English 110 in a Nut-Shell

Dear English 110 Student,

English 110 can be a time consuming and sometimes challenging class; however, with some effort it is very possible to be successful. I think the best advice I can give you is to complete all your assignments on time and don’t wait to start them the night before they are due. Because this class is all about writing and analyzing, sometimes it is easier to write down all your ideas and then the next day look at your paper again and re-examine the source you are analyzing and see if your view changes or if you notice things that you didn’t see or pick up on before. It is often very clear, in writing specifically, if you rushed through an assignment. When you wait until the last minute, the paper will sound rushed and won’t have a strong organizational structure; it will seem more like a stream of thoughts. I strongly recommend that you take lots of time researching different topics before selecting one. I personally did not realize how much we would have to use our topic. By the end of the quarter it became rather challenging to write about the same source. Try and make sure your topic will interest you even after you write about four papers about it (if that is possible). Also I highly suggest that you go to class; attendance is a substantial part of the class. Although it did seem repetitive to analyze numerous article, picture, and TV clips, I did begin to realize that through all this practice I began to look at the things I read and saw in a different fashion and it did get easier as time went on. I thought I already knew how to analyze sources coming into college; however, when I look back at my first day writing I realize that I have learned a lot about analysis. I have learned to go beyond what is written or shown and make conclusions for myself. Good luck!

Sincerely,

Steph

Half and Half

While my friends and I rarely talk about religion, it was basically inevitable that the topic would eventually come up. The last time my friend and I had a debate about religion was when she said that she was half Christian and half Jewish. She believed that since her mother was raised in a Christian household and her father was raised in a Jewish household she was both. I however did not really see this. When I think of religion I think of a set group of beliefs and practices. One either follows the words of the Bible, Torah, Koran or other religious document or they do not. In my eyes religion is not like a genetic trait or ethnicity; while, someone can be German and Hispanic, they can’t really be Christian and Jewish.

My friend had a Bat Mitzvah, and was confirmed, both practices of the Jewish faith. hasn't been to church since she was about 4 years old. While she does celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah with her family, I don’t think she is really a Christian. I believe she was raised Jewish, yet has a Christian mom; while, she argues that she is both Christian and Jewish. The conversational tone was one of a friendly debate between friends who have know each other for years. It wasn't angry or meant to offend anyone, or even make us change our minds, we were more or less expressing are views. When we were not talking over each other, we were listening to one another and I did try and see a few of her points.

The main point I was trying to express was that religion is not like genetics and while it is most often passed on by one’s parents; our true religion is what we choose to believe and live by. Our religion does not have to be same as the religion of either of our parents, and if this is the case it is still our religion. My friend tried to make me see that someone can be raised with “two religions in their life”. While they may not include all aspects of both religions, people can, to some extent, pick and choose what they want to believe and that is no less of a religion then any established religion. While I don’t think I left the conversation with a profound change of heart, the conversation did make me think differently about how we define religion for ourselves. One’s religion does not always have to be categorized; it can be, for the most part, what each individual believes and the set of values they live by. After this conversation I did respect t her opinion, but not because I entirely agreed with her, but because she was so passionate about her view and she truly believed she was right. The clear stance she took on the issue and the emotion she presented was more persuasive to me then the ideas she used to support her view.

Megachurch Megatech

This website reviews mega-churches and focuses on the technology they use and the money they set aside to make sure they have the most up-to-date technology. This source use statistics and layout to get their message across to their readers. They have the article shown on their website and next to the text is a highlighted box with short statistics in bold. These bolded facts grab the readers’ attention, and drive home the author’s point. They use as few words as possible in their highlighted text box, one example of this is, “$3 million- Cost of high end audio/visual system” this very brief statement is clearly presented to the audience to make them believe that this is an enormous amount to spend on technology. Also, they specifically include “high end” in this description to make the reader have the impression that they are wasting money on having the absolute best, when perhaps they should focus on using their money in other ways. While I do believe this is an accurate fact they have presented, it is only later in the middle of the article that is explained that is only accounts for about 1/27^th of their budget each year. The article is also clearly trying to present the money spent on technology in a negative fashion because the article begins by describing the finger print scanner they use and they use irony to connect it to the passage from the Bible that says “Reach hither thy finger.” The article is clearly showing that this type of technology is a waste of money and strays away from the focus of the Bible and God.

I found it very interesting that the two pictures that were selected to go with this article were both aerial shots and simply showed a mass of people or a mass of cars in a parking lot. These pictures leave the reading feeling like the churches are impersonal and that they will be one in a million in a sea of people.

Article: Cone, Edward. "Megachurch Megatech." CIO Insight, 11 May 2005. Web. 26 Oct. 2009.

Home Away From Home

The dance studio has been my home away from home since I was seven. The people there have become my second family. The dance studio in Pomerene Hall is no different. It is slightly dark and has faded wood that reflects the work and sweat that has occurred in this room. The white scratches in the light brown wood floor mirror the work that has gone on in this room. There are two dark brown double doors that open into this seemingly empty space. It is a space that seems so large with bland white walls the space seems boring and depressing but as the students fill the space, lining the walls with their shoes and bags, the space seems much cozier. The students come in and immediately relax as they feel as at home as I do.

The ceilings are over twenty feet high and several dim lights hang from the ceiling that seems to have paint chipping off. The windows are taller than I am and they look out onto a bustling street with students and busses passing by. The windows have a white haze of dust around the top, as it looks like they haven’t been clean in quite some time. The walls are lined with ballet bars that have faded into about seven different shades of brown from the sweat of nervous hands clutching the bar. An old brown piano sits in the corner collecting dust and serving as a shelf for papers and folders.

As students begin to fill the room the professor turns to the large double layer black stereo and turns on soft instrumental music. The students are able to sense what this mean sand they begin stretching in all different parts of the room. The professor stretches in second position as he gazes at his binder of notes visualizing the combinations he has planned. The slightly dirty old dance studio with scratches and smudged mirrors makes me feel like I am at home.

Week 1 & 2

When asked to write an essay that analyzes the motif, mood or character development of a book I always turn to the “formula” that has been engraved in my mind. The formula is simple; it is applying the formula that is the challenge. I know that a thesis should state the argument of the paper in a concise fashion, yet it needs enough “wiggle room” to encompass all the topics that will be referenced. This writing, while tedious, is fairly easy because there is often a clear point which most people will see.

When the general public is my audience I feel like there is a lot more pressure. In this type of writing one should be “be brief and be brilliant” as my public speaking teacher always said. This is probably the most challenging aspect; to engage your audience while clearly stating your point.

However, when writing about religion I find myself a bit more hesitant. There are several reasons for this hesitation. While my knowledge of my own religion is somewhat lacking; I feel my knowledge of the many other prominent religions of the world is not really up to par. However, I don’t think I am alone. Many people find out much of what they know about other religions from the media. I feel tentative to write on the topic because most of what I do know is based on newspaper articles, night news reports, and the Colbert Reports I have seen. I feel that when one writes about any religion they always want to remain politically correct and they don’t want to ask serious questions at the risk of offending someone. This fear of offending people has made much of the media timid in their reporting. While this is not always the case it is hard as a viewer to sift through all the information we hear and judge what is true and what might have a bit of a slant to it.