Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Journal # 5 /Final exam

I decided to do my visual argument project on the importance of family and how you should preserve every memory you have. The reason for my decision is because growing up as a child, I didn't know my entire family or at least my closest relatives, such as uncles, aunts, & cousins. I wanted to create a way for people to always have a piece of their family with them no matter how far apart they were.
I decided to create a family calendar that consists of family portraits, poems, quotes, and personalized items. Each person could create their own family history in a calendar. Since family was so important to me, I wanted everyone to have the chance to show their love and appreciation. The calendar would consists of personalized days (i.e. instead of the days of the week, it would personalized with family members names). Each month would have a different picture or pictures of family members.
So my claim would be the importance if family and how to preserve memories or create new ones. My warrants would be testimony of how family is important from other family members and friends, statistics of families and their different upbringings, and lots of pictures. The types of appeals I will use will be emotions and logic. The genre would be the calendar and how it reflects memories of family. I would compare my visual to cards from Hallmark and how they try to show the importance of family especially during the holidays.
My approach is definitely symbolic because I am creating an argument that family is very important. I will do that by highlighting certain memories of them. I will use lots of pictures and hopefully interview certain family members. I am hoping that this visual will appeal to a more mainstream culture as oppose to academic because everyone has a family no matter how big or small it is. It will not just relate to people in school.
I have learned that you have to appeal to the audience so that are interested in your message or product. I wouldn't get up in a suit to discuss my visual because it calls for a more "laid back" approach. On the other hand, if I was selling insurance, I probably would put on a suit. So, I have learned that you have blend in with what you are trying to sell. You also have to catch the audience attention by enjoying what you are doing.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Journal #4

My experience researching
The easiest part of my essay was actually picking the topic. I knew that I would be interested in learning more about the subject. You don't hear a lot of people discussing ectopic pregnancies because to many who have experienced it, it may be painful. So because it not highly publicized, a lot people have no clue what it is. I wanted to research it because it does not always turn out negative! The difficult part about my research was staying on topic of how ectopic pregnancies changed over the years with technology.
I did have to narrow my search because I had no idea the many factors that play a role in event determining if a woman has an ectopic pregnancy. Using the library database really helped me out a lot with my sources. I tried to go to the public library and found nothing. My advice to researches would be to find a subject that you really enjoy or want to explore and definitely take advantage of the Valencia library database.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Journal Entry #3

How technology has changed the success rate in ectopic pregnancies
I would like to do my research paper on how technology has approved the success rate in ectopic pregnancies. I would like to know what age group and ethnicity is mostly affected by this condition. I would like to know the difference in the success rate from about 50 years ago to now. I would like to research the techniques used to determine if an ectopic pregnancy can be saved or not. If so, what steps do doctors use utilizing technology that improve the success rate of an ectopic pregnancy. I would also like to hear some stories of peolpe that have had an ectopic pregnancy. I would like to know how many years ago it was and if it was a failure, what might technology have done to save it if possible. I am going to research different types of ectopic pregnancies at different stages. Also, I want to know the signs of an ectopic pregnancy. I am very interested in this topic just from a personal experience.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Journal Entry #2

Mini-ethnographic/Royal Academy Daycare



I decided to explore the Roayl Academy Daycare center. I am very interested in learning how the 2-4 year olds interact with each other, their behavior, and learning styles. I would like to see how they learn in an environment with other older children. It amazes me how they take information and interpret it to their understanding. I would like to know the different techniques the teacher uses to keepmthem focused. In the end I would like to have a better understanding of their learning abilities.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Journal Entry #1

Charity Burgess

Professor Tweed

ENC 1101: Journal Entry #1

8 September 2008



My Family History



The topic that I decided to write about is My Family History. The reason I wanted to write about this topic is because I don't know much about my family. I hope to get a better understanding of why I never knew much about my family.

I have always been close to my immediate family on my mother's side. I guess I should explain a little more. My parents were never married. I have two siblings from my mother and six siblings from my father. That created a separation between my family. As a child I was raised in my mother's home. My father was always there. Due to the fact that he had other children, we never really saw each other much. I wanted know about my brothers and sisters and what they thought of me. To be honest, I don't know much about any of my distant relatives. My mother tries to sit down and explain different things. It's all still confusing to me. I have always been a family person. I wanted to know who was who. I think that's why I stress family to my friends and children. I want my kids to know their history and where they come from. I want to be able to sit down and tell them the history of their mother and father. I enjoy the times when the whole family gets togther and start to think back on old times. I sit and listen because it is all fascinating to me. My children are young now, but I hope to capture moments that will be important to them later in life. They will appreciate me for it.

There is so much more I want to know about my family. I want to gain a strong relationship with all my siblings. The main thing I know about my family is that it isn't always up to my elders to educate me on my family history. I can do reserach on my own.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Charity Burgess Journal

My Name is Charity Burgess. I am originally from Moss Point, MS. I have been a resident of Florida for 3 years. I moved here from Jacksonville, NC. I was stationed on Camp Lejuene while serving in the United States Marine Corps. I am married with two children. I am enjoying Florida very much!

I am currently taking classes at Valencia Community College. My goal is to receive a Master's degree in Business Administration. I work full time, so I am only a part time student. At times is has been rough and there have been many hurdles put in my way. My determination is what keeps me going.

I definitely communicate a lot via email. The type of work that I do requires a lot of follow up. I prefer to email because you have a paper trail. I also like communicating via email because it allows me to express myself more clearly. I feel that I am a good writer. However, I would like to be an excellent writer.

I enjoy writing autobiographies and short stories. I like short stories because you get to tell so much in a short period of time. It brings suspense and excitement to the reading. I enjoy writing autobiographies because you get to research and learn so much about the person of interest.

The strategy that I mostly use is research first. I have to have some type of knowledge about my topic. I have to be interested as well. If I am not well educated on what I am writing about, I tend to drift off and lose interest. I learn that I must research first from experience. I do try and use the same strategy whenever I write. However, I am very good at making up stories as well. I enjoy using my imagination. I get to create any character or scene I want.

The thing I find most difficult about writing is trying to stay focused. I like to stay within the subject and not wonder off to other things. I also have a problem with writing too much information. I want readers to be informed, but I find giving away information that may not be relevant. What makes writing easy for me is the fact that I can tell the story from my point of view.

I find writing very important because it allows me to continuously improve your skills. It give me a chance to express your thoughts and knowledge of a particular subject or person.

Overall, I think my writing skills improve day by day. My strengths are that I like writing, so I am always focused and have an interest in what I am writing about. Coincidentally, my weakness is trying to stay focused. I am easily distracted, so I have to be alone when writing.

I have read, understand, and agree to the terms of the course blog.