Reflections on my synthesis paper

My synthesis paper was rather successful. I did an effective job of synthesizing sources, though, as always, my diction was not appropriate for the audience in consideration. I did not bother to change my design plan to reflect this, because it would have been entirely ex post facto, and not to mention, arbitrary. College freshman were the only audience that thought I was worth addressing in this discussion. At least, that was the easiest route to take.

I must also admit that this was my least favorite assignment so far. I was rather bored writing it, and the reader may or may notice this.

In regards to the conclusion, I'm not sure it represents what I truly think about the topic. I ended on an optimistic note, but Huws' analysis disturbed me profoundly. I'm an introverted type, and I can't stand the bourgeois obsession with efficiency that characterizes our age.  I think about Joseph Campbell sitting in a log cabin, in complete seclusion, reading for 9 hours a day, and am filled with envy.

Unfortunately, I don't think I properly addressed the complexity of Huws' and Sennett's arguments in my response to them.

In addition, I find my third main point was the weakest (though typically it should be strongest), as it was something that I had already alluded to at different points of the paper. I'm not sure if this is simply a matter of overlapping topics, or if I was being redundant.

Parts of this reflection would be superfluous if I had one of my former English teachers review my paper and give me comments. The problem is, is that I hate asking favors from them, because I know they are all very busy people. I'd also have to have a working draft complete much sooner in order to give them enough time to do so.

One thing I realized after writing this paper, is how much I appreciate being able to choose the topic of my essays. In this aspect, college is far superior to high school.

The Precarious World of Work in the Twenty-first Century

Design Plan for Synthesis Paper

My purpose is to draw upon multiple academic sources in creating a picture of work in the 21st century. This will enable me, then, to give advice to college students about the type of skills that they (and I) should be developing in order to be able to find favorable employment in the future. I shall argue that they need to be aware of the type of work that they are seeking (whether or not it is personal or impersonal, fixed or footloose, anchored or no) and the degree of education it requires; their ability to identify with a higher purpose in all of their work; and their capacity for creative thinking and self-reliance within their field of choice. In turn, possessing these characteristics will lead to the most stable and lucrative employment. With this in mind, students can take advantage of the opportunities of college life, take many different courses, develop critical thinking skills, and a keen entrepreneurial spirit. This, I hope, would allow them to achieve not only financial success but also an indelible purpose in life.

My audience consists of college students who may not know what awaits them after graduation. They may lack direction, and be unaware of the extreme competitiveness that characterizes the global economy.

The context is the 21st century, a time during which pundits have noted a lack of political participation and awareness among young people. It is possible that this is true to some extent in regards to economics. Perhaps those who come from working class families simply have the impression that they should become some type of engineer or software programmer, without realizing that they will have to consider other factors than whether their job is in a burgeoning field. Certainly, their parents will most likely not have the advice that young people need in order to thrive. Society is rapidly transforming in accordance with technological changes, and one cannot rely upon past generations. One needs the most current knowledge possible.

In my paper, I will mainly use ethos and logos. Since this is an academic paper, I must cite appropriate sources to corroborate my claims. Likewise, appeals to reason must serve to persuade my readers to take the proper course of action now while they do not have to worry about competing for jobs. My pathos will be admonitory. I will warn students of the consequences they will face if they cannot or refuse to adapt. There are also times where I will write in an urgent tone, such as when I discuss the new market's effects on personal identity and the moral upbringing of future generations.

As far as selection, my professor provided me with all of my sources. The only choice I had to make was which sources I wanted to use to support each claim. I based this on the nuances of each source's argument and what they revealed about the complexities of the 21st century economy; moreover, there were some instances where the memorability of a quote was decisive.

The medium is a formal academic paper written in MLA format.

I will present my claims in the following order: first, I will stress the importance of education in securing a higher-end job, and the specific type of job that prospective employees should be seeking; second, in analyzing the nature of the new capitalism, I will show that having a vocation is just as important as ever; and finally, I will emphasize the need for college students to hold themselves accountable for their work and learn to be innovators.

Testing will occur in peer-review sessions. The option of having a teacher look over it is also available to me.

Work

When I think about the concept of 'work,' I evoke numerous associations: work as drudgery, opposed to leisure; work as a necessity, an inevitable consequence of one's being immersed in the world of process or prakriti (all things are moved to action by natural and karmic laws); and work as vocation, as those activities that give one's life an individual meaning and purpose. The authors whose writings appear in The Changing Landscape of Work in the Twenty-first Century  explicitly mention two of these; therefore, I would agree with Ciulla when she writes that "[t]here may be no one particular feature present in everything we call work, but rather many characteristics that overlap and intersect." Most people, when asked to ponder this topic, will provide many similar answers. Their definitions are not necessarily contradictory, but complement each other, and reflect the variegated experiences of work that human beings share.

Reflections On My Visual Analysis

I feel rather confident about the success of my piece. I have done a thorough job of analyzing the posters; admittedly, I probably could have pared down my paper more than I did. It is a part of my neurosis that I must include every thought that occurs to me. 

Indeed, I deplore that I had to leave out supplementary material. I would have liked to outline America's history of oppression towards minorities. This would have strengthened my argument by further illustrating the mechanisms of control that were reflected in the posters. 

Whenever I reflect on my writing, I am concerned that I am verbose in places, or have wrongly presumed the reader's knowledge in a certain area. This holds true for this paper.

It is possible that I could have enhanced my paper by doing more research on each image (for example, for "I Married a Communist," I could have watched the movie or at least read a synopsis). 

If I had more space, I would have done more to engage myself in academic discourse on the topic. I only briefly touched on an alternate view that is not so much a scholarly interpretation as it is a public prejudice. 

I think what I struggle with most in this and other papers is audience. Before taking this class, I have never had to consider audience. I think I have this difficulty because I am someone who always by default used an advanced vocabulary (that is only because most of the books I read are of that ilk, and I have learned to write mostly through emulation), to the point where it has become an incorrigible habit. I suppose this isn't that significant an issue within the context of academia, but still, I ought to become more flexible as writer. 

Visual Rhetorical Analysis

Design Plan for Visual Analysis

My purpose is to highlight the reactionary sentiment that dominated American Anti-Communist propaganda during the 1950's. By analyzing four posters, and emphasizing the role of minorities in each, I will prove that the Red Scare was only partly concerned with the spread of a repressive ideology throughout Europe and Asia: in large part, it was also a mechanism of perpetuating social imparity within the US. In this light, I will also undertake an exposé of the collective psyche at this time, which presents itself as a classic example of the phenomenon of psychic projection, insofar as it is evident that America projected its shadow (its own oppressiveness) onto the Soviet government. Consequently, I wish for my audience to gain a critical perspective on US culture and politics. This way, they will be able to assume a more active, thoughtful role in the political process.

My audience consists of young voters in high school or college, whose political opinions have still not ossified, and who have at least some background in United States history. They may be those who are apathetic, or they could be blindly patriotic. In either case, I will motivate them to reconsider their views. By emphasizing the social consequences of something even so remote to them as Soviet expansion during the mid-twentieth century, I will evince the urgency of their political participation. I shall also make clear that pride in one’s country is not necessarily pernicious, but that jingoism is. Democracy depends on an informed, decisive electorate.

The context is approximately half a century removed from the posters’ inception.  It is likely that the audience may only have a limited understanding of the Red Scare, of which only their grandparents probably have any immediate recollection. It will be necessary, then, that I provide a brief historical account. In addition, I realize that I am writing in a time characterized by some as one of increasing political polarization. This could have an undue influence on the audience’s reception of my piece, as their perception of what they believe to be my ideology will determine whether they thoughtfully consider my argument.   I may have to address this issue, or at least make clear my intentions (which are partly to demonstrate that governments, just like people, are imperfect, and possess a “shadow” side).

As always, I would like to establish an authoritative ethos with my audience. I shall try to find reliable sources to corroborate my claims (much of what I know about US History I learned last year in my AP US History Course; unfortunately, I no longer have access to the textbook).

Though I often consider myself as apolitical, I may employ a patriotic pathos. I will make an appeal to nationalist sentiment by asserting that a true nationalist who is concerned about the integrity of American government would not blindly believe in its absolute goodness. Rather, they would view representative democracy as the best possible form of government that nevertheless depends on a plurality of interests (to obviate the oppression of a minority by a majority, or vice versa) and a system of checks and balances.

Nonetheless, logos will be the most prominent appeal in my paper. I will focus on the posters’ visual composition (which includes typeface, vectors of attention, saturation, and hue), text (the meaning of the text and its use of ethos, pathos, logos) and the interface between text and image, as well as intertextuality (the way that all three posters interact to manifest a paternalistic attitude towards minorities). I will moreover present an alternative point of view that suggests that at least one of the US government’s presumptions concerning Stalin’s regime were unfounded; ergo, the Red Scare was, to some extent, a disproportionate and even a mendacious response to Soviet expansion.

In the posters themselves, I shall discuss pathos, ethos, and logos: how they use garish colors, sans serif typefaces, and peremptory statements to capture attention and evoke fear (pathos); how they make ethos a matter of patriotism by ways of a dichotomy (“us vs. them”), accentuated in their contrasting depictions of each party and jingoistic declarations; how they utilize a downward vector of attention to imply social entropy; and the logical fallacies present in the text (such as hasty conclusion) (logos).

The selection of posters was based on their implicit views of minorities (as weak, inferior, easily corruptible, naïve, innocent).

The medium is a formal academic paper written in MLA format that will include three photographs (reproductions of the posters).

Concerning arrangement—I will first present the posters whose central figure is a woman, and then juxtapose these with a third poster that, prima facie, does not appear to be related (an African American appears who does not seem to be an important character, but still reinforces the leitmotif of the first two posters). I am still considering what I shall use for the fourth image. One poster I am considering employs an image of a young girl to demonstrate the US government’s pure intentions in giving aid to European countries during the Soviet blockade. In retrospect, I would present this image first in order to establish a contrast with the nefarious purposes apparent in the other three posters.

To test my composition, I shall participate in peer review in class. I may also have one or more of my current or former instructors review it.