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11/22 Writing Sample - Blog Post (In Class)

Whether it’s legally or illegally, the immigrants coming into the United States are still providing services to a lot of Americans who are strictly against their migration from their home country. Rather than trying to prevent the immigrants ability to make a difference in the society and looking to send them back to their home country, the policies and approaches to immigration in the United States should depend upon helping immigrants in the country to be able to transition easier and obtain their green card or become legal permanent residents. The United States should not become the enemy that immigrants must go through  to become successful, the country  should act as a support system that allows for successful immigration and integration into a welcoming society. The changes I made in the paragraph I’ve picked from my essay are grammar and punctuation. I made those specific changes because when I went back and reread the paragraph, I felt that I had too many typos with the reason being that I tend to not read what I write while writing it because when I decide to do so that’s when I lose my train of thought and I end up forgetting what I want to keep writing about. Yes, I believe the revision sample reflects my learning and growth in this course. I’m proud of how far I’ve came along with my writing compared to how my writing from high school was, I feel that going to this college and taking this class has helped me so much because of how the professor in this course has been helping us write with different methods and showing us different ways to write better and be better at writing without being too stressed out and learning ways to make the writing process easier. One of the most important things I’m still working on is writing thesis statements and learning to have a better structure of my writing.

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11/17 Writing Sample - Blog Post (In Class)

One of the countries that is built upon immigration is the United States of America. This country thrives and continues to live because of immigrants doing the careers and positions that many higher class Americans wouldn’t dare to do. Where would the country be without housekeepers, agricultural workers, construction workers and many other careers often considered unskilled? These people deserve the opportunity to be able to experience upward mobility with the same degree that any other native born American does. So, why is it that these immigrants are treated unfairly and are expected to stay in their niche when others are granted the opportunity to move up in society and explore different career paths and make a better life for themselves? It seems as  though, in the present day, the attitude towards immigrants is predominantly negative.

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Writing Sample - Blog Post (In Class)

“The U.S. Immigration Debate.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-immigration-debate-0. Accessed 3 Nov. 2023. 

Due to immigration being a political debate for over years, policymakers have weighed economic, security and humanitarian concerns while Congress isn’t able to reach an agreement on immigration. Which causes President Trump to put the issue and help resolve it, however President Biden tries to reverse his plan but the pandemic complicates his plan causing everyone to have a debate over immigration. This source will be useful to me because it shows different types of debates such as questions and answers about immigration.  Although this source is written by an organization it still has credibility and has written information about immigration that shows valid points and evidence.

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Lines of Inquiry: Research Questions

Lines of Inquiry: Research Questions

1. Think of a topic or issue that you are interested in writing about for your research paper. Starting from a general subject, narrow your focus until you have a limited subject that is possible to research in a 5-7 paper.

Example

General Subject: Multitasking

​More Specific: Multitasking and technology

​​More Specific: The relationship between multitasking and the internet

General Subject: Fashion 

​More Specific: High Fashion vs. Fast Fashion

​​More Specific: The difference between high fashion and fast fashion 

General Subject: Fashion

​More Specific: Fashion and Social Media Impact

​​More Specific: The relationship between fashion and social media and its impact in the industry

2. Turn one of your narrow topics into a “How?” question and develop 3-5 other “How?” questions related to your topic.

a.  How has social media transformed the way fashion trends are disseminated and adopted globally?

b.  How does social media affect the demand for sustainable and ethical fashion, and the transparency of brands in these areas?

c.  How is data and analytics from social media platforms used to predict and respond to fashion trends in real-time?

d.  How does the lifespan of clothing differ between high fashion and fast fashion, and how does this impact sustainability and waste in the fashion industry?

e.  How have consumer attitudes and awareness about ethical and sustainable practices affected the choice between high fashion and fast fashion products?

3. Identify some key words/concepts and their synonyms or related terms that will help you search for relevant sources.

Example 1: Keywords such as handcrafted, high price, exclusivity, and luxury can be used to know more about high fashion. As for fast fashion, trend imitation, mass production, low cost, sustainability concerns, and disposable are keywords that can be helpful to look into.

Example 2: For fashion and social media, fashion communities, data analytics, digital marketing, e-commerce, and social commerce are some keywords that can be helpful.

Example 3: Trends, textiles, sustainability, retail, fashion history, and cultural influences are general keywords that can help search for both subjects.

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Midterm Reflection

What has been difficult for you so far this semester (academic or otherwise)? Why?

The most difficult for me so far this semester is being on time for class. The reason being is that I’ve always had time management problems when it comes to being on time for important things, whether it's for doctor’s appointments, family events and even my job. I believe that I was doing good in the first few weeks of the semester but I’ve noticed how I slowly started to struggle with being on time for class. One of the factors that I can think of that plays a part with how I’m struggling with being on time has to do with my work schedule. I feel that working full time and having the days I have to go to school as my only off days is definitely a lot to get used to. It gets hard knowing that I don’t have the option to be able to sleep in on my days off because I rather prioritize school but I have been trying to work on getting better at managing time when it comes to going to class on time by trying to leave a couple minutes early from my house so that I have enough time to avoid traffic and find parking since it’s really hard to find one seeing how the school parking gets so packed. 

What has been easy for you? Why?

I can honestly say that one of the main things that’s been easy for me so far this semester would be to navigate the assignments that need to be done whether it’s an in class assignment or homework for both English 301 and 001 on canvas. I’ve always liked and been open about how the professor has everything organized on canvas from the beginning of the semester. I find it helpful how every assignment is categorized by the dates we have class along with the day that it’s due because it helps me keep track and plan accordingly on how to finish each assignment so I’m able to turn it in on time. Another reason being is that it saves me and the professor a lot of time to possibly constantly having to email each other about due dates, what I might’ve possibly missed in class, and any other questions that I might have regarding assignments. 

What has surprised you? Why?

One of the things that has surprised me is seeing my ability to be able to actually write for an English class in college since I’ve always hated and avoided almost every possible assignment in high school in any English class that I had to take. 

If you could start the semester over, what would you change? Why?

If I could start the semester over, I would change the way my attendance is. I feel that not being able to attend a couple days of class and being late takes a toll on missing important lessons and what I have to learn and need to know for the day I’m not present in class. Especially since I’ve always been the type of student that prefers to learn in person because it’s easier for me to understand any given lesson by being in class and being able to listen to the professor's lecture.

What are you looking forward to for the second half of the semester? Why?

What I’m looking forward to for the second half of the semester is for my attendance to improve. I want to see myself to try to be more consistent on being on time and see where the possible progress leads to because I feel that it will help me have a better way at managing time in the long run if I’m able to improve my attendance and bring it up by the end of the semester. 

What changes have you noticed about yourself so far? What have you learned about yourself?

One of the few changes I’ve noticed about myself so far is how I’m invested in trying to get everything done in a reasonable time compared to wanting to procrastinate all the time. I feel that it’s important for me to acknowledge the change I’ve noticed because I’m proud of myself and I’m glad to see how far I’ve come along compared to how I’ve always procrastinated all the time when it comes to doing school work back in high school compared to how I deal with procrastinating now. What I have learned about myself is that after being back in college from taking a long break helped me have a different insight that I’m capable of making any change I want to make as long as I put time to make it happen and be consistent in having a plan to stick with it. Other than that, being friends with some of the people that I met this semester helped me get different perspectives about who I am as a person when it comes to having a friendship with me and being able to know about what they think or feel about me as a friend and in general. According to my friends, I’ve learned that I’m the type of friend who reciprocates by being there for them when needed as they do for me as well as having a sense of humor which I never knew I had until I got told about it which was interesting to hear.

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Rhetorical Analysis

“It’s Time for ‘They’” Rhetorical Analysis Assignment

1. What is the purpose of this text? 

The purpose of “It Turns Out Our Tech Gadgets Aren’t as Isolating as Experts Say" by Nicholas Brody is to try to persuade the audience.

2. Who is the target audience? How do you know?

The target audience of the text is the online community. The reason being that the text talks about technology, especially smartphones.

3. What is the author’s main argument?

The author’s main argument is that technology isn’t what keeps people stuck to their screens but rather communication and interaction with others is the one that keeps everyone coming back to their devices, especially during the pandemic.

4. How would you describe the tone of the text? Provide examples (quote words or phrases) of the tone. 

The way I would describe the tone of the text is that it has a subjective tone. Some examples of subjective tone from the text, "It Turns Out Our Tech Gadgets Aren’t as Isolating as Experts Say" are “but isn't communicating via technology a poor substitute for "real" interaction?” shows the author’s judgment about the situation and “as a professor and researcher of technology and communication.” is a great way to show that the author includes and talks about their own experience throughout the text.

5. Is this tone effective for the author’s target audience and purpose? Why or why not?

Yes, I believe that the tone of the text is effective for the author’s target audience and purpose. The tone shows that the author uses a lot of his personal experiences, thoughts, and feelings. 

6. Does the author use ethos, pathos, or logos to achieve his purpose ? Provide one example of each (directly quote or summarize example).

Yes, I believe that the author used pathos and ethos but mainly pathos to achieve his purpose.

o Ethos and pathos: “Students very rarely miss the technology itself. Rather, they miss each other. They use technology to connect with friends from afar and to coordinate in-person meetups.” is an example of the author’s personal experience as a professor and his observations. He used both ethos and pathos to explain it to the audience. 

o Pathos: “But if new forms of technology are truly driving us apart, then why must governments issue legal edicts forcing people to stay at home and avoid socializing?” is an example to show how the government’s action describes our choices. The author uses pathos to try to appeal to the audiences by using a difficult time in the world. 

7. Overall, do you think the author’s argument was effective and convincing? Why or why not?

Overall, yes, I do think that the author’s argument is effective and convincing. Personally, I think and do agree with how the author makes a valid point about how people aren’t addicted to technology but rather it’s more likely the way it allows them to be able to communicate well with others. 

8. What does this article make you think about or question? What would you like to explore more after reading this?

I feel that the article will eventually have me start looking at smartphones in a different way after reading more insight from the author’s perspective. I would like to explore more similar articles in regards to technology but with different authors to learn more and read about their opinions regarding how they perceive technology after reading this article.

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A Few of My Favorite Things

Personally, I would say that I’m an expert in talking about fashion. The idea of fashion and getting into fashion has always been my best interest since I was in high school. I’ve always liked to dress differently compared to the people I went to school with and just in general. Ever since then, my perspective has changed and started noticing how some people are too comfortable in what they wear and how they don’t care to try different clothing styles out of their comfort zone where it makes me think that everyone dresses “too normal” to the point that people start to look like they wear similar basic outfits. With that said, I feel that I can lecture the class for an hour talking about recent and past trends when it comes to clothes, bags and shoes with one of the reasons being that I’m one of the people who likes to keep up with any trends at all times. The main ideas I would focus on would be the different brands that are trending and worth trying out, places to shop at depending if you’re on a budget or want something expensive, which type of shoes are worth the hype or not, which designer bags are worth buying or where to find something similar for a cheaper cost and so on. Fashion has been around for a long time and it has evolved over time. It'll be interesting to hear other people’s personal opinions from the class after taking the time to talk about it in class with everyone. 

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Writing Process Reflection 

I picked the contemporary R&B genre as my topic because it’s one of my favorite music genres and the artist that I chose is one of my all time favorite artists along with the song I picked. I wouldn’t necessarily say that the music genre is important to me but it's more of an interesting topic with the reason being that it’s my go to genre and Giveon being one of the artists I listen to almost everyday. What I’ve learned so far is that it’s important to know the difference between music genres since some of them have similarities that often can be easily confused with. With that said, before learning more about contemporary R&B, I wasn’t aware that it was R&B’s sub genre though it was interesting to learn about it while doing more research about the chosen genre. I still want to do more research on Giveon's personal background and the story behind how he comes up with his songs and why he identifies as a contemporary R&B artist. What I find the most interesting about the genre I chose is its history and evolution.

Reflecting back on my writing process this far, the most difficult thing I’ve been dealing with when it comes to writing is time management and incorporating what I’ve brainstormed into the essay and thinking of a way on how to start it off and how to come up with a title for it. What has come easy during my writing process was having an idea of what genre and which artist to write about along with picking a song as the possible evidence for the genre. The writing prompt’s instructions were specific on what to write about and how to write the essay which helped me a lot to get a head start to decide what to write about. I’ve noticed that the strategy I use to start brainstorming and how I’m more interested in the writing prompts is what I feel like I’m doing differently with my writing and assignments compared to what I did in high school. Personally, college work compared to high school is a lot easier for me to understand and the way I see it is that I’m more focused on doing the assignments rather than wanting to procrastinate like I did back in high school. I feel that what I need to focus on doing next for this project is putting the essay together and making sure that I have enough time to research everything needed for the essay. My actual plan/schedule for the next steps of my essay would be to research the genre's history and evolution, the artist’s personal background, analyze the song lyrics and collect enough evidence to use to support why the song fits in the genre and overall start writing the essay.

The phase that is the most difficult for me would be Step 2 - Gather Ideas and Form Working Thesis. Personally, forming a work thesis has always been one of my weaknesses when it comes to writing essays. I feel that whenever I try to write a thesis that it doesn’t often fit as a working thesis for my writing. One of the quotes from the chapter that reflects what I learned about the writing process is, “Always read over the entire assignment provided to you by your instructor… This sheet is a direct communication from your instructor to you, laying out every expectation and requirement of an assignment. Follow each to ensure you are conducting and completing the assignment properly. I can use the information in writing my essay to help me have a better understanding on what the writing prompt is about and to give me an idea to know what are the important requirements needed to be successful at writing my essay.