Journal #2
The hardest thing about writing is that I have a hard time coming up with creative writing ideas. I can write well when giving a prompt or directions, but something like free writing is difficult for me. I have always been given a topic to write about in high school, so that’s what I’m used to. One of my goals for this class is to be able to freely write and not have to think so hard. Another goal would be to improve my writing skills overall, which would help me in all of my classes because every class involves writing.
Journal #3
After reading, “The Art of Quoting,” I realized that I need to improve the way I quote quotes. A lot of work goes into a quote than I realized. Something that stood out to me in the reading was the analogies being used to help the reader better understand the writing. Like when the author said the quotations are like orphans, they need to be integrated into your writing. This is an area I need to work on. I usually just drop quotes in the middle of the paragraph. It does relate to the writing but not explained enough, which is known as the “hit and run” quote. It was also said that quotes usually change throughout the writing process. So the focus of the writing might shift, and the quotes need to as well, to support the paper. I have never considered doing this. Once I find quotes, I keep it in my writing despite the focus shifting. I found the templates in the reading handy and will probably go back and use some of them when writing a paper. It shows you how to properly introduce a quote, which is something I need to work on.
Journal #4
“The End of Food” article was about a software engineer that would work frantically and did not have time for anything, even food. Food was too time-consuming, preparing, eating, and not even getting the right nutrients in the end. It was a tremendous burden for Rob Rhinehart. He decided to take a break from work to study what he needs precisely and ordered the chemicals and made a mixture of it all. Rhinehart called this slurry drink, Soylent. It is a substitute for food and meant to keep you healthy. Soylent causes a dispute because it’s meant to replace food. Today, food is not only meant to give us energy, but the taste is also important. Culture, family, history, tradition, and certain emotions are all connected to food, which is why its hard for the public to accept Soylent. It wipes all of that away and only gives you energy.
Before reading this article, I already knew it was not something I would ever be interested in because food symbolizes family, culture, and tradition. I disagreed with the title and assumed that Soylent would not have enough benefits for me to be interested. But as I was reading the text and learned about the health benefits, I could understand why some would choose to eat this. I also was surprised when the idea of ending human hunger came in the article. Soylent is cheap and gives you all the nutrients; it is perfect for areas that have a food shortage. It is good more for people in extreme conditions like extreme poverty, hunger, or workaholics.
Journal #5
The templates in “They Say, I Say” are useful because they show you how you should also incorporate other people’s view as well and not just yours. I also agreed when the students said that the templates would make all of their writing sound the same. On page 9, the template used is lengthy, and it would be hard to distinguish yourself. However, the author also pointed out how you can still use templates and sound original,” these templates do not dictate the content of what you say.” With practice and time, you can change and improvise. I also found it interesting when they called King’s letter conversational because he had a good balance of “they say/I say.” When I would write in high school, I would mostly include my opinion in my writing and less of “they say.” I also learned that agreement should not be ruled out when writing an argumentative essay. I found it interesting when the author talked about how these templates are not plagiarism because they are like formulas that are always being recycled and used. However, the ideas to fill in the blanks cannot be used word for word, that is plagiarism.
Journal #7
Journal #8
In the They Say I Say Chapter 1, I learned to emphasize and clearly state your thesis and what the larger conversation is that it’s responding to. I also found the example using Dr. X helpful because it is something we can relate to and something that can actually happen. I can relate to Dr. X because there have been papers in the past that I have written and didn’t clearly state my thesis. I also learned to remind the reader throughout a paper of the thesis and to explain how your ideas connect to the thesis statement. I had also found the templates useful because there is one for every situation. Whether it’s introducing something that’s implied or assumed or for an ongoing debate. I can see myself going back to use one of these templates for my future papers. Return sentences are also something that I could work on and are meant to remind the reader of the ideas we’re responding to.
Journal #9
The thing that I spent the most time revising was adding additional experiences of my own and making it all work together. I also had to explain a few ideas and concepts. I had added a whole new idea because once I had corrected the changes form peer editing, my writing felt like it needed this new idea. The drafting and revising process is much different than my previous experiences because in the past it was usually just grammatical errors or run on sentences. But for this paper, I had made major changes, while in high school, I did not go that in-depth for revising. This was because we did not do a lot of peer editing and when we did, new suggestions were not made for my writing. Most of the time I would go to the teacher beforehand and she would let me know what I did wrong or right. My approach to this project was the typical 5 paragraph essay, which does not fit the expectations of this class. We are meant to always improve and change our writing, while I was not used to doing that.
Journal #10
“It was a gratifying, even ennobling sort of work, engaging both the mind and the muscles. You didn’t do it to please a husband or impress guest; you did it to please yourself.” (paragraph 1, pg 6)
This states that nowadays when women cook, it isn’t because she has to or it’s her duty but because she feels like it. This is empowering for women because women used to have to cook for their husbands and they had no choice, whether they like it or not. I agree with this statement because if I ever cook today, it’s because I feel like it, not because I have to. Women are given a choice as to whether they want to cook or not. Cooking and not cooking is both empowering for women because you get to CHOOSE what you want to do, there is not a man or society choosing for you. This also contributes to one of the reasons as to why there’s a decline in cooking.
“To cook from scratch, they decreed, means to prepare a main dish that requires some degree of ‘assembly of elements.’ So microwaving a pizza doesn’t count as cooking, though washing a head of lettuce and pouring bottled dressing over it does.” (paragraph 7, pg 2)
I agree with this quote as well. Today, many claim to have the ability to cook or make something but in reality, the ingredients they are using have been pre-made and in order to truly cook something from scratch, those ingredients need to be made as well. For example, making pizza out of scratch, you cannot buy the already shredded cheese or sauce. You need the elements to make them. I can also see why it’s better to just buy these ingredients as well because it’s much easier and saves time. They are all shortcuts to the final product. It’s mostly common to truly see something made out of scratch when there’s a strong passion for cooking or a chef. That’s why people buy/order their food from places that make it out of scratch, to save time and money.
If you want to make something out of scratch, it needs to be made with its raw materials.
“We learn things watching these cooking competitions, but they’re not things about how to cook.” (paragraph 9, page 4)
The point he’s trying to make is that even though it’s a cooking show, they’re not meant to teach the viewers cooking. There is too much competition and it’s too fast for viewers to actually learn how to cook. It’s like the American Idol, we do not learn to sing but we’re entertained by the competition. Most viewers are watching the show to be entertained not to learn how to cook.
Labina Faizizada
When reading, “Consider the Lobster”, I had thought about how people were so cruel to boil them alive, knowing they could feel the pain. But it comes to down to how the animal looks, the connection we feel with it, and our benefits. Humans don’t feel a connection w/ a lobster other than eating it. However, we would never do the same to a dog, because we connect with it and it’s a cute animal. We also wouldn’t benefit from eating a dog. But in other countries, people do eat dogs because they benefit from it and it’s a part of their culture, while for us it isn’t. I was confused as to why people would harm a lobster like that just to eat it but it depends on the importance. Lobsters aren’t seen as cute to many, just like a snake isn’t, while cats are, and we’re okay with cats killing living things for fun but not snakes. When it’s more important for a snake than a cat. We like to ignore our greediness and not talk about it because it makes us feel better and as if it’s not an issue, because we benefit from it.
