Final Reflection

    At first I was nervous to take an online English course but I’m glad I did.  The course was easy to follow and there was hardly any confusion.  The online conferences really helped me to improve on my writing.  My accomplishments were completing all of the assignments on time.  My struggle in this course was to learn how to critically analyze a text properly and how to reflect my views in the best way.  Another struggle was putting the final portfolio together and making sure that everything was formatted correctly, I had the workers cited page properly prepared and making sure it was the best I could do.  There isn’t anything I would change for this course everything was laid out perfectly and easy to follow

Reflective Essay

Reflective Essay

           

For my portfolio I decided to include my essays based on Kalman’s “Back to the Land”, and Neufeld’s “A.D. New Orleans After the Deluge”, because I believe that these essay best reflect my writing capabilities. 

The purpose of the Kalman essay was to inform my audience on why Kalman might be so focused on Americans changing their eating habits.  I did this by providing examples from the text and describing why they are so important.  I mainly focused on the aspect of fast food and why it might be a better idea to take the time to properly prepare a meal or eating more organic food in hope that my readers would take the time to really think about the way they eat and about what they are putting in their body (99110642940 1-2). I also bring up the idea of being a vegetarian based on a picture of a cow standing in a pasture (99110642940 2), in hopes that they would reflect if the current eating lifestyle they are living is they right one for them. 

Another important aspect that I included into my Kalman essay was her use of photographs in her text because when talking about something it is hard to picture it in one’s mind, but seeing it is another thing altogether.  To elaborate this point I am referring to the cow reference again, when eating a hamburger most of us are not picturing the actual cow but Kalman showing a cow in her work might alter someone’s thought for the next time that they eat meat (99110642940 2-3).  I also mention the importance of teaching important healthy habits young so they grow up eating healthy and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  Also children are eager to learn new things and would like to share what they learn to others whether it is family and/or friends.

An important revision that I made in my Kalman essay was adding why a statement that I made was important, (Original, “Another photograph that Kalman uses is one of a meal that was made entirely of garden food from Bob Cannard’s Farm that shows you can grow your own food and from that cook a perfect meal. “  Added statement, “This is important because it shows that it is possible to create meal only using the ingredients you grew by yourself.”).

After reading the Kalman essay my audience would be positively affected by being more aware of their eating habits and how they might want to alter their lifestyle for the better.

The purpose of Neufeld essay was to show the audience about what the victims had to go through after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans.  I did these by describing certain aspects that Neufeld showed in his comic because even though it might be viewed as negative, it is important to include.  An example of this is shown through description of the violence that some of characters exuded during certain situations 99110642940 1). 

Another important detail shown was the desperation that the victims went through and how they just wanted to start to move on from this fateful event and just wanted to rebuild their lives (99110642940 2-3).

An important revision that was made in the Neufeld essay was adding a statement to a paragraph.  Within the paragraph mention the desperation aspect of the situation I thought it might be a good idea to add the detail of death that was shown in Neufeld’s comic (Added statement- Also this comic brings the aspect of death during this time to the surface.  A child might not know what death is but by being surrounded by it, questions will be asked.  An example of this when an elderly woman has passed away a little girl asks her mother if that woman is sleeping (Neufeld 236).  By this situation a mother has to question to whether or not explain death to their children and it might be too early to do so (99110642940 3).

The audience of the Neufeld audience might be positively affected by this work by being more aware of what goes on in the victims’ lives after a disaster has struck.  Also that more things need to be done to help them move on from it so they are able to repair their lives and that every little thing that is done or donated is important and needed in order for the victims to rebuild their lives.

A challenge that I faced during this particular assignment was to critically analyze a comic, which is something that I never thought of doing before and was nervous to do.  However once I started to read the comic I learned that it was not that different from analyzing a text and wasn’t that difficult.  An aspect that made it easier to write about the comic was that the panels provided more examples to include in my essay, because it is easier to pick out certain aspects in a piece when pictures are being shown.

Assignment 4-5

    While I was writing my Kalman essay, I had to keep in mind that this essay is based on lifestyle choices and getting my audience to think more while they are choosing what types of foods to eat.  To enhance this I described the pictures that Kalman chose to put in her text and what they represent and the choices that come from the picture.  Whether is deciding to be a vegetarian or not based on a picture of a com in a field, or if it was choosing to eat a more organic diet based on a meal that was created entirely from a farmer’s garden.  My audiences can anybody but especially for those who do want to change their lifestyle and become more healthy and conscious of what they are eating.

    While I was writing my Neufeld essay, I had to keep in mind that this essay centered on the horrible conditions people lived through in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their homes.  It was difficult at first trying to analyze a comic but each time I went through the comic it became easier to understand the purpose and I had an easier time picking out the examples I wanted to put in my essay.  I showed how much violence there was but along with the violence I also showed the caring characteristics that were shown in some of the people in the comic. My audience can by anyone but maybe for those who were not aware of the living conditions the victims had to go through and how their lives were changed because of this.

    While I was writing my Junod essay, I had to keep in mind that this was about one of the victims from the September 9^th attack in 2001.  This essay was the most difficult one to write because I had a hard time finding aspects in his article and forming a thesis statement that I could set up and follow up with examples found in the text.  In the revised essay I focused on how Junod might be slowing down the process of closure for the victims and reopens their wounds by seeing this man falling from the World Trade Center, which could bring up a lot of painful memories for them.  My audience is for anyone but those directly affected my 9/11 might find it painful and hard to read, because it stemmed from this man falling to his death and it might make them relive how their loved ones died on that day.

Assignment 4-2

Part 1

1)   1) The quote from Junod that I am using is from the section labeled “They began jumping not long after the first plane hit the North Tower”.

2)   2) In this quote Junod talks of how the “people never got used to and never wanted to see again”, those who jumped from the World Trade Center. Also how the people never could escaped seeing those people jump. (71)

3)  3)  “They were called “jumpers” or “the jumpers,” as though they represented a new lemminglike class.  The trial that hundreds endured in the building and then in the air became its own kind of trial for the thousands watching them form the ground.  No one ever got used to it; no one who saw it wished to see it again, although, of course, many saw it again.” (71)

4)   4) To me this quotes describes that those people who watched or saw those people jump from the World Trade Centers and fall to their death, will never escape those memories and will haunt them for the rest of their lives no matter what they do in order to move on or forget.

Part 2

1)   “The sight of the jumpers from the World Trade Center will follow the witnesses around where ever they may go and will never escape the horrifying memory.” (Junod 71).

Works Cited

Junod, Tom. “The Falling Man.” First Year Composition Reader.  Boston, MA: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2011. 69-80

Assignment 4-1

              For many others and myself the detail that stands out the most is the picture of the man who is falling.  The man seemed to be very calm and at peace with what is happening to him.  For me it seems like he might be thinking as long as I am dying, might as well go with it and do something interesting.  If I were in his place my body would definitely not be that composed.  My body would be contorted, I would be panicked and I would be trying to slow down some how or trying to do something.  I would not be as calm as that man and I would be trying to get my head up so I wouldn’t be looking at the spot where I am going to die in a very short amount of time.

            A pattern of repetition and contrast is that every paragraph that Junod writes is a completely different topic but they all conclude with the falling man and who exactly is this man.  A detail that does not fit the pattern is that the paragraphs do not seem to flow.  To me the paragraphs seem to be in somewhat of a random order and hard to follow along with all the information.  Also it seems like the paragraphs do not contain any transitional words or any transitional paragraphs that would make reading this article a little bit easier.

Assignment 3-5

           While I was witting about Neufeld’s comic, “A.D. New Orleans After the Deluge”, I focused on my introduction paragraph the most because what I wrote in the first paragraph will shape the rest of my essay.  The conclusion was the last paragraph I wrote and the one that took the least time because it is just restating and rewording my introduction paragraph.  The easiest paragraph for me to write was the second one talking about violence because I had more examples and evidence to support it. The feedback that I received regarding my essay was positive and the comments that I got are really going to help me in improving my work.  Professor Sullivan mentioned on she really likes how I” have the strategy of contrast identified alongside an implication of what’s at stake for the audience in reading this comic”.  My peer reviewer also stated that my first sentence was great which is really good because have I troubles in trying to decide what my first sentence should be and is something I worry about. 

            While revising I would like to add a paragraph talking about the death that was shown in the comic and how that could affect the audience.  I would also like to add more summary to my comic by adding to my introduction paragraph the who, what, when, where aspects of the comic. The concerns that I still have about my essay is mentioning why Neufeld shows what he does in the comic and what is the reason behind them.  Another concern is adding more information and examples into my essay.

Assignment 3-4

After reviewing my essay, I believe I need to work on my thesis and introduction paragraph so more.  I am not sure that it is not clear enough and/or easily understandable and might seem confusing to those who are not familiar with the topic.  Also in my later paragraphs I think that it might need some more examples and/or quotes from the text and go into more depth with what I am talking about.  Another thing that might need some more work is making sure that my paragraphs flow together and that the transitions are clear and make sense.