Final Project (Lucia Ku)

For this research paper, I have decided to focus on the “model minority stereotype” and how it negatively impacts the lives of Asian Americans. To sum it up in basic terms, the model minority stereotype portrays Asian people as a demographic of people that are naturally smart, hard-working, self-reliant, wealthy, successful, and obedient. In my paper, I dedicated each body paragraph to debunking all of these seemingly positive stereotypes through credible sources and statistical research and to explain to my reader how each of these assumptions can negatively affect the Asian American community as a whole. First, I talked about the economic differences of Asian Americans between real life (poverty, etc) and what is stated in the model minority stereotype. Then, I moved on to talk about the difficulties that Asian people face in the workplace and how the model minority stereotype works against them in getting promotions, recognition for their work, etc. I then went into detail with the problems that the stereotype causes for Asian American women specifically. After that, I talked about how this stereotype negatively affects young Asian American students in school, which then led me to discuss about how this stereotype negatively affects the mental and emotional health of the Asian American community as a whole.

While writing my research paper, I was already initially aware of a lot of the issues regarding the model minority stereotype and had already developed my stance on them long before this assignment. However, by putting down my thoughts into words, I found that it helped me articulate my thoughts on this topic even more by helping me organize and dissect my thoughts into clearly separated body paragraphs. Furthermore, it was interesting and sort of satisfying to be able to find specific sources and research that backed up my thoughts and opinions. This search for sources has also caused me to acquire more knowledge and to educate myself more on the specifics of the model minority stereotype, which I actually found beneficial for myself to know about in the long run.

Day 21: Using Sources / Writing Style (Lucia Ku)

Using Sources

When writing a paper, it is important to be sure that you are using good sources to back up your claims. Professor Howard Rheingold coined the term “infotention” in order to describe the action of differentiating between important information and information that can be discarded. By using the infotention process, writers are able to pay attention to the information and sources that they gathered from in an effort to cautiously be aware of which pieces of information to use in a paper. After carefully acquiring your information, the next step is to try and figure out how all these pieces of information can be put together to help form a single claim. At this point, it might be easier if you look for themes, patterns, and commonalities or striking differences between all your sources. After a thorough analysis of all your sources, you will usually have to either paraphrase or summarize the author’s major and minor claims into your own writing. Using quotes may also be helpful in reflecting the claim that you are trying to make to the reader by using examples or phrases from a credible source.

This reading helped me realize the methods in how to differentiate between a credible and non-credible source through the process of infotention. It also helped me realize what to do with the information I gathered, how to connect it all together, and how to include all of it into my own writing.

Introduction to Refining Your Writing Style

Similar to how everyone has their own style of fashion, everyone also has their own style of writing. The way in which someone writes something can determine their audience, purpose of the paper, and how they choose to present themselves to the reader. This is because in different discourse communities, there are different ways in which people speak. For example, in professional or academic discourse communities, one would expect everyone to talk in a more professional or academic manner as opposed to the casual way in which one would address their close friends. This sort of writing applies to many different contexts as well such as in politics, journalism, law, and small talk. This is why it is important for a writer to determine the audience that they have in mind before beginning a paper, so that they can decide on a tone of voice and the type of language that the whole paper will evolve around.

This reading helped be realize the importance of envisioning an audience in your mind before writing a paper. By doing so, it will help you realize the type of discourse that you should use and how professional or casual your writing has to be.

Day 19: Research Process (Lucia Ku)

Finding Evidence

There are many resources at our disposal that can help us conduct research and attain accurate information for research papers, test study guides, or even for our own personal curiosity. One of the biggest resources that we have is our college’s library system. As long as you have access, you can obtain countless sources of information from our college’s vast library collection and be able to get a hold of information that isn’t available on the Internet/Web. Since our library’s database is so vast, typing in certain keywords to be able to narrow down your results is an important skill to learn. There are also various ways in which one can obtain data on their own such as by performing their own experiments, making their own observations, conducting their own interviews, conducting their own surveys, or by drawing upon personal experiences. This article was extremely helpful to me because it showed me resources that were extremely close to me that I was previously not aware of. It also helped me become familiar with how to narrow down my searches and the different ways in which I could obtain data by myself.

Under My Thumb

In the article Under My Thumb by Chelsea Booth, she writes about the inequality between men and women in the music industry. She brings awareness to the problem that female musicians aren’t as talked about as compared to their male counterparts even though there are numerous female musicians in history who have made just as great, if not greater, contributions to music. Male musicians are naturally held to a higher standard while female musicians have to try twice as hard just to get half the amount of recognition that men do. Booth brings up the valid argument that if there is enough time to listen to John Cage’s 4’33”, which is quite literally just four minutes and thirty three seconds of complete silence, in six different classes, then there should be enough time to include a few important female musicians into the curriculum. Booth also brings awareness to the amount of sexual assault that happens to women when they attend concerts. Although these cases of sexual assault are extremely prominent and are higher than what it should be, most musical concerts provide no solution or closure to the people who have gone through this sexual assault and fail to even acknowledge it as a problem. After reading this article, I found that I actually agreed with all the statements that Booth was making in her article. Female musicians are generally less talked about than men historically and often go through more situations of inequality within the workplace than men do. I also agreed with what she wrote about sexual assault during concerts and found that it’s ridiculous that there are still no solutions offered at the majority of music venues on who to report to/what actions to take when a sexual assault has occurred.

Day 18: Manifesto (Lucia Ku)

In Manifesto by George Saunders, he makes a speech about his organization PRKA, or People Reluctant to Kill for an Abstraction, and what they do in their daily lives. Basically, he demonstrates how peaceful the members of the PRKA are, how they do not infringe on other people’s rights and safety, and how easily they were able to compromise or forgive someone that they disagreed with. He even declared that nonmembers, part-time members, or people unaware that they were members have contributed to this level of peacefulness/kindness and even sometimes help/were kind to the people that they disliked. He also makes a point to include the fact that there were members of this organization all across the globe and that they are able to outnumber anyone who opposed them or this organization.

In my opinion, I do not think the PRKA are an actual organization. I think they represent normal people across the globe who value peace and kindness in their everyday lives. The purpose George Saunders has for writing this is to promote the value of being kind to other people regardless of whether or not they hate who that other person is, their ideas, or their lifestyles. He wants to show the reader that there are millions of kind people all around the world that are able to compromise and forgive when they are unsatisfied with something. He wants to inspire the reader to bring this peacefulness and kindness into their daily lives and help out another person while they are doing their daily routine.

Day 17: Researching Stereotypes and “Fake News” (Lucia Ku)

Researching and Making Claims

In Researching and Making Claims by Seth Graves, he discusses the importance of research and how it can affect how we interpret the world/issues of the world around us. Using his example of walking through a forest with a friend, the debate on which specific tree they liked the most arose because they were able to differentiate between each individual tree through research. If this research had not been done, all the trees would have looked the same to them and the question would have never arose. The reason why we do research is because it provides credibility to our claims/arguments. However, in this “fake news” era, it is hard to determine which news source is credible or not. A recent study even showed that the majority of people were unable to tell whether or not a news source was actually credible.

One interesting sentence that I read from this piece was, “Credibility contributes to the ethos of the person making the claim.” In my opinion, I agree with this statement and believe that it could go both ways. If someone with a good reputation and large following makes a statement, people are more likely to agree with them. This shows that the ethos of a person can make a statement seem more credible regardless of whether or not it’s true. Another example is that if someone is always accurate with their information and never issues any false statements, it can build up people’s perception of them. This shows that the amount of credibility a person has can influence their ethos.

The Research Process

Research does not always mean academic or scholarly research done in classes or professional work spaces. It is actually a broad term to describe the process of inquiry or the process of wanting to know more about a certain area or topic. Research can happen in extremely casual settings as well. For example, in the first example provided, someone texts their friend to give them some good ideas on what to watch in a movie theater. They asked the friend for advice/suggestions which made them wonder why they found the movie so interesting. The person who asked would then go see the movie themselves to satisfy their curiosity. This is also considered a form of research since they are trying to answer a question and using that to gain more knowledge on a topic.

One interesting phrase that I read from this piece was, “Research, in this sense, isn’t so much a collection of facts that prove your case but rather a type of exploration. Researchers are people who have developed a curiosity to go on a trip through brand new ideas and points of view.” I thought this was a really accurate metaphor to describe the process of research. Research in its most basic form is essentially wanting to know more about something. Explorers who go on explorations often explore areas unknown to them in order to learn more about it through first-hand experience. Therefore, the correlation between research and exploration is visible here since both are a process of learning more about something that they previously had little to no knowledge of.

Revision (Lucia Ku)

3) b. “A piece of writing is never finished.” (pg. 103)
Any piece of writing, whether it be a novel, short story, scholarly article, or poem, can always be re-read and edited. No matter how many times a piece of work is edited, it can always receive newer feedback and suggestions from different people/perspectives. There will always be areas that can be improved, re-worded differently, or phrased better. Therefore, in a sense, Donald Murray’s phrase of “a piece of writing is never finished” in Revising Your Manuscripts is technically true considering all these different factors. What some may call a “final piece” may only be considered a “first draft” to others. Also, since there exists so many different lenses and perspectives that one can look through while writing/editing, there remains an infinite amount of areas to look over and rewrite.

Day 13: Anzaldua and Naylor (Lucia Ku)

How to Tame a Wild Tongue

Gloria Anzaldua speaks about her experiences growing up with a language that is neither considered standard Spanish nor standard English in the article How to Tame a Wild Tongue. Due to a merge from colonization and a mix of different cultures, Chicano Spanish was born. According to Anzaldua, Chicano Spanish was not considered an “official language” and it sometimes embarrassed her to speak it in front of people who didn’t speak it. She often considered it as an “improper” language while growing up because that was what her parents always told her. Because of this, she spoke a variation of different types of English and Spanish: standard English, working class and slang English, standard Spanish, standard Mexican Spanish, North Mexican Spanish dialect, Chicano Spanish, Tex-Mex, and Pachuco. However, she eventually came to the revelation that she should embrace the language instead because it was a part of her identity that many other people could relate to as well.

The Meanings of a Word

Words said in different contexts can have different meanings. Depending on what tone was used and what situation one is in, it can either pass off as a compliment, insult, or a neutral observation. In The Meanings of a Word, Gloria Naylor explains how she first came to the realization that the “n-word” could be used as an insult when confronted with a classmate who decided to be racist to her. That was when she realized that although she has heard the word many times before, this was the first time it had sounded insulting to her. This was also the moment when she realized that one word could be applied to numerous different situations and used in more than one way so that it could sound like an insult in one particular moment but be used as a form of praise in another moment. For example, when one of her family members uses it in a praiseworthy tone to compliment someone, she pays no attention to it and it doesn’t really register itself in her brain. But the moment someone else uses it in a demeaning way, her brain suddenly registers it as an offense and recognizes it as an insult.

Response

In different discourse communities, different words and languages could be understood in numerous different ways. Words that could be interpreted as insults could be interpreted as a compliment in a separate situation. Languages that might seem “incorrect” may serve as a link to tie a community tighter together due to their common understanding of said language. People are able to interpret things differently simply because of this single change and by doing so, it is drawing people together and creating new meanings to words that weren’t available before.

Day 12: Alexie and Tan (Lucia Ku)

Superman and Me

This short story is about a Native American boy who teaches himself how to read at a young age through Superman comic books. Despite the numerous circumstances placed against him such as family financial problems and stereotypes from non-Native Americans, he inherits his father’s love of books and goes on to become a writer. Along the way, he has learned to view his life and the world around him as “paragraphs” or things held together that shared a common purpose. For example, his house was a “paragraph” within the United States and he was a “paragraph” within his family. In a sense, literacy and books has become a way in which he “saved his own life” and found his life’s vocation. He then goes on to visit various Native American schools on reservations in an attempt to share his inspiration of reading so that they can progress through society despite the similar circumstances placed against them that were placed against him.

Mother Tongue

In this article, the writer for The Joy Luck Club speaks about her own personal experience growing up as an Asian American and encountering all the different types of “Englishes” being spoken in her life. Like most children of immigrants, we grow up with parents whose English is not always the flawless grammatically correct type of English we grow accustomed to hearing in schools and professional work places. However, instead of regarding it as “broken” or “limited”, she goes on to explain that in a sense, this different type of English that most Asian American children grow up with can be fulfilling and whole in its own way. She then says that just because it’s different than what professional English is, it isn’t lacking and doesn’t need to be fixed. She also says that the book The Joy Luck Club was actually written with her mother as the audience and implies that since her mother found the book easy to read, her purpose for writing it was fulfilled.

Response

Language is a tool that has a different meaning in every person’s life. To some, it can be a tool used to help get them ahead in life despite the obstacles placed against them. To others, it can be a unique way to unite and relate to people in a way that’s different than how they might interact with others outside of that group. Just like how Sherman Alexie and Amy Tan describes how language impacted their lives, many other people have doubtlessly shared similar experiences as them when thinking about how language intertwines with some of the most important aspects of their lives.

Day 11: Literacy Narrative (Lucia Ku)

(re)Making Language by Seth Graves

Language is a powerful tool that helps connect us with the people around us while helping us find words to describe ourselves, our situations, our ideologies, or our thoughts. In this article, Seth Graves uses the popular Gothic fiction novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley as a metaphor of how the power of language can help shape our thoughts and feelings. Originally, Frankenstein was an empty shell, a newly created life form that had no opinions of its own. However, he first acquires knowledge by overhearing a conversation about human history and how many lives were sacrificed for the sake of war. Through language, he was able to obtain this new information and started to form his own thoughts on the matter. He was able to develop his own opinion against war due to him being appalled by the ability of one human to kill another. He then began to question the role of his existence within this human world as a monster. As a result, he was able to realize how lonely he felt and how much the weight of the ability to communicate to another living being had on people.

Language, Discourse, and Literacy by Seth Graves

Language is an abstract term used to describe the skill that humans have acquired over time to be able to communicate with one another in a specific community or setting. It is a flexible term that could be used to describe a wide variety of interactions between different people. Obviously, when one thinks of languages, one would normally think of the different mother tongues used in different countries or areas of the world. However, the idea of “language” can actually extend farther than that to include body language/gestures, computer codes, emojis, or even musical notes. When a group of people share a common language, it is called a discourse community. This could stretch from people of different nationalities to people of different professions to people who share the same hobbies. Literacy is one’s knowledge and understanding of a specific type of discourse within a community. Traditionally, it was defined as the ability to read and write in a certain language. However, it evolved into a broader term used to describe one’s understanding within a specific discursive space. There are also multiple types of literacies such as rhetorical literacy, cultural literacy, and digital literacy. These different types of literacies also play a big part in shaping our ideologies because the more people understand and communicate within a certain discursive community, the more they will be able to relate to/understand and form their own opinions branching off from the knowledge acquired within the discursive community.

Response

Both language and literacy play a big part in shaping our thoughts, ideas, and ideologies of the world around us. With language, we are able to exercise the ability to communicate with and understand the people in our everyday lives. It is a tool used to universally connect us and help us develop our thoughts and feelings by sharing and discussing them with others. With literacy, one is able to understand what is being said within a specific discourse community. Being literate will therefore help them relate to the different conversation topics discussed within the community. Overall, both language and literacy are a vital part of human life as a way of connecting with other people and voicing our own thoughts.

Thesis and Review (Lucia Ku)

What’s The Point?

Usually, before beginning an essay or a paper, you are asked to clearly state your “point”, “argument”, “position”, “purpose”, or “thesis” somewhere in the introduction. This “thesis” will basically outline everything that the rest of your paper will revolve around. In order to come up with a good thesis, there are several questions you must ask yourself. The first question is “what do you see?” This question will help you determine what your thesis will be focused on. It could be a word, a character, a theme, an object, an image, or anything that catches your attention. The second question is “what do you make of it?” This question will help you understand what you saw in the first question by determining how you feel on the topic. It will help you develop a personal opinion on the subject and expand the idea from there. The third question is “why does it matter?” This question will be the foundation of your paper and will determine what your whole paper will focus on answering or proving. It is also important to make sure that your thesis is not too simple or can be answered with a simple yes or no answer. It also should not be too broad or out of your ability to answer since the scope of it is too obscure. Questions that are too speculative should be avoided as well since those would be too difficult to provide supporting evidence for. Once all of these conditions are met, a suitable thesis should have been made.

Responding – Really Responding – to Other Students’ Writing

Peer editing another classmate’s paper can be challenging. In order to be a good responder and actually be able to give them constructive criticism, there are several factors that you have to consider when giving feedback. The first is that you can’t rewrite or edit any of their work, you are only allowed to give ideas and make suggestions since it is their paper and not yours. The second is to keep in mind what sort of assignment this paper is. Depending on the type of paper it is (personal essay, analysis, persuasive argument, etc), it should determine what kind of language the writer should use in their paper. The third is the writer’s interests or aims. This is basically what the writer wants to accomplish or prove when writing this paper. Depending on what their interests are, there should be several specific areas that they would want to focus their paper on. The fourth is what stage of drafting this paper is on. If it’s a first draft, then it’s fine if the paper is a little messy or unorganized because they will obviously be revising and rewriting the majority of it over again. If it’s a final draft, then it’s important to point out any small mistakes that you notice in their paper. Other important factors to keep in mind is that it’s always a good idea to make a few comments relating to the work that has already been done in class and to not sound too much like a critic.

Response

Overall, these two readings provide important insight on how to properly create a thesis and how to properly respond to another student’s writing as a peer editor. I learned a lot of different methods on how to create a suitable thesis statement/question and a lot of important techniques on how to phrase my comments when critiquing another student’s paper.