Monday, April 23, 2007

Aria: a Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood

When I was younger my family and I didn't really have a special language as Rodriguez did. My dad's side of the family is from Guatemala so they tried teaching me Spanish as a child that way I could communicate with my grandparents however I was reluctant to learning and called them "bad words". I wish I would have learned spanish because even though i took three years of spanish in high school i don't have a great knowledge of it. I couldn't tell you how to say a lot of things but I wish i could. i can't talk to my grandparents because like me, they don't know englihs very well. therefore i have to use my dad to translate for me when i speak to them on the phone and that's disappointing. i would like to be able to have a conversation, even if it was short, once in my life but it doens't look like that's going to happen.

Thesis

Thesis: the central idea in a work of writing to which everything else in the work refers. In some way each sentence and paragraph in an effective essay serves to support the thesis and to make it clear and explicit to readers. Good while writing, often set down atheis statement or thesis sentence to help them define thier purpose. They also ofthen include this statement in their essay as a promise and a guide to readers.

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Classification

When you classify you arrange subjects into more manageable groups. The subject of a classification is always a number of things to be arranged. The simplist classification is binary (two part) in which you sort things with 1) distinguishing features and 2) those without it.

Make sure the categories you choose do not overlap eachother. Make sure they are distinct and each subject only fits into one category.

"Not All Men Are Sly Foxes" by Armin A. Brott

Brott's argument claims that children are highly influenced by what teacher's and parent's read to them but I must disagree. Sure, books are going to spark children's imagination (ex: reading a book with monsters may cause a child to look under his bed every night) but so do movies and television. As far as influencing the way a child thinks and their views on life I don't believe books play as significant of a role in mind development as Brott makes them out to do. When children are read to or read books, especially young children, they aren't analyzing and going beyond the text because their minds aren't as complex as an adult's. Children mainly remember pictures or the climax of a book because that's what interests them... not the lack of a father role in fairy tales.

One of my favorite books as a child was Alice in Wonderland. What stood out for me was all of the different characters in the book and how the world she was in was described and changed throughout the story. I paid no attention to the fact that many of the characters sort of symbolize drugs (ex: the catapillar smoking the pipe and seeming nice and calm at first then explodes as would someone who is smoking crack cocaine) or that the mother was the one teaching Alice (a lack of a father I suppose). I did not even notice the lack of a father until I read this article and I don't think anyone notices until someone points it out. I think that Brott is making a silly argument just to argue. Children's books aren't always politically correct because they don't need to be, THEY'RE FAIRY TALES.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Division or Analysis

Division or analysis refers to spareting a large and complicated subject into smaller parts that are easier to understand. Depending on the subject is how easy or difficult it is to divide or analyze it. If the subject is complex it is more difficult to do a division or analysis whereas if it is simple it is easier.

Use an outline to help write a division or analysis paper. You don't want to overlook any aspect of your subject because this paper is meant to be thorough. Use a lot of evidence to support your paper. Focus on your thesis statement and outline to make your paper less confusing and boring to read.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Using and Documenting Sources

When writing a paper you want your sources to be relevant to your topic as well as reliable. To determine the source's relevance and reliabilty as yourself these questions:
-what is the purpose of the source, and who is the source's intended audience?
-is the material a primary or a secondary source?
-is the author an expert? what are his or her credentials?
-does the author's bias affect the reliablity of his or her argument?
-does the author support his or her arugment with evidence that is complete and up to date?

A primary source is a work by someone who conducted or saw events first hand. A secondary source presents and analyzes the information in primary sources and includes histories, reviews, and surveys of a field.

Make sure that the author of a source is trustworthy and uncover any bias as well.

Look for strong evidence to support the arugment a source conveys.

When using online sources you can either use the school's library web site or the internet browser, but always use the library's first. Judge a website's reliability before using.

A paraphrase or summary must express the original idea in a new way otherwise it is plagiarism. Always cite your information. Common knowledge does not need to be cited.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Size 6: The Western Women's Harem

Unfortunately, this story is not uncommon to find in the United States. In this country thin is beautiful. Typically, it doesn't even matter if a woman/man has a pretty/handsome face, if they're fat no one even pays attention to them or people say "they would be so much more attractive if they lose weight". Everyone's guilty of doing this though; I know I am. I've never once been attracted to anyone overweight (as shallow as that may sound) because it's not normal to be attracted to that type of body frame.

In the United States, in order to be attractive a girl must: be thin, usually tan, physically toned, have good hair, wear flattering clothes (not necessarily skimpy clothes although that is the case sometimes), and have a pretty face. For a male to be attractive, he must: be physically fit, take care of himself, have muscles, and a handsome face. Usually magazines, television, and celebrities influence what's attractive and what's not. For example, in the 80's men who had a lot of muscle, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, were considered to be very attractive. Today however, men who are skinny but a little muscular, such as Tobey McGuire, are what's attractive.

In both males and females, like I said before, it is unacceptable to be fat or overweight at all. This is why a lot of women and some men develop eating disorders. It seems that the past few years celebrities have set the standard very high as to what the normal weight should be. Seeing pictures of Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, who are both very attractive, gaining a lot of male attention for thier bodies makes it seem that all women should look like them. It's not just normal, everyday women who think like this though, Jessica Simpson for instance lost a lot of weight (she was never fat) in order to feel more attractive. This shows that all women are influenced and well aware of what the standard norm as far as attractiveness is concerned is.

Thursday, February 8, 2007

Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa

I was in elementary school when I first met her. Her name was Nicole. She was a tomboyish girl and played sports a lot, not really me. Her woredrobe consisted of oversized Nike shirts and baggy jeans. She was a pretty girl but was always shy when it came to boys, unless she was beating them up of course. She stayed like this up until high school. She was always a good athlete, she played soccer and field hockey. Her first time picking up a field hockey stick she made the varsity team at our high school which was hard to do even if you've been playing for a long time. She was naturally gifted. And she was smart. She was perfect. I had never noticed her perfection until other people started to point it out. I'd have people coming up to me asking "so you're friends with Nikki? she's so hot! you're so lucky!" i didn't think much of it until my crush started to develop a crush on her. That's when the envy kicked in.

Of course Nicole being Nicole didn't care about the attention. She was just being herself. And she was always modest about how well she did something. She never would take credit for anything she did on her own, it was always because of someone else, which I admired. However, when I heard about my crush liking her I became very jealous. I noticed everything about her, and the sad part was I was trying to find imperfections and faults but I couldn't find any. So I decided I would try and be like her. I wore my hair the same way, dressed the same, and tried to excel at soccer but nothing could ever match up to who she was. And that's when it hit me, I shouldn't be jealous or envious of her at all. She was being herself. I should be admiring her, not trying to be her. And that's what I did. I admired her for who she was and not caring what others thought. She was perfect.

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts

The political beliefs of both Grant and Lee were two very different yet extreme views. Grant was, I guess in this century, more of a liberal. He was ready to change the United States and was vicious in doing so. He seemed to be a much stronger person mentally than Lee only because he grew up in a rougher environment which makes me think he was a stronger and more concrete(?) leader. Lee on the other hand represents more of the conservative political party. He doesn't think the United States needs change and was content with the state that it was in. He doesn't seem like he was going to sit back and let Grant take over his country but he doesn't seem like he was as strong willed as Grant either.

In today's society no one is really "this" way or "that" way. I don't really think that you can be. Every political party has faults within it and I don't think they really satisfy every party member/supporter, even though they are more for them than the opposing parties. For example, a person might support the Republican party for the most part, but might not agree with their decision on the War in Iraq. Obviously, one must choose one way or the other when voting however you might not agree with everything that party stands for. It's different moreso in other countries where you have extreme supporters who are willing to blow themselves up for democracy or whatever they might be protesting. I don't think American citizens are that politically concerned(?) enough to blow themselves up for their political party.

Thursday, February 1, 2007

Comparison and Contrast

There are many uses for comparison and contrast. In an argument in which you support one thing over another, a careful and detailed comparison and contrast may be convincing. In an sxpository essay, it can demonstrate that you understand your subject well. A good compare and contrast essay has one of two purposes: to show each of two subjects distinctly by considering both side by side OR to choose between to things.

Make sure that the subjects you are comparing have something significant in common. sometimes you can use an analogy to explain one subject in terms of the other.

The basis for comparison will eventually lead to the thesis of your essay. The thesis is the claim you have to make about the similarities and differences of two things or about one thing's superiority over the other.

There are two ways to arrange a comparison essay: subject by subject or point by point. Subject by subject describes one subject at a time, and then sums up their similarities and differences. Point by point means you consider one point at a time using both subjects.

Use an outline as a guideline but be flexible as to how to write you paper. Remember to cover both subjects thoroughly.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

"Signs" by Scott Russell Sanders

I think it is important to be able to write things down in order to understand them better. I don't do this often, usually only if I have a big problem that I can't think through clearly by myself. Sometimes, when you write things down and really take a look at them and fully grasp what's going on you see things in a new perspective.

For example, if I am having a fight with someone and I don't really know how to express myself right away, I take time and write a letter to that person, even if I'm not going to give it to them. I write down everything: what I think about the situation, my feelings towards them, my feelings in general, and whatever else I think is signficant. After I'm done, I read the letter over and over again. If there's something I left out or feel I worded wrong I'll change it and then read it again, until I say what I need to say correctly. After reading things over and over again, especially problems with other people, I tend to understand what's going on better and am able to cope with my feelings better. Many times I read and analyze my letter and then think about what the other person might be feeling as opposed to my own feelings.

Sometimes you just need to look at things from a third person so writing things down, as if it were a story, is really beneficial.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

"Shooting Dad" by Sarah Vowell

Obsession. We all have one. Mine is chocolate. Whenever I can have some, I take it. Well not so much anymore since I recently discovered I was addicted to caffeine. So yea, the dad in the story was obsessed with guns. I mean, guns aren't very conventional and it is a weird hobby but then again he was a gunsmith so of course his work is going to carry over into his homelife. Well, maybe he carried it about too far. He didn't really pay attention to Sarah when she was growing up since she didn't like guns so he missed out on his daughter's childhood. Then again, she didn't give him much of a chance either; she never really tried to like guns or to understand why her father did either. I guess it was both of their faults. I can't say I sympathize with either of them too much because they both rejected the others way of thinking/life. He didn't like her art, she didn't like his guns, so they're even. The only thing I sympathize about is the fact that they never really developed a relationship. I wonder if they would have even tried to make a relationship if Sarah wouldn't have made the executive decision to?

My dad has an obsession too: tidiness. Everything has to be neat, from the way our shoes are lined up to the way we fold our laundry. It literally drives my family insane! Usually one of us (myself, my mom, or my sister) get's a "talking to" about how things are supposed to be arranged since we obviously don't know how to put things away (sarcasm). I remember one time in particular when I came home from a long day of school and threw my shoes against the wall. It's not like I wanted to make the house "dirty" but I was tired and was going to put them up in my room when I went upstairs. So my dad comes home and immediately notices the flaw in his "clean house". Immediately I knew I was going to be in trouble. So after he grabs the shoes (angrily I must say) and puts them with the heals against the wall and the toes of the shoes perfectly aligned, I heard it like there was no tomorrow. I didn't know that shoes had a specific way in which they were supposed to look. I mean, is that not obsessive or what?

But it's not just me that is annoyed by it, the rest of my family is as well. One time he got so angry at my mom because the clothes on the bed were messy. Well the reason they were messy was because she was cleaning out her closet and they were the clothes she was getting rid of. Well, being the neat freak as he is, my dad folds all of the clothes on the bed... still angry of course. Let's just say that day was not a good day for either of them, they both stayed mad at each other for quite some time. My sister hears it the most I think. Since her room is small she doesn't have much space to place all of her things so it makes her room look messy even if it isn't. I think probably about 4 times a week she gets yelled at for having a messy room. It's pretty ridiculous. He even knows why her room is messy and because he is a neat freak he still gets mad. My obsession isn't that bad. I think the worst thing that has happened from my being a chocoholic is that when I was 2 I ate a bin of hershey's kisses all by myself.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

"Champion of the World" by Maya Angelou

The way Angelou describes the black race in connection with the defeat of Joe Louis (if it happened) made the passage more powerful. No longer was this just an ordinary boxing match but rather a fight for dignity and hope. If Louis would have lost it would have been another thing the white race defeated the black race in (at that time). Instead of the defeat only affecting Louis and his fans, it would affect the entire black race. I think this helps make her essay more personal and meaningful. It also helps the reader understand what type of era Angelou was living in better.

I only belong to one group and that is "The Fab 5" (cheesy name I know). This group includes myself, my boyfriend Justin, and our three friends James, Parker, and Kyle. We established this group when we were seniors in high school and it was pretty exclusive. We weren't snobs or rude, I mean we were open to other people it's just that other people who tried to hang out with us didn't understand our jokes and felt uncomfortable most of the time. I think we knew we were a group when we actually came up with the name "The Fab 5" and people actually recognized who "The Fab 5" were. We still maintin the Fab 5 friendships even though we go to different schools. And when all of us get together we still call ourselves "The Fab 5".

Thursday, January 11, 2007

"Fish Cheeks" by Amy Tan

Amy Tan's short story "Fish Cheeks" exposed the reader to the vulnerability she felt as a young Chinese teenager growing up in America. Her story is something many kids can relate to at one point or another and that is being embarrassed about who they are. Tan felt that she was different than all the other kids because of her race and therefore was ashamed of herself and her family. She was so ashamed that she even wish for "a slim American nose". Once she found out that Robert, her crush, was coming over for dinner she became more critical of her family and they way they celebrate Christmas. She hated the fact that they didn't eat a traditional American dinner and they her father belched at the end of the meal to show his gratitude toward her mother.

She didn't realize until she was older that her parents cooked that dinner especially for her, considering it was all of her favorite meals. She also realized that it's okay to be different from the standard norm in America. Had she felt more comfortable around Robert and his family, maybe they would have felt more comfortable as well. Tan's ability to tell her story in a way that it had just occurred and to inclde even the slightest details makes it easier for the reader to understand her point of view.