Our Opinions in a Nutshell

Our Opinions in a Nutshell

The blog Underground New York Public Library is a blog featuring people in the New York subway reading a wide variety of books. It displays each picture with a sense of professionalism as it gives the title and a link to all books shown. It is a multimedia blog which affects the frequency of posts while the author's voice is absent throughout. This blog relies heavily on multimedia and the frequency at which it posts while taking out any kind of voice. All of these aspects are a double edged sword and it’s important to note that they cut both ways. That one man from Venus (Patrick McGill)

When it comes to the author's voice and writing, this blog just doesn't supply it. Although it gives us amazing photos of pedestrians taking the subway reading novels, it doesn’t give us any information about them. I wish there was more to this blog concerning what the novel was about and why I should read it. I understand the purpose for this blog is to intrigue the audience of the beauty of reading, but what substance does this book have? Why did you pick to post a picture of To Kill A Mockingbird and not The Alchemist right next to him? Why should I read it? This would give me reason as to why I would login on my computer everyday and search to for Underground New York Library. (Anngelique Ciancio)

When it comes to blogs, it's important to demonstrate what it is you're posting about through visual aids such as pictures, videos, articles, etc. It's also crucial to post frequently enough so readers maintain interest, but keeping your posts at an appropriate amount so it isn't overkill. The "Underground New York Public Library" exceeds the expectations of multimedia content because the entire blog is based on beautiful and unique photos of people reading on the subway, as well as links that correspond with the specific books that are in the pictures. The Author/Photographer of this blog surpasses the expectations for frequency too because they post these photos and links multiple times a day. Considering that there's such little content to actually read and look through, numerous posts a day from this Author is adequate and acceptable. (Sami Gardner)

If you want to find new titles of books to look into, this blog does supply that, as well as supplying wonderfully candid and well-shot photos to its followers, but the absence of context and book reviews accompanying the photos gives the reader (or rather, the viewer) no real reason to visit this blog. The photos on their own are good to look at, but the purpose of the blog is unclear and is lacking substance and personality. (Hayley Leach)

Sources:

Underground New York Public Library (http://undergroundnewyorkpubliclibrary.com/)

https://www.google.com/search?q=argument+essay&biw=1708&bih=814&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi76PaD_9HKAhUHWCYKHTGGBuIQ_AUIBigB&dpr=0.8#imgrc=tdEvgJ6FH4gaXM%3A

Lifehacker.com Blog Review

Lifehacker.com ratings:

• Recurring themes: 9/10 -There is a variety of content, but most fall into the category of life hacks.

• Author voice: 4/10 -There are multiple authors, but none of them seem to have anything really unique about their writing.

• Multimedia: 9/10 - The site has a nice balance of images and text.

• Good writing: 6/10 - The posts are well written, but not very personal.

• Frequency: 10/10 - This blog posts several times a day, which seems appropriate for this kind of blog.

• Credibility: 9/10 - The authors seem to properly cite sources and images, and they also use study results, statistics, and expert testimony when necessary.

Overall, I rate this blog 7/10 because it is a good quality blog in a technical way, but it is lacking personality and is not as relatable and personal as it could be.

Written by Hayley Leach

Hot Chicks Dig Smart Men: Blog Review

I started following Hot Chicks Dig Smart Men and I will say it’s quite interesting. The reason why I say she is very interesting is because she comes off (in my opinion) very blunt and unapologetic and I must say, this excited me! The author at times repost current topic that may be on the news or what she feels is important to know. She talks about what most people won't and she will definitely speak her mind when it comes down to it. Amazingly she is open to both sides of the spectrum when talking about the opposite sex as well withholding being bias.

Rating:

Recurring Themes- I give the author a 6 because I feel like she does well with keeping her stories in line with what her blog consist of and doesn’t go off topic.

Author Voice- The author definitely speaks her mind and has a conversation with her audience. She does great with getting the point across with each story. She receives a 10!

Multimedia- With multimedia I would give the author a 4 because although the links she repost have multimedia, her blogs do not have very many.

Good Writing- 10! like I said she very up front and unbiased when it comes to her opinion! This intrigues the audience because she is so honest and it’s makes the audience want more.

Frequency- The author post multiple links per 3 days and I would say that makes up for not posting a blog everyday. She receives a 7.

Credibility-Credibility she receives a 10 because with every link and multimedia she post there is a source to revert back to if need be.

Underground New York Public Library: Blog Review

What I follow and why


Throughout this week I have found the blog Underground New York Public Library (http://undergroundnewyorkpubliclibrary.com/) to be quite enjoyable. The recurring theme throughout is multimedia as it is a blog entirely comprised of pictures. This consequentially means that there is no writing involved, except of course in some of the phenomenal books that are in the pictures. I love the aesthetic of each photo as they are taken in the subway system, each picture is taken in such a way that it captures the eye and really appealed to me. They post multiple times a day, what with them being based entirely off of media and what not. The authors voice is entirely absent, although I think that is a good thing seeing that the blog is more about what other people are reading instead of his/her opinion. I even started reading some of the books that they were showing, and with it being a women's world and what not I have a recommendation for all of those lonely men out there straight from the blog itself.

"How To Be a Man: A Guide To Style and Behavior For The Modern Gentleman"

That man from Venus (Patrick McGill)

Blog Review

The Blog I decided to follow over the past week is "Hot Chicks Dig Smart Men." Overall I found this blog and the author very entertaining and interesting, to the point where I actually emailed the author and let her know that I really enjoyed the things she posts about.

* As far as Recurring Themes, I would give this blog a 5 because overall the themes are recurring, for example most her posts start out with "Link Me Up Scotty" followed by specific topics and links/articles relating to the topic.
* When it comes to Author Voice, I would give this blog an 8 because the author so to speak is fairly unfiltered, which I think we all can appreciate. She says what's on her mind and isn't worried about the judgement of others.
* As far as a multimedia rating I would give this blog a 10 because there are plenty of pictures, links to articles, and videos to go along with everyone she talks about, which helps readers to understand the topics at hand.
* I would give this blog a 9 for good writing because her grammar, sentence structure, etc. Is all on point and correct. When authors are actually good at writing, it's much more appealing to the readers because we all know that mistakes stand out.
* When it comes to frequency, I would give this blog a 9 because the author typically posts once a day, or once every two days which I think is sufficient. I feel like posting too often would become obnoxious depending on the content of the blog.
* I would give this blog a 10 because all of the articles she posts, as well as the pictures and videos are all cited and accounted for.

Sami Gardner

Reading Response for Chapters 3 and 14

My Review of Chapters 3 & 14


it is no secret that I love literature, however books without pertinent knowledge are always incredibly boring slog through. Some people just don't care who killed who and when this man or woman died. I am happy to say that I found both chapters pertinent to my life as a whole. However I'll break them up into separate sections because they both had something completely different to say.

Chapter 3 was about the argumentative essay (cue dramatic music!). On the surface it probably sounds boring but it covered a wide variety of topics that related to life as a whole. We use argumentative essays every day, even if we don't have to write them down. As human beings we're constantly using  a wide variety of information to verify, or prove what we're saying. For example if I'm trying to prove that purple elephants run wild in Africa I should probably have some pictures or first hand accounts ready to stop all of those nay sayers. However despite the many times the book drove home how important quotes and accurate information were I found myself not that interested in it. This was something that was taught to me year after year throughout highschool, it almost felt redundant reading it. The books saving grace was that it tried to drive home the ideas in different ways. Instead of just telling me how or what to do it simply gave examples for me to work off of.

What was really important out of Chapter 3 was the section on the ever present Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. These are different ways to appeal to your audience and with debates coming up featuring our favorite candidates it's a good idea to keep these in mind. Politicians can and will use a certain one of these to try and communicate their ideals to an audience. It is rather fascinating to point out, "oh hey did you see so and so use Pathos, ha! They thought I'd fall for the old appealing to my emotions gag." Patrick begins crying once he gets halfway through sentence. "I-I mean it was terrible right, didn't affect me at all!"

All joking aside however these were incredibly important, Ethos appealing to ethics, Logos appealing to logic or reason, while Pathos appeals to ones emotions. They are incredibly important and when forming ones argument they should always be handy.

Chapter 14 was less appealing to me as a whole, it was about visuals. Not to say that it wasn't filled with just as much pertinent information as Chapter 3 but it related more to presentations. It gave you the know how when it came to presenting your information to a larger audience and presenting it in such a way that everyone can understand you clearly. Once again this was important information and the info graphics were incredibly well done but I just could not get into it as much as Ethos Logos and Pathos. I digress however as it is still important and pertinent to our lives. How we present information is a lot like how we present ourselves, we can't doddle around with useless information or pictures of cats. Instead we have to be succinct and exact.

Super Serious Review Time!

Okay children time to get down into the meat of these issues, to be honest I feel like I covered a lot of good information above but I would like to talk about some technical things with this book that caught my attention. First of all the book is, well it's a college level book about writing. This means it is going to be dry at times, or maybe even most of the time depending. Now this isn't the books fault and we shouldn't look down on it for being this way, it was the authors job to communicate information and they do. However out of all the english books I have had to read I found this one to be the most enjoyable. In both chapters the author was clear, to the point, and wrote in a way that flowed particularly well when read aloud. This isn't just a normal English book, this one has pictures! Why does this matter however, well just like in chapter 14 images are important. They help convey information differently and sometimes far better than a simple string of words. I found all of them to be helpful whne tying to grasp some wide concepts and they linked different parts of the book together. There is no lack of pictures in this book, and as childish as that sounds it is something I am genuinely excited for.

That one guy from Venus, (Patrick McGill)

Chapter 3 & 14 Reading Response

Image: cafepress.com

My reading response to chapter 3 and 14 from The Bedford Guide for College Writers by X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Marcia F. Muth.

Chapter 3: Critical Thinking Processes

Personal Reaction:
As I read this chapter, I began to realize more and more that writing an argumentative paper is very similar to creating a marketing strategy. When a company is deciding how to market their product, they must determine who might be interested in their product and how they should explain the benefits of using their product to best appeal to that particular audience. When writing an argument, you must approach it in a similar way, but also think critically about why you have the opinions and beliefs you do, making sure to convey to the reader why you think the way you think and why your opinion is valid. I personally found it very interesting that techniques for writing an argument are so similar to marketing techniques. Both of these involve strategy and psychology. I may want to learn more about psychology and marketing, so the information in this chapter may apply to those things.

One thing that really stood out to me was when the author mentioned that an argument for college requires much more evidence and explanation than an argument or debate with your friends, because your friends already know you and your way of thinking. Unlike your friends, a college audience requires that you explain your point of view and make sure to use sufficient evidence, while using an appropriate strategy to present your argument. In other words, in college, you need to think critically and be strategic when writing an argumentative paper. While I was impressed with this chapter, I was also a bit overwhelmed with all the ways of presenting an argument. So many decisions!

Professional Reaction:
There is a lot of valuable information in this chapter, which I took quite a few notes of. Although I had previously learned some of the concepts and strategies described in this chapter, I did learn some new things. Two things I learned about was deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning. The pattern of deductive reasoning is starting with a broad generalization and then using particulars to support the broader point, while the pattern of inductive reasoning is starting with the particulars first and then concluding with the broad generalization. This is something I never really knew about before, and I think it will be helpful to know about these two patterns in the future. Also, as mentioned above, this chapter lists a lot of strategies, techniques, and concepts that can apply to marketing. In the next few weeks, I will be forming an Elevator Pitch, which is a short argumentative/persuasive essay, which will be used to "sell my brand." So, most of the contents of this chapter will be helpful to refer to when I'm deciding how to create my pitch.

Image by Hayley Leach

Chapter 14: Responding to Visual Representations 

Personal Reaction:

This chapter is all about how to dissect and analyze the elements of imagery. I've always been interested in ads and photography and graphic images. I enjoy taking pictures. A few years ago, I took this photo on the right. At first, I took it simply to capture the red flowers amidst all the green leaves. But now, after I read this chapter, I realized that I chose to capture it because it reminded me of the concept of uniqueness and not being afraid to stand out and show ones true self. Pretty deep, right? I chose this photo to share with you because I think it best describes what chapter 14 is about. Images can be interpreted literally or abstractly, or both. They can be used to capture the world or evoke a particular emotion. All you need is to learn how to recognize and respond to the elements of images, which is what this entire chapter is about.

Professional Reaction:

I think the most important and helpful points in this chapter are:

• See the big picture by identifying the context, purpose, audience, prominent element, and focal point
• Observe the characteristics of an image by identifying the cast of characters, the story or plot, and the design, arrangement, and relationship of elements in the image.
• Interpret the meaning of an image by identifying the general feeling or mood of the image, the sociological, political, economic, or cultural attitudes, the language, the signs and symbols, and the theme of the image.

These points will help me to be able to analyze and create images better when I am assigned to do so for a school project, but they will also help me to think about visuals differently in my personal life as well.

Written by Hayley Leach (aka Woman #1)

Chapter 3 & 14 Reading Response

Personal Reaction: I found it very surprising that on page 41 it talks about how examples and opinions can be used as evidence in writing, Although some types of evidence such as Facts and Statistics are more reliable. I learned a long time ago that it's typically best to leave opinions out of your writing, especially in college courses, but I suppose it all really depends on the type of paper you're trying produce. Something else that struck me as surprising is that we accept many of our facts based upon the testimony of others, the example the book uses is that we believe the Great Wall of China exists even though most of us have never seen it. As far as Chapter 14 there wasn't anything that surprised me per se, but what really stuck out to me is the three strategies used for visual analysis and the different steps that fall under each level. I've learned before that there are a lot of different things to consider when analyzing something visually, but I've never seen the steps broken down in such a way as the book explains. The easiest way for me to relate to the content in Chapters 3 and 14 is in comparison to the AP Language and Composition class I took in high school. The class was very beneficial because I learned how to analyze writing in ways I hadn't considered before, but more importantly we did an intense unit on how to analyze visual aids such as super-bowl commercials, which reminds me of everything Chapter 14 describes.

Professional Reaction: As a student, in Chapter 3 I think the most valuable points are the most reliable types of evidence to use in writing, the three different ways you can appeal to your audience, and how to avoid faulty thinking. Also the fact that first hand observations are very persuasive, the difference between deductive and inductive patterns, and the evidence and logical reasoning checklists are valuable pieces of information too. Generally speaking all of the information provided in this Chapter is extremely useful, but some of it sticks out more than others. Considering that chapter 14 solely consists of the three levels of visual analysis, the entire chapter is significant because you can't exclude any of the strategies, and depending on a person's profession or courses, most of the information in this chapter is extremely useful and not exactly things you would normally consider. However, everyone learns and sees things differently, which is why it's amazing when you're forced to look at things in a new light. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=learning&biw=1708&bih=814&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwia9YWnkM7KAhUPxWMKHe46AtwQ_AUIBigB&dpr=0.8#imgrc=vEf5eec3qc0KxM%3A

Sami Gardner

English 122

Don't have your textbook yet? This is for you!

Image Source

Dear Classmates,

I have ordered my textbook and am now waiting for it to be delivered. I wasn't sure if I would receive it in time to take notes and write my reading response for this Saturday, so I began searching for excerpts online for chapters 3 and 14. Luckily, I found a preview version of The Bedford Guide for College Writers online. So, I thought I would share it with you all. Just click right here to access it. Due to the fact that it is just a preview, it does not include chapter 14, but it does include the entirety of chapter 3. This preview can give you a head start at reading, taking notes, and writing your reading response for chapter 3 while you wait for your physical textbooks to arrive. I hope this is helpful for you. Have a great day!

Your classmate, Hayley Leach

Chapters 1 & 2 Response

Let's just start out with saying, the process of writing can be very overwhelming! First there is trying to pick a topic, second you want to find your target audience, and third what is the point that you want to get across. It’s a process of  planning, developing your story, and drafts upon drafts upon drafts.

Planning

-Your Audience

-Purpose

-Listing out your ideas and/or basic guidelines

Developing

-Research

-Facts

-Opinions

-Brief Outline

Draft

-Drafts

-Make sure it makes sense

-Making sure that your paragraphs relate to your thesis

You want to make sure that what you are writing has a purpose, creativity, inspiration, etc. Key

factors in writing and drafting is making sure that you revise, edit, and proofread. Always make sure that you are writing for your audience and if it will make sense to them.

Anngelique Ciancio Pages 6-12

From pages 13-18, the book addresses the concept of considering your audience and it gives checklists that can be used as guides for writing for a college audience. It also discusses the importance of the reading process. The book describes that the reader should be  active, critical, analytical and questioning.  Personally, I think this chapter is a good reminder to be fully engaged when reading and writing. Professionally, this chapter will certainly come in handy when I'm considering what I want my audience to be and also when I'm reading the textbook and writing my papers.

Hayley Leach Pages 13-18

The reading process is just as critical as the writing process, given the phase you're in whether you're editing your own work or reading over someone else's. There are three basic steps when it comes to the reading process:

Prepare:

Back-up plan

Obtain knowledge

Skim and scan

Identify your purpose

Respond:

Read thoroughly

Annotate

Take notes

Read Critically:

Brainstorm ideas

Read literally

Read analytically

It's very important to ask yourself questions throughout the entire reading process, such as; Why are you reading? Do you need to be ready to discuss the text in class? How does the writer begin? Etc. Whether you're reading or writing, it's important to think realistically and critically about the piece in order to distribute accurate work or feedback.

Sami Gardner pages 19-24

Reading on Literal and Analytical Levels

Knowing

• Once you read the passage you need to decode information and recall it, I try to summarize each page on a notecard so that I can come back to it later!

Comprehending

• You have to understand what you are writing about. That way, for example when I come back to my little notecard I may use key phrases which I identified in the text and because I comprehend them I am able to better understand my own notes and text as a whole.

Applying

• Connect the knowledge to something that you already know, this not only makes it easier to recall but also gives it some personal meaning. After all these texts should be important to you.

Analyzing

• Now that you have all the information you are ready to apply your incredible sluething skills, analyze the information for key facts and phrases that support whatever message you’re trying to convey!

Now that that’s done we can move onto Generating Ideas from Reading! This is a simple section with may phenominal ideas on ways to dissect your favorite novel. However the most important part of this is Paraphrasing and Summarizing. Paraphrasing is restating an author's idea but in your own language. Let’s take the first two lines of text from Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.”

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore - “

Wow, I mean my mind is blown by the amount of subtext in just two lines. However one does not simply go around quoting Poe and expect everyone to get it, when writing papers you have to translate this text into something that matters. Something that people can understand, however if you’re using Paraphrasing you’re trying to do it in the your own words. However using another technique above called Analyzing we can pick out the bits of text to support our argument. Let’s say our argument is that the speaker in this piece is down on his luck and we have to Paraphrase to do that, so here’s an example!

In the first two lines of text from “The Raven” by Poe the speaker is feeling weak and weary from a kind of depression. As he is looks over and flips through many books long forgotten on the shelf of his study he experiences that feeling while revisiting memories long forgotten. The books are like the memories of his lost love, something to be picked up and looked at. No longer physically there to share and provide in such experiences.

Now let’s move onto Summarizing, Summarizing is when one gives the main points in a piece. Using the same bit of text above from Poe let’s try and Summarize his ideas while applying our analytical skills from above.

The speaker is depressed while sifting through books

or

The speaker feels weak and tired due to his loss of a loved one, he is flipping through old books trying to distract his addled mind.

The difference between Paraphrasing and Summarizing is that one tries to give you the meaning of the text while including the meaning, the other gives facts and statements about the text as a whole. However both of these can be used when one is trying to read critically. You may use these to quickly determine what the best pieces of a text are, or prepare a quote for your paper by Paraphrasing it once before doing it again. The texts you read are important, and it is good to remember some of the lessons they teach.

That One Guy (Patrick McGill) Pages 24-33