David Hung

Analyzing texts or images is not something that is new to us. We are always taking in new information and processing it. Everything you take in makes you feel a certain way or think a certain way. If you learn how to think in a way where you ask why it makes you feel or think that way then you might not be as easily persuaded or dissuaded. There are many different tools that can help you think like this and each one can be applied differently or better in certain situations. Not only should you look at the rhetorical appeals in ethos, logos, and pathos, but you should look at the text’s context and ask yourself some questions. Who is the intended audience? What is the purpose of the text? You should also consider the time period and the genre of the piece in question. There are also theoretical lenses that you can consider, such as race, gender and sexual orientation, the discrimination towards the disabled, the role of social class, and the role of non-human elements.

I find myself usually analyzing music. Especially with certain rap songs it’s fun to analyze their choice of words and find out what they meant. Usually it is pretty straight forward but they have hidden meanings in their songs sometimes. Nowadays that has changed a bit with the rise of “mumble rap” (which is pretty much just straight trash) but that is something else for another day.

David Hung

There are many available resources at Baruch that students can take advantage of. One such resource that I am certain to use is the Baruch College Writing Center. I am not a strong writer at all so this sort of thing will help me out massively. Especially because I can schedule one on one sessions. There are also the walk-in sessions at the Baruch Library which can address shorter pieces of writing or more general questions that can be answered in a shorter amount of time.

Rhetoric is a way of analyzing different pieces of writing and a way of forming new thoughts and ideas. It’s a way for people to use their language to express themselves. There are three big “topoi” that describe how we convince others of something: logos, pathos, or ethos. Learning how to effectively use these can strengthen our writing and is vital to communicating with others.

David Hung

Describe Yourself

I am typically a very quiet person but if you get me to talk about something I am passionate about, like soccer or music, I can not stop talking. I would like to say I am very focused person but that’s just not who I am. I get bored very easily and I am always looking to the next thing. Saying that though, I do not like planning that far into the future and would rather deal with the current problems. If you asked “Where do you see yourself in 5 years,” I would honestly not know what to say and just try to change the subject. I dread getting that question in a job interview.

Describe yourself as a writer.

As a writer I find it very hard to put my thoughts on to the page and often find myself just staring at the prompt. Even after years and years of writing essays I still have problems putting my thoughts onto the page. I know what I want to write but I do not know how to write it. I would begin writing something and then immediately deleting it. I guess my problem is phrasing. I am most definitely not a strong writer and will not pretend to be.