How I Have Viewed Poetry Differently in the Last Few Weeks...

Like many others, I viewed poetry as an art you "accidentally" create. Somehow, through unintentional word choice and random line breaks, an author creates a musical piece thats deeper that its surface. However, I realise now that none of that is true; in fact, it is very false. Steve Kowit has been a handy mentor into the formulation of poetry over the last few weeks, and there have been numerous amounts of important information that has changed how I used to view many aspects of writing poetry. Musicality is one of the literary devices that is most recognised in poetry; however, it goes beyond just end-rhymes. There's an internal rhyme that is subtly yet skilfully preconceived in order to change how a reader reads the poem. For example, assonance is the use of repetitive sounds, typically identical vowel sounds, so the reader can formulate the same sounds in words and, possibly, connect them–such as, the "awe" in "fallen" and "drawer". Another usage of internal rhyme is the use of alliteration; however, instead of just using it via the first letter of every word, you introduce terminal alliteration(also known as partial assonance). Through this technique, the author denotes the identity of the final consonant sounds in several words within a line–such as "en" in "golden" and "garden". Though this technique is considered inevitable, to carefully choose which words will be used to form a relation and interpretation between them creates intentional symbolism. As well as, Kowit has resurfaced the importance of figurative language that goes beyond for analytical and college essays, but to play a vital role in bringing about central imagery and comparisons in a poem. For example, how some poems are known in the form of a "controlling metaphor", where a singular metaphor extends to the entirety of the poem, bringing about fantasies to be literal and explore complex personalities(reveal an individual truth). Even further, a common misconception is how to break lines in a poem. Though, originally, I thought you can break lines wherever you feel would be best for they don't play an important role in the poem; however, that is also greatly incorrect. Various forms have various ways of breaking lines–free verse poems have 14 different ways of breaking lines–, though there aren't strict "rules" on the matter. Line breaks can be used for punctuation, word emphasis, pacing, aesthetic appearance, for irony, by what feels right by you, and so much more. What many don't realise is how every little detail you can imagine that is incorporated into a poem is more diligently planned and vital to interpretation and presentation to a poem than we know, and that is what I have learned over the last few weeks.

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TEDTalk Reflection: "Stigma"

TEDTalk Script: "Stigma"

During my TEDTalk, what I believe went well was my tone variation and slowing down as I tend to talk faster when I am nervous. I felt proud of how I delivered my solutions/call to actions and conclusion as I didn't look at my notes and put a lot of emotion while expressing the points. However, I could have done better on my hand gestures, not acknowledging if I started to forget something during a slip up, and memorising more of the first few paragraphs of my talk that could have helped to prevent my slip up. With that being said, the TEDTalk experience has been a lot of fun, and not only did I learn more about different public speaking skills, I also learned a lot more about my topic, which allowed me to grow my understanding and passion about it. With learning about how the stigma of depression, and any other mental illness, can lead to self-stigma and social distancing, it made me more aware towards the situation and how I can contribute to diminishing the stigma. 

Call to action: Think about the "broken leg analogy", your word choice, and how to use social media effectively to diminish the stigma. Think about it, contribute to it, and make a change. 

POL Reflection

"Silence" by Thomas Hood

During my poetry recitation, one thing I did well was managing my tone and pace with making sure I could talk slowly with breaks, and keeping the tone quiet to have a form of an "eerie" effect. However, I could have improved on expressing my nerves with decreasing my amount of swaying while standing, and not being obvious when I forgot the start of a new line. So, one thing I learned from this was how important tone and facial/hand gestures are to explicate the meaning of the poem and to really feel the true voice and effect of it.

Summative DBQ Reflection

For this summative DBQ on "how barbaric were the Mongols?", I felt I did well on giving context and detail on a quote before sharing it. The past few DBQ's I never gave much information about the origin of it and didn't really introduce the context of the actual quote itself before sharing it, so having that in this DBQ really helped. However, one thing I needed to work on is going deeper into analysis of the text of the document so I can explain more of the "so what?" for sharing the text. As well as, trying to be less wordy and be more precise when it comes to the claims, introductions, and analysis. With this, I learned that I really need to thoroughly reread my work once it is done so I can make sure it is clear, and to be really careful and specific when it comes to writing my analysis on a quote and/or document.

Summative DBQ Link

Argument Essay Reflection

World Studies Final Exam Argumentative Essay

In this essay, something I believe I did well on was writing a specific claim that clearly showed what I would be discussing/arguing about in the essay: "[S]oft power is ultimately more effective than hard power as it allows a leader to maintain their position and benefit people with knowledge.". As well as, the counterclaim that I wrote had a good use of examples to prove the other perspective with the use of examples and quotes from the Lord of the Flies that showed how the last chief, Jack, could be effectice by using hard power, and how philospher Machiavelli quoted you can make others more controlled by ruling with under hard power.

What needs work on in this essay is being clearer with some of my examples and analysis. Throughout the essay, some quotes were too long, such as the quote in the first body paragraph about coercive power from the "5 Forms of Power", and other outside information would be abruptly added in that wasn't the most effective, like the Benito Mussolini reference. With that being said, some of my analysis was sometimes unclear due to the lack of clarity with the examples/evidence.

So, my goal for the DBQ on Thursday is to be specific with my analysis and be careful with quote and example choice.

Summative Assessment Blog Relection

Final Informative Essay Writing

This first unit based on sociology concepts and identity essays has been interesting. With the use of going into depth on the factors of Agents of Socialization and sociology terms has made me understand, and really learn more about our daily life in society. With learning concepts, such as the "looking glass self" by Charles Cooley, the "Act-Like-A-Man-Box", and Agents of Socialization(Henslin), that we subconsiously follow on a daily basis, it was interesting learning how it really impacts ourselves and others. With that being said, I found that throughout this unit, I have been able to grow on my skills on noticing what "reality" is and how factors impact each person in society. Which also grows on my identity with allowing myself to become a more dependable person when it comes to helping and supporting peers. One concept that I learned more in depth in this unit was how gender roles are impacted through media, but personally for me, how the "Miss Representation"(Russell) connects to my identity. "Miss Representation" is a concept and organisation on how girls and women are impacted daily through their expectations on gender stereotypes, and this really impacts me because I deal with issues with trying to fit in with the "ideal body" stereotype. I learned a lot more about how media manipulates expectations, and how every single girl and woman, including me, shouldn't believe what is portrayed because we are all just as equal to everyone else. These sociology concepts that I have learned were also really important when it came to writing my informative draft based one the main question: do I control who I am? In this essay I shared how the Agents of Socialization of family and media, as well as, the concept the "looking glass self" by Charles Cooley have had the largest impact on shaping who I am. In this writing piece, I was proud on how I really allowed myself to go in depth and give personal examples of how these factors have impacted me. Especially, because with my original draft, I had an issue with including personal examples and having "so what?"'s to each. However, one aspect that I need to work on in this writing is introducing and explaining each concept better. For example, I had a hard time trying to give the correct description and example about the "looking glass self". As well as, though I was proud of my use to adding in personal examples, I still had a hard time punctuating the importance of them and how they truley showed my norms and values. Overall, I am proud with the effort I had put in my writing because of my interest and understanding on how sociology impacts every individual.