Owshi Debi

English 1101

Final Portfolio and Reflection

Unit 1 Revise

My education so far has been quite the scene I would say. There were times were I would do really good and then there was some days were I did horrible. I was never consistent with my work because I felt like I always changed my mind every often considering how indecisive I was throughout my education life and seeing all of the decisions I have made there were sometimes where I think to myself if I am doing the right thing or not and knowing what were going to be the consequences I was never amused with it until it was brought up in discussion. That being said during my revision process there were many things that needed to be revised starting off with the amount of grammatical errors I have made in my writing as well as not being clear and cohesive which I think is always the problem I have when it comes to writing about anything is that I will never be clear on what I am trying to write also can’t forget about the way it should structured was also sometimes I had trouble with. So far I have revised my grammatical issues that I have made as well as trying to make it sound clear which I have tried but I guess I won’t be going further with it. I have done these revisions because knowing that these were the mistakes I have always made in my writing I guess it kind of hit me in a way and made me think that if I don’t fix my mistakes I would never learn from them so having that in my mindset I used it revise my work and it help a lot. The feedback I have received was really helpful to me because it gave me an understanding on what I needed to improve my writing and how I can avoid the mistakes that I have made. From the feedback that I have received I incorporated in my writing because if I didn’t then I would not learn from the mistake that I have made also when fixing up it wasn’t easy as I thought it was going to be this probably why I never really liked revising my work.

Unit 2 Revise

This is probably the one that required a lot of my ability to think because on what I have done I would say I am not that impressed with my work probably cause I was in rush which is why it was really bad but also being one of my favorite writing pieces I have done so far in all of my English courses combined this being on the top though I know I done bad and could have done better was the best to say. This to me was the most interesting yet stressful writing piece I have done probably cause of all the source entries that needed to be included and knowing what my topic was on it was kind of hard because my topic is not openly discussed so the research process of this was hard cause I wanted to find sources that go with I am trying to say. There were som that I have found but because of the time that I had left I couldn’t do more which on my end was of disappointing knowing that piece wasn’t going to be great and knowing I could have done better if I has thoroughly researched more on my topic.  If I being honest I didn’t revise my work for this writing because I found it really overwhelming and unbearable to the point where when I have received it back I didn’t bother looking at maybe a peak but nothing more because I knew I didn’t follow certain requirements that need to be meet and considering that I chose not to revise. Though I have not revised my work for this assignment maybe in the future I would but this piece that I have done I couldn’t revise cause I felt like I was capable enough to do so as well not being as confident as my last work that I have done.

Final Reflection

I have learned so much about myself during this term. When it came to thinking on how I did as a reader, writer and scholar during this term was bit challenging because I have never actually thought about that way but I guess it doesn’t hurt to explore on what I have done during this term. When it came to me as reader I would say that I am not a fan of reading at all unless it’s something interesting then I would want to read but for the most reading has never been in my liking, I always kind of avoid as much as possible but I would during this term there one reading that we have done that I liked and that was “The Maker’s Eye” this reading in particular was something that I read and was interested in  because it gave a lot of helpful pointers on how writing can look like giving out many helpful tips that can help improve your ability to write better. For instance “I always know when it came to my writing that I was never the best at but when it came to writing drafts I would just look at without thinking too much on it just skim through it as fast as I can because when I am reading my own writing or another author work I don’t  read more like scanning it cause it was I liked doing”. When I think as what I have done as a writer I would say I definitely knew what was wrong with my writing and looking back at some of my writing pieces I knew the most common mistake I always have done and during this term it really showed me on what my writing actually looked liked and what my faults were and how I can I fix it. As a scholar for me during this term it would be surprising to say that make sure to follow all of the instructions that are being given too you because missing one step can mess the whole setting up because I have done this and because of this mistake I got downgraded so making sure you read all of the instructions that is given to and do all of the in order and giving your best responses forward.

From what I have learned this semester that I can transfer too other writing situations that I may face in college is when it comes to the time of writing your essay on a certain topic or issue making sure you break down your informations into different sections because when I used this method I found it easy when it came too researching my information I will break it down and then separate them into sections and then form there go forward.  For the most part the work I have done early this semester up to now is fairly decent could be better but don’t see much difference. I guess when it came to my writing I haven’t really see what I have done differently to me it still looks the same. My favorite assignment for this term was Unit 2 where we had to write about a topic we were interested in. I say this is my favorite assignment because I have fun time researching on different topics and when researching  I have learned a lot if information that I have never knew about before and which made me curious on wanting to know more. My least favorite assignment I would say was Unit 1 because I wasn’t that interested in writing about my educational journey probably cause I don’t really remember any of that or there wasn’t any important significance on my educational journey I would say.  A notable lesson that I have stuck with me is when it came compelling certain of my assignments is that to be really careful and read all of the bullet point questions that is given too make sure never to miss any of this points because this can help you guide when writing for essay. For instance when “not doing all of what was required for my assignments actually made loss points also when I have skipped over some parts of the question I felt like something was missing but I could have pinpointed now what I could have written”. I would say this because there were times where I would miss some of the points which then caused my to be downgrade my work and because of this mistake it can make a big impact in your writing, though I wasn’t sure before but now I knew because my professor help pointed out when I didn’t know.

As the genres changed throughout the terms my writing has changed in different way one being writing an article which to me was something new that I have never before. Since I was so used to writing essays I have actually never got to explore other writing genres that were available to do. For the assignments I think my writing has changed by making me following more of the writing prompts that were given for the assignments because for some it was lengthy and required more for you too write and others less, also this being a writing intensive course I thought it going to be that intensive but it is. For my assignments when it came to making decisions and content I usually look up others on how they would make their content because when I do this I gain insightful information as well as giving me inspirations so then I can do what I need to do for my assignments. Also looking at other people content I could then brainstorm and write out what I can do differently for the assignments that was given to me. My early assumption that I made on myself for writing was that I can never write something that concludes over 700 words or even 1,000 because for me that was a lot of words I have never written that much and when I was doing the assignments for this class and saw the word count I thought it was too many words and I can never be able to complete it. I could say not that has changed well it all depends on the topic I am writing about because if the topic contains a lot of information then it’s possible for me to write more but I think the fear of writing so much with a high word count is gone. My experience on revising assignments was I would say not great because for me if I have written something I never look back at again and just keep it on how it is because I never really revising in the first place and so when there are times when I had to revise I do a little and that’s about it, I never look back at my work after it has been handed in. For example ” when it came to revising my assignments I wasn’t as confident in myself which stopped me from doing revisions on some of the work that given back too me” , this is because I am that type of person when it came to revising you work I would never do it because once I have completed an assignment I never look back unless  that work of the grade is really bad then maybe I will fix it, if it’s serious and makes my grade drop terribly then I would consider in revising my work. For this course in this semester the most challenging was my assignments and was I going to do all of them and handing them on time. I say this because I always do my assignments on the day of when the assignments are due. I am not sure why I do this but every time this always happens also for handing the assignments on time I was really bad at but now its slowly getting better. As for doing all of the assignments I sometimes forget to do all like I say I would do it but then when the times comes I completely forgot and I sometimes don’t know why this happens. Lastly I would just say this term has been really helpful and made think back on past mistakes that I done considering on how bad or good I was it was great knowing on how much I can accomplish and learn about myself in this short term period pretty surprising but definitely something to always remember on and never forgetting

Odeica Duke

Professor Lisa Cole

English 1101 Composition 1

16^th March 2022

Final Reflection

What was your experience with and early assumption about your writing skills?

I and writing have always had a love-hate relationship. I have always felt as though I was not a good writer or even a writer at all since I believed that being a writer meant one’s writing has been published and most importantly well known. So having to write my entire school life only made me hate my writing even more. While I was a freshman and sophomore in high school, writing was something I really enjoyed. Back then writing was easier and more fun since I only had to write about the little things. In my opinion, assignments were easier because I never challenge my perspective so I could write without any bias, I just wrote about things I knew well and that was it. Writing outside of my perspective was never a thought that entered my head ever for my first two years in high school. Allowing myself to do the bare minimum when it came to writing in high school seemed like a good idea back in high school but now looking back with a broader perspective it limited opportunities, I had to not only better my writing skills but myself when it came to having a broad perspective.

Doing the bare minimum and not allowing myself to challenge my perspective was something I was okay with until assignments, teachers wanted more. During my last two years in high school, I had a lot of writing to do with college preparations and all. That was a point in my life where writing required more than my perspective had to offer, that is when I realized that my perspective had to change in order for my writing to be better. I will admit challenging my perspective was difficult, it was hard to stray away from my norm to an uncertain writing future and possibilities. Given that I had little to no experience writing outside my perspective, I was not optimistic about what the outcome of my writing would be, I initially thought I would fail. In the beginning, there were a lot of bumps in the road, but I finally get the hang of it after college application time. After I complete my college essay, I was pleased with the amount of work I put in and the outcome. My writing was a direct example of how I did not allow my perspective and predetermined ideas to shape my writing.

Have there been any noticeable changes in the work you did early in the semester to now?

Yes! My writing has improved from what it was early in the semester. I have learned so many things throughout this class that has aided in the improvement of my writing when comparing my work from early in the semester to now. When comparing the work, I did early in the semester to now, I noticed that overall, my writing made sense and all the ideas were coherent and well explained which I something I felt like I did not do enough of before. I also learned how to make my writing fit into different genres by using different languages, tones, and word choices.

Here is an example of an introduction I wrote for my Unit 1 “Education Narrative”, “Dating back to my earliest memory of education, I have always felt that school was never for me. I have always felt a disconnect between me and school. Do not get me wrong, I liked learning, it was the teachers, rules, and hierarchy I disliked. Much like Olivarez, most of my teachers taught via the banking method. We, the students, were just expected to take in as much information as we could and never question authority. Most days, a debate or misunderstanding would erupt between me and my teachers. Which started because I would calmly voice my opinions, as I would put it, that were viewed as disrespect. Shutting up and being a human educational sponge was something I could never do. Learning was exceedingly difficult, but it was something I had to do, especially since education was an exaggeratedly important part of my household.”  Then here is another example of an introduction I wrote for my Unit 2 “RAB” “Representation does not only affect how we see ourselves and others, but it also influences how we look at our future and the possibilities that await us. As early as I could remember I have always had this burning desire to find out everything and anything there is to know about outer space. Hearing this one would think that my dream job was to become an astronaut but that was not the case for me. Even though I did not want to go to space I still wanted something to do with it, so when I found out about Aerospace Engineering I was really intrigued. I remember I would watch every movie and video, read every book, and article and even look at pictures anything just to learn more about outer space. As I got older, I slowly started to lose interest in outer space, and I always thought that it was because I was exploring new things and it was just another interest that did not age well with time. However, now looking back with a more worldly and mature perspective, I realize that my sudden disinterest in the thing that made my heart skip several beats even when I was simply thinking about it, was caused by not seeing people who looked like me portrayed in the media. Lupita once said “Until I saw people who looked like me, I was not so sure [being an actress] was a possibility. My exact feeling as a kid but her actress is my Aerospace Engineer. When I started to notice that nearly all Aerospace engineers that I saw growing up did not look like me, this negatively impacted my self-esteem and self-worth making me feel inferior because of how I looked. For years, I look at life and my future with implicit bias, I would always limit my self-expectations and to fit what I thought was expected of me in the eyes of society.”

The two examples provided above are from different points in my writing career form this semester. My first major writing assignment was Unit 1 “Education Narrative” where I got to explore a significant event that impact my view on education and/ or school. The second example from my second major writing assignment was Unit 2 “RAB” where I got to do research on a topic that piques my interest. Changing my writing from a narrative to a reflective annotated bibliography was not easy but the outcome was worthwhile.  For my Unit 1 assignment, I used languages and tones that were friendly since I was not trying to provide a point or persuade my audience. I was simply just trying to express myself and my experiences. While for my RAB, I used more authoritative languages and tones since I was trying to persuade my audience into believing that the topic of my research was important.

What challenges did you find particularly challenging in this semester’s English class?

Something I found particularly challenging this semester making sure my writing made sequential sense which meant making sure the flow of my writing was not all over the place. To make sure my writing made sense and the information in it was flowing properly I would gather all the information I needed then list them out on a piece of paper then put them in sequential order. Then and only then I would start writing. I also found Unit 3 “Writing in a New Genre” extremely difficult. I had a hard time choosing a different genre that was not only best for my research but also for me.

What have you learned for your English 1101 class? And how are you going to incorporate what you have learned in your college future?

Some notable lessons that stuck with me after completing certain assignments are how to write a proper research paper (how to properly quote and cite sources), how to find sufficient sources that do not only support your predetermined ideas about your topic, and how one genre could form many different ones. Lastly, how to gather sufficient information that will make your writing beneficial to others. I will definitely be using the knowledge and experience that I gained throughout this course in other writing situations in my college life. This semester I have learned how to properly analyze a text to find the deep meaning and the writing style the author of said text used to make the purpose of their writing effective. I have also learned how to not only write in different genres but also how to change my writing into a completely new genre which would be very beneficial in my next English class.

Unit 1 Educational Narrative

What I revised in my Unit 1 was including all the missing information that I haven’t included the first time. Also, making sure that I changed my grammar and made sure that I was in the past tense. The reason why I decided to revise it was that I wasn’t happy with the grade I got even though I realize it was my fault since I did rush it at the last second. Which did cost me the grade that I have. The feedback that I got from my professor and my colleagues was my grammar, proofreading, and adding information from the criteria that I was missing. Why I incorporated what they say since it will help me realize that if I want a good grade, then I need to open my eyes to feedback that could help me accomplish it.

Let me tell you my story of who I am and my first-time experience related to language and learning. You’re probably wondering where I came from? Or why should I be interested in what he is trying to say? Will for starters, my name is John Paul Tenemaza, but my friends call me J.P. My parents are from Ecuador, and I was born in Flushing, Queens. Making my sister and me bilingual. Yes, I do speak 2 languages. My first language is Spanish and my second is English. Throughout my life, I was struggling in school and overall with my race and culture. From and kid and till now there was a drastic change in my experience related to language and learning.

If you want to know more, then I have to take you back to the very beginning. Being a kid from Queens and coming from a Hispanic family. There was a lot of pressure on me. My dad was the only person back in the day who spoke fluently English. So growing up I had to learn 2 languages at the same time. When I started elementary school, that’s where the problem began. In elementary school, the main language was English which means that the whole overall school was teaching only in English. But at home, my parents were teaching me Spanish so I didn’t forget where I came from and the roots of my culture. It was a major problem for me since the experience was a major obstacle. I was consistently struggling to keep up in writing, reading, speaking, and listening all in English. Keep in mind learning 2 languages is very difficult learning while trying to balance both languages as a kid. That’s where the school eventually noticed that I was way behind compared to the other students. The school called my parents to let them know that I need to pick and choose which language I needed to learn. Meaning that the school wanted my parents and me to pick one language to be very fluent in so there wouldn’t be any issue catching up in class.

As a result, my parents finally came up with a decision and made me learn English first, then worry about Spanish as I grow up. The school realized that I was making some improvements but I was still struggling. As a result, the school and my parents realized that I need help. The school recommended to my parents that I needed Speech therapy and OT. If you are not sure what speech therapy is, let me explain. Speech therapy “assesses and treats speech disorders and communication problems. It helps people develop skills like comprehension, clarity, voice, fluency, and sound production (Cleveland clinic).” OT (Occupational Therapy) is to “treat injured, ill, or disabled patients through the therapeutic use of everyday activities. They help these patients develop, recover, improve, as well as maintain the skills needed for daily living and working (Bureau of Labor Statistics).” The relationship I had with the school about learning and language is that they wanted to see me improve as a student and more as a person outside of school. And on top of that, I also was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

This particular experience that I was talking about relates to some of the bigger social & cultural issues such as race, the educational system, & Standard Written English (SWE). In elementary school, I was sometimes picked on based on the color of my skin. I still don’t even comprehend why people would want to pick on someone based on the color of their skin or where they come from or how they talk. Back then I still didn’t know what racism was or anything of the sort. People sometimes from my class will pick on me based on who I sound. People will come up to my face when I was in elementary and tell me that I was Guyanese or Mexican. And no matter how many times I told them that I am Ecuadorian and proved to them that I am who I say I am. They still don’t believe. That’s when my little young innocent eye’s finally opened up. Made me realize that this is the sociality that I will forever live in probably. From being a kid, I got sick and tired of trying to prove to everyone that I am who I say I am. Just to the point that I almost gave up on sociality as a whole. Wondering whether or not this planet will somehow improve. As for the education system, the elementary school provided help for those who didn’t speak English. In addition, the teachers had an afterschool program for those who still needed that extra help. Furthermore, the SWE was sorta used in elementary school but wasn’t that much explained or went to depth until middle school. In elementary school, my teachers didn’t go in-depth with the SWE since we were young at the time. The only thing they cared about is whether or not we can read and write and speak English.

What I have learned from this experience when I was a kid were the obstacles I faced when trying to understand English, and how much the elementary school only allowed you to learn in English but not in another language since this is America. From my experience back in elementary school, what enables me to understand something specific about reading, writing, learning, & language is from my teachers. Attending elementary school helped me open my young eyes to how important it is about reading. Reading is an important tool since it helps us evolve into better humans from the prehistoric age till now. Reading, writing, learning, and languages never stop from changes. It keeps evolving into learning something new from elementary school till you are in college. But besides the point, learning and understanding reflect on my community and the world around me since it keeps changing every day and it helps the world. To be more educated as a student and as a person. The community that I live in has changed from the moment I first moved here till now in college. My language and education had tremulously improved. Even the world is consist change, so do the reading, writing, learning, & language.

Unit 2: Is there a Possibility of Maintaining World Peace across the Globe?

What I revised in Unit 2 was including all the missing information that I haven’t included the first time. But making sure I proofread my writing by checking for any spelling check and grammar mistakes. To further check on what my professor and colleagues told me to edit. Why I took their advice, is to make my writing and overall project better and more interesting to listen to see other people’s opinions.

Is there a possibility of maintaining World peace across the globe? This is the topic that I am most interested in because there is not a simple answer to the question. It is not an easy “yes or no” question since it makes you think hard about whether there is an answer to this question. I cannot say if I had or did not have personal experience with this topic, since for most people it is a sensitive topic that few people are taking seriously. What I can say is that I am more of a pacifist type of guy. I believe war does not solve anything. If you are looking back at our history any conflict has not solved anything. The only war that did solve something was the American Civil War which helped abolished Slavery.

How I got interested in my question is by looking at the news on my phone or from the newspaper. Seeing them portrayed in movies is something that made me feel like I need to do something about other foreign countries that are struggling to have peace in their nation. In my research, if I somehow come across something that doesn’t fit my hypothesis. I will still use it in my research. I wouldn’t just toss it away or restart my research just because something is going against what I have to say. It will be interesting to use it in my research since it will be unique and fun while informative.

Is there a possibility of maintaining World Peace across the globe? This is a question I always wanted to know ever since I was a kid. Because ever since my mom showed me movies in which for some reason there was always conflict between at least 2 foreign countries, I always thought to myself “Why is it so hard to maintain peace?” or “Is there such a thing as World Peace?” Because I am more of a pacifist type of guy and I strongly believe that war and violence do not solve anything, but it only brings destruction and chaos.

Leader, Author Nika Saeedi Team, et al. “World Peace Is Not Only Possible but Inevitable: United Nations Development Programme.” UNDP, https://www.undp.org/blog/world-peace-not-only-possible inevitable#:~:text=While%20communities%20have%20formed%20networks,support%20structures%20that%20already%20exist.

The article “World Peace Is Not Only Possible but Inevitable” was written by Nika Saeedi. She is the team leader of Preventions of Violent Extremism in the UNDP. She is also in the Global Focal Point on MHPSS, and in the Religion and Hate Speech. She explains how there are several opportunities to implement change and to enhance their work to help other foreign countries succeed who need help. Nika explains methods that can overcome people from other countries to further succeed in being helped. She explains the importance of clarifying the idea to steer away from labeling women, youth, and racial, religious, and ethnic minorities as in danger groups.

In the “World Peace Is Not Only Possible but Inevitable” Nika states, “Several opportunities to enhance our work with peacebuilders, activists, and other populations in bringing about sustainable change and to ensure we recognize and articulate with greater clarity their latent capacity is to stand with women peacebuilders, to recognize the powers endowed in people of faith (especially women of faith), to recognize the essentiality of community-based peacebuilding as parallel to high negotiations, to include & appreciate young climate change advocates, environmental defenders, and environmental journalist. To acknowledge the role of volunteer online defenders from across the globe in combating trolls who spread hate speech. To show gratitude for the unique contribution of Indigenous peoples to our planet and our common future.”

As a result, Nika shows 1-5 ways her organization has enhanced its work with peacebuilders to ensure greater clarity of their capacity and change. Nika explains how we need to support and stand with our community and people who are trying to make a difference to help countries who are trying to achieve peace or progress of it. For example, Nika further explains how supporting and standing with our community to those that are trying to make a difference by saying, “To learn how people make decisions and act on them, how they think about, influence, and relate to one another, and how they develop beliefs and attitudes. We are working with young people to apply behavioral insights to address violent extremism in countries such as Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.” Moreover, Nika explains to us as a reader the importance to support one another as people, communities, countries, nations, and the planet as a whole.

If I can say anything to Nika Saeedi, it would be “How can I join your organization to further understand the concept of your job and witness the work your organization is providing to help other countries come decrease conflict. Nika’s writing style is persuasive and descriptive. Nika’s credentials of who she is and how the article is being written is see how professional she is. Since Nika is the team leader of Preventions of Violent Extremism in the UNDP. She is also in the Global Focal Point on MHPSS, and in the Religion and Hate Speech. That’s how I know her evidence and information are accurate and trustworthy.

I can agree with Nika since she says, “Believing in people and their desires to be sources of peace and justice. This means opening our eyes to the extent of people’s capacity so that we can see more peacebuilders and changemakers in more places.” To me in my honest opinion is very important since it helps support my research as we continue to go further and further into whether or not there is an answer to my question. What other information I need to look up to better understand the article is to further explain more about Nika and the work she has done.

Nika goes in-depth about the article “World Peace Is Not Only Possible but Inevitable.” She shows how much human relationships can emphasize identifying the desires we hope to serve. The quote states, “The innovation and resilience showed by communities amidst the pandemic have underscored the need for more expansive understandings of human relationships, and to place more emphasis on identifying the latent capacities and desires of those we hope to serve. This means believing in people and their desires to be sources of peace and justice. This means opening our eyes to the extent of people’s capacity so that we can see more peacebuilders and changemakers in more places. This means embracing the oneness of humankind and human nobility as a foundation for how we develop our policies and programs.” As you can see Nike demonstrates how much we as humans can contribute to making an effort to change our sociality.

International Peace Institute, Director. “2021 Global Peace Index: Measuring Peace in a Complex World. YouTube,” YouTube, 18 June 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86LhR8TCj2Q&t=100s

The video from youtube called “2021 Global Peace Index: Measuring Peace in a Complex World” is an International Peace Institute. It was published by Youssef Mahmoud who is a senior advisor at IPI and Steve Kilalea who is the founder and chairperson of IEP. Steve founded the Institute for Economics and Peace in 2007 as an independent Not-For-Profit Global Research Institute.

Throughout the whole video and the Global Peace Index indicates the percentage and the total number of countries that have become more peaceful because of the impact of the Institute. Thus, Steven explains visually how the IPI & IEP have impacted and worked on achieving peace in 8:59-9:25 shows “In the last 12 months peace deteriorated by 0.07%, and that is the 9th deterioration last 13 years. Now not 0.7%, it is only a very slight decrease, but you cannot wrap around that. But if we look at the number of countries, we had 87 countries becoming more peaceful & 73 countries deteriorate (9:25).” As a result, the GPI has made a tremendous impact in trying to improve peace around the world. The video explains how much peace has increased in 2021. The progress is slowly showing improvements to the sociality, and how much time it takes as the evidence can demonstrate the job and dedication this Institute has.

What I can agree with Youssef and Steve is how the video shows the highlights when the countries deteriorate. Making and showing improvements that are starting to take effect in other countries. “Highlights when countries deteriorate, the deteriorations are much bigger than the improvements.” The biggest improvements were in the ongoing conflict in that was the death through conflict, internal and the number of internal conflicts and intensity of them. The questions that I have for Youssef and Steven include are they doing anything to help improve the relationships between Russia & Ukraine? And if so, what are they implementing to stop the fighting? What don’t I understand is how come we have not heard of the IPI before? How I feel about the author’s presentations/writing style is highly informative and thought-provoking questions. The biggest choice I have about picking what entry source to use is by looking at the credibility of the source, who is giving the information, and where they are getting it from to support my topic.

Youssef and Steven’s credentials have a major impact on why I picked them as a source entry. Youssef’s credential is a senior advisor at IPI and Steve Kilalea is the founder and chairperson of IEP. Steve founded the Institute for Economics and Peace in 2007 as an independent Not-For-Profit Global Research Institute. Since they both provided strong details explaining what their organization does and how much they work alongside the United Nations. For me, the author’s writing style plays a significant role. As Youssef and Steven demonstrate with key details of what they do and what the organization does. Therefore, they are trying to show their audience how important their organization is, and the impact it has made on other countries. How their purpose is to make the audience understand what peace is and how much work their organization has gone to help other countries.

In the video, the one thing that I agree with Steven about is how indicators were the largest of deterioration. Steven goes along by saying “Indicators were the largest deteriorations were violent demonstrations. 3 times more countries filled & improved, and this continues a 10-year trend. Political instability where we found twice as many countries deteriorated as improved and then militarization when 97countries deteriorated (10:25-10:46).” That’s because Steven explains how the factors are by breaking down the deterioration and violence.

Universal House of Justice. “The Promise of World Peace.” By Project Gutenberg, 2006. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/19286/19286-pdf.pdf

“The Promise of World Peace” is a book produced by the Universal House of Justice of the Baha’i Faith. The Universal House of Justice talks about and explains the requirements of facing obstacles to establishing World Peace. People around the world have different opinions on what they want about peace. The Universal House of Justice explains how some people want to proclaim and want peace and harmony, while others have different ideas. This shows how there is a consistent battle of achieving peace since the main problem is opinions and not agreeing with each other’s philosophy.

The Universal House of Justice is a supreme ruling that constitutes an internal convention. The supreme ruling is more like a supreme court for faith and religion. Throughout the book, it shows how people are agreeing and disagreeing with each other, of whether peace can coexist. As we continue on page 3 it demonstrates the following statement, “People of all nations proclaim not only their readiness but their longing for peace and harmony, to put an end to the harrowing apprehensions tormenting their daily lives. On the other hand, uncritical assent is given to the proposition that human beings are incorrigibly selfish and aggressive and thus incapable of erecting a social system at once progressive and peaceful, dynamic, and harmonious, a system giving free play to individual creativity and initiative but based on co-operation and reciprocity.” “The Universal House of Justice,” explains in-depth how there are 2 sides, one side where the people both want and need peace & harmony while the other side explains how we as human beings are the cause of not being able to achieve world peace. Since humans nature to be incompetent and to be incorrigible, selfish, and aggressive to change their opinions, causing them to be reckless and one of the factors that lead to uncivilized conflicts among themselves.

I am 100% comfortable able to agree with Gutenberg since it accurately demonstrates how human beings operate and how we must admit when we are wrong and be able to change and see how much work we can do together to achieve world peace. We can all see a clear definition of what most people are across the globe. How much harm we are doing to each other and how we can achieve it if we just adapt to the fact that we are the cause. The first to ever achieve a sort of peace is to be able to admit how selfish we are. And once we do that, we will be able to achieve peace. Now, the question I have to the author is, if this is so accurate and you believe in dedicating world peace. Then how come we as the people how come we as people have not heard of you? Are you doing anything to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine? Or if you have, why are you keeping too quiet? Next, I want to ask you the Universal House of Justice, why are you not in the United Nations? And why don’t you combine laws and research with them? This book informs my research by accurately representing how humans are the key factors to establish steps to come closer to peace.

Gutenberg’s writing genre is persuasive, narrative, and descriptive. The credentials are the Universal House of Justice. Since it’s a supreme ruling body of the Baháʼí Faith. The credibility of the book is important since it explains how their supreme ruling shows their country had formed peace in Haifa. The author’s purpose of writing is to explain to the audience how much peace can be if only we start by changing it in ourselves and being able to accept change. But also explaining how to do so may start in conflict. Causing an endless circle of going back to our natural ways as humans.

The “Universal House of Justice states,” “As the need for peace becomes more urgent, this fundamental contradiction, which hinders its realization, demands a reassessment of the assumptions upon which the commonly held view of mankind’s historical predicament is based. Dispassionately examined, the evidence reveals that such conduct, far from expressing man’s true self, represents a distortion of the human spirit. Satisfaction on this point will enable all people to set in motion constructive social forces which, because they are consistent with human nature, will encourage harmony and co-operation instead of war and conflict.” This quote I agree with this since it shows how much we can do if only we accept change and what we can do once we are in our natural state in which peace is either capable or incapable based on our intentions.

What I have found in my research from all my source entries, is that there is a small chance to maintain World Peace across the globe. In distinction to the first entry source, it states, “Several opportunities to enhance our work with peacebuilders, activists, and other populations in bringing about sustainable change and to ensure we recognize and articulate with greater clarity their latent capacity may include the following: To learn how people make decisions and act on them, how they think about, influence, and relate to one another, and how they develop beliefs and attitudes. We are working with young people to apply behavioral insights to address violent extremism in countries such as Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.” This shows how there is a small chance to grow the possibility to exist world peace. How in other countries are working on Implementing to create a small chance to exist peacefully in their countries. As a result, one country can successfully succeed in achieving peace.

Each entry source provided key essential information on whether it could happen. But so far in my research, it all came to the same conclusion. And that is people were, it all starts with us. How the people are either the cause or the effect of whether or not we can have peace. For us to one day live in a peaceful world is to be able to admit that we are the cause of the problem. Once we do that, we are one step on the way to achieving it. We need to come together and be able to professionally and respectfully agree and disagree with each other. And conclude to further understand how we can come to an agreement that both sides come out winning. What surprised me in my research was how there are organizations and government officials working day and night to agree on world peace. But at the same time, my research also shows how it would happen down a long, long road.

This topic too, and it should be for anyone who is 18 years older and up, needs to find this particularly important and interesting at the same time. I encourage you young adults to please do not take this as a joke. Because as we are talking about right now, other countries are struggling to have peace. For example, Russia and Ukraine are currently at war with each other. All because of this, Putin finds Ukraine a major threat and does not feel safe. Or because Putin does not want Ukraine to join the Western Defensive Alliance “NATO.” Or because Russia wants Ukraine’s natural resources? There are so many questions, and few being answered on why Russia went to war with Ukraine, and when the war is going to end. So please, take this topic very seriously and this is not a joking matter. I am hoping to reach my research about my topic to anyone who is in college and up. To conclude, my research was very intriguing, with a few questions answered and a few unanswered questions. To specify, peace in a country is possible while “World Peace,” is still being determined based on human actions and choices. Since we are the cause of the problem and the solution to it as well. We just need to figure out how we can make those problems and solutions coexist with each other to get a step closer on the path to World Peace.

How I feel about my project so far is how much work I have put into this project. How passionate I became about this project. Because to me, as a person, I am a pacifist type of guy. I believe that violence & war does not solve anything at all. I see from learning back in middle school and high school how the history class explains how much war and violence were caused by what, power, territory, natural resources, and disagreements with each other. See what I mean, there are other ways to achieve what you want so both sides can come out winning. That is why the Treaty of Paris of 1763 is important since it ended the American Revolutionary War. The problem I was having while doing this project was figuring out what source entry, I could use for my final entry source. Furthermore, what I think is working on this final project is being able to manage my time with this project. Being able to have total control of this project and being able to research something that I like & deeply passionate about. As you can see this is way better than having to write something you might feel is boring and not remarkably interesting, versus when it is something that piques your interest.

In addition, what I think I might need help with is the citation of the source entries I was using. Because to be fair, I forgot all about the MLA format. And yes, it was difficult, but I was to use a resource that helps create the citation for you. But I am not 100% sure if Easy bib is accurate or not. So far, I am proud of my research in general. Of how it came out and being able to smile and appreciate the amount of work I put into this project. The amount of endless writing is a wonderful feeling when you know you found a topic that truly makes you feel interesting and happy. To know that you will pick something that you do not regret. Because it just produces endless information and being able to have an open mind about your research. Because I created a question, “Is there a possibility of maintaining World Peace across the globe?” And it made me rethink the question I was trying to answer. Since throughout my research it showed countless information about how countries are becoming peaceful, while few are not close to it. It made me realize that my question is overly broad and huge. As a result, I figured out that “World Peace” is possible eventually.

Unit 3

If I had to revise my Unit 3 it would be to see and check if I had any spelling checks or grammar mistakes. But so far as I see I don’t need to change anything I am comfortable that I did better than my Unit 1 and 2. That’s because Unit 3 personally was my favorite and fun to do. To try something new and interesting that I haven’t done in a long time. Overall my Unit 3 was fun and exciting to do since my Artcraft was slowly forming into beauty.

Throughout my Unit 2 project, I researched whether or not there is a possibility of maintaining World Peace across the globe? And from what I have found, turns out that our world can have a chance at world peace. But it all starts with us. Whether we like it or not we are the cause of it. We first, need to come to an agreement that World peace is possible. But it provides a lot of support within our community, our city, our country, and our world. Furthermore in my research, I came across multiple explanations on whether World Peace is achievable. All my source entries came to the same conclusion. Which was World Peace can coexist as long as we as human beings can come to agree with each other and come together as a whole. To support one another and help each other. Having countries become allies with one another. While making peace treaties that support each other while having both sides win.

My goal is to educate students from 12 graders to freshmen in college since they are more mature and old enough to handle it. To understand and be curious about the topic that I am trying to present. To make sure they don’t ignore the topic since it is not a laughing matter. That they must take it very seriously since people right now are currently affected by it. How I will target my audience is by introducing a scene from the movie called “Braveheart.” This movie is the key to my presentation. Braveheart gives detail, emotion, action, and suspense. The scenery of the filming locations in Scotland and Ireland is breathtaking, the cinematography is spectacular. The movie sets, costumes, and weapons are very well made. From suffering to courage to love is depicted. As we continue, fellow students. I will start with my presentation by watching “Braveheart,” from the movie we will be watching a specific part of the scene to show you and visually see the lengths to achieve peace.

Click this link right here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIvRkjOd1f8&t=35s and watch it till the very end. Once you have watched the whole thing, let me give you background information about what “Braveheart” is about and why I picked it, and how it connects to my topic overall. On google, it states “Braveheart is about William Wallace a medieval Scottish patriot who is spurred into revolt against the English when the love of his life is slaughtered. Leading his army into battles that become a war, his advance into England threatens King Edward I’s throne before he is captured and executed, but not before becoming a symbol for a free Scotland.” Now for why I picked it and how it connects to the topic. Will let me explain. I picked this movie for the emotion, history, and the impact it has when someone is watching this movie. Especially, watching that specific scene from the movie, from the link that I provided. That scene I provided has a significant connection to my topic. That scene is a speech that is being given by the main character William Wallace (played by Mel Gibson who also directed the movie). In addition, that speech has a lot of depth and emotion about the whole significants of the movie and my topic. Moreover, I wanted to show you how peace can be achieved. Yes, it was violent, but you can see it yourself and feel the connection between the main character and the plot of the movie. You can empathize with everyone else in the movie and the struggle they’re facing just so they can have their freedom. As a result, William Wallace made a huge impact on everyone in the movie and us as the audience. To come to terms with how much we need to fight for our freedom and how far we have come. To figure out what we need to do and to go on the right path to come closer to World Peace.

Artist Statement 

I became interested in the topic of world peace since not many people ask questions about world peace. This topic became very interesting in researching because to me as a person I am a pacifist type of person. But being a pacifist it is also kinda hard to see that war can or can’t be unjustifiable. How I became curious about world peace was watching movies, watching the news, and reading about war and documentaries on the internet. And one day the idea came to me, wondering whether or not there’s a possibility of maintaining World Peace across the globe? That’s why I researched a lot of entry sources explaining the possibility of World Peace. And how World Peace is achievable, but it starts with us. Coming together, and forming organizations that support and help many countries that are struggling with peace.

The purpose of this project is to educate my fellow audience who are in high school and going to college. To be able to understand and be curious about it, while living in today’s sociality. Can there be a possibility of maintaining World Peace across the globe? To agree on whether or not it can be answered? I wanted my audience to be at least 18 years and up since they are more mature and to take it very seriously. To make sure that the audience understands the topic itself, and why it must be taken seriously since it is not a laughing matter. And hopefully, my audience will be able to leave my presentation with curiosity, questions, and understanding. Also, I see my project itself shown in a classroom or an auditorium since it’s a formal, informative, educational presentation. Furthermore, the appeals that I am currently using are pathos and ethos. Since they provide my project with emotion and credibility.

As for my presentation, I will be using a movie named “Braveheart.” It’s a movie about war, freedom, and peace. But the movie I will be using a specific scene from the movie. The scene itself is 2 minutes and 48 seconds long. Long enough to keep my audience entertained and visible pleasing. This made me realize that my audience will be entertained since my goal is to make it not boring. But something unique and new. But with the movie, I will have to create a short speech or article about why I picked it and how it connects to the topic of World Peace.

The process of making my project the way it is. By using my imagination while being creative at the same time. As well as including a movie that in my opinion best suits fit my audience. Then, finding a movie that connects to my topic while having my one goal in mind. To make sure that my audience doesn’t get bored. Next, I went to make sure that incorporate my topic from Unit 2 and explain why in I picked World Peace as my topic. What didn’t work so well was creating a book since my audience will get bored. Because the whole point of my project is to make sure I did something new and unique. Who I turned to for help is my Professor Cole. She was able to clarify in detail what the project needs to be about. While asking my sister to be my audience and tested out on her whether or not she was entertained by it and see if she got bored at any moment. When I did panic was whether or not the movie can connect with my audience and with my topic overall. What I did was watch the scene that I picked and test it out with my sister and friends, and to see whether or not they liked it and ask for their honest feedback.

I think that it turned out unique as I wanted it to be. While making sure that my audience doesn’t get bored throughout the whole presentation. I saw my appeals evolve as beautiful as the sunset. It came together perfectly in my honest opinion. The movie and the scene itself worked like a charm. It was short, sweet, and straight to the point. If I had the time, what I would have done differently is to present it to my class. To see their honest reactions and feedback. To understand what different approaches I could have taken to my project. Maybe include the audience more than just make them watch my presentation, but incorporate them somehow. To have my audience be part of the presentation, instead of just being an audience. What I am happy about is the movie that I picked. And if you haven’t watched Braveheart, please do so and tell me what you think of the movie. The project itself was both easy and hard. The hardest part was finding a genre that best presents my project, and to make sure that my audience doesn’t get bored so easily. How I feel having to do something like this as a college project was fun and very creative. It gets the student itself thinking while forming creativity in it. It was an amazing experience since it was something new. While I do see myself using this in the future to approach audience’s to my project that goes with my career. Overall, this was an incredible experience and to be able to see other people approach their projects differently is mindblowing. Imagination and creativity together work alongside each other.

Final Reflection

What I have learned about myself as a reader, writer, and scholar this term is to be able to use all three for my upcoming future. From the beginning of class, I didn’t know what it meant to be a reader, writer, or scholar. When learning to be a reader or becoming one it all takes time and effort. It takes a lot of dedication to reading like a writer. As a reader, we must figure out how to indicate what we must read and learn what we need to include in overall writing and reading. For instance, in “How to Read Like a Writer” Mike Bunn stated “I think in my opinion what he meant by this is that the article states, ‘You have a built-in advantage when reading like a writer. All of your previous writing experiences inside the classroom and out can contribute to your success with RLW.’ What he’s trying to convey is that we already have some advantages when it comes to writing or becoming an author, since in school they taught us a thing or two about reading and writing.” This shows how much I have learned to become a reader and a writer at the same time.

A writer is something completely different from a reader. But they can be connected to develop into creating a wonderful essay. As a writer myself who still has a lot to learn, I have learned that writing is easy since it was taught to us in school. But writing as a writer is something unique that takes time and effort. To perfect one of becoming a writer. It would be best if you forgot about those lousy things in middle school or high school. Yeah, some could help, but a writer takes years of practice. In Mike Bunn’s article, I have stated “What I’ve noticed in particular that I want to try in my writing is “What should you be writing as you are reading” on page 81. Bunn explains a few of his methods of what he does when he does this. On page 81 it states, “One thing that I like to do is highlight and underline the passage in the text itself, and then try to answer the following three questions on my notepad: ‘What is the technique the author is using here? Is this technique effective? What would be the advantages and disadvantages if I tried this same technique in my writing?'” I want to try this out because it seems helpful when you’re researching something in particular or something specific. In conclusion, overall Bunn’s article has some very key pointers we should all pay attention to and use when we are reading and writing.” As you can see I believe that Mike Bunn’s article and the overall message are very important for other students to learn about. To perfect their reading and writing skills, to achieve something greater in life. And how it can help in the long run in their future.

What I have learned as being a scholar or closer to one. Is to differentiate the difference between reading as a writer or writing as a reader. As both, I wanted to show how much work it has to be put into a lot of determination and inspiration to become a scholar. Being able to understand how important it is to be able to use it in my daily life. How much improvement I have ever since I step foot in this class. From the beginning, I didn’t understand the difference between what a scholar was or what it meant. Then furthermore as the class went into depth, I was able to see and understand what a scholar is and how it can be used it improves my overall structure as a student in college. A scholar is someone who is a person who pursues academic classes/activities that apply to their area of expertise. A scholar can be anyone who wants to try and succeed and, wants to make changes in life that can help them in life and life.

How I will be able to use what I have learned this term and transfer that knowledge to other writing situations-either in college or my community, by going back and looking at my work. To go furthermore in what I have learned and do more and more learning. By researching more skills and techniques in my writing to further improve myself as well as my reading. As for college, I will continue taking classes in English composition to further improve and understand the lengths that I have to go to achieve what I want. As for what I want, I want to be able to follow and understand/learn all the techniques and skills of being a reader, writer, and scholar. In addition, my community is my home. I see my community as a part of me. My community makes me how I am now. And for that, I don’t want to take it for granted. I want to show my community how much I have learned from college. How college isn’t that bad. That it teaches you important techniques and skills that can develop your improvement that can help you for your future.

How I would compare and contrast what I did early in the semester to now is by looking at the comments of my professor and peers. By checking back at the formating of choice I picked when writing or reading back then.  And checking the grades I got back then till now. As I see, my writing style has changed tremendously, and how much I have learned from this class and my professor. To understand and be able to somewhat perfect my writing. By seeing how much work I have put into this class to be a great reader, writer, and scholar. To see my artwork process as this class is about to come to an end. But to remember the important details, information, skills, lessons, and teaching. Everything about me comes from reading and writing. Before I found it very boring and almost useless. But once I step foot into high school and college it made me change my opinion. To see how important it is for my classes and my future.

What were my favorite and the least favorite assignment were Units 2 & 3? Moreover, what was my least favorite assignment was the Educational Narrative. To elaborate on what I mean why Units 2 and 3 were my favorite since it was something new that I haven’t learned from middle school and high school. Why I hated Unit 1 was because I did something similar to it back in high school. I prefer to learn something that I haven’t learned in high school since it’s fun and interesting at the same time. Because learning the same thing can get very boring and very tiring. To be able to pick up new techniques and to go in-depth on the techniques we learn back in high school is very eye-opening. Before coming to this class, it made me realize why annotating is important and why prereading my work before submitting it can truly help save time and make your overall structure and foundation very stable. I’ll explain why I enjoyed Units 2 and 3 because I was able to do something I was dying to do. To pick something I was passionate about, not something that a teacher or professor gives you knowing it will be boring and tiring. And because of that, the students can effort their writing and you can truly see when you are reading.