Day: May 13, 2021

Week 15: Full Circle

Zenayda Bonilla

I choose to read “PLAGIARISM DESERVES TO BE PUNISHED” by Jennifer A. Mott-Smith. She started her article by citing two newspaper headlines about plagiarism in college growth.  She also stated that “Plagiarism, we know, is an immoral act, a simple case of right and wrong, and as such, deserves to be punished.” (page 247). We know that especially when we started college (well that is my case).

Jennifer mentioned three different points about the complication of using sources: One, we often used ideas other ideas in our conversations and we mixed or combined with our own ideas, that it is difficult to identify whose original idea is because it has been repeated many times. Second, writers used other people’s ideas to boost their work, especially when they are learning something new. Third, the process of learning who to cite or give credit to the person varies, it is not the same and most of the time creates confusion. 

Jennifer explained that high school students used books as references in their work but they are not citations. So when they started college that is a new system or world for them, syllabus or field expectation are different from one to another. New students can simply try to do their job, but they are allowed to do mistakes. “While the feeling that plagiarism deserves punishment is perhaps widely held in society, the understanding that plagiarism is often not deceitful and does not deserve punishment is also present.” (pg 250)  

I choose this idea because I know plagiarism is a problem and can lead you to be kit out of college. My daughters’ friend in her first semester was removed from college because she was “cheating” copying someone’s work. Now she needs to go to court. For me, that is really sad.  So I know it is a big deal. When I saw the topic it caught my attention because I thought “What can be wrong with plagiarists equal punishment?” Yet after reading this article, I agreed with Jennifer, we read a lot of articles or we simple used other peoples’ ideas that it becomes so natural and sometimes mingle with our own ideas that we sometimes we don’t know if that was our own or something we acquire from someone else. Yet, my suggestion is always to give the credit or reference that we are using others’ ideas. Be honest to ourselves and others.

I.T.M.M.D. Texting

Nicholas E Ramirez

The story I choose to read is “Texting ruins Student’s Grammar Skills.” In many ways I agree with the writer because student are writing without pausing. The create acronyms for . words instead of writing them out.  As the writer states “Recently, the criticism has been articulated in a different way: Digital Technology is ruining student grammar.” While the are texting or posting they are not using their writing skills or articulating what they are writing. Students are not being careful with their grammar and are making mistakes intentionally. Students are butchering grammar harming the next generation and that is a problem. I remember my mom asking me what LMAFO, or ROTF meant and I laughed at her and she explained that the laugh was actually on me. She explained that it was a little careless to write that on a text because we must write as we speak. As explained in the article the author expresses that in so many ways grammar is slowly being deteriorated.

The author feels this is a bad idea because we are loosing the writing skills and explains how complex writing was  and how texting is putting a toll on the writing skills. I also agree with Williams opinion about writers and their expertise. He recognizes that texting and technology does put a toll on their writing skill, but also recognizes that many who have been ranting they are not experts because many rules of grammar lacks practical force.” This is very true because some famous and so call expert writers  fail to notice their own errors when they write. Who knows if the Sumerians created symbols for a reason, and when texting it is a short cut when I write in acronyms. It is not that it is difficult for me to spell, but it is quicker and faster. The Sumerians wrote with symbols and today we text with emojis. I do see a slight issue because some kids will write acronyms when writing but can you imagine a writing assignment with emojis and acronyms. That would most likely drive me insane. The writer makes a valid argument that critique and complaints about kids writing skills is not from now rather it has been an issue since the beginning of time.

What caught my attention when looking through the topics relates to children and their ongoing technological advancement. I laugh at my parents when they do not understand my messages. They get frustrated and correct me but they do not understand that texting just like writing can be just as time consuming and annoying. I also had my bias about texting and the younger generation but after this article I started to carefully analyze that this is generational and it is the new for of writing to communicate and the old timers must learn the new norm. It was a great read and informative as well.

Week 15: Full Circle

Arianna Liang Zheng

THE FIVE-PARAGRAPH ESSAY IS RHETORICALLY SOUND by Quentin Vieregge

Quentin Vieregge points out that the bad idea is to believe that the five-paragraph essay writing method is rhetorically sound. Quentin argues that the five-paragraph essay writing method is grossly overrated by many educators and is overused in middle school and high school. Quentin Vieregge says this is a bad idea because he believes that by using this method, students spend more time trying to stick to rigid guidelines and crafting models than they do create in-depth, independently thought-out papers. In the article, he mentions how the five-paragraph essay writing method has worked for some people and who are being influenced by this method. The article also provides arguments for and against the five-paragraph essay writing method. It states that the arguments given by the proponents of the five-paragraph essay are that it can be used as a guide to provide structure for early writers. Once learned, they claim, it will later serve as a template for experienced writers. Opponents of the five-paragraph essay say that it binds writers to their characters and can even arbitrarily shape their ideas. I chose this article because I was curious as to why the five-paragraph theory was rhetorically sound since I read the title and I was intrigued by it. In my case, I am a proponent of the five-paragraph theory because English is my second language, as Quentin Vierge says in his article, “One such teacher, David Gugin, writes about how the five-paragraph model benefits students learning English as a second language.” I did find it helpful when I first wrote in English because it provided me with guidance on how to start and how to organize my words. So far, I do not have an example of a good idea to counter this bad idea, and I don’t think a good idea is needed because this article does illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of the method. The only thing I can think of is that teachers could try using other, less formulated methods of writing in the classroom, one that is less restrictive, or one that is also more widely used in college.

Week 15 (Yailene Rodriguez)

Yailene Rodriguez

1.The bad idea mentioned in this text is that there is a genius author and that one should compare their writing to that set example. Basically believing that all good writers were born to be good writers. This occurs because most writing we see is by someone who has already made it in the writing world, so we hold ourselves to that standard. As a writer, it can be hard to even know where to start when you think this is what the audience wants to see, so people get caught up in trying to make a masterpiece that they burn out. In school, this model writing was created by students who were privileged enough to can the extra training to be able to write at a college level in high school.
2. The author says it’s a bad idea because this discourages the person from writing something good and creative. Teachers also don’t make it better because they criticize and talk badly about a student’s paper when comparing it to a published piece. Students also don’t benefit from writing essays they know that only the teacher will read because they will come out to be a text that’s only for a classroom not for the public. The author admits that there are some people who do have the talent to write that comes naturally to them. The author also reveals that writing can be learned with practice, a good audience, and feedback. The author compares learning how to be a good writer with training for a marathon. If you aren’t the best at something, you practice and make it better.
3. What caught my attention in reading this piece was the title “Only Geniuses can be Writers”. This made me think about how I see writing, I feel like for some people writing comes naturally. Others aren’t into writing but are forced by the school system to learn how to write, well at least for a teacher setting. Sometimes this actually helps students discover that they do like writing, well others hate the thought of writing another essay. I think the only way to contradict this bad idea is more practice and a bigger audience.

Unit 3 Essay

Brianna Walters

When news broke about the Coronavirus in December of 2019, no one could have imagined the effect it would have on the globe.  Later, when it reached the United States in March of 2020, it felt like an out-of-the-question idea that we would still be in quarantine one year later.  I have been working as a secretary at a funeral home for the last three years, going to school full time while also working full time. Over the past year, I had an indescribable experience, having what I thought was a normal desk job to becoming an essential worker, deputized to make removals from hospitals. 

Before the virus reached the United States, I distinctly remember hearing about its effects on Italy and the video warnings from residents who pleaded with us to take their advice. Many people, including myself, doubted the effects that it would have because it seemed like the flu. My anatomy lab class in early March became the last time I was on campus as it quickly became apparent that this was not the flu and far more deadly than we had prepared for. From March to May, I was still enrolled as a full-time student while working every day for as many as 12 hours to take phone calls and do the necessary paperwork.

 In the beginning of the pandemic, I could see that the amount of work was going to steadily increase, so I made an agreement with my bosses that I would stay at work as long as needed as long as I could complete some of my schoolwork during the work day. There even were instances where we were so busy I was answering the phone at work while taking an exam for class online. The phones rang nonstop, and on the other end was often a sad story about how they had not seen their loved ones for months due to the virus. Hospitals and Nursing Homes were not allowing visitors because of the risk of exposure, keeping elderly patients from seeing their families and pregnant women completely alone in the hospital. At the same time my parents were working in the hospitals as nurses, seeing their coworkers become sick and pass away. Self monitoring for symptoms and sanitizing the house was all we could do to help lessen the chances. My father began sharing his last wishes, discussing what’s to be done with him if the worst was to happen. He has begun seeing his own coworkers become sick and in some cases, even passing away.
There was nothing in life that could have prepared me for such a traumatic event, it seems only in retrospect can I see the toll it took. Experienced professionals who have worked in the funeral industry for over 25 years have said that this virus was worse on the essential workers and the city as a whole than on September 11, 2001. While 9/11 was a horrific event, it was a one-time event, but the Coronavirus was claiming the lives of thousands of people a day. I began seeing coworkers cry at work from the stress and the complaints of insomnia we all seemed to share. While it was not always easy, we had an important job to do. There were glimmers of hope in the chaos that helped to make the times more bearable. There were many instances of food being delivered to us with thank you notes for our hard work. There were also many thankful people, who had previously been turned down by other funeral homes due to a lack of space.

I personally have suffered from anxiety and depression for most of my life, but after a month or so of working in the worst, I began having panic attacks. The death toll from the virus and distress from the families that I was experiencing on a daily basis led to me developing a panic disorder. Instead of allowing the negatives to overcome my life I began making changes to my life. More self care practices and methods for correcting my sleep schedule became fixtures in my routine, as it was important for improvement.