Thoughts on the AP Exam

     Overall, I felt that I did well on the AP Language exam. The protors were nice enough to tell everyone how much time we had left, and they even told us when it was recommended to move on from each section. This made it easy for me to keep track of time, which allowed me to pace myself. I feel that I was able to get at least half of the multiple choice questions correct. I didn't understand the first passage, but I still managed to answer the questions in a decent amount of time. In fact, I had four minutes left when I was on my last question. There was one question that asked about what "et al" meant. I luckily could answer this question due to helping my friend proofread her research paper. She had used "et al" in her paper, and I had to ask her what it meant. I didn't expect that this very thing I asked would be on the AP exam. Also, there weren't many questions that asked about rhetorical devices, so I'm glad I didn't spend time memorizing all of the rhetorical devices.
     On the other hand, there were some sections that didn't go do well. The synthesis and rhetorical essays were alright, but the argument essay is where everything went downhill. I first stared at the prompt trying to figure out what "artifice" meant. After that I used two examples that I felt were original and not personal. However, the last example I put was horrible. I wrote about a personal experience where I was talking with my friend about how deceptive news can be. That would've been a decent example, but I completely just went off topic, and I feel like I didn't even connect it to my argument properly. I was getting tired when I wrote this example, so that's probably why I ended up not making sense. I spent way too much time with this example, which led to me only having one sentence as my conclusion. Hopefully, that one example won't completely bring down my grade for that section. Anyway, I feel that I got at least a 3 on this exam, which is what I was aiming for.

The School Cafeteria

            The cafeteria. It is full of piercing noises, crowded tables, dirty floors, and discourteous individuals.  To enter, I walk over to the line in the front of the cafeteria with my ID card in hand, and I swipe my ID card on the scanner connected to a seemingly outdated laptop. I then make my way toward the end of the line of other students in order to get lunch. The line extends to almost half of the cafeteria. But, I see in the corner of my eye, a group of five people that just skipped to the front of the line by bypassing the pointless blue rope that only extends to an eighth of the line. Sometimes the cafeteria workers serve tasty chicken nuggets, while other times they serve slightly charred pizza. When I am finally able to obtain lunch, I look up and see posters that describe the theme of the day like “Chicken Monday” and “Pizza Friday.” I take the recyclable tray with a grilled cheese sandwich on it and I try to find a place to sit. I am like a lone sniper scouting out a battlefield when I am finding a place to sit. There are vending machines in the middle of the cafeteria for water, Pop-Tarts, chips, and other snacks, but more importantly, I see an open space in the table that is in front of the vending machine for water. However, it seems that someone left a present in the form of a half-eaten sandwich on the floor, ketchup stains on the table, and bread crumbs on both the table and the floor. I ignore these things and try to enjoy my sandwich, but I then hear some people around me shout at each other like they are at a concert, even though their friends are sitting right next to them. The questionable topics they talk about and the crude language they use are not pleasant to listen to. However, the worst person is the one that is constantly shaking their leg in the table, similarly to how a dog would shake its leg. The action shakes the table and leaves me to wonder if that person has any self-control. When I hear the ringing noise of the whistle signaling to leave, I throw out my tray instead of leaving it on the table like some people, and I silently rejoice as I walk to my next class.

The Internet: Convenience or Trap?

            The Internet. It is a tool that a majority of people utilize in their daily lives, but just how exactly does it impact people? The Internet has provided a way to do a multitude of activities in a convenient device. For example, people can use it for entertainment, assistance in education, and delivery services for shipping goods. That may seem pleasant, but it doesn’t change the idea that the Internet has resulted in a generation of young lazy people.

            Many young people like to use the Internet in their spare time. Due to the Internet’s quirkiness and for having things everyone would enjoy, many people spend most of their time sitting down to use the Internet instead of being active outside. Whether it is for using social media, playing games or watching videos, using the Internet doesn’t require much physical activity. To illustrate this idea, I personally love using the Internet in my free time. Whenever I get done with my homework, I always go to my laptop to either watch YouTube videos or to play games. And I recall how often I just get absorbed into the Internet, and not realize how much time I actually spent sitting down with my laptop in front of me. Since I spend my free time on the Internet, I rarely go outside for physical activities. This is because the Internet is enjoyable to use and doesn’t require much effort. It just mesmerizes me to continue, which makes me lazy. If the Internet didn’t exist, then I would be forced to think of other ways to spend my time, which would lead to an increase in physical activity instead of an increase in laziness.

            Not only does the Internet makes people physically lazy; it also makes young people mentally lazy. You ever feel like just didn’t feel like putting the effort in to think for those homework problems? Well, that’s what the Internet is for. Generally speaking, if a student doesn’t want to do their homework, they would either ask their friends for answers through social media, or they would just use the Internet to search up the solution. While that may help the student in getting the right answer, that may hinder the student’s ability to solve other problems in the future due to not using their own brain to figure things out. If a student doesn’t even care to put effort in their homework on their own, they are harming their mental capabilities and they are being lazy. Homework provides a refresher to lessons. Even though there are many teaching styles, teachers assign homework for a reason: to review what was taught in class. Some people need to learn how to think for themselves instead of relying on others to do the work for them. Some students end up relying on the Internet too much, which only makes them lazier every time they use it.

            The Internet has also provided another way for people to become lazy: delivery services. If you wanted to buy something you saw on a website, you would probably order that item and have it shipped directly to your house. The Internet provides a quick and efficient way to deliver goods, so there shouldn’t be any problems, right? While it is understandable that getting items online is rather convenient, it doesn’t change the fact that some people use it while it isn’t necessary. Getting an item shipped from overseas: reasonable. Getting an item from a place that would require many hours to get to: reasonable. Getting an item from a place that is literally within walking distance of less than an hour: unreasonable. Some people enjoy the idea of having things delivered to them, but using that service obsessively will only hinder physical activity. By using a delivery service, people are taking away time spent walking outdoors, and it makes them become lazier because they don’t even need to leave the house. If a place is within walking distance, a person can easily just take a few minutes to get to that place without any problems; they don’t need to use a delivery service for that. 

            The Internet is full of ups and downs. It does provide convenience in many aspects of life, but it also harms people by making them lazier. And it’s only going to be even worse for future generations when technology becomes even more advanced. More advanced technology means more conveniences, which leads to people not doing things the old fashioned way anymore. Future generations will have even lazier people than the people in the current generation. 

Rhetorical Analysis: "Corn-Pone Opinions"

     In the text "Corn-Pone Opinions," the author, Mark Twain, tries to inform readers about how people are always influenced by someone else with the idea of conformity. One rhetorical device Twain utilizes is logos, specifically when he mentions the hoopskirt. Twain discusses how the hoopskirt started off as a strange idea for clothing, but six months later, it suddenly becomes a huge fashion trend. The hoopskirt was an actual fashion trend that started because people were looking to be like everyone else. This kind of event occurs due to people wanting to follow what is popular at the time.  Twain states that "it is our nature to conform; it is a force which not many can successfully resist" (Paragraph 9, Lines 6-7). He is letting the reader visualize how people can be easily conformed through the factual example of the hoopskirt, which strengthens Twain's claim that people are always influenced by someone else. Since this example is historically correct and Twain is logically analyzing why this trend occurred, Twain is using logos to emphasize his purpose.

     Mark Twain also utilizes another rhetorical device: inclusive diction. Inclusive diction is when the author of a text makes the reader feel connected to the content of the text by using words such as "we" or "our." Twain features the use of inclusive diction in order to allow the reader to make a personal connection to conformity. An example of this is when he states, "...self-approval. We all have to bow to that; there are no exceptions" (Paragraph 9, Lines 8-9). Twain incorporates the words "we all" to suggest that everyone is a victim to self-approval or conformity. The statement makes the reader feel like they are a part of the text, which allows the reader to think more deeply about if they are a victim to conformity. This elaborates his claim of how people are always influenced by someone else, since readers can relate to Twain's statement. Due to the fact that Twain is using words like "we all" to form a personal connection to the reader, he is using inclusive diction to support his purpose. 

    Mark Twain mainly addresses the idea of how everyone is always influenced by someone else in his text "Corn-Pone Opinions." I personally agree with that idea. Most people are going to be following what is popular at the time in order to fit in with everyone else. Not many people, including me, are willing to stand out as the unique person who is different from everyone else. Also, Twain mentions how people are always looking for approval in others. I agree with that because most people are going to be self-conscious of how they present themselves to others. Most people will want to make a good impression on others, which is why many people do the things they do. For me, I try to think in my head if what I'm going to say next will impact someone's perception of me. Whenever I say something I didn't mean to say or do something I didn't mean to do, I often wonder if the people around me will think poorly of me. That's why I prefer to be quiet most of the time, except when I'm talking about my interests with friends. However, I feel like many people can relate to how I feel, so I don't really worry too much anymore. No one is perfect and everyone will make mistakes.

Video Games and Their Effects on Children

     I want to address the concerned parents of children who play video games. If you are a parent, then you are worried about the effects of video games on your child. Some people say that video games can lead towards aggressive feelings in children, and that it can make children behave violently. But those people ignore the fact that video games do have positive effects on children instead of only having negative effects.

     Video games do have positive effects to the mind by improving cognitive skills. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), video games strengthen one's reasoning, memory, problem-solving skills and creativity (APA 2013). Visual novels that involve solving mysteries, such as the Ace Attorney series, can help improve one's reasoning. Strategy RPGs like the Fire Emblem series can help develop problem-solving skills. Generally, video games have a variety of characters, plot and game-play that can spark creativity in children. Through my personal experience, playing through certain visual novels like the Ace Attorney series has helped me to try and think outside the box by making me figure out how the culprit committed their crime. As an avid player of video games, I believe that you should at least give video games a chance instead of discrediting them right away. Video games can help instead of just hurt!

"Video Games Play May Provide Learning, Health, Social Benefits, Review Finds." American
     Psychological Association, 25 November 2013,

     http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2013/11/video-games.aspx 

     In the aforementioned paragraphs, I have utilized some of William Zinsser's strategies. One piece of advice he mentions is to take out the little qualifiers, such as "a little" and "kind of." In the first paragraph I mentioned how parents are worried about the effects of video games. I could have said 'you may be worried about the potential effects of video games.' This doesn't have that large of an impact on the audience due to being uncertain with my words. Another piece of advice he suggests is to use mood changers. Zinsser says that "but" is an effective word when used at the start of a sentence. I used the word "but" as the first word of my sentence in the first paragraph in order to introduce the counterargument to the previous sentence. One final strategy he mentions is to save the use of exclamation points to achieve a certain effect. I used the exclamation point in my final sentence in order to leave a lasting impression of the idea that video games can have both positive and negative effects instead of just having negative effects. These were the strategies I used in my writing.