Entry #13

The argument that this poster, “Rosie the Riveter”, is making is that women can get involved and contribute to the success of the war. Before this period I feel that women were viewed as weak and delicate; however, by using an empowered woman such as Rosie, it becomes apparent that women are suppose to step into a new light. The first thing that catches my eye is the picture of the woman. She is vertical and tall taking up most of the space which would suggest strength and energy (Callaghan and Dobyns 131). She is also large, as are the words, which would suggest strength and importance (Callaghan and Dobyns 132). The arrangement of the poster really helps to convey the message that everyone needs to get involved in the war effort for the US to be successful. All the objects are in the center of the frame which immediately draws ones attention adding emphasis to the visual picture on the poster. The simple saying in the top portion of the space, “we can do it”, is written largely and seems to have excitement. This helps to establish the argument because it is very believable that the US can accomplish whatever it wants as long as everyone is along for the ride. There is open space surrounding the woman in the picture which suggests that this appeals to woman. It is creating independence through this. The woman herself is dressed like a fellow male worker would be, she still retains feminine qualities but she is made to look tough and strong. The main colors used are red, white, and blue, which are very fitting because this is a very patriotic poster. Also, yellow is used as the background color; this could have been done because it is a light color which would suggest safety and simplicity (Callaghan and Dobyns 132). This would be important because the government would want the American people to believe that the war was a simple thing that had to be conquered and that everyone would return home safely. The main argument of having women be involved in the war effort and making a difference is portrayed very well through this simple, yet powerful, design.

Entry #11

efore I read the comments on project #2 I already knew that I sometimes struggled with how to organize my writing. I usually have pretty solid ideas; however, they don’t always connect well. After reading the comments this was reiterated to me and I feel that that aspect of my writing is what I really need to focus on. In this project I thought that I used good voice trying to keep it from being too bland and boring. This was not addressed in the grading rubric; however, I feel that I usually do a good job of it. For this particular writing assignment I did not consider how the usage of one word would really confuse the reader. I used the word “style” to talk about the layout as well as the diction used and I did not put two and two together that it might be confusing to a reader. I need to be sure that I am considering my audience every time that I write. One comment said that I need to make sure that I distinguish one paragraph from another and I believe that this goes back to my organization and lack of thinking about the audience. By having the two articles in front of me what I wrote down made sense because I could actually see the differences in person and then view the documents to back it up. In the future I need to make sure that my paper is concise and easy for someone to read that does not know much about the assignment. There were also various comments about grammar and punctuation which I know I struggle with. In the future I will be sure to have someone peer edit my paper or take it to the writing center to iron out some of those mistakes.

Entry #14

8:00am- wrote on the white board in the locker room
9:25am- took notes in population biology
9:30am- wrote multiple song lyrics in the margins of my notes
10:20am- wrote down the homework I have to complete in my planner
10:45am- wrote multiple messages on facebook
11:15am- wrote an e-mail to a professor about babysitting
11:35am- wrote down song lyrics to look up on the computer
11:40am- texted on my cell phone
12:00pm- continues to text on my phone (pretty common theme)
1:00pm- wrote an e-mail to my grandma
1:15am- filled out a form at the lab
2:00pm – 4:00pm- studied for stats and history test, wrote down ideas and names so I could remember them better
5:00pm- wrote more messages on facebook
5:05pm- texted more on my cell phone
7:00pm - 9:00pm- wrote down ideas for project three, figured out my audience and finished the project #3 writing assignment
9:00pm – 10:00pm- wrote text messages and facebook messages

By documenting when I write throughout the day I noticed that I write far more on the computer and cell phone than I do by hand. If you would have asked me which I write on more before I did this exercise I would have guessed that I wrote more on the computer; however, I would have thought that I used them both more equally than I do. I believe that I use the computer and phone to write more because it is faster and easier for me, since there is a lovely thing called spell check! I’m not a very good speller therefore I feel more confident when using technology to write. I conduct much more informal writing than formal writing which I think is the same for a majority of people. People who love to write don’t necessarily enjoy formal writing, most people enjoy being expressive and creative through writing which tends to be more informal. Due to the fact that I produce more informal writing I spend more time doing personal writing rather than academic writing. This shocked me because I always feel that I am writing papers and constantly doing homework that requires me to write. In reality however, I am mostly getting on facebook and texting during the process of my academic writing which makes the whole process seem longer.

Entry #9

http://jobview.monster.com/GetJob.aspx?JobID=69821594&WT.mc_n=jobscomview

My name is Jess Luedtke and I am very interested in the job that is being offered. This position would be great for me because it is an entry level requirement and since I do not have much experience in the work force this will be a great opportunity to help me gain knowledge and experience. I have my high school diploma and am currently working on receiving a Bachelors degree from Elon University in biology. I believe that with my schooling at Elon I will be a good asset to the team and will bring valuable skills. I have been a part of a basketball team for the last ten or more years and I know how to work well with people in order to get things done. Aside from working well with the team that is already in place I would be very approachable and willing to help the clients. I have taught in many camps and feel confident in my ability to articulate information that is important for them to know about their pets. Also, I have worked with animals before at shelters and am very comfortable around them. The fact that this is part time is also appealing since I am trying to focus on completing summer courses to help me get closer in gaining my degree. Your location is perfect because it is right down the street from my house, causing me to be able to come into work at a moment’s notice. Thanks for your time and I hope you consider adding me to your team.

Entry #7

When beginning the speech it is very important to remember who the audience is that you are speaking to. Since this speech is to be delivered to an audience of inner-city high school students on why they should attend college I would strive to not sound too preachy and would focus mainly on the advantages that come from going to college. I would first ask for a quick poll of who already planned to attend college and then would ask them their feelings about going to college so that I could see where exactly my audience was coming from so I could gear my speech towards their needs. I would tell them of local colleges and universities as well as junior colleges that would be accessible to them. I would definitely let them know that there is financial aid available, such as loans and scholarships, so money should not be something that should keep them from going to college. Since I am an athlete here at Elon on a scholarship I would really stress the fact that scholarships (athletic and academic) are a great way to help pay for college. I would use a combination of pathos and logos to deliver my points and try to make it more convincing. I would try to use more pathos, explaining how fun college is and how many great experiences they will have. I would want to bring in a person, preferably someone famous, who was from the inner-city and went and found success in college. Since I am from a suburb I would not be able to connect to them very well and would want them to hear advice from someone who had been in their shoes before. I would be able to explain college to them since I am a freshman and have had to deal with a lot of the same issues as them when it comes to the selection of colleges. Using logos I would give them some statistics and try to show them that many jobs these days require education that extends past the high school level. Hopefully by combining all of the above strategies the speech would be strong and convince at least one student to go to college.

Entry #10

1. This semester I have learned how to organize my time and how to plan out my writing. I have also learned to do multiple drafts which has really helped me to develop more in depth papers.

2. Mainly for the other courses I take I will try to implement everything that we have talked about for the writing process and the use of rhetorical strategies. Even though this does not have a lot to do with writing, I plan on using the skills we learned in the library to help me with any research that I may have to do in my other classes. Recently I had to find sources about Yellow Journalism for history and it took me about two seconds to find sources because I knew exactly what to do and where to look for everything.

3. From this course there are a lot of technical definitions and skills that I may not remember ten years from now; however, I am sure that I will remember that I learned it’s ok to procrastinate every once in a while. Before taking this course I believed that procrastination was a “bad thing” but after doing readings for class and talking in discussion I have come to realize that it is a part of the writing process that even the most tenured and professional writers cannot avoid entirely.

4. I still have the same bad habit of waiting too long to start a paper and getting distracted once I have started; despite that, I can say that when I walk away from this course I will be able to say that I have grown as a writer. Even though I still procrastinate I find myself thinking about my paper more frequently than I did before. I believe that I do more planning when writing a paper than I have done in the past. Also, before taking this course I use to use the word “however” a lot and only became aware of this recently. Since it had been brought to my attention I have tried to limit my use of the word and instead pick other transition words that help my paper to flow. This may be a small change; but, I think it will help my papers to be more interesting and enjoyable to read.

Entry #6

Readying “Shitting First Drafts” by Anne Lamott really made me feel like I was not alone in the whole writing process. Before reading this chapter I felt that I was the only person who absolutely dreaded the whole process of writing. Although some of her analogies are a little extreme I would have to agree that the whole process can feel like teeth are being pulled out (Lamott 22).
I like how even though the chapter talked a lot about how much people hate writing when starting out, it also focused on ways to help one through the ordeal. I feel that I am one of those people that likes to sit down and be able to produce a master piece the first go around. I realize this is very unrealistic; however, I always feel that if my first draft is not amazing then the paper will not have a chance to develop. From readying “Shitty First Drafts” I realize that at least one person feels this way, but that it’s OK if it’s not right on the mark the first time. I really like how she describes the different drafts. The first draft being the down draft, the second draft being the up draft, and then the third draft being the dental draft (Lamott 25). I think that I liked this so much because it felt like it was being written specifically for me and the style of writing that I like to do. I am not the one to plan, I much rather like getting things down right away to make it feel like I am doing something even if it does look like a child wrote it.