Living Sources

While reading the Curious Researcher by Bruce Bullenger, I found plenty of useful information for conducting my surveys or possibly my interviews. I learned that you can find experts to interview in a variety of places. These places include sources, yellow pages, and the internet. By finding experts to interview it makes your research paper seem even more accurate and reliable. Also, before interviewing your interviewees I need to ask myself what is the point of this interview and make sure to ask specific and open-ended questions. I learned that I should also keep in mind that interview should be more conversational.

 On the other hand, I learned that surveys should not be conversational and straight forward. Therefore, when conducting a survey I should give a brief introduction on what and why I am conducting the survey. Surveys, unlike interviews, should be short and typically not more than seven questions. Surveys can be made and taken over the internet, but the problem with online surveys is getting the people you want to take the survey. Also, a survey over the phone is another option. Phone surveys are more direct and you are more likely to get more honest answers because the people answering feel more anonymous. In conclusion, when interviewing or conducting a survey, the people or experts you choose to ask should help you find out what you don't know.

Blog Reflections

I learned from writing my first draft that it is challenging trying to analyze articles and use them in different ways to support your argument. I also am having a hard time finding strong counter arguments to make my argument stronger because most of my sources have the same views. My paper needs a literature review section because it helps me understand more clearly what each of my sources are arguing and reminds me to use them as support and not as the main voice of my paper. I found that most of the research I found didn't support socioeconomic position having an effect on college children weight gain. Therefore, hopefully my research will fill this gap in the studies of college students and gaining weight their freshman year. I also hope to make ISU college freshman more aware of the "freshman 15" and how to stay healthy without being unhappy.

Chapter 3 incorporating quotes

When incorporating a quote in one's paper it is important to introduce the quote and after the quote provide and explanation of the quote and how it relates to your argument.Gerald Graff, a scholarly author of the 2011 book They Say, I Say, creates a more clear visual picture. Graff states, "To adequately frame a quotation, you need to insert it into a quotation sandwich..."(46). I wholeheartedly agree with Graff, a "quotation sandwich" is a must.  It helps the reader's clarity on the authors purpose of the quotes they choose to use.

Chapter 3 and 5 of "They say, I say"

Three main ideas that I found in chapter three of "They Say, I Say" is one, when putting a quote in your paper it can't stand alone. Quotes must have a statement to introduce it and explanation at the end. Second, as you revise your paper and rewrite drafts it is important to revise your quote selection. It is important to revise quotes when you revise your drafts because quotes that you may have in previous drafts may not relate to your argument in the final draft. The last and most important main idea is, make sure to use accurate quotes. This conveys to the reader that you have done your research. These main ideas will be helpful when deciding on what quotes to use in my paper and how to use the quotes I choose in a way that won't confuse the reader.

Three main ideas I found in chapter five of The Say, I Say" is one, when displaying many different perspectives on a topic the writer must make it clear to the reader which perspective they are arguing to be true. Second, when writing a paper it is important to find quotes that you can disagree with and rebut against in your paper. Therefore, by showing someone’s opinion to be wrong you make your perspective seem even more valid. Third, when writing certain papers it is important to use "voice markers." Voice markers help the reader know the difference between the authors view and sources the author includes in their paper. Therefore, by using "X argues" in the beginning of stating someone’s different opinion. In conclusion, I learned when I begin writing my research paper it is important for me to include voice markers to provide clarity for my readers.

Questions to ask?

I am writing about Illinois State University college students becoming overweight during their first semester. I am writing for ISU college students so the can stay healthy and incoming freshman that will arrive next year. I want to focus on the different reasons why college students become overweight. Some assumptions I have made was that social class, stress, or/and a change in their lifestyles. I  hope to answer if college students actually gain weight during the first semester of college or later on in their college lives. I plan to collect different statistics and doctors views on this particular topic. I will also interview my peers and ask them their opinion about this topic. The conclusion I have drawn is that college students have problems with weight management. I do not know if my conclusion is factual and that is a huge gap in my research.

Response to Overweight ISU Students Questions

My topic raises other questions, such as the effects of belonging to a certain social class and plenty of food  question I can ask the people of Illinois State University (ISU) that eat on campus. I wouldn't say I feel strongly about this topic, but it's definitely a topic I have always been curious about finding information about. I believe there have probably been many other studies that doctors or professors have done on overweight college students. I don't feel that this topic will be an intellectual challenge, but it may lead me to a social issue of what does "looking good" actually mean.

BRAINSTORMING FOR RESEARCH PAPER

While brainstorming for my research topic I came up with three possible subjects. These subjects included Facebook effect on happiness, overweight college students, or reality shows. I decided to narrow my subjects down to one subject, overweight college student. I picked overweight college students because almost all of my peers have a problem with controlling their weight. I also picked this topic because I had the most questions for this topic. Why do most college students gain the "freshman 15”? Does how healthy you eat depend on social class? Do people know how many calories they should consume in a day? Does college students' busy schedule affect the way they eat? Is depression or anxiety the cause of over eating? This topic is significant to everyone in college, but I will be focusing on Illinois State University (ISU) College students because I can interview some of my peers there. I can talk about all the dinning centers on campus and if they have enough healthy options for both meat eaters and vegetarians. I hope that by writing this research paper and answering my questions about overweight ISU students I can prevent them from being unhealthy and overweight.

How I Fell In Love With Post-It Notes and Researcing One in Six Million (Response)

While reading Researching and How I Fell in Love with Post-It Notes by Susana Rodriguez, I found her research strategies somewhat relatable. Rodriguez breaks these research strategies down into tree steps: “Load the Research Guns,” “Fire without Aiming,” and “Walk away from Everything.” Her first step is "loading the guns " she makes sure she has all her supplies such as, pens, highlighters, post-it -notes and a comfortable spot to start her work. The second step includes “fire without aiming” by this she means, reads critically and slowly so it can understood more in depth exactly what is being said in the reading. The last step she does before the actual writing process is "walk away". She “walks away” by running errands or by taking a day or two break to the city.

However, while I follow the same steps as Rodriguez for preparing to write a research paper I do them in a somewhat different order with an additional forth step. My first step includes getting all of my research together; this includes books, scholarly journals, etc. My second step involves grabbing all of my supplies such as highlighters, a notebook, paper, pens, etc. My third step includes finding a quiet place to actively read and take notes on subjects I may want to include in my paper. My fourth and final step is almost the same as Rodriguez's third step, it includes taking a break. On the other hand, instead of running errands or getting out of town I get on Facebook, talk with friends, and eat junk food. Whatever the process to writing a research paper may be, is it is always a challenge.  

The second passage I read, Researching One in Six Million, by Hilary Selznick was an emotional piece. Selznick reminded me that research doesn't have to be boring. When one is able to choose the research topic, the research paper may end up being one of the greatest papers one has ever written. This is mainly because when one is passionate about a topic they want to display it in the best way possible to their audience. I also admired Selznick's determination to follow through with her research despite her mother’s discouragement. Selznick's, story was more than inspiring and she encouraged me to find out the mysteries of my own family history.

My Linguistic Landscape

          The linguistic landscape option that spoke most to my emotions is the death penalty. Not only is it unjust to take anyone's life it relates to my black history. Black people were and have always been the most likely to get the death penalty. This is an issue that most people don't talk about or think about. I want to create a poster that expresses how negatively I feel towards the death penalty.

          I have also done some primary research on the Troy Davis case. Troy Davis received the death penalty with no forensic evidence linking him to the death of a police officer. The death penalty has been the cause of many African Americans deaths, and majority of the time without any evidence just as the Troy Davis case. I hope to create a poster and put it in a location where it is most visible to everyone, such as the center of the Illinois State University's quad. I want to use pictures that tell a story. Therefore, an abundance of words will be unnecessary. The picture should tell the story of why African Americans use to get the death penalty, and what they are still getting the death penalty for today compared to other races. I want to use a contrast of bright and dull colors and use different variety of markers and crayons. I hope that by using more pictures than words and bright and dull colors I will get the attention of many people. I hope by getting the attention of many people the death penalty will stop.

Reading Visual Texts: A Bullet for Your Arsenal by Susana Rodriguez (Response)

Susana Rodriguez does a great job of describing how advertisers and promoters get attention. Rodriguez uses the example of the i pod throughout the chapter to describe the strategies of colors, objects, angles, and locations advertisers use to draw the audience's attention. By using contrasting colors in a certain order the advertisers are more likely to get their audience's attention. Additionally, advertisements place objects in certain way that tell a story that will appeal to their audience. Angles also help to draw in an audience because they can help make the audience draw their attention to certain aspects of the advertisement. Location is also important. Advertisers also take into consideration where they put their advertisements that will be the most visible to their audience.

By reading Rodriguez text I have learned that colors, objects, and placing can tell a story without the addition of words.Pictures display a message. For example, in the text Rodriguez talks about her family portrait at Disney World that showed how happy they were even if they really weren't. The picture showed that they all had a great time at Disney World because the picture displayed a scenic beautiful location and the smiles on their faces represented they were having or had a great time.
 

Grafitti

I'm not sure who drew these pictures. I chose them because I feel that they both display an important message that some people struggle with in their everyday lives.

The first picture resembles planes in the form of a McDonalds' logo heading toward the twin towers that were once in New York until 9/11. Most people have moved on and tried to forget the tragic event of 9/11. However, this artist not only reminds his audience of the visual picture from that day, he writes the words "EAT THIS" he puts it in all capital letters. By putting "EAT THIS" in caps the artist shows that he wants to direct his audiences' attention to the whole art piece, not just the picture. he two words. This artist is straight forward in this art piece and draws something everyone almost internationally recognizes, the McDonalds icon and contrasting it what most are also familiar with, 9/11. By carefully analyzing this piece, I feel that this artist's target audience are the people who have tried to forget or haven't put much thought into that tragic day. The  message  I received from this art piece was that 9/11 was a hard situation swallow/take in.

The second art piece resembles a homless man that would usually hold up a sign saying, "I'm homeless, please give any spare change," however this sign is different it reads, "KEEP YOUR COINS I WANT CHANGE." I think the artist wants his audience to mainly analyze the words of his graffiti and not the picture. In particular this artist plays with the word "change". The artist's target audience is probably the government that don't help the people that have nothing and are on the street. By this man holding up a sign sitting down bundled in jackets one can assume that he would be begging for money, but he is actually begging for something greater than money, change in the world. He is not just begging for himself, he is begging for everyone that wants change in the government. Perceptions of this art work can be changed by anyone because it doesn't say exactly who the audience is or what is exactly meant by "change".

Interviewing Biruk

Biruk is from Ethiopia where he spoke Amharic. He grew up speaking Amharic, but he speaks more English with everyone. He can’t read Amharic, but he speaks it well with his grandparents and family. He learned how to talk from mostly his aunts, uncles, and cousins. When he was five he came to America and learned English because it was around him. He would see English on TV and in school. Although his aunts and uncles didn’t have accents, it was still hard for him to learn how to say the same thing in English and Amharic. For example, he would say "Take one, me?" instead of "Can I take one?"

Now that Biruk is older he talks in a more serious and formal tone at school. When he is around his friends his sentences are short, not detailed, and straightforward. Around his family he talks to his elders with respect and not much joking and sometimes in Amharic. However, around his sisters and brothers he talks to them like they are his friends. Although Biruk was not born here he has adopted English as his own language.

Critiquing and Changing Genre" and "Getting Personal"

 

                 “Critiquing and Changing Genre,” uses a formal tone that describes genre from the readers’ point of view. This text is informative on two ways of evaluating genre. One way includes “thinking critically”, which means reading in depth and looking for certain “patterns” to make certain assumptions, values, and goals of the writer. However, when you read a certain genre in a “critiquing way,” you are questioning, judging and zooming in on the strengths and weaknesses of the genre/writer. Also this text includes how changing the genre relates to the people who use them. This displays the importance of the connection that is needed between the writer and their genre of work. As a whole this text includes many elaborate examples that are hard to relate to as a reader. The lack of relation to the text and the reader makes it more challenging to interpret.

On the other hand, “Getting Personal” by Irene Taylor, is written in an opposite style. She writes from the point of view of a writer not a reader. More specifically she writes about writing a personal essay genre. Taylor shows how to write for yourself while still being conscious of your audience. By giving examples from her writing experiences, she lets the reader know that writing is mainly about being vulnerable especially when writing a personal essay.  

Instead of giving step by step instructions on what a writer should do, Taylor uses a conversational tone. For example she says, “The recounting of my experience as a victim (yes, VICTIM)…” By Taylor writing victim twice in the same sentence not too far from each other, and putting the second victim in caps, it can be assumed that these are signals to the reader. She wants to stress to the reader that their attention should be drawn in and/or amazed by what is, or is about to be said. She gives plenty of indirect suggestions while tying them into examples from her life, this makes the text easy to read and comprehend.

MY LANGUAGE

The language I feel most attatched to is the informal English that I speak in my family. I feel comfortable because I don't have to try to say complete sentences.I feel that the language I speak with my family is not appreciated in school, but looked down apon. I do not see my language in any of the assignments in class. I feel like I don't have an accent. However, when I attend family reunions all of my relatives say I sound "country." They say the same words I say, but somehow its sounds like I stress my vowels more in words. I believe I talk the way I do because my mom side of the family is from a small town in Missouri where they talk really different from formal language.

From Outside, In (response)

1.                    The title, "From Outside, In" refers to how Mellix feels about Standard English. She is an “outsider”; she is not a part of the white Standard English culture and never will be. The “In” part of the title refers to where she soon gets to see what it’s like to be a part of the "Standard English culture" that was foreign to her before.

2.                    Mellix has known the difference between Standard English and Black English ever since she was little. She knew that when she would talk improperly in public her mother wouldn’t be happy. However when she and her mother where not in public she was not “scolded” by her mother when she didn’t use Standard English. Black English was more appreciated at home and around family than anywhere else.
                    At first Mellix found it hard to switch back between the two types of English. Her mind would have to try hard to fix her lips to say simple Standard English sentences. However, when she moved to Pennsylvania with her aunt and uncle, she learned from them how to switch from Standard English to Black English and even combine the two.

3.                    As a young black woman it was hard not to look like a "traditional outsider" when speaking Standard English to white people. On the other hand, if she used Standard English towards other blacks she would risk being made fun of for trying to be “better” than them. For example, when Mellix and her siblings argued and she used a proper the Standard English word "Superior" and was made fun of for sounding "uppity."  Mellix felt pain for having to use Standard English because she felt as if she was turning her back on her "blackness."       

4.                    Mellix parents used different strategies to teach her the power of Standard English. Her father's way of teaching her was through short life stories. For example, when her dad was on an airplane the stewardess referred to him as “Sir” because he was a gentleman. He was a gentleman because he used proper English. Her mother on the other hand, showed her that it made her proud when her daughter used Standard English.
                     The power of language, in my opinion, is the ability to use your words in a way that can have and mass effect on people. Language is powerful it depends mainly on the how you use it. For example, President Obama is such a powerful speaker because he uses words that are relatable to others while still using proper English. Obama uses proper English so he will sound and be classified as relevant and sophisticated. However, he uses proper language in a way that is not hard to interpret to the average person; rather they speak Black English or Standard English. He uses language in this way because it’s a part of who he is and what he stands for. Language is powerful. The difficulty is to find the foundation of the language and then make the language apart of who you are as a person.

5.                    When Mellix first started off in college her writing was straight to the point it lacked any detail, context, or sophisticated language. However, as she practiced and wrote more her writing gained what it lacked in the beginning. She was able to "use better words", as her teacher had mentioned in one of her earlier papers. In the end, she learned that her teachers could only give her the foundation of what was needed to be a great writer. She imagined that she was a part of this “Standard English culture” so she could master it and perhaps make it even better.  

Mommy

It's seven in the morning and already I hear my mom's loud voice ripping through my dreams saying, "Diamond are you up?” I wake up and walk up the cold wooden stairs.  At the top of the stairs I see her in the kitchen boiling water in the kettle. I know she has been up for some time because her dark brown curly hair smelled of shampoo. Her short body was covered with light blue jeans and a bright orange shirt which were exempt from any possible wrinkle. The front doorbell rings. I look at my mom as she walks toward the door and I started to think about her.

My Mom is in her late thirties and an entrepreneur, she owns “Peace and Blessings Home Day Care”. This is the perfect job for her because not only was it one of her life long goals to own her own business, she was able to hire me as her assistant. This meant I had the perfect boss for the summer. Although she can be insensitive to my feelings sometimes, she is easy to talk to most of the time. Sometimes the twelve hour day at the day care felt like five because we would make the day as fun as possible.

My Mom is my idol she is the queen of multi-tasking and making the best out of any situation. Although she makes it clear that we can't be best friends yet, she is much better than any best friend I can have. She gives great advice and probably lives her life more to the fullest than I ever could.

"Diamond, don't you hear me calling you girl," my mom says. I snap out of my deep thought, I start to hear the loud cry of a beautiful chocolate brown skin baby coming through the front door. The baby is placed in my weary arms and I look down to see her tears streaming down her small button face. She smells of baby powder and Similac milk. At the time it felt like it was going to be a long dreadful day, but then I thought if my mom could get through it, AND would be there to help me, I could do anything.

Why and When We Speak Spanish in Public (response)

Marquez explains that her family has not adopted the English language as their official language because it is a sign of respect to talk to her parents in their native language. Speaking their native language not only shows respect, it displays her heritage. If I were standing next to Marquez and her family speaking Spanish, I wouldn't take it offensive and probably wouldn't notice. Marquez and her family would probably be “invisible” to me because I have constantly been exposed to Spanish speaking people in my community. However, if Marquez and her family looked at me in a mean way and the tone of their Spanish was loud and cut throat, I would be offended. I would assume from bad body language and tone that they were talking badly about me in Spanish.

Marquez would stop speaking Spanish if her parents met someone who didn't speak Spanish. If I became bilingual I would also switched to English if I needed to communicate with someone who didn't speak my language. I feel that it is important to switch into English because it's a sign of respect to speak your native language to your family. On the other hand, it is also a sign of respect to speak to people in a mutual language that you both know.

“Why and When We Speak Spanish in Public” is powerful because it is geared toward people who are and are not bilingual. It shows people who are not bilingual a little bit of what it's like being bilingual and why bilingual people speak their native language in America. It is also easily relatable to the people who are bilingual and may feel misunderstood. This writing is more conversational and informal, this makes this special genre easy to read and process. Marquez uses a tone that is pleasant and situations that anyone can relate to, for example, "...shopping with my mother or standing in line with stepdad to order fast food..." This writing is informative without any clutter of sophisticated words or phrases which is greatly affective to reader.

Why Genre is Important

While reading “Reading as a writer of Genres” by Jordana Hall and “Exercise in Genre” by Erin Frost, I have learned more of why genres are important and useful.  When writing a genre it is important for one to have the target audience in mind first. Jordana Hall talks about a flyer which is a great example of how the audience plays a huge role in genre. When urgency is the purpose of the genre it is important to include, what, when, and where in the beginning and put all other details after. By putting the more important information in the beginning people who want to know quickly what the text is mainly about will know right away. Erin Frost supports the findings of Hall.

 Genre is important because it helps the writer stay relevant. Frost gives more insight on how you write about different topics that fall under one genre, by using the “Quad”. By using the “Quad”, one creates a chart that has one general subject then four separate boxes that are separated by different topics that still relate to the main subject. This is an important skill to have when writing for a specific genre because a great writer needs to be able to appeal to a specific audience on different intellectual levels without confusing the reader. Genre is essential to every writer and it is important to know how to use it in a variety of ways.

Text, Food Menu, and Textbook

When I read a text I have to be able to analize short hand writing. For example I have to get my mind ready to process word such as "wht" instead of "what" or "lol" instead of "laugh out loud". I also have to be able to try to understand the emotion that my friend wants me to feel when reading their text with no punctuation to help me out. However, when I read the lunch menu in the cafeteria I have to be ready to sort out what is meatless. Then, I have to see what meal I have more of a taste for by reading the seasoning and paying attention to the the details of the food. On the other hand, when reading a textbook you have to read more in depth and try to store as much information as you can. A textbook has a lot of information so it may be important to focus on the main purpose and less on the details.

Picture exchange activity STEP 1

Dear Classmate,

                         Ever since I can remember I have been the head person in charge. I have learned to be a leader by growing up in a family where I was the oldest sibling. The following picture, of the baby boy looking up at what is assumed to be his sister, reminds me of the first day I became someone’s big sister.

Nine long, intense, dreadful months I spent waiting for him to come out. Never too sure of how or where he would arrive from, I continued to wait for what seemed like years. I made sure to ask when the baby was coming every day. I couldn’t wait, I had always longed for a partner in crime, someone to be there to play with always.

I had always loved being a miniature mom, so I knew I was ready to take care of a baby. I had four baby dolls and I made sure that I bathed, changed their diapers, and combed their short patch of hair. However, it was made clear that my dolls were no comparison to a baby. On the other, I knew that I could use some of my other mini-mom strategies to help out.

Too my surprise almost every detail was different between him and my cotton stuffed dolls. Aamir Mitchell was born on July 17^th, 1996. Sadly I was unable to see where he came from and I waited anxiously with my grandmother. At about ten in the morning I heard my mom’s car rumble onto the pavement in the driveway. I instantly jumped out of my grandmothers arms to open the front door. I looked in the baby carrier and to my astonishment there he was. Aamir was cuter than any baby doll I ever owned.

 I couldn’t wait to hold Aamir in my foot long arms. He was extremely tiny, lightweight, and adorable. His face reminded me of the sunrise it was remarkably beautiful and bright. As I held him cautiously on the couch I was terrified that he wouldn’t like me. As soon as I held him, he looked at me with his glistening oval eyes and stuck his tongue slightly out his mouth barely passing his top and bottom lip. He moved his arms slightly in the air like he was happy to finally be able to stretch.

This picture reminds me of that moment that will always be engraved in my memory. It was then that I found out how it felt to be a big sister. The time of day this picture is taken also remind me of the morning I woke up extra early to hold my brother. The big eyed look the baby boy is giving the girl and the slight smirk displayed on the girl’s face reminds me of the look my brother and I gave each other the first time we met. This photograph not only shows the visual picture of what happen that day, but also portrays the joyful/anxious emotion I felt that day as well.

Sincerely,

Diamond Brown

My First Post

I am tired.