Final Portfolio

25 April 2022

The Last Week

Reflecting back on the second quarter of the semester, the assignments and group exercises that were completed were a learning experience. Learning how to collaborate with others, writing lengthy papers, that were a thousand plus words, and reading and analyzing documents on serious issues in today’s world has helped me develop as a writer. Lessons and assignments of the course that have benefited my development as a writer were studying “Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show,” by Jeff Horwitz, Deepa Seetharaman, and Georgia Wells, writing the research project, and creating and maintaining a WordPress blog. By constantly working on multiple writing assignments each and every class, students learn how to clearly analyze a document, purpose a thesis, and learn the proper structure of an essay.

Sitting in class analyzing an article on Facebook and how toxic social media is, especially for young girls, got me to think about what I wanted to research. The article, “Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show,” by Jeff Horwitz, Deepa Seetharaman, and Georgia Wells was a good starting point. The article mentioned several ideas that made social media toxic, the worst part being Facebook knowing of these issues and making excuses for themselves. After reading the article, agreeing with what was mentioned, and the few opinions tossed in it, I could not help but think of how social media, though there are negative aspects, has helped many people, instead of hurting them. And out came my research topic, The Bad, The Ugly, and The Good? A Deeper Look into How the Negative Effects of Social Media Overlooks the Positive Affects.” I go into detail, using the information I researched, on how social media has created a space for users to post and share content based on their interests. People connect with people based on similar interests and/or interests in being taught a skill. Social media has also created a multitude of jobs, the most infamous being an entertainer. I guess part of the reason for researching this topic is that one day I would love to work in digital marketing for a luxury brand or fashion magazine. Wanting to be in the digital marketing industry is why I have been enjoying posting past assignments as a blog on WordPress. 

It is required as part of this course to create an account with WordPress and upload major assignments. Using WordPress has been a great way to practice how to use a blog format for a possible career in digital marketing and journalism. WordPress, much like other social media outlets, has been a great way to express individuality and creativeness while also using it as a learning experience. As the future is constantly technologically advancing, professors and courses that use sites like WordPress are preparing students for the future. Who knows, perhaps one-day blog sites will be obsolete.

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the past semester has been a learning experience. Whether the class was drafting a paper longhand or typing out a blog, both have been beneficial and part of my development as a writer. In Writing Analytically David Rosenwasser and Jill Stephen, they discuss the differences between writing and typing. The authors write, “Some writers do all their work on computers, especially if they have pressing deadlines to meet. Other writers swear by pen and paper-writing on, for example, yellow legal pads or in spiral-bound notebooks. There are advantages and disadvantages to both options.” Depending on the writer and how long they have been writing, some prefer technology over longhand. Sitting in on the course English 1103.21, we learned which method works be for us since we had to write out in-class assignments and type our papers. 

Work Cited

Rosenwasser, David and Jill Stephen. “Writing on Computers vs. Writing on Paper.” Writing Analytically, 8th edition. Cengage, 2022. pp. 124.

“In the Age of New Media”

Revisiting Richtel’s Report on the Blog-Term Paper Question

Author of The New York Times article “Blogs vs. Term Papers,” Matt Richtel writes about the ongoing argument universities have on the correct and best way to teach writing in the new media age. There are professors like Cathy N. Davidson who believe in rejecting the traditional term paper and replacing it with smaller blog assignments. Other professors like, Douglas B. Reeves and William H. Fitzhugh, believe that writing in a blog format lacks critical thinking. However, professor Andrea Lundsford, argues that the best way to teach writing is to teach both in the traditional and modern way. Lundsford requires her students to create assignments that start out as term papers and evolve into blogs. While reviewing and closely analyzing Richtel’s article, “Blogs vs. Term Papers” his structure of writing appears to favor the points made by Davidson and Lundsford. 

At the beginning of the article, Richtel automatically states the pressure students are under when it is time for them to write papers, “feels to many like an exercise in rigidity and boredom, like practicing piano scales in a minor key.” He writes about a professor, Cathy N. Davidson who is looking to permanently do away with term papers and publish blogs about the readings they are discussing in class. Davidson feels having students write and turn in term papers does a disservice to untrained writers. There is no room for creativity and students must stick to an outline. By publishing a blog, students not only have creative freedom, but they are also able to write in a way that is relatively fun.

Richtel then writes of the defenders’ side. Other individuals like Douglas B. Reeves, who is a columnist for the American School Board Journal agree that it is imperative for students to write the traditional term papers because “those who do write them have a dramatic leg up in terms of critical thinking, argumentation and the sort of expression required not only in college but in the job market.”  After making the statement about term papers over blogs, Richtel turns the argument over again mentioning, “the term paper has been falling from favor for some time.” In this specific part of the article, the beginning, he does not give enough information on this side of the argument as he did for Davidson. 

Richtel later goes on about the argument that mentions students need more reading and should start writing from an early age, a “page a year solution.” This is a quick diversion from the two main arguments being made throughout the article. 

The article is back defending the side of the new media. Andrea Lundsford, professor of English at Standford, is working on a way to include both the old and the new literacy, “we’re at a crux right now of where we have to figure out as teachers what part of the old literacy is worth preserving.” Professor Lundsford studied the necessary tactics students have when writing and how their abilities form into blogs. She came up with having her students write out lengthy, multi-page papers for the first few weeks of class, and then those will develop into blogs. “Her conclusion is that students feel much more impassioned by the new literacy. They love writing for an audience and engaging with it. They feel as if they’re actually producing something personally rewarding and valuable, whereas when they write a term paper, they feel as if they do so to produce a grade.” Richtel makes no counterargument to this, instead, he wraps the article with the mention of Professor Davidson. 

At the end of the article, there is no mention of Professor Douglas B. Reeves, nor is there a mention of William H. Fitzhugh. Richtel simply sticks to the side of the argument where the new media is accepted. He writes how Davidson “scrapped the traditional research paper.” Davidson made an important point, to which Richtel ended his article. She recalls a time when she was tutoring a student and had to teach him to follow the rules and follow the “rigid structure.” Disappointed in the system and herself, “the sad thing is, he is now convinced there is brilliance in the art world, brilliance in the multimedia world, brilliance in the music world and that writing is boring.”

Years after Richtel’s article was published and the question still remains whether or not living in the new media is better than old literacy. However living in the times we are, students now, more specifically at the lower levels, are practically experts at the technology that has been invented. Old world and old literacy seem to become more and more antiquated. 

Work Cited

Richtel, Matt. “Blogs vs. Term Papers,” The New York Times, 20 Jan. 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/education/edlife/muscling-in-on-the-term-paper-traditional.html.

“A Further Look into How Technology Plays a Role in the Classroom”

Midterm Reflection

In the first few weeks of this semester, the College Writing course has given and offered many assignments to improve our writing. Assignments such as, planning, drafting, and revising our analysis, studying and analyzing the reading “Blogs vs. Term Papers,” by Matt Richter have contributed to my development as a writer. By completing these assignments, we were limited to time on our electronics and relearned what it is like to write out assignments and be in person in class learning off of paper instead of computers. Limiting electronics in class gives us the time to practice writing assignments free hand and helps us improve our social skills when working collaboratively. 

One of our first major papers this semester was to analyze, draft, and write a final copy for Matt Ritchel’s “Blog’s vs. Term Papers.” Before we had to write our final copy, we first had to read and analyze the article. It took me reading the article a few times to really understand what the author was explaining. I highlighted important quotes I thought I could use, made notes in the margins about what I was reading to help me write the final draft, and I then came up with a title that I thought was fitting for my analysis. After analyzing and taking notes on the article, it was time to compose the first draft. I used the notes I had made on the article and lessons from Writing Analytically, specifically on how to write a thesis statement. I learned that while writing a thesis, there are five types I should look out for, “a thesis that makes no claim… a thesis that is obviously true or a statement of fact… a thesis that restates conventional wisdom… a thesis that offers personal conviction as the basis for the claim… a thesis that makes an overly broad claim”(Rosenwasser 208). While reading up on how to compose a well-thought-out thesis statement, I was able to finally come up with one for the end of my introduction. When I was writing the final draft, coming up with a thesis was the hardest part for me. It took me almost writing the whole paper out to come up with a well-thought-out thesis. “While reviewing and closely analyzing Richtel’s article, “Blogs vs. Term Papers” his structure of writing appears to favor the points made by Davidson and Lundsford.” Writing the analytical paper was interesting as I found Richtel’s article was a bit biased. 

In class, we are not allowed to use our phones, computers, tablets, or any electronics, the complete opposite of what we are told in our other classes. This is supposed to be to our benefit, learning in an environment without electronics. It is nice to walk into a class and not have to worry if I remembered to charge my computer if the homework assignment I tried to upload the night before went through, or even if the internet will be working while trying to complete online assignments in class. Without technology in the classroom, classmates are able to work collaboratively and efficiently to complete the assignments given and to improve on what needs to be improved upon. The homework assignments from “Check, Please” and handouts given out during class, have helped students improve upon the most important thing, their writing. In Matt Richtel’s article, he mentions how one professor finds it to be effective to have students turn the term papers into blogs. This way, both students and educators learn and use the new technology while also using older methods. In this class, not only do we efficiently write out our assignments but have adapted the use of blogs. 

I have found that working collaboratively and independently in a writing class, has made an impact on the way students learn, especially since nowadays everything is online. Perhaps Matt Richtel’s analysis was not all wrong, mixing old and new ways can benefit everyone in a classroom. 

“The Writing Phenom”

A look into my most memorable writing assignments

Throughout my education journey, I was taught and told to write essays and research papers. However, it was not until I was placed in Mrs. Lande’s literature honors course that I truly learned how to write. We would spend class periods upon class periods of her teaching us, as she called it, “the proper way to write,” with practice thesis statements, along with the required reading. As much as I can remember, we read Fahrenheit 451, Hamlet (a bunch of other Shakespeare plays), and 1984. The papers we wrote analyzing the readings and protagonists/antagonists comparing them to the philosophical lessons we had been learning alongside these readings, had prepared me for the four to five-page research paper we would have to complete by the end of April that year.

The research paper could be on anyone and anything. My topic was comparing the 1970s it girl, Farrah Fawcett to Aristotle’s theory of the Aristotelian tragic hero. I am not sure what made me pick that topic, perhaps it was because it had something to do with seventies pop culture and at the time I was interested in anything to do with Studio 54. It was not an easy paper to write as I pretty much had to come up with my own theories as to why Farrah would fit the tragic hero type. It worked perfectly, and I ended up doing very well on the paper. While writing the research paper, I felt as if I was telling Farrah’s story in a way that was not shaming her but pitied her for the troubles she had in life, which is one of Aristotle’s basic ideas of the tragic hero. That paper inspired me and got me to enjoy writing about things that interest me, incorporating the lessons taught in the classroom. It was a class and a paper that challenged not only my writing abilities but my thinking abilities as well. We were encouraged to think freely, to read, and to look past the shadows to seek the truth.

Senior year came along and it was time to write another important essay, my college essay. There was a constant back and forth about what I was going to write about. What experiences had led me to the person I am today, what and who inspires my work ethic, etc. I kept thinking about what colleges would want to hear and then one day, I had a sit-down meeting with my guidance counselor to discuss what I was to do in terms of this essay. Simply put, she told me to write about myself. The hardest thing to answer for an essay prompt and for an interview. What about myself makes me different from the rest? How do I stand out? What makes me interesting? It came to a point where I was so lost, I could not remember important experiences in life that got me to where I was in life at the time. Finally, it hit me. I decided to write about my passion for fashion, who inspired it, and specifically what in the fashion industry gets me excited. Fashion has always been a part of my life and a way for me to make the boring things in life exciting. Creative essays and assignments were always enjoyable for me because I would relate whatever I was writing about to fashion, much like my junior year English paper. Even though the research paper was not blatantly about fashion, there was some relation.

I am most proud of these two writing assignments because it shows when time, patience, and energy are put into something, success can come from it. My research paper and college essay have helped me improve my writing. I have come a long way, but I have a long way to go.

The Bad, The Ugly, and The Good?

A Deeper Look into How the Negative Effects of Social Media Overlook the Positive Affects

Social media has been around for over a decade. It was a way to connect with people, share what is happening in personal lives, and share world news. But since social media started, there have been many complaints of online bullying, young children witnessing inappropriate behavior, and more recently, the harmful effects of filters, and photoshop on girls. Social media has caused a lot of controversy over the years of the good and bad it has done. Social media has provided a way to spread awareness, it has created new jobs, and it has created a new creative outlook for the younger generation, but is constantly overlooked because of some of the negative outcomes that come from those things. 

The year is 2003, and the market is exploding with flip phones, hip hop, low rise jeans, and Myspace. Myspace, created in 2003 by Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe, took to popularity from 2005 to 2008. It was the original Instagram. Users were able to post photos, express their individuality, and visit other profiles. It started off as a way to stay in touch with friends and family and possibly meet new people. Like any other website, there were safety restrictions put in place to protect minors but sometimes kids are their own worst enemy. It was the start of a problem that would last for over a decade where kids could no longer feel safe anywhere, for fear of being bullied or harassed online. Prior to the social media boom, if a child was bullied at school, they were able to escape it in their home life. However, from the start of Myspace, a kid could open his computer at home and find what kids were saying to him at school they were saying online for thousands more to see. Over the years, more social media platforms are created with the same intent Myspace was created; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snap Chat, and more. But within each of these websites, there are the same issues that negatively affect teens. Distracting them, disrupting their sleep patterns, and exposing them to bullying, rumor spreading, unrealistic views of other people’s lives, peer pressure, and inappropriate behavior. 

Within the past few years, mental health, for all ages, has been brought to the attention of many. The Mayo Clinic and its staff have posted a recent study on their website on the negative effects social media has on teens. The study mentions, “A 2019 study of more than 6,500 12- to 15-year-olds in the U.S. found that those who spent more than three hours a day using social media might be at heightened risk for mental health problems. Another 2019 study of more than 12,000 13- to 16-year-olds in England found that using social media more than three times a day predicted poor mental health and well-being in teens. Other studies also have observed links between high levels of social media use and depression or anxiety symptoms. A 2016 study of more than 450 teens found that greater social media use, nighttime social media use, and emotional investment in social media — such as feeling upset when prevented from logging on — were each linked with worse sleep quality and higher levels of anxiety and depression. How teens use social media also might determine its impact. A 2015 study found that social comparison and feedback-seeking by teens using social media and cellphones were linked with depressive symptoms. In addition, a small 2013 study found that older adolescents who used social media passively, such as by just viewing others’ photos, reported declines in life satisfaction. Those who used social media to interact with others or post their own content didn’t experience these declines.” The amount of time a teen spends on social media, how a teen is using their social media platform, and what they subject themselves to view on social media, of course, determines whether their mental health declines or not. The points made are points that can be controlled and/or limited, if a teen learns to use social media responsibly and with the knowledge that what is posted is not always true. 

Time put out an article not too long ago written by Jamie Ducharme. Much like the article mentioned before, Ducharme writes, “The public and experts alike have blamed social media for a long list of mental health issues, including rising rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal behavior among America’s youth. But research on the subject is conflicting. One study published this spring, for example, found that social media use likely doesn’t have a terribly large impact on teenagers’ life satisfaction, despite all those expert warnings.” Studies change with time and in this specific article, the author continues to mention that girls tend to be hurt more by social media than boys. Cyberbullying, but more notable, girls tend to make more comparisons than boys. With social media came celebrities taking over the platforms alongside influencers who quite literally specialize in putting a filter over their life. Girls tend to strive for unattainable beauty standards, and compare what they look like and what their lives look like to the “Instagram model.” 

While these effects can cause some damage, they should be used as a learning experience and not take away from the fact that social media has done some good in the world. In order to teach that social media can be more positive, time monitoring should be practiced and recognizing that what is put out on people’s profiles, is not one hundred percent real.

Most things are good in moderation, like social media. Taking the responsible steps to endure a positive interaction on each platform is primitive to a non-toxic experience. Kubbco published an article by Hawra Hashem where she writes in her article “13 Positive Effects of Social Media in Our Society Today,” “The truth is that social media can also be beneficial for society. It can help individuals connect and deepen their relationships. Social media also encourages students to learn and grow. And it can empower businesses to build their audiences and boost their bottom line. The positive effects of social media are plentiful. According to a Harvard study, routine social media use is positively associated with social wellbeing, self-rated health, and mental health. We just need to be mindful users and keep a healthy perspective about social media’s role in our lives. Then we can use it to inspire, educate, show empathy, and become better communicators.” The world has turned to media platforms and technology. It is a part of everyday life and it is important for young adults to start approaching these platforms with a positive and healthy mindset. 

A few good factors to look into when on social media are how people are able to network, stay in touch with others, spread awareness for different movements, share a friendly voice, build a business, support small businesses, express creativity, motivate, and creating a learning environment. For small business owners, using a platform is a great way to market what is being sold, the same goes for spreading awareness and learning opportunities. Social media is one big marketing tactic. The information that is shared online is endless, and no matter how it is shared or what is being shared, marketing plays a major part.

As technology is evolving, online interaction has been made the norm for almost everyone. Young adults are found using media and online networking to improve their lives. Social media is like any other industry, it has its faults but has its helpful and practical uses too. Yes, take a step back and acknowledge the downfalls and quirks that need to be changed, but it is important to recognize how far it has come and the work that is being done since social media has such a powerful presence in the world.

Works Cited

The Mayo Clinic Staff. “Teens and Social Media Use: What’s the Impact?” The Mayo Clinic, February 28, 2022. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/tween-and-teen-health/in-depth/teens-and-social-media-use/art-20474437#:~:text=Social%20media%20harms,much%20social%20media%20teens%20use.\

 Ducharme, Jamie. “Social Media Hurts Girls More Than Boys.” Time, August 13, 2019. https:// time.com/5650266/social-media-girls-mental-health/

Hashem, Hawra. “13 Positive Effects of Social Media In Our Society Today.” Kubbco, November 1, 2021. https://www.kubbco.com/13-positive-effects-of-social-media-on-our- society-today/