This blog features my reflection about my Research Paper that I am currently writing. Included below is my process of writing and how it has helped or inhibited me over the last few weeks. The video Reflective Writing helped me realize that by reflecting on my writing, I will become a better writer and make good revisions to my paper.
Who did you work with to compose your research paper? Was this a good approach? At first, I wanted to write about having reduced homework in America, but I could not find relevant research material on the topic. I talked to some of my family members about what topic I should write about and what would make a better argument. My mom suggested writing about standardized tests because I have experienced the struggles that come with it. I changed my topic to eliminating standardized tests in America and I was able to find a lot of credible sources while I was working on my annotated bibliography. My classmate, Candace Stoltzfus, was also doing the same topic as me and we decided to collaborate on the paper. This was a good approach because we had a similar focus for our paper. We both brought interesting points to the table and I think our final draft will be a very strong argument against standardized tests. What rhetorical mode and genre are you using? The rhetorical mode of this paper is argumentation and the genre is MLA Research Paper. When did you write this project? Good approach? I wrote the first draft of this project within three days. I set a goal for myself to write 500 words each day so that I would have 1,500 words by the next class. By the time class approached I only had 1000 words, but I still felt very accomplished with my work. This was a good approach because I set my goals high and was able to achieve a lot in three days. Also, I did not write my whole paper in one sitting so I think my writing turned out better when I stepped away from the project for a short amount of time. Where did you write this project? Good approach? I wrote most of this paper either in my bedroom or the cafe at DCCC. This was a good approach for me because I am less distracted in these areas and I am very productive. I like to work in areas where there is a little bit of noise, but not too much that it will distract me. Sometimes, I would write at the kitchen table, but I was not as productive because my family spends a lot of their time downstairs. Why did you choose to write about your chosen topic? Good choice? I chose my topic because I struggled with standardized tests in high school. I never scored high on the SATs and had hours of tutoring in Math which did very little to improve my score. My grades were very good in high school and I had a 4.0 GPA. However, my low SAT scores kept me from getting scholarships that I worked really hard for when I was applying for college. It was very frustrating and when I heard that Finland does not use standardized tests, I wondered why America still uses it even though it is ineffective. I made a good choice in choosing this topic because I have had personal experience with standardized tests which has allowed me to develop a better argument for my paper. How did it feel to write this argument ("during, after, and since")? Do you have any "if only" moments that can help you revise the draft? While I was writing my paper, I was a bit overwhelmed because there were so many facts I could put in my paper and argue several different claims. However, Candace and I decided to narrow it down to two claims: standardized tests affect critical thinking and the quality of teaching. After we combined our material together, I felt like our argument was much more organized in the structure. Since finishing our first draft, I know that we need to make substantial revisions. Because we combined two papers, it does not flow in the most effective way. An “if only” moment I have had is that we need to add more counter-arguments and refute them in our paper. We only have one counter-argument and we should definitely include more to make our paper stronger. How will you revise your argument? As I said in the previous question, Candace and I will work together to make our paper flow in a more effective way. We need to work on our transitions and may need to move paragraphs around. For our second draft, we plan on using more counter-arguments to refute in order to make our claims stronger.
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This blog post features my annotated bibliography for my research paper that I am in the process of writing. I chose my topic from the documentary film Where to Invade Next and I have written a full summary of the film in my blog post: Summary and Rhetorical Analysis of Where to Invade Next. My research question for my paper is: If American high schools eliminate standardized tests, will students' ability to learn and prepare for college improve? Below, I have provided sources that are relevant to my paper and will help me develop my argument that standardized tests should be eliminated.
Source 1: Clemmitt, M. (2015, April 10). Teaching critical thinking. CQ Researcher, 25, 313-336. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/
Source 2: Moore, Michael, director. Where to Invade Next. Dog Eat Dog Films, 2016.
Source 3: National Council of Teachers of English. “How Standardized Tests Shape- And Limit- Student Learning."2014. Retrieved from http://cccc.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/CC/0242-nov2014/CC0242PolicyStandardized.pdf
Source 4: Taylor, Kate. “92 New York City High Schools to Give No-Fee SAT on Wednesday.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 Mar. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/03/02/nyregion/92-new-york-city-high-schools-to-give-no-fee-sat-on-wednesday.html.
Source 5: Wagner, Tony. The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don’t Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need--and What We Can Do about It. Basic Books, a Member of the Perseus Books Group, 2014.
Source 6: Walberg, Herbert J. "Standardized Tests Effectively Measure Student Achievement." Standardized Testing, edited by Dedria Bryfonski, Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints In Context, http://link.galegroup.com.libdb.dccc.edu/apps/doc/EJ3010478217/OVIC?u=pa_de_ccc&sid=OVIC&xid=94992545. Accessed 7 Apr. 2018. Originally published as "Stop the War Against Standardized Tests," Defining Ideas: A Hoover Institution Journal, 20 May 2011.
This blog addresses provides potential topics for my research paper. Using the documentary film Where to Invade Next, I chose three topics that I found interesting and that would make a good argument about how America can improve as a country. In Blog #9: Summary and Rhetorical Analysis of Where to Invade Next, I have written more information about the film. Below, I have provided a research question and brief argument about each topic.
Topic #1: Free college tuition in America
Topic #2: Better education in America
Topic #3: More benefits for jobs in America
This blog post focuses on the documentary film Where to Invade Next which features Michael Moore traveling to different countries. Below, I have provided a summary and a rhetorical analysis of the film. I will explain what Michael Moore learned from the various countries he visited and how ethos, logos, pathos, telos, and kairos are established. In the documentary Where to Invade Next, Michael Moore interviews people of all different countries in order to gain insight on how their societies work and compare them to America’s government system. First, Michael traveled to Italy to learn about the working benefits their citizens receive. He learned that Italians usually get eight weeks of paid vacation every year and women get five months of paid maternity leave. Similarly, Germany has only a thirty-six-hour work week and once their shift is over, they are not allowed to do anything work related. Their goal is to create less stress, which actually allows them to be more productive. In France, Michael learned that all schools, no matter how poor, get gourmet lunches everyday and get an hour to eat. Michael visited Finland where he discovered their secret to being the best country in regards to education. There, the children go to school for only four hours a day and have little-to-no homework. In addition, the teachers’ priority is the children’s happiness. In Slovenia, college tuition is free and some Americans even go there for education because tuition here is astronomically high. Crime is also handled much differently in other countries. In Portugal, there are no laws against drugs and no one is arrested for using them. When Michael went to Norway, he visited some of the prisons where he saw that the conditions were much different than the ones in our country. The prisoners were free to roam around the building and they each had access to a tv, books, a library, a pantry, and many other luxuries. In Tunisia and Iceland, women are equal to men and have more opportunities to advance in society. At the end of the film, Michael shared what he learned while he was at the Berlin Wall. He said that he was optimistic that America can overcome impossible obstacles in a short amount of time, just like how the Berlin Wall eventually fell. Many of the ideas the other countries had were all inspired by America’s ideas. We may have strayed away from some of them, but Michael suggests that we search our “lost and found” to further develop the way our society functions and how we treat people. How does Michael Moore establish ethos? In the film, Michael Moore does not establish ethos well when he is interviewing people from around the world about their lifestyle. The majority of the film is him asking questions to other people and then they give their answer. However, it is clear that Michael Moore has Democratic beliefs that Republicans would not agree with. For example, in Italy welfare is a “good word.” Michael replies that welfare is a “bad word” in America which implies that Republicans do not like increased taxes to provide welfare for the government. His questions to the people he is interviewing were focused largely on Democratic views that would support their political arguments, rather than asking questions that would support both parties. He established some ethos by letting other people talk throughout the film, however, Michael Moore himself is very biased. How does Michael Moore use logos? Logos is used in the film when Michael presents factual information to the audience. He uses the statistics of other countries and compares them to America. For example, he compares the tax rates of France and America. Michael is showing that even though France’s taxes are slightly higher, they include a lot more benefits unlike America. Another example is when Michael addressed the rate of crime after someone is released from prison. In America, 80% criminals usually end up back in prison within five years. However, in Norway, only 20% of criminals go back to prison. Michael’s use of logos thoroughly informs the audience of factual information. How does Michael Moore appeal to pathos? Michael appeals to pathos many times throughout the film by using video recordings taken during difficult times American history. For example, when the film shows the Norway prisons, American clips of police brutality and mistreatment of prisoners were shown. When the audience sees this, they most likely develop an emotional response to these videos. This emotion helps the viewers formulate an opinion about how governments should operate in addition to ethos and logos. What is Michael Moore's telos? Michael Moore’s telos is to discover the resources and successful ideas that other countries have and bring them back to America. His goal is to show the audience that we do not need an army to take away resources from other countries, but rather, we need to look for ways we can improve as a society in a peaceful manner. What is the kairos of this film? The kairos of this film is in modern time where a lot of changes are happening in America. The documentary was released in 2016 which is the year when the presidential election was approaching. The year before that, gay marriage became legal and now more and more states are legalizing marijuana. The timing of this film is very significant to its impact. Because so many changes are occurring, Michael Moore wants people to realize that it is possible to make more changes to fix the many problems we have in our country. He knew that now is the time to take action on new ideas before the issues in America become worse. |
Molly ZahnerI will use this blog to post my informal writing assignments for my English Composition I class. Archives
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