On here I have put some of my writings that I have done during my first semester of CCNY. The writings that I have put up here is supposed to show the progress I have made as a writer and how I continue to keep expanding.
Myself
Language is a vital part of communication is language itself, and through the many variations language we learn about culture. Even people who speak the same language speak it differently depending on their backgrounds, which is something I have never really considered. I learned about the importance of these different variations of a single language, specifically the English language and how the English that certain groups of people such as African Americans and Immigrants speak gets undermined here in the United States. Two specific prompts that got me interested into this issue would be June Jordan’s Nobody Mean More to Me Than You And the
Future Life of Willie Jordan which brought the attention of Black English and Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” which hit a little close to home due to many of the experiences of having parent who understands little English which makes you bear the responsibility of having to help your parents live here in the United States. Amy Tan’s prompt especially led me to dive into Standard English and how it hurts many immigrants who reside within the United States. When looking into the matter I was able to make many connections as to how Standard English has been imposed on everyday people by the Elitist Class (Exploitation of Immigrants Through Standard English, 4).
A very important aspect I have picked up from reading Amy Tan’s prompt brought the use of pathos into my mind in which Amy relates to the audience by using her mom as a gateway to get people to empathize with her situation. While in June Jordan’s prompt, she uses logos and ethos to reach the audience by explaining how the English Language is a diverse, with the language itself having many ways of speaking it across the globe, while also bringing the attention of how Black English is viewed down upon across the United States. These two individuals improved my writing by having me pinpoint what I want the reader to relate to or understand what I am trying to say in my prompts.
For example, my research paper on how Standard English affects immigrants which uses a mixture of logos, ethos, and pathos. During the introduction to my research paper, I bring up how immigrants face discrimination due to their lack of English-speaking skills, either through people trying to scam immigrants, exploitation of their labor through their employers, or just people outright treating immigrants horribly because they did not learn the language (Exploitation of Immigrants Through Standard English, 3). I continued with the strategy of logos by finding the roots of Standard English being implemented by the elites of society and imposed on working class people as early as 21st century England in classrooms, and in which those in the classroom were split into two groups, the middle class, and the poor class(Exploitation of Immigrants Through Standard English, 4).
The next evidence for how my writing has improved is not a prompt but an assignment I did awhile back which was a rhetorical analysis of June Jordan’s prompt. Towards the end of the rhetorical analysis, I agree with June’s defense of Black English and how it has a right to prevail within the United States with myself paraphrasing some of June’s prompt saying, “English is such a common language that it developed several versions of itself which ranges from across the globe with there being many versions here in the U.S., … like Ireland they have their own type of English which greatly differs from what we consider Standard English.” and even though I paraphrased some of June’s writing, I find the way I have written it showed how much I have improved in the field of writing within a year (Rhetorical Situation Worksheet).
Finally, what I believe to be my favorite prompt would be my cover letter for the research paper I have previously mentioned. The cover letter heavily uses the ethos strategy in my attempt to portray the elites as those who try their best to exploit those who are not them while also being able to give a rundown of my political beliefs which shows who I am as a person which goes to show why I have chosen to write the following research paper (Exploitation of Immigrants Through Standard English, 1-2).
Works-citied
Boskovic, Zarija. Exploitation of Immigrants Through Standard English , Zarija Boskovic, 7 Dec. 2022, https://ccnymailcuny-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/r/personal/zboskov000_citymail_cuny_edu/_layouts/15/Doc.aspx?sourcedoc=%7B7BD26F2C-97DC-4A25-8B0A-6D4584F60DC1%7D&file=Final%20draft%20(corrected).docx&action=default&mobileredirect=true&DefaultItemOpen=1&login_hint=zboskov000%40citymail.cuny.edu&ct=1669591326623&wdOrigin=OFFICECOM-WEB.START.REC&cid=668bc248-56e3-472c-81a3-94c7047c0dff.
Boskovic, Zarija. Rhetorical Situation Worksheet, 11 Sept. 2022, file:///C:/Users/tugly/Downloads/June%20Jordan%20rhetorical%20worksheet.pdf.