Amber Schmidt is being recognized for sophistication of craft and powerful voice. In a multimedia project that bridges the semesters, FASTrack students are challenged to consider what being American means to them by pushing past obvious patriotic clichés into the depth of the nation’s cultural fabric. This assignment preps students for the critical thinking that is essential to college writing and study. Schmidt structures her bridge project as a list, using “door” metaphors to juxtapose assumptions about American values versus her realities.

Commenting on what she values in writing, Schmidt notes:

Voice. That is what my freshman year at Ole Miss was all about. Voice in all aspects of my life: in writing, in school, in my own life. Everything that has happened this year has just been noise trying to get me to realize my own voice. Throughout every single paper this semester there has been one underlying theme in each of Mrs. B’s comments: voice- “you have nailed the voice of an academic essay (synthesis essay),” “you mix voice with academic work, making a causal argument both entertaining… and compelling (cause and effect argument),” “your tone fits your suggestions so well (mutlimodal website).” That consistency is what I have been most proud of in Writing 102. I have a strong personality and have always resented the fact that in writing I “had” to be so objective to the point that I sound like a robot. This class gave me a chance to write about subjects that not only mattered to the world in the grand scheme of things, but also things that mattered to me.

View “Six Closed Doors.”

Beth Sherbo is being recognized for critical thinking, ethical source-use/appropriate citation, and the understanding that effective argumentation involves balance, respect, and academic precision. In FASTrack writing projects, students are often given opportunities to explore complex, controversial issues. In her Writing 101 position argument, Sherbo took advantage of such an opportunity, and her essay on the deportation of illegal agricultural workers in the U.S. breaks free of conventional clichés (e.g., empty emotional appeals to patriotism) in presenting a compelling, fact-based argument on the economic effects of worker-deportation.

Reflecting on her learning, Sherbo notes:

Writing the argumentative research paper was a valuable experience for my academic learning process. I practiced citation skills which are extremely important to avoid both plagiarism and even “sloppy citation.” Rather than simply explaining a certain topic that I researched, for this project I was able to argue one side of the topic. Through this I gained knowledge on how to effectively argue my point of view in a respectful and persuasive manner. . . . Throughout completing this project, with helpful tips from a librarian, I enhanced my skills of searching for credible and useful sources. Having useful sources can make a big difference when it comes to effectively arguing a specific point.

Read an excerpt from “Illegal Labor: A Benefit to the Economy”:

One of the major problems with removing undocumented workers from farms is the effect on the price and supply of goods that are produced on these farms. With nearly 67% of the crop worker population made up of illegal workers, deportation of these workers can have drastic effects on the outcome of harvest season (Martin 471). The production of the fruits and vegetable crops that people are accustomed to are immensely reliant on the labor of numerous workers to complete agricultural tasks. As claimed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), many of the popular vegetables grown in Arizona, for example, require more than 100 hours of labor per acre of the crop (Wishon et al. 25). If farmers are unable to hire enough workers to plant, care for, and harvest crops, food prices will rise for multiple reasons. According to the co-founder of the National Young Farmers’ Coalition, Ben Shute, prices will increase due to the needed wage increase to attract new, native-born workers and to abide by American labor laws. Removal of the majority of the agricultural workforce would also raise the price of produce due to the short supply of goods resulting from fewer farm hands (Shute).

One specific case study from 2011 shows the effects from reforms such as the E-Verify system. Once E-Verify was set in place, monitoring the citizenship of workers, the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA) found that the agriculture workforce was decreased by 30%-50%, causing an estimated loss of $140 million across all crops (Milkovich). If Americans are fond of cheap, fresh produce in their local supermarkets, they may want to reconsider their negative views on the employment of undocumented workers in agricultural occupations.

 

 

 

 

Ryan Richards is being recognized for sophisticated synthesis and creativity in an essay incorporating three very different texts: her personal experience, one short story, and a self-selected article from The New York Times. This piece was written in response to a challenging assignment based on UM’s book selection for the Common Reading Experience in the Fall of 2016, Sherman Alexie’s Ten Little Indians. Richards’ is a sharp, inventive essay featuring a nuanced, original central claim.

Reflecting on the Common Reading Experience, Richards writes,

 I expected the Common Reading assignment to be a book report; thankfully, it was anything but. The assignment asked students to analyze three sources, one being our personal experiences. I expected to have a ton of difficulty making a book, a New York Times article, and my own developmental process into one cohesive theme, so I broke down the sources into each subject’s environment before change occurred, how the change was accomplished, and the subsequent result. Rather than in high school, where paragraphs in multiple source papers were often each dedicated to a source, Ms. Hitch told us to craft body paragraphs with different common themes and elaborate on how they applied to each source. While this assignment deviated from the norm I’d grown used to in high school, it acquainted me with the greater effort and analytical thinking college requires and set my expectations for future assignments to be both more challenging and interesting than I was used to.

 

Read an excerpt from “Not So Little Women”:

Fundamental change is, if not absolutely necessary, a crucially important part of being successful in professional and personal life. As individuals and as a country, we make great strides toward the future, especially in social dilemmas. In high school and college, strides have been made in my personal life to dismiss my defense mechanisms and react to rejection as my authentic self. This is an ongoing process, but the periodic achievements I’ve made have sculpted my personality significantly. Whether shown by the Civil War soon after America’s founding or the national legalization of gay marriage last summer, our country is always striving for better. There are bumps along the way, but the conflicts themselves accelerate change by making an issue popular enough to be debated and decided on a national scale. Recently, the country’s reaction to sexual harassment cases has pivoted, exemplified in The New York Times article, “Sexual Harassment Training,” with Roger Ailes. Because of women like Gretchen Carlson coming forward about their assaults, America is transitioning past a patriarchal society with little respect for the treatment of women that occurs behind closed doors and motioning for equality and mutual respect regardless of gender. The urgency of this change mirrors that which occurs in “Can I Get a Witness,” the third of nine short stories in Sherman Alexie’s Ten Little Indians. The story glimpses a turning point in the life of a Spokane Indian woman who takes advantage of the chaos surrounding a detonated bomb to free herself from a toxic identity. Although they share fewer external similarities than the characters of Ten Little Indians, three not­-so-­little women exact big change through the courage to take control of a negative situation, whether in their personal lives or the nation’s methods of justice.

 

 

 

Ainsley Mandell is being recognized for her skill in reflective writing. Students in FASTrack writing courses create a reflective blog, called their commonplace book, where they think about their experiences reading, writing, and researching, connecting writing class with both their academic and personal lives. In her commonplace book, Mandell consistently writes about her insight regarding how to apply learning from one experience to another seemingly disparate experience. She makes connections with her experiences and frequently expresses how she can apply concepts from one class to another class and even extends this further by connecting her past and future selves. These connections reveal a student in the process of constructing a strong identity as a college-educated individual.

In this entry, Mandell reflects on connections:

Daily Write #10: Connect Your World April 21st, 2017

I think a lot of times in this class we reflect on our assignments and see what we could have done better or notice what we did well. This has connected to my other classes and my life in general because it has made me more willing to stop and look back at all of my other assignments in my classes and see how they could have been improved and what I did well. For example, in my philosophy class we have writing assignments due almost every week and because I am used to reflecting on my assignments in this class, I tend to read over my writing assignments when I get them back in philosophy and see what I could have done better to get a better grade. I also reflect back on my tests in biology and see the questions I got wrong and try and figure out why I put the answer that I did and how I could have prepared myself better for the test so that I would get a better grade. Overall, having to reflect on our papers and assignments in this class has carried over to my other classes and made me think about how I could be a better student and how I could improve my grades in all of my classes.

Here Mandell reflects on her critical thinking skills:

Critical Thinking and You

A situation in which I demonstrated critical thinking was when I had a conversation with a friend from high school. I went to high school in Texas, which I have noticed since coming to school here, that my high school was more diverse than Ole Miss. One of my friends was telling me about how her parents came to the United States illegally and that they still don’t have their citizenship. When we were talking about where we wanted to go to college she told me that she considered going to school in Mexico once we graduated. For me, that didn’t make any sense because the idea of going somewhere out of the country for school never even crossed my mind. But after I thought about it from her point of view I was able to understand her reasoning. Her mom had gone to school in Mexico and she had several family members that were still living in Mexico. At first, understanding what she was thinking about was difficult but after putting myself in her shoes, I was able to see her point of view on the whole situation.

On the other hand, another situation in which I failed to think critically was when my friend from home said that her parents would not let her go to college out of state. I didn’t understand why her parents would say no to something that could expand her horizons and allow her to see a different part of the country. I was unable to see her parents point of view on the situation because my mom always told me that I shouldn’t be influenced by her opinion of schools and that I should do what I believed was best for me. In my opinion, going out of state and far away from home was going to make me grow up and become more mature, so it seemed like the best option. I never really took the time to think about the fact that her parents might not want her to go out of state due to financial issues. In the future I would definitely look at things differently. I would take time to think about all of the different reasons why going to an in state school made the most sense for her family.

Lauren Hamme is being recognized for active reading, critical examination of evidence, and seamless integration of sources. In her cause and effect argument, Hamme unravels the complex, layered research studies of six social psychologists to support her claim that gender inequality, despite the rise of the feminist movement, is still prevalent in the workplace. Hamme’s clear, cohesive prose makes deep, complex research accessible for her readers and relevant to her claim.

Explaining how her interest in this topic was sparked, Hamme writes:

With the research paper, I discussed how gender stereotypes affected women’s progression in the workplace. I knew that this setback would affect me later in life, so I decided to familiarize myself with issues of gender inequality. Since I did not approve of the double standards that affected women on a daily basis, I proposed a resolution to that ongoing problem. I encouraged education systems to foster their students’ creativity at early stages as opposed to discriminating “what is for him” versus “what is for her.” As a sociology major, I need to recognize the patterns of social evolution because all progress comes with a price.

Read an excerpt from “One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: The Journey Toward Gender Equality”:

Social psychologists Elizabeth L. Haines, Kay Deaux, and Nicole Lofaro questioned if Americans’ perceptions of gender have changed to reflect women’s progression as a whole. They composed a study that referred to research conducted by J.T. Spence and E.D. Hahn that collected data from college students in 1972, 1976, and 1992. Spence and Hahn evaluated the data using the Attitudes Towards Women Scale (AWS). Through extensive analysis, they determined that the lowest amounts of egalitarianism were present in the 1972 cohort while the most egalitarian attitudes dominated the 1992 group (354). It is no surprise that the general public held more conservative views in the 1970s than in the 1990s because fewer women pursued professional careers. Therefore, the results of the data indicate more Americans have opened their minds to the possibilities of gender equality with the passing of each decade.

To gain a stronger perspective of the impact of women’s progress, Haines, Deaux, and Lofaro also consulted research conducted by J.M. Twenge that assessed significant changes in gender stereotypes. Twenge used the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ) to evaluate the shift in gender-based characteristics from the 1970s to the 1990s. The women’s performance on the BSRI masculinity scale, which measured traits such as independence and assertiveness, were “positively correlated with the year of publication” (354). In other words, women in the 1990s exhibited higher levels of masculine qualities while women in the 1970s did the exact opposite. The men’s score from the BSRI masculinity scale also “showed an increase over the same time” although the correlation was weaker than that of women (354). Overall, these scores conveyed a steady trend toward a “more liberal America” (354). However, it is important to note that these studies’ results did not communicate a possible shift in gender stereotypes. The outcomes only validated that women have assumed more masculine characteristics to play larger roles in society. Haines, Deaux, and Lofaro then conducted their own research using a “one-way multivariate analysis of variance” (MANOVA) to “understand the extent of gender stereotyping” in the 21st century and “assess if beliefs about men and women” have improved with time (357). After observing patterns of gender relations such as role behaviors, occupations, and physical characteristics, they concluded that women’s transition from the home to the workplace was not strong enough to counter the predominating stereotypes regarding gender norms (361). The results of these studies verified that women have progressed with each decade. From establishing themselves in the workplace to assuming male-dominated roles, women have proven themselves as more than just “pretty faces.” However, women [may] continue to struggle up the corporate ladder due to the gender . . . stereotypes in the workplace.

           

Terrell Gray is being recognized for effective audience awareness and establishment of ethos. In his essay, Gray synthesizes two pieces that challenge the current state of education in America and its role in shaping the class disparities we see in our nation today. Through this paper, Gray demonstrates a strong grasp of audience awareness, writing both academically and objectively as he crafts his argumentative claim that our current education system contributes to later economic disparities. He also does an impeccable job attributing his two sources in a concise manner, calling attention to the ethos of both Deresiewicz and Anyon.  

Reflecting on this project, Gray underscores his critical engagement with the topic:

I can make a significant connection with my experience as a freshman and a topic I wrote about often during the second semester. That topic was about education, socioeconomic class, and the value of college. A lot of this writing was from my perspective just before attending college. A theme I often discussed in these papers was the uncertainty that people can face when questioning the value of an education. College is expensive and can drastically change people’s lives based on finances alone, and the thought of this was weighing heavily on me. I kept thinking, “How could a relatively low class, unprivileged person like me be expected to succeed through college?” Upon researching these topics to fit into a paper, I began to see that I wasn’t entirely unprivileged at all. In fact, there were a lot of privileges that helped me get here, and I had to keep shifting my perspective to include potentially anyone who wanted a higher education and the barriers they might face.

Read an excerpt from “Class in the Classroom”:

While higher income schools have almost always been seen as offering a superior quality

of education than their lower income counterparts, it has often been equivocal as to what extent socioeconomic class factors into the classroom. Ideally, class would mean nothing in the context of western class mobility. Anyone should be able to do anything if he or she works hard enough, right? However, it should be noted that there is a huge disparity when regarding the educations of people from differing economic backgrounds. Former Yale professor William Deresiewicz claims that the grooming of students for Ivy League schools is largely the result of this class disparity in his piece, “​Don’t Send Your Kids to the Ivy League​.” His claim is supported by the stark educational differences described by educational policy professor Jean Anyon in her research in “From Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work​.” Both texts focus on the implication that economic disparity has divided people’s educations based on social and economic class. In short, schools for wealthier people are generally going to groom their students for the more socially elite positions of their parents while the less wealthy schools prepare their students for the pedestrian roles of their parents. This grooming of roles occurs at a young age and continues at every tier of education until the student is fully cemented in that role. In the modern world, education is valued very highly, and this value has morphed into the basis for a class struggle. The lack of social mobility in terms of education perpetuates the disparity between classes at every educational level.

 

 

Ash Crantas is being recognized for her work in substantive revision while crafting a complex analysis. In her essay, Crantas critically examines the ways in which filmmakers manipulate their audiences through the decisions they make and the strategies they use. Particul

arly, Crantas analyzes how filmmaker Nadine Cloete, in the opinion documentary “Miseducation,” establishes a framework of clues to engage the audience’s deductive powers. While composing, Crantas drafted the paper several times, each time trying to more clearly articulate the ways in which the director’s logic is established. Crantas’ dedication to substantive revision paid off in a clear, insightful analysis of a complex process.

Reflecting on the power of revision, Crantas describes one of her most valued techniques:

One activity that had a significant impact on my paper was the reverse outlining. This tactic broke down the basic structure of my essay and showed me the difference between what was in my head and what the audience was reading. I found the concise summaries of each paragraph beneficial, because if you cannot explain a concept in a few sentences then you do not understand it well.

 

Read an excerpt from “Education of a War-Torn Land”:

Correspondingly, elements such as camera focus add into this deductive progress. The concentration switches between Kelina’s peaceful face as she sleeps and then her stern, severe expression as she walks alone in the streets. This contrasts the tranquility that her childhood should be and the solitary life she has adapted to. As she traverses roads and alleys [filled] with lurking adults and scowling gangsters, the backdrop of the dirty city is always visible behind the young girl; this serves as a constant reminder of where she comes from, of what home is to her. Also, the camera angle switches between following as an omniscient observer and being situated at Kelina’s height, looking up at suspicious adults and rickety buildings. The third-person POV enforces how powerless Kelina is and what her literal and figurative perspective is. These angles work to build ethos and let the audience walk around in her shoes, to understand her beyond being an outside observer.

Moreover, the editing is full of hard cuts that make the audience wonder; this effect adds to how the viewers must be the ones to fill in the gaps and create their own understanding. For example, Kelina is shown walking, with crossed arms, past a man leaning against a pole, and he stands up as she goes by. The scene cuts away, and the viewer is left unsatisfied–did he say something to her? Did he make a rude gesture, as many others have done in the background? Surely nothing negative happened with a camera crew around, but then again, the city is  dangerous. A definite answer is never given.

 

 

Chasity Caston is being recognized for her facility in analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing sources.  Her research is an example of how the work we do in our writing classes reaches across different disciplines. This project was inspired by a lecture Caston attended in her sociology course. Ultimately, Caston incorporated eight sources that encompassed interviews, news articles, and complex scholarly and legal documents.

Reflecting on the transfer of learning from her writing course to other courses, Caston explains:

 College is a learning process; therefore, there will be several strategies that [students] will learn from one class that they can use in another class. For example, my Writing 101 and 102 classes contributed to . . . my writing in my sociology class, history class, and so on. This involved a lot of analyzing, connecting, and evaluating. . . . In my sociology class, I took apart the theories to analyze how they would play a part in a particular situation. For example, I did my sociology research paper on incorporating the conflict theory into domestic violence.

Read an excerpt from “The Fingerprint of Divorce Laws,” Annotated Bibliography:

McGahan, Hilly and Ries, Brandi. “Understanding Domestic Violence.” Montana Lawyer, Vol.

40, no. 5, 2015 March, pp. 14-16.

[According to the authors,] domestic violence is not caused by drugs or alcohol; however, it is caused by the need of power and control over the victim. These abusers demonstrate violence regardless of drunkenness or soberness. Abusers are well-aware of their actions and their reasoning. . . . The article suggests that pop culture throughout the media can contribute to violent behaviors. . . . Children who are brought up in abusive homes are more likely to develop the same violent behaviors. Montana . . . had 112 deaths from 2000-2012 from domestic violence. It is recognized that the state does not consider domestic violence as serious as drunk driving. Children are involved in 60 percent of the domestic violence cases as well because the abuser usually takes out additional anger on the child.

The information provided is a major contribution to my essay due to its detailed explanations of what domestic violence really is and its effects on children. Because Mississippi recently did not consider domestic violence as a factor for divorce, I could use this article to elaborate on the negative outcomes on the children if they continuously witness their parents in a domestic dispute.

Schweitzer, Donald P. “Dealing with Domestic Violence during a Divorce.” Los Angeles Lawyer, Vol. 37, no. 8, 2014 November, pp. 11-13.

In this article, [Schweitzer] discusses the correct actions to take when encountering domestic violence in the process of a divorce. In California, when a violent act occurs, the family law attorney is obligated to meet with that client for counseling to inform the client of all outcomes of the accusations, involving child custody rights, fines, and incarceration. There are also different codes of evidence, which are the Civil and Family Codes and the Penal Code. The Penal Code only requires just enough evidence to label a dispute as domestic violence. Also in California, unlike some states, they rule the evidence as traumatic if the injury is visible. Some judges only consider an event as traumatic if the victim is in severe condition. In each case, family lawyers are put in place to protect the accused or victimized client from the harmful effects of a Domestic Violence Restraining Order, such as loss of employment.

This source could be valuable to someone who is not aware of the certain acts to take when involved in a domestic dispute in California. In addition, it could be best suited to clients who do not want to lose their jobs due to the placed restraining order. It also informs clients of their rights to protect themselves during these situations, if accused. Schweitzer is a licensed family law specialist in Pasadena, California. This source only touches on California, disregarding other states. This would not be advantageous to someone who does not live in this state.

This article could play a role for my argument essay because it allows me to compare laws and expectations of domestic violence in other states. It also urges me to examine the effects of these laws in states that do have laws compared with states that do not have these laws.

Damarcus Cage is being recognized for excellence in digital argumentation. FASTrack Writing 101 students are asked to remix their argument essays into short videos. Cage’s video focuses on the complexities of the issue of police brutality and asks the viewer to consider ways this violence may be lessened or even stopped. Instead of using pre-made clips or images, Cage chose to create graphite line drawings that expressed each of the points of his essay, a rhetorical decision that truly takes advantage of this different mode of communication. He thoughtfully drew the images and smoothly organized how the viewer would experience the argument of the piece. Also, his choice to narrate his video adds to the power of his piece through emotional connection with the audience.

Reflecting on creating the video, Cage writes:

The easiest part of making my video was when I put all of my drawings in place. This was the easiest part because I knew where I wanted to place the pictures in the video. Some of the challenges were deciding what drawings I wanted to use. I thought hard on what images would seem more appealing to the audience and which ones would hold a bigger impact. If given the assignment again, I would pretty much do everything the same. If I had to create another video, I would probably include music for the video. I learned how useful the iMovies app on my phone was.

View “Ending the Violence.”

Griffin Blaber is being recognized for his original and provocative thesis that challenges the work of others. In an essay composed for FASTrack Writing 101, Blaber considers the visual rhetoric of a short documentary from The New York Times Op-Doc series. Blaber analyzes how the filmmaker uses (or fails to use) appeals to emotion, reason, and credibility. In crisp prose, he expertly analyzes specific visual details from the Op-Doc and considers the limitations of the documentary’s argument.

(more…)