Author: Mansur
Final Portfolio
For a long time now smoking has been a huge problem all around the world and it has been affecting people. it causes people to get lung cancer, heart diseases and lead to death. And my issue is i want people to get healthy and live longer because in the long term it can benefit them for their own sake and their family.
Mansur Usman
300 jay St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Mansur.usman@mail.citytech.cuny.edu
23 november 2019
AndrĂŠ Calantzopoulos
Phillip morris international
120 Park Ave # 6, New York, NY 10017
Dear Mr. Calantzopoulos
I am writing you today about an issue that I have it’s not against you personally but it is an issue with your company. For many years humans have been smoking for many years now and over the years it has become a huge issue. Sure people smoke for a reason some claim it’s because of stress and need something to relax the body. And others do it because it looks cool and that everyone does it too. But for many years research has also shown the harm that smoking does to a human even as crazy as leading to death. Smoking has a high risk for a human to get cancer. According to the American cancer society they claim ânot only does smoking increase the guy risk for lung cancer, it’s also a risk factor for cancers of the: mouth, kidney, liver, pancreas etcâŚâ. Wow im just amazed at what something as small as tobacco can do to a human being. In today’s world one of our biggest fear is cancer, for many years now, doctors have not been able to find a cure for this frightening disease. And for many years we have learned that cancer is killing us and there is nothing worse than hearing someone you love pass away from this disease. Nicotine is also one big issue in smokers. Nicotine is a big problem because it’s what causes people to keep smoking because it causes you to be addicted to tobacco. Studies from healthline.com states âNicotine largely affects the area of the brain responsible for attention, memory, learning, and brain plasticityâ. For humans our brains define who we are and we can do in this world and why on earth would we want to mess that up. With nicotine it can really affect us in all of these areas a human needs to function well. And as for teenagers that our mind is still developing the last thing that we need is nasty chemicals affecting how we think. We need our brain to its fullest capability so we can be able to learn and to see the world for how it really is. This is a big issue that we have to take action on because as a teenager, the last thing I need is chemicals and unknown substances going through my head. Mr Calantzopoulos now I have a question for you. Why do people have to keep suffering from tobacco while your company makes billions?. For years now solutions have been made but still the strength of your company has a huge influence on the people. For years there have been solution to help people who are suffering from the abuse of tobacco and its killing them but when a strong influence like your taking the wheel on these situations and allowing change to be achieved a lot of people can be helped.
SincerelyÂ
Mansur usman
Mansur Usman
300 jay St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Mansur.usman@mail.citytech.cuny.edu
23 november 2019
The New York Times
620 Eighth Avenue Manhattan, New York 10018
An open letter to the people of New York and all around the world.
I am writing you about an issue that is a great deal of importance to me and I think that you should hear me out. Since I was born and my brain was able to perceive things i’ve never liked smoking and i found it disturbing. But it’s not about me this is for my smokers and i just want to find a way to help. One thing that I know we all want is to be healthy and you cannot claim that if your constantly causing harm to your body. A bunch of research has been done on this issue and one from the cdc a website that is very trusted claim â Cigarette smoking kills more than 480,000 Americans each year. In addition, smoking -related illness in the United States costs more than $300 billion a yearâŚâ this breaks my heart that the amount of people in the US die from smoking and it might not scare some people out there but just imagine other places that smokes and not only in the us. Well finding out this information made me take the issue more seriously because everyone’s life matters to me. For those who thinks it not an issue you have to look on how you affect the people around you and your loved once. When you smoke not all of the smoke goes into your body and some are released in the air so others who are not smokers get affected by this and end up with the same diseases smoking can cause. My question is why do they have to suffer the same consequence for being innocent?. You affect the people your living with from babies to adults and this can have a big impact on them in the future. This source is from Web MD and lets hear what they have to say about this âExposure to secondhand smoke raises your risk — by as much as 30 percent — of getting lung cancer and many other types of cancer. It can lead to emphysema, and it’s bad for your heartâ. So now think do the innocent really deserve this.one thing that is important to everyone is health and living longer for yourself or someone who you value a lot. Smoking goes against those wishes and potentially causing you to lose your life faster or you can hurt someone you love dearly in the process. I know people like to smoke to relieve stress but there are also many ways you can release your stress like daily exercise, spend time with your family and you can also write it down. I know all this can be hard and it surely wouldn’t be an easy process but if you’re determined, you can achieve this. Â
https://amp.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/tobacco-and-cancer/health-risks-of-smoking-tobacco.html
https://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/qa/is-being-exposed-to-secondhand-smoke-bad-for-you
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/resources/data/cigarette-smoking-in-united-states.html
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/heres-how-nicotine-affects-the-body
Annotated Bibliography Reflection
For someone who started writing in this genre is one thing that you must do is state where you got all your sources from. One thing that is also important is referring to the authors names in alphabetical order. Well in mine annotated bibliography i mention how the author connects the movie to real life that is also something important to do to better your annotated bibliography. I tend to use the word review a lot in my annotated bibliography i use that word a lot to further my writing and that the word that gets repeated frequently. For anybody who wants to write in any genre the most important thing you need is evidence to further and strengthen your annotated bibliography. things that I have learned from my annotated bibliography is how much dedication authors put into their work. They make sure that the audience understand what the movie is about and is it worth watching it. Thereâs still things that I want to learn what makes them different from other people and what I mean is how do people trust their opinion. And in what ways do they handle negative feedback with u satisfied audiences. What I have learned about myself as a writer is if I give myself enough time for an assignment it actually turns out better than I thought and I tend to be more creative with the words I use. My strength as a writer is being able to interpret things in my own way. The way I write and think is different from others. I usually try my best to act like i am the author to try to better understand what their message is. Even though I just got into writing and i see a lot of windows on how I can improve like changing my style of writing using different words and context to further my points and make it stronger. The best way to improve on these things is to continue to write more and seek help on how to improve there is no other way to do it than to put in the effort. This annotated bibliography shows us different ways of writing. It gets us to think of ideas and that we never think of and to combine all of it to make one main idea. It gets us to improve the way we write and it also shows us different methods we can use than what we already know.
Movie Review
Roger Ebert. The Godfather movie review
rogerebert.com/reviews/the-godfather-1972
Ebert review of the godfather makes us understand the connections between the movies characters and our family. In Ebert’s review he wrote â We tend to identify with Don Corleoneâs family not because we dig gang wars, but because we have been with them from the beginning, watching them wait for battle while sitting at the kitchen table and eating chow mein out of paper cartonsâ. Ebert makes this statement which indicates that most of us sit with our family at the dinner table we might not be preparing for war but we still enjoy the corleoneâs sitting at the dinner table discussing whatever family problems they have to encounter. Ebert also goes on to give the characters a lot of credit for their hard work. Ebert said that the actors gave an example of âinspired actingâ Eberts said those words to get us to understand the hard work these characters put in the movie and without them the movie would not have the same spark. In Ebert’s review he states âThe Godfatherâs role in the family enterprise is described by his name; he stands outside the next generation which will carry on and, hopefully, angle the family into legitimate enterprisesâ. In a family there’s the protector in the family that watches over the family, that can either be our fathers or mothers who are strong enough to guide us through life. This review attract many types of different audience who wants to get an opinion from a trusted source.
Roger Ebert. The dark knight movie review
rogerebert.com/reviews/the-dark-knight-2008
In ebert’s review the claim was that we care about the characters, the writing for this film and the performances of these characters. In the review it states â âThe Dark Knightâ is not a simplistic tale of good and evil. Batman is good, yes, The Joker is evil, yes. But Batman poses a more complex puzzle than usual:â. What I get from this is how complex the characters are there is more to these characters than we knowing their good and evil. In ebert’s review it states “”The Dark Knightâ slips around those defenses and engages usâ. Ebert is telling us how powerful the movie was that watching it caught all of our attention and how amazing the cinematography is. The tone that ebert use is formal to make us understand how important this review was to him. The audience that the review attract is teenagers and big Batman fans so they wonât be disappointed with what they like.
Andy Gill. Scarface movie review
empireonline.com/movies/reviews/scarface
In this movie review Gill argues that scarface is Al pacino’s movie. In the review it states âThe opening shots of Tony Montana reveal that weĂre in the presence of a truly Mephistophelean character, and one of modern cinema’s great performancesâ. This shows that how al pacino’s character in the movie inspired Gill to write about how great of a performance that was shown on cinema and how al pacino controlled the movie. While time time that the movie came out many critics dismissed the movie but Gill was still cheerful about it and encourage that it was an amazing film. In the review it states âIt’s a delicious performance from an actor who knows he’s on top form, and Pacino’s swaggering arrogance bleeds into the character, juicing it up even further.” Gill is fascinated with how al pacino gets into character with this movie and put his soul into this work. The audience that this is entertaining is movie lovers and al pacino fans.
Rob Humanick. Toy story
slantmagazine.com/film/toy-story/
This movie review by Humanick he makes a claim about how the movie is virtually perfect. In the review it states â Nary a frame goes to waste in the establishment and development of plot and characterâŚâ Humanick describes how he views the movies work and how impressed he was by disney’s work. In the review Humannick also said â it’s doubtful that there could have been a more perfect subject for the first fully computer generated filmâ. Humannick did not believe that at this time period there could not be no other movie that capture his heart like Toy story. Humanick tone was joyful telling how he felt about the movie and how beautiful it was. This review was made for all ages to enjoy a great review for an awesome movie.
Peter rainer. Superman returns movie review
csmonitor.com/2006/
Rainer was not a big fan of the superman returns movie and he claims it as a âmild disappointmentâ in rainerâs review he states âThis approach should not be shocking to anyone who saw Singer’s X-Men movies”. Rainer compares superman returns to another movie which did a much better job at analyzing the story and the characters. Rainer sound disappointed while writing this review and you can just tell by the way he words it and explain certain things. In the review it states âBrandon Routh certainly has the right rock-jawed comic-book look but, unlike Christopher Reeve, who also had the look, he’s not much of an actorâ. Again we see rainer make a comparison against the movie as he talks about how others did a better job and this movie just disappointed him. The audience this movie attract is mostly teens and big fans of superman to see he their favorite hero was in the movie.
Todd mccarthy. Heat movie review
variety.com/1995/film/reviews/heat
In this review mccarthy makes a strong claim of how heat stands out as one of the best crime films that has not been seen in a while. In the review it states â heat occupies an exalted position among the countless contemporary crime filmsâ. What this means is that heat is like no other crime film it has its own strong message and stand out by itself. In the review it states â rarely in the crime genre have so many characters been so deeply drawnâŚâ. The characters in this are also so powerful and that’s what makes this movie even stronger and propel the movie even further. The tone is so far giving us the details we need for the review. The audience this speaks is old time movie lover who love action and crime.
Spider-Man 2 review by Roger Ebert
Ebert makes a strong claim at the beginning of his review stating “Now this is what a superhero should be”. for someone like Ebert he is loved by people and have a deep trust in his review. Ebert tells people how the movie connects with us in today’s world and the same struggles that we face. Ebert states ” the film weight to all of its elements”. The words he uses signifies what type of movie it is and why you should seek out to go and watch it. Ebert believes that most movies he would not recommend for others because they wouldn’t like it but this movie is something hat you should seek out and watch.
Literacy narrative
I am not a reader,writer or thinker. My whole life I have struggled in all of these criterias, as of right now I feel like I have made a mistake in some parts of my sentence. Everytime that I write I feel like i’ve misplaced commas and and sometimes I feel like my periods are not even correct. That is something that I know about myself that I am not really proud of. When it comes down to reading I obviously know how but it is still not good enough i am not able to read fast like how I want to and sometimes get irritated learning something is complicated if you don’t put in the time and expand your horizons. And that is what I would like to do, reach those horizons and maybe someday day write a book like Harper Lee because I completely fell in love with to To Kill a Mockingbird. Well i will admit that out of all these three categories the one i’m not that bad at is as a thinker for whatever reason my teachers actually like when I participate in class. They like to hear my ideas out and sometimes be impressed with what I have to say. Well I do think that is pretty cool for a teacher to tell a student âWOW that pretty great of what you have to sayâ. I guess it gives me some confidence that maybe i’m not so bad and I can improve on my weaknesses. Well as a child I grew up in Ghana until i was like nine years old. I don’t really remember learning anything when I was back in my country and i know i got most of my education in America. The teachers are completely different from the ones in america. If you misbehave or get in trouble you will be punished. And sometimes unnecessary punishments for having different colored socks. Well even though i feel like i did not learn much in Ghana, I do admit I knew how to speak english before I got to america. I learned how to read and write and how to speak in english. When I arrived in america i was placed in the fifth grade and I didnât really fit in with the other kids. I felt like their english was better than mine because I had an accent and they didn’t. I felt misplaced and sometimes uncomfortable to go to school. Other kids would usually laugh because I was different and act like its a sin to have an accent or talk differently. But I continued to learn and develop the way I spoke and my vocabulary. I learned quickly and by the time I reached seventh grade i was a little more confident with the way i read and spoke. But I feel like itâs still not enough that I haven’t learned anything. Maybe I don’t give myself enough credit because others will wish to know what I know. I have to start learning ways I can better myself and be efficient in these three criteria, then maybe I can be a reader writer or thinker.
Personal Experience
To kill a Mockingbird was a book that i cherished while growing up. It left a powerful image in my head to go against odds that are trying to bring you down. Growing up I never was into reading and often skipped on reading assignments because they was dreadfully long and boring. This takes me back to 7th grade when my teacher introduced that book she gave the class a brief background about the book but of course I wasn’t paying but i did hear he say something about a white lawyer defending a black man for a crime he did not commit. I’m thankful that we started reading as a whole class because if it wasn’t for that I would have missed out on this beautiful book. After a couple days of reading in class I caught myself actually reading at home it only felt natural. I completely fell in love with that book the characters were amazing and well written. It also taught me a couple lessons one of them as i said before go against your odds and don’t judge others by the color of their skin. To kill a Mockingbird was a book I consistently read and it allowed me to be ahead of most people in the class. I was able to participate in class and completely understood what I was supposed to do. To kill a Mockingbird is a book that really stood out to me my whole entire life and i still remember a lot of things from the book and I would very much grab that book and live those moments again.
Malcolm X: Learning to read
         In Malcolm x learning to read shows the power of education and how it strengthen someone’s mind and their way of thought. Malcolm x shows the effort he puts in to educate himself even though he was in prison. Malcolm soon started to realize how his people are being treated during this era. Even though Malcolm was imprisoned for petty theft being in jail made him realize what he needed to educate himself. In the text it stated âit was sad. I couldn’t even write in a straight lineâ pg 258. This is what made Malcolm realize that it was disappointing for him as a black man not to be educated. And this lead to him realizing that prison was actually the right place he needed to be to educate himself. Malcolm also described the white men as âdevilsâ(Pg263) . Showing the struggle minorities went through that time and how the whites use âtrickery and manipulationsâ to destroy others lives and to gain more power to rule and suppress others. Through education that Malcolm received in prison hr then now had a voice to show other what torment they are going through, and how they are being used and abused. According to the text it states âI read, a little bit more sensitivity to the deafness, dumbness, and blindness that was afflicting the black race in America (Pg 265). A huge amount of black in America was uneducated in this time period they were kept far from education, and without education you are looked down upon on like an animal. This is what allowed Malcolm to take the necessary steps he needed to educate himself. I took a lesson from âLearning to readâ is to realize that the importance of educating yourself, and fighting against odds that are trying to stop you from achieving knowledge. No matter what time of position you are in and the struggles that comes ahead push yourself and keep pushing. Malcolm who was sent to prison for a common robbery showed us there is no excuse not to educate yourself and with education it allows doors to be open for you.Â
