After hearing about our second paper, I had a mixed feelings. I was a bit anxious, intimidated, and excited all at once. Our teacher had asked to pick a topic to write about and to think about the various types perspectives on that particular topic. As I contemplate, I thought about writing about race --- not race in terms of black people vs. white people, but race vs. ethnicity. I am still a bit confused and I am not sure how to start the paper or what perspectives to focus on as my mind is jumbled.
The one I approach I would like to experiment with is how people define themselves, especially black people. Do we define ourselves by race or by ethnicity? Either way, what is the difference between the two terms. I want to draw in from my own personal experience. I was born in the West African country of Cameroon and I grew up in the U.S. From the time that I was young, I have always been taught to never forget my cultural roots or our family traditions. Additionally, my parents taught me that while Africans and African-Americans share the same skin color, we are different culturally. Based on that, I have formed biases against African-Americans --- many of them unfavorable.
I would also like to talk about Latinos and how the term is ambiguous. I would like to explain how Latinos come in all shades of the rainbow and narrow it down to Afro-Latinos. I would discuss my personal experience with Afro-Latinos and how they view race vs. ethnicity.
There are so many different angles I would like to write on when it comes to this paper, but the one big fear I hold is the fact that the topic is so broad. How will I narrow it down to a point where I do not write a book or in a way that my readers do not get confused about what the main idea is. I will admit, it is a bit challenging this paper, but I am confident with the various resources I have, I can be able to write a very effective and grammatically correct paper.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
When I hear the phrase "Reading like a Writer," it seems as if the two key words go hand in hand. Writers read to get a sense of writing style, target audience, main ideas, examples, key factors, etc. I feel that in order to improve on writing, writers must read a variety of materials. This includes, novels, magazines, etc. These help in critical analyzation. What does this author want to convey in his or her writing? Who is his or her target audience? What argument or arguments does this writer make in his or her piece? Are his or her argument(s) valid or do they possess many flaws? All these components must be taken into account when reading like a writer.
Additionally, this helps with my research, especially the in the paper that I am writing for English class. I am writing a paper about political figure, Silvio Berlusconi, who was the former prime minister of Italy. Over the previous years, he has been involved in a series of sex scandals, all of which involve a minor female (young women who are under the age of 18). However, I will focus on one sex scandal which was the last straw for his wife of 20 years, Veronica Lario. What was the scandal in question? That I will not reveal just yet, but for my readers, expect to see it in the near future. I promise, it will not be too long of wait, but I urge all of you to bare with me. The research on this issue is still taken place. By the conclusion, I want the paper to be as accurate as possible. How exactly have I accomplished this, well I took the tips for "Reading like a Writer." One of the tips that I found the most helpful was to go through, underline key points and make notes within the margins. This was very beneficial because, it gives me a way of differentiating between what is important and what is just plain nonsense.
Last nights reading was very informative. As a result, critical reading is not meant to bore the reader to death, but rather, a tool that will help in the reader's own writing. This allows the reader to think outside of the reading itself and not to have a narrow view of the content given. Why would I want to just believe everything I read? I don't. I want to be able to grasp what the author is trying to say and have the capability as an individual to disagree or agree with the material. I want to also have the opportunity to draw comparisons between my personal experience and the reading as well.
Enough said
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who care don't matter and those who matter don't care"
Additionally, this helps with my research, especially the in the paper that I am writing for English class. I am writing a paper about political figure, Silvio Berlusconi, who was the former prime minister of Italy. Over the previous years, he has been involved in a series of sex scandals, all of which involve a minor female (young women who are under the age of 18). However, I will focus on one sex scandal which was the last straw for his wife of 20 years, Veronica Lario. What was the scandal in question? That I will not reveal just yet, but for my readers, expect to see it in the near future. I promise, it will not be too long of wait, but I urge all of you to bare with me. The research on this issue is still taken place. By the conclusion, I want the paper to be as accurate as possible. How exactly have I accomplished this, well I took the tips for "Reading like a Writer." One of the tips that I found the most helpful was to go through, underline key points and make notes within the margins. This was very beneficial because, it gives me a way of differentiating between what is important and what is just plain nonsense.
Last nights reading was very informative. As a result, critical reading is not meant to bore the reader to death, but rather, a tool that will help in the reader's own writing. This allows the reader to think outside of the reading itself and not to have a narrow view of the content given. Why would I want to just believe everything I read? I don't. I want to be able to grasp what the author is trying to say and have the capability as an individual to disagree or agree with the material. I want to also have the opportunity to draw comparisons between my personal experience and the reading as well.
Enough said
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who care don't matter and those who matter don't care"