In-Formation

Author: Jelani (Page 1 of 2)

Portfolio

Jelani Barro
ENG 1121 – E-115
Instructor: Sarah Schmerler
5/21/2019

Writing in constrain with this logography was the first for me. I didn’t even know what a logography was until this class. I must day that out of all the assignments and units we did, this stood out to me the most. Certainly, I felt like I was using parts of my brain I never used before. I felt as if I was painting with words in my mind and painting them with the physical words on the paper. I found a new appreciation for English and I will continue to practice examples such as this to sharpen my writing skills.
Lipography
In this essay, I was tasked with a bid to write a “lipography” about something that I am afraid of, omitting all descending letters of the alphabet, such as: g, j, p, q and y.
You know what scares me the most? DEATH!!! Oh, not that I will die sometime, I’ll be dead, what would I care about death when I’m onboard the death train? No, I’m not at all a-scared of death for me. What scares me the most is losing a loved one; that’s the hardest element to deal with in this world, to me at least.
all other circumstance in this world, while we are still alive; time heals. Time heals all wounds, the loss of a loved one; I wish was just a wound, but time cannot heal this absolute loss. With this one, time allows us to relive our lives without them. It allows us the room to learn how to live with the loss, but it will never make them visible in our world, it just makes it a little easier to not think about the loss, but to think about their lives which remains stand fast in our memories.
It wasn’t until last summer – I wish I can write the name of the month, but It ends with a letter I cannot use; It wasn’t until then, when I received an answer to better receives and handle this unavoidable transition, we call death! The voice within the universe said to me: “Do not hold death so close to you, it is the natural occurrence of all creatures of this world. Mom and Dad are to board the death train in advance! What’s worse? Mom and Dad to be a witness at their child’s wake, or a child being a witness at Mom and Dad’s wake? It would be so much easier to use one word which starts with a letter I cannot use, instead of Mom and Dad. No Mom and Dad should ever live to see that death has taken their child, but its an ordination that the child must witness such a loss.
It was on that date sometime back in the summer, when I received the sanction to conceded to the inevitable loss that I must and should be a witness to. It was then that the scariness of death to Mom and Dad diminished for me.

Jelani Barro
ENG 1121 – E-115
Instructor: Sarah Schmerler
5/21/2019
This genre was fun to do. I thought of it as a piece of art. Turning one form of writing into another form was thoughtful and showed the necessity of learning how to become a good writer and the importance of knowing your audience and how to write effectively to connect with them in such a way that the message is received and processed. After all, that the whole purpose of communication. I really did feel like I was forcing my brain to rewire itself as I had to crosswire norms, genres in this case, in order to achieve the desired new genre.

Brief Summary on Executive Summary
A short but clear analysis of this genre that includes at minimum, the following information: who wrote it/the speaker; the audience; the kind of community that is invested in or impacted by this writing; the purpose of this writing; some key vocabulary or language terms you might find (if any) that are common in this form of writing; the sorts of ways that people try to write effectively in this genre (feel free to go into logos, pathos, ethos here if you can or wish).

This executive summary was written by Day Spa, as part of their Business plan. The audience is for any stakeholders in the company. Stakeholders, are anyone that might have any interest in the company for whatever reason. The type of community that might be interested in this could consists of: investors, potential clients, community boards or board members of the company.

Some key words used might be: summary, forecast, stakeholders, comprehensive analysis, market, uptick, financial plan, statistics, baseline, profits, investment and census.

This executive summary on the Day Spa is summarizing what the spa industry is like and how this spa will be beneficial to the community in what it is seeking to operate in.

I have also included my example of an executive summary about my skill, bowling, which you will find documented in this report.

Genre – Executive Summary
An executive summary, or management summary, is a short document or section of a document, produced for business purposes, that summarizes a longer report or proposal or a group of related reports in such a way that readers can rapidly become acquainted with a large body of material without having to read it all. It usually contains a brief statement of the problem or proposal covered in the major document(s), background information, concise analysis and main conclusions. It is intended as an aid to decision-making by managers and has been described as the most important part of a business plan.
For my genre, I will be presenting my steps on how to bowl in an executive summary:

Executive Summary for S. Schmerler Bowling Inc.
S. Schmerler Bowling Inc. is a NYC-based company that specializes in bowling and delivery for a frequent strike NYC based companies. For the 2018 fiscal year, the company enjoyed a modest 8.9% uptick in total bowling lane requests (to 90 % 0f the time), and an operating margin of 22.4%. This was based on regional benchmarking reporting. Local Law 84-09 Bowling and Strike Benchmarking requires annual benchmarking data to be submitted by owners of buildings with more than 50,000 square feet for public disclosure by May 1st of every year.
For 2019, we expect a 15% increase in overall business. This is based on two factors: First, increase in bowling lanes will force building owners into renovations and retrofitting. Second, communications between the company and local business owners indicate that 2018 – 2019 will be a busier year for new bowling customers, which will increase the demand for bowling balls and shoe rentals and deliveries. Please note that, in 2018 and for the rest of this year, the company is forced to turn down new lane requests, until the completion of the renovations. This was due to a lack of lanes, prompting this capital expense request for 2019, we are forecasting a 26.8% operating margin with about $1.84 million in total revenue. This represents an increase from a margin of 22.7% in 2018, which also includes our inclusion of costs relating to a requested capital expenditure of bowling balls and shoes, and the cost savings of $65,000 for 2018 and an accumulative 2% savings each following year; which will come from not hiring a new employee as we had a promotion in our department and whom the new automated dispensary system for shoes will replace. However, this is only for 2019. In future years the cost savings will increase along with revenue. The replaced direct labor salary will more than offset the costs of the new equipment.
The reasoning for this capital expenditure involves increasing work capacity. First, we know that the labor cost savings of $65,000 will more than cover the expenditure with a net cash flow of $15,000. The new system will replace the employee, and we can increase our capability to handle the increased operations capacity demand.
As seen in the budget, the savings from the direct labor in the department, even with the 2% increase in wages, and the switch to the automated rentals due to an increase in storage materials and delivery demand of bowling shoes. The wage increase continues a trend that the company has followed for the past several years. For 2018, the increase is 2%, which is down from 5%, but still significantly higher than the national cost of living increase. As for the automated upgrade, the company has decided to offer more delivery capacity to our customers. The cost will increase to $14 per rental, up from $10. The cost increase, I believe, will turn out to be a good decision, considering the boost in shoe rentals the company will experience. It will also allow us to charge a higher premium for our services. Please find a copy of our current steps for achieving a strike, below this summary for your reference.
Request for Approval:
I hereby request the approval of the 2019 operating budget, as well as approval of a $50,000 capital expenditure to purchase one additional automated shoe dispensary system. This system will help facilitate an expected 15% increase in business and will accommodate the increased operations capacity in the coming year.

Jelani Barro
Facility Manager
S. Schmerler Bowling Inc.

Steps:
1. Get bowling shoes
2. Pick out bowling ball – The ball shoed fit comfortably in the palm of your hands. Your fingers should fit comfortably in the holes on the ball, which allows your to cup the ball with your palms, and your fingers should have room at the tips.
3. When it’s your turn to bowl – pick up your ball with both hands.
4. Position the ball by your chest
5. As you step onto the floor with your left foot (switch foot position if your left handed), use both hands to lift the ball up and away from your chest.
6. As you step again, start off with your right foot this time. Then separate your left hand from the ball as you start to swing the ball out and down in from of you with your right hand.
7. As you step out again, with your left foot, your left hand should swing out in front of you as you swing the ball behind you with your right hand.
8. Then, as you bring your right foot out in front of you, swing the ball to the front of you as you aim towards the 6 pins – using the arrows in the alley to help guide you and release the ball in the direction of you estimated, with your right foot in front of you at this time.

Jelani Barro
ENG 1121 – E-115
Instructor: Sarah Schmerler
5/21/2019

This genre was fun to do. I thought of it as a piece of art. Turning one form of writing into another form was thoughtful and showed the necessity of learning how to become a good writer and the importance of knowing your audience and how to write effectively to connect with them in such a way that the message is received and processed. After all, that the whole purpose of communication. I really did feel like I was forcing my brain to rewire itself as I had to crosswire norms, genres in this case, in order to achieve the desired new genre.

Brief Summary on Medical Coding

A short but clear analysis of this genre that includes at minimum, the following information: who wrote it/the speaker; the audience; the kind of community that is invested in or impacted by this writing; the purpose of this writing; some key vocabulary or language terms you might find (if any) that are common in this form of writing; the sorts of ways that people try to write effectively in this genre (feel free to go into logos, pathos, ethos here if you can or wish).

This article on medical coding is from Medical Billing and Coding Education organization, that trains and certifies students in becoming medical coders in the medical industry.

The purpose of this writing is to make billing ion the medical field much easier to process bills and other charting categories used in the industry.

Some key vocabularies are: numeric, alphabetical, medical diagnosis, procedures, equipment, and health care services.

People use codes to represent different diagnoses or procedures that needs to be billed or reviewed by the medical industry.

This example from the web site that I am presenting, explains the background of medical coding and also has some examples of what coding is.

You will also find my example I used for bowling to illustrate the genre of medical coding to simplify the billing process of a bowling alley.

Second Genre – Medical Coding

MEANING: THIS DIAGNOSIS: CODE FOR THIS DIAGNOSIS:
Start Get shoes 0
Ball selection Choose correct bowling ball H
Choose lane Enter game info B.
Game result Strike C
Game result Spares X
End game Total score of game Z
Finish Return items Z

Example #1: 0HBCZZ
In this example, we have a strike in the first game. The bowler then decided to leave for whatever reason and so the code shows them leaving.
Example #2: 0HBX
In this example, the bowler played their first game and got a spare.
Example #3: X
In this example, the bowler played their second game and got the spare (all the remaining pins).
Example #4: ZZ
In this example, using the same bowler as in example #4, the bowler decided to leave and end game after their spare.

This format, although highly unlikely to be used in a bowling alley, we can see where this coding could be very useful for a busy bowling alley to code their players for faster billing purposes.

Student Name: Muaz Alkabass, Jelani Barro, Bilal Javed
Course and Section Number: ENG 1121 E115
Date: 5/21/2019

This unit was fun to do. As we were given the opportunity to work in a team. We are able to coordinate out time together to get out work done, and especially with making the video we did was even more fun to do. I think this was very befitting as our skill were sports, and in sports we do work as a team. I think for future classes our group can be used an example as we were the only group in our class to complete this exercise as a team/group.

UNIT 3 Worksheet 2 brainstorming your Research Proposal
Write a short draft (at barest minimum, 4 paragraphs) in which you present a proposal for research. In this proposal you will state your problem and tell the reader how your inquiry will potentially shed new light on this problem. Whom (what individuals or groups) will your inquiry benefit? How might your inquiry be of benefit to them (socially, economically, etc etc)? Show us how you are bringing some new perspective to an understudied area of this problem.
(To put this another way, this paper is where you tell us, enthusiastically, why you care about your issue, and why we should care as well.)
At the end of your Proposal. create a List of Relevant Sources in proper citation format and a short explanation of why each is helpful/relevant/has bearing on this topic.

We feel that it is important to open up further discussion and analysis of taking precautions while participating in any sports, whether it’s bowling, hiking, or wrestling. These three activities, were our skills we chose to write about during our genre exercises throughout the course. We were given the opportunity to participate in this research exercise as a team. We feel that this is a very fitting opportunity, as our skills were all related to sports, and most sports require participating with team members.

It is important to us, because such discussion would bring the following potential benefits to anyone who is willing to participate in any extraneous activities. Here are some examples for each of our skills:
Bowling:
• Selecting the correct ball
• Using good form while bowling.
• Correct shoes for the alley
Hiking:
• Packing emergency equipment
• Proper disposal of waste
• Good navigation skills
Wrestling:
• Proper safety gear
• Proper form
• Good health condition

This discussion would foster awareness of the importance of being safe, and practicing good habits for anyone who wishes to participate in of these sports. These habits will foster positive experiences for all participants and team members if applied.

This awareness is important because following the proper rules and guidelines will harness safety, not only for themselves, but also for all other participants or perhaps other team members. For example: proper form in bowling can prevent wrist injuries as this is most common occurring injury in this sport, for hiking proper disposal of litter can prevent fire hazards, and in wrestling proper head gears can protect against brain injuries.

List of Relevant Sources:
“Bowling Injury Risk Factors.” Twin Boro Physical Therapy, twinboro.com/sport/bowling/bowling-injury-risk-factors-nj.html.
This source was very helpful because the information gathered from this, was from actual injuries that were being treated by physical therapists.
“The Hazards of Bowling | e-LawLines.” e, 18 Apr. 2018, elawlines.com/2005/01/16/bowling-hazards.
This source was very helpful because the information gathered from this, were injuries that actually occurred and were seeking some sort of compensation from this law firm.

“Fire Safety.” American Hiking Society, 9 Aug. 2018, americanhiking.org/resources/fire-safety/
This source was very helpful because it provided information about causes and prevention of fire.
Kevin’s Hiking Page, www.kevingong.com/Hiking/index.html.
This source was very helpful because it provided information about injuries from hiking and tips for prevention.
Advanced Solutions International, Inc. “Preventing Wrestling Injuries.” Wrestling Injury Prevention, www.stopsportsinjuries.org/STOP/STOP/Prevent_Injuries/Wrestling_Injury_Prevention.aspx.
This source was very helpful because it provided information about injuries from wrestling and tips on how to prevent them.

Link to video: https://youtu.be/mziphbbCzEY

Research Group Project

Student Name: Muaz Alkabass, Jelani Barro, Bilal Javed
Course and Section Number: ENG 1121 E115
Date: 4/30/2019

UNIT 3 Worksheet 2 brainstorming your Research Proposal
Write a short draft (at barest minimum, 4 paragraphs) in which you present a proposal for research. In this proposal you will state your problem and tell the reader how your inquiry will potentially shed new light on this problem. Whom (what individuals or groups) will your inquiry benefit? How might your inquiry be of benefit to them (socially, economically, etc etc)? Show us how you are bringing some new perspective to an understudied area of this problem.
(To put this another way, this paper is where you tell us, enthusiastically, why you care about your issue, and why we should care as well.)
At the end of your Proposal. create a List of Relevant Sources in proper citation format and a short explanation of why each is helpful/relevant/has bearing on this topic.

We feel that it is important to open up further discussion and analysis of taking precautions while participating in any sports, whether it’s bowling, hiking, or wrestling. These three activities, were our skills we chose to write about during our genre exercises throughout the course. We were given the opportunity to participate in this research exercise as a team. We feel that this is a very fitting opportunity, as our skills were all related to sports, and most sports require participating with team members.

It is important to us, because such discussion would bring the following potential benefits to anyone who is willing to participate in any extraneous activities. Here are some examples for each of our skills:
Bowling:
• Selecting the correct ball
• Using good form while bowling.
• Correct shoes for the alley
Hiking:
• Packing emergency equipment
• Proper disposal of waste
• Good navigation skills
Wrestling:
• Proper safety gear
• Proper form
• Good health condition

This discussion would foster awareness of the importance of being safe, and practicing good habits for anyone who wishes to participate in of these sports. These habits will foster positive experiences for all participants and team members if applied.

This awareness is important because following the proper rules and guidelines will harness safety, not only for themselves, but also for all other participants or perhaps other team members. For example: proper form in bowling can prevent wrist injuries as this is most common occurring injury in this sport, for hiking proper disposal of litter can prevent fire hazards, and in wrestling proper head gears can protect against brain injuries.

List of Relevant Sources:
“Bowling Injury Risk Factors.” Twin Boro Physical Therapy, twinboro.com/sport/bowling/bowling-injury-risk-factors-nj.html.
This source was very helpful because the information gathered from this, was from actual injuries that were being treated by physical therapists.
“The Hazards of Bowling | e-LawLines.” e, 18 Apr. 2018, elawlines.com/2005/01/16/bowling-hazards.
This source was very helpful because the information gathered from this, were injuries that actually occurred and were seeking some sort of compensation from this law firm.

“Fire Safety.” American Hiking Society, 9 Aug. 2018, americanhiking.org/resources/fire-safety/
This source was very helpful because it provided information about causes and prevention of fire.
Kevin’s Hiking Page, www.kevingong.com/Hiking/index.html.
This source was very helpful because it provided information about injuries from hiking and tips for prevention.
Advanced Solutions International, Inc. “Preventing Wrestling Injuries.” Wrestling Injury Prevention, www.stopsportsinjuries.org/STOP/STOP/Prevent_Injuries/Wrestling_Injury_Prevention.aspx.
This source was very helpful because it provided information about injuries from wrestling and tips on how to prevent them.

 

Link to video:  https://youtu.be/mziphbbCzEY

My Journey

Jelani Barro
ENG 1121 – E-115
Instructor: Sarah Schmerler
5/21/2019

My Journey

Dear Professor Schmerler:
As you know, My Journey so far has brought me to be a graduate at our 2019 commencement, on Monday, June 3. This isn’t the end of the road for me as you know, I’m currently on the hunt for a PhD Program to start in the Spring of 2020. The road thus far has been rocky, losing my grandfather in the middle of the semester was not easy. I also extend my condolences to you as, we did share losing a family around the same time; although extended for you, but close for your son. Life has a way of keeping us on our toes and sometimes seems to be very unfair and bitter. I will always try my best to remain optimistic however and always try to look at the brighter side of things, after all, we get to write our own stories in our mind so we might as well make them the best. Here are a few things I would like to share with you about my journey in your class.

The first day was quite interesting, Muaz and I thought we were early sitting and waiting for class to start, tuned out we were in the wrong class, next door across the hall. It wasn’t until a male professor walked in, the I realized something must be wrong. It was, we were in a biology class. We rushed over toy your class and there you were, I thought a very cool looking professor with style, your haircut and clothes gave me the impression of an artist, I was right as you did mention to us that you were. I read on “Rate my Professor that you were an amazing teacher and someone who taught unconventionally, your students loved you and had nothing but positive reviews for you; you were actually the top highest rating professor in your category. I am glad I checked it and found you. You turned out to be everything and more that I read about you from your reviews. You have a way of connecting to our subconscious, so that even when I’m on the subway or at home, your voice and your lessons would pop up in my memory – “If you want to become better writers, you must read”, “Writing is re-writing”, “genre” – Genre was the theme throughout the whole class. I never thought of English as such, I always seemed to compartmentalize every subject in their own category and kept them there. This class has really turned out to be more than I ever expected. When I heard about our new structure of how the class was going to be conducted, I was very excited and really looked forward to participating. I really did enjoy this new structure and it worked well for me. I loved not being constrained by strict guidelines of being graded. I think I learned more this way, because my work wasn’t summed up by some subjective correction, rather I was guided along each unit to reflect on my errors and remember to use correct them on my own, or at least become better at doing so, as I practiced writing within each units.

Two of my main errors are, improving my technical skills with punctuations and my tendency to use a lot tautology in expressing myself. I even recognize that in the way I speak sometimes, maybe that’s the teacher in me. I do repeat myself a lot to make sure I’m being understood, or to express an important thought of mine. I think my writing has improved because of you lessens you’ve taught me, and I will forever be grateful and remember you as my professor, especially when I write and use a semicolon, or just replacing it with a comma. I will also always remember and thank you for your assistance and support along my journey this semester with the valedictorian process. I did get selected, but your support and advice has come to mean more to me than the disappointment I felt, therefore, was an integral part of my speedy recovery. Thank you.

As I wrap up this journey I would like to give a few words of encouragement. Please don’t ever change your style of teaching, it is effective and I wish more students would be so lucky to become a student of yours. I hope you will remain inspired and never become weary to continue to inspire others like myself. You are truly an amazing teacher and we are all truly lucky and blessed to have had the opportunity to be your students. Thank you, I wish you all the best in life, and I will try to remain in touch with you, especially to let you know when I find my PhD program.

Genre – Executive Summary on Bowling.

Jelani Barro
ENG 1121 – E-115
Instructor: Sarah Schmerler
3/24/2019

Genre – Executive Summary
An executive summary, or management summary, is a short document or section of a document, produced for business purposes, that summarizes a longer report or proposal or a group of related reports in such a way that readers can rapidly become acquainted with a large body of material without having to read it all. It usually contains a brief statement of the problem or proposal covered in the major document(s), background information, concise analysis and main conclusions. It is intended as an aid to decision-making by managers and has been described as the most important part of a business plan.

For my genre, I will be presenting an executive summary for a bowling company:

Executive Summary for S. Schmerler Bowling Inc.

S. Schmerler Bowling Inc. is a NYC-based company that specializes in bowling and delivery for frequent strikes NYC based companies. For the 2018 fiscal year, the company enjoyed a modest 8.9% uptick in total bowling lane requests (to 90 % 0f the time), and an operating margin of 22.4%. This was based on regional benchmarking reporting. Local Law 84-09 Bowling and Strike Benchmarking requires annual benchmarking data to be submitted by owners of buildings with more than 50,000 square feet for public disclosure by May 1st of every year.

For 2019, we expect a 15% increase in overall business. This is based on two factors: First, increase in bowling lanes will force building owners into renovations and retrofitting. Second, communications between the company and local business owners indicate that 2018 – 2019 will be a busier year for new bowling customers, which will increase the demand for bowling balls and shoe rentals and deliveries. Please note that, in 2018 and for the rest of this year, the company is forced to turn down new lane requests, until the completion of the renovations. This was due to a lack of lanes, prompting this capital expense request for 2019, we are forecasting a 26.8% operating margin with about $1.84 million in total revenue. This represents an increase from a margin of 22.7% in 2018, which also includes our inclusion of costs relating to a requested capital expenditure of bowling balls and shoes, and the cost savings of $65,000 for 2018 and an accumulative 2% savings each following year; which will come from not hiring a new employee as we had a promotion in our department and whom the new automated dispensary system for shoes will replace. However, this is only for 2019. In future years the cost savings will increase along with revenue. The replaced direct labor salary will more than offset the costs of the new equipment.

The reasoning for this capital expenditure involves increasing work capacity. First, we know that the labor cost savings of $65,000 will more than cover the expenditure with a net cash flow of $15,000. The new system will replace the employee, and we can increase our capability to handle the increased operations capacity demand.
As seen in the budget, the savings from the direct labor in the department, even with the 2% increase in wages, and the switch to the automated rentals due to an increase in storage materials and delivery demand of bowling shoes. The wage increase continues a trend that the company has followed for the past several years. For 2018, the increase is 2%, which is down from 5%, but still significantly higher than the national cost of living increase. As for the automated upgrade, the company has decided to offer more delivery capacity to our customers. The cost will increase to $14 per rental, up from $10. The cost increase, I believe, will turn out to be a good decision, considering the boost in shoe rentals the company will experience. It will also allow us to charge a higher premium for our services. Please find a copy of our current steps for achieving a strike, below this summary, for your reference.

Request for Approval:
I hereby request the approval of the 2019 operating budget, as well as approval of a $50,000 capital expenditure to purchase one additional automated shoe dispensary system. This system will help facilitate an expected 15% increase in business and will accommodate the increased operations capacity in the coming year.

Jelani Barro
Facility Manager
S. Schmerler Bowling Inc.

 

Steps:
1. Get bowling shoes
2. Pick out bowling ball – The ball shoed fit comfortably in the palm of your hands. Your fingers should fit comfortably in the holes on the ball, which allows your to cup the ball with your palms, and your fingers should have room at the tips.
3. When it’s your turn to bowl – pick up your ball with both hands.
4. Position the ball by your chest
5. As you step onto the floor with your left foot (switch foot position if your left handed), use both hands to lift the ball up and away from your chest.
6. As you step again, start off with your right foot this time. Then separate your left hand from the ball as you start to swing the ball out and down in from of you with your right hand.
7. As you step out again, with your left foot, your left hand should swing out in front of you as you swing the ball behind you with your right hand.
8. Then, as you bring your right foot out in front of you, swing the ball to the front of you as you aim towards the 6 pins – using the arrows in the alley to help guide you and release the ball in the direction of you estimated, with your right foot in front of you at this time.

Ingredients for Bowling

Jelani Barro
ENG 1121 – E-115
Instructor: Sarah Schmerler
3/24/2019

    Recipe For Bowling

Ingredients:
1. 2 hands of fun
2. 1 bowling ball
3. 1 pair of bowling shoes
4. 1 bowling alley
5. 6 bowling pins
Optional – bowling team

Steps:

1. Get bowling shoes

2. Pick out bowling ball – The ball shoed fit comfortably in the palm of your hands. Your fingers should fit comfortably in the holes on the ball, which allows your to cup the ball with your palms, and your fingers should have room at the tips.

3. When it’s your turn to bowl – pick up your ball with both hands.

4. Position the ball by your chest

5. As you step onto the floor with your left foot (switch foot position if your left handed), use both hands to lift the ball up and away from your chest.

6. As you step again, start off with your right foot this time. Then separate your left hand from the ball as you start to swing the ball out and down in from of you with your right hand.

7. As you step out again, with your left foot, your left hand should swing out in front of you as you swing the ball behind you with your right hand.

8. Then, as you bring your right foot out in front of you, swing the ball to the front of you as you aim towards the 6 pins – using the arrows in the alley to help guide you and release the ball in the direction of you estimated, with your right foot in front of you at this time.

9. Have fun!

 

Tips: the alley has been treated with oil, so be light on your feet and use gliding motions in order to prevent slipping.

Navigating Genres by: Kerry Dirk

1). This article (though somewhat old) mentions Facebook posts as a kind of genre. Can you briefly describe how comfortable you feel composing a piece of writing in this genre? Do you feel more comfortable than someone much older than you — your Grandmother, for instance? Why do you think this older person might not write as well in Facebook as you do? What are some of the mistakes they might make?

I post to Facebook (FB) all the time and I am very comfortable doing so. I also write blogs and comments very regularly.

I wouldn’t say that I feel more comfortable than someone older than me, as I encounter many people much older than me on FB all the time – I actually find them to be much more clever, witty and very funny with their comments.

2) Dirk gives a few examples of titles in The Onion (a newspaper that was founded in 1988 at a college, btw). What was your favorite title?

My favorite title from the examples that Dirk gave from the list of titles from The Onion is: “Archaeological Dig Uncovers Ancient Race of Skeleton People”.

3) On page 258, Dirk describes the rules we carry around in our head before we start writing in a particular genre. What are some of the rules you carry around in your head? Is there a particular genre in which you struggle to write?

Some of the rules I carry around in my head are: commas are meant to be used to fragment run-on sentences or to give readers a chance to breath when reading out loud, a paragraph doesn’t need to be indented anymore, writing must have good structures – a beginning, middle and an end, and the conclusion should sum-up what you just wrote about; to name a few.

I find that I am having a rough time writing my scientific papers. I tend to write narratively and research papers are meant to be written by stating the facts and being very objective – straight to the point with as few words possible.

 

Shitty First Drafts by: Annie Lamott

1). How many drafts do you typically make of a paper/piece of writing? I usually make one draft of a paper or piece of writing.

2). Do you write a “down draft,” an “up draft,” and a “dental draft” like Lamott says? I typically do not, I usually only write a downdraft.

3). Were you surprised at her chapter’s title? I was very surprised and intrigued when I read the title. I couldn’t wait to read the assignment! I found it to very interesting and the author was very funny.

4). Do you think you will have to change the way you write a lot if you decide to write a “shitty first draft”? I think I do. I should definitely try practicing writing at least three drafts as recommended.

A Free Ticket Towards Freedom

Sometimes too much freedom is not a good thing. For example, science has proven that children need boundaries, and too much freedom is not good for children. In fact, it’s better to over discipline a child rather than giving them too much freedom. This new essay on “Freedom” I don’t know where to start. Freedom is many different things to different people. Today for me, freedom is becoming self-actualized. This essay will explain what self-actualization is and how to achieve it in order to live in freedom.

According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, we all have different motivations and needs in life, and only after we have met all of these needs: “Physiological, safety, love and belonging, and self-esteem” (Wikipedia); only then, can we truly become self-actualized. According to the dictionary – Self-actualization is “the realization or fulfilment of one’s talents and potentialities, especially considered as a drive or the desire for self-fulfillment, namely the tendency for one to become actualized in what they are potentially and most importantly, giving themselves the opportunity to do so.” For me, this is freedom!

Self-actualization is possessing freedom, because for me, freedom is thinking and acting more in tune and practicing a better connection between our consciousness and subconsciousness at the same time. We can only truly do so, only when all of our needs are met. You see, if all of our needs aren’t met such as: Physiological, safety, love and belonging, and self-esteem, there is no way that we can truly live in tune with our subconsciousness. If our consciousness keeps feeding our subconsciousness with needs, then we can never be truly free, because we are in constant survival mode. Until all of our needs are met, only then can we truly live in freedom as our consciousness and subconsciousness are in tune with each other. Not just experiencing our subconsciousness while we’re dreaming but becoming so in tune with our true selves; our subconsciousness. It’s like living in a trance of freedom – of purpose – becoming self-actualized. This is what the meaning of self-actualization is for me.

What made me realized this? You see, like Malcolm X, I too went to prison for DUI for 11 months. I didn’t hit or kill anyone, thank God, but there are much more stricter laws in a commonwealth state than in the other states. I could relate to a lot of what he describes in his experiences while in prison, especially when he said: “I don’t think anybody ever got more out of going to prison than I did. In fact, prison enabled me to study far more intensively than I would have if my life had gone differently and I had attended some college. I imagine that one of the biggest troubles with colleges is there are too many distractions, too much pantyraiding, fraternities, and boola-boola and all of that. Where else but in a prison could I have attacked my ignorance by being able to study intensely sometimes as much as fifteen hours a day?” (https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/schmerlereng1121e106spring2019/files/2019/02/Malcolm-X-Learning-to-Read.pdf).

Malcom, just like myself had experience some sort of self-actualization. All of our needs were met: there was housing, there was security – whether we liked or not it came with the territory, love and belonging from our family and friends and also for me, the other inmates in my drug program including the councilors, and self-esteem which came from learning about myself and why I ended up in prison in the first place. I learned that I had a bad habit of minimizing my problems which is a form of a self-defense mechanism, which ended up landing me in prison. Having all of these basic needs met, it aloud us to become self-actualized and to become truly free to connect our consciousness to our subconscious. For Malcolm like he said, he found his purpose in life: “You will never catch me with a free fifteen minutes in which I’m not studying something I feel might be able to help the black man… and my reading of books, months passed without my even thinking about being imprisoned. In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life.” (https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/schmerlereng1121e106spring2019/files/2019/02/Malcolm-X-Learning-to-Read.pdf). I too had a similar experience. I read many books which passed the time, and aloud my mind to wonder and become creative by creating images of characters and places being described in books. I had a more closer walk with God and my spirituality, because there weren’t too many external distractions that surrounds us when we’re out in the streets. I’ll give you an example of what I mean by this – I was reading my Bible one day on my top bunk and I fell into a trance, I heard a voice say to me, tell him (my cellmate) that I have been hearing his prayers and he should marry her. When I told my cellmate about the message I had just received, who was reading a book on his bottom bunk, he was in shock, as was I, as he confirmed that he was indeed praying to God for an answer! I truly believe that I had made a connection between my consciousness and my subconsciousness in order to hear the Spirit of God because I was truly free to connect with the Almighty truth; as God is a Spirit and those who worship him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Some religions call this enlightenment. For me, this is what I believe Maslow was referring to when he thought of the philosophy of Self-actualization. This for me, is what it truly means to be free!

Freedom is to live, think and act in unison with our consciousness and subconsciousness – living in a trance of freedom – of purpose – becoming self-actualized – a free ticket towards freedom!

Group Assesments of Our Two Reading Assignments

ARTICLE FOCUS: GRAMMAR-TO-GET-THINGS-DONE

There’s a standard written english … however there’s different dialects of english and different forms of English

Group 2: (My Group)

How do we deal with language barriers ?

-Understand basics of English
– Understanding the multiple meanings of slangs
– Ask questions in different ways if the receiver is having trouble understanding
– Reading body language to see if there might be a breakdown in communication
– Code switch
– Being aware
– Manipulate & Modify Meaning
– Lack of understanding creates language barriers and stumbles knowledge
– Be more visual
– Use repetition
– Find a language translation service

Other Group Assessments:

Group #1
Implications of Rhetoric
Social Media, Journalism- how rhetoric is a basic part of how ideas are being transferred between ppl
Step of analyzing rhetoric
Audience- helps you get a better understanding of what

 

Group #3

LOGOSS, PATHOS, AND ETHOS
SUMMARIZED BOTH ARTICLES AND HOW THEY’D BE RELATED

Group #4

RHETORICAL TRIANGLE- constraints, audience, and context. It is similar to the rhetorical situation, yet it asks us questions about both the writer AND the document
DEMANDS, CONSUMERS, LIMIT
PRESCRIPTIVE GRAMMAR
Descriptive grammar
Very informal
With slang and usage

MY SHELF / MY INFLUENCES

My prep school’s crest up above taught me about what it means to have a good character – Virtue and Truth!

 

Books/Nursery Rhymes:

Humpty Dumpty – Taught me not to be greedy and to be satisfied with what I have.
The Three Little Pigs – Taught me the importance of always doing my best, not to be lazy.
Alice in Wonderland – Taught me how to be more accepting of the differences in others and not to be afraid of them.
Little Red Riding Hood – Taught me to be careful of people I didn’t know – everyone is not meant to be trusted, some people may want to hurt you.
Greek Literature Class in Prep School – We would read all the stories about Greek mythology. We would take turns in class reading about the different Greek Gods and the moral of the stories they taught me. This was my first inclination that other people and cultures did all have the same God and belief systems as I was being taught – It taught me to be accepting of different culture and to have an open mind to better understand the world.
The Holy Bible – The Bible taught me the concept of good vs. evil. It also made me into a deep thinker and to question things/life. It taught me about spirituality and to look beyond myself.
“Lord of The Flies” by William Golding – This book taught me about leadership, the dangers of group think and to always be prepared for the unexpected moments in life.

 

Movies:

Dirty Dancing by Eleanor Bergstein – allowed me to see for the first time that other people enjoyed dancing just as much as I did and the importance of being accepting of others – regardless of their social class.

Annie by Carol Sobieski – taught me about children being in orphanages and if Annie could overcome all of her tribulations, so could I.

Revenge of the Nerds (and all sequels) by various writers – Taught me that it was okay to be smart, different and accepting of everyone’s differences. We are all unique and can contribute our efforts to be successful when we work together.

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