TOW #29 "Letter to a New APELC Student"

Dear Future Student,

Hey there.  I'm so glad you were able to take this course, since you are obviously a really good student and you must want to improve your skills and love English.  But, you probably have heard someone taking the class complain about the work load on occasion.  You might have also heard about getting bad grades on the summer essay or not getting the grade you wanted in a certain marking period.  You might also hear that this class was a horrible mistake, that you will certainly die before the AP testing.  However, about 50% of those things are only half-truths.

But seriously, this class was one of the most strenuous yet rewarding class I have ever taken.  At the end of the year, I have gain countless new skills.  I learned how to effectively close read, I learned how to write properly, and I learn a slew of new rhetorical devices to be used both in analyzing nonfiction pieces and in my own writing.  I have also learned a new appreciation for nonfiction, a genre of material that I have avoided like the plague before.  All in all, I ended the year with an A in the class, a new appreciation for nonfiction, and improved essays used in all my other subjects.

In this class, you really begin to acquire new skills for your formal writing.    The workload was not actually that bad.  I mean, it is an AP class, so you will have work to do.  And it will be challenging.  You will feel like it is too much to handle.  My biggest piece of advice is to do all the homework that Mr. Yost and Ms. Pronko assign.  That is a surefire way to improve any essay and see your grade in the class gradually increase.  Also, don't be discouraged by the summer essay.  You are not supposed to get an A on it.  It is used to show just how much you have grown as a student.  You will definitely see an improvement in your writing.  Remember that everyone last year passed.  So will you.

Best of luck,
Ian Wilenzik

TOW #28: TOW Reflection

I hate reflections, simply because it means that something is coming to an end.  I mean, who really likes endings?  But, as APELC comes to a close, it is time for that reflection I dislike so much.  Going back looking back at my TOWs, I started with a post which was viewed internationally, for some reason.  That was a TOW post from the summer about an essay called Insert Flap "A" and Throw Away.  As one of the first TOW post, it was pretty strong.  I did not realize how sassy and jovial I was in my writing.  Like, I do not remember writing phrases like "calling out those barons of insanity" or "obviously foaming at the mouth".  My voice was definitely strong in this TOW.  I also tried to substantiate my statements, a practice I may nor may not have forgotten to continue after about the halfway mark. However, the word and sentence choice was weak and repetitive, which made the essay seem less sophisticated.  Overall though, I thought I started off strong. 

Next, we travel to about the halfway mark, for TOW post #11, entitled Darwin's Dilemma.  It was before  I may or may not have stopped quoting the article.  One thing I noticed was that I was really trying to analyze the rhetorical strategies used in the article I read.  I noticed things like expert testimonial and the use of visual texts to augment understanding.  It seems to me that I was really using TOWs to my advantage, using them as another little practice analysis essay. My writing style seemed more varied, using a combinations of long and brief sentences, which made it seem more sophisticated.  

Finishing our tour of my APLEC year through TOWs, I go to TOW post #22 The Protein Merlin.  As one of my final TOW posts, I could really see how well my writing has come along.  Not only in this essay was my word choice better, but also my ideas were better formed.  I not only used information from the article, I also successfully tied in knowledge from other subjects (biology), which greatly built my ethos as a writer.  I also used this TOW post to work on the "so what" of the essay, which I often have trouble writing.  This so what, connecting the discovery to how discoveries, even simple ones, can have major effects to understanding in biology.  That was a pretty good way to wrap up a possible paper on the discovery.  Overall, I saw the quality of my writing improve in both content and style over the course of this class, invaluable skills as I am sure to learn very soon.

TOW #27 "2016 Political Race" Visual Text

  As we all know, the 2016 political race has begun to kick into gear.  This political cartoon addresses the states of the two competing political powers.   Recently, former first lady, Democrat Hilary Clinton announced her running for the presidency.  Since the AP mock gets closer, I will practice extrapolating the main rhetorical devices, especially for the analysis essays which often use visual texts as evidence.  The argument of this political cartoon is that although the Democrats have their candidate, the Republicans have more possibilities to run for president.

The first rhetorical device is the cards themselves.  The elephant, the universal symbol for the Republican Party, holds seven cards in its hand, representing the seven competing candidates.  However, the donkey, the symbol of the Democratic Party, holds one single card which says "old maid".  this refers to Hilary Clinton, which also suggesting that the Democratic party are putting all their eggs in Hilary Clinton's basket.  Also, the overall bias is toward the Republican party.  They make the argument that because the Republican party has a choice, they have a better chance at winning, whereas the Democratic party is worse off supporting only the "old maid".

Being my last TOW post before the mock, I anxiously await Wednesday, terrified out of my mind. 

TOW #26 "The Technology Gap" Article Post

One of the most powerful parts of this article was not the words, but instead the pictures. One picture could mean as much as a thousand words they say. These pictures, or rather, collages that embellished the article were full of "It Girls" and just at a glance you could recognize that at one point every woman up there had been idealized into an it girl. Then there's the pictures of magazine covers-most notably Vouge and Vanity Fair-which have the it girls posing. Not only does this sometimes create the "maniac pixie dream girl", as 500 days of Summer aptly put it, but it expects woman to conform to the standard of that one woman. It also pits women against each other in competition to be the "it girl" when really, we are all the It girl.

Now the It girl category is diversifying, take Lupita Nyongo and Benazir Bhutto, but this image limits the woman that it holds. Now, the media expects them to be the exact mix of sexy, demure, smart, but not too smart, different, but not too different, and they take away the power of the woman to define herself. One example of this is Clara Bow, from the 1920-30's. She was the starlet of Hollywood, until she went too much out of the box and proclaimed herself a feminist, gambling, drinking, and partying too much. But of course, the it girl mantle was passed on, as it always is. Take the quick switch from Jennifer Lawrence, to Lupita Nyongo, to Rosmund Pike. The article says, “It's another to see the term-and all its insidious, objectifying power- resurface, proliferate, and thrive nearly a centuary later. Only this time, it's saddled not on one woman, but any woman who seems primed to be more than an object-an It, passive and pliable-in the narrative of their own lives.”

TOW #25 "Depression in the Workplace" Article Post

I love to learn about mental illness, as I can use knowledge from biology and psychology and apply it to the real world.  As I have applied to the CHOP neurology program over the summer, I need to continue my research on mental illness and how everyday people live with it.  To find the answer, I turned to NPR, one of my favorite news stations, because of their balanced views on world events.  And after the Germanwings plane went down on account of a man with depression.  This article, entitled "Working Through Depression: Many Stay On The Job, Despite Mental Illness" by Rachel Martin, discusses the stigma.  In this article, Martin uses current events, the testimonies of people with depression, and expert testimonials to discuss depression and how it should not affect a persons career.

Since this is a practice TOW post, I won't go into great details about each rhetorical device.  I'll do the second one in great detail to practice the analytic style of writing.  Martin talks about an oncologist, Dr. Jay Lynch, who suffers from depression, but felt like he needed to keep his condition a secret to the point where he felt ready to take his own life.  He only stopped himself by finally talking to a very trusted patient who then turned Dr. Lynch to a psychiatrist.  It was with the psychiatrist that Dr. Lynch was able to get the help he desperately needed.  If Lynch, a highly trained professional, had not feared the stigma of getting fired for his mental illness, he would have sought help earlier.  Thankfully, he was able to save himself before he took his own life, although others are not so lucky.  Part of Martin's argument was that if people can openly discuss their problems, they will be able to live fuller, healthier lives.  Martin also discusses expert testimonial from Dr. Susan Goldberg, and the Germanwings incident to show how keeping depression a secret can have devastating affects.  These are Martin's rhetorical devices.  

http://www.npr.org/2015/04/12/398811515/working-through-depression-many-stay-on-the-job-despite-mental-illness

TOW #24 "Tusedays with Morrie" IRB Post

This book has destroyed me!!!!  It is one of the saddest, yet inspirational, books I have ever read.  There are so many lessons to be learned from the conversations between Mitch and Morrie.  There are so many quotes that I could dive into from the second half of my reading. The first quote was from Morrie, where he said "people are only mean when they are threatened".  In school, there are so many people who try their hardest to get your goat.  I have not experienced bullying or anything of the sort for a while, but I know that many people go through it on a daily basis.  It is important to remember that sometimes, the ones most mean to you are the most jealous of you. This quote reminds people to remain confident in ourselves, even when others try to destroy that confidence that we all try extremely hard to build up.

The next quote that I examined was about family, an important staple of my life and my religion.  It states "this is part of what a family is about, not just love, but letting others know there’s someone who is watching out for them. It’s what I missed so much when my mother died—what I call your ‘spiritual security’—knowing that your family will be there watching out for you. Nothing else will give you that. Not money. Not fame."  .  Although most people do not have strong relationships with their family, I have been close to my family.  I always feel that my family has been behind me, encouraging me to excel in life.  Even when my parents got divorced, both sides kept close to me and I never felt alienated.  The reason that Albom included this in his memoir was that he wanted to stress the importance of family.  While Morrie realized that he was dying, the people who want to be close to him would be his family.  Family and confidence in yourself are the most important things in life, brought to my attention when reading this book,

TOW #23 "The Effects of Cannabis on Bipolar Disorder" Article Post

In my interest in mental disorders has lead me to read many articles on diverse psychiatric disorders.  In one article that came out on the 13th talked about the relation between bipolar disorder and cannabis in London.  A study done by the Lancaster University said that, although only 2% of Britain's population has bipolar disorder, 60% used cannabis.  And most people assume that most use cannabis to deal with the depressive state.  This study, which asked bipolar patients to log their feelings and their drug use, showed that most people use cannabis when they are in a good mood, not a bad mood.  But, because of the drug use, it causes the manic and depressive stages to become worse. The study showed that people use cannabis to self-medicate, even though their medicine is actually making them worse. 

This article gives an implicit warning to everyone suffering from bipolar disorder.  Even though the cannabis might make you feel better short term, the worsening of your symptoms only make you more dependent on the drugs.  Even though the studies next course is to see the long term of the cannabis on this emotional disorder, the current study suggests that drug use may seem like a way to handle a hard-to-control situation, but it actually makes it worse.  This implicit argument, much like the one featured in our latest multiple choice reading, was subtle and probably going to be on the AP test.  This was good practice for May.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150313130855.htm