This blog post servers as a sort of continuation to blog post #9, in how we will be talking about arguments that are able to be made from “Where to Invade Next.” We will briefly cover a few topics, and what could be argued about them, as a sort of practice for my research paper.
Topic: Prison Systems in America Question: Should prisons in America be reformed? Argument: Yes, prisons in America need to be reformed, because many prisoners are abused while in prison, making them even more violent than before. There is also the fact that to constitution states “No cruel or unusual punishments” yet American prisons are just about as cruel as they get when it comes to the treatment of their prisoners. So much so that even other countries say it is too much. Topic: Drug Laws in America Question: Should penalties for drug use be lessened, or even eliminated in America? Argument: America should drop the drug penalties seeing as it tears so many families, and citizens apart when people get arrested for minor drugs such as marijuana. Portugal is also a great example of this system in action where they saw a decrease in drug use after they de-criminalized the use of drugs. America should take up this example, and see how it works. Topic: Prosecution of Bankers in America Question: Should America prosecute bankers more harshly? Argument: Yes, America should prosecute bankers more harshly because many of them have gotten off with little to no punishment after committing crimes that almost ruin the country. Even after they have been prosecuted for some time they immediately go back to their corrupt practices. This makes some countries think less of America because they are not prosecuted nearly enough.
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This blog post is to give a look into the film “Where to Invade Next.” This will be done by both giving a summary of the film, as well as providing a rhetorical analysis of it. This will connect to my research paper, seeing as the film is one of my primary sources. In the documentary Where to Invade Next, Michael Moore visits many different counties so he can “Invade” them to “steal their ideas” so he can bring them back to America to make it a better country. He visits many places such as Portugal, Finland, and Germany to see how they work. For instance, he “invaded” Portugal to find out that they had de criminalized drugs in their country, which caused a steep decline in drug use. While this was explained, Moore gave examples of how the drug system is flawed in the U.S. with how there are very harsh penalties that increase drug usage in the country. He then comedically sprawls on his notepad, and says that he will take this idea back with him to the U.S. He repeats this process for other countries, such as how Finland, and how their prison system works. He does this until we reach the end of the movie where he reveals the true intentions of the entire film. He shows that all these countries believe their ideals originally stemmed from the U.S. and that the U.S.’s changing fundamentals have made them stay into a path of destruction, that other countries can see, but we cannot.
This blog post will be about reflective writing, and how I have been using it to work on my Life Choice memoir. I watched “Reflective writing” on YouTube to really get a sense of what it is, and how my Life-Choice Memoir is a great example of it. Down below I will answer some questions about my own Life-Choice Memoir.
1) Who did you work with to compose your life-choice memoir? Was this a good approach?I did not work with, anyone yet for my Life-Choice Memoir, because I am only on the first draft. However, I do intend to work with my teacher, Mr. Mangini, to revise my paper as time goes along. I feel this will be effective in helping me learn about my writing process further, as I continue to edit it. 2) What rhetorical mode, and genre are you using? I am using the rhetorical mode of narration. And I am writing in the genre of non-fiction, and the sub-genre of memoir. 3) When did you write this project? Good approach?I was a little scared to start writing this project seeing as it was such large scale compared to other things we had done in the class; so, I had waited until past the first deadline to write it. In hindsight this was a bad idea, and I intend to finish the next drafts as soon as I possibly can. 4) Where did you write this project? Good approach? I wrote my memoir while I was at home, and refreshed in the morning so I had as much time as I needed, while being comfortable in my own home. I found this was a good approach because my thoughts were clear, and I was ready to write on my own terms. 5) Why did you choose to write about this topic? Good approach? I chose to write about what I did because it is close to me, and it was a situation I wanted people to be aware of, maybe it could help someone stuck in a similar situation someday. I thought it was a good idea to write about, because it is a situation I remember very well, and I weirdly like writing about. 6) How did it feel to write this narrative ("during, after, and since")? Do you have any "if only" moments that can help you revise the draft? During the first draft it felt sort of intimidating, because I wanted to get it perfect from the first try. After I was finished I felt proud that I had written it, and I realized it wasn’t as bad as I had really thought it would be. And since I have constantly been thinking of ways to improve it, and I’m rather excited to see the finished product. 7) How will you revise your narrative? I will revise it by handing copies to my teacher, Mr. Mangini, to have him review them, before I go back into it, and not only make the adjustments he deems necessary, but to adjust on my own feeling for the narrative. Throughout this class I have ended up learning a lot more than I thought I would. I just assumed the class would be another boring English class of either reading, and analyzing texts, or writing many essays over and over. However, this is not what I got at all. The teacher was very energetic, and dead set on doing things differently than in the multitude of other classes I had taken. Looking back on this class after being in it for a little while, I really understand how much it has opened my eyes to many things, such as my own writing process.
The blog assignments were a big part of how I developed in the class, because I thought they would be very simple, and easy to do. However, they turned out to be much more than that, and they were very thought provoking with the wide range of material we covered in just doing “Simple assignments.” One blog that really made me look at my own writing process was Blog #2, which made use read about how famous writers went about their daily lives, and how they had oddly specific routines to really make sure that they got everything done consistently. This made me look at how I did things, and set up a more proper schedule, of writing in the morning to make sure all my work got done on time. The blog post also had us read an interesting except, by Don Murray, titled “Teaching Writing as a Process, not a Product.” This writing was probably one of the most eye-opening ones for me because it challenged what I had believed up until this point. It made me think hard that just because someone is teaching you, does not necessarily mean that they have a well-defined process on how to teach, or even write for themselves. So, in a way this except taught me how important critical thinking is, as well as being an individual, and having your own process is also important. Overall, I am very happy with the course so far, and I hope to learn more from it as time goes on. It has already taught me a plethora of new skills, and outlooks that I had never even thought of considering before. It has also helped me find myself more as an individual instead of just another number learning the same things generation after generation. For this blog post I read “Hills Like White Elephants” By Ernest Hemmingway. This story is about a relationship between a man, and woman; and how the woman is learning that the relationship is not what it should be. I will use this to connect to my own life and once again give insight to myself.
I believe that the woman did end up staying in the relationship even if she shouldn’t have. I believe this for multiple reasons. The main one being that she did not seem to want to immediately leave, and never really mentioned the idea of leaving him. She also seemed docile, and complacent with the relationship with the man, almost like he had his thumb on her and would not let her leave. But one of the biggest indicators that the woman had not actually left the relationship is that she talked about owning the world, and going to explore it; yet when she had the chance to run away from him, and not have to deal with the relationship she sat there waiting for him to come back. I have never dated anyone so I’ve never left a romantic relationship yet the closest I can come is a childhood friendship I had. I remember it well, and at no specific time did I really break away from it but more of a gradual release, and when I realized it was too late. I however do recall the night that it began to slip up. I had been asked to go to a party with my friend Ed, and I had begrudgingly agreed to go even though I hated parties. I walked into the room and was punched in the face by the stench of weed. This unsettled me already, I hated having this reeking odor infest my nostrils against my will; yet I still pushed forward. This is when I got into the main room of the party which was full of people screaming, and dancing like animals wild in a zoo. The smell of weed only grew stronger, as I accessed the scene and saw spill cups of various types of alcohol, people downing whatever they had in their hands, and a general rowdiness of everything. I then spoke to Ed and said “You know this party seems like a bit much for me, can you just drive me home?” He responded “No I brought you all the way here you’re going to stay” I then protested “I have a horrible headache, please just take me home.” This is the exact moment I realized that if this is what he was going to do I must leave this friendship, and before he had time to respond I walked out the door and went home by myself, and he never followed. At that point I felt I was the only one in the world, that the darkness of the night was enveloping me in its cold embrace welcoming to what at the time I could only describe as death; until I finally reached the sanctuary of my home and passed out protected from the cruel darkness of the outside world. This blog assignment is about a story told by Lulu Wang, and her family on how they lied to her about her diagnoses of cancer. This will help give insight on my morals, and how I would handle ethical dilemmas such as the one Wang’s family faced.
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AuthorI am a student at Delaware County Community College. This blog servers multiple purposes, the foremost being that it is to showcase many of my English Composition 1 assignments. However, it also serves to give a look into my writing processes, my personal life, and my own opinions. It is also an amazing showcase of how i have grown over the year, and how my English Composition course has influenced me within just a few short months. Archives
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