Month: February 2022

I chose to read Xena’s response, in which she highlighted the same arguments that I did for both essays that we read. I liked the way she perceived Baker’s argument. She said that he argued for following your gut and taking risks on yourself, which is not the first way I would’ve interpreted the text, but I completely agree with her and I see how she made that inference. In contrast, I said that the argument he made was in itself the joy he felt when recognizing the affect his writing had on readers, but she took that from the text and expanded on its implication. Baker was not presuming that his work would get special attention and he did take a risk turning it in because he knew it did not follow the format the teacher was requiring.

After watching the video on Adobe Spark, I think it will be pretty easy for me to complete the project. I don’t usually have trouble understanding and navigating different website layouts. I will definitely have to rewatch the video if I run into any confusion because I often need to go over the steps when learning something new. The only thing I may find hard is choosing what media to include. I’m not 100% sure of my topic yet, but maybe once I’m confident in my topic, it’ll be easier to know what media to include, such as pictures, music, and etc.

Spark Link:  https://express.adobe.com/sp/urn:aaid:sc:US:53b9ee80-5733-40bc-a14b-52f978f66c94?fmt=video

One idea I have is to write about the process I have when I write songs. I have been writing songs since I was around 12 years old. It has always been a more emotion based process for me and I usually start with a certain lyric that will inspire the rest of the songs. That’s one of the ways I write songs but I will also start with a title sometimes. It’s not usually easy for me to match words with a melody that I come up with but sometimes it does work for me. I believe it is called top-lining when you write lyrics to an already existing track or melody. I’m much better when it comes to creating something from scratch. I’ve always loved writing and I started writing songs because I wrote poetry as a pre-teen. I don’t write much poetry now and I find that when I do, it is a last resort kind of medium that allows me to put my thoughts and emotions into. Writing has always helped me make sense of things, or at least try to. Sometimes I will go awhile without writing any songs and I’ll feel as if I’ve forgotten how, but it usually comes back to me after the first song.

I didn’t start sharing the songs I wrote until 11th grade, when I decided to show some of them to my friends. It can be hard sharing such personal songs and unfortunately, those are the songs I often times like more than the others. If I feel connected to a song, I usually think more highly of it but in reality I have no real concept of the quality of my songs. I can tell that they’ve gotten better from when I was younger, but that is only a relative form of measurement. I’m interested in pursuing my passion for songwriting but how togo about that is the challenge. As I get older, I get more comfortable sharing my music and I know one day, my self-consciousness will no longer play a role in that. I’ve received a lot of positive feedback, but it’s hard to believe that. It’s funny how people can say so many positive things about me or my writing, but even the possibility of negative feedback overwhelms that.

 

OUTLINE

• writing as a preteen and how my writing has grown
• influences in my writing
• what inspires a song of mine
• sharing my songs
• possibly including one of the first songs I wrote and drawing a comparison to one of the more recent songs I’ve written
• some kind of conclusion

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/03/podcasts/trojan-horse-affair-british-identity.html

Group Writing: Feb 3

Members: Parker Qualls, Chinaza Hughes, Zushan Liu

Article: Why Claiming British Identity Is Complicated by The New York Times 

Who is arguing? Three UK-based writers are exploring the complexities of the British Pakistani identity in 2022. 

What purpose(s) is/are the writers trying to achieve? They are trying to explain the struggle faced by British Pakistanis to remain in Britain. That explanation includes analyzing the specific scandal, “The Trojan Horse Affair”, an event in which an anonymous letter was released and it outlined a plan to infiltrate public schools. The letter was revealed to be a hoax but it greatly impacted the British Pakistani population in the area because it was made out to be an intended act of Islamic extremism. The British government attempted to implement “British values” in schools in response and the writers are fighting against that because it has appeared to be more harmful than the government would like to admit. They are analyzing what qualifies as a British value and attempting to expand that idea. The writers are also looking into the source and cause of the letter in hopes to achieve some kind of understanding of this entire issue. 

To whom are they directing their arguments? The authors are directing their arguments towards basically anyone, but they mainly intended to reach Islamophobic people. They are also calling out the British government for trying to implement “values” that are doing more harm than good. They wrote this to show that British people who migrated from places like Pakistan are not dangerous and the stigma around it needs to be changed.

Forensic: What happened in the past? The authors did answer the question, “what happened in the past,” because they discuss “The Trojan Horse Affair” which took place in 2014, and explain how it affects the British Pakistani population. 

In Xena’s response, the main idea expressed is her interest in Pengfei’s story and writing. She is frustrated by the barriers in Pengfei’s life, as education should be accesible to all. I wrote about the same frustration in my response. I did so because the details in his story, surrounding his financial situation, illustrated the unfairness and overwhelming poverty in this society. Xena identifies pathos as Pengfei’s writing style. Writing style was not something I was taking into consideration, so that was an interesting observation that she made. She also included the title of the text in her response, as did other classmates, and that reminded me to remember that for my next response. I do believe that she followed the Reading Response Guidelines.

 

1) The chickens on campus play a famous role for our school, they make us unique.       Type: CS

 The chickens on campus play a famous role for our school; they make us unique.

2) What if the chickens laid eggs and hid them somewhere they would get left behind.      Type: R

What if chickens laid eggs and hid them somewhere; they would get left behind.

 3) The chickens bring laughter to our students, without them we’d be an ordinary school.               

Type: CS

The chickens bring laughter to our students; without them we’d be an ordinary school.

 4) I remember, after my first class I was leading out to the bookstore unfortunately, I stepped on the chickens’ dump.    

Type: CS

 I remember, after my first class, I was leading out to the bookstore; unfortunately, I stepped on the chickens’ dump.

5) Right now, there are many chickens living freely on campus but many professors don’t want chickens.  

Type: R

 Right now, there are many chickens living freely on campus, but many professors don’t want chickens.

6) Chickens should not be allowed to live freely on the campus because they cause stinky odors make noise and no one wants to clean after.          

Type: R

 Chickens should not be allowed to live freely on campus because they cause stinky odors, make noise, and no one wants to clean after.

7) Anytime students want to lie down on the lawn they need a place that looks clean and has fresh air therefore they can not take a nap or study.      

Type: R

 Anytime students want to lie down on the lawn, they need a place with fresh air that looks clean, or they can not take a nap or study.

8)  But I strongly disagree with that opinion, chickens should not be allowed on campus at all.    

  Type: CS 

But I strongly disagree with that opinion; chickens should not be allowed on campus at all.

 9) During the time students are in the lab if the chickens make a lot of noise the students won’t focus on doing their job.  

Type: R

During the time the students are in the lab, if the chickens make a lot of noise, the students won’t focus on doing their job. 

10) In conclusion, if the chickens live freely on campus because students let them live free then these students should clean the chickens’ mess.   

Type: R

 In conclusion, if the chickens live freely on campus because students let them live free, then these students should clean the chickens’ mess.

My full name is Anna Chinaza Hughes. I was given the first name Anna because my siblings and I were all given biblical names. My middle name is Chinaza which is Igbo. The Igbo tribe is one of the two tribes that my family belongs to. The Igbo tribe originates in Nigeria and is possibly present in other West African countries. My Nigerian identity comes from my mom. My last name is Hughes which I believe to be of Welsh and Irish descent, which is present on my paternal side.

I was embarrassed of my middle name growing up because nobody knew or tried to pronounce it properly. No one the kids I was around came from the same place or had the same culture and I felt alone. I remember being in first grade and on Culture Day at my school I wore a green Nigerian dress. It was one of my favorites, but once we pulled into the parking lot I begged my mom to take me home to change. I was so scared that they would make fun of me, that my mom took me home to change and I came back wearing jeans.

At 18, I decided to start going by my middle name. In high school there were a number of Annas and I was tired of the confusion. I’ve always felt more connected to my middle name and choosing to be called Chinaza felt like a moment of self-acceptance for me. I grew up in a solely English speaking household. I have never been mocked or made fun of for the way I speak but I often notice micro-agressive behaviors when people hear my mom’s accent. As a child, I always felt protective of her and I was very attentive to how people treated her especially those without the barriers that she had.

The key idea in Letizia’s response is her interest in pathos, or the way a writer can use emotion to persuade their audience. This idea is similar to my writing because I too am most intrigued by arguments made using some kind of emotional appeal. I learned from her writing that Kairos is referred to as the god of opportunity. I am sure I read that but her writing cemented that reference in my head. I do believe that Letizia’s response follows the guidelines set for reading responses.