FINAL PORTFOLIO!

Here is the link to my website- my final portfolio:

http://samanthasportfolio.weebly.com/

ENJOY!

He's Just Not That Into You: Gigi and Alex Ending Scene Review

One of the concluding love stories in the roamantic comedy, "He's Just Not That Into You", staring the main charcters Gigi, a desperate lover whose goal in the movie is finding her soul mate, played by Ginnifer Goodwin, and Alex, a non-believer in true love who gives Gigi expert advice into a guys mind, played by Justin Long. In this scene, we see the pair finally get together, and Gigi achieving her fairytale ending.

The scene is beautifully done, and is one of the few movies that brings the reprise of an earlier scene in the moive: the pen scene. Alex holds up the pen that Gigi had previously held up to him in the beginning of the movie, beginning their friendship when Alex sees that Gigi needs some advice on how guys operate.

When the slow music plays in the background, leading up to a crecendo at the moment the two kiss, the viewer instantly knew something was going to happen. Music gives a pre-warning to events like that, and we wish music could play in real life to let us know if we would have a happy or sad ending- to give us some sort of heads up. It also sets the mood for the viewer, playing with their emotions as it all leads up to the kiss and the viewer's heart finally takes flight.

Gigi and Alex are the "exception" to the rule of realtionships. With the music playing in the background, the almost rejection to Alex, the kiss that interrupts Gigi's speech, and how it all works out in the end as Alex tells Gigi, "You're my exception," we can all see why the director has it happen this way. It is the cliche moment that every girl wants. However, this scene also shows the idea of how every girl should be when a guy comes crawling back to their door. Gigi, is a role model in this scene, questioning if she should accept Alex, who rejected her before, or stay with the nice, safe, guy she just went out with. Alex then of course does his speech that is every girl's dream to hear from a guy, another cliche in a romance movie, about how he cannot eat, sleep, or just function in general without her, and is actually turning into her. But, Gigi, showing character development, actually thinks about her options for once, instead of jumping straight into it. She is straight up with Alex as she begins to reject him, using all the advice, events, and words he had told her against him. She sees through his speech, thinking these are just false words being said so he can win her, a twist of events for a romance movie- usually the girl falls for these speeches. As she thinks aloud about her options, continuing her refusal, a rarity of a woman's actions these days, he kisses her. Then, just like that, Alex wins, which is another cliche. Although it is a hollywood ending, there is still a statement being said, teaching girls to not just take any guy who comes knocking, but rather, to stand up and use some brain power thinking about what is best for them. Though, it also teaches them to accept any guy who kisses you in the middle of your sentence...rude much? But, if you like cliche romantic endings, you'll like this moive.

While I wanted to gag at this overly done, cheesy scene, most girls, after hearing Alex tell Gigi she is his exception, would say something along the lines of "AWWW! That's a good line. That's a loving, caring, boyfriend, girlfriend, I-Wanna-Be-Serious, line." However, secretly, I enjoyed the scene, feeling my heart flutter and wishing guys in real life would go after a girl, more specifically, me- that guys could actually be that romantic in real life. I don't know how exactly I fell to like the scene. Maybe it was the soft music, the kiss that they whole movie led up to that Alex did in the middle of Gigi's sentence, the speech, or perhaps, the fact that I am a girl and it is just in my nature to like romantic movies, such as this one, that keeps hope alive that there are still some really nice guys out there, and all I have to do is just wait for them to come to me. This moive speaks the truth about how men act, and women respond. I think we could all learn a little something from this moive, open our eyes so that there are less heartbreaks in this world.

And with all this being said, I must admit that all of us women, to some degree, are all Gigis, and that is why we like this movie so much.


Here is the clip I am talking about (I would have posted the video here, but the embeding was diabled, so I could not get the embed code...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm-lPMZJM1I&feature=related

Here are two other super short clips from the movie that I just really like. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y22oWiplTIs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWX95Pmipow&feature=related

Evaluations

Evaluations can be criticism, such as with a movie or new album release. It is giving your opinion about the movie or album, for example, evaluating it and determining if you think it is worth seeing or listening to. An evaluation, is your judgement on something.

From  How to Write Anything, pages 102-118, part of the latest reading in class, I have learned that the easiest way to judge something is to create and define a criteria, which "are standards by which objects are measured: A good furnace should heat a home quickly and efficently" (104). With this cirteria, you can either defend your dissions or explain and discuss them in more detail, depending on the reader's reaction to your criteria. So, now using your criteria, you write your opinion on say, the movie or album, using facts, examples, statistics, testimony and just good reasoing as evidence and support for what you are saying. Also, advice is helpful to include for the reader, because sometimes, people are reading your review because they cannot decide for themself between two options, or just want to hear someone's opinion, and so, help them out with their choice. Tell the reader what you think, what you would do, any regrets afterward, and just weigh the positives and negatives for them. However, something important I learned while reading about this is that you should always stand by your values and write on something you know well, you do not want to confuse your reader and give them mixed signals. Also, be sure to keep an open mind, because this is your opinion, doesn't make it the right one. People are entitled to their own opinion, and if they want to disagree with you, they can, but don't get upset over it, because that is just their opinion, and it happens to be different than yours. So what? Maybe, with different opinions and views on something, together, a deeper understanding od say, the movie or album, could develope. I mean, two heads are better than one. Just don't expect everyone to instantly agree with your opinion on something. Plus, follow the criteria, and be fair. Don't put a personal view on something that goes away from the criteria you had already set out.

Moreover,  keep the audience in mind. Who are you writing this evalution for? If it is for a general auidence, you have to explain more, defining key terms, than if it was an expert on the subject because they are considered knowledgeable readers.

Lastly, pay attention to developing materials (the criteria), and then creating the structure, such as "a basic review might announce a subject and make a claim, list critera of evlauation, present evidence to show whether the subject meets those standards, and draw conclusions" (113). It may also be helpful for the structure to have a focal point, or to do a compare and contrast to show strengths and weaknesses.

The final touch to this whole review, and final step, is to choose a style and design, including visuals that will enhance and show what the review is about.

Hopefully this helps, if anyone out there wants to write a review on something.

Parts of an Essay

Alright, so for my classmates today, I plan to keep this short and sweet. I know you look at what I write and such, but don't repsond because it's so long. I agree with you. I wouldn't even read my own work. So, today, I'm going to try to not write a lot...

One of the readings for class, that we even talked about, was about parts of an essay. These parts include the title, thesis, intro, transitions, and the conclusion. From these readings, I learned that the title should help the writer stay on topic, be related to the topic the writer is writing about, tell the reader something the paper is going to be about, grab attention of a possible reader, be specific, and be aware of tone, audience, and style. P ersonally, I have the most trouble being creative for a title that will grab someone's attention and also tell what the paper will be on. For me, you can't have it both ways...

Next up is the most difficult part of the essay, and most important. It is the thesis. The thesis is the main argument that is often in the introduction, but does not have to be. It can be in the second paragraph, or even the last one. It must be a complete, detailed and specific sentence that is an opinion, something arguable and debateable, not a fact.

The first paragraph is called the introduction. This serves to formally introduce the argument, usually containing the thesis. This paragraph sets tone for rest of paper, and provides background information. Some possible ways to start this paragraph is with an anecdote, quote, data, or a question. It is important that it grabs the reader's attention, because the reader can choose to stop reading at any point. It can be multiple paragraphs long. To be honest, I have the most trouble starting the intro and incorporating my thesis in it. I usually go with a quote.

Next up are transitions. These make the writing flow smoothly, and are kept clear and concise. They guide the readers and connect words or phrases in a sentence. A few of my favorite transition are: Moreover, furthermore, nevertheless, on the contrary....Actually, I just love them all. I know, I'm weird for saying that, but transitions are probably the most fun things to use in the essay and write. Plus, they make you sound like an expert, and smarter than you are. I like sounding scholarly.

Lastly, there is the conclusion. This paragraph is the final one. It serves to wrap up the essay, but not in a way that it repeats the introduction. It acts as a summary, and influences the reader in some way, making an impression on them to act on an issue or change their thoughts or writing style, for example.  My old English teacher told me once, that the final sentence of your essay, needs to be a call to action, something short and sweet (unlike how this blog has become).

Well, that's what I've learned this week, and hopefully you did too. Guess I didn't stay true to my word on keeping it short. Sorry guys! But hey, it was informative.

Check out somet of these links for my help and info on writing an essay:

http://www.testden.com/toefl/writing-tutorial/parts-of-an-essay.htm

http://www2.actden.com/writ_Den/tips/essay/index.htm

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/transitions.html

http://www.studygs.net/wrtstr6.htm

http://larae.net/write/transition.html

There are so many sites out there for your help!

How To Write Anything: Rhetorical Analysis

So, today I am doing some reading on Rhetorical Analysis. It was a lot of reading, and it made a lot more sense than my AP English teacher had Junior year. She never gave a straight up answer about what rhetoric is, and how to use it. She was very confusing, and my papers suffered because of it. She kept saying how broad it was and that there is no real definition, if that is so, then why were my paperes not as good? Anyway, so as I am reading, it all started to make sense, and I seriously thought/considered to copy these pages of the book and give them to that teacher I had, or at least to her class...But, as I was saying before, it was a lot of reading, so I am only going to tell you about one section of it: Finding and Developing Materials.

So, now that we know what we want to write about, we have to actually develope the idea and make it useable- that is where this section comes in handy. This section talks about considering the subject matter (does the piece make a point? Is it a novel?), the audience (Is it for a professor? A child?), its author, language, occation, context, and use of rhetorical appeals. Considering these is very important because they all corespond to each other. To make a piece effective to say, your professor,  about saving the rainforest, you don't want to write it using childish language, with slang, in a poster format, and neglect to mentions the benfits if we do, and organizations that help protect it. But, most importantly, the main thing about rhetorical analysis is its appeals. This is the part my teacher never really explained to us, and tried to have us figure it out on our own (which failed miserably).

These appeals are categorized into three types: pathos, ethos, and logos. Pathos is where the writer "generates emotion in order to move the audiences." Ethos is where "a text may establish the character and credibility of its author." Lastly, logos is where the writers uses "evidence and logic to make its case."

For a persuasive argument, this is great to know. Everyone feeds off of emotions and are motive-drive beings, as my Sociology teacher says. Pathos, forming emotions in the reader, will make the reader more towards your side of the argument. They will feel for your side, root for the underdog, and feel compelled to act. For example, when writing about the need to help the poor, pathos would be telling a story of a weak, baby, who was brown with dirt and lost its baby pink glow, and its family troubles. Seeing how this family is, being poor, plays on our emotions. We want to help this family out. Ethos is good to use because its deals with credibility. The reader is going to believe and act more if the author seems credible- reliable, and with authoity, and clearly knows what they are talking about. As it says inthe reading, audiences are more swayed "by writers or speakers who present themselves as knowledgeable, honest, fair-minded, and even likeable." Moreover, with logos, using evidence only enforces the idea and persuades the reader that they are right and to side with them. If a claim is supported by facts, statistics, quotes, and such, it is mmore believeable and we instantly think that position is right. We are also all logic beings - thinking beings (Homo Sapiens). We find an argument valid, if its facts are true and there is eveidence, since nowadays, seeing is believing. If you can prove it, and show that what you saying is true, then who can disagree with you?

So, basically, that is the most important thing I learned from the reading, which was way more helpful than my high school English teacher. So thank you, reading...

Midterm Portfolio

Well, here is the site to my website for my mid-term portfolio. Enjoy!

http://samanthasportfolio.weebly.com/

Revision...A Thing I Often Fail At...

As I read pages 54-59 in Embracing Writing, specifically "Playing with Revision" by Michelle Cox and Katherine E. Tirabassi, I learned so much about revision that I did not before. When I write, my weakest spot is revising it all. I often write too much, getting yelled at for going over the page limits, and because of so many pages that I wrote, I just become lazy that I don't really want to read and revise it all. Moreover, I think that everything I write fits well in the essay, and if I were to delete a sentence or change a line, the essay would be incomplete. I find it easy to edit others' work, but impossible to edit my own, even when I KNOW it could be a lot better. I have a tendency to be repeteative, and overwrite...which I think I already said...See? Repetative! Anyway, I think I overwrite so often because my thesis is never narrowed down enough; I want to get ALL the points across instead of just elaborating on a few because I thought it almost impossible to elaborate so much on just one point. But, after reading these pages, I know now that there is so much one can talk about!

These pages about revising talk about writing multiple drafts, trying to find the meaning and lines that really stick out to you, as well as how to "Cut, Cut, Cut" (and, unfortunately, "Add, Add, Add"). Though, I do find the "Cut, cut, cut" section to be the most helpful in my case because it tells me to "Cut extra words that don't add meaning, such as 'really,'very,' 'basically,' 'thing,' 'it,' 'it was,' 'it is,' 'there were,' 'there is,' 'this is,' and 'that'" (56).  This section also talks about trying to cut at least 15 words per page. I think this is an excellent idea- to have a goal like this. If I have a goal to cut a certain number of words ot lines each page, then perhaps revising and cutting down on pages will be easier for me. I learned about style and using active verbs to add more voice to the paper, varying my sentence structure so that information can be better emphasized, and to focus more on pronouns so that my writing can be more specific. Something that I have noticed in my own writing is that I tend to use a  lot of general statements, and don't really have specific sentences. Next time, I will definitly "Comb through your draft and circle all instances of 'it' [because]...overuse waters down this emphasis...[or] make writing sound vague. 'There' at the beginning of the sentence can have the same effect...Now circle all uses of the words 'this' and 'these'...'he,' 'she,' 'you,' 'we,' 'they,' etc." (57).

Although the section about playing with time by using flashbacks, time stretches, and time summary is also important for me to know, I think the most interesting part of the whole reading were the last two pages, on the topic of details. I did not know that I could add details about so many things like people, places, objects, or memories. I didn't know or think to  unbury a story that could be mentioned in a line, which could totally add to my story, or just add the slightest details to the simplest things, such as instead of saying car, I could, or rather should, say the specific type or name of the car.

Overall, I truly believe this will help my writing and influence it in a positive way. If I follow these guidelines, I know that I can sound less repetative, less wordy, and definitly less vague and general, and more specific. As you can see, from what I have just written in this blog, revising is a MUST learn in my book...

Here are a few sites that talk about how to revise an essay:
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/documents/Revising.html (It's Harvard...It's gotta be a good resource)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ (this site I had been to in High School and let me tell you, it is like the Bible of English writing, I highly sugest visitng this site)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/677/1/ (writing)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/561/05/ (revising)

Response to "A Twisted World"

So, tonight I was having trouble sleeping, and when this happens, I just lay in bed, thinking about the week, the day's events, and tomorrow. I usually think about school work, any homework or tests that will be coming up soon, and this only makes me stressed out, anxious, and everything that is the opposite if what I want when I go to bed. So, I was in bed, thinking about school (please don't think of me as a nerd...), when I remembered something we read in English class. This very short story, "A Twisted World" by James McMorrow Jr., wouldn't get out of my head. I decided to get out of bed and re-read it.

This story gives a hypothetical situation: What would happen if celebrities ran the country? McMorrow replaces our government heads with celebrities, and explains how things would be different. For example, he says, "Presidential debates would occur in front of the American Idol judges. I can just picture Simon Cowell telling a candidate how pathetic his healthcare plan is." This story is filled with humor like that, and that is why I love it so much- that is why is made such an impact on me. He uses celebrity names and gives examples of how they would change the system  if they were in charge. With these examples, though extremely humours, they hold an underlying truth behind the words that hits the reader. It holds a realization of the fact that things could always be worse, and to stop looking at the negatives, and start seeing the positive side of things. We as humans, have a common flaw: pessimism and being judgemental. We are so concerned on political party and judge someone based upon their mistakes that we instantly close down on that person and can't see all the good they have actually done for the country and just in general. For example, away from politics so not to upset anyone, but General Custer. He will forever be remembered for his mistake at the Battle of Little Bighorn, and judged. In fact, if ever you mention his name, people only know him and associate him with Custer's Last Stand. People have forgotten all his acheivements. Granted, I am not saying his defeat was bad, I am all for civil rights and equality, it was just an example of how one mistake can overshadow so many accomplishments of a person. And why is this? Why is it that we, as humans, focus on the bad more than the good? Why is it that once one person does something wrong (such as a friend lying to a friend) we instantly see that person as forever bad? Why are we so judgy? Don't we all make mistakes? Can't we all relate? I mean, who hasn't done something they are not proud of in their life? Don't we want forgiveness? So, why is it so hard to give other people second chances, when if we were in that position, we'd beg for one saying that we'd never make the same mistake again? Perhaps McMorrow is right when he says at the end of his humours story, "As citizens we are a bit too quick to judge how our political representatives have done their jobs...Clearly, things could be worse." Now, I don't mean to support our current political situation, or not support it, but in general, we are judgy people, and McMorrow made an excelent point in showing that with his humor filled with underlying truths.

Anyway, back to the humor. In school, especially creative writing and free style writing, I always wrote funny stories with a moral at the end. This paper reminded me of those times. This story had the overall argument that we should not judge our current leaders and government officials because it could be worse; we could be run by celebrites, which as he proved is a lot worse. Arguing and using humor to portray your meaning, to me, is so effective, and I love it. I wish in classes we  could do more papers that involve humor and getting a point across in effective ways. It is more fun than the typical essays with the boring facts and quotes put in, and the same old intro and conclusion. I love writing humor, and this story by McMorrow reminded me of all that fun it can be.

With that happy though of his story, and the memories of the ones I have written, in my head, I began to smile. I went back to bed and fell asleep. I guess what I am also saying, is that we all need to relax once in awhile and have fun in classes, and one way to do that would be by writing a fun, humorous argument instead of the same old, same old, essays.

Here is a link if you want to learn more about General Custer (because to be honest, I don't know much about him myself, except for Custer's Last Stand):
http://www.sonofthesouth.net/union-generals/custer/george-custer.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Armstrong_Custer

Student Examples Response

So, when first assigned this Visual Literacy Narrative project, I had no idea how to present my idea and topic in a visual format or even fully understand the assignment. There were so many different ways I could do it, but I wasn't sure what the most effective one was for my topic. However, after looking at all the student examples, I realized something very important: I am awful with making videos. I am what can be considered "Technologically Challenged"...Inputting muisic, uploading pictures or videos....Not my thing. But then I saw the collage.

The last student example I saw had a collage by Jordie Newton about her passion for music through the violin. It was a simple collage, not a typical, picture crazed one that one usually things of. It had about 5 pictures on a large sheet of paper, with a certificates, sheet music, and a few other related things attached to it as well. I like it. It was simple, yet told so much. It wasn't cluttered with unnecessary photos of the same thing, but rather, a few photos representing many things. She truly showed the meaning to the phrase "Less is more". We all know that "A picture is worth a thousand words", but, it's hard to really realize that when there are hundreds of pictures expressing everything you want to say... Also, her color choice and layout is simple, and not so complex with random bunches of color everyone. it is also not overloaded with words, which I tend to do...It's enough to make the viewer attracted to the collage, but not too much that it will distract the viewer from the main topic and overall point Jordie wanted them to get. I love how she uses two words: Practice and Success. It tells it all. So simple, yet so powerful...

This whole time I've been thinking that this project had to be elaborate and complex. But from her example, I realized that it can be quite simple, and still have an effect on a viewer- still get one's point across. Simplicity can still be quality. It can still tell my story, and even enhance it. So i don't have to do a movie or something that deals with technology. I can just do a collage, or a children's story book. I can just have simple pages and pictures that tell my story, like Jordie did.

Here is her collage:

English Essay Idea

So, it was hard to think of some ideas for this project because I've just always loved reading and writing. I use to write random books, and ideas, and read all the time. I read for information, to learn new things (such as sign language) and of course, for entertainment. But, where did this passion for reading and writing begin? I had to think way back, and realized it had all started in third grade, with my parents' divorce and a wonderful book called, The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles.

This book was my escape. It was about an imaginary land, and it brought me to my own imaginary world. While trouble was at home, I would open this book up and read, being carried away by beautiful descriptions of lands I dreamed of going to, and adventures I planned on one day taking. This book opened my eyes to a whole new world, and I longed to find more books like this one. Whenever I was upset, I'd open the book and read. Whatever words I didn't know, I'd look them up in the dictionary or ask my older siblings. The book was so captivating that I held on to every word on the page- that I wanted to know what every word meant. I finished this book wanting more. It helped me through a tough time. It was my comfort, my home. After that moment where I finished the book, I felt so accomplished. I felt like I could be strong and courageous, like the kids were in the books, that I could get through whatever that was happening to my parents...my family (even though the book had nothing to do with divorced parents).

The book was inspirational in a big way. The way it was written made me want to learn how to describe a rose so truly that anyone who read what I wrote could smell the lovely flower and feel its perfect, silky, texture. I wanted the author's technique. I wanted to know how to engage a reader like she had. So, I began to write. I began to read to learn other types of writing, as well as to escape from my reality, and I began to write with the desire to make others love to read, as I had. To have others realize that there are heathy ways of escaping the lonely life at home and problems of reality.

Divorce made me grow up fast, but reading and writing kept me a child at heart, and this book started it all. It saved my childhood.

I was in third grade when my real fansination and obsession to reading took off, and I wonder what would have happened to me (how I'd be different) if my parents never got a divorce, and I didn't need that inital escape from reality and desire for an imaginary world of Whangdoodles...
This Was The Book That Started It ALL.

Below are some links to summaries of the book:
http://www.powells.com/biblio/9780064403146
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_of_the_Really_Great_Whangdoodles