Research Proposal Outline

Introduction:

  “Here was the coexistence of people with mountains and back country, mountains and back country which could be transformed into subdivisions and cities any time we choose. Yet they are not, because somewhere in our wisdom Americans have determined that our survival depends to a vast extent on survival of nature and the outdoors” (Frome 14).
    Illustrated by quote above, the conservation of national parks and forests play an important role in American history. From the artistic influence of Ansel Adams, to President Teddy Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps, and other naturalist like John Muir, these protected lands have been “[administered] by the oldest conservation agency in the Federal Government” (Frome 15).   
    Lesser known than the monuments of these iconic locations, such as Yosemite's Half Dome, are the trodden trails throughout these protected lands. Our national parks and forests depend on a complex system of handmade trails to safely lead journeyers to their many natural attractions. In turn, those trails depend on the labor of foresters, rangers, and volunteer workers to keep them serviceable for trek after trek.
    Trail systems within protected parks, forests, and other landscapes, are specifically designed with both the host habitat’s best interests in mind, and that of the visual pleasure of the hiker’s experience. Informal trails hinder this effort by “[penetrating] into protected landscapes and habitats, threatening ecological integrity, aesthetics, and visitor experiences” (Leung 93).
   The purpose of this essay is to “promote the conservation and responsible use of [our] mountains, rivers and forests” (Demrow vii) through the effort of volunteer trail maintenance.

Body:
      1. Brief history of conservation
          -To be determined
          
      2. Major trails associated with protected lands
          Source B & E

      3. The use and value of trails
          Source B, C & E

     4. Aesthetics and Flow = Formal Trails
         Source A, B & C

     5. Problematic informal trails
         Source A, C & D

     6. Trail maintenance and volunteering = Trail Work Parties
         Source A, D & E

Conclusion:

1. Restate thesis
2. Compelling main points (summary)
3. Paint a picture- Imagine if nobody cared for our trails, so then people stopped hiking them, then nobody bothered to go to the national parks, forests, or other protected lands because they wouldn't be able to get to their monuments/attractions. Then the government might cut back even more on conservation budgets, foresters and rangers might quit due to pay/hour decrease. If/when intense natural disasters within these lands happen, such as wildfires, they would be without the resources to control them. Lacking (trails) a way to lead, (protected lands) things get forgotten and taken advantage of. ----needs better wording.

Synthesis Matrix

Conclusion Statement

THESIS:
     Folk music, in every trueness of its origin, “is an expression of life in the communities in which music was developed” (Cultural Geography 2013). To discredit it as an invalid dissertation is to shun an entire culture.

OLD CONCLUSION:
     Values, norms, institutions, artifacts, the makings of a culture, all uniquely express the validation of folk music as a mode of discourse (Cultural Geography 2013).


  NEW CONCLUSION:
     Imagine an evolution of music from non-humble roots...the loss of culture and true grit.  

 

3 Column Notes...3 of them!

LINK TO GOOGLE DOC TABLE

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TRMKSLdAf4lA8ANenWcwZHjyHXZTy-wY_Y4meX6PeSY/edit?usp=sharing

Annoying Ways People Use Sources

In Kyle Stedman's essay, "Annoying Ways People Use Sources," he brings to attention six major quotation annoyances and conventions for avoiding the use of them yourself. Through metaphorical illustrations, Stedman walks his reader through parenthetical and cite page sources.

1.) Armadillo Roadkill: dropping in a quotation without introducing it first.
     Avoid this by using the quote sandwich method.

2.) Uncle Barry and his Encyclopedia of Useless Information: using too many quotations in a row.
     Avoid this by analyzing each quote's relevance, consider paraphrasing factual quotes.

3.) Dating Spider-Man: starting or ending a paragraph with a quotation.
     Avoid this by making sure your writing flows and that your sentence before the quote relates to it.

4.) Am I in the Right Movie: Failing to integrate a quotation into the grammar of the preceding sentence.
     Avoid this by adjusting your lead in sentence to make the two fit better.

5.) I Can't Find the Stupid Link: no connection between the first letter of a parenthetical citation and the first letter of a works cited entry.
    Avoid this by making sure the first letter of your in-text citation is the same starting letter that source is cited under.

6.) I Swear I Did Some Research: dropping in a citation without making it clear what information came from what source.
    Avoid this by using specific words or citations in your preceding sentences that will clarify where this source will be cited.

Read & Teach Group Project

Test on Annoyances-Tues.
http://daniellebowlden.wix.com/grccfall2014#!hw2/c1lb

Research Proposal

Three Possible Topics:

1. Trail Preservation- Call for people to care about, fix, or fund my cause.
2. Bullying- Call for more research
3. Causes.com- Call for people to care, fix, or fund the site. 

Body In Trouble

Reading Summary

     Nancy Mairs' essay, "Body In Trouble," is intended for feminist readers who, like herself, have a disease, disability, or who have a personal experience with similar difficulties. She sympathizes with her audience by stating how people with mental disorders where believed to be possessed by demons in biblical times. Mairs' use of figurative language and description holds the attention of readers both in and outside of her target audience. She illustrates her tribulations with a broken in credibility that helps readers make an emotional connection to her writing. As a disabled feminist, Nacy Mairs' essay has many identifying characteristics supporting her values and firm beliefs. Her use of language is applied in a way that conveys her inner strength as opposed to her weak physicality. For example, there is a metaphorical comparison in Mairs' essay of her inability to use sharp objects, however, she states with pride the control of her sharp tongue. She questions her readers of the usefulness of a "cripple" such as herself, then goes on to commend some her accomplishments-in spite of her disability.
     There is a binding influence made clear in Mairs' essay; The lack of power women give themselves (or in some cases are permitted) and the lack of independence (or control) that accompanies the disabled. These are the main elements used to explain how society negatively views her audience and herself through a very emotional appeal. These too are the elements she uses to ask for respect- Not the respect already given from her intended audience, but the respect deserved from the non-feminists, the physically, mentally healthy, and the most of all, the non-disabled readers.

How To Tame A Wild Tongue

 



 

     In Gloria Anzaldua's essay, How To Tame A Wild Tongue, she writes about being identified by her language. Anzaldua expresses the personal connection of language and culture. How much you learn about a person from what and how they speak. She writes passionately about being unable to fully incorporate her language to the essay because of how it might affect readers. “As long as I have to accommodate the English speakers rather than having them accommodate me, my tongue will be illegitimate.” She recalls personal experiences as a child, having multiple required speech classes and being targeted because of the way she spoke. She was treated like Speaking Spanish in America made her less than those who spoke English. Anzaldua claims, "If you really want to hurt me, talk badly about my language...I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself." She struggles with the passion she has for her language and her feelings of not being able to embrace it. This internal conflict is illustrated by her quoting  Ray Gwyn Smith; "Who is to say that robbing a people of its language is less violent than war?” Gloria Anzaldua faced discrimination on account of her native tongue, due to the ignorance of a people who find English as a second language offensive. However, Anzaldua pridefully states that she will have her voice and that she "will overcome the tradition of silence."

If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?

Reading Summary

    In James Baldwin's essay, If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?, he introduces the idea that black English is undefined on account of its role as a language. Baldwin suggests that language is purposed as a tool for description and control when 'properly' articulated; If not, those trying to communicate are speaking in different realities.
    Such is the case in different regions of France. Two Frenchmen from Paris and Marseilles having a conversation could very likely seem to be speaking foreign languages to one another. He continues to elaborate on the use of language as a power and identifier.

    Baldwin states the influences of undefined black English has been overlooked. Throughout time white people have coined key characteristics as their own.
    When slaves from all different tribes of Africa were brought to the Sates, they couldn't communicate with each other. Slavery was the start of the black church and thus the birth of black English. A language white men couldn't afford to understand because it would unmask their dehumanization of an entire people.
     He quotes; A language comes into existence by means of brutal necessity, and the rules of the language are dictated by what the language must convey. He then argues that if black English is not a language, then "what definition of language is to be trusted?"
     Referring back to his thesis- black English is undefined on account of its role as a language- James Baldwin concludes his essay by informing his audience that black people are not, nor have they ever been inarticulate, rather, they refuse to "defend a morality that we know to be a lie."
     If the history of black people suggests that their role is less than, why should they articulate according to the learning's of an illiterate country?
 
    
 

Malcolm X, "Prison Studies"

  Prison Studies by Malcolm X is written eloquently around his thesis; "Where else but in prison could I have attacked my ignorance by being able to study intensely?" X first illustrates pathos by talking about his envy of a fellow inmate's "stock of knowledge," and how even though he tried to compete, it was a lack of basic understanding that held him behind. He then addressed logos with the fact that being in prison was actually an optimal study environment, giving some 15 hours a day solely to self-educate. Using ethos, X credits the Norfolk Prison Colony for having a "heavy emphasis on rehabilitation," a feature which further motivated his efforts. In one particular quote, however, Malcolm X tastefully utilizes all three rhetorical appeals; "My homemade education gave me, with every additional book that I read, a little bit more sensitivity to the deafness, dumbness, and blindness that was afflicting the black race in America."

Rhetorical Analysis

 

 

Logos: Statistic "160,00 teens like me skip school every day to avoid bullies."

Pathos: Emotional connection to an injured and upset child.

Ethos: Credited by NVEEE, Use Your Voice, Bullying, Not On MY Watch

They Treat Girls Differently Don't They?

Marlee Evans
Danielle Bowlden
English 101
23 September 2014

Reading Summary

     In this excerpt, Timothy Harper addresses gender bias in the classroom. He poses the question, "They treat girls differently, don't they? Harper sought out the opinions of parents and educational figures in search of a general comply.

     A majority of the educational figures believed they had no involvement with gender bias or classroom stereotypes. The quoted teachers stated something along the lines of; if boys get more attention then they are asking for it-they're more disruptive and outspoken. If girls are being overlooked then they aren't asserting themselves.

     Harper then questions if girls have girls been conditioned to be submissive in an academic setting? Parents being quoted had broader comments, from expressing the favor of single-sex schools, to simply encouraging their child to be more involved and enjoy participation.

     The overall message of Harper's writing is not to blame anyone, but to raise awareness of gender bias in the classroom. He goes on to list helpful tools for parents to address the issue with their children and for teachers to evaluate the diversity of their attention.