Extra Credit Holiday Activity

http://www.deviantart.com/morelikethis/340757822

Here's my last post for English 109H, please enjoy my fun sentences and know that I used FANBOYS for compound sentences. If you're unfamiliar with that, then see this link.

Happy Holidays everyone!

1) I heard the Bells on Christmas, and I saw Chestnuts roasting on an open fire!

2) I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas, so let Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow, Tucson!

3) I'll Be Home for Christmas; my mom asked me what I wanted, so I said, All I want for Christmas is you!

4) I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, and the worst part is- it was Up on the Housetop!

5) Baby it's Cold Outside; how is Jolly Old St. Nicholas Dashing Through the Snow in a one-horse open sleigh tonight?

Blog Post 40: Write A Letter of Encouragement To Yourself

https://www.flickr.com/photos/summerboone/7783836608

Dear future self,

If you're reading this, you're probably having a rough time or think that you can't do this anymore (whatever "this" may be). Whatever it is, know that you CAN do it. You got through your first semester of college, so you can get through this roadblock. Remember how hard you thought Friday December 4th would be? Three exams in one day? You accomplished it didn't you? You powered through on four and a half hours of sleep.

If you're struggling with homework, quit freaking out about it. In a few days it will be turned in and it'll be behind you. If you're really stressed, just go to office hours, ask for help, do whatever, just don't give up on yourself. You are your biggest critic and doubter, if you believe in yourself nothing will stop you. I know that sounds ridiculously cliché, but think about it for a second, it makes sense, I promise. 

Furthermore, try to actually enjoy your college experience. You spent this semester cooped up in your room; it's not a bad thing to study, but maybe you should try to remember that this experience only rolls around once and you should try to just manage your time so that you can handle everything. Also, DON'T FEEL BAD ABOUT TAKING BREAKS BECAUSE YOU NEED THEM TO SURVIVE. Sorry for the caps lock, but you know it's true. If you don't take them, you'll over work yourself. Enjoy life and find your balance between studying and personal time as both are important for success. 

Lastly, just continue to try your hardest, as long as you do that, you will be fine so please don't stress out like you did this semester. You will make it through. :)

Sincerely,

Your Awesome Self :-)

Blog Post 39: Letter to Former Self

https://www.flickr.com/photos/b0b0b/16465796947

Dear Former Self, 

Quit being a little ball of stress. You don't always have to get things done in advance; it's okay to take it one day at a time. Furthermore, I know you are freaking out about your first semester of college, but it would be much better if you just sat down and took one deep breath because everything will be okay.

Moving onto English though, you will struggle from time to time, but you will be fine. Just remember that you need to focus when you write your papers. Don't get distracted, sit down and write, write, write. Just remember that the longer you take to stop and think about the paper, the more time for your brain to think "Oh this paragraph isn't good enough". When you let your ideas flow, they actually sound good, so stop doubting yourself.

When I first started the semester I wish I knew that I would never get my sleeping schedule back on track. Seriously, do your work early, and go to bed early. Then you'll actually make it to English on time in the mornings!!! On a more serious note, I wish I knew to spend more time on organization of my first QRG, I didn't even think to consider how it would affect my audience, I was just trying to write to answer the prompt.

For future reference, get as much feedback on your paper(s) as possible. It will save you time in the long run and help you decide what to do and write about, as well as help you decide what you do and don't like about your paper. Furthermore, DO YOUR PRE WRITING. It helps and you will have an easier transition to drafting. Overall, if you just sit down and stress less you will be a happier person. Also, make sure to pick topics you are passionate about!!

Sincerely, 

Your Future Self

Blog Post 38- Reflective Essay Organizing Idea and Thesis

https://www.flickr.com/photos/orinrobertjohn/1574578786

As Chapter 12 in the Student's Guide reveals, there are five different organizing ideas or themes that I can use when constructing my essay. The theme I chooses will influence the thesis statement in the essay, and thus the structure and content of the essay as well. 

Focus on a specific assignment, experience, or concept

While the first essay I wrote for this course was not terrible, it definitely could have used some extra revision. In order to have my first essay better fit the assignment requirements, my body paragraphs needed to include complete thoughts, better organization, more analysis and thus less summary, and a larger focus on rhetoric as opposed to the controversy itself. 

  
Compare your experience writing in this course to past experiences

In high school, I struggled to enjoy the assignments I wrote about, and thus procrastinated up until the last possible minute; however, in college, I became more passionate about my writing. Now instead of waiting until the last minute to begin drafting and assignment, I begin planning weeks ahead of time by completing pre-writing activities, rough drafts, and sometimes completely re written final drafts.  

Reflect on strengths and weaknesses

Over the course of this class, I have become more aware of my strengths and weaknesses as a writer. I have the ability to draw unique inferences and conclusions from something that I am analyzing, and thus create a well written and thought provoking analysis, but I still struggle with topics like organizing my thoughts and avoiding the use of passive voice. In order to write better essays, I understand that I need to find the best organizational style that fits my rhetorical situation.

Focus on course objectives

The various assignments we were assigned throughout the course helped me to achieve the course objectives; for instance, I was able to become aware of my rhetorical situation much more effectively,  and thus apply that to my critical thinking and composing. Furthermore, each assignment helped me improve slightly more than the last with conventions, and all of those combined together have brought me up to this point of reflection. 

Focus on your writing process/self-perception as a writer

This English course has taught me that is okay to be two different kinds of writers. My writing is about finding a style that best suits me and what I want to say, so if for one project I am a heavy planner, and for another I am a heavy reviser, it is okay; in my case, each writing process is dependent upon my given rhetorical situation. 

Reflection

For this assignment, I am the speaker, and the occasion is to write a reflective essay. Originally, I was interest in focusing on a specific writing assignment because I want to re-write paper one, but now I have chosen to reflect on my strengths and weaknesses, because that will help me to better identify how I could improve overall and not just in one scenario. My audience is my professor and classmates, and I'm sure that at least my professor (if not some of my other classmates) are aware of my strengths and weaknesses of my writing. My purpose is to figure out which parts of my writing and the process in general I am strong in and which parts I struggle with so that I can rewrite my first essay. My subject is of course my strengths and weaknesses, and I plan on creating a semi-formal tone so that I find a happy medium between addressing my professor and my fellow classmates.

I commented on Davis' and Dee's posts.

Blog Post 37- Audience and Invention for Reflective Essay

1. What do I want to discuss with my readers? What do I want them to understand about the topic?

https://pixabay.com/en/reader-book-symbol-icon-reading-310398/

The topic I want to discuss with my readers is my strengths and weaknesses as a writer and in my writing process; I want them to understand that through the course of the semester I have grown. I also want to show them that I recognize my strengths and weaknesses, and how they play a role in my writing overall. Furthermore, I want to rewrite my first essay, so I will use some examples from it when writing this paper.

2. Who is my primary audience? Who is my secondary audience?

My primary audience is my professor (Dr. Bell). She has been the one that has seen the final product of all my essays and has been the one grading them, so she will be able to detect changes in my writing/writing style the most. My secondary audience will be my classmates, and hopefully they will see a change, but it might not be as likely since they don't see the final product. Perhaps they'll remember some things form my drafts and through blog posts, but again, this would be why they are the secondary audience and not the primary.

3. What do my audiences already know or believe about my topic?

Dr. Bell knows my writing, so she can personally identify my strengths and weaknesses. In other words, she knows what I'll be writing about, but she won't necessarily know how I plan to reflect upon them. Furthermore, my classmates know that I have strengths and weaknesses in my writing because, well, we all do, they might believe I have certain strengths or weaknesses, but I can't be sure because again not everyone sees my drafts and no one has seen my final copies besides Dr. Bell.

4. How will I organize and develop my ideas to make them convincing to these readers?

I will organize my ideas by creating paragraphs on different topics we have discussed in class (organization, active/passive voice, analysis, etc) and analyze both my strengths and weaknesses in that area. I will include evidence from my past assignments and analyze WHY and HOW they show my strengths or my weaknesses. This way, they won't be stuck trying to figure out why a piece of analysis or type of organization is strong, I will be able to explain it and thus convince them.

5. How will I establish my ethos (relationship and tone) with my readers?

I will establish my ethos by writing in a semi-formal tone. I want to be able to show my professor that I understand where I've gone wrong and what I've done well, but I also want my classmates to be able to relate to my paper. When discussing my weaknesses, I will probably share some anecdotes that reveal struggles I encountered because most people aren't perfect in all areas of the writing process, thus, they will be able to understand where I'm coming from.

Blog Post 36: Discovering My Writing Process

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thought_bubble.svg

Throughout English 109H, I learned a lot about myself as a writer and writing in general.

For instance, in my AP English classes, I knew that pre-writing was sometimes necessary, but sometimes it just seemed like a nuisance; however, in this class, I saw the true value of pre-writing. Maybe it had to do with the fact that the pre-writing was in the form of the blog posts, but it just didn't feel as academic and that's what I kind of liked about it. There wasn't always this big stress on the assignment but more of the process and just what we were thinking. It helped to shape my thought process.

As far as my writing process in general goes, I consider myself to be somewhere in between a heavy planner and a heavy reviser. For some assignments, I plan a lot, and for others, I skip straight to the drafting process and just revise multiple times. It depends on the assignment; if I am really knowledgeable about it, I usually plan a lot and if I'm not, I just free write until I discover what I want to say. It may seem backwards, but if I know a lot on the topic, then I know what to say- I just have to plan my organization. However, if I don't know about the topic, I just start writing and edit as I go along to see what I like and don't like about my writing.

In most cases, my writing process seems to be successful, but it just depends because not every assignment is the same or is structured the same for that matter. The strengths of the heavy planning include being able to have less stress when it comes to drafting and having everything laid out. The weaknesses are that it requires a lot of time and thinking. The strengths of the heavy revising are that I don't feel required to stick to my plan; I can change things where I see fit. The weaknesses include some disorganization in my writing.

I don't think it would be beneficial for me to become a procrastinator because that is just a bad habit, but I could maybe try being a sequential composer and see if that works. Honestly though, my approaches work for me so I don't know that trying sequential composing would benefit me, at least, I wouldn't want to try it on my final assignment.

Blog Post 35: Political Cartoon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States)

This time of year (specifically Thanksgiving and Christmas) is known for bringing people together, but what happens when that idea is ripped to shreds by acts of terror?

As many people have come to know, Paris, France experienced a series of terrorist attacks performed by members of a group who managed to sneak into the country by claiming to be Syrian refugees. This has caused an uproar all over the globe as to whether or not countries should tighten their borders, or even allow Syrian refugees into their countries at all.

This cartoon was created just a few short days before Thanksgiving, and it was a satirical response to those in America that believe that the refugees should not be allowed in the country. The context of the political cartoon is that a Native American is saying to an English man "Sorry but we're not accepting refugees."

The message of the cartoon is that Americans have come to be extremely hypocritical when it comes to immigration and refugee situations, and that if the borders are shut, the likelihood of American society growing and expanding is extremely low. Not too long ago, there was a group of refugees coming from England to the Americas (spoiler alert: it was the Pilgrims). When these people arrived to the country, the Native Americans welcomed them with open arms. It's the whole reason behind the Thanksgiving feast. How were the Native repaid? Evil deeds, but that's a topic for a later discussion. The point here is, the Natives did not say to the pilgrims seeking religious freedom, "Sorry, we're not taking refugees right now". It makes Americans questions what would they have done if the Natives never let them in in the first place.

The purpose of the cartoon is to show people against accepting the refugees how much of hypocrites they're being and that they need to rethink their thoughts and ideas. The irony is that when the pilgrims and Americans were down on their luck, they received help, but even though America KNOWS what it's like to struggle, they don't want to help others.

In order to understand this cartoon, one needs to know about the story of the pilgrims and migration to America in the 1400s, as well as the interactions between the Natives and the English. Furthermore, the information about the recent terrorist attacks in France and world events are necessary to make the connection between this cartoon and the "refugees" comment/message. With all this information in mind, people can connect, compare, and contrast the similarities and differences of the two scenarios with the Natives/English and the rest of the world and the Syrian refugees. The knowledge helps to enhance the message of hypocrisy and absurdist views concerning the refugee crisis.

Thesis Statement for Public Argument Rhetorical Analysis

The photo below is an accurate representation of how I feel/end up looking after attempting to construct a solid thesis statement.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/anniferrr/4097009340

So this is still a work in progress but it's what I have so far. I want to try and keep it short/concise so that it doesn't get too wordy, but I might want to add in some extra information. Anyways, please enjoy, or don't, it is only a thesis statement after all. :)

"Because I want to reach an audience of college and high school students at various club meetings, and/or awareness events, I argue that using a Power Point presentation with statistics, images, music, and even my own personal stories would allow me to effectively relate to my young audience and persuade them that domestic violence is a serious issue that must be acknowledged and stopped/prevented."

Blog Post 33: Background Research

http://sdmilitaryfamily.org/october-convenings-events/

Here is the link to my background research. :)

I commented on Davis' document and Lekha's blog post since I could only view her document. 

Initial Thoughts About the Audience for my Argument

The reason there is no such thing as a "general public" is because certain messages and themes target certain people. For instance, does a tampon commercial target men? No. Does a Men's Rogaine commercial target women? No. While these are very broad examples, there are many other instances in which rhetorical messages are meant for specific individuals or groups of people. It's impossible to make a photo, article, essay, etc. relatable to the whole world, there's just too many differing opinions and ideologies.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EXIT_2012_Audience_(1).jpg

Since domestic violence/abuse is a very sensitive topic, it is important to make rhetorical choices with the audience and their reactions in mind. 

Who might be interested in or impacted by this issue?

People that might be interested in or impacted by this issue include those that aren't aware of the horrors that domestic abuse brings upon people. While men can be victims of violence as well, the issue occurs most often to women. Abuse happens no matter race, location, or educational level. People that influence the issue can be organizations, battered women shelters, and more. The typical belief on the issue is that it is wrong, but many aren't sure how to help.

How familiar will my audience be with my issue/topic?

My argument will be targeted more towards those that aren't aware of the horrors of domestic violence and what it really does to its victims. Thus, the audience will probably have some general knowledge that domestic abuse is prevalent in society, but won't be aware of the specifics and facts that reveal the number of people affected and what it does to them.

Aside from my ideal audience, who else might encounter my argument?

Others that may encounter my argument include victims and those that are close to them. Victims that may be trying to find a way out of the abuse may look into my argument to see the resources available to them, and so might those that want to help them.

Who might be hostile to my argument and why?

Those that might be hostile to my argument are those that do the abusing or those that are from other cultures where violence towards women is acceptable.

What basic information will my audience need to have to understand my argument?

Some basic information that my audience will need to have includes how domestic violence is present all over the world, and that it actually isn't easy for a woman to walk away from. There is an abuse cycle that occurs, and while the audience may not need to know the steps of the cycle, they should know that it exists and that it must be broken if the abuse is to ever stop.

My Proposed Public Argument

Well, it was fun to not think about writing while it lasted (approximately two days). :) However, it is time to get back to reality because it is time to get working on Paper #3- The Public Argument. I struggled a little bit with ideas for this project because it seems so broad, but I think I have narrowed it down to two options- domestic violence and athletes that continue to play with injuries. I decided to compose this table below to organize my thoughts on the two different topics.

https://www.flickr.com/

http://www.lawsuitlegalhelp.com/sports_related_injuries.html

Domestic Violence

Athletes That Play With Injuries/Repercussions/etc.

The Message Domestic violence occurs far too frequently and is ruining the lives of women, and even men, worldwide. Something must be done to stop it, otherwise this violence can lead to emotional, physical, and mental pain beyond repair. The Audience Those that are affected by domestic violence or those that are maybe not as familiar with the concept and what can be done to stop it. This could also target those that initiate violence to show them their wrongdoings, though that may not be as likely. The Purpose To show people the horrors of domestic violence and to offer different methods to combat the problem including ways to help victims, ways to report situations before they get too out of hand, and more. If the violence can be stopped, many women (and men) would lead better lives and be able to function as people in society (women wouldn't be so secretive, secluded, depressed etc. Can also apply to men).

The Message In today’s world of sports, there is a lot of pressure on athletes to perform all the time. Sometimes, athletes will attempt to play through injuries or hide injuries so that they do not have to sit out for weeks at a time. This actually creates a much larger problem and could make their injuries worse. The Audience The audience of this argument would be athletes that actually do play through injuries and think they will be fine, coaches/managers, and other that do not realize that “sucking it up” isn’t always the answer to pain. The Purpose The purpose of this argument would be to show athletes and the other sections of the audience that if athletes don’t take their injuries seriously when they first happen, they could not only make their injuries worse, but also end their careers. Thus, something needs to be done to stop them from ruining their chances at the sport they love. This includes league/association rules that prevent them from playing on injuries, family support, strict treatment plans to ensure quick and healthy recoveries, and much more.

Analysis of a Sample Public Argument

https://pixabay.com/en/envelope-mail-open-envelop-mailing-34531/

Tone
The tone of this letter was persuasive and formal. Since the student is writing to the Governor, it is fairly important to understand that the Governor is in a position of authority. Due to this, the letter had to be written in a way that carries a professional tone, hence the formality. The student does this by conveying her arguments respectively. Furthermore, the tone was made persuasive by the student's use of facts and ideas; she wants the Governor to take her ideas into consideration, so she lays out facts and information to showcase the different options available to save the state money.  Thus, in order to get her point across to the Governor, she used a persuasive and formal tone.


Conventions of a Formal Letter
The conventions of a formal letter that were used in this example include a greeting, multiple body paragraphs, and a signature. These conventions are appropriate for her genre because she needs to introduce herself and explain her multiple viewpoints/ideas in the letter, while also closing her argument and providing her contact information. The greeting allows the student to specifically address her audience, while the body paragraphs explain her purpose and her proposals that she thinks the Governor should consider for Budget cuts/changes. The closing allows her to thank the Governor for taking the time to read her letter, and it also allows her to provide her contact information in case the Governor wants to discuss any part of her letter with her, as she would be more than happy to do so.

Ethos
The student showcases her ethos when she introduces herself as a college student and when she signs the letter saying she is from the Department of Biology at the University of Arizona's College of Science. This shows the Governor that she not only cares about the issue, but that she familiar with the idea of Medicine and healthcare since Biology is a huge part of study in the field of Medicine. It encourages the Governor to truly listen to what the student has to say, since she is familiar with the topic she is writing about.

Over-all Claim
The over-all claim that the student is trying to make is that there are alternatives to the proposed Medicaid budget cut. The student shares that while she understands the Governor has a need to save the state money and do her job, taking insurance away from the people that need it most will lead to greater problems in the state. Thus, she proposes alternative options that would allow the Medicaid coverages to not be cut, and still save the state money.

Call-to-Action
The student's call-to-action for the Governor is to reconsider the budget cuts by considering the student's proposed solutions such as increasing oversight on high medical costs, healthcare taxes, and more.

Suggestions
I think that the letter was pretty well done; however, a few changes could still be made. She could work on some of her transitions because in some cases she cuts off her ideas quickly, and she could also work on establishing her status as a student in the College of Science in her introductory statement. (I.e. a little more work on establishing credibility). While politicians may be thrilled that college students are interested in the issues in America, the Governor may not be convinced that making budget cuts based off of what a Freshman in college says is a good idea. It would help to know that the student is familiar with medical field and industry and the issues surrounding it earlier on in the letter. Lastly, I think she could probably separate her paragraphs on taxes and safety nets so that she could elaborate a little more on each idea, because as I said earlier, she sometimes cuts off her ideas early.

Reflection on Paper 2

https://pixabay.com/en/thought-bubble-think-comic-blank-305053/

Now that I have finally completed paper two, it's time to reflect upon the good and the bad.

One thing I wish that I could have done differently is get more feedback from others on my paper. It felt like in some cases people would make suggestions, but what they suggested were things I had already done in the next sentence. It made it difficult to determine if what I was saying was not clear, or if people just didn't read it through all the way. However, this was not the case for every comment made, but it happened enough for me to get a little frustrated with my paper.

Furthermore, I learned a lot about the importance of rhetoric and rhetorical analysis. Rhetoric is everywhere, and even though we might not realize it sometimes, we use it daily. It is important to understand how information, images, novels, etc. influence our opinions and thoughts on a day to day basis. A rhetorical analysis helps us to understand how we are influenced, as well as what the author's purpose was for doing so. I can apply these lessons to my other classes by questioning myself why we are learning what we are in class, or why my professors teach things in a certain way. For instance, does this teaching style make it more beneficial? Is this lecture interactive and if so, is it useful in understanding the topics or ideas?

Lastly, I feel that this paper was more successful than the last (well, hopefully). In general, I was more comfortable with the form of this paper (essay instead of QRG), and with what I was supposed to be writing about/analyzing. During the last paper, I was always tempted to argue my points and use the sources as evidence for a controversy analysis instead of analyze the rhetoric behind the sources. However, when I wrote this paper, I knew that I was supposed to purely focus on rhetoric.

Overall, while paper two may have given me one too many headaches, I truly enjoyed learning about HONY and the different people that Brandon Stanton photographed. :-)

I commented on Gabi's, Cati's, and Delanee's posts.

Draft for HONY Analysis

Here is a link to my first draft of my HONY analysis. I know it still needs some work on analysis, and I am currently working on it. However, feel free to comment or make any suggestions. Help is always welcome/appreciated. :)

I received feedback from Davis, Michael Burger, Laura, and my roommate. My roommate, Michael, and Laura suggested talking a little bit more about the rhetoric/goals/purposes that Stanton has or wants to showcase. Davis suggested that I shorten my introduction and focus more on families/relationships rather than general background information. In order to incorporate their suggestions, I will pay a bit more attention to my analysis, and also try to shorten my introduction to make it more about relationships and families. I think the most important thing I could do to my paper is try to make my analysis stronger. I have a lot of good points, but I know I need to tie it all together. I could structure my argument better by making sure I don't sound repetitive. I'm not really missing any points, but I might try to include some analysis on Stanton's ethos. Additionally, I want to improve my first paragraph on families and my second paragraph on relationships in order to ensure that I emphasize how Stanton's photos relate to everyone, and not just his primary audience. Furthermore, I of course make the analysis stronger in those sections as well. Lastly, I believe that the best thing I can do to improve my prose is work on being concise so that I don't drift too far from my arguments. In general, my paper is by no means bad, but I know it still needs quite a bit of work to get it where I want it to be. :)

I posted suggestions on Benjamin's and Arrick's papers.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thumbs_up_font_awesome.svg

Thesis Statement and Outline

https://pixabay.com/en/notepad-pencil-pen-paper-lined-771599/

Thesis: When photographing families and those in relationships, Stanton carefully chooses rhetorical strategies in order to both appeal to his audience’s emotions and allow them to relate to his subjects.

My outline can be found here.

P.S. please note that my outline and thesis are a work in progress and if you have suggestions please feel free to comment. I plan on adding more tomorrow but just thought I could at least start today. :)

I commented on/made suggestions on these blogs:
Davis'
Kian's
Lekha's

Pre-Writing Activities for HONY

https://pixabay.com/en/thoughts-think-psyche-psychology-551263/

For this Project, I have decided to use my Observations and Inferences and SOAPSTone charts. When we did the Cluster Map for the QRG, I found that I had a really hard time keeping things organized; it just felt like there were bubbles and phrases all over the place, and instead of helping me, it just gave me a headache. So, I have decided to stick to charts and pre-writing techniques that do not drive me insane. I remember using SOAPSTone in high school, and forgot how useful it can be when it comes to analyzing rhetoric. It covers all the things that should be discussed in a rhetorical analysis; speaker, subject, audience, occasion, purpose and tone. Furthermore, I like the observations and inferences chart because I can directly organize my thoughts, and see it correlate to inferences on the other side of the chart. Overall, these charts are a better fit for me and allow me to express as many ideas as I want without a small bubble's size constraint. :)

Here is a link to my document. Please note that I know my charts aren't all that great and I plan on editing them to better fit my topic as soon as I get the chance. Regardless though, they are still helpful and will allow me to remember that I still need to be analyzing the rhetoric behind the photos.

I commented on Cati's and Katie's posts. :)

Personal Response

For our next project, I have decided to write about HONY because of the personal reactions I experienced with many of the photos. More specifically, I was able to relate to the photographs of families and people in relationships.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attachment_theory
Not a HONY picture, but fit the topic of discussion well.

I know people say that high school relationships don't last, but I met my significant other in 7th grade and we have been together since 8th grade. He is a baseball player, and is playing on a baseball scholarship out of state, so we've been in a long distance relationship since mid August. It's really hard being away from him, not because I can't be independent, but because being away from someone that really means a lot to you honestly just sucks. To get back on track though, seeing the pictures of different couples and the excitement in their faces, the intimate poses they are in, and reading their stories hits close to home since I'm also in a relationship. Sometimes I can even sympathize with them, and it reminds me that I may not be the only person experiencing certain feelings.

https://pixabay.com/en/family-children-sunset-silhouette-730320/
Also not a HONY picture, but I thought the shadows looked really cool. :)

Furthermore, I found Stanton's photos of families to also have an effect on me. My parents are divorced, so I live with my mom and grandparents. They have raised me my whole life and have always been by my side. While I'm not really all that far from home, it is again still hard to be away from the people that are closest to me. My curiosity also peaked when I realized many pictures Stanton takes are of women and their daughters/other children-- no father. It made me kind of interested to delve into that rhetoric and see whether it is just a coincidence or there is deeper meaning. For instance, there is a photo of a girl with her mother and they are wearing matching clothes, it suggests a strong bond between the two, and the lack of a male figure in the picture either suggests he is just not there for the photo, or maybe not there for them at all.

Regardless of what type of relationship Stanton is displaying in his photos, there is a purpose behind it, and where there is purpose, there is rhetoric just waiting to be analyzed. :-)

I commented on both Gabi's and Davis' posts.

Outline of Student's Guide Essay

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/5979868093

Here is a link to my outline of the Student Guide's student essay!

The organization of the essay, while not the best I have ever seen, was fairly decent. Overall, I feel that the student did pretty well as far as analyzing the rhetoric goes. One paragraph that I thought was particularly strong was the first body paragraph. The student used two examples to support their claim, and in both cases, they were chosen and analyzed well. The author of this essay brought up some really good points as to how the two scenarios appealed to the emotions of the readers. I found the fashion show/runway symbolism to be quite interesting. Typically when people think "runway" or "fashion", there are positive associations; however, this is not the case for sex trafficking. The tone here is somber and this continues throughout the rest of the commentary the student provides. By using abstract connections and making solid inferences based off the evidence they choose, the student demonstrates their ability to analyze the rhetorical situation.

The paragraph that I think was the least impressive was probably the second body paragraph. I say this because while the author of the essay tries to bring in new evidence, they still refer back to their first paragraph, and even use some of the exact language and the examples from the paragraph before. Thus, they repeat themselves all too frequently. Typically, when there is a paragraph change, there should also be a shift in discussion or a shift in examples in order to bring in new insight to the analysis. So, in order to make this paragraph better, I would suggest either new evidence usage or new commentary, because as I just said, a shift in topic would allow for more insight and analysis to occur, which would definitely make for a stronger paper overall.

Switching back to organization though, I found the topic sentences to be directly correlated to the thesis statement. It allows for a sense of unity in the student paper, which also allows the piece to stay focused on its central goal of analyzing how the rhetoric appeals to the emotions of the audience. (I outlined each and every topic sentence so that I could come to this conclusion). The only problem was that the information was very repetitive in each paragraph, so it seemed like the student was sharing more than they needed to. But truly, the topic sentences were one of the highlights of this paper, as the student clearly took their time developing the connections between the thesis and all the paragraphs.

Lastly, the student chose great examples for evidence that they used to support their claims as well as analyze the rhetoric. They examples chosen were well thought out, and the analysis clearly related back to the thesis of the essay. All in all, the essay was a very good analysis, but it could still benefit from some editing for repetitiveness.

Observations and Inferences for HONY

Observations

Inferences

Photos that go as far back as January 2009-January 2011 are sparse and do not have captions/stories beneath them. Around January 2011, the captions begin to show up beneath the photos Stanton takes. These captions are not nearly as long as the more recent photos, and they do not really tell the story of people, but give context. The number of “Notes” his photos had received remained in the hundreds and even less for a very long time. Around 2011, they began to go into the thousands. As the “Notes” increase, so do the number of photos he posts. Primarily takes portraits that focus on the individual and not any surrounding features. Lack of landscapes. Consistent longer captions appear in 2014, and as time goes on captions become longer. Some are stories, some are quotes. Stories definitely tug on the heartstrings no matter their tones. Some photos have solemn faces, some with no expression, and some that display joy. Some photos are not portraits. Includes hands, feet, pictures of a picture, etc. There are photos of individuals outside of New York, including his most recent project- Iran. Refugees People that have experienced horrors. Comments that Iran is not as bad as some make it out to be. Makes a note of where the photos were taken; helps to show the difference between photos from New York and photos from other countries.

HONY probably was not as big of a hit at the time; it was more than likely in its stepping stone phase. He seemed to be experimenting with types of subjects he photographed. Presumably, he wants to give the audience the context of his photos. Stanton attempts to explain his work and why he feels (as well as why others should feel) that his work at a “photo census” of New York is valuable. More and more people are being exposed to his photography and website. Stanton attempts to keep up with his audience and tries to give them more of what they want- the stories and photos of the humans of New York. This once hobby seems to be turning into a bigger deal with deeper meaning behind it. Capturing a person and their face is personal. The title of his project is “Humans of New York”- he wants to showcase the individuals and who they are. Makes me think of when people say not to slap someone in their face as that is their “identity”. Similar thought process here- photographing a portrait captures their identity. Context is not longer enough for Stanton. He wants to tell the stories of these people, not just show the world their face. A photo can be superficial without context or prior knowledge. His captions, especially the longer ones, help to tell the stories of these people. He creates work with a deeper meaning. Stanton switches tones frequently between his photos. In this sense, he is not trying to depress or make anyone happy, but rather showcase the realities of life. Sometimes life is harsh (i.e. in case of refugees), sometimes life is wonderful (finding callings and meanings in life), and sometimes, people forget to recognize the small and beautiful parts of life (young children and their innocence). Shows that Stanton is respectful of his subjects’ wishes. He preserves anonymity but still allows their stories to be told through the captions. Stanton has obviously found a passion in taking photos of people and telling their stories. When taking photos of refugees, he seems to be trying to give them their identity back that may or may not have been stripped from them in their homelands. Furthermore, he shows that America is not the only place in the world (shocking!- not). He travels and goes all over the world to show life from many different points of view. It enhances the meaning of his work, even if he isn’t just taking pictures of the humans of New York. Furthermore, he encourages individuals to go out into the world and find out information for themselves and not just assume what they hear is completely 100% true (especially in case of Iran).

If I were to choose HONY as my topic for my rhetorical analysis paper, I would want to focus on the photos that deal with the people in relationships and/or families and their experiences. Some of the stories are so riveting; it makes it hard to not scroll through all the pictures and learn more about people worldwide. It is quite obvious that he chooses his subjects carefully, and I want to examine them and their experiences. I think it would be interesting to compare and contrast the pathos of the pictures/stories; for example, how many stories are positive? How many are negative? Furthermore, does it mark a trend about relationships and families in today's society? If most of them are positive anecdotes, it could be the silver lining that shows that the concepts of love and relationships may not be as lost as society implies they are. There is so much to talk about in the subject area, and I feel that the rhetoric behind these photos would definitely be worth delving into.