Reading Journal 8 || Virginia Woolf || "The Death of the Moth"

In this essay the writing mode, narration, stood out the most for me. Woolf uses this style effectively and makes it more personal. She has a strong appeal of pathos, and she let's the reader visualize and feel for the moth's activities for themselves. At the end Virginia Woolf stated, "nothing, I knew had any chance against death [and]... O yes, he seemed to say death is stronger than I am (3). These statements explain the purpose and the lesson learned, which is that death is reality and is something every creature has to face. She invokes empathy and acceptance in the reader for themselves as well as others.

Reading Journal 7 || Lauren Slater || “On Love"

The purpose of Lauren Slater's story, "Love", is to expand the concept of love and enrich it. This essay provided an in-depth analysis about the different aspects of love. It uncovers the truth behind what it feels to love, why we love, and how we love. She explains her feelings towards her husband, but does not complain about him. People love in different ways such as love being invisible to our face and through signs and symbols or straight to our face verbally. 

Weekly Reflection 4

08/01- 08/04
This week consisted mostly of working on our argumentative paper. The process of this paper had different parts to it and we had to turn it in on the assigned deadline. I completed all my parts in this process, but midway Mr. Smith decided to stop it. This process helped me complete my essay on time, and made the final draft an easier assignment. On the last day of this school week, we learned about "Definition Essay Pattern." The notes described what this type of essay looks like: containing the components of a subject and history behind the formation of the subject. This pattern can be used in a portion of an essay of a larger paper, but do NOT quote the dictionary, unless needed.

Weekly Reflection 3

07/25- 07/28
The third week of this summer class was all about group work. At first we assigned each other things to do individually, and then later towards the end we got together and worked on the entire essay to make it flow better with transition words. We also as a group presented what we wrote about to the class which went pretty well, but like always I was a little nervous. On the last day of this week we took a lot of notes on "Aristotelian Argument" since we are ending this course with our last assignment, which is an argumentative paper. We got to choose our topics and I chose the topic of children and smartphones, and my position in this essay will be that children are too young for a smartphone.

Reading Journal 6 || Suzan S. Harjo || "Last Rites for Indian Dead"

1. She constructs her argument by bringing out lots of Ethos and Pathos in her essay. By creating these appeals in her writing she develops emotions and evidences to support her argument. She wants the readers to sympathize for the Natives and also prove to them that these actions are harsh to our families and need to stop. Harjo also does a great job on focusing on the purpose of her paper by informing, persuading, and speculating. She completes all of three points and also brings in many effects to the one cause of American Indians being dug up from their burial sites to be sold, bought, and held in storage for research. 
2. Harjo's position in her essay is that American Indians are not artifacts that are to be sold and bought from collectors. It is wrong to dig them up and store thousands of them for future research. Lastly, they are entitled to be untouched and kept or returned to their burial sites. In this discussion she expresses the emotions and feelings of her Native American relatives and other tribes. Her position on this problem shows the voice of all the Natives that feel this way as well.

Weekly Reflection 2

07/18- 07/21

This was the second week of English 1301 in summer session 2. We learned about MLA citations and how to quote sources. One new thing we learned was the signal phrase you use before any quotes you make in your paper, including in text notations at the end of the quote. I also learned an important factor about the appeals in writing: logos, pathos, and ethos. The most important from the three is ethos because this appeal is how you establish personal authority over your paper using resources to make a strong ethical paper; especially with no plagiarism.

Reading Journal 5 || Joan Didion || "On Keeping a Notebook"

1. This essay made me feel as if I should have kept a notebook for myself earlier, so that I could remember all the details whether it was an important or an unimportant fact and event that occurred in my life. In her essay, "On Keeping a Notebook", Joan Didion states, "It all comes back. Even that recipe for sauerkraut: even that brings it back. I was on Fire Island when I first made that sauerkraut, and it was raining, and we drank a lot of bourbon and ate the sauerkraut and went to bed at ten, and I listened to the rain and the Atlantic and felt safe. I made the sauerkraut again last night and it did not make me feel any safer, but that is, as they say, another story" (4). This last paragraph of her essay sends an important message. As life passes by, we slowly start to forget who we were in the past and what we did; memories slowly slip away. When we write these memories down, it is a way to reconnect with ourselves from the past and recall the moments that have been forgotten.
2. The third paragraph contributed the best emotional connection for me as a reader. This is because she talks about how the notebook keepers are different types of people, they are not normal, instead they are lonely and always anxious. She also talks about how she started to write in a notebook. This paragraph connected to me as a reader because I went through the same feeling, and understood who she was talking about when she said notebook keepers. 
3. Didion asks many unanswerable questions, and this technique strengthens her work by keeping the reader thinking about what is the main point of keeping a notebook for yourself? She lets the readers reflect upon this specific question, so that they could stay focused on the question Joan Didion is trying to answer. 

Reading Journal 4 || Sandra Cisneros || "Only Daughter"

1. At the beginning of the story Sandra Cisneros emphasizes her being the only daughter in her family with six sons. She goes on further telling readers that she is from a working Mexican class family. She spends time alone since her brothers think that it is unusual to play with a girl, so during these time periods she learned how to write all her thoughts down. Cisneros feels as if she is being erased from the family, and neglected by her dad because of her father's interpretations on the role of a woman. Throughout the story she is searching for her father's approval, which she receives at the end. When she lets her father read the paper at the end, she figures out his thoughts behind this paper and compliments her for her achievement. 
2. Sandra Cisneros, an author who has wrote many novels and has won several awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, stated in "Only Daughter" in Bedford, "He read it very slowly. As if he were reading each line over and over. He laughed at all the right places and read each line he liked out loud" (499). This quote from the conclusion proves that her father enjoyed her written work and was proud of what she has done. He was able to read because it was translated to Spanish. This new character trait her father gained at the end of the story, from being "embarrassed" of having a daughter in his family to being a proud father that has a daughter with her work published in a Mexican-American writing. The decriptions she gave as her father was reading her work also defends my opinion.
3. Cisneros is similar to her father because they both are strong with their own opinions and goals. Just like her father wanted all of his kids to become something big that pays well and not what he was, she becomes a writer who falls back into the same pay as her father earns. Her father wanted her to go to college, so that she could find herself a husband, but instead she's in school for 6 years to become a writer, what she wanted to become. Her father wanted her to be something recognizable, so she proved it to him when she got awards and got recognized for the writings that were published. They both are from the same Mexican household where women aren't given much importance.

Weekly Reflection 1

07/11 - 07/14
In the first week of English 1301 we learned quite a few things since this class is contracted into only five weeks. The most important item I learned in this class this week was the "level of truth". This level is between 1(academic research) and 10(creative arts). Academic research includes evidence, has established knowledge, and has a formal tone of voice, such as research papers and speeches. Creative arts includes an either colloquial or informal tone of voice and is a very simple form of writing, such as a personal essay. Using the three different tones of voice in your writing determines where your essay lands on the "level of truth" The first tone of voice is colloquial which is a characteristic of ordinary or familiar conversation, like slang. The second tone of voice is informal which means that it is without sense of formality or ceremony, like casual. The final tone of voice is formal which means to be observant of specific and strict requirements, like ceremonious.

Narrative Free write || Essay 1

The day had finally arrived. It was Prom! I was waiting for this day to come since freshmen year in high school, except during that year I didn't have a date, but now I do. I had got my dress from Harwin, a place called Viranski. My dress was so beautiful, I have no words for it. I also found some hair ideas that my sister tried on my hair a couple times before the day, so she could perfect when the day was here. I had my make up artist ready too, who was my cousin and also a friend from school. I got my new sparkly silver heels from DSW as well. My prom group had already decided on where and when to take pictures and eat for dinner, and then approximately what time to reach the prom dance. I had bought tickets for the dance too. I was extremely excited for this day of May 14th and was absolutely ready for it! It was a Saturday, very sunny outside and I was scared my makeup would wear off real quickly because of the humidity. I went down to eat breakfast, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and went to the restroom. I was ready for my sister to start on my hair. As she was curling my hair I could feel the heat on my scalp, it felt like my hair was about to fall off! The time was flying and it was already three o'clock, so i called my friend to come over right now, and so she did. She started my makeup right away, while my sister continued my hair! I was done at around four o'clock. I started to put on my dress and then my heels. I looked so different, in a good way. I look outside and thats when things start to tumble down. The sky was turning very dark all of a sudden, so I checked the weather, and guess what? There was an 80% of rain from five to seven o'clock and that was when the scheduled pictures and dinner was supposed to take place. I was sitting inside my house for more than an hour waiting for the rain to calm down. As it started to subtle down I went and sat in my car and let my sister drop me off to my date's house. Everything was out of place because the prom group met up at a friend's house at seven o'clock to take indoor pictures, when originally our dinner was supposed to be at 7:15 pm. We took pictures for more than an hour and started to feel extremely hungry since most of us didn't eat since the morning breakfast. We had to get to the prom dance before ten at night, so we rushed out and sped our way there. We were a couple minutes late but the teachers let us in. At the prom dance we ate the appetizers or whatever we could find. Then we went to the floor to dance. Everything was starting to end and  people started to leave, we got there a little too late. I was hoping this was the best day of my life, but it turned out to be worthless.

Reading Journal 3 || Eric Liu || "The Chinatown Idea"

1. The most successful strategy of Liu's narration is the way he confronts his readers and their prejudices. He speaks to his audience explaining to them what people think about Chinatown and what it really is.  In paragraph 7 Eric Liu says, "Their faces were another brand of Chinese, rougher-hewn. I was fascinated by them. I liked being connected to them. But was it because of what we shared - or what we did not? I began that night to distinguish between my world and theirs" (82). This label is not only put on Chinatown, but also any tourist of the world experiencing and stepping into any foreign culture. This narrative strategy put his readers forth on many internal rhetorical questions for themselves.
2. His personal strategy of using such detailed description is his observation of his surroundings and reflecting on them. He uses his senses to describe what he saw at Chinatown. Also the use of different foods brings a scent to the reader while reading. Liu brings in these detailed descriptions to allow the reader to see what he sees vividly. These descriptions also allow the purpose of the story to pass; to show his audience what Chinatown is really made up of, and not to stereotypically judge the place and pass by it. 
3. Liu's diction affects the moods of the scene he describes to something stereotypical towards the Chinese community. The words such as, incongruous, brings out a bad connotation towards this society. In paragraph two as he notices "NEW YORK, EMPIRE STATE" on a license plate in Chinatown he says that it seemed foreign to be here, even though this Chinatown was located in Manhattan, New York. His diction also affects the details of the scene he describes by placing an emphasis on every street and corner of Chinatown, like the "emporium". As Liu describes this marketplace scene, he brings in the feeling and descriptions of what surrounds him. 

Reading Journal 2 || Russell Baker || "The Art of Eating Spaghetti"

1. Baker is speaking to a person who is afraid of trying something new. He is expressing to his audience that you are never to young to be a writer. His selected audience is mostly high schoolers who are about to graduate in a year or couple years, and who are struggling with what they want to become.  His audience is perhaps similar to himself. He is also pointing out to his audience that you should never be afraid to do something. 
2. In the second paragraph, Russell states his thesis and then tells his audience on Bedford, "...I'd been bored by everything associated with English courses. I found English grammar dull and baffling" (60). This statement he makes shows his opinions on the how much he hated English courses. Even though becoming a writer has crossed Baker's mind, he would have never thought of being an actual writer in his third year of high school. He wrote this essay because he wanted to show the readers that there is never an age to start something you are good at and pursue it as a career. Baker's statements in the entire essay explain to the reader about how one English course and teacher could impact your life and career greatly.
3. The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate to the audience that they should never be afraid to express themselves no matter what the circumstances are. Being yourself will help you get through a difficult situation, just like Baker struggles with English courses and his teacher Mr. Fleagle. After writing his own essay that violated the composition rules and turning it in, he was afraid of earning a bad grade. As soon as "the worst teacher", Mr. Fleagle, compliments his essay to the whole class, Baker receives a sense of confidence in becoming a writer. Basically, he wants his readers to know that there is always a possibility out there, so do not be afraid.
4. This purpose affects the tone he uses, which is very casual with his audience. Since it is a personal essay and there's dialogue in it, we can determine this essay has an informal tone of voice. Baker uses an informal tone to get his message across in a clear manner and let the audience know that their work is excellent even if it doesn't follow the rules. Russell Baker states in the essay, "The idea of prim Mr. Fleagle plucking his nipple from boneless gums was too much for the class. We burst into gasps of irrepressible snickering" (61). This quote provides a sense of childishness and immaturity the children had in that class as they read a stanza from a play called Macbeth. This informality shown in Baker's essay proves to us that this narrative had a more informal tone than formal tone.

Reading Journal 1 || E.B. White || "Once More to the Lake"

1. E.B White brings rhetorical devices into Once More to the Lake to create a strong narrative. He displays the use of nostalgia by remembering when he was a young boy, like his son, going out to the lake with his father, like himself, and cherishing the moments. These moments were described in it's complexity in the story dragging the readers in. He also presents certain motifs or ideas throughout the story, as in the tar road, fishing and youth. These main ideas creates an emphasis which enhances the story a bit more.
2. The efficient use of imagery and sensory details, involves the readers into the story. It forces them to reflect on the overall human experience gained at the closure of the story.  This also provides a lesson which was learned from the experience. The sensory details, which uses our five senses into the descriptions of many sentences in the story, lets us also experience the event with the author. These details help the narrative and are crucial to support, explain and enhance the story.
3. E.B. White gives the following description, "... the boat was the same boat, the same color green and the ribs broken in the same places, and under the floor-boards the same freshwater leavings and debris— the dead helgramite, the wisps of moss, the rusty discarded fishhook, the dried blood from yesterday’s catch" (5). This quote defends my opinion because it expresses lots of sensory details that forces the reader to imagine what it feels like to be in the shoes of the White. Involving the reader into the story with the use of imagery and sensory details makes it more interesting because it recreates the entire scene for the reader to imagine and feel. A feeling of suspense arises as the reader is revealed the details slowly. Lastly, in the quote we see the use of colors, descriptions of objects, sounds, and the feeling of the whole scene is brought into the present, real life.