Entry #10

                 I have to recognize I was  unconfident of  myself the first days of class because my English was not good.  Later,  I felt  encouraged by my instructor, who actually read my papers....The most outstanding thing I learned  in this class is how to express my own opinion.  It could sound obvious, but because I had to seat down and think, and organize my ideas in order  for my papers to get a good grade, I have become  a  more reflective person.  Due to the variety of situations about which we had to write, I developed a better understanding of how audience, discourse and the stance are related.  This makes me think (as I said I'm more reflective) that if I had taken this class before I would have expressed my opinion differently in some professional situations,  which probably would have helped me to keep my job.

                A second important thing I learned in ENG 101 is how to write using an organized structure.  The TS-CD-CD-CS structure has been challenged me since the very first assignment and I think I still need to work a little on it.  But my experience showed me that it is an efficient way to organize ideas during the process of writing self-discovery, and establish my voice appropriate to a rhetorical context.

                Finally, my almost hated MLA style, on which I still have to work as well.  There are so many rules and specific ways to make citations that I normally spend more time doing the Works Cited page than the rest of the essay.  This is one of the reasons why it takes me so much time to do my assignments.

                As a conclusion, I have grown as a writer and as critical thinker.  Thank you .

Entry #9

            I found a Korean Air advertisement whose central element is a picture presenting a female flight attendant in a slave-like attitude. The reason I used this add is because it takes advantage of the cultural nuances of submission between  the traditional Asian culture and the Western society to invoke emotional appeals.

            The ad is very tricky and it clearly appeals to the need of sex through sexual imagery, using a female figure with high heeled pointed shoes and tight outfits that is showing a portion of the leg.  This degrading use of women as consumables objects is seasoned with language might be interpreted as an in-flight brothel sexual experience based on the mental association of a flight attendant with the written message “[…] our delicate service with a smile remains constant […] until you reach […]” (Korean Air 2010). This is in line with the need to dominate and control one’s environment, which is often thought of as being masculine (Fowles 8).  The obedient attitude of a flight attendant not staring at the passenger keeps a relationship based on two hierarchical levels of dominance (Korean Air 2010). By doing this, the airline uses the cultural meaning of submission to confer attributes of power normally associated to the Western society.

            Finally, the only appeal that worked on me was the appeal to the physiological needs: a glass of champagne brings the connotation of relax and pleasure, accompanied by the bottom statement in which the airline believes that “when you land, you should be in the same good condition as you were during take-off” (Korean Air 2010). As an user of a long haul flights, it is important for me to have a comfortable journey and arrive rested to my destination.

Because of the sexist use of the female figure,  I wouldn't purchase any flight with this airline unless they offered a really cheap deal.

Entry #8

           A fundamental thing I learned  in this class is how to express my own opinion and organize my ideas in order  for my papers to flow. The TS-CD-CD-CS structure challenged me since the very first assignment and I still think I need to work a little on it, but experience showed me that it is an efficient way to organize ideas during the process of writing self-discovery, and establish my voice appropriate to a rhetorical context. In this way, the diagnostic assignment was the first time I actually had to spend  time thinking of the formalities of the writing process.  This fact let me utilize various invention, drafting, and revising/editing strategies to meet the purposes of different writing situations, materials available to me, and length of time available for the task. 

            Due to the variety of situations about which we had to write, I developed a better understanding of how audience, discourse and the stance are related, which lead to myself becoming  a  more reflective writer. Moreover, the creative part wasn't as hard as I initially thought because I felt inspired and  many ideas popped up in my mind. Inspiration and creativity are definitely strong aspects of my writing: it takes me a while to find the point where I want to start, but once I get it there is a continuous flow of words, and I have to put order in my brain to express what I want in the way I want. This moment of fluid writing without interruptions due to lack of ideas is when I really enjoy writing.

            Essay #1 inspired me to write about something I know in a first person: the wrong assumptions people do about English Language Learners.  For this reason, it wasn't difficult for me to connect with the ideas the author was expressing in the article, in a way that I felt I had to advocate for the rights of people in need of  improving their communicative abilities in English.  With the Ad Analysis Essay I learn how to engage a topic in which I explored writing as a means of self-discovery and produced a text designed to persuade the reader of my commitment.  The reason I used this add is because it takes advantage of the cultural nuances of submission between  the traditional Asian culture and the Western society to invoke emotional appeals by making a sexist use of the female figure.

            The Synthesis and Compare/Contrast Essays have been the most difficult ones for me to develop.  After reading all the articles I had to decide what my point of view was. I learned  how to select, evaluate, and interact effectively with sources, subordinating them to my purpose and creating confidence that the sources have been fairly represented and acknowledged with academic integrity.  I outlined the main ideas of each articles, and tried to match key points or establish relationships amongst them in order to help me support  comparisons between different ideas in the articles.     

            While writing my  resume I recognized the importance of writing as essential to inquiry, learning, thinking, communicating, life-long learning, and as a career skill.  By that time  I was used to the Spanish model and format of resumes, and found challenging to write short sentences using actions verbs to describe each element of the resume, avoiding long explanatory paragraphs used in the Spanish model.  

            Finally, my almost hated MLA style, on which I still have to work as well.  There are so many rules and specific ways to make citations that I normally spend more time doing the Works Cited page than the rest of the essay.  This is one of the reasons why it takes me so much time to do my assignments, but I have to recognize that I learned how to improve my citations.

Entry #7

Before being interviewed in Spain for a position in Aurora,  I was used to the Spanish model and format of resumes. The first difference I noticed is that resumes in the US are shorter and go to the point in order to fill one page only. In Spain, on the other hand, we explain each item in a paragraph form. For this reason, I found challenging to write short and simple sentences using actions verbs to describe each element and, at the same time avoiding long paragraphs. A second difference was that I didn't have to include elements older than ten years, which made difficult for me to show my education and work experience. As I have a large record of education and work experience, I had to learn how to create a resume that fits the needs of recruiters for teaching positions, which is the field I want to apply to.  Finally, in Spain, activities are less important than here because athletic and club programs in school and college are not as extended as in the US, so it is not mandatory to dedicate a section for this purpose.

 

Entry #6

Humor is the faculty of perceiving what is amusing or comical. In this respect I perceive Jim Carrey's movies to be funny, but it is not the type of humor I like.  I need some intellectual challenge to get trapped by the situation and make me smile.  Although I'm normally not loud,  there are some situations that make me be laugh out loud.  Last one happened at an interpreters' conference when one of the speakers explained some misunderstandings which happened in a Court. This takes me to the cocaine article which I found funny not because of the facts themselves but because of how naive the drug dealer was..at his age!

Style is the mode of expressing thought in writing or speaking by selecting and arranging words, considered with respect to clearness, effectiveness, euphony, or the like, that is characteristic of a group, period, person, personality, etc. When I think of style I picture different things depending on the context.  If it is something pertaining to Visual Arts, I would compare the object or image to something Italian made because I consider Italian design the finest and more creative at the moment. But speaking of writing, I try to use a diversity of resource,  paying special attention to the organization of the text.  I consider a stylish paper that which uses plenty of transitions and sentence structures that make easy and fun the reading.

Entry #5

The Compare/Contrast Essay has been the most difficult one for me to develop. The first problem I had was to identify the three readings I wanted to compare and contrast.  Finally I decided to use Cutler's "Whodunit-The media", Goldwasser's "What's the matter with kids Today" and Penrod's "Anti-Intelectualism".  The reason why I chose these articles is that I was able to find at the first moment and link between them: teenagers.  As a former High School teacher I felt identified with the issues involving young adults, but when I tried to make comparisons between different ideas in the articles it was not easy to back them with consistent evidence.  On the other hand, I found easier to make connections when contrasting the opinions of the three authors.

Moreover, the grammar part and structure of the paper is a difficult task I feel I still have trouble with the use of connectors and transitions which makes my writing a little monotonous and perhaps boring. That's the consequence of making direct translations from Spanish into English. Finally, in this paper I was able to improve my citations, although there were some in-text errors.

Entry #4

I found the synthesis essay challenging. After reading all the articles I had two possibilities regarding the topic I wanted to stress, and I had to decide what my point of view was. While reading,  I had outlined the main ideas of each article, and tried to match key points or establish relationships amongst them.   

During a second phase, after a review of my notes, I was able to focus on the role of literacy in the success of a person.  To develop on this I used the TS/CD strategy which is really useful to keep a coherent and organized flow of ideas.  The text organization reflects the ability of the writer to make interesting the topic of the paper. I had a hard time, again,  with the MLA style.  I hope to learn it before the end of the semester.