Taking Stock of my writing

1.      What was your main point (thesis)?  “The Moral of the Story”?

-the main point of my story was to show the audience a time in my life that i resorted to writing to help me get through a stressful situation and how i still use it today. 

2.      Who was your audience?  What did you assume about them?  What “audience needs” did you have to consider in writing the paper?  How did you tailor your writing to them?

-my audience was anybody. i assumed they new nothing about me, but i assumed they had all gone through some sort of stressful situation where their mind did not let them get ahead of itself. I told them what my situation was, how I felt, how i overcame it, and how it helped me.

3.      What feedback or reactions did you get at various times while composing this paper, and how was this helpful?  What other kinds of input or support did you get from classmates, teacher, tutors, others?  Were you able to make use of it?  How, or why not?

- I got a lot of feedback saying that the way I explained my point of view was easily understood and that my small details that were included made my narrative have a better "flow". They liked the way it came together 

4.      What did you find interesting about the process you went through in writing this paper, and what did you learn from it?

- I found that this was actually a harder project then i thought. Adding enough details while still keeping on the main track of my narrative proved to be a challenge but i think it came together well. 

5.      What questions do you have for me about the paper?  (What part(s) of the paper would you like me to focus on?  What do you see as the paper’s strengths, and what areas are you unsure of?)
- I wasn't sure about the last few paragraphs describing the actual process of when i started writing and wasn't sure if i could add more without taking out a whole section of the essay and replacing it somewhere else. The ending is also quite abrupt in that i probably could have written a better sentence then "Definitely a positive experience". 

Ad for marine recuiting

AD for Marine Recruiting

This ad displays the persuasive technique used by marine recruiters during the given time period.  It uses symbolism such as a gun with a bayonet to depict the violent and heroic nature of enlisting and becoming a marine. It also uses diction such as "Semper Fidelis" to appeal to the honor of the reader and persuade him to connect honor with the marine corps. Semper Fidelis is a latin phrase that means "always loyal" which is shown by the 3 marines. You can tell because they look exhausted and beaten up yet they are still pushing on and fighting until the war is won or they die trying. They use an older uniformed soldier in the picture as a way of displaying their interconnection and history in the way their techniques of fighting and loyalty has stayed the same for over 100 years. As if the old soldier could fight just as well with the two in the front despite the generation gap.

• Semper Fidelis=loyalty/honor 
• 168th Anniversary=tradition/belonging
• Posture=Action
• Guns=Violence
• background smoke= war and violence
• eagle on the marine pendant=power/dominance
• drums= drums serve to unite soldiers when marching which therefore symbolizes in this context the unity of being part of the marine corps
• Clothing= determination

Ad analysis

Ads

1.        PETA, Mercy for Animals, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (animal rights)

2.      People who use products that use animals for experiments or animals furs.  People who wear fur.  Reverse psych, they’re actually for animal cruelty

3.       Because they all seem to be guilt tripping people by using pets as a weapon against us.

4.      The purpose is to inform the public of animal rights to respect animals.  The ads give the message that the public should stop wearing at furs or to deter us from some brands or stores.

5.       By using home pets as a rhetorical tool against us.  Pathos.  Emotional level.

6.       That these ads have no idea what they’re talking about, what does your dog have to do with wearing fur? We don’t skin dogs.  The bars on the Walmart ad give us a feeling of imprisonment, and cruelty.  The dog with the ball in his mouth makes an emotional connection that sparks innocents.

7.  They persuade the audience to think we buy and sympathize with animals

Writers Blog Post paraphrasing, summaries, and quotes

Mad Men: Stillbirth of the American Dream

Summary:

Using examples from the popular TV show Mad Men, Heather Havrilesky gives her input on what the modern day American dream is compared to what it used to be. She states that much like the characters in the show, people in the real world always want more then they had before.

Paraphrase:

In the analysis of Mad Men: Stillbirth of the American dream, television critic Heather Havrilesky examines and concludes how the TV show Mad Men models the modern day view of the American dream that “. . . Americans are constantly in search of an upgrade. . .” (paragraph 1). She explains that the show takes place in the advertising age of the 60’s and that this point in time marked the beginning of America’s cupidity that still stands today.

The characters Don and Peggy always seem to be on the edge of happiness. There is always that one missing thing that needs to be satisfied for them to be comfortable and they will pursue that satisfaction no matter what the cost. This is much like modern America in the way that we are always looking for something bigger and better. Havrilesky continues through her analysis describing other characters’ appearances and personalities. They accurately depict the 1960’s and the events that led to the more greedy America that we live in today.

Quote:

“. . . the birth of the advertising age coincides directly with the birth of our discontent as a nation. . .”

Summary of Rubins essay

Rubins analysis of Coca Cola’s ad explained that Coca Cola used ads based on the values of time. This means that throughout Coca-Cola’s history, they have changed the ads based on how America’s working life was. She eventually leads up to this conclusion by first explaining the significance of the 1950’s ad. She makes most of her conclusion based on the people below the vending machine that are all smiling and having a good time and then directing your attention to their appearance. It showed 3 men in different military branches, and two men who were working citizens. She notes that there are no women because the ad was directed toward men for the reason of work. Workers being (mostly) men, and not women allowed Coca-Cola to use the slogan “A welcome host to workers” which explains their target audience at the time.

Later in the essay when Rubin explains how the values of time affected the intended audience. She gives an example saying that instead of going after the workforce and the American identity, Coca-Cola would probably go after a more ethnic audience today. So instead of paying detail to clothing, work position, and events, they would instead go after a younger and more diverse skin colored audience who are all happy and would mainly appeal to modern society.

Analysis essay sample

Lantry identifies the audience as american women who are looking for a man. Her purpose was to explain how women are urged to smell and look attractive for men to reach their ultimate goal of "catching a man". She uses several pictures from ads in the 20's, 30's, and 50's about soap and mouthwash where each of which display a pictures of women who don't look happy or who look busy using the product to find a significant other. Lantry analyzes the clothing of the women as well and how they appear to stand out and look a little more fancy then normal. Almost like they have everything in life except a man and the only thing they need to do is buy that product to make their life complete.

Literacy Narrative (Rough Draft)

My junior year of highschool was a struggle for me. i did not enjoy getting up every morning and returning to the place that made me so negative. everything seemed like it was deteriorating as far as grades and motivation went. But my AP Lang class did something different for me. It taught me important writing techniques, good diction and syntax, yes, but it also taught me something personal. it taught me that i had the freedom to write whatever i had on my mind in the exact way that i saw (or heard) it.

Things were not going “swimmingly” for me between 16 and 17 years old. Most of my grades were C’s, and i thought i could never get ahead in school anymore. Homework papers were piling up like leaves in the fall time, my concentration was smeared around like paint on canvas, and on top of all that, the question that was constantly asked, “where are you going to apply for college?” always hovered around somewhere.

with all this pressure on me, i could not think but to do one thing and that was to stop caring about myself and to become a machine who’s only mission was to do the work that was set in front of it. this worked a little, it didnt get me ahead, but it kept me going. i would do enough work to get me by instead of doing a good job for myself. i think my AP Lang teacher, Mrs. Landvatter, saw that. she was always very involved in her students but i think i stood out to her. I had her the previous year for english and always did a terrific job with my writing which is why i think she noticed something was wrong. she saw that i was struggling with timed writes, rhetorical writing,   etc, and when she confronted me about it i always questioned how any of it was going to help me in life.

of course that was quite an ignorant thing to say now that im older. but it was true, i was tired of writing things that i didnt understand the purpose of. not just in english, but school in general. i was tired of doing things that didnt have an explained purpose and i was tired of failing at something i didnt want to do in the first place, i had to say that somehow. i had to somehow tell the world how i felt about it but i didnt know where to start. there were too many issues that i couldnt explain at once. finally, sometime between march and april of that year, i decided i just needed to see what the problem was and solve it for myself. i knew nobody was going to help me, i mean, why would they? it wasnt their problem. so one friday night after school, i was playing guitar and watching TV in my room when i thought to myself, “what if i just wrote down every single thing that popped into my head the exact way that i see it?”. it was a grand idea i thought. i would be able to write what i wanted and not be graded on a scale to judge if i was passing or not. it was a new way of writing for me and i dubbed it “speak the mind”. so i set my guitar on my bed and pulled out my laptop, opened a word document and just like that i literally began speaking my mind.

for the first time in a while words were just flowing from my fingertips and i did not once forget what point i was trying to make because it really didnt matter. the only point of typing everything was to say what i wanted and read back to myself what i wrote. it was the most enjoyable writing experience i have ever had.

i wrote what was on my mind about school, working, how life was going in general, etc. it was extremely satisfying and stress relieving to sit back and let my mind wander but still be able to track what i had thought. it was like a holding tank for all my thoughts and once i put it all down, i could search for the ones i liked and collect them; just like a fish tank. there was no right or wrong way to write like there was in my English class, no boundaries on what i could say, and no limit to what i could write. it was like a large middle finger to all the formal techniques of writing and everything i was taught to write, and it made me feel like i had come up with my own style of writing.

After a solid 2.5 hours of writing, i decided it was time to eat dinner. when i put my laptop away and stood up, i had a much different feeling. for once, my mind was at peace and i could enjoy something without thinking about all the things i had been struggling with. it was almost as if the world was asking me to write everything i had on my mind and when i finally did, all i had was silence in my head. it was great.

i took this experience with me to school the following week. Things seemed to be more relaxed and less critical. it didnt feel like the world was out to get me anymore, at least not as much. in fact, i still use this method of writing every once in awhile when i need to take a moment and look at my life. whenever i feel like there is too much going on, ill open up a document and just begin typing an update of my life and what has been happening. definitely a positive experience.