ENG1121E106Spring2019

In-Formation

Summary of Assignments in all Units (1 – 4) for your Reference

You are almost done! It is Unit 5: Final Portfolio Time. I am going to summarize your assignments for the whole semester here, grouping them under their respective “Units.”  I hope this helps you remember and organize as you start with Unit 1. Good luck! Note: I put “++” next to those assignment that I felt were the most major and ought to be included in your Final Portfolio. Please know that you are welcome to also include other assignments that you feel shed good light onto you and your work in this class.

What happened in Unit 4 — Multi-Modal:

The Multi-Modal Unit asked that you take the Research you did in Unit 3 (of your skill/interest area) and creatively switch it into a digital genre of your choice (video essay, video sports interview, video diary, podcast…). There wasn’t much time for this. You did your best, ++and included a link in your Final Portfolio to what you made. In a way, Unit 4 is yet another genre mashup — only this time: digital!

What happened in Unit 3 — Inquiry / Research:

You stuck with the same skill you used in Unit 2, only delving into it to find out what problems or issues surround it. (You may have completed a couple of Worksheets I provided over spring break to help you organize your thoughts.) ++You wrote a proposal for research to me, at minimum 4 paragraphs, explaining what further inquiry or research would do for this problem, shedding new awareness on it. You gave credit to your (excellent!) sources where credit was due!

Note: This personal Research was hopefully very interesting both to you and to me. It was not something I could find verbatim on the Internet, in a box, or on an essay site. It made you want to do more! (see unit 4)

What happened in Unit 2 — Genre and Rhetoric:

+You choose a skill/something you do well. This “skill” would become the focus of/form the written content of all your future Unit assignments henceforth.

++Your first genre switch was that you create a written “recipe” for a skill/something you do well

You listed 10 or so types of writing (genres) that you encounter in your life

++You picked one of these genres/forms of writing and gave me a clear example of it

++You analyzed this example rhetorically (who is its audience? its writer? who is impacted by this genre? what kinds of language to they use? etc.)

++You did a creative switch in which write about your “skill” in the form and style of this genre

You had readings assigned and you wrote and posted reflections on them. Depending on your section number, they would be: “Shitty First Drafts” by Annie Lamott and “Navigating Genres” by Kerry Dirk and “Internal Revision: A Process of Discovery” by Donald Murray.

You were working on the train, bus, in transit to record Outer and Inner Dialogues in at least three different locations or times, with setting and situation noted. (Note: We didn’t have time to address this assignment, but you may include it in your Final Portfolio with some prefatory notes to me if you wish!)

What happened in Unit 1 — Language and Metacognition:

This was a very long Unit. I will put “++” next to the major assignments, but there were many small ones as well:

++lipograms and general constraint writing — one without descending letters on the topic of “fear” and one without ascending letters on the topic of “cure

++a formal essay on the topic of “freedom”

You wrote reflections on assigned readings including (depending on your section #) one by author Laura Carroll called “Backpacks v. Briefcases”; one by author Nelson Graff called “Teaching Rhetorical Analysis”; and “Grammar to Get Things Done” (section 115 only)

A reflection on how this Unit had been working for you (its challenges, its triumphs) so far, and how you felt.

Short in-class writings about your day, your path to school, little things you noticed…

Lots of vocabulary work (section 439 in particular)

 

Genre

  1. Name 10 genres you encounter in your everyday life.

Answer:

  1. Emails
  2. Phone calls

3.Social Media

  1. Texting
  2. Narrative
  3. Textbook
  4. Research paper
  5. Literature
  6. Non-fiction
  7. Science Fiction
  8. Name one or two that you like best and say why. Who is their audience? What sort of language do they use?

Answer: My favorites are phone calls and reading about the world.

Phone calls are easier to understand than texting which gets too many complications.

  1. What is your understanding of the term “genre”?

Genre is a type of art, literature, and style. Everybody has a different type of genre.

Shitty first drafts

When I start to write I think a lot of things. My mind tries to focus on one topic at a time. I don’t like going off topic because then I will have so many errors and too many mistakes. I always write more than one draft, which I can compare the difference from before and after. I always fix some point in my writing. So that way I can organize my paper by editing and finding synonyms instead of being repetitive. The title did not surprise me I think it is true. The first draft is really helpful for me. The second draft makes me more aware of the things I missed out or if the paper was rushed.

Final reflection

“My Journey” including my narrative as a student in English Class this semester.
Submitted by: Diane Diaz
Exam, ENG 1121
Section 106
5/20/19

Dear professor, as a student with english as a second language, found your class very interesting, it really got my attention. English class are never my favorite because i found it to be really hard to express myself thru writing.My Journey as a student in New York City Tech has been challenging,it is a very important piece of my future as a nurse and has not been easy , but that has make me more stronger. In this class I have learned to listen, to find myself more putting any thought i may have in that moment. I am really starting to understand myself a little more. I also learned how to listen to opinions and also put my thought without being afraid. I learned different types of genres that I can utilize in the future. I learned how to be creative and describe what really is on my mind. Recently I did not pass a very important test for the beginning of my career. I know that failing is not an option and sometimes happens I found the reason, is to make you stronger I would not take this second chance as granted. A lot of my colleagues in this class i found very motivators and it feels great knowing we have a class that we are learning in many different ways. Thank You professor.

final portfolion

 

Daniel Pelaez Guevara

Prof. Shmerler

English 1121

Final English

Dear professor,

I have never liked writing or been good at putting my words on paper. Growing up English has been my least favorite subject for multiple reasons, such as the need to constantly check your writing and grammar for any mistakes. I also tended to hate how teachers would leave remarks on work that I did despite knowing that I was a just a child. In high school I had an easier time writing because we would be handed templates on how to write an essay and it was always the same kind of essay, argumentative. This ended up hurting me because it was the only style of writing that I had become familiar with in 4 years.

Unit1 brought back memories on the last semester about English 1. The unit made me think about how I write sentences again and caught my attention from the start like last semester. It caused me to think outside the box on how wording and the use of different vocabulary can make a piece of writing so much more interesting. I feel like starting a unit with this would catch the attention of all new students. Unit 2made me think about what kind of things I’m willing to write about. This was an interesting topic to start on early in the year. It caused other students to open up about more personal topics. It could have made people feel more vulnerable to the judgement of their peers. I was one of these people, I was afraid to write down personal things. It’s just my character to not share to much personal things. If I did the cure, I would have written how I can tackle my fears head on. The next unit made me think about whether or not what I write down should matter wo anyone else. What I write down in final and can no longer be changed by anyone else. The recipe part of the semester was one of my favorites because it allowed me to think about one of the things that makes me happy as an individual. The research proposal also pushed me because it made me think on the problem that society has with video games and tackle it head on. I enjoyed the semester and hopefully I can get a new job that does make me work overnight, so I can focus better in class.

Sincerely, Daniel Pelaez Guevara

 

The thing I remember about this unit was that we were pushed to try to write and think about grammar differently from how we were taught in our previous classes. The exercises that really stuck with me was the one where we had to write without certain words, letters and start writing down what we heard on our travels. The exercise where we wrote without certain words really pushed me to discover and use new vocabulary to take the place of the missing words or even restructure the sentence in order to have proper grammar. The exercise with without using certain letters was even trickier due to not being able to use a large amount of my basic vocabulary.

 

Fear and the Cure

 Fear: My fear will have to be ending up alone because of either my personality or just being unlucky. I tend to only be around certain people because I tend to be more serious in nature and that causes people to not want to be with me. Isolation is a cruel teacher to learn from and it hardens the hearts but weakens the mind. I grew up with a single mom and when she got remarried to my first stepdad life didn’t get better for me and I had my first taste of isolation, being kept in my room as much as possible. This constant loneliness caused me to develop a very awkward personality and trouble socialization. Over time, I hope i can fix this and be someone people love to be around.

Cure: Try to be more social and learn to find people who I fit in with.    

This unit pushed students to be more open to the minds so to say of their fellow students. I couldn’t write about my fears because I’m a very private man when it comes to my feelings. I tend to not like people sticking their two cents in my personal life that I keep private. When I share my feeling, people tend to give me their opinion and it irritates me. The cure assignment, if I had written it, would have made me think about how I perceive my problems as an individual.

 

 Recipe

Gaming recipe

  • My custom-built gaming computer
  • A mouse of 10,000 dpi and low latency
  • A keyboard with cherry mc red for faster actuation times
  • A relaxing chair for long sessions
  • A good quality headset to drown out my surrounding
  • Dim lighting to enjoy the beautiful images
  • Blue light filtering glasses (need to take care of my eyes more)
  • snacks
  • Me

The only rule you must follow is sit back and have fun playing video games.

The third unit was more fun for me. It made me write about thing that make me happy. I enjoyed thinking about what I need to have in order to have a good time playing games. Video games have really shaped me as an individual. They kept me out of trouble and kept my mind occupied as I grew up in my very large household. I went to video games as an escape from the stresses of life in general. They help me keep calm and forget my struggles from day to day life.

 

 

Genre

Dear Daniel,                                                                                                          4/29/19

We are sorry to inform you that you are hereby being removed from Synergy Teams main team due to inactivity in the game. As stated on our page, we are looking for players who enjoy gaming and are consistently online. We strive to have a team where people can play and develop with one and other.  In our records you have participated in only 3 out of the previous 10 matches we had against competing teams. This lack of involvement has caused concern among the senior players in the clan. Due to your record in competitive matches we are placing you in the reserve team instead of removing you from the clan all together. As one of our experienced players, your job in the reserve team is to help train and guide our newer members through the basics of the game. These will include leading them through random matches, raids and basic strikes. Let us all continue to help one and other and rise through the ranks.

Sincerely,

Clan Founder and Leader Shawn

This assignment made me think about what how differently people write when they are trying to conform to the standards of a certain genre. This also made me think about how a person way of speaking can be altered based on what they’re writing and who their audience is. Making this writing piece was fun because it caused me to put myself in the shoes of someone in a higher position and think about how they would speak to someone that they are removing from their team. Removing someone from your team or staff can always be tricky because you don’t know how they will respond or how they will act on this change.

 

Research Proposal

Daniel Pelaez Guevara

May 26, 2019

Prof. Schmerler

English 1121

                                                            Research Proposal

            Since the creation of video games, people have lashed out against their creation and their inference on society. Parents, and now even politicians, are throwing video games under the bus. They claim that video games are causing their children to develop into nonfunctioning people in society. They originally claimed that people who spend all day playing video game end up living with their parents and are “bums”. They are now claiming that video games are now bad for the development of children and that violent video games lead to people committing violent crimes such as mass shooting. In this proposal, I would like to see if people who play video games can enjoy games and still be develop into a proper citizen in modern society.

            In the news, mass shootings are usually blamed on two things, mental depression and video games. In the news article from The Irish Times, written by Deidre Falvey, it states, “Research conducted this year at York University, using a large sample, backs other studies showing no direct link between games and violent behavior.” The article covered the Florida shooting at a local Gaming Bar that was holding a competition. This research showing that video games and violence don’t go hand in hand. When it comes to being a working member of society people assume that gamers can’t make a living and should just get a “real job. Gamers now can make millions just off playing video games. A gamer who made it big is known as Tyler “Ninja” Blevins. He is one of the best players in a game known as “Fortnite” and has made it big from streaming his time in the game. According to ESPN, “And finally, like street busking, there are donations. (The largest donation Blevins can remember receiving is $40,000.) Off subscriptions alone, Blevins makes an estimated $300,000 a month. That’s not factoring in his sponsorships, which include Samsung, Red Bull and Uber Eats, or the revenue from YouTube, Instagram and other sites.” He makes more money from playing video games in 1 month than most Americans make in one year. This shows that in society, gamers can contribute and not live in their parent’s basement.

 

 

 

Sources

http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/24710688/fortnite-legend-ninja-living-stream .E. Ten. Accessed on 5/13/19

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/florida-shooting-could-videogames-be-to-blame-1.3609347. D. Falvery. Accessed on 5/13/19

The research proposal made me really go into detail about what society views games and the people who play them as. Growing up video games have made me into the person I am today. They helped my get through the rough times as a child. Society now sees them as a threat and the reason the horrendous crimes such as school shooting. This unit made me really think about something I like in a different perspective.

Unit 4 was the most fun for me because I got to talk about one of my favorite pass times. Being able to  record a video of me playing was a rush too because I wanted to perform better knowing that I could be judged on my skills. This semester really tried me because working overnight is really stressing on the mind and body, having to deal with drunk people for 10 hours, from 6pm to 4 am, then go to school with no sleep from 830 am to 830 pm. I tired to keep up but we’ll see what my grade is.

Heres my video:  https://youtu.be/G5W5RRJ0q90

 

 

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