Essay due 12pm tuesday 1-2 pages

Assignment 1

Every person has different vocabulary. In “Rewriting” by Chris Harris he states, “to understand a text you need…to take the ideas and phrasings of the author and turn them into your own.” Learning to rephrase sentences into your own words will help you achieve a better understanding of the text. As well as to get the reader to question why the author decided to phrase it in the way that he did.

Assignment 2

One technique was questioning what stands out to you. For example, if you see repetition in the text, you should question why this is so important, and sometimes even, why it was said a specific number of times. The final technique is for the writer, and it is a 3 step process. Firstly you must communicate with the reader and get them on the same page as you are. The second step is to maintain focus on your message. And the third is to simply present the point with writing skill such as vocabulary and sentence structure One of the techniques discussed in chapter one was withholding your judgement (until the end of the text). If you add your opinions into the piece you will have trouble’s getting the true meaning because it was clouded by your meaning. This is something I struggle with but try to do every time I read a text because I have the tendency to believe that my views are the most accurate.

Assignment 3

The difference between reading a text and watching a film is very far from one another. In writing, a person must imagine a scene, the setting, and even the physical characteristics of the characters. However, in a video, everything is visually scene so there is no argument as to exactly how the film played out. I personally prefer films because when not having to focus on the setting of a place or scene, I can focus on the speech between characters to better understand their relationship.

Assignment 4

One of Ahmed’s claims are that a stranger equals threat. This is simply paranoia at its finest. Strangers (most of the time) are average people and asking them for the time is not a life or death situation. I have many times asked for someone to use their phone and most of the time they are hesitant, meaning they are scared that I will steal it. They are just as afraid as everyone else is so clearly there is not much danger in strangers. This does not mean trust them whole-heartedly. It just means that you do not need to avoid them at all costs. Another claim Ahmed makes is that he does not believe someone you do not recognize may not be a stranger. Google defines stranger as, “A person whom one does not know or whom they are not familiar with”. I just cannot agree with something that is supposed to enlighten me, yet it goes against the direct definition of the word he is trying to define.

Assignment 5

“Arts of the Contact Zone” talked about how the Spanish had taken over the Incan empire and had either excommunicated, or killed most of the population. We see a group of people with more money and power get rid of a group of people who they believed to be lesser than they are. This is similar to Mitchell’s argument where they general public almost want to get rid of the homeless in their area because they visually have a negative effect on their community.

Assignment 6

One connection between the texts is that Ahmed started with an almost personal account of encountering a stranger. Although the other 2 texts did not start in that exact personal text way, they still described a specific situation. Another connection is that whole meaning of something that the average reader understands is changed. Ahmed changes the definition of a stranger. And of course all 3 of them had relevant evidence to prove their message.

Assingment 7

For my essay I plan on talking about how my college public affairs class is a contact zone. This class usually gets heated due to differences in political views, and in a way many people are redefined as to who they are because of their political stance.

Assignment 8

Chapter 2 of Writing Analytically discussed how the average reader tends to generalize the message of a text before they finish it. This leads to the reader’s understanding of the text to be morphed because they believed it was a cliché text that has the same meaning as many others. Many times, this leads to a lack of general knowledge because they had thought they knew what the message of a text was, but it might have been something completely different.

Assignment 9

(PRATT) I use this term (contact zone) to refer to social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other.

PARAPHRASE 1- The definition of this phrase relates to place where people debate with one another

PARAPHRASE 2- The meaning of a contact zone is where groups of individuals try to make their point heard over the other.

PARAPHRASE 3- The words “contact zone” is defined as a geographical location that brings persons to claim the validity of their argument.

Assignment 10

June Jordan was a heavily decorated poet, teacher, and activist for both the women community and the African- American community. She is also well-known for her texts, describing the difficulty of translating literacies, especially from one language to another because sometimes there is not a direct translation for a phrase or word. She also explains that some literacies that seem like slang actually have a specific structure to it and it not as laid back as it may seem to outsiders.

Assignment 11

Almost all people are literate in more than 1 way. Unless this person is cocooned by the same group of people, they most likely have experienced a need to change literacies. A great example is the one listed on the website of NPR. When you are at work you tend to speak to people more grammatically correct because it is appropriate for that specific environment. However, when with another person or group of people, you may tend to be a little looser with your grammar because it is more fitting at that time. This is a change of literacy and changes are, most people have had to change their literacy at one point or another.

I have had to change literacies many times in my life in order to stay relevant to my environment. When I had lived in Brooklyn, I had adapted to the way people spoke to one another, a more laid back, grammatically incorrect way of speaking. However, when returning to Long Island and Hewlett High School, I had readapted to the more correct way of speaking. I speak grammatically correct because if I decide to speak with the literacy I do in Brooklyn, I may come off as unintelligent, or even rude. I visit Brooklyn often and still have to constantly change between those two specific literacies.

Assignment 12

After just reading the title, I had already understood that the grammar in the essay would not necessarily agree with the Standard English rules for grammar. I had assumed this is one of the reasons this text became so famous. I was beginning to lose interest until I had reached the part about Willie Jordan. He had a very specific history that made the article much more interesting to read. The article, overall, enlightens the reader and tells them that the Standard way of speaking English is not the only right way to speak. In fact, there are guidelines as to how to speak in the way that she did in her essay.

Her essay generally speaks to as many groups of society as possible. People who are well educated can catch on to the rules of the grammar and other, more urban readers, can understand it because it is in their everyday language. Although I did not really enjoy the essay, I thought her decision to write in this dialect was very clever and unique.

Assignment 13

Boyd discusses how teens on the internet may have a different persona than what they do in the real world. This is due to the fact that teens create an online identity for themselves with their audience in mind already. Their online name, comments, and activity are all selected to please the audience they intent to contact with. Boyd also talks about how their online profiles are like a combination of all the characteristics of the teen in real life. On one profile, they may be a gamer and on the other, they may be a political activist. All of the profiles have some correlation with who they are in the real world.

Assignment 14

This I believe is a website where people can share their core values that help them get through every day through writing and other methods of communication. It was founded in 2004 and is based on a 1950s radio station that read out loud essays from famous people. The website is not specific about who can write on their website but from my research it seems like almost anyone can write an essay there.

Assignment 15

I do not read blogs as I see them as a waste of time, but if I had to choose 3 that I would have to read they would be: 1. Health Blog- they will help motivate people to stay healthy and slim 2. Sports blog- have like-minded people read about sports they enjoy watching and playing. 3- blog that reviews products- will give an in depth review about a product that will either motivate or refrain people from buying it.

Assignment 16

One point in chapter 4 that humored me and enlightened me was the so what questioning method. After reading a certain amount, you need to stop and ask “so what?” this will help the reader understand what is the meaning of the text. The author also discussed the differences between implications and hidden meanings. When a reader has a trigger in their brain that reminds them of something, chances are, the author intended for you to think that way. You must question why they triggered this thought into your brain and why it relates to the text. The hidden meaning of a text are things that are a litter harder to find, but the author really wants you to scour the text to find them as they aid to the pieces meaning. The author then goes on to discuss “interpretive context” you interpretation of the text may be different from the original author’s intentions. You must decide if your interpretation of the text is accurate, or if the intention of the author might be something else.

Assignment 17

After reading the text, I do believe that everything has meaning. If something does not have meaning, then why is it in the place that it is in in the first place? They say that a first impression takes seven seconds to be determined, and if something as trivial as you shirt triggers their first impression, then clearly even that had meaning for that specific amount of time.

Assignment 18

“The Banking Concept of Education” loosely depicts the environment of a school. A teacher must teach, yes, but a teacher must also sometimes be corrected by the students. Freire was way too specific as to how a school works and therefore I only partially can agree with him. Authorities of the school are not gods, they way he makes them sound to be. They are just authorities, and for the benefit of the student, the student listens because chances are it is better for them to do so.

Assignment 19

Plato’s, “The Allegory of the Cave” raises a question that many are afraid to know the answer to. Is there something in this world we do not know of or cannot see? Are we part of something much bigger than we are, such as a simulation? If so, is it better to not know we are part of some type of simulation and go on with our lives as we do now?

Assignment 20

In Araby a boy goes to Araby at the will of a girl he seems to like. At first he does not understand what is the purpose of going. The description of the setting was also very eerie and melancholy which made it seem like the boy was missing some type of purpose. After reaching Araby the boy is enlightened and understands the purpose of going to Araby. He then finally understands his purpose of going to the market.