Survey = Doughnut

At the end of each semester, professors recommend students complete a reflective survey about their experience of the class an it's material. Did the class achieve the expectations of the student or should some adjustments be made. Of course, since these surveys are not mandatory, most college students are too burdened by sloth to complete them. Well, bellow is just a sarcastically motivational email one of my professors sent the class in hopes of encouraging us to complete the survey before final exam day. Priceless... 

At midnight tonight, I will check the course evaluation percentages, and determine the victor in the most important struggle of our times, the race to acquire free donuts.  When I spoke with the other class last week, I discovered that they were not only excited about receiving a donut, or perhaps two, for absolutely nothing, but also thought you guys looked like jerks!  They haven't even met you!  The nerve!

I wouldn't take that kind of lip from a bunch of strangers if I were you!  If only one or two of you fill out the survey, right now, then you can decisively tear this donut opportunity from their clenched, hungry fists.  Don't let that other class get their way!  Fight back!  Log on to Blackboard and take five minutes to answer a handful of questions, if not for your own sake, then for the sake of your grandchildren, so that in the future you can look them in the eyes and proudly say "Oh, college is fun sometimes.  Once we had donuts in an exam."

Writing Tip

Just to make it short and sweet.

Never reference the "audience" in a rhetorical analysis or, in fact, in any other paper you write. Logically, does it make sense to reference the glass when describing the water? Probably not.
Simply said, to mention "audience" or even "readers" in analytic writing is sacrilege, so don't do it if you want a professional voice.




image source: http://www.ponder.co.za/wp-content/uploads/Identify_Your_Audience.jpg

Reflection on "Do Sweat the Small Stuff" Rhetorical Analysis

"Do Sweat the Small Stuff" is an October 2014 New York Times Op-Ed piece written by Mark Bittman, a known food writer who advocates food system reform. 

Summary Reflection

I believe that a summary of any written work shows that the writer comprehends an author's message, and he/she can now accurately summarize the its content and the author's purpose. Personally, my summary of Bittman's article served as a blue print for me when writing the analysis. Each article, column, and book has its points of interest. The summary of any written work strips all the unnecessary supporting details and highlights the main ideas. After writting the summary, I conceptualized the sections of Bittman's article that I would later decide to analyze.

Preparation for the Rhetorical Analysis: 

Most students are tempted to write a report or review about the article, which would be a commentary rather than an analysis. Analysis is a general word for a plethora of modes for analysis. I imagine that an analysis is like a microscopic lens that may be changed when the mode of analysis changes. Analyzing the author's purpose and intentions is different from analyzing his rhetoric. The prior is a semantic approach and the later is a rhetorical approach. Some students may have never analyzed for rhetoric before, so a lesson about Aristotle's modes for persuasion (ethos, pathos, logos) provided a different lens for analysis. Generally, these modes of appeal are easily understood, but they are quite difficult to notice in more advance kinds of persuasion and rhetoric. To resolve this issue, I simply re-read a text several times and note all the places where the writer attempts to appeal by one or all of the modes. I did some extra research on ethos, pathos, and logos to better understand how to analyze them and on to focus only on them when reading a text. The RAD charts and the Quote Sammy were also absolute great ways to structure the paper and diminish the confusion on organization.

Writing the Rhetorical Analysis: 

The temptation to analyze and infer the author's message stuck with me the entire way; however, I just asked myself the questions: How does he persuade, to what extent, and why is this effective? These questions avoid the tempting question: What and why does he try to posit. However, this question forgets the "how." These were only slight mental games that kept me focused on the correct lens of analysis. It was a real challenge to avoid the word "audience" in the analysis. I read several sample rhetorical analysis, not to mention I wrote impromptu analyses in AP Lang. in high school, and everyone seems to always include the word "audience" or use ethos, pathos, or logos as a possessive noun instead of writing "appeals to ..." I remember I used to write how the author appeals to an "audience" when I wrote rhetorical analyses in high school; now, such a construction seems to be less open and little repetitive. I had to place much effort into two parts of each paragraph in my paper. The first issue was setting up the evidence. I only used a block quote once in my paper as an illustration to the reader, so the reader may have a better understand of the rhetoric Bittman appeals to at the the beginning of his article. Any other quotes required attribution and a setting. A writer could not simply shoot a quote at the reader in hopes that it seems self-explanatory. To resolve this problem, the summary is a great solution to provide an overview of a situation or content before providing evidence. The second issue was with analyzing how the appeal works. In this case, one could write, "Bittman effectively appeals to pathos." This is the "what." The "how" would sound like this, "...appeals to pathos by creating vividly emotional images." The "why" complements the "how" by possibly elaborating on the way the pathos evokes feelings of empathy and compassion. The second is obviously the core skill to be learned in this assignment. Overall, I find rhetorical analysis a great way of writing to not only notice but also study why arguments seem so appealing.             

image source: http://vafoodbanks.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/fresh_food.jpg

Freedom in Words: Post-Presentation Multimodal Reflection

Freedom in Words

What ideas influenced the creation of this video?

I honestly favor technology in my life. It simplifies most of my daily tasks (ex: applications), it provides a treasure of digital information (ex: internet), and it grants me occasional  modes for entertainment (ex: games, music, film). I think that technology is ethically neutral; it posses both good and negative consequences. The good consequences may be superior computing ability, revolutionary communications/networking, surmounting data availability/storage, and various modes of organization. Negative consequences revolve around internet addiction, game addiction, and other forms of malicious over dependence on technology. These negative consequences often induce an ignorant and oblivious attitude to the real world. A simple screen hypnotizes the mind and diverts all attention into an artificial environment flooded with digital data. Often times, technology-related activities are performed inside a building, so there may develop a lack of interaction with the natural world when technology use takes up most of the day. Additionally, technology may most times influence the mind to multitask, so an overuse of, or an addiction to, technology may stress the mind with an influx of information; attention to details and focus on simple tasks soon becomes difficult. The best way to retain freedom of thought is to simply read from time to time and take breaks from technology use because the mind will continue to receive a short but powerful amount of information during reading, and focus improves on single tasks.

Moreover, most people do not have much time in today's busy world, so an occasional book can always entertain and captivate the intellect. 

What specific aspects of a mode allowed you to present your idea? 

I intended to make a reflective video, not a melancholy one that  demonizes technology and advocates puritanism. I depended on photography to deliver my message because it is simple, and, unlike film that presents several pieces of information in a chronological series, images invite the viewer to reflect on a series of diverse moments for a longer period of time. I purposely chose powerful pictures to depict  my message in the series of images. Most images stand as antithesis to one another in order to project a contrast and resolution to a conflict between certain images. Text slides guide the viewer through the film, and short-phrased questions set the viewers initial mindset to a proceeding series of images. The text also logically organizes the images and provides simple transitions between them. Color also played an important role in creating mood. White text on dark grey background isolated the viewer's mood to a reflective and, later, hopeful state. Negative images about technology overuse are gray-scale images, and color images are positive images related to reading- a freedom in thought, with a splash of variety.  

How did fellow classmates react to the video? 

My video left fellow classmates in a quite reflective mood. No one had any serious questions nor was anyone confused. The vividness and the thematic power behind each image, along with flowing, soft electronic music, truly created a reflective atmosphere. Every person in the classroom had a short, introverted moment after the video to consider the video's massage in perspective to their own lives. The film was also open ended, so it did not impose any resolution or specific reaction on anyone, but rather it provided an subtle, alternative mind-set to a certain unnoticed issue. Overall, I am glad with the film's turnout and the expected reaction of fellow viewers. 

 video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU9IbKV012s        

Multimodal Reflection

What are my modes?

I suppose that three modes are ideal for a video, because additional modes might present too much information to the viewer. They might distract the viewer with special effects rather than drawing the viewer into the video's deeper theme. I chose images, instrumental music, and text as my modes because when combined together, they evoke a simple, reflective mood that does not always have to be serene. I created a video that functions almost as a virtual art exposition; I aligned several images in thematic and chronological order and sewed under instrumental music along with guided textual inquiries that provoke the viewer to grasp the message of each image in terms of the video's holistic message.

What is my platform?

I chose the YouTube video editor because of its frame to frame simplicity and large selection of music.

What is my concept?

Today, innovators have evolved technology brilliantly. It is so pervasive in society's daily functioning that without it some might be unemployment, while others might be incapable of performing their job. Technology has simplified life and sped up many daily activities. Ethically speaking, technology is not bad at its essence, but as any creation, it carries both positive and negative consequences. My video addresses these negative consequences and implicitly provides an avenue to a resolution.
The hardware in my video symbolizes the sometimes damaging software that strips away time by artificial entertainment: surfing YouTube videos, playing with the thousands of available apps, devoting days to computer/video games, texting compulsively, and surfing endlessly on the internet.
An over dependence and sometimes an addiction to some aspects of technology can dull the mind, invoke an oblivious standpoint to real life, and inflate the mind with an influx of information.
The simple solution: set aside the technology for an hour or two to interact with the natural world and read a book. Reading demands complete focus that counteracts the unfocused multitasking  present in the overuse of certain technology.

How can my video be better?

I can improve my video by adding much more powerful images to better present my inquiry. Powerful images demand the viewer to capture an image's message with the least amount of confusion and the most connection to the holistic message of the video. I may also edit and rearrange my textual information to better introduce a theme for a series images.

image source: http://www.danvosslaw.com/assets/images/photo_open-book.jpg 
   

"SUH-MASH" Those Buzzwords

I remember my high school days on the gymnastics team; team members would shout "YAH-tzee" (the name of the board game) when one gymnast would perform some monumental stunt at an event. Looking back on it now, I think I would be expelled from young adult social life and deemed a social misfit for the rest of my days if I would reuse that obnoxious word in the wrong context.

Language changes and no one can stop it. Technology progresses and social networking enhances at the second. New words are bound to be created. For instance, Dictionary.com posts insightful words of the day for anyone looking to build their personal vocabulary. 
Moreover, an etymologist is a specialist who knows a great deal about etymology, the study of words: their meanings, sounds, and origins. These people are professional word-crafters. Universities will pay etymologists to form new words from roots found in ancient manuscripts and blend pre-existing ones together. However, etymologists are not the only people doing the etymology. People from all walks of life: academic fields, business corporations, government agencies, and popular culture, contribute to the massive influx of jargon in everyday language. Today, jargon that reaches the headlines of social and professional media, soon slips onto the tongues and into the sentences of everyone having a decent conversation or writing some lame status update on Facebook. Jargon, and other technical or social "lingo", that hits the big screens and appears in popular vocabulary for a while - until it becomes unbearable to hear or read - is what I, at least, define as buzzwords.

Buzzwords become pernicious cliches that sabotage legitimate English - or other language - vocabulary, clutter the columns of news articles, trash social media news feeds, and float around in the ether of useless, overused, and annoying words. I am convinced that every white collar worker will honestly shoot anyone who uses the words 'synergy,' 'content,' 'transparency,' 'sustainability,' and 'guru' outside 'the office.' Computer techies and programmers might be overheard at the lab overusing words like 'big data,' 'cloud computing,' 'ajax,' and 'canvas.' Use the contemporary carpe diem buzzword, 'YOLO,' and I guarantee the only social life you have will not last for long. Often times buzzwords numb the mind and impair human communication with bland, vague, and crude vocabulary.

Most people remember Caleb McGillvary, also known as Kai the freewheeling, hatchet-wielding hitcher-hiker, whose interview after the Fresno incident went viral on the internet. In Fresno, California, 2013, Kai killed a man with his hatchet after the man, supposedly, tried to run over a woman at a gas station. During his interview, Kai describes the incident in his hippie slang. He re-enacts the skull shattering moment when he swung his hatchet into the man's skull, shouting, "Smash! Smash! SUH-MASH!" "SUH-MASH" went viral all over the web; it became one of the most popular buzzwords in raps, chats, texts, columns, tweets, and feeds.

Diction and syntax give each person a voice. Voice may either be colloquial, formal, or in be
tween on the spectrum of formal and jargon diction. Buzzwords are fun to use from time to time in lax conversations but the professors hate them in writing, especially when they litter papers and give the writer a filthy and inaccurate voice. So, "SUH-MASH" those buzzwords from your diction.  

 image source: http://article.wn.com/view/2013/02/09/kai_the_hitchhiker_8216smash_smash_smash_8217_remix_video/

Noise Hurts

Nobody seems to value moments of silence anymore. Some people dismiss it as socially awkward, painfully boring, or unbearable for their conscience; however, it promotes concentration and improves cognition. Of course life for most is not an anechoic chamber, unless they are deaf, but at least a reduction in detrimental noise of the surrounding digital and working worlds may improve personal experience of life. Ambient sounds bring serenity to the mind and counteract the annoyance of vehicular traffic and ranting media. It may also be better to avoid bombarding the mind with constant, everyday auditory information. For instance, take out the headphones when reading, working, driving, and even sleeping. Polluting the mind with loud sound may even cause mental problems. Usually, a person overexposed to loud sound may suffer form migraines, anxiety, tension, and emotional disturbance.  This does not surprise me that a known method of interrogative torture is dulling and shredding a mental state by ceaselessly playing loud music until the subject becomes emotionally disturbed.  Therefore, for those who live stressful lives and feel overwhelmed, try reflecting on your daily exposure to unnecessary noise and consider a life with better auditory peace.                

Reference on Noise Pollution: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/noise-pollution-effects.html

image source: http://mikeeisenhart.blogspot.com/2012_05_01_archive.html