Aliyah Sarna | WRIT 2 S20

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zIjjzhyf1XnXeoMXRZeeJy-zQFEZ8rtcW5bcVRAnRvk/edit?usp=sharing

For this assignment, I chose to look at "From Lyrics to Sentences" by Cecilia Ramos. The primary source of the piece was the song "Pretty Hurts" by the singer Beyonce. The argument of the piece was that you should practice self-love, regardless of what other people might say. This was relatively easy to point out, as the author identified the message of the song in the introduction paragraph of their essay. According to the author, the audience for the song is meant to be an older audience, one who can understand the complexity of the song's lyrics. The author chose to do a children's book for the genre translation. In order to present the song's message in a way that a child could understand, the author applied commonly found conventions of children's books. The first way they did this was transforming the complex lyricism of the song into more clear, straightforward sentences. Another way the author followed the genre's conventions was by m...

Translation: click here Process Essay:  click here Article:  click here

At first, I wasn't sure how I wanted my genre translation project to go. The first thing I had to do was figure out what topic I would research, which was difficult to pick. The clustering exercise helped me isolate two possible topics to pick from, which then helped me select bioluminescence in marine animals as my research topic. The next step was to decide which genre I would translate my article into. This was another hard decision, but I ultimately chose the genre of children's books, because I felt that it would be the best fit for my topic (while also being fun to do). I then had to search for a scholarly article, which wasn't too hard considering the vast amount of research that's been conducted on the subject. The group project helped me understand the process that would need to be done in the individual translation project in different ways, like how to identify conventions of different sources and how to efficiently sort information from the text. I started...

Article: Quantification of bioluminescence from the surface to the deep sea demonstrates its predominance as an ecological trait For my translation, I am taking a scholarly paper about the prevalence of bioluminescence in marine life and translating it into a children's book. I am aiming for a slightly advanced picture book that is scientific in nature. The intended audience for it would be elementary school kids who have a basic understanding of biology and can recognize scientific terms and naming.  The first few pages are dedicated to introducing the topic of bioluminescence, with the rest of the pages being dedicated to the types of bioluminescent creatures found off the Californian coast. The pages about the different creatures feature a brief amount of writing and a crude drawing of the animal. The writing will be much simpler than the information given in the paper, but will still feature a decent amount of scientific detail. Hard-to-pronounce words will be given pronuncia...

A vampire squid exhibiting bioluminescent traits. Very cool! Article:   Quantification of bioluminescence from the surface to the deep sea demonstrates its predominance as an ecological trait Part 1  The article I chose discusses the prevalence of bioluminescence in marine species among the different depth levels of the ocean, the causes of the bioluminescence, and how it affects them and their ecosystems. This falls into the category of scholarly articles because it exhibits a number of definitive aspects found in the genre. The first thing that fits the genre's conventions is the title, which is functional and descriptive about what the text is discussing. The second thing that identifies its genre is the structure of which the text was published in. It features an abstract, results section, discussion section, materials and methods, acknowledgments, footnotes, and references. Each section is labeled appropriately with titles for each new piece of information that i...

For this activity, I chose clustering over cubing. This was because I initially didn't know what topics I wanted to do my genre translation project on, which made it hard to complete the cubing exercise successfully. I started clustering by first looking at the possible ideas I wanted to explore further. The first topic I came up with was bioluminescence in deep sea fish. Since I enjoy biology and science in general, I thought that this would be a good possible topic. I then found a scholarly article discussing the causes and effects of the bioluminescence, which I categorized as the biological components and the effects on the ocean's ecosystem. The second topic I thought of was the effects that music can have on the brain. Once again, I searched for a scholarly article and found one that discussed the various effects that music can have, along with the potentials of music therapy. The next step I took was thinking of the possible types of genres I could translate the ar...

Original: "Taking the words of David Roberts in his article “Reboot or Die Trying,” I feel as if it’s a necessity to keep up with the constant “digital snow” that has inundated our online lives." Revised: " With a considerable amount of our daily interactions with others being conducted digitally, pressures to stay updated with our peers and the world around us has increased. David Roberts expresses this well in his article “Reboot or Die Trying,” where he describes the necessity to keep up with the constant “digital snow” that has inundated our online lives." Why: I believe that this paraphrasing of David Robert's article is a hybrid of the "Armadillo Roadkill" and "Dating Spider-Man" categories. The reason it falls under the first category is that I provide little to no introduction about how "digital snow" is related to the contents of my paper. As a result, there is little that the reader can infer from the paraphrase. I...

a.  Dear Reader Letter b.  Self-Study c.  Writing 1 - Week 1 // Identity: What is It? d. Writing 2 - Week 3 // Tracking my Digital Self + Freewrite e.  Writing 3 - Reading Response 1 I would greatly appreciate it if you evaluate this portfolio for the best grade I could earn. Thank you for your consideration.

Example 1: Experimental Music This song, "Thy Mission" (feat. Mac Demarco), is from one of my favorite bands called The Garden. They create music that fits the experimental genre. Not only have they specifically stated that they produce experimental music, but you can tell based on the stylistic elements incorporated into their songs. The conventions of the experimental music genre include unique lyricism, melodies and chord progressions that don't fit within mainstream pop, and influence from an eclectic mix of other musical sounds. Within this song, there is heavy use of guitar, transitions from fast-paced to more relaxed instrumentation, and an "odd" set of lyrics. The purpose of this genre is to provide a refreshing take on music that is different than what you'd typically hear on the radio, as well as to explore different types of sounds that make up a song. The intended audience consists of people who listen to alternative music, especially young ...

As a student, my studies have involved looking at multiple types of genres. Some genres I've been exposed to are nonfiction articles, different musical styles, both in-person and Youtube-based lectures, and memes (my personal favorite). Each of these has its own conventions, as they were created to fill each of their different purposes. For example, the conventions of nonfiction articles incorporate facts rather than opinions, professional styles of writing, and supplementary material such as photographs and charts. The conventions of Gamelan, a type of traditional Indonesian ensemble music, include the use of metallophones and other percussion instruments, non-Western scales, and unique tuning styles. Kerry Dirk explains that the creation of a genre is the result of precedence. In other words, a genre is a response to past responses. However, genres are not "cookie-cutter" formulas for material, as they can be manipulated to fit certain audiences and purposes. An examp...

This concision worksheet helped me realize how much I struggle with concision in my writing. I have the tendency to "overstuff" my writing by adding unnecessary words, causing my writing to become confusing at times.  1) I am happy with the majority of the changes I made because it made my paper easier to follow. One recurring issue throughout my paper was excessive usage of adjectives and phrases. Before the concision activity, many pieces of my paper ended up being redundant due to additional words and phrases that reiterated points already made, which in turn made those pieces hard to follow at times. Some of the unnecessary words also diverted attention away from the point being made because of how convoluted my sentences were.  One sentence in my paper that highlights this issue was, "Additionally, I was more focused on my studies, leaving me more time later on to relax and have some sort of leisure time, compared to the rushed/packed schedule that excess p...

Going into this project, I thought that I had a decent idea on what my smartphone usage consisted of. This was especially apparent in today's pandemic situation, where the one thing I spend the most time on is my iPhone. I found that I was actually wrong by the end of the first week of my Screen Time self-study project, where my predictions about my top apps and total time spent were different than the results I received. I also noticed a tangible correlation between the increased amount of time spent on my device and a personal decrease in wellbeing that week. This gave me the concept for my thesis, which I found worked well enough to keep for the rest of my Self-Study project. I've enjoyed researching some of the topics of my project, as it not only has given me substance for my project, but also has taught me some extremely interesting information about things like the importance of sleep in young adults, mental health effects due to social media/phone use, and how my p...