Ive been working on my portfolio a lot lately and i feel like it is helpful to go over my things one last time before i turn them in.  I like the idea of putting all the semesters work into one final folder.  Its frustrating at times to get the stuff just right but i like reading what i wrote at the beginning of the semester.  I thinks it is a good way to see how  you have evolved as writer.  I think have become more versatile because of the two genre's i had never written in before.  Also i have learned that the genre you pick might not always be the best one to get your point across.  I enjoyed the presentation a lot because it appeals to to more than the writing.  The first and the third assignments taught me various things. Due to the research proposal I know how important it is to have a clear topic throughout the entire project.  The initiating action project taught me how to write in editorial form.  I had never done this and I like writing in this form because its short and gets a point a across to the reader.    

I am changing my genre to a newspaper editorial. My teacher said it would it would fit what i am trying to convey and i agreed with her. Newspaper Editorials are written pieces that express the opinion of the editor. It conveys to the reader the personal views of the person writing the article. I think this is better genre because some of the ideas are mine and some ideas are others that i agree strongly with. And since editorials are written to express opinions the genre fits the purpose.

Also many editorials are written on controversial issues and the voting process is a hot topic of debate among people. And it gained even more air time because of one of the biggest elections in the history of the United States.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/opinion/18tue1.html?ref=opinion

The above link is an editorial about a controversial topic of the the Colombian Trade Pact. It was written for the New York Times and has all the qualities that make it an Editorial such as controversy and the opinion of the Writer. Its short and to the point.

Also i think good editorials are concise and the get the point across the reader in as few words as possible. At least that's what i have been seeing in the editorials i have been reading.

i hope my portfolio turns out well.... i think it will.  I've mostly written about elections and political parties because i was interested in the election and now that's it over i think its fitting that out portfolios are due pretty soon.  kinda ironic but i guess that's just how it works out cuz i really don't know what i would write about if we had to do another assignment.

the real genre

My genre for the project will be essay form and hopefully a PowerPoint or a poster board to go along and supplement that. The conventions of essays are persuasive writing, informative writing, and a laundry list of other things to convey a point. Also conventions can be how essays are usually written. The writer needs to get the target audience to sway one way or the other. The writers of the genre include everyone who wants to have a in changing the political process. It can be everyday average students people up the high levels of congress. The purpose of the genre can be many things: essays have a wide range of topics. inform people about things, persuay people about an issue, tell people a story. There is no limit on what you can and cant write. There is a lot f freedom involved with essays but most students usually go for the typical 5 paragraph essay that they were conventionally taught in school. also another lack of freedom is which format you have to follow MLA etc. this depends on what you are writing about.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genre
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/essay%5B2%5D

My Genre

The genre of my project is the political community within the United States.  Anything that has so do with running the country as a whole and preferably making it better.  The conventions of my genre are pretty normal.  Its a good amount of persuasive writing that has to get people to sway one way or the other on an issue.   The people who write in my genre are anyone who has a problem with the they way the Political community does things.  The writings have to prove a point and push their target audience one way or the other.  This includes just everyday average citizens up to the higher levels congress.  Anyone who wants to see change in the system to make it better.  The main purpose is to propose change within the political community.  Change that makes laws better.  A better way to elect officials, anythings that can change America that will make the country better.  There is a lot of freedom when writing about the political genre.  Since it is the United States you can speak freely about almost anything you want to without having to suffer unjust consequences.   

Voting!!!!! what can be changed?

The audience of my essay/project will be anyone who has a say on they way people vote in America.  The congress and the president mainly and the people who affiliate with both of them.  Anyone that can make a change for the better in the way the Unites States votes.   The purpose is to make voting easier on the people voting and the way the votes are counted.  There have been many issues that have arised that need to be taken care of.  The issues that have clearly impacted the country aredebacle in Florida in the 2000 election and the lack of voter turn out for all elections.  I think these issues can be taken care of with planning and reforms to the system.  Many people have been talking about ideas to make the voter turnout better.  Switching election day to a weekend would make it easier on a great number of people in america. There is talk of  implementing these new ideas but nothing has been done so far.  Hopefully things can change to make it more effective and easier for Americans to vote. 

Voting

For our final project i want to see what people think about the whole voting process. From the time they register up until they cast thier ballot. Is it easy or hard? What changes can be made to make it easier for young people to vote? the set up of polling sites, the actual method of polling.
I will collect my information through more research and interviews to see what people think about the methods of voting and the manner in which they vote. the way i will present the information is through some sort of writing maybe an essay and a visual component most likely a power point presentation of some sort. Hopefully these will be helpful in fully understanding the whole process of voting and see what can be done to make it easier and more effective.

Assignment 3

For my two things i had to bring to class today i brought some of the new NFL rule changes because people always have a fit about missed calls and rules changes in the NFL.  I also picked the song where is the love? by the black eyed peas because its song that wants to bring about change in the world by talking about important issues of peace in the world.  

For my assignment i think i am going to talk about young people voting and why it is such a low turnout.  maybe it can be made easier to register? or something of that matter.  i think that many young people dont vote because they dont have time.  maybe for college students have voting registration on campus or even the day we vote have a set up on college campuses that allows for this because who has enough time these days?

what they thought

i felt the the feed back i got on my essay was very helpful from my class mates.  it was different but very good because i have never done feedback where you told the writer what thought you were trying to convey. there were a lot of helpful things i put into my essay and i think people become better writers when they review their peers work.  i liked the fact that it was in letter format because it made the feedback more personal and showed that the person really read and critiqued the essay.  i felt i got my point across because the reader picked up what i was concentrating on which was an equal view of both candidates.  i think it is a great way to give and get feed back because you can see what your class mates think about your work and get a feel for their views on it

I wanted to convey an equal stance for both candidates because it is important for people to make up their own minds.  I feel that many people today don't now the ins and outs of politics to actually base their votes 100 percent along those lines.  Instead people either vote along party lines or on the personality of the candidates.   The time when a person could win an election strictly on politics is long gone.  A candidate must be the total package, popular, likeable, etc. whatever you wanna call it he or she just has to get people to vote for him or her.  They have to be good on television, a good speaker and person who can get people behind them no matter what.  I think party lines are pretty important because a person in a certain party will go somewhat along the lines on most issues.  I'm beginning  more and more to think we choose presidents a lot like we choose friends--  people who are popular.  How many Americans can tell you exactly what Obama stands for or for what McCain stands for? Do they really know why they make the decisions they make? Does America now its candidates policies that well.  This is why i think a lot of people vote on the basis of personality or party lines.  Or it may be that life has become so complicated these days they don't really have time between everything else that clutters their life.  

I'm not really sure if the will people vote should be in there but it may be another paragraph in itself.  I need to rework my conclusion to make less repetitive and not new ideas but just different i guess. Leave some more questions for America to ponder.

What is a good essay?

A good essay is a something written that catches the readers attention.  It can be anything interesting. Just something that totally engulfs the reader's mind.  It needs to be well thought out, organized and coherent.  The writer has to know what he or she is talking about.  This will convey the essay and essayist as credible source.  Also it is a must for the writer to care about what he or she is writing about.  It forces the writer to be passionate about what they are writing about.  And when you care about what you are writing you are going to do your best on it.  Also if you care about something a lot you will put in the time and effort until you think it is totally one hundred percent satisfactory.  To write a good essay you have to be knowlegdeable on the subject.  If you are not in the know about the topic you can't really call it a good essay.  

  In my essay I need to write more cohesive.  Many of my thoughts ramble on and are inchorenet at some points.  Also I want to write more to the point.  It would make my essay better and more readable.  I may need to care a little more about what I am writing about.  To make my essay better I need to have a solid thesis or topic and this would make my essay more coherent, easier to read and just better in the over appearance of the entire essay.

what she thought

My first goal is to find out who people will vote for and the secondary goal is to find out why they are voting for that particular person.  I will try to clear that up and go over my research proposal until i feel it is good.  Also i will have other people read my proposal and get feed back from them as well.  The caps to no caps was me just not proof reading the proposal as well i should have.  And its a combination of the Young Republicans  and just young republicans in general.

I got good feed back from my draft.  There were many things i can improve on... i will probably leave it for a while so i can go back and make it into a better draft.  She gave me some good ideas in teh interview and many more things i can improve on in my actual paper.  I though it was a good thing to do to get feedback from the teacher.  

Essays

I think the thing that makes these essays "essays" is the format and structure that they are in.  They are typical story essays that have similar structures. It may be by the book but i think that to be an essay it has to be set up with a good structure.  This includes a a good intro like in "Ali in Havana" "It was a warm, breezy, palm-flapping..."  Also the title is appealing to because not many Americans go to Havana, Cuba.  Also the essays had quotes and i think that is a must in essays because it draws the reader in and makes the writers case that much stronger.  All three of the essays were different than essays i have written but similar in the case that they all followed to the time tested but basic structure of paragraphs that connected to each other.  The biggest thing that made the essays "essays" was the structure of them.  Each paragraph had a purpose and everything was pretty much gramatically correct.  Also they were a little different than the essays i have written because they were written as to tell a story where as most of the essays i have written were to prove a point and were on more academic subjects.

Literature Review

The youth in America today are becoming more involved in the political scene than ever before.  Studies have shown that more and more young voters are becoming interested in the political races.  Many young voters like the idea the Barack Obama is so young and feel that he is going to be a fresh start to the political regime in the United States if he is to win the election.  He has a strong facebook following that numbers 300 thousand which shows that many young people are excited about him and the coming election.  Many voters under 30 are potentially voting for Obama because they feel he has new and inspiring ideas, however because the fight between Hilary and him went so long there is a trend that might see young democratic voters not vote or even vote against their party.  

There have been several examples in articles that suggest not all young Democrats will vote along with their party.  In several of the primary elections many people quoted that they would not even go to the polls if their candidate lost the primary.  Some even said that they would vote against party lines if their candidate was knocked out of the race.  Only Election day will tell where the votes go and who people are really voting for.  Until then polls and researchers can only speculate what will happen in the  election.

The Democrats are very split right now since the Hilary Obama feud went so long.  It will be very interesting to see if the Democrats, especially young Democrats can unify and win the Election.  Since the Republican party seems pretty committed to John McCain the Democrats will have a tough time gaining power in the White House.  This is because of the early stated Obama-Hilary race that experts say could hurt the Democratic Party.

Until the election is over people can only speculate what will happen.  But one thing is for sure more young people are voting and it is making the coming months a very exciting election process.

As I was reading my article for our communities project I came across and interesting remark made by a young voter.  It was if his candidate did not make the general election he would consider not voting or vote for the opposing party.  I think is interesting because he said he wouldn't vote which I think is sort of pathetic.  Young people need to vote they need to know and need to be heard.  Because as a young people it is only a matter of time before we become "old" and start running the country.  Also i read an article that said most colleges are very liberal so many young people are only getting one side of politics.  I feel that all a college student needs to do is search a little and they can find many political ideologies.  Also its reassuring that more young people are becoming more active in the political community.  It is about time that young voters lived up to their potential and I think this election will finally be the one.  I would like to find out if it because there is a young candidate for office or if its people really just feel the need to vote.  Whatever it is if people vote it will most likely benefit the country.

they weren't there

well i tried to do my site visit.....funny thing.....they weren't there 

but i did send my interview questions the head of the young democrats and i'm planning on going to headquarters soon to get some more information

3 Goals

1. I want to be able to transfer my ideas form my head to the paper better.  I found last year when I was writing I had some trouble getting some good ideas down in simple coherent sentences and I found myself asking other people or my teacher for help way to often.

2. I tend to over use words when I write so I want to enhance my verbs and nouns ect. when i write.  And also better my choice of words when I write.

3. I want my conclusions and intros to be stronger i have always felt that was something I was weak in. Writing intros are difficult for me and in conclusions I tend to use to many repetitive words.(see # 2) 

Interview Questions

How did you start?

Why are you a Democrat?

Who did you support, Hilary or Obama?

Why become a Democrat?

What do you stand for?

What are your goals for your party?

What tasks do you preform?

How influential are you?

Highlights?

What is your take on the election?

Your take on Mcain v. Obama

What do you want to do with the experience you gained as a young Democrat?

How do you feel about being a Democrat today? and in the future?

How do you view yourself?

How do others view you?

Soccer Game

my yellow jersey

maroon, orange and white, 

Xavier

perfect weather

field looks good 

red cards

2-1 

goals tough game 

didn't play well

won anyway

we need to pick it up against duke

As I Walked to the locker room today i felt the weather and it felt perfect.  Just hot enough, weather i am used to playing in.  I opened the door to the locker room and the first thing that came to my eye was the photo of previous games from the season.  A few great saves and still photos.   The NFL was on the TV.  The uniforms are the first thing to attract my attention in the individual lockers.  They were our home whites with orange shorts and white socks.  I sat down to get dressed and coached walked in and addressed the team about the game.  Then it was go time. 

We walked form the locker room out to the field to warm up.  As we crossed the turf to the grass i felt the heat.  It was hot but that's just the way i like it.  the team ran and stretched.  Lauren, Kristin and Jimmy brought water to us.  Then as we were walking to the game field the anthem of the season "Put On" came on the loud speakers.   The goalkeepers started to warm up their hands and the rest of the team split into starters and guys off the bench. Calling Baton Rouge Came on and I knew it was about 30 minutes to kick off .  Things started to pick up and then shots and crosses.  Warm up was over.

Kick off  the game didn't start out to well. 10 Minutes on Shupp was mugged at the top of our 18 yard box and before we knew it 1-0 Xavier. We didn't have a great half or a great game for that matter.  But 7 minutes before half time we got a break a penalty and a red card for Xavier.  Manny took the penalty, missed but put the rebound a away like a good forward does, follow up everything.  We went into half tied and up a man.  But the second was bad poor play.  Many players touches were off.  Then about 10 minutes before full time we had a flurry of chances, shots, a diving header from Gilson.  Then 2 minutes before the final whistle we got a corner.  Gilson took the in-swinging corner with his left foot and Dillie like the reliable senior he is saw his chance and pushed it past the keeper for the game winner.  We didn't play our best but we got the important win.

 

How do you know you know?

how do we know? great question.... the sky is blue....there will be a new president...

 people have opinions about everything but some things cannot be disputed or can they?

if the sky is blue what do color blind people see? 

i don't think we can ever be certain of what we know because there are so many changes in our world due to technology.  medicine is changing from day to day even minute to minute.  The next big thing is out there. we think we know what we know because we haven't proved anything beyond that yet.  We know many things but  time may prove these things wrong 

i was trying to find some groups in class this morning for communities and now that you said specific communities  i will find a a few for friday

The two communities I have the most interest in are the soccer and political communities I am leaning toward the political community because it is an election year and so much is going on in the next few months.  I'm not sure if I want to just look at the general election or the two specific parties.

What I want to do

We have to write about communities for the class im taking. Im pretty intrested in this. I would like to branch out and research different communties that I dont know much about. I also want to strenghten the knowledge I have of my own communities and get to know them better. Hope fully I can accomplish both of my goals because. I think it will be very intressting to see what I write and what other people write about communites since we live in such a diverse world.