Project One Reflection

While working on the latest project, I felt as though I did well in the observation aspect.  I noticed a bunch of details and incorporated them into my analysis; however, I failed to emphasize the actual “analysis” aspect.  I need to edit my rough draft quite a bit in order to meet the expectations for the analysis because I did it wrong.  I did not compare and relate my observations to the writings of Vanclay or the other authors of the short stories that we read in class, so I need to do that in my final draft.  Also, I failed to ask questions- why?  Why is the color scheme in the location I chose the way it is?  Why did they decide to make the location?  Why is it set up and decorated the way it is?  These are all questions that I needed to ask myself in the rough draft that would make my paper more of an analysis than an essay.  I’ll just ask these questions in my final draft.

As you can probably infer from the statements above, I don’t feel as though my paper reached a depth of analysis that was asked for.  I barely even analyzed it.  I mostly did just a descriptive essay, noting every single detail to a point where the reader could imagine the place and picture it perfectly in his or her head.  I basically am going to have to re-write most of my paper in order to do it correctly.  I also need to include Vanclay or one of the other authors somewhere in my paper and quote him and relate to his observations and works.

In the future, I plan on improving my skill of analysis by asking questions.  Instead of just looking at something and observing, I am actually going to try to think about the reasons why the place is the way it is.  Analysis isn’t just looking and observing and taking in what you see, and being like “Oh hey, that’s cool.  The walls are maroon and gold.”  Instead, it’s taking all of that in, and also thinking to yourself “Hmm, they painted those walls maroon and gold like the school colors.  I wonder if they did that intentionally.”  Next time I try to analyze something, I’ll ask more questions instead of just observing things for what they are.

Project #1 Worksheet

Project #1 Worksheet                                                          

Your Place:  San Pablo First Floor Lounge

What are the intended functions of the place?                      

The intended functions of the place are  to provide a safe area for students to hang out, watch television, cook, or do homework, as well as many other things.

What overt messages does the place send (i.e., openly communicated through signs)?

The place sends out a friendly, welcoming, spacious message.

What covert messages does the place send (i.e., hidden messages)?

None

Have previous users left traces behind in the place?

Sometimes if people don’t clean up their messes, you can tell that they were there before.

Has the place been re-appropriated (i.e., beyond its original functions)?

I don’t think the place has been re-appropriated.

What social or cultural customs did you observe (i.e., rules governing appropriate behavior)?

The appropriate behavior is to just be respectful and follow the ASU Code of Conduct.

Who has access to the place?  Are there insiders and outsiders?

Anyone who lives or works in the San Pablo dormitories has access to the first floor lounge.  Also, those people are allowed to invite any people over to come in as well, they just have to be let in by the people that live or work there.

Who owns the place?

Whoever owns the San Pablo dorms owns the first floor lounge probably.

What is the place’s value (i.e., monetary or otherwise)?

It provides a space to hang out for people in the San Pablo dorms.

Are there official representations of the place (i.e., online, in promotional materials)?  Do they accurately capture the place as you experienced it?

I don’t think there are any official representations of the San Pablo first floor lounge.

Is the place in transition, a changing place?

The San Pablo first floor lounge is pretty much a non-changing place.

What conflicts or tensions are there in the place?

There aren’t really any conflicts or tensions in the place.

What is the place’s history?  Do you see evidence of the past there in the present?

There are no pictures or evidence of the past there in the present.

How does this place differentiate itself from other places?  What other places is it similar to, but how is it different from those places?

It’s different from other places because it is completely white.  There aren’t any colors besides the colors of the chair.

What questions do you have about your place?

Most things at ASU are organized in the school’s colors.  How come the first floor lounge isn’t?  Why is are the chairs red, blue and brown and not maroon and gold?

Key Features / Profiles (taken from the Norton Field Guide (Goggin and Bullock) Chapter 16, pages 165-166)

An interesting subject.  What is unusual about your place?  Alternatively, is there something ordinary about it that you can show in an intriguing way? 

The place is completely white except for the chairs.

Any necessary background.  What background information will you need to include about the place in order to situate readers?

I’m not really sure what background information I will need to include about the place in order to situate readers.

An interesting angle.  Rather than trying to tell readers everything about the place, what angle(s) might you use?

I need to you an angle in which they can picture the space perfectly.

A firsthand account.  Did you interact with people in the place or participate in some way?  What experiences did you have there that you can write about using “I”?  (Yes, first person point of view is encouraged, especially for this paper.)

I have interacted with a bunch of people in the place.  It hold lots of experiences for me.

Engaging details.  What specific information must you include in your description of the place?  What potential does your place have for the use of sensory images, figurative language, dialogue, anecdotes, and showing rather than telling?  What do you want the dominant impression to be?

I must include all the senses and use figurative language.

Generating Ideas and Text (taken from the Norton Field Guide (Goggin and Bullock) Chapter 16, pages 168-169)

Explore what you already know about your subject.  Why do you find this place interesting?  What did you already know about it?

I found this place interesting because it holds a lot of good experiences for me.

If you’re planning to interview someone, prepare questions.  What would you like to ask someone in the place in order to better understand it?

I don’t really have a question to ask in order to better understand it.

Do additional research.  Does your place have an online component?  How else might you gather additional research?

I don’t think the place has an online component in which I could gather additional research.

Analyze your findings.  What patterns, images, or recurring ideas or phrases did you use to describe your place?  What contrasts or discrepancies do you see?

The re-occurring image of the first floor lounge is that it’s white.  Almost everything in the lounge is white except for the chairs.

Come up with an angle.  What is most memorable about your subject?  What most interests you?  What will interest your audience?

There are too many good memories about my place to choose one most memorable one.  Everything about the lounge in the first floor of San Pablo interests me and should interest my audience, as well.

Observation Notes for Project 1 - San Pablo First Floor Lounge

2 red chairs with brown arm rests

2 brown chairs with red arm rests

2 blue chairs with brown arm rests

2 brown chairs with blue arm rests

3 red ottomans

1 blue ottoman

 4 chairs with desks attached to them (one of each color)

Blue carpet

Hardwood floor in the kitchen

Black tv in the center of the wall towards the top by the vending machine

Vending machine with 6 rows of candy

4 long windows

One small window

2 toasters (both black)

One toaster is completely black

One toaster has a gray bottom and a gray thing in the middle

Both toasters have a gray knob to change the number of minutes

Both toasters have a gray thing to push down to put the bread down

Recycling bin

Trash can

White fridge

3 tall tables

6 tall chairs

3 drawers on one side of the kitchen

5 cabinets on the same side as above

The cabinets are a pinkish/brownish color

The handles to the cabinets and drawers are silver/metal

The counters in the kitchen are the same color as the drawers and cabinets

The walls in the lounge are white

The vending machine is primarily black with silver/gray on the front

White oven

One light in the kitchen

Two lights in the lounge room type thing

The door to the lounge is clear/ glass

Fire extinguisher located inside the kitchen

The fire extinguisher is in a silver case

White microwave

Container of frosting sitting on top of the stove

Sink located on the same side of the kitchen as the oven and fridge and microwave

Sink is metal

The paper towel holder is black

The outlets are yellow

The blinds on the windows are barely down

The ceiling of the room is white

There are lines in the ceiling that kind of separate them into panels

There are 7 panels in the ceiling

Magazine Cover Analysis - Rolling Stone

*Surface details: Taylor Swift is the main idea on the cover of the monthly issue of Rolling Stone
                            magazine.  She is placed in the center of the page with the words off to the side.
                            The placement of her head even covers up the title.  Her name is bigger than the
                            other words on the page and it is close to the center by her face.  She is positioned 
                            with a guitar, with her hand on the guitar to portray her playing, even though she
                            is not playing at that moment.  She is not really smiling, and her hair is flowing all
                            over the place.  The lighting enhances her face and makes it seems like it is the most
                            important thing on the page.
*Explanation:     The point of putting Taylor Swift front and center, and making her the biggest thing
                            on the front cover of a magazine is basically to recognize her importance in music 
                            and to emphasize how awesome she really is. 
*Question:  Why is she not smiling?
*Answer:  Maybe she isn't smiling because she wants to seem fierce.  Underneath her name, it says
                  "secrets of a good girl."  Maybe she wants to seem a little bit mysterious and tries to be
                  mysterious since the article is about her being a good girl, but also having secrets.
*Question:  Why is she holding a guitar in the picture?
*Answer:  Taylor Swift is positioned with a guitar in the picture to remind people that she does not
                  only sing, but also plays the guitar as well.  The way her hands are on the guitar and how
                  she looks in the picture is obvious that she isn't actually playing, but hey, they decided to
                  pretend like she was actually playing it anyways.
*Question:  Why is her face covering up most of the title of the magazine?
*Answer:  I am not really sure why her face is covering up most of the title of the magazine.  To me,
                 the title of a magazine is important, because I want to know what I am reading.  If I like it,
                 I will look for the same magazine title again for the next month's issue, but if I do not like
                 it, I will try to stay away from magazines with the same title.  If I did not know the
                 magazine was entitled Rolling Stone, I would not know, because her face is in the way.  I
                 guess they just assumed that everyone knows the title, so they might as well make the main
                 character of the magazine the majority of the cover page.

Analysis of a Writing Situation - iPhone 5: What to Expect

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At more than $619 billion, Apple makes its mark in history as the most valuable company.  With the great technology already produced, it is only expected for Apple to provide bigger and better products each year.  Although no one is entirely sure of the exact release date, a new iPhone, which does not had a released name yet, should be released within the next few weeks of September.  It is speculated that consumers will be able to pre-order the new phone as early as September 12, 2012, and the new iPhone will be available for purchase in the following week. 

 The new iPhone 5 includes so many better features than previous iPhones.  For example, the screen will be bigger, which is relevant for being able to view things on the internet instead of straining your eyes on a tiny screen of the previous iPhones.  Also, it will have a thinner body, bigger battery, and a new connector.  The thinner body will make it easier to carry.  The bigger battery will make the charge last longer, so users will not have to worry about managing their time on the battery draining apps.  As for the new connector, some of the placements of equipment on the phone will be adapted and moved, such as the headphone jack.

 The purpose of this article is to inform consumers about the new upcoming product of the most valuable company in history.  The author intends for the reader to be aware of new products and to just be informed about the wonderful features it provides.  The author, Marc Saltzman, probably just hoped to gain public awareness of the new Apple product.  His sources for the article are directly from Apple, and also from a little bit of educated guessing on his part.

 The intended readers of this article are basically everyone.  People with money would read this article in order to inform themselves of the newest thing they would have to buy.  People who do not have much money would still read this in order to know the newest thing they should work harder to save up to get.  Teenagers would read this to know what to ask their parents or relatives for holiday presents or their birthdays.  The elderly would read this to know what the new product the younger generation wants.  Also, the elderly folks could just be technologically savvy grandparents that want the next best technological advancement.  Children could even read this article, even though it is not very likely, but they could still read it to know what they want as their first phone when they are older, or some children even get expensive phones when they’re young.  This article can basically be intended for just about anyone who wants to know about the newest invention from the most valuable company in history.