Reading response #2 [chapter five]

exercise one!

In this passage by Julie Charlip, she clearly distinguishes her views from others. She starts off by saying “Marx and Engels wrote,” and then quoting a passage of theirs, which is clearly not her own view point but that of Marx and Engels. Then she says, “if only that were true,” meaning she doesn’t agree with it. So, right away the reader knows her view point is different than that of Marx and Engels. In the second paragraph she talks about a sociology professor’s opinion on the subject. She uses signal phrases like “he said” and “his definition.” Lastly, she poses questions on the issue. In the beginning of the passage she stated that things would be more simple if what Marx and Engels wrote was true, which implies that she’s sort of confused on the matter. The questions definitely assure us that she’s not sure of the answer, and we see her view point clearly. She says what the average American or her father would “think” but she finishes off by sharing her opinion and using “I.” So, in the passage it was clear whose view point each statement was from. She used very good signals to keep the reader conscious of the view.




Exercise two!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of all sorts of music, from Rap to Country, disrespectful or praising. That’s not the sort of material I’m offended with. Certain songs are aimed towards a certain group of people and when they talk about “Bitches and Hos” it’s usually not about every woman on the planet. Joan defines these “Bitches and Hos” as, “Women who reaffirm their depiction of us on vinyl. Backstage, the road, and the ‘hood are populated with women who would do anything to be with a rapper sexually for an hour if not a night.” It’s pathetic, really, as if these women have no morals. Take, for example, R Kelly’s sex scandal with underage girls. He’s not the only one at fault here. The girls themselves should have known better then to sleep with someone only because they’re famous. They’re throwing themselves at him for what? Because he’s seen on the big screen? He’s still a perfect stranger and in cases like this it’s hard to refrain from using the term “Bitches and Hos.” Since most of the women rappers meet at concerts and tours fit this description, it’s only common sense for them to rap about it. Why? They do it simply because they don’t have the least bit of respect for these women.

This was a passage from my previous COMP class’ essay. The title of the excerpt was called, “From Fly Girls to Bitches and Hos,” which is why I used quotation marks when I used the terms. I think I did a pretty good job letting people know what the author’s perspective was because I used quotation marks and such. On the other hand, even though it’s obvious what my opinion was, I didn’t really use any signal phrases. I probably could have said “I think it’s pathetic” after I quoted the author, just to let the reader be positive that it’s my opinion. Also when I said “since most women rappers meet….” I made it seem like a fact. I could have restated that to, “I’m sure the women rappers meet …” to make it sound like my opinion.

a.) I engaged in two perspectives.

b.) I could have included perspectives of some friends I know who are getting into the music industry.

c.) I summarized others’ views by using quotation marks.

d.) I used clear voice-signaling phrases when I was quoting other view points, but not so much on my opinions.

e.) I had the options of saying “I think” or “I believe.”

f.) Either one would have been fine, I just stated my opinion as if it were obvious.