in the first place. Social networking sites make it nearly impossible to keep to yourself, unless you aren't involved at all. But when it comes to today's society, it's rare that one finds someone that doesn't have a facebook or myspace page, a twitter, a youtube account, or a formspring. It's so uncommon today, which completely prevents secrecy for anyone.

Blog 13

Do you think public schools should teach students ethics and personal values? Which values should schools teach in order to produce “good citizens”? What kinds of values (or even subjects) should not be taught in schools? Classify these values using some guiding principle or standard, and explain the characteristics of each category.




       I do not think schools should teach ethics and personal values. Not everyone has the same values, or beliefs. If schools taught values, it would be as if everyone went to church, and only one religion was practiced. Not everyone is the same, and people have different beliefs and practices. Schools should always reinforce things like honesty, individualism, and respect, but they shouldn't force any ethical beliefs upon any student. Values and ethics are meant to be passed down from parents and learned through personal experiences and mistakes. Schools should not be allowed to "teach" people how to be.

Blog 12

 Consider the topic of movies. Put films into carefully thought-out categories. Discuss what constitutes a great film, and discuss examples. Try to be as explicit as possible regarding WHAT criteria or guiding principle you use to categorize them.




Genres:
-Action
-Horror/Thriller
-Comedy
-Musical
-Romance (Chick Flick)


A great movie must captivate its audience and keep the viewer entertained. The plot must be simple enough for almost anyone to follow, but complex enough so that it's not boring. A great movie will live on way past its time and continue capturing viewers and more and more fans. A great movie has elements of almost every genre in one way or another, but focuses on one main point, or genre of itself.
Some examples of great movies could be:
-The Lord Of The RIngs
-Avatar
-The Godfather
-Inception
-Rain Man
-Casablanca
-Titanic
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Blog 11

Meta-Cognitive Questions on Definition Essay

Culminating Writers Profile

1. Discuss how your expectations about your writing style and needs have both changed and remained the same since this class has started.

I expected to start developing better writing, but my writing has improved much faster than I expected. I feel like my diction hasn't improved at all though. I've learned many new words, but I don't know how to use most of them.

2. What do you see as your strengths as a writer and how have you reinforced them?

I have a good writing style, and I've kept it the same. I feel like my writing style has barely changed, and only improved.

3. What do you still see as your writing weaknesses and what have you done to strengthen those areas?

I'm not very creative, which makes writing a captivating essay very difficult. I try to think about my writing for a lot longer in advance to make it more creative.

Evaluating your writing process

1. If you had the time to write one more draft of this essay, how would you improve it?

I would make the conclusion a lot stronger, and relate my concrete details to the rest of the essay a lot better.

2. As you received peer feedback and revised your essay, what did you find the easiest element to improve in your essay?

I felt improving my vocabulary in the essay was the easiest.

3. Discuss the biggest problem you had in writing and revising this essay.

It was hard to think of new things to put into the essay/

Evaluating Your Successes

1. Discuss your most successful large scale revision in this essay.

I didn't do any large scale revisions.

2. Discuss your success in combining descriptive, narrative, and illustrative elements into this Definition Essay.

I used dialogue to give concrete details, and I gave personal experiences as well. I tied together the dialogue with personal stories and imagery to create a descriptive essay.

3. Discuss your best success when considering your audience.

I wrote mostly to teenage girls, which wasn't the correct audience.

Being Honest with Self

1. What most intimidated you about this writing process and how did you combat this intimidation?

I had never written a definition essay before and I had no idea what to write about. It was really hard to get started, but I read old examples and things and it helped a lot.

2. What idea from our text influenced you to try a new strategy within your writing process?

The Box Man story really helped me come up with ideas. It was so creative and different.

3. What idea did you pick up on from reading student essay examples that you tried in your own writing process?

I tried being more creative and using dialogue as an example.

4. What idea for improving your essay did you learn from a peer?

I came up with my topic with a peer, and she helped me form an introduction.

5. Where do you see yourself as a writer now, in both strengths and weaknesses, after completing this writing course?

I feel like this helped me a lot, and made me a slightly stronger writer. The essay wasn't my best, and I'll definitely work harder on the next one.

Blog 10

Write 1-2 paragraphs defining “Nobodiness.” Analyze and explain 1-2 particular causes of feeling like a “nobody.” You will use this writing tomorrow to analyze/revise your own sentence variety.






       Lonely, forgotten, and abandoned. Everything seems so much harder when you're alone. You walk through the halls and see a happy couple holding hands. As you sit down Monday morning, the two girls next to you are chatting away about their amazing weekend together. The whole team goes out for pizza, and everyone seems to get along so well, but you sit on the edge of the table quietly listening and not participating in the conversation. When you sit down at the dinner table, your parents consistently fawn over your superstar brother, and no matter how hard you try, you can't get anyone to pay attention to you.
       Nobodiness can take over someone's whole life. The emotion can haunt you at school, it can make you feel alone at home, it can affect your personal life in unimaginable ways. Nobodiness affects almost everyone at some point or another, but it isn't always socially inflicted. Nobodiness can be caused by oneself, through low self-esteem. Nobodiness can happen anywhere and anytime, but every time it's present, it's not welcome.

Blog #9

In Tuesdays with Morrie Mitch Albom addresses the materialistic nature of our lives – and what Morrie has to teach him about how to live. What did you take away from reading Tuesdays with Morrie? Has it changed any outlook or previously held beliefs?



Reading Tuesdays With Morrie changed my whole perspective on life. While reading the book, I soaked in every one of Morrie's lessons, and couldn't stop reading. Morrie taught readers how to truly live and to love. After reading the story, I feel more acceptance towards death, instead of fear, as before. I feel as if Morrie was teaching me, not just Mitch. I definitely changed a few things about myself after reading the story; I will always try to feel each emotion fully, I will love as much as I can, and I will live every day as if  it were the last.

Blog #8

"Welcome to my humble abode."

To me, an abode sounds beautiful, homely, and comfortable. Just like the word home, it sounds lived in, and welcoming, but not quite as relaxed. Abode sounds slightly formal and snooty, as if a very prosperous family lived there, or perhaps a young, single millionaire. BUt along with it's prim and proper sound, it's also relaxed and family-oriented.

When I hear the word abode, I think of my grandparents house, with it's extravagant raised windows, winding pathway in the front yard, and heavy wooden doors. The old house is beautiful and proper, just like my grandparents, but also inviting. Whenever I visit, I feel at home and happy. Usually at least half of my very diverse family is there, talking, playing piano, and eating delicious Chilean salsa, tasty Swedish cookies, or even a nice Chinese dinner. It feels like a safe haven and a place I could rest my head and relax if I need to.

An abode is comfortable, friendly, and gorgeous.

Blog #7

In The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini makes the argument that not everyone can be a hero. He tells us the story of a man that struggled his whole life, trying to prove himself to his father and be a better man. He played a coward his whole life, and regretted it every step of the way. He made many mistakes in his life, but never owned up to any of them, but by the end of the book, he proved to himself that he could change. I believe Hosseini was trying to show that sometimes, people make mistakes and aren't happy with it, but you can always redeem yourself if you just try.

Blog #6

Rap Music. Most people consider it rude, degrading crap, but to some, it's a form of art or a way of life. I personally never liked rap music until recently. I believed it was disrespectful, mostly towards women, and trashy. But if you dig deeper into rap, it can be beautiful. No doubt about it, there is rap music that fits perfectly into the category most people place it in. But if you listen, and really, actually listen, it can have deeper meaning with beautiful, flowing lyrics. It's like poetry, but with a strong beat, and catchy melody. I still very rarely listen to rap music, but since I started actually paying attention to it, I realized it's not so bad.

Blog #5- Noncomformity

I don't believe in nonconformity. I know as a teenager, I strive to be different from most other teens, but I will never truly be completely different. When I go shopping, I try to pick clothes that I don't think anyone else will wear, and when I change my hair, I try to do something different from everyone else. All of my attempts to not "conform" are never enough though, everyone is just like someone else in one way or another. So many teens try so hard to be different, but in the end, we're all just like each other: crazy, silly, a little foolish, and very stupid teenagers. Conformity isn't necessarily a bad thing though. I try so hard to be different, but there are times when I just want to be like all the other girls in my school. Conformity is a crazy idea because even though everybody is alike, everyone is different as well.

Blog #4

My step-sister, and myself. We couldn't be more different, but at the same time we're so the same. We grew up in completely different households, with completely different rules, and completely different standards. I would never think of us as being alike, yet we are in so many ways. We listen to different music, we don't eat the same foods, the clothes we wear are so different from each other, but we act so similar to eachother. Maybe it's because we're both sixteen year old girls, or maybe it's just because we really are more alike than most would think.

Blog #3

The Kite Runner was a beautiful tale of tragedy, happiness, and history. Amir, the main character throughout the story, struggles with courage and acceptance. He strives to be the perfect son, but is nothing like what his father wants. As he grows up in Afghanistan during the rise of the Taliban, he learns about trust and family, and always standing up for what you believe in. When the Taliban gains control of Afghanistan, Amir and his father leave the place they've always called home and the people they've always known to start a new life in the US. When Amir is an adult, he travels back to Afghanistan and learns things he never knew about his past, and the life he was leading. The whole story kept me wanting more, with its wonderfully depressing plot, and to-the-point sentences. The Kite Runner was a wonderful book full of surprise and suspense.

Nonfiction History

I don't read nonfiction very often, but when I do, it's usually National Geographic or something my dad gives me to read out of Newsweek or something like that. I can't remember what the articles my dad gave me were about except one, which was about eating vegetarian and how good it is for the environment. I've read a lot of articles from National Geographic! I actually really enjoy reading them. the last article I read was about Afghanistan and how it's fallen, but had it's rise after the Taliban lost control. It was really interesting because I read The Kite Runner over summer, which was about a boy from Afghanistan, so I was able to learn a little bit more about the country. The only other nonfiction I can think of that I've read would be things from class, like Anne Frank, or history articles.

Introduction

I'm Annika, I'm sometimes shy, a little funny, really weird, and not very creative. I'm on the drill team at school, I love to eat, I hang out with my friends a lot, and I have a really great family. I'm excited for this year:)