Project 1 Reflection

Project 1 Reflection: Project 1 was based off the Hayden Library Entrance, and some of the challenges writing this paper was having to observe every little detail and find a way to write about it. Having to immerse yourself in the detail and write paragraphs I found it to be quite tough because I haven’t written an essay in quite a while. Adapting an authors style was  difficult because I had to analyze how the author wrote in order to try to be like him when he’s writing. The strengths I had when writing this essay was being able to flow from one idea to another. I felt like it was easy to go from one part of the Hayden Library entrance to another because they were all connected to each other. Analyzing the places was another easy part for me because I enjoy looking for the deeper meaning. Having to find out what more there is than rather looking at the surface was enjoyable and meaningful for me. There were plenty of opportunities to analyze something in the area I was sitting at, the people next to me, and the area surrounding me had a ton of information for me to analyze. I learned that I need to know more vocabulary words to show my description of the area and the extra vocabulary could help me when I am trying to explain my viewpoint in an essay. I did not get to the depth of analysis that I wanted to, I found myself to be blocked because I couldn’t find the perfect words to describe what I was trying to explain. I want to improve my sentence structure for my next essays. The sentence structure helps a lot with the flow of the paper, and having a paper that is easy to read will definitely help with the grade. When people have abrupt endings or ideas that pop up out of nowhere in an essay are very hard to follow along. When someone knows how to explain their viewpoint in an essay without having any sudden changes will definitely get a better grade. This assignment taught me to analyze things around you more and learn to not look at the surface of people or your surroundings because you will definitely miss something. The use of adapting an authors style is going to help me in more writing assignments because I can learn to see how they write and add it to my paper so I can write clearer and better for the next essays that I have to write.

Notes on Project 1

Karl Ulbrich

September 16, 2012

At the Underground Entrance of Hayden Library

Smells:

• Cigarette smoke from the surrounding people
• Baked food from the nearby Cafe 

Sound:

• Shoe steps from the main stairs descending to the library
• Music from the Cafe making it a relaxing environment outside to study
• Doors constantly opening/closing
• People constantly chattering about everything loudly on the phone
• Faint music sound from people’s headphones 
• Different languages being spoken around
• the church bell ringing
• noise of longboards or skateboards riding up to the staircase then flipping them up to carry them into the library
• distant sound of people yelling above 
• chairs moving
• opening bags of chips or snacks
• munching on food

Visual:

• People sitting and smoking cigarettes
• Traffic of people entering and leaving the library
• Employees at the library hauling in books
• Feel smaller because you’re below the ground level and people are looking down at you
• Once finished smoking they enter the library
• People in rush to leave the library as if they are happy to finally finish their studying
• Satisfied look after leaving the library
• The giant structure above me that is on ground level revealing where the other part of Hayden Library is.
• Different kinds of people entering the library, business men attire, casual clothing, sorority girls,
• Numerous cafe chairs outside that numerous people sit on to smoke a cigarette or listen to music while they’re outside
• Umbrellas to cover the sun and help people stay cool while they are outside relaxing
• To the right, a giant room for studying, some people are chattering while others are concentrated in a book or writing equations on the whiteboard provided for them
• To the left, mirrored windows that send a mysterious vibe not knowing what is beyond them
• Architecture of the outside entrance of the library make you feel like you’re in a studious environment solely for your studies
• the smaller pillars that make up the fence on the outside
• the giant illuminated staircase descending to the library 
• the lights on the edge lighting up the entrance
• the ash filled trays
• cigarette stubs all over the floor of the cafe outside
• calm environment but it is used just for smoking 
• The palm trees above us
• study groups walking in and meeting outside before entering the library
• the trees in the underground entrance don’t look as healthy as the trees above
• people tripping up the staircase
• skyping outside then entering the library
• constant flow of people walking in and out of the library
• people eating snacks outside
• bringing in food to study

An Analysis of Rolling Stone Cover

Rolling Stone has always been a major magazine for music, they have been reviewing, and interviewing music artists since 1967. The September issue of 2007 shows rapper 50 Cent and Kanye West staring at each other as if they are about to battle. The title on the bottom says “SHOWDOWN! 50 CENT VS KANYE WEST WHO WILL BE THE KING OF HIP HOP?” The bottom title tells the readers that the rappers are in an ongoing feud between the better songs in the music industry during that time. The magazine cover shows Kanye West and 50 Cent hating each other, but through the picture you can’t tell the truth because this could just be an act for the media. The Rolling Stone has to make a dramatic cover to make a profit, the picture showing 50 Cent and Kanye West staring at each other will make audience want to open the magazine and find the article hoping it would explain more about the rivalry between these two rap celebrities. They are both known for being hot-heads so this rivalry is perfect for the media to blow up and cover while this fight is going on. On top of the page of the magazine cover they show a fall album preview for Springsteen, Kid Rock, Foo Fighters, Alicia Keys, Neil Young, and Lil Wayne. That top section adds more detail to the music magazine, and exhibits to the readers about album previews covering a lot of genres so it appeals to different music taste. The Rolling Stone magazine seems to appeal to everyone even if they have a unique taste in music. Another part of the Rolling Stone cover I noticed was the box over the main title, it’s an article about the presidential campaign in 2008. The Rolling Stone magazine is definitely appealing to all audiences even people who don’t listen to music could read the magazine for the political section. The magazine is ambitious to gain more readers and it shows through the articles that they write. On the cover page, the wide variety of articles are for selling purposes. 

Analysis of a Writing Situation

The article I chose to analyze is an NPR article called "How 'Government' Became A Dirty Word" the subject of the article is about how Republicans altered the word 'Government' into a hated word by the citizens of the United States. The author seems to be leaning toward the Democratic side, there is a lot of evidence against the Republicans in the news article, for example, the last section has Daniel McCarthy addressing the problems with the Republican's logic. The writer's purpose seemed to show how the Republican's were wrong in their views about the government, the purpose from the writer definitely changed the article's content. Even though the Republicans are against government, they are making a form of government between themselves. The writer of the article shows it in the last section from a quote said by Daniel McCarthy. ""I think there's a bit of disconnect where the Republican Party is able to cash in on the fears that Americans have about big government, even though the Republican Party actually is practicing a form of big government itself," he says."" The quote from the article summarizes how the writer is against the Republican views throughout the article. The author might have hoped to give insight on the argument against the Republicans to make someone support the Democrats during election. The authors views did change the article, which was overall criticizing the Republicans so a lot of the information about the Republicans was negative while reading it. The intended readers were everyone, because the author was trying to change people to support the Democrats. The readers would have thought about the Republican's viewpoints because this article makes it sound like their views make no sense. The author gives many examples opposed to the Republican's view and depending on the reader it will make them consider their view on politics. The sources used in the document were Zelizer who spoke to the author saying, "They had New York Republicans, they had a lot of Midwestern progressives, who still said government is good for a lot of things." The quote was in the first section of the paragraph stating how Republican's views have always been against the government, but there are views supporting the government as well. The second piece of evidence in the second section is about Zelizer showing the readers that hostile views toward the government have always existed. "...President Ronald Reagan said "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to the problem, government is the problem."" The context is perfect for this article considering the election that is coming up, the article will definitely shape the reader's viewpoints if they actually reflect on the article's contents provided by the author.