1. Reflection on the Quarter 1 Theme:
Vanity Fair
In “Rethinking the American Dream” an article written by David Kamp, introduces a new way of viewing the American Dream, by interpreting famous Americans works that discuss the topic of the American D”ream. Kamp believes that “The American Dream should require hard work, but it should not require 80-hour workweeks” and he goes on by adding his ideas onto already formulated views on the American Dream. I agree with Kamp’s ideas on the American Dream as the remove the extremist view on what the American Dream should be.
In “Declaration of Independence” written by Thomas Jefferson one of the Founding Fathers of the U.S.A , it says “that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. “ the Pursuit of Happiness is the whole idea of the American Dream. Jefferson understood that in order to pursuit your happiness you shouldn’t do self harm towards yourself in the process.
2. Your Quarter 1 Columnist Rhetorical Analysis Reflection:
Columnist Analysis
Dana Milbanks a columnist for the Washington Post newspaper tends to use Ethos and rhetorical questioning to persuade and inform his audience. His favorite from the two would be “rhetorical questioning” which he tends to add in this title; title of his columns are normally “rhetorical questions”. His use of these “rhetorical questions” move on his next rhetorical device, ethos, which evokes emotions from his audience making them more perceptive to be persuaded from his columns. He normally tell you exactly what the answer to his questions are in his columns.
3. Your Quarter 1 Novel, The Great Gatsby:
In “The Great Gatsby” by F.Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald indicates that the American Dream is awarded to those who rigorously work hard like Gatsby, however satisfaction with one's dream will never come into fruition. In Martin Luther’s “I Have a Dream Speech”, King indicates that for him and for all his brethrens, the American Dream is a check, a check guarantees equal rights for all. In “Rethinking the American Dream” an article written by David Kamp, Kamp believes that rigorous hard work ISN’T required for one to achieve their American Dream.
I agree with Kamp’s ideas on the American Dream as the remove the extremist view on what the American Dream should be. I also believe that true happiness can be achieved through love, since in “The Great Gatsby” Gatsby loved Daisy so much that he didn’t care what happened to him, in which case he ended up dead. Love is all any one needs to be happy.
4. Your Jefferson-Stanton Comparison Rhetorical Analysis Essay:
Compare and Contrast Rhetorical Analysis
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” how did that line make you feel?, how about [2]“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and WOMEN are created equal”? These quotes are are written in “The Declaration of Independence” and [2]“The Declaration of Sentiments and Resolution”, in which both use similar and dissimilar rhetorical strategies to persuade their audience that their viewpoints are in fact “self-evident”; getting across what they believe is the American Dream. Rhetorical devices such as diction, repetition, parallel structures, and logic are all used by Thomas Jefferson (author of “Declaration of Independence”) and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (author of “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolution”).
[2] “He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead”, [1] “He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.” these quotes extracted from [2] “The Declaration of Sentiments and Resolution”, and [1] “The Declaration of Independence” are factual statements. These factual statements are part of a parallel structure that goes on a rant, listing all the facts and reasons why Stanton and Jefferson’s side of their arguments are correct. In conjunction to the use of parallel structures, the constant repetition of “He has…” at the beginning of each factual statement adds on the extra emphasis; (when something is repeated to us we know it is important) . Jefferson and Stanton’s use of parallel structure influence their audience sense of reason, and logic; getting a clear message across that if “He has” done so many wrongs, how can we continue to abide by his rules.
Jefferson and Stanton also use diction as a rhetorical device to persuade. Although they both use diction to advance their arguments, their use of diction portrays different effects unto their audience. For example in “The Declaration of Independence” Jefferson says “...it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another” his use of the word “Political Bands” connotes a negative relationship going on between The Colonies and Britain; making his audience view Britain as parasites. However Stanton’s effect from her use of diction differs from that of Jefferson’s. For example in “The Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions” Stanton says “In the covenant of marriage, she is compelled to promise obedience to her husband, he becoming, to all intents and purposes, Her Master—the law giving him power to deprive her of her liberty” her use of the phrase “Her Master” works towards her audience’s (which would mostly be women) emotions, instantly aggravating them to want to revolt; due to the unalienable fact that no one wants to be a slave.
“..that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” this quote written by Jefferson in his Declaration, sums up his entire argument, insisting that all men created equal have the right to the “Pursuit of Happiness”. Jefferson’s quote is also used by Stanton in her “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolution”, the only difference being “all men and WOMEN are created equal”. Jefferson and Stanton have the same views on what they believe is the American Dream; which is that through the unalienable rights, such as the Pursuit of Happiness any man or woman can achieve there goal.
In conclusion Jefferson and Stanton’s use of rhetorical strategies; such as diction, repetition, parallel structures, and logic in their Declaration incite strong emotions, while persuading their audience towards adopting the beliefs of what Jefferson and Stanton believed are the ideal goals towards achieving the American Dream; “Pursuit of Happiness” and that “All men and WOMEN are created equal”.
Oath: I will strive to improve the quality and complexity of my writing. Trying to achieve the AP level format of writing.
5. Your Favorite Quarter 1 40-Minute Timed Write: I would need to work on my formating and time management to perfect my timed write. I chose this time write because it was the very first one we did and you can see that I received a 5; my formeliac 5 paragraph essay.
6. QUARTER 1 REFLECTION:
Conclusion
In quarter one, I learned to rid my self of the old 5 paragraph formulaic essay; which would in turn allow me to add more complexity to my writing. The most important assignment that we completed was the "End of Quarter Formal Paper", which was kind of like a test, which helped us practice writing a essay worthy of a 9 on the AP Exam. I'm really excited to read "There Eyes Were Watching God" and for the Socratic Seminars, which will allow me to hear my peers inputs on how there analyzing the writing.
Reflection of Quarter 2 Theme:
1. Their Eyes Were Watching God PROMPT.
In "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Hurston tell a story that we can assume is a fictional version of her experiences. By telling us this story, is her use of a rhetorical device. An example of when we see this is when Janie discusses to us how she feels about her new husband Joe, and how because she was a woman she received no respect, and was known to everyone as being her husbands wife. (Joe was the mayor of a city at the time)
On the subject of race Huston insight in a somewhat sarcastic tone that “In this society, to be considered beautiful or attractive you must have white features; light skin, straight hair,…etc any other white traits”.(Author) In this context the rhetorical device at use here is sarcasm.
In all Hurston is proud of her race, as you would find out in the end of "Their Eyes Are Watching God", as she is willing to save herself over the person she truly loved.
2. Q2 COLUMNIST PRECIS PAPER PROMPT
Anne Applebaum was my precis paper author. Applebaum uses a lot of facts (Logos) and anecdotes to successfully persuade her audience. An example of her using facts is when she say " Logos, she tells us the reasons why it would be a terrible idea for Britain to leave the European Union."
Applebaum occasionally leads in with a personal anecdote to instantly affect her audiences emotions, gaining there sympathy and understanding. An example of this is when "Applebaum uses personal anecdote to give her article a sense of credibility stating that she understands how the Cubans feel.". Also, most of the time after she finishes are anecdote, a fact is introduced giving her personal anecdote an even greater effect.
3. Q2 SYNTHESIS PAPER FINAL DRAFT
4. SYNTHESIS PAPER REFLECTION
Prompt: Did your essay respond to the prompt (What defines a person’s identity: their race and/or gender (physical or biological attributes) or their culture (environmental attributes)? Sources: Did your essay use the required number and diversity of sources? Did you feel comfortable using a visual source? Did you go above and beyond the source requirements? If so, how and why?
Research: What did you learn about the process of researching? Are you confident that your sources are all reliable? Why or why not?
MLA Style: What did you learn about MLA style? If you were assigned another MLA style research paper, would you be comfortable with the in-text citations, formatting, and works cited page? If yes, what did you learn about MLA through this assignment that you didn’t already know? If no, what would you need to review or learn in order to feel comfortable?
Writing: What was easy about writing the synthesis paper for you? What made you feel the most confident? What was challenging? What made you feel like you weren’t quite sure how to proceed? Were you confident that you organized your essay into a logical coherent essay? Why or why not? Of the three main sections of the synthesis paper (argument, counterargument, rebuttal), which was easiest for you? Hardest? Why?
I believe my essay did respond to the prompt, also using the required amount of sources to back up the answer to the prompt. I felt comfortable using the visual source since I didn’t have to be as descriptive since it was right in front of the audience to see for themselves, in turn making it more easier to summarize. I didn’t go above and beyond with the sources requirement, because the sources that I entailed, I felt were sufficient enough to backup my claim.
Well not much, I did learn how to formulate and mix different sources together to backup my claim. I’m very confident that my sources are reliable, the were written by notable people, and the ideas that they present aren’t foreign.
I learned that MLA style is similar to how I use to originally format my in text citations, but they do mess up the flow of your writing if you don’t know how to control it; If I was to be assigned another MLA style research I would be very comfortable and prepared due to prior experience.
Well nothing was easy about writing the paper, I felt that if you didn’t put in the effort that it required you were going to struggle, so I got down to business and got the job done. My claim made me feel the most confident, I like how I was overall able to captivate all the sources to work for my benefit. Well the only part I’m not confident about it the Cited Page, I’m not sure that I have it in the correct format. None were easy, they seem fairly fun to write, as though I was having an actual argument with another person, and I don’t like losing so I had to give it everything I had.
5. QUARTER 2 REFLECTION.
PROMPT: What did you learn in Quarter 2 AP Lang? What was the most meaningful unit or assignment we did? What did you gain the most from? What did you wish we had skipped? What are you looking forward to (or dreading!) in Quarter 3? What are your Quarter 3 learning goals?
Answer: In quarter 2, I learned how to correctly write a well constructed synthesis essay. The most meaningful assignment that we did was the Synthesis Essay. Gained the most from learning the MLA format, which I hear I will be using a lot in the future in my college courses. Everything was helpful this quarter, I don't believe we should have skipped anything. I'm looking forward to receiving another A in quarter 3. My main quarter 3 learning goal is to stay focused and not procrastinate on my work.
