Introduction Assignment (08/25/2021)

Hello everyone, my name is Carlos Aucacama (named after my father). I currently reside in Jackson Heights and have been living in this neighborhood my whole life. I decided to attend CCNY to pursue electrical engineering as my major. One interesting fact about myself is that I play soccer with my friends in my free time, a sport I’ve been playing since I was seven. Furthermore, I recently got hired to work part-time at Best Buy. 

A film that moved me emotionally was “Beautiful Boy” because it developed a realistic approach to teenage drug addiction. The film allowed me to create a sympathetic relationship with every character in the film. The way the film incorporated the main character slowly being consumed by his addiction made me sympathize with him. I was even able to emotionally connect with the main character’s father as he watched his son slowly slip away into darkness. The film “opened my eyes” to understand how individuals can fall into the wrong path, which creates a “domino effect” that negatively impacts their loved ones. 

Journal assignment 08/30/21

When it comes to annotating readings and taking notes I started using a new method as shown in the attachment. Currently, this method allows me to organize my notes by labeling each bullet point. For example on the “key points” section of my paper is allows me to give a very brief description of what the notes on the right discuss. This allows me to browse my notes effectively when looking through them. Furthermore, the summary section on the bottom of my paper allows me to summarize both the notes and overall reading, this is very helpful when reviewing my notes in the future because it allows me to remember what the reading discussed and what the notes truly meant. 

Discussion board 09/08/21

Peer review is a crucial element that could be applied to any aspect of life. Peer review allows for writers to gain a new perspective on their work. Peer review gives writers a new sense of clarity, this new sense of clarity allows writers to develop an open mindset. An open mindset allows writers to take helpful criticism and apply it to their writing, improving their final writing as a whole. According to the Writing Commons article an openness mindset allows individuals to “consider a new way of thinking.” This is crucial when trying to improve your final work. 

Discussion Board 09/23/2021

The social media image chosen represents the rhetorical situation of an event that occurred in the past and compares it to now. The image illustrates the downfall of the soccer team Fc Barcelona. The image relates a specific event from the past where it showcases the superior mentality the team once had. However, the image compares the events occurring now which depicts the team’s weak mentality. This relates to Bitzer’s Rhetorical Situation because he describes that typically a sense of discourse is caused by the rhetorical situation, “I want to know the nature of those contexts in which speakers or writers create rhetorical discourse” (Bitzer 1). The social media post invites a rhetoric discourse because the image is making a comparison that invites the audience to agree with the creator’s perspective, and also persuade other viewers who may not share the same perspective.

Rhetorical Précis 

Franz Kafka, known for his novels and short stories, in his short story, “A Country Doctor” argues that individuals are often consumed by their repressed wishes. Kafka supports his argument by illustrating the Doctor’s shameful desires and actions through the character, the Groom, and during the Doctor’s examination of his sick patient. Kafka’s purpose is to open his reader’s eyes to the reality that repressed wishes and thoughts have the potential to consume any individual, regardless of their occupation or moral code, to help them understand the level of effectiveness of the flaws that exist in a human being. Kafka develops an analytical and overwhelming tone to help his readers understand the battle the Doctor constantly finds himself against his repressed wishes. 

Discussion board 10/29/21

Redi’s “Metaphoric Musings” teachings allow readers and aspiring writers to gain a new perspective on new methods to improve their writing. Redi’s first method, “A Thousand Rules, Three Principles,” taught me to understand and connect with my writing. The Three Principles helped me gain a new perspective to consider in the early stages of my writing. For example, Redi states, ” Write about what you know about, are curious about, are passionate about (or what you can find a way to be curious about or interested in). The show, don’t just tell. Adapt to the audience and purpose you’re writing for” (Redi 5). The three principles taught me how to use my motives to plan my writing, for example, a passion for a topic, and how I could use my emotion for a topic to engage the audience into agreeing with my purpose. Overall, the first method of Redi’s “Metaphoric Musings” taught me to take my emotions/passion a use it as a way to engage my audience, which makes my writing more engaging and instead of factual, it’ll become more persuasive and help the audience understand my purpose.