Journal 9

I've learned this semester that I do have a certain writing style. Most of the time I perfer to write in either an explanatory or persuasive tone. I do use much satire in my papers, so that I do not confuse others with it. Also my ideas are pretty straight forward and most everything can be predicted from my introduction paragraph. I feel that in college people need to adapt to whomever they are writing for. Teachers want their students to write for themselves, but they definitely have a preference for certain styles of writing. If they are reminded of their own writing I am sure that they would enjoy and grade the paper with higher remarks. The only thing teachers do not want is plagairism. Throughout this semester though I have found what type of writer I am and it gives me more confidence. It tells me that I know what I am comfortable with and capable of doing. If I had to do something other then explanatory or persuasive writing I might be afraid because that is out of my comfort zone.

Journal 10

Respond to "Is Google Making Us Stupid?". After having researched and written about media, do you agree that the nature of writing, power, and knowledge is changing as technology is increasingly democratized? Does this inform your ePortfolio assignment?'

Yes, I do believe that since the rise of technology, the nature of writing and communication has changed drastically. Because of blogs, social networking sites, and even online restaurant ordering systems have stopped the communication of people face to face, and started a whole new generation of a different form of writing. No longer do people send each other long letters discussing what they have done recently in their lives, instead they write a sentence long "post" on their "wall" for them to "like." It completely changes traditional forms of writing and replaces it with a fake, public form of communication that can be viewed by all. As technology continues to increase, the value of communication and writing decreases at the same rate.

Journal 10

Respond to "Is Google Making Us Stupid?". After having researched and written about media, do you agree that the nature of writing, power, and knowledge is changing as technology is increasingly democratized? Does this inform your ePortfolio assignment?

Yes, I completely agree with this statement. With the use of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, we have forgotten what it is like to communicate with each other face to face. When we think of how to reach someone now a days, most people choose the internet as a way of communication other than talking on the phone. Technology has become a part of our everyday lives. I feel that in a lot of ways, technology distracts us from learning in that we pay more attention to social networks instead of interacting and learning from the world around us. I know that even during class, students are on their phones and lap tops tweeting and facebooking. Although, technology has helped us in various ways as it has made it easier to communicate and also is used for educational purposes. The eportfolio is an example of this in that we have taken the internet and have turned it into an opportunity for our project. This is not a bad thing, it just reflects the fact that internet has become a large part of our lives.

Journal 10

Respond to "Is Google Making Us Stupid?". After having researched and written about media, do you agree that the nature of writing, power, and knowledge is changing as technology is increasingly democratized? Does this inform your ePortfolio assignment?

Yes, i completely agree. I have actually thought this for a while now. Specifically about the new greatly expanding social networks, (facebook, mediafire, twitter) I think they are ruining social interactions between people. Only about 30% of interaction is what people actually say and the rest is facial expressions, inflection of voices...etc. All that is lost with communication on social networks. Plus, personally i think the excitement of talking to a new friend in person or a girl you lost is lost in social networks. Its not as exciting or nerve wrecking and therefore not as rewarding. Also there is not nearly as strong of a connection made. I know I talked to girls by texting, IM, or facebook and our friendship just fizzled so quickly when we didnt talk online. Its not a real social interaction, its not reality.

What have you learned about your own style this semester? Do you agree with Vonnegut’s rules for style? What might you add, change, or remove?

This semester i have learned that i have some really cool ideas, i just need to spend time expanding and fully developing them. I can develop them when I sit down and think about them, but a lot of times i don't think long enough about my ideas or cant express them on paper the way i want. I've realized that if i spend time analyzing texts, and spend time thinking about what i want to say i can come up with some really cool ideas and papers. I do agree with Vonnegut's rules for style, I think he has some really good advice. I myself need to learn how to "have the guts to cut." I think a lot of unimportant information is important to my paper when really it needs to be cut out. I also have trouble realizing what information needs to be cut out and what needs to stay. I feel like I might accidentally cut important information out. Also, i need to learn how to not ramble on. I think i do this a lot, sometimes to lengthen papers to meet length requirements but i need to work on coming up with more important information in some papers. This may just be a need to do more research.

journal 10

i agree completely with the article. the internet has changed our world a lot and we have gone from having to interact with people in reality and now we interact with people through the web. and a huge part of communication is facial expressions and body language, and when on the web its hard to show that expressions so it has major impacts on peoples life that way. i also feel that it does give you a lot of information. i think that our eportfolio just shows how much the internet is in our lives and it makes it much easier to share our work.

Journal 10

I agree with everything that this article is reflecting upon. In fact I would even take the topic to a new level in that google/internet is not only changing the way we think, but it's changing the way we engage and act socially. Since the internet is a gigantic source of information, we no longer are required to socially interact to obtain information. Now, we can virtually obtain all information about anything through the internet in a small amount of time. When asking someone to go on a date, all the joy of personal engagement is gone when a 2-d text comes through asking the very same. All in all, I agree with the article in that google is in fact making us dumb, for we no longer need to seek adults knowledge and textbooks and instead have to seek out information through the internet.

Journal 10

After reading "Is Google Making Us Stupid", I have to completely agree with the author's concerns. Reading for me used to be one of my favorite things, something that I both enjoyed and took pride in. Yes, I'm in college and really don't have time for reading anymore with the mounds of schoolwork I have to finish each week. But, even when I do have time, when I'm on vacation, I find myself lacking the ability to immerse myself in the novel as I once did. Even when watching a movie, I find myself on the internet, it feels like I have ADD at some points. I even find myself asking why should we have to learn so and so. It's not like I'm ever not going to be out of reach of my cell phone, more importantly my mobile web. I can just google it if I don't know the answer. I think this relates to a lot to my inquiry III and my parody of Facebook. I think we as a society and even the entire world need to be more aware of the harmful side affects of the internet.

Respond to "Is Google Making Us Stupid?". After having researched and written about media, do you agree that the nature of writing, power, and knowledge is changing as technology is increasingly democratized? Does this inform your ePortfolio assignment?

The first thing I found ironic about this article is that it's long enough that I found myself drifting from concentrating...I'll admit it, I was simultaneously reading the article, listening to iTunes, and flipping back and forth between 3 conversations on facebook...so I'm definitely busted for falling into the whole technology whirlwind. The internet is definitely a huge source of distraction, and because Google's goal is to make things as easy and accessible, it's also in turn easy to feel like we don't have to try hard to focus on the material...everything becomes geared towards making things as quick and easy as possible. It also mentions that having so much information at our fingertips creates a false sense of wisdom...which I somewhat agree with; we assume that we know about so many things because we can easily read about them and gain information without having to go out and actually experience them. The internet tends to diminish our real connection with the outside world and replace it with a false sense of true knowledge and experience. In that sense, I don't know that Google is really making us stupid, but I do think it's making us careless...we feel less compelled to explore new experiences in the real world, and even in our internet use we devote less patience and focus to the information at hand.

After reading the article, "Is Google making us stupid?" I realized it was not just me that believes society is conforming to web-surfing androids. This past year, since receiving my own computer, I surf the web more than ever, Facebook like no tomorrow and always have access to anything at my fingertips. I am completely guilty of typing in mindless questions into the Google search bar and having the answer pop up in less than two seconds. Books these days seem to be overrated. Assignments and readings for class are simply put on Blackboard and papers turned in electronically. I miss my highlighter for books, and I miss my red editing pen more than ever. I think google is not making us dumber, just more ignorant. I personally know some people who have asked me how to spell things on a fifth grade reading level and rely on the internet for just about everything. I do believe this culture is straying away from text that you can hold into audio and visual on the computer. Its definitely a change, but change isn't always good.

Journal 10

After having researched and written about media, I agree that writing, power, and knowledge will and has changed with the increase in technology. Technology is now part of every aspect of our lives. Buisnessmen and women are forced to master technology if they have hopes of getting a job. I agree that technology has definitely made buisness, communication, and retrieving information easier and faster. However we no longer have to learn many things as a result of technology. We don’t have to memorize facts,we can simply type the question into google and get the answer in seconds. This concept also has to do with our ePortfolio assignment. Even to complete a portfolio I now have to know how to work technology. I also know that because everyone relies so heavily on technology I should add bits of technology, such as videos, or links to my portfolio to make it more appealing to an audience.

Journal 10

I agree with the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” I agree with it especially in the sense that changing technology is influencing the way humans think. The fact that technology has affected the human brain toas a point as impactful as how are brains function is an incredibly scary idea. It is scary because, as the article points out, new technology is decreasing the amount of direct experiences humans have. When I say direct experiences I am talking about face-to-face communication and actually applying knowledge to real-life situations. It seems that as humans change the way they think to become more efficient and quick, we are skimming over many important aspects of life and have started doing things halfway instead of whole-heartedly—this is because technology has taught us to think quickly and not deeply. I feel as if this goes along with the e-portfolio assignment since the assignment is completely online and therefore uses the technology that has made us skimmers rather than true readers.

Journal 10

After reading the article, "Is google making us stupid?" it had made me realize that the internet has been taking advantage by society. Instead of reading books, we tend to refer to the internet for the answers by simple typing into google our question and receiving the answer in a matter of second. Google makes it easy for us go to instead of finding the answer out the hard way. I think that because of Google our society is lacking some knowledge. If we continue to rely on the internet for answers, our society will slowly stop reading books, articles, and other sources that help us gain knowledge.

Journal 10

Respond to "Is Google Making Us Stupid?". After having researched and written about media, do you agree that the nature of writing, power, and knowledge is changing as technology is increasingly democratized? Does this inform your ePortfolio assignment?

Due: Thursday, April 21

I do agree with this article. I believe that more and more people find it hard to sit down and read a book rather than getting on the internet and just skimming looking for the answers. People now days do not go to the library and read books that give you the information, you skip right to the internet and find the answer in a matter of seconds. I believe that the internet is started to make people more anxious all the time and want to find the answer right away. I even found myself scroll down to see how much longer I had to go while I was reading the article because it seemed rather long to me and I was just seeing if I was close to being done. It's sad that it's starting to come down to that were everyone seems to be in such a hurry all the time and less about finding the correct information instead of the first information that you see on the internet which could more likely than not, be wrong. Reading this article makes me wonder what the world is really going to be like in 50 years, if books are even going to be around. The ePortfolio assignment is also on the internet so it makes me feel like were moving more into technology and away from pencil, paper and books.

Journal 10

After reading, "Is Google Making Us Stupid" I realized some of my own concerns about the technology increasing. Reading to me is an different thing that I do for school purposes only. However, I have noticed that throughout the years as the internet is becoming more popular that I cannot seem to read efficiently anymore with books or even online. It is hard for myself to get interested I feel as if I cannot focus on one particular reading at a time. This article just re-insured myself that Google could be making us "stupid". I believe the internet is decreasing our knowledge, power, and writing. It decreases our knowledge because we do not feel like we have to absorb anything because we have our answers online. The writing is probably decreased a little, but not as much as our writing. However, it dissolves our ability to write because the internet is making us less capable to read and without reading writing slowly diminishes. Power is decreased because power is the ability to read, write, and to obtain knowledge. This definitely puts a damper on our e portfolio project, however, I still think this is a good idea because we can see our mistakes, and writers memos all together which helps us become better writers.

Journal 10: The last one!

Respond to "Is Google Making Us Stupid?". After having researched and written about media, do you agree that the nature of writing, power, and knowledge is changing as technology is increasingly democratized? Does this inform your ePortfolio assignment?

Due: Thursday, April 21

What have you learned about your own style this semester? Do you agree with Vonnegut’s rules for style? What might you add, change, or remove?

I have learned a lot about my style this semester. Because these inquiries involve thinking about and incorporating different sources, this semester has taught me about my skills within organization, and how to fit everything that I want to get in into my essay. I also have learned my strengths and weaknesses within organization. I know that my strong points are within paragraph organization, but my weaknesses are within the transitions between paragraphs. I have learned that my papers move more fluently when I speak in the first person, so the papers this semester have been extremely helpful to my style of writing.

Journal 9

What have you learned about your own style this semester? Do you agree with Vonnegut’s rules for style? What might you add, change, or remove? Due: Thursday, April 14

I believe my writing style has progressively improved throughout this semester. I have learned how to express my ideas more easily, and make my papers more interesting. This semester has given me an opportunity to write about topics that I am interesting and reflect my personality through these. I certainly agree with Vonnegut's rules for style in that writing about something that interests you will make your writing stronger. I have realized that when I write about topics that I don't know much about and don't care to know more about, it is more of a struggle for me and my papers may come out somewhat unclear. Also, his rule about sounding like yourself is true as well. I have found that when I try to use vocabulary that I don't know how to incorporate into my essay properly it sounds awkward and it is best to just sound like yourself. Something I might add although it sort of goes along with find a subject you care about is make sure you understand what you write about. Don't pick something that you haven't researched or don't know much about. This will make your writing much stronger and interesting to your audience.

Journal 9

I think my biggest improvement to my writing was being able to stop and truly think about how I am going to make every idea and possible form of approach work in my head. In having to focus on one major theme yet, be able to choose any topic to cover, I learned to effectively shape my ideas to work with existing or opposing ideas. This year really got me thinking and shaped my writing in such a way as to help make my writing more precise and organized. When I write now, my writing come from deep within me. I think that now, even if I were assigned a topic and a specific argument to follow, I could do so due to the way this semester organized my thinking.

sexing up my writing

i think that the biggest change in my writing style is how i portray masculine and feminine traits. before this semester i never noticed how i described male or female in my writing now when i am writing if i want to make something some aggressive or strong i use a masculine trait to define it or if i want something to sound sweet or kind i use a feminine trait. i agree completely with vonnuget but i would add that if you can't write about a subject you like to try and relate the subject to something that interests you.

Journal 9

In my own writing, one thing I have noticed I have trouble explaining my point and backing it up with important details and information. I definitely agree with Vonnegut's rules. One rule I especially agree with is Don't Ramble. I have noticed that I tend to ramble a lot in my writing especially when I don't think enough before I start typing. Another rule I agree with is Sound like Yourself. Many times when students, including myself, write an essay they try to sound more intelligent than they are. Students want to impess their teacher by sounding incredibly smart, but most of the time it just sounds awkward. I might remove the rule Keep it Simple because often times writing must be complex and students need to give great detail to explain a point, so simple is not always technically better.

The thing I've learned most about my writing style is that I get too wordy. I always end up wording things in really confusing ways and I need to learn to be better at getting straight to the point and avoiding the fluff. I've always learned that I attempt to be funny sometimes with my papers or journals when its acceptable for the project. I also learned, I'm really not that funny, I'm the only one who finds myself clever. I also agree with focusing on having good content instead of worrying about the length. I need to edit my papers to their best potential and the length aspect will fall into place.

journal 9

I definitely agree with vaugnets rules of writing. I agree that you should be yourself and use your own writing style and language. It shows who you are and every piece of work you write is different from your peers. However, in certain in situations like writing research papers your writing style is quite different. It is more of a strict, particular writing style that usually does not include a writers own voice. Whats different about this class is that you want us to use your own voice and writing style in each inquiry that we do, which i love because it helps us as writers to distinguish what type writing is best for us as individuals.

Journal 9

I think what I've learned the most about myself this semester through inquiries and writing is that I can be a creative writer with fresh ideas, I just have to challenge myself to look for them. I think my style could definitely use some work, but it's definitely there and unique. I could use some work in "simplicity" and "saying what you mean to say", however. I tend to make syntax more complicated that it actually needs to be, but I'm definitely working on it. I think Vonnegut's pointers are right on, though. Something I might add it to not be afraid of your opinion or if you think your audience will judge you.

My Writing Style (Journal 9)

This semester I have noticed several new tendencies in my writing style. I tend to add unimportant information, and I am often not clear in what I am trying to say. The unclearness usually stems from too many words. I fully agree with Vonnegut's article. One of the most important things I've learned it that I need to write about something that I truly believe in. When I write about a topic that I don't believe is true, or I have absolutely no interest in, my writing is awful and often hard to comprehend. However, when I write about a topic that I have an interest in, the writing comes easily. It is easy to gather support for my theses and the words flow well. If I could add or change something to my writing style, it would be the ability to easily express meanings without directly stating the words. I believe that this is true writing skill but it is very difficult to do. It is also difficult to know how your audience will interpret it.

My Writing Style

I have learned that my style of writing is detailed, sometimes unorganized and resourceful. There are still things I wish to work on but I am grateful that I can even acknowledge my writing style is a working process. My writing has improved compared to last semester. It is kind of difficult to describe my writing style in great detail because to be honest I never really thought too much about it. Yes I do agree with Vonnegut's rules for style but everyone should still use their own signature in writing because the differences in your writing style makes you stand out. it is great for people to understand you but if your writing has no flare the reader will become uninterested and bored.

Journal 9

This semester I think I have drastically improved my writing and through my freshman year. I have learned especially how to analyze readings which I didn't do as well in the past. I agree with Vonnegut's rules for the most part. I agree with his first rule when he says find a subject you care about, which we are not always given the opportunity to do. It is extremely hard for me for write about a subject that I could careless about so I do agree with that rule. I also agree with the rule do not ramble and I catch myself doing that just to meet the requirements. The only rule that I would maybe change would be pity the readers.

Journal 9

What have you learned about your own style this semester? Do you agree with Vonnegut’s rules for style? What might you add, change, or remove?

This semester has really improved my writing I believe. I think I am a stronger writer than I was before I began 112. I think I love to summarize more than analyze which leads to problems more often than not. Its hard for me to analyze text without summarizing it into detail before so you understand it before I analyze. I'm trying to get better with that but it is harder for me to do than I thought originally. I really agree with the statement "have the guts to cut." I find it really hard when I'm writing a paper to cut our sentences or even paragraphs because I want to make sure that I make it long enough. But, then I begin to ramble which is another thing that he says we shouldn't do. I think he's right with those two.

Journal 9

What have you learned about your own style this semester? Do you agree with Vonnegut’s rules for style? What might you add, change, or remove?

Due: Thursday, April 14

Journal 8

My favorite satire has to be both the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Watchmen. For some reason I have always been drawn to exploitations of the human condition and our species realizing how primitive many of us still act. In an educational sense all these works seek to teach the rest of the world to be consciously aware of their surroundings and take time to think about what their actions may entail about the future. These novels really poke fun of people who don't utilize intelligence and instead act on impulse. Those whom do act upon impulse truly fit a natural stereotype implied by these novels. In addition, these novels really look down upon those who are not grateful for the gift of sentience and instead use it for greedy reasonings rather than for helping humanity endure and prosper.

Journal 8

I like satire in art like in caricatures. This picture is a Daumier's "Gargantua" from a 1822 newspaper. It depicts King Lousie Phillpe as he takes the bread from the poor and in return, excretes laws. Gargantua is the name of a mythical figure who eats everything in site. My favorite part about this satire is it started newspaper censorship laws in 18th century France.

Blogger is working!

I chose this picture because I'm secrectly terrified of seagulls. When I was little one can down and grabbed the sandwich I was about to put in my mouth and I've been scared ever since.

Journal 7 - (I can journal now)

I have a fear that I will turn into a hoarder later in life.

Journal 8

My favorite satire would have to be The Colbert Report. I can not just pick one episode, because the entire theme of the show is a satire of the same thing. He does a great job on satirizing the extreme right side by creating the Stephen Colbert character, an extreme right winger who doesn't completely think through anything he says, does, or endorses. This is a fantastic satire, because it really opens your eyes to how many people in the U.S. actually feel about things. It is clear to see that Colbert is liberal in real life, but he makes this character so realistic that it is hard to see that part of himself. The Colbert Report is a fantastic satire of the right wing extremists.

Journal 8

My favorite satire is probably, like many others, the skits from Saturday Night Live. But one of my favorites from this class is the Twilight and Buffy satire. I think it did a good job because it showed a different side of Edward normally not shown. It also shows that a woman can be strong and a "romantic" man can actually be creepy. The satire is also interesting because in the books and movies they idolize how Edward acts, but in this satire, compared with Buffy, it seems odd and stalkerish.

Journal 8

My favorite satire would have to be the SNL skit about Sarah Palin. First of all Tina Fey did a great job of looking exactly like Sarah. She was very convincin in her manerism and way she conducted herself. She exagerated on many occasions about what Sarah would do using her hair flip and what not. Beyong how she acted, she was very convincing,persuasive, and very charismatic. It made watching SNL very easy because it was fun to watch, also she was up to date with all the current events.

journal 8

My favorite satire would have to be some of the slits from Mad Tv. For example, the "Can I get your number" skit, where the actors portray the situation where a guy is flirting with a girl in a movie and trying to get her number. The skit uses indirect satire because the skit doesn't come right out and say that it is using satire but it is made known through the characters. It also is uses the parody satirical device, because the characters are imitating real life situations or sometimes real people except that everything is exaggerated as to poke fun at it. THe particular skit, "can I get your number" is commenting on how some males in our society today approach woman and it is showing how ridiculous it looks. The satire works in this one, because the message comes across and it is funny at the same time On the other hand, Mad Tv does have a few skits where the satire is a bit more harsh and raunchy and it losses some of it's humor.

Journal 8

One of my favorite satires is Saturday Night Live. In one of the episodes, Will Ferrell and another actress play your typical cheerleader duo. They're forced to cheer at a high school chess match and come up with some "non-traditional" cheers to say the least. I think their point was to point out the heicharchy of highschool with the female cheerleader's arch nemisis, Alexa. Also with the stereotype of cheerleaders and their peppy personalities and highschool.

Journal 8

My favorite satire would have to be the satire that is on SNL in general, but specifically a recent clip of a game of Jeopardy where Alex Trebek is played by Will Ferrel, and the game contestants are Bill Cosby, Sharon Osborne, and Shaun Connery, all played by SNL characters. These characters exaggerate these actors humorous tendencies on the game show Jeopardy and end up getting no where in the game. They actually lose money. The only "normal" person is Alex Trebek who gets so annoyed with these contestants that he calls the game off and walks off stage. It is a very funny imitation of how these actors are in real life.

Satire

One of my favorite pieces of satire would have to be Modest Proposal by Johnathan Swift. My Junior year of high school in English we spent a great deal of time analyzing this proposal. This paper is important because it addresses a huge issue for England in the 1800s which were poverty and starvation. Swift addressed the issue very cleverly. He explains the underlying issues in England that causes poverty and starvation. I think this piece was effect because it exposed the selfishness among the Royalty in England and their lack of empathy. His solution to the problem was so outlandish that it caught many people attention therefore quickly spreading the knowledge of his proposal.

Journal 8

My favorite satire would probably be anything that is made fun of on Saturday Night Live. A lot of times, they make fun of whatever is going on in the news or who has been in the news. Recently on Saturday Night Live they made fun of Charlie Sheen and what has been going on in his life. I found this really interesting and funny because it just showed how ridiculous he was. They have done this with a lot of different people such as celebrities and political candidates. Each time they make a satire out of these people they are effective because they show the flaws of these people or the ridiculous/ stupid things they say and do.

http://www.tvsquad.com/2011/03/06/snl-gives-charlie-sheen-duh-winning-talk-show-video/

Journal 8: Barbie Girl

One of my favorite examples of satire is the song Barbie Girl by Aqua. This song is making fun of the unrealistic expectations that Barbie makes young girls have because Barbie is seemingly flawless. Aqua does this by using many different methods of satire. It is horatian satire because it is light and fun. It is also indirect because it's communicated through the Barbie characters rather than direct statements. Sarcasm is used during the statement, "Life in plastic, it's fantastic." This is also an example of verbal irony. Persona is used in that Barbie becomes the "perfect" woman, satirizing the unrealistic expectations she introduces.

journal 8

This is my favorite satire. It rose a lot more questions and concerns about Obama and his wife because The New Yorker made Obama look like the terrorist, Osama bin Laden, and his wife with a machine gun fist bumping her husband. It portrays that Obama is not a sufficent president since he is burning the United States flag and has the picture of Osama bin Ladenon the wall which looks like their in the white house. This satire is is a direct burlesque because is way over exaggerating an opinion about Obama. However, I do not believe this is persuasive at all.

my favorite satire is the family guy episode where they satirize star wars. in the video they are commenting on how ridiculous star wars is and how it is was such a big hit because of its ridiculousness. it works because the makers of family guy made it funny by doing things like using the force in ways that it was not planned to be used for and by making the characters make fun of the actual characters in star wars. the main reason this satire is funny is because they show how unrealistic the actions are in star wars and do it by having the actions fail in the satire. this satire really got the point across that star wars was a major hit because it was complete fantasy.

Journal

My favorite satires are the ones done on Saturday Night Live when they make fun of Sarah Palin. I find it hilarious when Tina Fey acts like Sarah Palin and makes jokes about her and her campaign. This satire is funny, convincing, and persuasive because it just shows some of the stupid things that Sarah Palin can say. This satire is well known because it is current and Sarah Palin is well known. They get their point across by making it into a comedy and making fun of how Sarah Palin was the governor of Alaska by mocking her and saying that nobody lives in Alaska. This satire is hilarious to me because of the fact the Tina Fey really looks like Sarah Palin and she portrays her character very well.

Refer back to the satire handout on Blackboard and perform a brief analysis of your favorite satire. What is it commenting on? How does it work? Why is it funny, biting, or persuasive?

My favorite satire is the one Family Guy did on Jersey Shore. It was funny how they made the characters look, as well as making them look like they were the bad people. It shows how ridiculous the show really is and how even though it's so stupid, people still watch it. I believe this is indirect satire because it is communicated through the characters, however it could also be direct because it is pretty obviously stated that it is making fun of Jersey Shore. Acting like if they are from Jersey Shore is a crime or something makes the satire very funny and entertaining.

Journal 8

Refer back to the satire handout on Blackboard and perform a brief analysis of your favorite satire. What is it commenting on? How does it work? Why is it funny, biting, or persuasive?

Due: Tuesday, April 3

Journal 7

A weird thing to hate I know, but I hate stickers..especially when they're on someones face. It just has always grossed me out ever since I was little.

my picture wont upload but here's the link to my picture

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIS5mSswKf2NhE4YtvgUktGKIvsFHQvpYugEz6e3MtJ-mYwvk2TLxPusFq9E2ioL2THLBeidxf8Xb84lCRL27r9usfYftBm3TVR1mWSdCdgfJB2gvipz9xmOcBuRMFvxQzSO2lI2gCyhOU/s320/sticker+face.JPG&imgrefurl=http://stampinsars.blogspot.com/2007_05_01_archive.html&usg=__50Sjo5_qv49aZBZMyUeNdF8Sze0=&h=300&w=320&sz=18&hl=en&start=111&zoom=1&tbnid=vgnZz0odl4C7WM:&tbnh=127&tbnw=154&ei=uQ2STYC7Jcq-0QGCiKXNBw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dstickers%2Bon%2Bface%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1339%26bih%3D571%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C2052&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=335&oei=sQ2STe7fE-O00QGAqszNBw&page=6&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:111&tx=97&ty=53&biw=1339&bih=571

Journal 7

My favorite, and second home!

Journal 7

I always procrastinate....including on this journal

Journal 7

I secretly hate the feel of cotton balls, they give me goosebumps.

NICE RACK


i chose this picture and the line for the fact that it has a double meaning and i feel that it sums up a lot of hunters passion in life... finding the ultimate trophy

Journal 7

I really dislike the taste of chocolate, even the smell of it gives me a migraine.

Journal 7

My fear of heights is clearly shown by the man walking across a small wire atop a skyscraper.

Journal 7

I secretly have a fear that I'm going to end up alone and become a crazy cat lady.

MIAMI?

I AM UNSURE IF MIAMI UNIVERSITY IS THE PLACE FOR ME

Journal 7 post

Where I'm from, Kansas is the most hated team there is.

I'm transferring there next year and I can't WAIT to be a Jayhawk :)

Woman's Driving convention

Journal 7

Journal 7 - Enos

Journal 6 - Enos

IT WORKS NOW!

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/, this is my good site because it is both visually appealing and easy to navigate. In addition everything is labeled and simplified so a non-astronomic student like me can easily follow the stories being portrayed. In addition, national geographic is very educational and always has directions to follow should you want to know more about a specific topic

http://www.mt.net/~watcher/conspir.html, this is my ugly site because it looks like it was thrown together by someone who typically has little education or care about the topic at hand. Not only could I not follow what the website was about, but there were random pictures with links to ridiculous websites. It was also terribly unappealing.

journal 6

http://cmdshiftdesign.com/ilovesmekitty/- this is my ugly website i picked it as my ugly website because when i first looked at it i felt like i was going to have a seizure. i just has too much going on and is not very organized.

http://www.adebayoderu.com/- i chose this as my good website mainly becuase it kept my attention and it was spaced out and easy to follow

Journal 7

Create your own PostSecret card. Don’t worry about sharing your deepest, darkest secrets- you can make something up, or share something silly. You don’t have to create a digital masterpiece, or even put your text on top of the graphics. You can just post a visual, and type the accompanying text underneath. Have fun with this, but please try to keep in mind all that we’ve talked about in class.

To get you started, here's mine:

Due: Tuesday, March 29

Journal 6

http://www.centralstate.edu/index.php
I feel that this website is poorly designed because it doesn't stand out as a college website. From a distance I would think that it was an advertisement site because the layout is really simplistic. The colors used also are not that vibrant and do not draw attention. The color scheme is also disorganized because there is no set color pattern, which also throws off the image. Overall, the website looks pretty boring and if I were a prospective student I would not be impressed by it.

http://www.miami.muohio.edu/
I feel that this website is designed very well. The images and bright colors grab your attention right away and the pictures are in a slide show so that they are continuously changing. You can t tell right away that the website is that of a college and i can not be mistaken for an advertisement. The pictures shown are from a variety of aspects on campus so that it appeals to all types of people.

journal 6

www.weather.com
This website is my good and easy to navigate website that I chose. It has many cool colors that are easy to read, but it is colorful. It has many tabs on the top of the website for navigation. Then it has a search button saying, "enter zip, place, or city" for quick weather results.

http://www.angelfire.com/super/badwebs/
As for this website this is my bad one. It has many bright, difficult colors; such as yellow and orange. Its also flashing and the background is moving which also makes it hard to read!

visually appealing and unappealing websites

I think everyone will agree when I say that www.google.com is the most successful website recently, and there is a reason for that. It is not just because it is a search engine-- there are now dozens of those. Instead it is laid out simply instead of trying to add too many facets to their homepage. Since the homepage only has a search bar and their logo, it makes it virtually impossible for any one to not know how to use it. And then, when it brings you to your search, you are still not overwhelmed by pictures, videos, and colors. It is laid out in a logical fashion that even the least computer savvy would be able to figure out. That being said, I think that www.bing.com did it all wrong. They are attempting to do the same thing as Google, but they are missing the most important aspect of Google's webpage-- simplicity. On Bing you can personalize the background by clicking through different pictures of nature, and theres even a button that says, "if today had a song, this is what it would be" where you can play some song that Bing wants you to hear. You almost forget that it is a search engine, and that is why Google has been so much more successful.

Journal 6

http://www.ebay.com/.  When i thought of a well put together website i immediately thought of eBay.  They designed the site using wide variety of color, allowing the shopper to get sucked in to the website.  Also they have small image screens all over the webpage showing with all the coolest gadgets that are the "new" thing.  This website is very straight forward and allows for an easy  experience for the viewer.

http://www.facebook.com/.  When i thought of a poorly put together website not as far as technology and all the great communication this site created, but as far as the design of your personal web page.  The background is white making it very bland, and boring to stare at.  Also when first creating a profile not knowing how to find people, or figure out how to work the website makes for a problem.  Although it is one of the most highly accepted sites in the world, it does not make it very easy to start your own.

www.wikipedia.org

The moment I read the prompt for this journal I immediately thought of wikipedia as a very visually unattractive website. With its white plain white background and generic black and blue font it is not visually stimulating at all. I have always thought the creator of wikipedia could do much more to make it visually and rhetorically much more appealing, and probably get a lot more visitors. Honestly, it looks unprofessional and I think adds to its overall reputation as an unreliable source for research.

http://penguins.nhl.com/?navid=nav-teamnav-pit

I think this is a very visually attractive/stimulating and rhetorically appealing website. As a huge penguins fan I am a little bias, but it is a very professional and well set-up website. The colors and background textures of the website rhetorically add to connecting visiting this website to the team. It does have advertisement that doesn't really fit with the page, but advertisement is a given for most professional mediums. The first things you look at are your options to watch recent video's and updates about the team, as well as a box towards the right of the page that lets you know how they did in their most recent game and who they will play next. These visually attractive attributes catch your eye right away and inform you about the team whether you wanted to be informed or not. Rhetorically and visually this is a very appealing website.

Journal 6

www.yahoo.com

This is a very attractive website. The layout is phenomenal and its very appealing. I like how the site is very simple and user friendly while its also informative and useful. The left margin contains a diverse array of tabs describing the many features of the website. In the center, the headlines section catches the eye. Here, there are four interesting headlines ranging from sports to pop culture. There are features for every type of person. There are sports headlines, pop culture headlines, stock information, recipes and many more.

www.moeller.org

This is an unattractive website. This was the website for my highschool and i always had the hardest time navigating it to find what i was looking for. The layout is mildly appealing but overall its too complex. The information provided on the homepage is not useful. The most useful information should be the most accessible, not the other way around.

Progress

My progress this semester has been satisfactory in my opinion. I have liked most of the assignments. They have been interesting to me therefore it has been easier for me to write. I struggled the most with Inquiry 2 because I could not find a midway between content and outside material. I found what worked beat for me by the end of the Inquiry. I am looking forward to improving as the semester progress.

http://www.video2mp3.net/

This website is very unattractive, (however I download all my music from it, so guess it's not so bad). The color scheme is all over the place, there is no clear choice of colors and there is no interesting logo. The website is so poorly designed it looks like it is going to give your computer a virus. It looks so sketchy because not much thought has went into the wording and placement of any of the things on the home page. Also, when you convert a song, it takes you to an even worse website that has no relation to music. The mp3 converter site has so many advertisements, i can never tell what is the site or something else.

http://www.lillypulitzer.com/accessories+gifts/new-sorority-prints/icat/sorority/&bklist=icat,4,shop,accessoriesandgift,sorority

This website is really cute. THe colors and ads are very inviting. The use of colors, placement, and word choice accurately connect to the targeted audience. Everything goes together and has a nice unity and flow. Not to mention the clothes are beautiful....

Journal 6

Post a really ugly website, then a really attractive website. Tell me why they do and don’t work visually and rhetorically.

http://www.scumby.com/

This website is not visually attractive at all. There are no colors. The entire background is black and all of the font is simply white. The writing is a boring font and very small. The only ounce of color is two little squares in the corner of each side that has their logo in it. The website is also very short, it's not even a full page which makes it even more unappealing.

http://www.gohawaii.com/

This website is very visually attractive. The first thing you see are beautiful pictures of the Hawaiian islands, especially the clear, blue ocean. The pictures switch every few seconds to show the different amazing parts of the islands. The fonts used on the page are unique and in different colors and styles. Some fonts are in cursive which make the website seem even more attractive. There are also different tabs the viewer can look through and not stay on one page the entire time. The website tries to resemble what they are portraying Hawaii as, beautiful and exotic.

Post a really ugly website, then a really attractive website. Tell me why they do and don’t work visually and rhetorically.

http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/

This website is very unappealing to the eye. It doesn't strike you as interesting and by flipping to this website, I don't even want to explore more into it to find what I am looking for. All the website is is a bunch of blue words all the same size and text which doesn't appeal to me. It doesn't make me want to go any father in my search. I feel as if they need to add images and color to make this look better.

http://www.victoriassecret.com/

This website is very appealing to the eye. It uses light colors that all mesh well together. There are different sizes in the words to make certain words stand out to you more. The word sale is typed very big, and whenever there is a sale, it appeals to people. Also, there is a picture of a woman wearing Victora's Secret clothes to show what is being sold. To add to that, there is models modeling there clothes which makes you want to buy it after seeing the type of girls that model wearing it. I think this website is very appealing compared to the craig's list website.

Journal 5

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/

This website was rhetorically and visually appealing. It draws the person in by advertising and gives you glimpses of interesting story and makes the person want to read more. This website is also very interesting and has a lot to offer including advice/clothes/tips/personal stories and so on. It is also very colorful which draws the person in and makes them want to continue on their website.

http://americanhistory.about.com/

I randomly came across this website and found it very rhetorically and visually unappealing. It lacked color and you couldn't really tell what the website even was and how it was useful. It also was small font and nothing stood out to make the person want to stay on and learn more.

Journal 6

Post a really ugly website, then a really attractive website. Tell me why they do and don’t work visually and rhetorically. Due: Thursday, March 24

http://www.competitivecommercialcarpet.com/home.php?gclid=CKLv6Krt4qcCFQprKgodnxc1_w

This is a website I found about carpet that is pretty ugly. The background is completely white, plain colored. There are no animations either. The website is boring because it is trying to sell carpet, something not that exciting to begin with. Also the visuals are simple, plain colored, and boring. The text that is on the front page is a long paragraph, not something visitors would be interested in reading. Ethos and Logos are vague throughout this web page. They somewhat express

http://www.urbanactive.com/trainerfinder/websites/60092/home/index.html

This website is the one for the Fitness gym of Urban Active. It would be considered an attractive one. The colors catch the eye, they are bright. Their are images flashing on the screen, switching every few seconds. Their isn't any lengthy text, it is short and to the point. It is a website a visitor would be interested in looking around on, and discovering what this website has to offer.

www.purple.com - Really ugly. I am not quit sure what the purpose is for this website. It is just purple and I have received spam from them, but there are no links, pictures, titles, or words? Why is this even a website? It is so boring and it is all purple. This website is not very creative. It works visually in one way: the color of the website fits the name of the website very well.
www.steelers.com- Really cool.The background is sweet! It is pictures of fans one on side and on the other there are pictures of the players. Also I like that the website set out to find anything and everything on this website that you could possibly need to know as a steelers fan. The colors of the website are black and yellow, which is obviously fitting. The website is packed and there is not a lot of boring, dull, empty space. I could be bias because I am a steelers fan, but I do think this website is visually appealing.

jeans???

this clearly shows the sexual and gender roles. the guys are both very fit and you can see that they are just in jeans. more importantly you can notice the sex appeal with the girls hands being inside the guys pant and you can also notice she is looking right at the other guy who seems some what jealous. it is showing how men are very protective and always want to show their dominance. you can also see that the girl is in very good shape showing the other side of the spectrum.

Journal 6

Post a really ugly website, then a really attractive website. Tell me why they do and don’t work visually and rhetorically.

Due: Thursday, March 24

I think this add is definitely a shock value advertisement. It is a very simple add, color and production wise. The add is simple a picture of a burrito and text, all in black and white so the focus is both on the burrito wrapper and the text. It is interesting that the burrito is in a wrapper, Chipotle doesn't even show the actual food in the burrito, the audience has no idea what is in the meal or how appetizing it looks. The add is very sexual. Taking literally, it doesn't really make sense but the marketing technique is to an audience that would understand the sexual innuendo. It is a sexual joke directed towards women's idea of what they want in a man for sex, but the humor is more of a young men type of humor, the group that typically has low sexual jokes and fantasizes over sex.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://citizenchris.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/01/06/chipotle.jpg&imgrefurl=http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/business/&usg=__J4nWfjgxmXS_hFx8l-xenieWzOw=&h=307&w=490&sz=98&hl=en&start=28&sig2=eVVbGlshbgL18RXn5wmT6g&zoom=1&tbnid=ZAXXv6n5g1qYGM:&tbnh=108&tbnw=173&ei=47KITcaUGI66sAPkhIn7Cw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drac

Journal 5

This advertisement is clearly gender as well as sexually specific.  I think it is allows girls to see the ideal women.  Not only are they using the sexiest model, they have the name of Victoria Secret.  The main focus of the picture is on her breasts, making the viewer look only at her breasts and not the rest of her.

journal 5

This ad is definitely a sexual ad directed towards a mens body wash called Axe. This is sexual because it is a womens body that is literally dirty and "wash me" on her stomach. Which her stomach and chest is the focus of the picture. This attracts men to buy their product Axe by these sexual ads.

Journal 5

This ad shows both gender and sexuality I think it gives an unrealistic image to both men and women. That women should have be this sexual and look like this image. I think it also sends the message that men's standards for women should be this high and that this product will indirectly help with their desires.

Spaced about journal 4, sorry! So far this semester I think I've strengthened by textual analysis a lot and learned that it can be use in more than just old literature but everyday influences. I've also learned that I can push myself and accomplish things I didn't think I would have normally been able to without challenges. I hope to continue this and strengthen my writing even further as the semester draws to an end.

Journal 5

This ad is for Hollister Co. I find this ad very sexual. It makes women and men think that if they buy Hollister clothes that they will have the perfect boyfriend. In this picture it specifically says without words that if you have a body like this and are wearing Hollister clothes then you can get any guy you want or vis versa for girls. This ad promotes the values of sex or flirtation. This ad makes all the girls want to become something they aren't in real life.

Journal 5

This is an ad for adidas shoes. The actual ad states, "the first thing she notices....are your shoes" I was surprised by this ad because even something as simple as tennis shoes are being sold through sex appeal. The ad is saying that with a pair of adidas shoes girls will like you or want to have sex with you. The ad also depicts a vision of gender. With the girls underwear around her ankles, women seem promiscuous. Men are also shown to only be looking to have sex through every aspect of their lives, even the choice of shoes they buy.

Journal 5

This is a commercial for a Mac computer. It portrays those who own PC's as high-strung, tightly-wound and a little nerdy. However, it portrays Mac owners as chill, easy-going, happy, and cooler. This is obviously and unfair stereotype but cretes an effective advertisement.

Ad

Find and analyze an ad that depicts a specific vision of gender, identity, or sexuality. What values does the ad project? Include an image of this ad in your journal, if possible.

This advertisement is for fantasy football. It is a sexual ad definitely aimed towards men. The people who made this advertisement know that generally men are more into sports. So naturally fantasy sports would be for men. And they also know that men like women, and even more they know men like women in lingerie. So they used this very attractive Victoria's secret lingerie model, gave her a football, and made her stare seductively to aim completely towards men.

Journal 5

This ad definitely speaks to one gender and to a certain identity. This speaks to men, because for the most part men are more interested in the NBA then women are. Also it speaks to a sense of identity, because for many men the players depicted are iodls or role models. Each player depicted is also an NBA champion that has one a championship with there team. There are asking the audience who will be the next role model, and will you be there to witness it. I think this is a great ad, because it sparks interest for the future events, but it also makes us think back to who we idolize and role model.

Journal 5

The value that is most obvious that this ad projects is love. This ad suggests that the perfume relates to love. Possibly that women who are in love and loving life wear this kind of perfume. The woman and man in this ad are both happy and in love. This ad attracts women to the perfume because the woman on it is beautiful and happy with a loved one. It might attract women who want or have a lifestyle similar to this woman on the cover.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://adland.tv/files/promesselarge.jpg&imgrefurl=http://adland.tv/content/decrypting-perfume-advertisements-friday-fun&h=874&w=642&sz=220&tbnid=u32NbdkfWAW2CM:&tbnh=146&tbnw=107&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dperfume%2Badvertisements&zoom=1&q=perfume+advertisements&hl=en&usg=__-tPjuabAeDGxqUmgwo8hWr09WXg=&sa=X&ei=R8CGTaH1IO6z0QH0rsG_CA&ved=0CCMQ9QEwAA

Journal 4

Midterm Self-Assessment: Consider your progress at this point in the semester. What have you accomplished? What do you still want to improve?

At this point in the semester, I am proud of what I have accomplished in this class. I am proud of my grade and feel that I have put a lot of effort into each of my papers and projects. I have taken them seriously and have researched and read what was required. Something I would like to improve on is participating in class. I would like to focus on the next inquiry and continue with putting effort into my papers and hopefully ending up getting an A in this class.

Journal 5

http://www.yournextgift.com/images/2007/04/cosmopolitan_subscription.jpg

This is a picture of a magazine called Cosmopolitan. The cover of this magazine is displaying a skinny, tan girl with blonde hair on the front of the cover. This is playing into gender identity because it seems like in order to get onto a magazine cover you have to be skinny and pretty, without that, you are not on the cover, maybe not even in the magazine at all. Not only does this display gender identity on the front cover, it also displays it throughout the magazine. This magazine is about sex. All this magazine talks about are ways to please your man through sexual favors. Not only does it talk about that, but it also talks about how to make sure your man doesn't cheat on you. All the ways to make sure he doesn't cheat on you are to give him what he wants in sexual favors. This is a magazine that displays gender identity and roles all throughout the magazine. I believe it makes women feel less than pretty because they always have to live up to other girls expectations.

Journal 4

Midterm Self-Assessment: Consider your progress at this point in the semester. What have you accomplished? What do you still want to improve?

LATE:

At this point in the semester, I have accomplished being a better textual analyzer. I believe it has became easier for me to look at a piece of writing or media and I can analyze it in a better way than I could have done before this semester started. It's easier for me to look at these writings and figure out if gender is being used or what is going on in the paper and what the writer was thinking during the time of his writing. I need to improve on summarizing less and analyzing more when I critique a piece of writing. I tend to write about the text so the reader of my paper can understanding what is going on in the movie or book so they can understand my reason for how I analyzed the paper. Overall, I have learned more in this semester half way through the semester than I did the whole last semester.

Bowflex Ad

This ad is purposed towards males and sporting the male dominance and attractiveness scheme. Sexuality and attractiveness is one of the most prominent features of today's ads and this one in particular is meant to appeal towards the male desire to look defined. It not only depicts a man who has rock hard abs and an obviously toned body but it states that you can get into shape like this for only $10 a month. This ad contributes towards the male feeling of competition among other males.

Victoria Secret Ad

This ad is a victoria secret ad that is trying to define sexiness. This ad is generalized towards women and is saying that in order to be sexy, you have to be half naked, with a good body, and pretty face. This ad is stereotypical and is trying to convince women that they need to look like this in order to get a guy's attention.

I choose this add because it does a good job of portraying women as sex symbols. This add does not make me think that Burger King values women. This was defiantly targeting men because I read some very angry comments from women on this when I clicked on this picture. It defiantly devalues women in general although it is funny it does disrespect women.

Bell Telephone System (Journal 5)

This ad is for telephones with extension chords (it is an old advertisement). It targets an audience of women, but more specifically, women who take care of their family by working in the kitchen. The ad is making an obvious gender statement that women should do housework rather than have jobs. For example, it says "picture the chops won't burn and the pudding won't boil over." By relating the ad to women who deal with these situations, the ad is suggesting that all or most women cook, clean, and make pudding. Another important aspect of this advertisement is the happiness shown on the woman's face. This happiness shapes a gender identity of a woman that loves taking care of the family and wouldn't want to work in an actual job. The women's apron also supports the idea that women are supposed to do housework such as cleaning, washing dishes, cooking, etc. By targeting this advertisement at women, the telephone company makes it seem as if all women should be spending the majority of their time in the kitchen.

Journal 5

I used this picture because i feel like this ad is definitely getting not only a messaged across but also it's playing out an image about Women at work. The image that they have is a image of a woman cleaning the floor and seeming pleased. She is in her working clothes at home. Women are often viewd as being at home taking care of the house and cleaning while men go and work and bring money to the house. Also the title "Fourteen Hour Wives of eight hour men" this clearly states the amount of hours a women would be working at home. It's also a lot more hours than it says a men will work. It's advertising Godl rush, and it gurantees the women to save time and enegery with they use Gold rush and be able to work and get out at the same amount of hours thei husband will work. The whole image definitely throws thei thoughts of a house women.

Journal 5

Find and analyze an ad that depicts a specific vision of gender, identity, or sexuality. What values does the ad project? Include an image of this ad in your journal, if possible.

Due: Tuesday, March 22

Journal 4 REPOSTED (Accidentally posted as Journal 3)

I think the best part of this semester is that I have a whole new approach in the way I think and analyze works of literature. I've been participating in discussions a lot more and overall I have just been more engaged in how I perform. I've been taking academics a lot more seriously and I think that everything's coming together for me. Sadly, I still have a lot of work to do in terms of shortening up the points that I'm trying to convey in writing. This is something though, that I feel I will always have a problem as a result of my attempts to be overly creative. I think as the semester continues I'll truly have a grasp on how gender roles ultimately shape identity in various components of society.

At this point in the semester I fear I have not accomplished enough academically. It has been a tough past 7 weeks. I have been extremely busy and have not exactly been the best at time management. In English specifically I feel I have gotten a new appreciation for the teacher, and how difficult it is to start up a discussion. I don't know if it is just this class or because it is at 9 30 am but it is hard to get students interested and caring about the topic at hand. Though my midterm grade is not bad, I still hope to achieve the grade I set out to earn in this class which is an A. I know I am able, I just need to buckle down second semester, not only with english, but with all my classes now.

journal 4

i am proud of myself for getting the grades that i have up to this point and to be honest i am a little surprised that i have been able to do what i have done. i feel like i have come to look at texts in a different way and i feel like im always looking at what is masculine or famine. honestly i have already gotten everything i wanted to from this class and more so anything that i gain from now on is just an added bonus.

Journal 3 - Enos

I think the best part of this semester is that I have a whole new approach in the way I think and analyze works of literature. I've been participating in discussions a lot more and overall I have just been more engaged in how I perform. I've been taking academics a lot more seriously and I think that everything's coming together for me. Sadly, I still have a lot of work to do in terms of shortening up the points that I'm trying to convey in writing. This is something though, that I feel I will always have a problem as a result of my attempts to be overly creative. I think as the semester continues I'll truly have a grasp on how gender roles ultimately shape identity in various components of society.

Journal 4

So far this semester, I think I feel like I have done pretty well, but I know I can do much better. I think I am getting better at be more active in class and participating in discussions more. As a writer, I feel that I am getting better at analyzing texts, but I know I need to work on making better introductions that are more specific and less broad. Also, when writing rough drafts, I need to work on just writing whatever then editing later. Often I self-critique and edit as i write, which takes me longer to get out what i'm trying to say. The class as a whole this far has been pretty interesting and I have enjoyed our close readings. At this point in the semester, I hope to improve on being less restrictive when writing rough drafts because I feel like that is one of the sole reasons why I sometimes struggle with writing them.

Journal 4

I feel like this semester went by better than my last semester here in Miami overall. In this english class i definitely feel like i have done good paper and i can say that i am proud of my work that i have done. I feel like most of my work is very strong but i definitely feel like i still have some weakness when it comes to my organization in my paper. I do struggle with keeping up with the organization with my paper and still maintaining key points that i want my audience to focus on while reading my paper. I think that i could have done better in some of my paper that i have done but i have gotten very good grades in all of them so far. I think i have struggled a little more with the Inquiry 2 paper. And i can say that i have had some struggles and frustration was indeed in place. My last semester wasn't very good so i am very happy to see that i can still write beautiful papers.

At, midterm, I feel pretty good about english 112. I liked the first paper assignment along with the book fight club. I think I am doing okay but I'm very nervous about this large paper. Some ideas aren't clicking and things aren't coming as easy as usual. I want to improve on this paper and hope I get a good grade. I am planning on working on it during spring break ( =( ) but I want to improve on transitions and closing, as well as finding a personal style and not being too wordy. I think I have accomplished a good analysis of texts and working on being more confidant in my ideas of what things actually mean (I always think I'm missing something or am totally off). But overall, I think things are going okay and I hope to keep my grade up!

Journal 4

This semester has been going very well for me! I feel like both of the Inquiries so far have been great. I loved the book Fight Club and I think our classroom discussions of it have been helpful to follow it. Focusing on the process of composing an essay has also helped me in writing better papers. I really like that this class focuses on that aspect. With regards to my writing, i think that i can improve in the structure of my papers. I know what i want to write about but structuring it in a way that helps the effectiveness of my argument is something i need to work on.

Journal 4

At this point in the semester I definitely want to get more organized with my assignments in this class. Pledging takes up a lot of time and it does not help my cause to wait until the last minute to do all of my assignments. I want to start working on my papers multiple days in advance so I don't have to cram. On the positive side I have learned some new techniques to write with. I have enjoyed reading Fight Club and I am opening up my way of thinking to new interpretations.