Sarah's Site

What is xenophobia? How does the term relate to the Covid-19 pandemic and the various decisions countries have made in dealing with the virus’s spread?
Xenophobia is the fear which is usually associated with hatred of people and things that are unfamiliar or strange. This usually refers to people who are from different and forein countries. Throughout the pandemic countries enforced travel bans and restrictions to try to slow the spread of this very contagious virus. Though with the virus and its place of origin this led many people to fear asian countries, especially asian americans.
In what ways does fear factor into the personal accounts and political decision making that Serhan and McLaughlin report on?
In a way fear played a huge factor throughout this pandemic and millions of people became hospitalized and many of the millions would die. People began to live and fear and only think about themselves and would then continue but with xenophobia so many people felt and experienced.
How does Serhan & McLaughlin’s journalistic piece relate to Cadogan’s first-person narrative?
I think this article can relate back to the Cadogans piece on the main topic of discimiation. Pedjude affects all people of color, and both articles bring in new, different perspectives of how they are treated in today’s society.
What are your thoughts on travel bans (in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic)? Make your claim and then plant a skeptic or naysayer within the paragraph (name the skeptic, consider the extension of their counterargument, then show why you believe your claim is correct)
Some would argue that closing the borders were unnecessary and lead to more xenophobia against the asain population, including asain american. I would argue that with the covid 19 outbreak travel bans were necessary, as even if they were only able to slow the spread of the virus they still allowed for the CDC and who to work towards finding a more permanent solution. By the closing of borders around the world in countries like the US were able to slow the amount of deaths and slow the speed. Italy is an example of what happened when the borders were closed too late as there were so many cases and so many deaths. As for New Zealand, they closed their borders and life very shortly went almost back to normal. Though some skeptics may argue that the other countries are far bigger than New zealand so it’s easier said than done. On that note I would like to say that pandemics are unpredictable and create fear in society so actions need to be taken, even if they don’t work out well in the end.

• Be able to integrate their ideas with those of others using summary, paraphrase, quotation, analysis, and synthesis of relevant sources. 

I think this is where I have shown the most improvement when it comes to my writing throughout the year. I think I am able to integrate quotes into my writing nicely and add meaning and connection with them as well. I think I improved with the paraphrasing after quoting a source. I have been able to learn how to actually summarise and paraphrase after quoting as I didn’t realize that you can actually just repeat what the quote said in your own words. By doing this is also allows for you voice to be able to be incorporated into your essay nicely .

• Control sentence-level error (grammar, punctuation, spelling).

I always think that I need to work on my punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure. I was never really taught how to do this, I was more so just expected to do so. Whenever I write I notice that I just place commas where I think they sound good and I have no idea what to do with colons and semicolons. I have also always struggled with spelling so I rely heavily on google’s suggestive corrections. 

1. Describe your essay’s most notable strength, using at least one direct quote from your work to support your choice. 

Personally I am finding it difficult to pick out a notable strength as I definitely struggled with this essay. I think if anything a good strength within this essay would be when I add in my own voice throughout the essay. Throughout each paragraph I try to work my own voice in. At the end of my second body paragraph I write, “I can understand why it is important to focus on yourself and ensure you are in the right mindset to be taking on the emotions of others. The simplest gestures of acknowledgment and appreciation while sympathizing with others go a long way.” I think this nicely brings the topic back to my claim. 

2. Describe the differences in your revision process from Essay #1 to Essay #2. How has your revision process improved? Call attention to one place in your 2nd essay where revision helped significantly.

Revisions definitely went differently in my second essay to reform my barclay and naysayer paragraph. Since essay one didn’t have these I didn’t have to worry about reformatting my paragraph structure. Revisions helped a lot in my second essay when it came to my barclay paragraph as I did not include two different sources in the original draft. Other than that revisions through the two essays were fairly similar. 

3. Briefly analyze your integration of source material. What techniques did you use to synthesize source materials within your 2nd essay?

I used a barclay paragraph and the naysayer to integrate my source material into my essay. I tried my best to relate each outside source back to my claim about sympathy which I think I did fairly well. As well as the two required paragraph structures I also used templates from They Say I Say to transition and integrate my sources into my essay. 

4. Copy and paste your final draft’s strongest claim sentence into your post, then analyze it briefly. What makes it your strongest claim? How has your voice been integrated as part of your academic writing so far this semester?

Bloom and Wallace’s points, I can understand why it is important to focus on yourself and ensure you are in the right mindset to be taking on the emotions of others. The simplest gestures of acknowledgment and appreciation while sympathizing with others go a long way.

I believe this claim is my strongest as I use bloom and wallace’s points as well as my own voice. I am able to relate back nicely to my claim and I think it becomes a nice transition. I think through thots years I have definitely improved when adding in my own voice as I was never really allowed to in prior essays.

5. Paste then analyze your thesis statements from the first and second essay. How do they compare? Note similarities/differences. Which is stronger and why? 

Essay 1: Even though social media allows us to communicate with anyone anywhere, online connections are not equivalent to the benefits of in-person relationships, such as touch, shared real-time experience, and listening. 

Essay 2:  While empathy is crucial for understanding the feelings of others, sympathy allows you to help others and make them feel heard, without exhausting yourself. 

From reviewing my two thesis statements from my first and second essay I can automatically see some similarities and differences between them. I immediately noticed how much shorter my second thesis is compared to my first. I feel like my second thesis is able to say the same thing as my first thesis, but in a more condensed way. In this way this could mean that my second thesis is stronger than my first but I think they are fairly similar. I start out both the same by addressing a sort of counter argument and writing what I believe.

1. What are the unique challenges Cadogan faces as he walks each city (Kingston, New Orleans, and New York City)? What do we learn, indirectly, about each city from Cadogan’s personal experiences? Use a quote from the text

From these three locations Cadogan had to change the way he walked and wore. In New york city and New Orleans he has to prepare to go outside and face the world as police and passerbyers would question his every move. In New Orleans he needed to wear his college merch to show he wasn’t an imposter, and that he wasn’t up to anything suspicious.  Garnette Cadogan writes, “I’d never received what many of my African American friends call ‘The Talk’” (Cadogan 3). This is a very different conversation in my life. He had to change the way he behaved and acted and put everything behind him when questioned by police. Police would stop and question him for just looking at them funny or even waving.    

2. What rules or restrictions have you placed on your own movements–walks on campus, or around your hometown–with your own safety in mind? In what ways do you connect personally to Cadogan’s piece (be specific by naming those spots)?

As a woman I always plan ahead when walking alone at night to my car or just in general when walking around by myself. If it’s at night I make sure I am at least on the phone with someone, not to distract me but to have a witness almost. I was given pepper spray when I turned 16 and got my license. When going places I am unfamiliar to I am always very aware of my surroundings and make sure I am not distracted by my phone. It is hard for me to connect directly to his experiences as I am not a person of color and am from a very small town. I am usually never in the city as it is overwhelming and stresses me out. 

3. Describe a time when you felt unsafe while walking or traveling. What factors made you feel unsafe? How did you respond? Describe your interactions with those around you (if applicable).

I can’t pick an exact moment as I usually don’t have a reason to feel unsafe while walking. I make sure I am always walking with at least one other person I know or to be on the phone with someone in case something goes wrong. As for traveling I have been to foreign countries where I have been cat called, and where I have needed to be more aware of my surroundings as I was very unfamiliar with the location. But I was never alone. I was always either with my family or a group of people. 

4. How does Cadogan’s first-person narrative inform you about his experiences with racism in America? How does first-person impact your reactions, as a reader?

Reading this with it being a first person narrative, it feels more emotional. You can really feel how scared and hard it is for him. You almost winse when reading as he gets detained for waving at a cop. From this we get only a glimpse of the surface levels of the struggles he went through as a black man in america.