TOW #29: Letter To Future APELC Student

Dear Future APELC Student,

            Well, welcome to APELC! All I knew entering this class was that I genuinely enjoyed writing, and that I was known to be quite good at it as well. Through my summer work for this class, I was pushed to exceed different levels of writing and develop a new basis of skill building for writing. Mr. Yost assures you early on that this class is a marathon and that grades will not come easily. In prior years, I was generally a student who had little to no trouble formulating a well-written essay that would receive a high grade. Little did I know that I had much more to learn and improve on. The year started off with a summer essay rewrite, which at the time was the worst news I could have ever received. How was I going to survive in a class where the first assignment I turn in I bombed? To my surprise, not as bad as I had expected coming in. Something Mr. Yost said in the beginning that I will never forget was that, the essay grading scale does not go to 10, and he rarely would ever give out that high of a grade because “no essay is ever 100% perfect, you can always improve it in some aspect.” Throughout the year, I was able to improve on my writing abilities in multiple aspects; however, their was always something that could have been executed in a different, and sometimes more effective way. With the bad grade I received on my summer essay, I was able to meet with Mr. Yost and Ms. Pronko and formulate a new, better essay. Through this process, I began to build upon the skills that I was lacking, and ultimately become a better writer. During my time in APELC, I was exposed to many new things that I had not been extremely familiar with in past classes. Symposiums, in-class essays, and long, in depth text analysis were not always ideal, and sometimes very stressful. Many of these tasks actually contributed greatly to my understanding of the concepts put forth in the class, as well as my personal success. As the year went on, I saw my essay scores begin to improve, and my ability to produce a well-written essay was becoming easier. The way I approached essays was completely altered this year as well. The class exposed me to different ways to analyze text, format essays, and concisely tie all my thoughts together. Whenever I struggled with an essay, I was able to begin with one of the many outlines discussed in class, and then meet with one of the teachers to get more ideas flowing and start to develop a final draft. My essay scores and final products eventually flourished into what I had been working for all along. On another note, while a lot of the work presented in class may seem grueling and unnecessary in regards to all the other work you have to do, a majority of the homework and class work actually greatly contributed to my understanding and the improvement of my skills. Socrates, Thoreau, and a ton of other passages that take hours to read and even longer to actually comprehend were horrible at the time, but in the grand scheme of things they really helped to broaden my learning experience. Another thing that will probably drive you crazy, but did contribute to my ability to analyze any text, was TOWs (which are blog posts due every Sunday). At the beginning of the year, I was on top of my TOWs. They were always in on time; they were long and in depth, and basically amazing. Towards the middle to the end of the year though, I would find myself remembering about my TOWs 5 minutes before they were due, or even the next day. While sometimes my best work was not always contributed to my blog posts, they kept refreshing my mind on how to pick out rhetorical devices and strategies and analyze texts. It is true that going into APELC you probably won’t receive the grades that you want and are used to, and that work will be long and annoying at times, but the skills you acquire will benefit you in many aspects of your life outside of APELC. Due to APELC my essays for other classes thrived and the skills and lessons will also greatly aid my college essays and other essays to come. With hard work and effort this class is fully manageable, trust me if I can do it, you probably can too! P.S. Participate in Toga Day!! It goes a lot faster than it feels, good luck!

Mady Foglia

TOW #28: Reflection

            As the year comes to a close, I look back on my TOWs with great accomplishment. Mostly this accomplished feeling is due to the fact that every TOW is in fact, this is there because almost every Sunday I would remember at 9:55, and usually not any earlier, that I had to post to my outstanding blog for AP English. Looking back on my TOWs in depth though, I can identify multiple aspects in which my writing and approaches have progressed. In the beginning, a lot of my analysis was forced and I utilized more examples than actually analyzing what strategies I was finding in the text or visual. As time progressed though, I noticed that I began to analyze the text and pictures more and really begin to focus on the deeper meaning and the message the author truly wanted to convey. Another part of my TOW writing that progressed was the range of rhetorical strategies I noticed and discussed in each post. Back in the earlier days of these posts, I usually geared my writing toward ethos, pathos, logos, and juxtaposition. Towards the end of my TOW posting experience I began to notice and apply a large range of devices. I feel that this progression was the most vital aspect that changed in my writing because it showed how my ability to observe and point out a variety of rhetorical devices in various amounts of texts and then form an effective analysis advanced over the year. I would say I am now able to identify at least one or more rhetorical devices in almost any text or visual put in front of me. Regardless of all the progress I feel that I have accomplished over the course of this year, there are still a few areas in which I still need to build on. I feel that I need to more concisely tie my ideas together and form a more coherent analysis. Also, I can see in my writing that I sometimes rush into the first device or point I see and run with it. The issue with this is that the rhetorical device that is most evident may not always be the best one to use, thinking more in depth about my selection of devices would benefit my writing and create an overall better piece. While although some of my best effort may not have been contributed to my TOWs they were an important piece of this class. The TOWs provided a way for me to constantly remind myself of the rhetorical devices and their effects, and also allowed me to be exposed to a vast majority of texts and therefore be more prepared the day of the exam. Even when I was struggling to finish my blog posts at 9:59, I knew that the repetition of the blog posting was helping to keep my brain working and discovering new ways to approach different texts. For the most part, I feel that the TOWs did benefit my experience because they taught me to keep my eyes open for rhetorical devices, even in the simplest ways.

Goodbye TOWs, it was a great time while it lasted!! (I can't say I'll definitely miss it though...)

TOW #27: College Rejection

    In an article on The Onion, there was a spoof on a "tragic story" of a boy, Kevin Grant, who didn't get into his first choice college and proceeded to go on with a positive attitude. The article went on to say that beyond Kevin's optimistic responses, that his life was over and he was now never going to go anywhere in his life. It claimed that resulting from this his social class will be lowered, he will never get a decent job, never be able to pay for a house or afford a family, his living standard will go down and his whole life will be completely changed for the worse. This article is a depiction of how much modern society stresses about the decisions of colleges and education in general. Students and parents put so much emphasis on getting into not only good schools, but the school of the kids choice. The large emphasis creates a "life or death" scenario in which a precedent is set that if the student does not get in, their life is over and there are no other viable options. This idea that has lingered over the present generations is ridiculous and proof that our society is moving more toward a materialistic, competitive one in which we isolate what we want and only work toward that in order to be "successful." I enjoyed this article because I feel it was an accurate depiction of the irrational behavior that overcomes many in the process of picking a college or job, and the precedent many believe that that choice sets for one's life.

TOW #26: Hawaii

     CNN recently launched an article on the progression of Hawaii's transition to 100% Renewable Energy. Being islands with so much natural resources such as water power, volcanoes, etc, Hawaii is the perfect state to start this challenge. They have already begun the transition with total of 23% of Hawaii already completely reliant on renewable energy. The islands hope to achieve the 100% by 2050. While that seems far in the future, they are aware that they have to pace themselves, regardless of already having a huge amount of renewable energy being utilized. The use of this renewable energy would be less expensive than the usage of natural gases and other forms of energy. Many parts of Hawaii though, are experiencing some issues with the full transition. On the actual island of Hawaii ("the Big Island') many hotels are hesitant to take this leap because they power their hotels using generators which run on fossil fuels. While although many parts aren't sure about the effectiveness of the full change, the change will come slowly but surely over time. Many other places around the world and cities in America have also attempted to go completely reliant on renewable energy and have been successful. Many find it important that eventually all states and countries get on board with the changes.
     This article appeals to logos due to the excessive amount of statistics utilized throughout it to depict the changes occurring and the timeline of the project. It also appeals to ethos because many knowledgable people are cited that are experts in the fields of energy and environment.

TOW #25: Football

This political cartoon is representative of the Super Bowl this past year. There was a popular incident in which many believed the Patriots deflated the ball on purpose to help them win the game. Many contradictions were posed in result of this assumption all surrounding the upcoming Super Bowl. This cartoon shows the assumption that the referee was in on the scheme and allowed the ball to have low pressure regardless of the violations it posed for the game. One of the players is depicted as annoyed and as an elephant, which usually stands for a Republican. This shows how this issue transcended into a political problem due to the view points surrounding it and how it can possibly reflect on the political affiliation of the teams. I enjoyed this cartoon because it reflected a large issue that was at hand just a few weeks ago and it utilizes a socially relevant topic to political issues. It was also very effective in getting its point across to represent the contraversy at hand. 

TOW #24: Fat America

This political cartoon is depicting Obama and Uncle Sam. It is stressing the idea that American is spending too much and getting "fat" on the spending scale. It shows Obama sitting upon the budget like it is his seat. He is telling America "it's time for dinner." This symbolizes Obama's spending and how he is fattening America and continues to spend. This cartoon appeals to pathos because it provides a perspective for the viewers to see how Obama is dealing with America's budget. It also uses a familiar face of Uncle Sam, who is usually on the thinner side, getting to be obese. This characterization makes it known that America is breaking the spending scale. The perspective this cartoon shows allows viewers to understand the full extent of Obama's actions on America. It also relates to many issues happening in America today and is versatile in what one applies it to. I enjoyed this cartoon because it is so easy to understand and also can provide a new view on many issues. It leaves it up to viewer interpretation but also narrows in on a specific aspect of economy and government right now. 

TOW #23: Self Diagnosis

        On CNN there is an article addressing how many people find it more effective to self diagnose themselves. It explained how many people when they come down with symptoms turn to the internet and Google to figure out what is wrong with them. The issue with this is that many sources give false information and can also lead the patient to false conclusions. Many sites can either provide very out of the box treatment options, or can add up the symptoms and lead to a major extreme. When one see's these conclusions of their symptoms, such as more often than not, cancer, they begin to panic. It is then that they finally consult a doctor just to be almost always debunked and sent home with a prescription for cold medicine.
       This article takes into consideration the positive aspects of the internet in these situations when the information provided is utilized correctly. Sometimes, people actually find an effective treatment of symptoms or easy cure.
       The author used logos and pathos through the article. She included statistics regarding those who turn to the internet as their first source of wisdom and diagnosis. Many quotes from doctors were also included to provide their perspective on these habits. Pathos is applied because it appeals to many people because almost everyone is guilty of getting a little riled up over something small with their health. This article appeals to people of all ages and everyone has been there at one point in there life or knows of someone who acts as a hypochondriac at sometime. I enjoyed this article because I know I am guilty of doing these self diagnosing from time to time. Also, I know many people who rely heavily on the internet on their information and I see how detrimental it can be.