When you want to know about capital letters you should find a good dictionary. Capitalizing proper nouns and words derived from them and do not capitalize common nouns. Proper nouns are the names of specific persons, places, and things. All the other nouns are common nouns. Months, holidays, and days of the week are treated as proper nouns; the seasons and numbers of the days of the month are not.
In both titles and subtitles, major words such as nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs should be capitalized. Minor words such as articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions are not capitalized unless they are the first or last word of a title or subtitle. Obviously you want to capitalize the first word of a sentence. When a sentence appears within parentheses, capitalize the first word unless the parentheses appear within another sentence.
Another important thing to remember is to capitalize abbreviations for departments and agencies of government, other organizations, and corporations; capitalize the call letters of radio and television stations.
After reading this chapter I didn’t realize how much there was to know about capitalizing words and when no too. Now I will be able to carefully capitalize the right words and know the proper way of doing sentences.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
What is superstitions and why is it important in Part II?
In this chapter the word superstition gets used a lot and is very powerful with Kiyoshi’s mother and how she lives her life. The word superstition is commonly applied to beliefs and practices surrounding luck, prophecy, and spiritual beliefs. It is particularly the belief that future events can be foretold by specific unrelated prior events.
Kiyoshi’s mother had more superstitions than most people and would talk about dying and she believed it would happen. When she ended up in the hospital after she fainted for the second time she wanted the same bed as before because it was a lucky one. Her family believes that she does believe way too much in superstitions and that she over-worries about everything. It didn’t matter if it was food, health or word related she had a superstition about everything. An example of it being food related was when she talked about rice and how it always had to be scooped twice from the big bowl to your bowl. The double scooping protected the family from seeing a second mother, meaning your first mother wouldn’t die or run away. The word that she talks about is shi-ni-iku which means to go to die. This has to do with your age and that the bad luck came from the shi part of the word. It could be the number four or death. When father was forty two years old, mother worried because the number forty two was bad luck and it was pronounced shi-ni.
After reading this chapter I can’t believe how much his mother relied on superstitions. I don’t really believe in them but I do believe in karma. They were a big part in they way she lived and raised her family. Yes everyone thought she was crazy but this was her way of living. I think it is also a way for her to know when her time is up and that she would be leaving. The whole part on numbers and how they are bad luck I have heard that before but not the number forty two, it seems so random. Mothers have a way of living that sometimes we don’t understand but they have their reasons for doing it.
Kiyoshi’s mother had more superstitions than most people and would talk about dying and she believed it would happen. When she ended up in the hospital after she fainted for the second time she wanted the same bed as before because it was a lucky one. Her family believes that she does believe way too much in superstitions and that she over-worries about everything. It didn’t matter if it was food, health or word related she had a superstition about everything. An example of it being food related was when she talked about rice and how it always had to be scooped twice from the big bowl to your bowl. The double scooping protected the family from seeing a second mother, meaning your first mother wouldn’t die or run away. The word that she talks about is shi-ni-iku which means to go to die. This has to do with your age and that the bad luck came from the shi part of the word. It could be the number four or death. When father was forty two years old, mother worried because the number forty two was bad luck and it was pronounced shi-ni.
After reading this chapter I can’t believe how much his mother relied on superstitions. I don’t really believe in them but I do believe in karma. They were a big part in they way she lived and raised her family. Yes everyone thought she was crazy but this was her way of living. I think it is also a way for her to know when her time is up and that she would be leaving. The whole part on numbers and how they are bad luck I have heard that before but not the number forty two, it seems so random. Mothers have a way of living that sometimes we don’t understand but they have their reasons for doing it.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Chapter 34- The Semicolon
The semicolon is used to connect major sentence elements of equal grammatical rank. You want to use a semicolon between closely related independent clauses not joined with a coordinating conjunction. Those words are: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet. IF the clauses are closely related and the relation is clear without a conjunction, they may be linked with a semicolon instead. If you want to use a comma it creates a kind of run-on sentence known as comma slice.
Transitional expressions include conjunctive adverbs and transitional phrases. They should not be confused with the coordinating conjunctions and, but, or, nor, for, so and yet, which are preceded by a comma when they link independent clauses.
You don’t want to use a semicolon when you are introducing a list or between a subordinate clause and the rest of the sentence.
I always have a hard time on using semicolons because I don’t ever know if that is where they are suppose to go. After reading this chapter I figured out that in some situations I was using them wrong and do need to fix them around when writing. This chapter was very helpful and I will use it as a reference for future work.
Transitional expressions include conjunctive adverbs and transitional phrases. They should not be confused with the coordinating conjunctions and, but, or, nor, for, so and yet, which are preceded by a comma when they link independent clauses.
You don’t want to use a semicolon when you are introducing a list or between a subordinate clause and the rest of the sentence.
I always have a hard time on using semicolons because I don’t ever know if that is where they are suppose to go. After reading this chapter I figured out that in some situations I was using them wrong and do need to fix them around when writing. This chapter was very helpful and I will use it as a reference for future work.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Plantations
An agricultural system, generally a monoculture, for the production of tropical and subtropical crops, especially bananas, coffee, cocoa, cotton, palm oil, rubber, sisal, spices, sugar, and tea that are cultivated by resident laborers, which in former times were slaves. Old-style plantations, generally in Latin America, were developed to support the lavish lifestyle of their owners, but new-style plantations were often developed by colonial powers, and thus may be seen as a spatial expression of imperalism and capitalism.
Plantations were strategically located throughout the Hawaiian Islands for reasons including: fertile soil area, level topography, sufficient water for irrigation, and a mild climate with little annual variation. These plantations transformed the land primarily to suit water needs: construction of tunnels to divert water from the mountains to the plantations, reservoir construction, and well digging. Water was always a serious concern for plantation managers and owners. In the early 1900s it took one ton of water to produce one pound of refined sugar. This inefficient use of water and the relative lack of fresh water in the island environment were fiercely compounding environmental degradation. Sugar processing places significant demands on resources including irrigation, coal, iron, wood, steam, and railroads for transportation.
In contrast to the pensionados, most of the Filipino migrants to the United States during the colonial period came as cheap labor. During the first half of the twentieth century, Hawaii and California had agricultural economies requiring a constant supply of inexpensive, immigrant labor. Hawaii’s economy focused on sugar growing supported by plantation labor.
Hawaii sugar planters preferred to import Filipino labor for several reasons. First, since the HSPA paid the Filipinos the lowest wage among the different ethnic groups in the plantation, it was cheaper to import Filipino laborers even if they were provided free passage to Hawaii. Second, since the Philippines were a U.S. colony and the Filipinos were technically U.S. nationals due to their colonial status, from the legal standpoint it was practical to hire Filipinos. As U.S. nationals, there were not covered by the exclusion laws barring the importation of the other so-called "Orientals," mainly Chinese and Japanese. Third, Filipinos were viewed as leverage, an alternative labor to use against Japanese workers who were staging strikes to improve their conditions in the plantations. Fourth, because the Philippines were an agrarian country exposed to sugar growing, the HSPA felt that the Filipinos were suitable as sakadas. But sugar was not grown in Ilocos, thus Ilocanos, who comprised the bulk of the Filipino sakadas, were not really exposed to the harsh working conditions. Fifth, the Filipinos were perceived to be docile, subservient, and uneducated and, therefore, would not join labor unions and be prone to strikes. Finally, the Filipinos proved to be industrious and hardworking.
In cases of strikes, one ethnic group would be used as scab labor to break the strike of another ethnic group. Living arrangements, job assignments, and wages were also based on ethnicity. Caucasians were higher paid, considered skilled workers, and assigned supervisory positions. The lowest paid white worker was the plantation police who earned $140 a month. In contrast, the Japanese and the Filipinos were assigned the backbreaking work in the fields. They worked at least 10 hours a day, six days a week, 27 days a month for 90 cents a day or $20/month.
The Hawaiian plantations states that the workers’ response was resistance which took several forms. Workers resorted to violence like committing arson and assaulting the luna. A subtle form of response was recalcitrance such as work slowdown, intentional laziness, and inefficiency. Workers took turns serving as lookouts for the luna while the rest stopped working, smoked, and "talked story.
The workers complained of inadequate wages, poor housing, abusive plantation foreman or luna, strict plantation police, and general isolation. Plantation work was extremely difficult since it involved planting, hoeing, and carrying sugar cane. The Ilocanos were not used to this rigid, punishing working schedule. In Iloancos, they did not have to work as many hours and were not subject to a strict system, where the luna went around with a black whip and forced them to work strenuously for so many hours. The luna was backed by a police force capable of breaking down workers' resistance.
Plantations were strategically located throughout the Hawaiian Islands for reasons including: fertile soil area, level topography, sufficient water for irrigation, and a mild climate with little annual variation. These plantations transformed the land primarily to suit water needs: construction of tunnels to divert water from the mountains to the plantations, reservoir construction, and well digging. Water was always a serious concern for plantation managers and owners. In the early 1900s it took one ton of water to produce one pound of refined sugar. This inefficient use of water and the relative lack of fresh water in the island environment were fiercely compounding environmental degradation. Sugar processing places significant demands on resources including irrigation, coal, iron, wood, steam, and railroads for transportation.
In contrast to the pensionados, most of the Filipino migrants to the United States during the colonial period came as cheap labor. During the first half of the twentieth century, Hawaii and California had agricultural economies requiring a constant supply of inexpensive, immigrant labor. Hawaii’s economy focused on sugar growing supported by plantation labor.
Hawaii sugar planters preferred to import Filipino labor for several reasons. First, since the HSPA paid the Filipinos the lowest wage among the different ethnic groups in the plantation, it was cheaper to import Filipino laborers even if they were provided free passage to Hawaii. Second, since the Philippines were a U.S. colony and the Filipinos were technically U.S. nationals due to their colonial status, from the legal standpoint it was practical to hire Filipinos. As U.S. nationals, there were not covered by the exclusion laws barring the importation of the other so-called "Orientals," mainly Chinese and Japanese. Third, Filipinos were viewed as leverage, an alternative labor to use against Japanese workers who were staging strikes to improve their conditions in the plantations. Fourth, because the Philippines were an agrarian country exposed to sugar growing, the HSPA felt that the Filipinos were suitable as sakadas. But sugar was not grown in Ilocos, thus Ilocanos, who comprised the bulk of the Filipino sakadas, were not really exposed to the harsh working conditions. Fifth, the Filipinos were perceived to be docile, subservient, and uneducated and, therefore, would not join labor unions and be prone to strikes. Finally, the Filipinos proved to be industrious and hardworking.
In cases of strikes, one ethnic group would be used as scab labor to break the strike of another ethnic group. Living arrangements, job assignments, and wages were also based on ethnicity. Caucasians were higher paid, considered skilled workers, and assigned supervisory positions. The lowest paid white worker was the plantation police who earned $140 a month. In contrast, the Japanese and the Filipinos were assigned the backbreaking work in the fields. They worked at least 10 hours a day, six days a week, 27 days a month for 90 cents a day or $20/month.
The Hawaiian plantations states that the workers’ response was resistance which took several forms. Workers resorted to violence like committing arson and assaulting the luna. A subtle form of response was recalcitrance such as work slowdown, intentional laziness, and inefficiency. Workers took turns serving as lookouts for the luna while the rest stopped working, smoked, and "talked story.
The workers complained of inadequate wages, poor housing, abusive plantation foreman or luna, strict plantation police, and general isolation. Plantation work was extremely difficult since it involved planting, hoeing, and carrying sugar cane. The Ilocanos were not used to this rigid, punishing working schedule. In Iloancos, they did not have to work as many hours and were not subject to a strict system, where the luna went around with a black whip and forced them to work strenuously for so many hours. The luna was backed by a police force capable of breaking down workers' resistance.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Extra Credit: Writing About Films
The first challenge there is to writing about films has to start with the familiarity of the film that you have. Film is so familiar and so prevalent in our lives that we are often lulled into passive viewing or into simple entertainment. Sometimes we can be so caught up in the film that we skip out on the camera work, composition, editing, lighting, and sound. The production can also have struggles that we miss including rewrites, the drama of the project financed, and the casting challenges. As you analyze and write about the film remember that you aren’t writing a review. Those reviews are generally subjective: they explore an individual’s response to a film and so do not require research or analysis.
One type of film paper is called formal analysis which requires that viewer breaks the film down into its component parts and discusses how those parts contribute to the whole. It can be looked at like taking apart a tractor in a field: you lay out the parts, try to understand the function and purpose of each part, and then put them all back together.
An important research tip is to not rely on the Internet. While the Internet can provide some interesting information about film, it generally doesn’t provide you with the thoughtful analysis that will be useful to you in your work. There are some great writing tips that were in the paper and they were to focus on your topic, write a good thesis sentence, settle on a structure, write clear and coherent paragraphs, and tend to matters of grammar and style.
Overall this paper was great because it was a refresher to what we have been reading except I was able to understand it a little better. I will use this information to help me with essay three because I was having trouble with the structure and sequencing of events. Also I need to focus on my thesis and incorporating it into my essay more since it was so powerful. Another good tip that will help me with the essay is not to summarize the film so much but analyze it in the topic I am choosing to write about. Again there are challenges to writing a paper about films but this article was great in helping us get around those areas.
One type of film paper is called formal analysis which requires that viewer breaks the film down into its component parts and discusses how those parts contribute to the whole. It can be looked at like taking apart a tractor in a field: you lay out the parts, try to understand the function and purpose of each part, and then put them all back together.
An important research tip is to not rely on the Internet. While the Internet can provide some interesting information about film, it generally doesn’t provide you with the thoughtful analysis that will be useful to you in your work. There are some great writing tips that were in the paper and they were to focus on your topic, write a good thesis sentence, settle on a structure, write clear and coherent paragraphs, and tend to matters of grammar and style.
Overall this paper was great because it was a refresher to what we have been reading except I was able to understand it a little better. I will use this information to help me with essay three because I was having trouble with the structure and sequencing of events. Also I need to focus on my thesis and incorporating it into my essay more since it was so powerful. Another good tip that will help me with the essay is not to summarize the film so much but analyze it in the topic I am choosing to write about. Again there are challenges to writing a paper about films but this article was great in helping us get around those areas.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Essay 3 Draft- The Importance of Friendship
In the movie Smoke Signals we meet cousins Thomas and Victor who have had tramactic experiences happen in both their lives. Thomas’ parents were killed in a house fire and Victor’s parents separated and later on his father died. When you have something that serious happen to you all you want is someone to talk to or just to listen to your needs. Even though Thomas and Victor were two different people they had a bond that was more like a love hate relationship. Victor’s personailty was a tough guy who didn’t take any crap and Thomas was a storyteller and a nerd. In the movie you see the importance of friendship and how it helps us grow and become sucessful in life. There are some points in maintaing a great friendship and they are; being a good listener, keeping commitments, giving support, and being there through trail and tribulations. Many people will walk in and out of your life; but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
Once Victor found out about his father’s death the first one there was Thomas to see if he had found out about his dad. The story that Thomas told Victor was that he knew he was dead through the wind and he saw Victor’s mom crying. A friend would be the first one there to help comfort you but Victor got mad and bunched Thomas in the face for trying to tell him a story. At that point he was annoyed of his presnece and telling stories, all he wanted to do was run away. Part of friendship is giving support when needed and at that point I don’t think Victor was ready for it. There was a call from Susy who was Victor’s dad’s friend from Phoneix to let them know that there was stuff to be picked up and a truck to be driven back. Victor had no idea how he would afford to go down there until Thomas offered to give him the money to go. He had to think about it because he would be dealing with the annoying stories the whole way but at the same time Thomas was nice enough to give him the money. Thomas knew Victor accepted his offer when he showed up at the house.
They were on their way to Phoneix on the bus when Victor gave Thomas some great advice about not to trust anyone. He was being a good friend after Thomas believed a story that a girl told on the bus and right away Victor knew it wasn’t true. Being a good listener is a key point in the importance of friendship. Yeah Victor had to listen to all of Thomas’ stories but they all had a important meaning behind them. When the bus stopped for a break Victor tried telling Thomas that he needed to change his apperancce and try to not look like a nerd. Thomas took his advice and changed into a different looking person but still had his persoanlity as a stroyteller. Victor knew that if he changed people would look at him differently and not as a weird person. In my life growing up with my girl friends we were always giving eachother advice on what we needed to keep things going and to me that was a major importance to friendship. You need to trust your friends and what they say and you never want to doubt them. We always need to be a good listener and remember what our friends tell us because it can be valuable information for the future.
When they got to the home of Victor’s dad Susy was there to greet them. Right away Victor stood back and just wanted to get it over with but Thomas took the inituative to meet Susy and get to know her. This was important not only to get to know her but because she told Victor all the stories about him that his dad told her. When you meet someone new for the first time you may have a hard time believing what they say but Susy was trying to tell Victor that his father loved him and he told her all the fun they use to have. It is important as you grow up to have a clsoe friendship with your parents. Once Victor walked into his dad’s trailer it was hard for him due to the smell and all the memories he had with his dad. Some of those memories weren’t good ones but once he saw the picture with the word home on the back he got a better understanding of his dad and the love he had for him.
The way home from Phoenix Thomas and Victor had a long way to go before reaching home which left a lot of time to relive the trip and the past. After the adventure they went on together Victor changed his view on Thomas and considered him to be a friend. When in Phoenix Victor found out the truth on what happened the night Thomas’ parents were killed and that Victor’s father actually started the fire with fireworks. As Victor was dropping Thomas off at home he apologized to him and told him that his dad didn’t mean to start the fire, Thomas agreed that he knew he didn’t. Victor shared the ashes of his father with Thomas since he was like a father figure to him and Thomas did go on the adventure with him. Standing by your friends during hard times shows true friendship between each other and you can live with that memory forever.
Overall friendships are very important to have in your life even though you will always meet new people and others will always leave. Understandings and being sensitive is also very important because this is to maintain your bond which had been developed. You need to bear in mind that “true friends are hard to come by”. Hold onto your friendships; let them know you value them and do your best to solve problems as quickly as they arise. Trust your instincts and follow your heart!
Once Victor found out about his father’s death the first one there was Thomas to see if he had found out about his dad. The story that Thomas told Victor was that he knew he was dead through the wind and he saw Victor’s mom crying. A friend would be the first one there to help comfort you but Victor got mad and bunched Thomas in the face for trying to tell him a story. At that point he was annoyed of his presnece and telling stories, all he wanted to do was run away. Part of friendship is giving support when needed and at that point I don’t think Victor was ready for it. There was a call from Susy who was Victor’s dad’s friend from Phoneix to let them know that there was stuff to be picked up and a truck to be driven back. Victor had no idea how he would afford to go down there until Thomas offered to give him the money to go. He had to think about it because he would be dealing with the annoying stories the whole way but at the same time Thomas was nice enough to give him the money. Thomas knew Victor accepted his offer when he showed up at the house.
They were on their way to Phoneix on the bus when Victor gave Thomas some great advice about not to trust anyone. He was being a good friend after Thomas believed a story that a girl told on the bus and right away Victor knew it wasn’t true. Being a good listener is a key point in the importance of friendship. Yeah Victor had to listen to all of Thomas’ stories but they all had a important meaning behind them. When the bus stopped for a break Victor tried telling Thomas that he needed to change his apperancce and try to not look like a nerd. Thomas took his advice and changed into a different looking person but still had his persoanlity as a stroyteller. Victor knew that if he changed people would look at him differently and not as a weird person. In my life growing up with my girl friends we were always giving eachother advice on what we needed to keep things going and to me that was a major importance to friendship. You need to trust your friends and what they say and you never want to doubt them. We always need to be a good listener and remember what our friends tell us because it can be valuable information for the future.
When they got to the home of Victor’s dad Susy was there to greet them. Right away Victor stood back and just wanted to get it over with but Thomas took the inituative to meet Susy and get to know her. This was important not only to get to know her but because she told Victor all the stories about him that his dad told her. When you meet someone new for the first time you may have a hard time believing what they say but Susy was trying to tell Victor that his father loved him and he told her all the fun they use to have. It is important as you grow up to have a clsoe friendship with your parents. Once Victor walked into his dad’s trailer it was hard for him due to the smell and all the memories he had with his dad. Some of those memories weren’t good ones but once he saw the picture with the word home on the back he got a better understanding of his dad and the love he had for him.
The way home from Phoenix Thomas and Victor had a long way to go before reaching home which left a lot of time to relive the trip and the past. After the adventure they went on together Victor changed his view on Thomas and considered him to be a friend. When in Phoenix Victor found out the truth on what happened the night Thomas’ parents were killed and that Victor’s father actually started the fire with fireworks. As Victor was dropping Thomas off at home he apologized to him and told him that his dad didn’t mean to start the fire, Thomas agreed that he knew he didn’t. Victor shared the ashes of his father with Thomas since he was like a father figure to him and Thomas did go on the adventure with him. Standing by your friends during hard times shows true friendship between each other and you can live with that memory forever.
Overall friendships are very important to have in your life even though you will always meet new people and others will always leave. Understandings and being sensitive is also very important because this is to maintain your bond which had been developed. You need to bear in mind that “true friends are hard to come by”. Hold onto your friendships; let them know you value them and do your best to solve problems as quickly as they arise. Trust your instincts and follow your heart!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona Dialogue
What’s one difference between this reading and the movie version? How does the change affect the story, change the meaning and/or alter our perspectives of the characters?
This story was very interesting to read once you have seen the movie and see how many differences there were between the two. One difference that I saw was about how in the story it talks about Thomas’ parent’s death and what happened. In the story Thomas’ dad died in Okinawa in World War II fighting for his country and his mother died giving birth to him. She took her final breath pushing Thomas out. This is totally different than what the movie stated and was such a big part to the plot. Now in the movie version Thomas’ parents were killed in a house fire that Victor’s dad started with fireworks.
This difference in the description of how they died does affect the story because it is the main reason for Victor and Thomas and their relationship. You don’t really know that they are cousins in the story but it points it out right away in the movie. The movie ends with Victor telling Thomas that his father didn’t mean to kill his parents and in the story the main topic is the relationship between the two boys. Thomas already knew at the end of the movie how his parents died. You never hear about Thomas’ parents as much in the story as you do in the movie. The perspectives on the characters don’t really change because Victor is still the tough one and Thomas is the annoying one with all the stories. The fire in the house to me is the signal of the whole movie just like when the girl in the movie burns down the trailer. The smallest details can change a story around and make it sound different. I do like both the story and the movie but do have to agree the movie was better. If we read the story before the movie I believe my opinion would be the same.
This story was very interesting to read once you have seen the movie and see how many differences there were between the two. One difference that I saw was about how in the story it talks about Thomas’ parent’s death and what happened. In the story Thomas’ dad died in Okinawa in World War II fighting for his country and his mother died giving birth to him. She took her final breath pushing Thomas out. This is totally different than what the movie stated and was such a big part to the plot. Now in the movie version Thomas’ parents were killed in a house fire that Victor’s dad started with fireworks.
This difference in the description of how they died does affect the story because it is the main reason for Victor and Thomas and their relationship. You don’t really know that they are cousins in the story but it points it out right away in the movie. The movie ends with Victor telling Thomas that his father didn’t mean to kill his parents and in the story the main topic is the relationship between the two boys. Thomas already knew at the end of the movie how his parents died. You never hear about Thomas’ parents as much in the story as you do in the movie. The perspectives on the characters don’t really change because Victor is still the tough one and Thomas is the annoying one with all the stories. The fire in the house to me is the signal of the whole movie just like when the girl in the movie burns down the trailer. The smallest details can change a story around and make it sound different. I do like both the story and the movie but do have to agree the movie was better. If we read the story before the movie I believe my opinion would be the same.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Chapter 51 Summary
When researching you want to be a good record keeper whether its on paper or on your computer. You will need methods for maintaining a working bibliography, keeping track of source materials, and taking notes without plagiarizing. A working bibliography is when you compile the list of sources that will appear at the end of your paper. It will contain more sources than you will actually include in your list of works cited. Once you have written your bibliography you can annotate it by writing several brief sentences summarizing key points of a source will help you identify the source’s role in your paper.
A way to keep track of your sources is to photo copy, print them out or save them to a disk. These will help you because you save time in the library, high light key points or color code them to help with your outline. When you take notes and jot down ideas you need to be careful not to borrow language from you sources. Even if you half-copy the author’s sentences either by mixing the phrases with your own without quotation marks or by plugging your synonyms into the structure is considered plagiarism. You want to keep the source close to you so you can check for accuracy and don’t try and put ideas in your own words. There are three kinds of note taking: summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting. Summaries should be in your own words and be shorter paragraphs. If you do use phrases from a source put quotation marks around it. Paraphrasing is like a summary but it retells the information in roughly the same number of words. When using the source again make sure to have quotation marks surrounding it so you will know which words aren’t yours.
Overall this chapter was helpful because these days we have so many more ways to get sources and to some people cut and paste is the way they do their papers. Without the internet I think we had to use our own words more and now days you type one word into the search engine and you get a ton of information. We need to go back to when I was in school and use our brains more from the knowledge we know and not how to take stuff from the internet and think it’s ours.
A way to keep track of your sources is to photo copy, print them out or save them to a disk. These will help you because you save time in the library, high light key points or color code them to help with your outline. When you take notes and jot down ideas you need to be careful not to borrow language from you sources. Even if you half-copy the author’s sentences either by mixing the phrases with your own without quotation marks or by plugging your synonyms into the structure is considered plagiarism. You want to keep the source close to you so you can check for accuracy and don’t try and put ideas in your own words. There are three kinds of note taking: summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting. Summaries should be in your own words and be shorter paragraphs. If you do use phrases from a source put quotation marks around it. Paraphrasing is like a summary but it retells the information in roughly the same number of words. When using the source again make sure to have quotation marks surrounding it so you will know which words aren’t yours.
Overall this chapter was helpful because these days we have so many more ways to get sources and to some people cut and paste is the way they do their papers. Without the internet I think we had to use our own words more and now days you type one word into the search engine and you get a ton of information. We need to go back to when I was in school and use our brains more from the knowledge we know and not how to take stuff from the internet and think it’s ours.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Smoke Signals
Choose a scene from the movie and share your critical thinking in response.
The movie Smoke Signals is about two Coeur d’Alene Indians named Victor and Thomas who grew up together like brothers. They were infants when the night of the big fire happened and Victor’s dad Joseph saved Thomas from the blaze. He than grew up with his grandmother and Victor had a horrible child hood. Joseph was an alcoholic and one day he hit his wife across the face and she asked him to leave and he does. Victor was very upset and Thomas was not very helpful. They had a relationship that was like brothers and Thomas just happened to be the dorky and annoying one and Victor was the cocky and tough one. When Victor’s father died he had to go to Arizona and pick up his stuff and truck and the only way it was happening was if Thomas went because he had the money.
The scene that I chose to talk about was when they got onto the bus and there communication with others. When they first stepped onto the bus everyone starred at them like they had seen a ghost. That to me showed that people judge things by the cover and because you don’t see Indians that much they didn’t know how to respond. Once Thomas started communicating to the lady who said she was in the Olympics and all the details, Victor was able to get out of her that she was just an alternate and never competed so she was lying. Victor told Thomas to “never trust anyone”. I agree with him saying that to Thomas because even though that movie was a long time ago that phrase is still important today. You can hardly do anything without someone knowing your information or your life. We now have major media influences that don’t help privacy or confidently. When you are someone of another culture you shouldn’t trust others outside of your culture until you are for sure it is safe. Victor also brought up how not to trust the white people too which I also agree with even though I am white. Many of us in our background as white people get looked at as snotty or not nice to others. Many people at my work are of the Mexican culture and I do notice that they confide in each other more than bonding with me. It takes them a while to adjust to me and it makes me feel like they don’t want to talk to me because they think I am better than them.
Overall you have to watch your back in the world today and take Victor’s comments seriously and make sure your friends are true friends like Thomas. The journey that they went on showed manhood, friendship, forgiveness and the importance of their culture as Indians. After Victor learned that his dad did want to come back home all those years and that he wasn’t a bad father, Victor was able to connect with him. He cut his hair at the end like his father and got on his knees and howled like an Indian like his dad when spreading his ashes. I really enjoyed this movie and saw many scenes that were great and had meaningful thoughts.
The movie Smoke Signals is about two Coeur d’Alene Indians named Victor and Thomas who grew up together like brothers. They were infants when the night of the big fire happened and Victor’s dad Joseph saved Thomas from the blaze. He than grew up with his grandmother and Victor had a horrible child hood. Joseph was an alcoholic and one day he hit his wife across the face and she asked him to leave and he does. Victor was very upset and Thomas was not very helpful. They had a relationship that was like brothers and Thomas just happened to be the dorky and annoying one and Victor was the cocky and tough one. When Victor’s father died he had to go to Arizona and pick up his stuff and truck and the only way it was happening was if Thomas went because he had the money.
The scene that I chose to talk about was when they got onto the bus and there communication with others. When they first stepped onto the bus everyone starred at them like they had seen a ghost. That to me showed that people judge things by the cover and because you don’t see Indians that much they didn’t know how to respond. Once Thomas started communicating to the lady who said she was in the Olympics and all the details, Victor was able to get out of her that she was just an alternate and never competed so she was lying. Victor told Thomas to “never trust anyone”. I agree with him saying that to Thomas because even though that movie was a long time ago that phrase is still important today. You can hardly do anything without someone knowing your information or your life. We now have major media influences that don’t help privacy or confidently. When you are someone of another culture you shouldn’t trust others outside of your culture until you are for sure it is safe. Victor also brought up how not to trust the white people too which I also agree with even though I am white. Many of us in our background as white people get looked at as snotty or not nice to others. Many people at my work are of the Mexican culture and I do notice that they confide in each other more than bonding with me. It takes them a while to adjust to me and it makes me feel like they don’t want to talk to me because they think I am better than them.
Overall you have to watch your back in the world today and take Victor’s comments seriously and make sure your friends are true friends like Thomas. The journey that they went on showed manhood, friendship, forgiveness and the importance of their culture as Indians. After Victor learned that his dad did want to come back home all those years and that he wasn’t a bad father, Victor was able to connect with him. He cut his hair at the end like his father and got on his knees and howled like an Indian like his dad when spreading his ashes. I really enjoyed this movie and saw many scenes that were great and had meaningful thoughts.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Chapter 13 Summary
In the first part you are learning about keeping the point of view consistent in person and number. It will consist of first person (I or we), second person (you), or third person (he, she, it, one or they). The I (or we) point of view emphasizes the writer and is a good choice for informal letters and writings based primarily on personal experience. The you point of view emphasizes the reader and works well for giving advice or explaining how to do something. The third person point of view emphasizes the subject and is appropriate in formal academic and professional writing. When you are having trouble with the point of view you will tend to shift confusingly from one to another. The solution is to choose suitable perspective and then stay with it.
Consistent verb tenses clearly establish the time of the actions being described. When a passage begins in one tense and then shifts without warning and for no reason the readers are distracted and confused. It also affects when you do an unnecessary shift with a mood and voice. There are three moods in English: the indicative, used for facts, opinions, and questions; the imperative, used for orders, or advice; and the subjunctive, used in certain contexts to express wishes or conditions contrary to fact. With voice there is active or passive. If you don’t use those terms write again your readers will be left with asking why.
The last part is on sudden shifts from indirect to direct questions or quotations. An indirect question reports a question without asking it and direct questions asks it directly. Sentences that contain shifts are impossible to punctuate because indirect questions must end with a period and direct questions must end with a question mark.
This chapter was informative because there are times where I don’t shift very well and end up leaving my reader asking a why. It was a shorter chapter but it was straight to the point and helped me with many examples on each subtitle. I look forward to using this chapter to help me with the upcoming chapters and essays.
Consistent verb tenses clearly establish the time of the actions being described. When a passage begins in one tense and then shifts without warning and for no reason the readers are distracted and confused. It also affects when you do an unnecessary shift with a mood and voice. There are three moods in English: the indicative, used for facts, opinions, and questions; the imperative, used for orders, or advice; and the subjunctive, used in certain contexts to express wishes or conditions contrary to fact. With voice there is active or passive. If you don’t use those terms write again your readers will be left with asking why.
The last part is on sudden shifts from indirect to direct questions or quotations. An indirect question reports a question without asking it and direct questions asks it directly. Sentences that contain shifts are impossible to punctuate because indirect questions must end with a period and direct questions must end with a question mark.
This chapter was informative because there are times where I don’t shift very well and end up leaving my reader asking a why. It was a shorter chapter but it was straight to the point and helped me with many examples on each subtitle. I look forward to using this chapter to help me with the upcoming chapters and essays.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
"Happy Endings," "Obituary," and "oompah Loompah" Dialogue
For my response I chose a quote from the Obituary story but also tied in my response to Mr. Harvey. The quote is, “No one will want to give you a job. You sound uneducated. You will be looked down upon. You’re speaking a low-class form of good Standard English. Continue, and you’ll go nowhere in life. Listen, students, I’m telling you the truth like no one else will. Because they don’t know how to say it to you. I do, Speak Standard English. DO NOT speak pidgin. You will only be hurting yourselves.” This quote shows how strongly Mr. Harvey took his teaching but I think it was a little too strong. After reading this quote I am glad that he wasn’t my teacher. It is very negative and would make anyone feel worthless. Learning a new language and having to write and speak it would be hard for anyone. The kids he taught spoke pidgin which is an English/ Hawaiian Creole mix that the children were used too. Any child who has to learn a new way of speaking and writing usually has to learn at a young age to get the knowledge so some fifth graders might be harder to work with. As a teacher he should be helping them learn and be positive while doing it. I don’t know if he is just burnt out on teaching and should retire or if he enjoys putting kids down. In all my years of going to school I have never experience someone like him or heard such a strong opinion in a quote before.
As a early childhood teacher I feel sorry for the children in his class and hope that there aren’t anymore teachers out there like that. I do feel he was maybe trying to help them but his negative personality just made him word it so strongly. I have children in my class who have Spanish as their first language and now they have to try and learn English at the age of two. They are getting the mixed languages which can have an effect but we never look down or tell them they are of a lower class. When you take on the job as a teacher you are helping children learn no matter the subject or age.
As a early childhood teacher I feel sorry for the children in his class and hope that there aren’t anymore teachers out there like that. I do feel he was maybe trying to help them but his negative personality just made him word it so strongly. I have children in my class who have Spanish as their first language and now they have to try and learn English at the age of two. They are getting the mixed languages which can have an effect but we never look down or tell them they are of a lower class. When you take on the job as a teacher you are helping children learn no matter the subject or age.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Chapter 48 Summary
In this chapter you learn how to evaluate arguments and in our own writing you do this for fairness and logic. Inductive reasoning is when you are generalizing all the time as a writer. We are looking at a sample of data and conclude that data we have not observed will most likely conform to what we have seen. One way to evaluate arguments is if they are reasonable or logical fallacies which are unreasonable and our hasty generalizations and false analogies. With hasty generalization it is when a conclusion is based on insufficient or unrepresentative evidence. A good example is a stereotype which is common because our human tendency to perceive selectively. A good quote from that section is, “we tend to only see what we want to see.” This opinion was already formed and we fail to notice evidence that is with it. Some example words that hasty generalizations include are, all, ever, always, and never, when qualifiers such as most, many, unusually, and seldom would be more accurate.
Making assumptions is a claim that is taken to be true with out the need of proof. Most arguments are based to some extent on assumptions, since writers don’t have much time and space to prove all the claims. Many things can happen if you don’t have the proof to back things up and it can become very controversial.
Deductive reasoning can often be structured in a three step argument called a syllogism. The steps are, 1- anything that increases radiation in the environment is dangerous to the public (major premise), 2- nuclear reactors increase radiation in the environment (minor premise), and 3- therefore, nuclear reactors are dangerous to public health (conclusion). Each of these is about the same thing but worded differently. The major premise is a generalization, the minor premise is a specific case, and the conclusion follows from applying the generalization to the specific case.
These are some ways to evaluate arguments and there are many more throughout the section. This chapter would be a great help when you have to write a debate paper or if you need help in arguing a point on a topic. I will use this chapter to help with future assignments whether it is in this class or another class.
Making assumptions is a claim that is taken to be true with out the need of proof. Most arguments are based to some extent on assumptions, since writers don’t have much time and space to prove all the claims. Many things can happen if you don’t have the proof to back things up and it can become very controversial.
Deductive reasoning can often be structured in a three step argument called a syllogism. The steps are, 1- anything that increases radiation in the environment is dangerous to the public (major premise), 2- nuclear reactors increase radiation in the environment (minor premise), and 3- therefore, nuclear reactors are dangerous to public health (conclusion). Each of these is about the same thing but worded differently. The major premise is a generalization, the minor premise is a specific case, and the conclusion follows from applying the generalization to the specific case.
These are some ways to evaluate arguments and there are many more throughout the section. This chapter would be a great help when you have to write a debate paper or if you need help in arguing a point on a topic. I will use this chapter to help with future assignments whether it is in this class or another class.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Essay 2
Do you relate to one of the characters? How? Why?
In the story “Coming Home Again” I can relate to the character Chang-rae Lee in the fact that both our families were the same just different cultures. He describes how all he wanted to do was watch his mother cook in the kitchen. My grandmother was a little but stubborn Italian woman who had a passion for cooking. She would spend all day cooking to make sure everyone in her family was fed. For family holidays she wouldn’t let anyone cook, so we would all end up at there house. Together Chang-rae and I began to see that there was something going on in the kitchen and we wanted to see and learn. As you know every time you have a dinner everyone ends up in the kitchen. Chang-rae and I have similar stories in the fact that we were trying to explore our curiosities but were being pushed away to help us learn the importance of life other than being in the kitchen.
When I was about seven years old I started to love watching my grandmother cook in the kitchen. It was amazing what she could do with food and it looked impossible to learn. She would get mad if I was in there because I was too small and could get hurt. There was times where I got in her way because she was so short that she wouldn’t see me and almost fall. I watched everything that she did from the first step of the recipe to the last step. There were times I would become frustrated because I thought she didn’t want me there to help her or learn how she did things. Chang-rae also showed an interest in his mothers cooking and also was shown the cold shoulder for being in the kitchen. In the story Chang-rae mentioned that he would sneak back into the kitchen to get a peak of what she was doing and with me I would move on to a barstool and watch over my grandmothers shoulder.
As our family got bigger there were more family dinners and the house would be full of Italians. No one else but me showed an interest in my grandmother’s cooking, everyone just enjoyed eating it. My grandmother would light up when she would have the whole family at her house from children, grand children and friends. We would have dinners every weekend to keep the family close.
Being the first child and grand child born I did receive the special treatment and I was allowed not to eat many things if I didn’t like them but with my grandmother you couldn’t get away with that. You had to finish everything on your plate or you were in big trouble. With out her pushing me like that I would have become a very picky child. Chang-rae was also the first child born and we can relate to being the number one prize. I think that has to do with why I love to cook and loved learning new things.
Chang-rae was sent to boarding school when he was fifteen years old which impacted his life and relationship with his mother. Not only was education important in his family but also in mine. You were expected to succeed in school and career choices and never fail. I was never allowed to get anything lower than a B and if I did my grandmother would never be happy. She just wanted us to have a good life and experience everything out in the world.
As I grew up the memories of cooking in the kitchen with my grandma became more important because she was getting older and was becoming ill. Chang-rae’s mother had cancer of the stomach and my grandmother just became too weak to enjoy food. I use to cook meals for her and she could hardly finish but the enjoyment of her face watching me in the kitchen was enough to satisfy me. There were times where you could hear a silent whisper of her trying to correct my steps but I would just nod my head and not argue with a sick and stubborn Italian. It was my senior year in high school and the weekend of my eighteenth birthday when my world changed. I was getting ready for a huge birthday party and there were lots of things to do, especially preparing my food menu. Even though it was my birthday I wanted to show everyone what I have learned over the years. The night before my party around 1:30am we got a call from my grandpa saying my grandmother was in the hospital. We all jumped out of bed and drove down. I remember seeing my grandmother lying in the bed sick as a dog and white as a ghost. I had a gut feeling something was going to happen. She opened up her eyes and told me she loved me and that was the last thing she said. She passed away ten years ago on my eighteenth birthday and my world was over.
In Chang-rae’s story and mine we related in the fact that we had two people we loved very much who were trying to teach us the importance of life even though it revolved around a kitchen and food. We had the best time learning the tricks of how each culture cooks there food by watching the pros. Chang-rae’s mom wanted him to succeed in a career that offered him a better life and my grandmother wanted me to carry on the tradition of the closeness of Italian families. Trying to explore our curiosities of what was so important about cooking in the kitchen led both of us to have great lives even though we were being pushed away.
In the story “Coming Home Again” I can relate to the character Chang-rae Lee in the fact that both our families were the same just different cultures. He describes how all he wanted to do was watch his mother cook in the kitchen. My grandmother was a little but stubborn Italian woman who had a passion for cooking. She would spend all day cooking to make sure everyone in her family was fed. For family holidays she wouldn’t let anyone cook, so we would all end up at there house. Together Chang-rae and I began to see that there was something going on in the kitchen and we wanted to see and learn. As you know every time you have a dinner everyone ends up in the kitchen. Chang-rae and I have similar stories in the fact that we were trying to explore our curiosities but were being pushed away to help us learn the importance of life other than being in the kitchen.
When I was about seven years old I started to love watching my grandmother cook in the kitchen. It was amazing what she could do with food and it looked impossible to learn. She would get mad if I was in there because I was too small and could get hurt. There was times where I got in her way because she was so short that she wouldn’t see me and almost fall. I watched everything that she did from the first step of the recipe to the last step. There were times I would become frustrated because I thought she didn’t want me there to help her or learn how she did things. Chang-rae also showed an interest in his mothers cooking and also was shown the cold shoulder for being in the kitchen. In the story Chang-rae mentioned that he would sneak back into the kitchen to get a peak of what she was doing and with me I would move on to a barstool and watch over my grandmothers shoulder.
As our family got bigger there were more family dinners and the house would be full of Italians. No one else but me showed an interest in my grandmother’s cooking, everyone just enjoyed eating it. My grandmother would light up when she would have the whole family at her house from children, grand children and friends. We would have dinners every weekend to keep the family close.
Being the first child and grand child born I did receive the special treatment and I was allowed not to eat many things if I didn’t like them but with my grandmother you couldn’t get away with that. You had to finish everything on your plate or you were in big trouble. With out her pushing me like that I would have become a very picky child. Chang-rae was also the first child born and we can relate to being the number one prize. I think that has to do with why I love to cook and loved learning new things.
Chang-rae was sent to boarding school when he was fifteen years old which impacted his life and relationship with his mother. Not only was education important in his family but also in mine. You were expected to succeed in school and career choices and never fail. I was never allowed to get anything lower than a B and if I did my grandmother would never be happy. She just wanted us to have a good life and experience everything out in the world.
As I grew up the memories of cooking in the kitchen with my grandma became more important because she was getting older and was becoming ill. Chang-rae’s mother had cancer of the stomach and my grandmother just became too weak to enjoy food. I use to cook meals for her and she could hardly finish but the enjoyment of her face watching me in the kitchen was enough to satisfy me. There were times where you could hear a silent whisper of her trying to correct my steps but I would just nod my head and not argue with a sick and stubborn Italian. It was my senior year in high school and the weekend of my eighteenth birthday when my world changed. I was getting ready for a huge birthday party and there were lots of things to do, especially preparing my food menu. Even though it was my birthday I wanted to show everyone what I have learned over the years. The night before my party around 1:30am we got a call from my grandpa saying my grandmother was in the hospital. We all jumped out of bed and drove down. I remember seeing my grandmother lying in the bed sick as a dog and white as a ghost. I had a gut feeling something was going to happen. She opened up her eyes and told me she loved me and that was the last thing she said. She passed away ten years ago on my eighteenth birthday and my world was over.
In Chang-rae’s story and mine we related in the fact that we had two people we loved very much who were trying to teach us the importance of life even though it revolved around a kitchen and food. We had the best time learning the tricks of how each culture cooks there food by watching the pros. Chang-rae’s mom wanted him to succeed in a career that offered him a better life and my grandmother wanted me to carry on the tradition of the closeness of Italian families. Trying to explore our curiosities of what was so important about cooking in the kitchen led both of us to have great lives even though we were being pushed away.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
"Shooting Dad" Dialogue
What is the significance to the title?
This story written by Sarah Vowell is about a young girl who grew up in a divided house. You could see the Democratic sign in one window and the Republican sign in the other window. The title to this story has a few different meanings that I found throughout reading it.
The first one is that her dad is a gunsmith who made and only cared about guns. He spent most of his time in the garage making rifle barrels and you could see he passion for guns throughout the house. For example you could see the mounted antlers on the wall from the deer he shot and the metal shavings were all over waiting for an accident to happen by someone else in the house. He would make blue prints of all his inventions he was trying to create and it was scattered everywhere. At first he only had his daughter Amy involved and loving guns but you notice a huge change in Sarah towards the end of the story.
The second thing is that his biggest “tool of death” was the nineteenth century cannon he was making. He was dedicated to this tool because he made it from scratch and it took him two years. It was a small replica of the cannon called the Big Horn Gun in front of Bozeman’s Pioneer Museum. There was history behind the original cannon and her dad takes it to heart and wants to carry on the importance. The story also involves Sarah’s great-great-grandfather John Vowell who fought under pro-slavery. The cannon is a map of all his obsessions-firearms, certainly, but also American history and family history, subjects he’s never bothered separating from each other.
The last thing has to do what happens after her father dies and what to do with the ashes. He wants his wife and two daughters to carry the cannon up to the top of the Gravellies and looking off at Sphinx Mountain and put him into brown paper bags. His remark is, “I can take me last hunting trip on opening day.” They will plunge the remains into the cannon, light the fuse and not cover their ears and watch their father shot out of the cannon into the earth.
The overall importance about the title has to do with a man who loves guns and chooses that as his profession. There were different meanings to the title and one important thing is his love for family. He wanted to get his daughters involved with what he loved but at first only got one of them involved. Sarah was into art but deep down her and her father were exactly the same and both shared a passion for the same thing ART.
This story written by Sarah Vowell is about a young girl who grew up in a divided house. You could see the Democratic sign in one window and the Republican sign in the other window. The title to this story has a few different meanings that I found throughout reading it.
The first one is that her dad is a gunsmith who made and only cared about guns. He spent most of his time in the garage making rifle barrels and you could see he passion for guns throughout the house. For example you could see the mounted antlers on the wall from the deer he shot and the metal shavings were all over waiting for an accident to happen by someone else in the house. He would make blue prints of all his inventions he was trying to create and it was scattered everywhere. At first he only had his daughter Amy involved and loving guns but you notice a huge change in Sarah towards the end of the story.
The second thing is that his biggest “tool of death” was the nineteenth century cannon he was making. He was dedicated to this tool because he made it from scratch and it took him two years. It was a small replica of the cannon called the Big Horn Gun in front of Bozeman’s Pioneer Museum. There was history behind the original cannon and her dad takes it to heart and wants to carry on the importance. The story also involves Sarah’s great-great-grandfather John Vowell who fought under pro-slavery. The cannon is a map of all his obsessions-firearms, certainly, but also American history and family history, subjects he’s never bothered separating from each other.
The last thing has to do what happens after her father dies and what to do with the ashes. He wants his wife and two daughters to carry the cannon up to the top of the Gravellies and looking off at Sphinx Mountain and put him into brown paper bags. His remark is, “I can take me last hunting trip on opening day.” They will plunge the remains into the cannon, light the fuse and not cover their ears and watch their father shot out of the cannon into the earth.
The overall importance about the title has to do with a man who loves guns and chooses that as his profession. There were different meanings to the title and one important thing is his love for family. He wanted to get his daughters involved with what he loved but at first only got one of them involved. Sarah was into art but deep down her and her father were exactly the same and both shared a passion for the same thing ART.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Chapter 47 Summary
In this chapter we are learning about constructing reasonable arguments which is when your goal is not simply to win or to have the last word. Your aim is to explain your understanding of the truth about a subject or to propose the best solution available fro solving a problem. The audience should be viewed as jurors who will make up their minds after reading or listening to you. For example in scholarly debates you will be addressing readers who share your interest in a discipline such as literature or psychology. With the introduction you are going to have the sentences leading up to the thesis establish your credibility with readers by showing that you are knowledgeable and fair-minded. A tip that was mentioned in this chapter was to test a thesis while drafting and revising is to imagine a counterargument to your argument. The next part would be to make sure and have back up for your thesis and to sum up the main points of the argument so you will have a rough outline to your essay. After you come up with the main part of the argument you will need to list evidence to support the thesis. For example some things to include are, using facts and statistics, examples and illustrations, and citing expert opinion. When it is time to deal with the counter opposing arguments there is no best place in an essay to deal with their views. It is best to do it at the beginning of the essay where after your thesis is written you might have a paragraph that takes up the most important counterargument. Making sure that you explain the arguments of others accurately and fairly in you essay.
It is hard for me to understand this section because I always have to have the last word in an argument so I don’t know if I could write an essay on a topic to where there would be a debate on the issue. I have written some things on abortion which is a strong subject for me and I think I could write for days on that topic and not want to hear the counterarguments. Debates are also not my favorite thing to do, I remember in high school trying to do everything possible not to have to participate in them. People are allowed to have their opinions on anything in this world but do be prepared for those who disagree and want you to know their side. I hope to experience writing arguments sometime in the future to be able to use this chapter as a reference to help me get through the essay.
It is hard for me to understand this section because I always have to have the last word in an argument so I don’t know if I could write an essay on a topic to where there would be a debate on the issue. I have written some things on abortion which is a strong subject for me and I think I could write for days on that topic and not want to hear the counterarguments. Debates are also not my favorite thing to do, I remember in high school trying to do everything possible not to have to participate in them. People are allowed to have their opinions on anything in this world but do be prepared for those who disagree and want you to know their side. I hope to experience writing arguments sometime in the future to be able to use this chapter as a reference to help me get through the essay.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Coming Home Again Dialogue
What’s the importance of food in this essay?
During this story I became very hungry while reading it and everything sounded delicious. The importance of food in this story reflects family and culture. He talked about how he used to watch his mother cook in the kitchen starting at a very young age and observe the ways she used to do things. This kept the bond of him and his mother together and he enjoyed doing the same things she did. There were times she kicked him out of the kitchen but he would return. Other main importance is that he was able to learn foods from his culture and be able to keep those memories and recipes in his head for the future.
When his mom became sick with cancer of the stomach is was sad because of how much she used to cook and now she couldn’t eat. The last meal she ate was made by him which was an assortment of finger foods. She actually became a little hungry and it had been a long time since she had eaten something he had cooked. She was trying to enjoy a special meal but it was difficult.
This story reminds me of a relative I have who became ill and no longer can enjoy the great foods of our Italian culture. Her daughter actually has now taken over in the kitchen and has learned the same way he did by looking over everything mom did in the kitchen. Family is everything and spending time with them any way you can, will help bring the memories alive even if it has to do with the simple thing like food.
During this story I became very hungry while reading it and everything sounded delicious. The importance of food in this story reflects family and culture. He talked about how he used to watch his mother cook in the kitchen starting at a very young age and observe the ways she used to do things. This kept the bond of him and his mother together and he enjoyed doing the same things she did. There were times she kicked him out of the kitchen but he would return. Other main importance is that he was able to learn foods from his culture and be able to keep those memories and recipes in his head for the future.
When his mom became sick with cancer of the stomach is was sad because of how much she used to cook and now she couldn’t eat. The last meal she ate was made by him which was an assortment of finger foods. She actually became a little hungry and it had been a long time since she had eaten something he had cooked. She was trying to enjoy a special meal but it was difficult.
This story reminds me of a relative I have who became ill and no longer can enjoy the great foods of our Italian culture. Her daughter actually has now taken over in the kitchen and has learned the same way he did by looking over everything mom did in the kitchen. Family is everything and spending time with them any way you can, will help bring the memories alive even if it has to do with the simple thing like food.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Chapter 46 Summary
In this chapter you are learning about writing texts which are a like a summary or an analysis and actually can be considered to be both. If writing about a written text there is two techniques that can help you with the process. One is annotating the text with your observations and questions and the second one is outlining the text’s key points. Active reading involves writing down questions and thoughts in a notebook so you have them visually. When doing that use a pencil instead of a highlighter because you can make more comments about the text. Another group of guidelines that can be used for active reading is: familiarize yourself with the basic features and structure of the text, note details that surprise puzzle, or intrigue you, and read and reread to discover meaning, and lastly apply critical thinking strategies to visual texts.
Next you want to sketch a brief outline of the text so you can see how the author constructed a text. Pay special attention to the text’s thesis and its topic sentences. A way to outline a visual text is to try and define its purpose and sketch a list of its key elements. To summarize a written text first find the thesis and then divide the whole piece into a few major and perhaps minor ideas. You want to make sure the key points are brief but accurate. Next if you are going to analyze an image you want to examine it as a whole and than reflect on how the individual elements contribute to its overall meaning.
This chapter was a little confusing to me but the main point is to actively read the text and than you analyze the text either written or visually. The guidelines listed in the chapter help me understand the concept better as well as the essay example.
Next you want to sketch a brief outline of the text so you can see how the author constructed a text. Pay special attention to the text’s thesis and its topic sentences. A way to outline a visual text is to try and define its purpose and sketch a list of its key elements. To summarize a written text first find the thesis and then divide the whole piece into a few major and perhaps minor ideas. You want to make sure the key points are brief but accurate. Next if you are going to analyze an image you want to examine it as a whole and than reflect on how the individual elements contribute to its overall meaning.
This chapter was a little confusing to me but the main point is to actively read the text and than you analyze the text either written or visually. The guidelines listed in the chapter help me understand the concept better as well as the essay example.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The Day My Life Changed
In this photo you will find a beautiful baby girl named Isabella Lynn Neal who was born on March 7, 2008. On that day my life was changed forever and the view of everything turned on that eight pound 2 ounce baby. She looks so calm and peaceful in this picture with no worries of her life to come. Once she was wheeled out into my room, no one was concerned about me but how their new grand daughter, niece and cousin was doing. There is no handbook or directions for the preparation of having a baby, just what you hear and your motherly instinct that kicks in almost immediately. Becoming a mother is the best thing that can happen to someone and the feeling of carrying a child in your belly is a moment to cherish forever.
About six months into my pregnancy she flipped up head and stayed that way the rest of the time. I can remember the pain of her moving like it was yesterday. The feeling of my stomach turning upside and all around stays in my mind. The doctor scheduled me for a c-section because she wasn’t moving back and we weren’t going to move her either. Thoughts of things going wrong raced through my head the day of my surgery but tried remembering the positive of our new baby coming into the world. Through the support of my husband and family I was able to get by that long and exciting day. Laying on the operating table the only thing going through my mind was seeing her little face. I saw it many times through ultrasounds but not starring at me in my arms. When they took her out from me I could hear her cry and they lifted her up for me to see her and than my tears started rolling down my face. She was wheeled into the nursery with my husband and I had my mom in the operating room with me, which was a good thing. The doctors couldn’t stop my bleeding and were calling in back up doctors. I remember the shots in the shoulder to get my uterus to start contracting and all the whispering between the doctors. The thoughts of not surviving starting kicking in and I started freaking out with the major shakes. My mom was trying to keep me and her calm throughout the complication. About an hour later they had controlled the bleeding and sewed me up. All that time, I was away from Isabella and just had seeing her in my mind. Once I did get to see her I had to wait again because I was shaking so bad and I didn’t want to drop her. There was no preparation again on the recovery process from surgery and it took all the energy out of me.
As the days and months go by since the day she was born she has changed and grown up to be such a smart, beautiful, and energetic little girl. Looking at the image above I do miss those quiet and calm moments but now Isabella is a little person with such a big personality. I learn something new with her everyday and love to share it with all our family members who believe she was a gift from god. The feeling I get from looking at her is joy because I think back to my surgery and do think what if I wasn’t here to be with her and see her grow up.
About six months into my pregnancy she flipped up head and stayed that way the rest of the time. I can remember the pain of her moving like it was yesterday. The feeling of my stomach turning upside and all around stays in my mind. The doctor scheduled me for a c-section because she wasn’t moving back and we weren’t going to move her either. Thoughts of things going wrong raced through my head the day of my surgery but tried remembering the positive of our new baby coming into the world. Through the support of my husband and family I was able to get by that long and exciting day. Laying on the operating table the only thing going through my mind was seeing her little face. I saw it many times through ultrasounds but not starring at me in my arms. When they took her out from me I could hear her cry and they lifted her up for me to see her and than my tears started rolling down my face. She was wheeled into the nursery with my husband and I had my mom in the operating room with me, which was a good thing. The doctors couldn’t stop my bleeding and were calling in back up doctors. I remember the shots in the shoulder to get my uterus to start contracting and all the whispering between the doctors. The thoughts of not surviving starting kicking in and I started freaking out with the major shakes. My mom was trying to keep me and her calm throughout the complication. About an hour later they had controlled the bleeding and sewed me up. All that time, I was away from Isabella and just had seeing her in my mind. Once I did get to see her I had to wait again because I was shaking so bad and I didn’t want to drop her. There was no preparation again on the recovery process from surgery and it took all the energy out of me.
As the days and months go by since the day she was born she has changed and grown up to be such a smart, beautiful, and energetic little girl. Looking at the image above I do miss those quiet and calm moments but now Isabella is a little person with such a big personality. I learn something new with her everyday and love to share it with all our family members who believe she was a gift from god. The feeling I get from looking at her is joy because I think back to my surgery and do think what if I wasn’t here to be with her and see her grow up.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Chapter 4 Summary
In this chapter you will learn how to build effective paragraphs and when creating them you want to make sure they are clearly focused, well developed, organized, coherent, and neither too long or too short. The first part of the paragraph is to focus on the main point in a topic sentence and what the reader will look forward to in the following sentences. Usually in a paragraph the topic sentence which is like a thesis will be the first sentence but can be with held to the end of the paragraph. You want to stick to the main point and if you have sentences that don’t support the topic sentence it will destroy the paragraph. If your paragraph doesn’t work it won’t be as simple as deleting or moving material. The writer will be faced with a choice of finding more evidence or adjust the sentence to mesh with the evidence that is available.
When developing your main point you don’t want it to be too short to where the writer or audience loses the evidence or purpose. Organizing your writing can be done in many ways and are done by the way we think. Some for example are, illustrations, narration, cause and effect, description and analogy. With the illustration part it is an extended version of an example in story form. When used correctly they can be vivid and effective way to developing a point. On the other hand narrations tell a story or a part of a story and are arranged in chronological order. They can have flashbacks and interruptions that take you back in time. Cause and effect are a matter of argument they are too complex to be reduced to a simple pattern. A descriptive paragraph sketches a portrait of a person, place or thing by using concrete and specific details that appeal to one or more of our senses. Analogies draw comparisons between items that appear to have little in common. Some examples of how the writer uses them are: make the unfamiliar seen familiar, argue a point, or to provoke fresh thoughts or changed feelings about a subject.
A coherent paragraph is when it flows from one to another without bumps or gaps. One way to help is by linking ideas clearly through your writing. This means you have your main point in the topic sentence early in the paragraph and than your paragraphs have specific details to support topic. Another way is to use parallel structures which are used within sentences to underscore the similarity of ideas. They can also be used to bind together a series of sentences. One last step that can help would be to have consistency throughout your writings. A rule mentioned under consistency said that a sentence’s subject should echo a subject or object in the previous sentence. You want to avoid excessive repetitions of key words, which is also called trapping. Providing transition helps the reader move from sentence to sentence. One way is called sentence-level transitions which are certain words and phrases that signal connections between sentences. You want to be careful to select transitions with appropriate tone. There is also paragraph level transitions which usually link the first sentence of the previous paragraph. The last transition is between blocks of text which talks about letting the reader know the connections between the text and you do this by inserting transitional sentences or short paragraph at key points.
Readers feel comfortable sticking to about one hundred to two hundred words for the paragraphs but if needed you can adjust them. Longer paragraphs strain the reader’s attention span but they can also show scholarly work if they are longer than one to two hundred words. Anything shorter would appear in newspapers, websites or business writing. Everything in the above paragraphs will help you build effective paragraphs the right way and help you achieve the scholarly level work.
When developing your main point you don’t want it to be too short to where the writer or audience loses the evidence or purpose. Organizing your writing can be done in many ways and are done by the way we think. Some for example are, illustrations, narration, cause and effect, description and analogy. With the illustration part it is an extended version of an example in story form. When used correctly they can be vivid and effective way to developing a point. On the other hand narrations tell a story or a part of a story and are arranged in chronological order. They can have flashbacks and interruptions that take you back in time. Cause and effect are a matter of argument they are too complex to be reduced to a simple pattern. A descriptive paragraph sketches a portrait of a person, place or thing by using concrete and specific details that appeal to one or more of our senses. Analogies draw comparisons between items that appear to have little in common. Some examples of how the writer uses them are: make the unfamiliar seen familiar, argue a point, or to provoke fresh thoughts or changed feelings about a subject.
A coherent paragraph is when it flows from one to another without bumps or gaps. One way to help is by linking ideas clearly through your writing. This means you have your main point in the topic sentence early in the paragraph and than your paragraphs have specific details to support topic. Another way is to use parallel structures which are used within sentences to underscore the similarity of ideas. They can also be used to bind together a series of sentences. One last step that can help would be to have consistency throughout your writings. A rule mentioned under consistency said that a sentence’s subject should echo a subject or object in the previous sentence. You want to avoid excessive repetitions of key words, which is also called trapping. Providing transition helps the reader move from sentence to sentence. One way is called sentence-level transitions which are certain words and phrases that signal connections between sentences. You want to be careful to select transitions with appropriate tone. There is also paragraph level transitions which usually link the first sentence of the previous paragraph. The last transition is between blocks of text which talks about letting the reader know the connections between the text and you do this by inserting transitional sentences or short paragraph at key points.
Readers feel comfortable sticking to about one hundred to two hundred words for the paragraphs but if needed you can adjust them. Longer paragraphs strain the reader’s attention span but they can also show scholarly work if they are longer than one to two hundred words. Anything shorter would appear in newspapers, websites or business writing. Everything in the above paragraphs will help you build effective paragraphs the right way and help you achieve the scholarly level work.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Superman and Me
How is education a means to save one’s life? How is Alexie attempting to save the life of the students he works with? How did Alexie save his own life?
Having education in this world is the most important thing in order to survive. I have learned that without at least a high school diploma it is very hard to find a job. Growing up I couldn’t fail and if I did I had consequences that followed. Completing increasingly advanced levels of education shows that you have a drive and commitment to learn and apply information, ideas, theories, and formulas to achieve a variety of tasks and goals.
Alexie refused to fail and wanted people to know he was smart and could succeed in life. He saved his own life because he left the reservation and didn’t want to be one of the dangerous Indians. After fighting with other Indians because he wouldn’t stay quiet he continued to read books and learn many new things. The other Indians struggled with basic reading but were accepted by other Indians because they were failing. Today you aren’t expected to fail but succeed and love what you do.
The way Alexie trying to save the lives of the students he works with is by giving them a better life and having a role model to follow in their life. I remember many teachers that I looked up too due to their way in life. He wants other Indian children to follow him and not think in life we need to fail. The children love what Alexie does and when he visits their schools they light up with joy and excitement. Even though in the classroom there are the Indian children who don’t want to learn he still continues to help save the lives of the children who do. He tries to encourage them by repeating the word “books” because he knows that by just taking the time to read they will be lucky.
Having education in this world is the most important thing in order to survive. I have learned that without at least a high school diploma it is very hard to find a job. Growing up I couldn’t fail and if I did I had consequences that followed. Completing increasingly advanced levels of education shows that you have a drive and commitment to learn and apply information, ideas, theories, and formulas to achieve a variety of tasks and goals.
Alexie refused to fail and wanted people to know he was smart and could succeed in life. He saved his own life because he left the reservation and didn’t want to be one of the dangerous Indians. After fighting with other Indians because he wouldn’t stay quiet he continued to read books and learn many new things. The other Indians struggled with basic reading but were accepted by other Indians because they were failing. Today you aren’t expected to fail but succeed and love what you do.
The way Alexie trying to save the lives of the students he works with is by giving them a better life and having a role model to follow in their life. I remember many teachers that I looked up too due to their way in life. He wants other Indian children to follow him and not think in life we need to fail. The children love what Alexie does and when he visits their schools they light up with joy and excitement. Even though in the classroom there are the Indian children who don’t want to learn he still continues to help save the lives of the children who do. He tries to encourage them by repeating the word “books” because he knows that by just taking the time to read they will be lucky.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Chapter 2 & 3 Summary
When starting your draft you want to make sure and focus your attention on ideas and organizations. You want to make sure and have your materials ready for your draft, which include lists, diagrams and outlines. With me a writers block is huge and have never known how to overcome that and this chapter did help with some ideas. I do feel that I am hard on myself when it comes down to writing so learning how to relax and start with free writing should help me succeed.
The first step is writing an introduction that introduces your thesis. This paragraph will consist of fifty to one hundred fifty words and will include your purpose or main point for writing. It can also be called the thesis and should get the attention of the reader. A few ways to do this is to a have a vivid example, a question or a description. A thesis statement can appear at the beginning or the end of the paragraph. One main characteristic of the thesis is to have supporting evidence and sources on the purpose you have mentioned. You want your words to not be vague but sharply focused. Next we want to talk about the body of the draft which will show the support of the thesis. Each paragraph in the body should talk about the ideas presented on your thesis and how you plan on proving the sources. A conclusion should remind the readers about the essay without repeating it and can sometimes be short. To make the reader remember the essays add an example or an image from the introduction. This will help them keep in mind your paper and want to come back to it or talk about it over and over.
Now it is time to talk about revising your paper and when doing this you want to start global and than focus on sentences. Doing this step you might remove whole paragraphs or rearrange a whole section, all of this could be dramatic. This will help you save time instead of doing one sentence at a time during your revision. Another way to do the revision is too put it away for a night or even longer and than try to revisit it with questions that your audience would ask or wonder. There is a checklist you can follow to help with the revision process and it is: purpose and audience, focus, organization and paragraphing, content, and point of view. When you do sentences you are only checking for grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
The last part you will accomplish is the proofreading of the paper which is the most important step. You want to take your time reading and correcting anything before the final one is done. One tip is to read out loud to yourself to hear word for word what you wrote. A well done proofread essay sends a positive message and shows value to your writing.
After reading these chapters I found very useful information on drafting and revising my writings. I have a hard time when writing my papers because I always think they could be better. I do enjoy reading out loud because I find more corrections that need to be made rather than just looking at it. Another problem I have is coming up with a supportive thesis and trying to prove what I wrote. It has been a long time since I have had an English class so this is all refreshers to me and I hope to continue to gain great information from these chapters.
The first step is writing an introduction that introduces your thesis. This paragraph will consist of fifty to one hundred fifty words and will include your purpose or main point for writing. It can also be called the thesis and should get the attention of the reader. A few ways to do this is to a have a vivid example, a question or a description. A thesis statement can appear at the beginning or the end of the paragraph. One main characteristic of the thesis is to have supporting evidence and sources on the purpose you have mentioned. You want your words to not be vague but sharply focused. Next we want to talk about the body of the draft which will show the support of the thesis. Each paragraph in the body should talk about the ideas presented on your thesis and how you plan on proving the sources. A conclusion should remind the readers about the essay without repeating it and can sometimes be short. To make the reader remember the essays add an example or an image from the introduction. This will help them keep in mind your paper and want to come back to it or talk about it over and over.
Now it is time to talk about revising your paper and when doing this you want to start global and than focus on sentences. Doing this step you might remove whole paragraphs or rearrange a whole section, all of this could be dramatic. This will help you save time instead of doing one sentence at a time during your revision. Another way to do the revision is too put it away for a night or even longer and than try to revisit it with questions that your audience would ask or wonder. There is a checklist you can follow to help with the revision process and it is: purpose and audience, focus, organization and paragraphing, content, and point of view. When you do sentences you are only checking for grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
The last part you will accomplish is the proofreading of the paper which is the most important step. You want to take your time reading and correcting anything before the final one is done. One tip is to read out loud to yourself to hear word for word what you wrote. A well done proofread essay sends a positive message and shows value to your writing.
After reading these chapters I found very useful information on drafting and revising my writings. I have a hard time when writing my papers because I always think they could be better. I do enjoy reading out loud because I find more corrections that need to be made rather than just looking at it. Another problem I have is coming up with a supportive thesis and trying to prove what I wrote. It has been a long time since I have had an English class so this is all refreshers to me and I hope to continue to gain great information from these chapters.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
My Introduction
Hi my name is Debbie and I am currently working towards my AA in Child Development. I am only a few classes away from graduating and can’t wait it has been a long time coming. I had to take a break from school due to becoming a mom to my two year old daughter Isabella. She was a total surprise especially since I was planning my wedding. We ended up changing our plans of a huge Italian wedding to a nice small one before she was born. Isabella is the high light of my life and keeps me going everyday.
I work as a Toddler Program Manager of twelve two year olds which includes my daughter. I enjoy my job very much even though some days are super crazy. My career goal is to open my own preschool one day and continue learning more about children. I have always worked with children and I don’t picture myself doing anything else. My enjoyment is watching them play and learn new things everyday. When they come in to my classroom and run up to me with a hug it is the best feeling in the world.
As far as a learner I do better hands on and it takes me some time to get things. I pace my self so that I get the information and usually don’t get my work done early due to my crazy life. It has been a while since I have had an English class so it will take me awhile to adjust to all the reading and writing. I look forward to working and talking to all of the other students.
I work as a Toddler Program Manager of twelve two year olds which includes my daughter. I enjoy my job very much even though some days are super crazy. My career goal is to open my own preschool one day and continue learning more about children. I have always worked with children and I don’t picture myself doing anything else. My enjoyment is watching them play and learn new things everyday. When they come in to my classroom and run up to me with a hug it is the best feeling in the world.
As far as a learner I do better hands on and it takes me some time to get things. I pace my self so that I get the information and usually don’t get my work done early due to my crazy life. It has been a while since I have had an English class so it will take me awhile to adjust to all the reading and writing. I look forward to working and talking to all of the other students.
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