Final Portfolio

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Old School Movie Reviw

Old School is my all time favorite movie that has me cracking up every time I watch it. I can easily say I have watched this movie 100 times over the years and it does not get old. The movie begins when Luke Wilson comes home from a business trip to find his wife having an orgy (which he was not invited to). Mitch (Luke Wilson) leaves his girlfriend and so begins the hilarious comedy. Where him and his two buddies Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell relive their young days.

This R rated movie is sure to have all adults laid back and relaxed watching a comedy that is to remembered. When I saw the previews to Old School I thought for sure it was going to be another Road trip or American Pie type of movie. After watching the first 15 minutes of the movie I knew for sure that it was going to set the bar high above any other movie that had a college atmosphere.

After watching this movie I cannot say that I have any complaints with any aspect of it. The audio was perfect. Each character was played by the appropriate actor or actress.  The plot taken place on a college was perfect as well. This movie would not have worked on any other setting.  I would absolutely give Old School a 5 star rating and suggest it to everyone that is of the appropriate age to watch it.

Obesity and where you come from

I have always thought that if a person was over weight or obese it was because that person could not control their addiction to food. However after reading Obesity and Race in America I have realized for many Americans they do not even stand a chance in beating the addiction for food. Obesity and Race in America has opened my eyes as to why so many Americans are overweight or obese. Race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status are all tied together in relationship to obesity. In less wealthy neighborhoods healthy foods are limited because healthy foods cost more money. Also, these less wealthy neighborhoods have fast-food restaurants everywhere. Fast-food restaurants are more convenient to get to than a supermarket that is going to carry the healthy foods that a person needs. Lastly, in these less wealthy areas, it is a harder challenge for children and young adults to get in an efficient amount of exercise these days. This is because people cannot afford cars and cannot get from one place to the other. Children cannot even play outside because of safety issues in these areas. After reading this and really thinking about it I became enraged. Almost every single day I hear something that has to do with obesity. Whether it is my parents,  a school faculty member, the news or even my own doctor. Everyone has something to say about how Americans are so overweight, however no ones gives sympathy for the Americans that cannot afford to eat healthy. And are forced to eat fast-food or junk food because it is cheaper. Everyone is so quick to judge why someone is overweight. Maybe if Supermarkets did not gouge the pockets of Americans we would all be buying healthier food.

Building a Great Paper

On Wednesday we discussed the reading about how to deliver a great paper. I thought these readings were really informative and are going to help me improve my work substantially. I think that everyone has heard of each topic that was introduced in the reading, but I do not think everyone knows how to effectively use each writing strategy to write a good paper. These readings really helped me to learn how to develop a thesis. A lot of the time when I write a paper my thesis is very weak. My transitions from paragraph to paragraph a very weak as well, and sometimes I think it makes certain parts of my paper not make sense. Also, I have been working really hard this year to work on my conclusions because I feel like I just write a few sentences that are not well written. I think I did this because I did not know how to effectively write a conclusion. Lastly, the readings taught me to create a great title for each piece of work. This year I have tried to incorporate a title for each and every piece of work I have created. I try to make a title that is creative,and does not give away to much so that i hook the readers in. Over all, I think these readings are going to help me develop a great essay for our next project.  Not only will they help me with the next project but they will help me with all my writings.

Group Projects

This week our English 101 class had our first group project. The class was split up into five groups and each group had to cover a topic. For example my group covered resumes. Anyways, so far in my first semester of college at BSU this has been my first group project. In the past few days I have learned a lot about working with others. First of all, when working with a group it is very important to stay on task. There is limited time to prepare a presentation and it is important to make it as effective as possible. Also, I learned that staying on task is essential to a group presentation because if it is not finish it in the time allotted during class it may  be difficult to finish it out of class. For example, I commute to school and work most of the time I am not in school so it was going to be tough to get back to the campus to work with my group. Luckily, we found sometime to meet up in the library. Another very important lesson I learned about group presentations is about performance. Always make eye contact. Be able to move around but do not move around such that it takes away from your presentation. When you are not speaking in your group do not be distracting. Lastly, practice the presentation. This is probably the most important part aside from the actual presentation itself. Something can look good on paper, but when it is live it may not be good. Practicing can avoid a bad presentation and allow for changes as well.

This is a great website I found with tips for presentations. Check it out.
http://www.aresearchguide.com/3tips.html

Midterm Portfolio

http://english101portfoliobyjohncosta.weebly.com/index.html

Revise your work

After reading Revising Your Own Work on pages 386-391 a whole new world of revision was brought into my world of writing papers. Many new techniques were introduced to me during this chapter. Right away I learned that a first draft can be quickly prepared and then to edit it. This was interesting to me because I always write my entire paper and then usually go back and really pull it apart and edit it. This was a significant lesson to me because when I write an entire paper like this when I am reading it after I find out that I have gotten away from the main topic of my paper or that there is essential information missing. Another very important lesson I learned from this chapter is that after writing a draft,  is to put the paper aside for a few hours or a day or two. This is a useful technique because it give your eyes and mind a break. When you come back to the paper your eyes will be fresh and you may notice errors that one would not have noticed before. Overall the key to a successful paper is to take the time and edit so the audience is addressed and everything flows. This chapter has been very helpful to me I plan on taking these techniques and using them to my advantage. These techniques are going to help me get ahead on papers so that I am not rushing to get them done.

A Twisted World

In "A Twisted World", I think James McMorrow Jr. argues that although America would love to see celebrities run the United States it is out of the question because there would be to many ridiculous changes. I thought that this whole essay was constructed very strategically. It was interesting that rather than starting with his opinion he writes the whole essay with examples of what the United States would be like if celebrities ran it. McMorrow's conclusion surprised me at first because after reading this I thought it was clear that he would want celebrities to run the United States. At first when I read this I looked at all of his details as positive points. However after looking back at it I realized he was using examples to show how ridiculous and drastic the changes would be. I liked that he came to absurd conclusions to get his point across. I agree with McMorrow that I would love to see the United States run by celebrities. It would be a dream come true. I would follow all of the political aspects if this were to happen. However the country is already in a hole and I do not see a drastic change such as this helping the situation. 

Examples of literacy narratives

The example of a literacy narrative that i enjoyed the most was "music: more than just reading notes". I felt as though the music that this student choose fit into the presentation well and it set the tone. I felt  this presentation was very easy to look at. There was enough time to take in all the images before the next slide came up. The transition from slide to slide was good and it all made sense. After watching this video it has gave me some good ideas as to what i want to do with my project. I want to find the right music to set the tone. Also i want to pick the right colors and pictures so that it flows and the mood is clearly set.

Literacy narrative_ About football

Starting in the 3rd grade i started playing football. There were allot of different aspects to football. Some  of them were physical and others mental. Some of the physical aspects of football such as conditioning, plays and audibles, and all of the fundamental foot/handwork were all the initial factors in my mental health training. The physical traits led to mental traits such as time management, listening skills and patience. Together these traits meshed together to help me do better in school, get into college and listen to my teachers and fellow students.

To do this project i plan on making a movie on movie maker pulling together pictures of all these traits in football eventually leading to my graduation and entering BSU