Jack Babin
Metamorphosis: Authur to Author
Part 1
1. Compose for particular audiences and purposes.
a. This objective was to target a specific audience and to convey reasoning and
explanations concerning the general topic. In the Critic’s Review Essay, a certain
audience was targeted when writing about a movie, television show, etc. by using
ways of connecting typical stereotypes of a type of genre the picture would fall
under. By relating to similar movies, plots, or characters, this may get the reader’s
attention depending on their own personal sense of what they like to see in a
motion picture; which may reflect on age, interests, hobbies, lifestyles, etc.
Basically, by directing your essay towards a certain crowd you can convince them
of your opinion of wanting to see the movie you enjoyed. Advertisements use this
technique as well, except mainly through the use of a visual aid. Nike has the
ability to attract its customers by showing professional athletes use and wear their
brand. This appeals to a younger generation motivated in fitness, sports, or
healthy activities that helps them strive to be the best they can be. As a popular
sports sensation for the Pro’s, people who look up to these talented athletes are
bound to use the same products. Speaking out to a particular audience enhances
the realistic approval of who would actually be interested in the goal you are
trying to accomplish.
2. Compose using language and conventions appropriate to genre.
a. By consisting of no spelling or grammar mistakes; appropriate vocabulary terms
and definitions, and avoiding the usage of “to be” verbs, you can utilize different
styles of writing to your advantage. The conventions of the print advertisement
sheet that we handed out during our presentations did not include lots of text; all
the words used were short and sweet. The key to creating an advertisement is
defining the object through appeal of the visual sense, and mentally by simply
employing a few catch phrases to get the consumer thinking. For example, Nike
uses the phrase “Just Do It”, often along with a popular sports figure wearing their
famous text on a t-shirt. This works great for them because they are promoting
their young audience of mainly athletes to get out there and be active in what they
do best. In other regards, typing up the narrative paper considered an alternate
style of writing. Everything is structured; you want to tell a story through a
detailed dialogue using evidence to support your thesis and backup everything
you have to say. Vocabulary is more highly advanced and spelling/grammar
mistakes are unacceptable. In writing a structural narrative, using these
conventions is fundamental requiring the reader being able to receive a strong
perception on your topic. If the reader can feel your emotions of a life-changing
event concerning the general message of your essay, then you have done a swell
job.
3. Read, select, and use evidence critically to formulate and support arguments.
a. You must keep your essay organized while staying on topic throughout the essay,
addressing a new piece of evidence in each paragraph exploiting concrete details.
The Critic’s Review essay demonstrates this ideally. In order to critique a piece of
art, it’s mandatory that you have evidence to back up your thesis. If one claims
that a movie is “awesome” and can’t even give one reason why he/she feels that
way, then why would you believe them? The argument’s reinforcement is what
has the ability to persuade or interest the reader. For example, a favored character
noted for many great movies mentioned as a piece of supporting evidence would
work out great, as long as you can back it up. In my essay, I used Bradley Cooper,
and claimed that I could see the pain and suffering in his eyes as he was yelling at
his parents in one scene. This shows his heart was really in the movie and many
people are fans of Cooper, which could come through in my favor. A great deal of
more evidence is needed to back up a reason giving it worthiness for the reader to
interpret. Reading and selecting refers to the evidence you choose to support your
argument, depending on personal perspective. I accomplished this by merely
watching “Silver Lining Playbook” more than once so I got a fuller understanding
of the movie in detail. Instead of just watching the movie per say in bits and
pieces; with distractions and other nuisances, I paid good attention and made sure
I understood it.
4. Interpret and compose in a variety of media and print/non-print genres.
a. Advertisements can speak their own words when thought about more extensively
and apprehensively. They convey messages relating to their specific audience and
are intended to strike a component in the mind which poses a consideration in
buying their product. The advertisement we examined in class with the two
people and the RV (between pages 264-265) presents more than merely a couple
going on a camping trip. This class taught me to think outside of the box, and
become more observant to what these Ads are genuinely expressing. The camera
is zoomed out and it’s only the couple sitting on an enormous rock figure,
surrounded by open field and mountains beyond that. It’s just starting to get dark
as the moon is at half, beautiful sky view as they are staring into the stars with the
rest of civilization miles away. Besides each other, they only have their RV and a
campfire and must have not a worry in the world, disregarding the rest of society
and getting away from it all. This escape from society infers that there are no rules
or regulations being that there’s nobody around for miles, giving a sensation of
freedom and independence. Assuming they are a happily married couple, this is
the trip they have been looking forward too, getting away from the kids and work
and finally being with only each other. They get the quality time they need
together without all of the distractions which is what nearly all older couples seek
to have from time to time. Advertisements are one thing to ponder upon, while
interpreting articles of genres may be a little harder to depict, they too should
raise questions regarding the main subject. In the introduction of our text (Popular
Signs), America’s culture is discussed in an interesting way referring to how we
have become the way we are. It makes you think about topics that wouldn’t
normally come to your mind. In class we asked ourselves, “What are the most
important cultural products today” and “what cultural products best represent who
we are as a culture today”. Cognitive thinking centers on this objective, leading to
intensifying your thoughts beyond merely the main picture.
5. Describe and apply appropriate writing processes both individually and in
collaborative texts.
a. I have learned this semester that revision is the key to success in writing a
proficient paper. Different styles of essays require their own technique for editing.
For example, revising for a narrative would be dissimilar than revising for a
Critic’s Review. The narrative, based upon a nonfiction event told in a story,
demands more background information so the reader can have a better picture in
their head while understanding the story. Details should be in depth generating
thorough knowledge of what exactly is going on, giving a sense of what it would
be like to be a character in the essay. In a critic’s review, more reasons regarding
your argument ought to take place in the paper along with supporting details.
Persuasion is the principal focus of the review, which is why your supporting
evidence is crucial in grasping the reader’s attention. Peer-editing is also a great
way to revise because it’s harder to pick up on your own mistakes than to point
out somebody else’s. Revising a peers paper can help provides positive criticism
to ultimately improve the content of the essay.
Part Two
1. The quality of my work this semester was good, and I thought that it had improved
significantly throughout the course. At first, I was a tad nervous in writing the consumer
report because I hadn’t written a paper in a long time. Being a summer/January student I
was free from school for a semester and when I got back it felt like a while. Anyway,
after typing up the essay I felt confident and figured I did a good job. It turns out I was
wrong after receiving an almost failing grade and realized I had to spend more time
revising my work before handing it in. I used to never believe in rough drafts, but I now
know editing is the key to successfully finalizing your paper. I revised my last two papers
and saw lots of improvement, more than I expected to see from simply noticing my own
mistakes while proofreading. Overall, I thought I did a good job and pushed myself to
become a better writer due to a critique grading scale upon our work.
2. The most challenging assignment this semester was the Critic’s Review essay. It’s not
easy to convince someone to like the same thing that you do in a paper, so I had to come
up with solid reasons and supporting details. Persuasion is a unique skill that not
everyone possesses and especially through the use of writing. It was tricky attempting to
reach out to your specific audience being aimed at. This involved precise reasons for
convincing your targeted audience and by making sure they all connect together to fit
what they want to hear out of your topic. Details behind these reasons are the backbone
of sealing the deal for supporting your evidence. This essay forced me to realize that I
have a habit of lacking enough explanation aiding the main topic of my papers. The
supporting evidence conveying the reasons of my essays need to be more in depth and to
a clearer understanding. If I can apply this to my writing style, I will be able to get the
point across to the reader in an interesting and understandable manner.
3. The brand analysis project taught me the most in regards to the ways of using
advertisements to your advantage. I learned that there is much more to an advertisement
than simply just showing your product on a billboard or a commercial. First and most
importantly, a specific audience is aimed towards which can be depicted by an age group,
gender, style of living, hobbies, or a variety of other things. Depending upon the audience
is how you want to create your ad. For example, Nike’s audience is aimed at a younger
generation who enjoy sports or any other kind of fitness/exercise. They pay famous sports
figures to wear and use their products to attract attention to their company.
Advertisements tend to be visually appealing enhancing the viewer’s sense of urgency to
obtain their product. They use methods of persuasion known as pathos, ethos, and logos
basically representing consistency, trustworthiness, and emotional appeal. I feel quite
confident in the interpretation and composition of ads and their functions. In the future,
reflecting to these senses will help in being able to connect with the reader in my essays.
By keeping in mind what the people want to hear and how to feed them the information
will be beneficial in reaching out to gaining their attention.
4. I spent the least amount of time working on the consumer report, hence it was the first
essay for the course and I did not know what to expect. It was my first real semester at
college, and I handed in my paper having not spent nearly enough time editing and
revising. My rough draft was basically my final draft, leading to the lack of secondary
thoughts and improvements. This reflected upon the grade I received for the paper in a
negative way, as it should have.
5. My greatest weakness throughout my writing career regards the concern of using too
many “to be” verbs in my essays. They resemble lack of sophistication towards
constructing stronger, better quality sentences. It is an essential tool using the flow of
your sentences to pull in the reader’s attention. The structure of how a writer uses his/her
words to get the point across is a crucial concept in wanting the reader to keep reading.
These verbs are boring and simple, and also create the conception of the author’s
deficiency of knowledge. I do my best to extract this habit in the revising of my papers
and by doing so it has compressed the connotation concerning simplicity and has given
my work a much better vibe. The sensation a reader can receive from an article is
composed upon the general flow of the way the sentences are constructed. The process of
eliminating the “to be” verbs has helped bring my essays to life and overall greatly
improved my work.
6. The performance of my work has significantly gotten better over this semester, but easily
improved the most in being able to compose to a particular audience. This aspect helps
create the knowledge given to write to whatever the targeted reader wants to hear.
Depending on the topic or message you’re trying to tell, being able to relate to their
emotional appeals or general feelings based on this specific audience will attract their
interest to a higher extent. I have learned that this quality is the key to gaining and
maintaining the attention of your reader. Almost every assignment we did throughout the
course reflected on this topic explaining how crucial it is to use the audience to your
advantage. Whether it concerns the persuasion through advertisements or message given
in an article, your audience is the one to please and giving them what they want to
see/hear is a necessary factor to consider beforehand.
7. The group project assigned in class was my most proud assignment for the semester. I
thought it was much easier to make an advertisement through the basis of PowerPoint
than to write a paper. We all worked together and designed a product in which we
successfully accomplished. A shoe with many more traits than simply looks, came
together well in creating other useful aspects a young athlete would like to see in their
choice of sneakers. Along with the famous figures used in promoting our product, we
made advertisements that the audience could not ignore. In the ads, we included certain
quality traits of the shoe and placed the ads where it would be seen daily by our audience.
All in all, I thought we did an exceptional job in promoting our product and making it to
become a “must have” to its viewers.
8. I came to the office hours multiple times and I found it very useful taking the time out of
the day to make it there. Whenever I had any uncertainties or questions about an
assignment, they were always answered clearly and helped me get a better understand of
the matter. I made sure that I didn’t respond to an essay not meeting the correct
expectations and requirements. It was very convenient in knowing that if I ever had any
questions about class that I could head over to the office hours and they would be
answered directly by the professor.
9. I learned that in order to understand an article to the fullest extent, I have to carefully read
the assignment more than just once to get all the information. Sometimes when I am
reading, I miss certain details that could possibly be crucial in depicting the message or
underlying themes of the text. The assignment we talked about in class regarding “Are
video games an art” was the one I found most interesting. It could be looked at either
way, but I felt that they are an art because of the way they are carefully constructed and
the creativity needed to make a popular game is incredible. The reactions that I receive
from each assignment do reflect on how I feel about it, but I’ve learned to look at
different perspectives in order to gain a better general view about a topic.
10. The peer workshops used in class were a great way of getting some helpful criticism on
your essays. As mentioned before, sometimes you don’t pick up on your own mistakes
and by having someone else read your paper they can tell you what you did good and
what has some room for improvement. Also, they can fix some spelling/grammar errors
and tell you if you missed on any key points mentioned in the rubric. Student editing is
not advised to bring you down; it’s a productive way of making useful changes to your
paper. I liked doing the peer workshops and they have only been beneficial in regards to
helping other students, and students helping me.
11. I found this class to be interesting for the most part, the only aspect that I had found
“boring” was reading the homework assignments every night. It was cool getting to see
everybody’s different outlooks on the assignments, gaining new ways to take
perspectives on certain topics. The only reason I say this is because I’m not too fond of
reading, consideration that there are easier ways of doing so. For example, when we had
to watch the episode of Workaholics, it works better for me understanding a concept
when I get to see and hear it through those senses. My preparation and participation had
gotten much better as the course went on, at first I was slacking off a little bit. When it
came to my attention, I stepped up to the plate and starting doing a lot better in class and
out of class.
12. As I just mentioned, my participation was poor at the start of the semester, but it greatly
exceled as I went forward. If I personally had to grade myself on participation, I would
take into matter that I significantly improved throughout the course. The large class
discussions were most interesting to me because everybody had a different outlook on the
topic and we could come to a final generalization after hearing what everyone had to say.
This was most effective toward me in being able to start thinking outside of the box and
come to more conclusions than simply just one thought.
Part Three
Final Reflection:
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1). I have become more confident as a writer, primarily due to an honest critique of
my work. My parents have always been fanatical about having strong written and
oral communication skills. They stressed the importance of sentence composition
and structure, and obsessed on spelling and punctuation. I didn’t understand until
now how one’s writing skills, or lack thereof, can influence how others perceive
intelligence levels. This was their point…and I believe I understand it now. Their
generation was not exposed to text and e-mail communication as the ‘norm,’ and
although they utilize this technology, they refuse to compromise the English
language, and its rules when they utilize these means of communication. I was a
‘sloppy’ writer, and in reality, a ‘lazy’ writer. I can see the significance of the
concept now, and want to continue improving my skills.
2). Paragraph revision example:
Before: At a typical college party with 100 attendees, 78 percent of them are
social drinkers, 20 percent are people barely drinking (and only there because their friends
brought them to the event), and two percent of them are people that are there because they need
to be. Phil fell into the category of this 2% when he was young, and if had had only realized that
at the time, and sought help, who knows where he could have ended up in life.
After: At a typical college party, many people are social drinkers, some barely
drink (and only there because their friends brought them to the event), and a small percentage of
them are people that are there because they need to be. Phil fell into the latter category when he
was young, and if had had only realized that at the time, and sought help, who knows where he
could have ended up in life.
As indicated in the review comments related to my essay on substance abuse, I
did not back my comments up by citing a source. In essence, I was ‘called’ on my choice of
words and statistics. The reality is there was no basis to them; they were fabricated, and
therefore false. By re-wording these sentences, I was able to make my point, and in terms
my audience could accept as plausible. In the future, I could reference specific statistics or
percentages, but would understand the need to corroborate such a statement with a reliable
source.