TOW #29 Letter to a New APELC Student

Dear New APELC student,

Hi there, I’m Jacob Kang. Nice to meet you. I’ll keep things simple, you just made your junior year really hard by taking this class. But you’re one of the special kids out there that is taking APELC, so good for you. Not many people can do this. There is a long and exhausting journey ahead of you, but at the end of the journey you will become a new person.

So I’ll be honest. As I’m writing this to you, I’m looking at a B in the course. Yeah I know, it sucks. But it really doesn’t. The grade really becomes just a letter at a certain point, and to make things better, your weighted GPA actually goes up by getting a B in an AP course rather than getting an A in an honors course. So APELC is worth it.

APELC won’t just make you a better writer, it makes you a better person, a more aware person. You will begin to see the world differently, no joke. You will be able to dissect everything and anything humans create: writings, advertisements, artworks. That is the whole point of this course, to make you a better citizen who is aware of his surroundings and the society that he lives in. There undoubtedly is a lot of writing in the course, but APELC offers so much more.

When I said that there is a lot of writing in this course, I’m not kidding you. The APELC exam itself makes you write three long essays. Your hands will cramp up at some point in the year. I guarantee it. But boy, will you be able to write. SATs will seem like child’s play.

Now when things get rough, and they are bound to, make sure to consult Mr. Yost and Mrs. Pronko. Those two are your greatest resources. They are always willing to help and guide you. That was the mistake I made early in the year. I never really had conferences about my writing with Mr. Yost and Mrs. Pronko, and my essays weren’t improving. The moment I got off of my lazy butt and talked to them, I noticed a definite change. Don’t be scared of them.

You poor thing. I hope you do well in this class. It will be hard. It will be tough. But it change your perspective on so many things. You will be a new person and a new writer. You will learn so many great ideas. And remember, after the AP test, you are free. Enjoy.

-Jacob Kang

TOW #28 TOW Reflection

I looked back at my three TOWs "The Future is Now" from August, one of my first TOWs ever written, TOW #11 from November of President Obama's Speech, and TOW #19 from February of Naruto: the Last's trailer. Honestly put, I feel like I sounded like a child in my earlier TOWs and I'm amazed at the growth and maturation of my writing. I realized that as time went on, my TOWs followed a fairly systematic and straightforward approach that was simple and effective. I knew what I was looking for in texts and I noticed that I better explained author's purpose how effectively the author utilized literary devices. Theses became stronger and TOWs became overall much better.

Due to the TOWs, I believe that I mastered SOAPS, one of the first things we learned in class. Pulling from multiple sources not only gave me more awareness of news in our society but it allowed me to practice dissecting ranges of texts. I can efficiently find what literary devices an author uses and I became apt at learning the context behind texts in order to uncover their purpose in all sorts of writings, articles, speeches, and visual texts.

I believe that I could still improve on creativity. I noticed that a lot of my TOWs followed the exact same pattern after several weeks into the school year. I didn't push myself. I found a system worked, and sadly, I stuck to it. Changing the format of my TOWs could have pushed my boundaries and helped me improve even more as a writer. This creativity could be used in all forms of writing and will be extremely helpful in the future.

TOWs were beneficial in the way that they gave me practice, something that often isn't emphasized in English and writing classes. I was presented with new information each week and I got to practice important skills on each. Even though the TOWs were grueling at times, looking back on them, they were well worth it considering the practice I got and the skills I mastered.

TOW #27 (Visual) Game of War Commercial with Kate Upton

      The Super Bowl has some of the greatest viewership, so the commercials must be persuasive and use strategies to market their products. In this advertisement, the people are advertising a game called Game of War, a free game for mobile smartphones. This game makes money off of in-app purchases, so the more people play, the better chance they have at making money. Game of War targets their game at a male audience and uses Kate Upton, battle scenes, and epic music to convince a male audience to play their game.

    Kate Upton is the mascot of Game of War and is continually used in all the Game of War trailers to grab the attention of their male audience. Kate Upton is a model, known for her appearances in Sports Illustrated, and an actress. She is known for her beautiful and voluptuous figure. In the commercial, Kate Upton is portrayed as a beautiful, confident leader. Many men can't help but be drawn to her and by using her as the main figure in the Game of War commercial, Game of War can draw the attention of males and use it to persuade them to get their game.

     Game of War also uses various battle scenes to entice a male audience with the awesomeness of war. Catapults are flung towards the castle, battalions of men fight with swords, shields, and chainmail, and giants tear down the walls of the castle. As a male myself, I can say that many men have a natural tendency to glorify war. The battle scenes in the commercial give war an fantasy-like and adventurous feel to it and grab the attention of male viewers. By making war seem fun, Game of War can further persuade their male audience to get their game.

    The commercial also uses epic music to give the commercial, as the music says, an epic feeling. There is a genre called epic music that is basically orchestra with brass that is used in many movies during battle scenes and war. This kind of music is loud and powerful and can pump up the viewer and glorify fighting. This grabs the attention of viewers and supports the battle scenes and Kate Upton and, ultimately, helps Game of War market its game.

#26 (non-fiction) The importance of the viral Jordan Spieth thank-you note

      Last weekend was the Masters at Augusta, one of the most exciting weeks of the year for golfers like myself. Only the best of the best are allowed to compete in it, and it never fails to satisfy a golf fans love for competition and thrill. This year's Masters made history as Jordan Spieth  won the tournament at 21 years old, tying Tiger Woods, and was the first ever to reach 19 under par. However, this editorial isn't all about golf but how we must be as people. Peter Post uses Spieth's credibility and uses the a note that Spieth wrote as a highschooler to show how we must strive to become people like Jordan Spieth.
     
   Post uses testimonies about Jordan Spieth to build Spieth's credibility as a role model. What's amazing about Spieth is, "what a truly nice guy he is. He is not only the epitome of the athlete who can perform at the highest levels — people also like him. Phil Mickelson said it best right after the round when he was asked about Spieth: “He’s obviously a tremendous player, but he’s just a tremendous individual, too. He’s really been a lot of fun to have on the past Ryders Cup and Presidents Cup teams. He’s just a quality individual. I think it’s hard not to like, not to pull for, the guy.” Not only is he a great golfer, but he a great person. He is talent mix with a real human side to him that makes him the perfect role model for people.

   Post then goes on to explain how Spieth wrote a thank you note to the people who awarded him a scholarship in high school. Post states that, "what is really impressive is that he wrote the note — not a perfunctory thank you but a genuine, heartfelt thank you that addressed the importance of academics as well as golf in his teenage world." In this world of email and quick communication, the high school Spieth took his time to hand write a genuine thank you letter. The actual letter that Spieth wrote shows the Spieth human side and has a sense of innocence that really appeals to pathos and the emotional part of the audience. 

    Thank-you notes matter because they reflect that you are someone who knows how to show appreciation for a gift, a favor, or an opportunity. It is such a simple device, yet they help us to build relationships in ways we may not even imagine. We should all take a lesson from Spieth on how to write a thank-you note that demonstrates genuine appreciation in the moment."

 "

TOW #25 "When Women are Too Thin" by the NYT

      France recently took major steps in the battle against anorexia by approving amendments that will fight against anorexia . The fashion and entertainment business is deforming the definition of beauty in which skinny, and unnaturally skinny is deemed beautiful. This is becoming a health problem and a deadly issue in France and the New York Time editorial board uses factual information and examples of models who died of anorexia to argue that these French amendments prove to global fashion that extreme malnutrition and anorexia cannot be considered beautiful.

     The Editorial Board gives the audience facts and statistics about anorexia to allow the audience understand just how great of a problem anorexia is not only in France, but around the world. There are up to "40,000 people (who) suffer from anorexia in France, 90 percent of them women," according to France's Health Ministry. But this problem is worldwide as, "24 million Americans suffer from eating disorders. There is a law in Israel "against ultrathin models," that went into effect in January, 2013. This shows how widespread a problem eating disorders are and it shows that nations are already taking steps to stop this.

     What makes anorexia a very real problem is that it can be fatal, for the Editorial Board of the New York Times gives examples of models who died of anorexia. Im 2006, "Brazilian-born model Ana Carolina Reston" died of anorexia. "French model Isabelle Caro...weighed only 60 pounds when she posed for an ad campaign in 2007" and she died in 2010. These deaths show that anorexia can be deadly. People often think of eating disorders as simply minor problems to a person's life, but when a full grown women is only 60 pounds in the case of Isabelle Caro, there can be very real consequences. This qualifies the actions that the French government is making as they are creating laws that will help save the lives of their citizens,

    The three laws will "require models to get a medical certificate that their body mass index is a minimum of 18. Employers who hire models who don’t meet this minimum would risk a fine of about $83,000 and a prison term of up to six months." The second amendment will require digitally amended photos to meet a certain requirement and the photo cannot be unrealistically thin. "The third amendment would punish websites that promote unhealthy weight loss and anorexia with a fine of 10,000 euros and up to one year in prison." These steps that the French are making are a sign of the change needed in today's society and are steps that not only France, but the whole world should be making as well.

Ana Carolina Reston (death 2006) 

What anorexia can do

TOW #24 (IRB) Killing Kennedy part 2

       I finally finished Killing Kennedy, and it was not a disappointment. Few history books captured the same intensity and excitement that this book had. Killing Kennedy, written by Bill O'reilly is mostly about Kennedy's assassination and the events that led up to it, and O'reilly uses dramatic style and a present tense to deliver the history of Kennedy in a thrilling way to the American people.

      What makes this book so interesting is the dramatic tone that O'reilly writes in. At the end of every chapter, O'reilly has a type of dramatic foreshadowing or ending that leaves the reader wanting more or feeling some kind of emotion. At the end of chapter 5, O'reilly ends the chapter with, "Oswald is unhappy that his return to the United States has not attracted widespread media attention...he has no idea that he is being secretly watched by a very powerful concern." At the end of chapter 26, when Kennedy was killed, O'reilly ends with, "He leaves behind a beautiful widow, He leaves behind two adoring young children. He leaves behind a nation that loves him." This style of writing caters to his audience, the common American people. O'reilly wants the American people to know more about Kennedy's assassination, so he has to use an exciting and emotional style of writing that will keep a reader interested and wanting more, a very effective thing to do on O'reilly's part.

      Something really interesting about Killing Kennedy is that it is entirely written in the present tense. "Oswald is unhappy", "Lyndon Johnson does not tiptoe when it comes to foreign relations..", Jackie sobs. Her body jerks as pain courses through her." The present tense makes the entire story realistic, once again appealing to the theme of thrill in the book. A history book written in the past tense makes everything seem long ago and be tiresome and boring to a reader. However, the present tense makes things exciting and action packed. Something seemingly trivial such as changing the tense of the book made a huge impact on the style of the writing and was extremely effective for O'reilly's purpose.

     

 Mr. O'reilly himself

TOW #23 (Visual) WWF Shark Ad

       Pop culture and entertainment has recreated the shark as a savage, blood-thirsty, terrorizing creature, but sharks are relatively passive animals that kill only 5 people a year (compare this to 24,000 people dead from lightning strikes). These animals are a vital part of the ocean's ecosystem and are one of the top predators in the ocean. However, we kill over 8000 sharks a year, mainly for their fins for a favorite Asian dish, shark fin soup. The World Wildlife Fund is trying to put a stop to shark exploitation and uses simplicity to send that message.

     This WWF advertisement's most distinctive element is its simplicity. Simplicity in both image and words. The picture is split into two identical oceans. One has the fin of the shark showing and one has no shark. The audience can instantly tell the difference between the two without much thought because of the obvious contrast between the two pictures. 

     Centered in each of the two images are small white words. The image with the shark says, "Horrifying." The WWF is basing this off of the popular belief that sharks are scary creatures. Although they only kill an average of 5 people a year, the human psyche, because of cultural influences, sees the top fin of a shark and instantly pictures the horrifying shark and the terror a shark causes. 

    The picture with no shark also has white words, "More Horrifying." At first glance, one would wonder, "why would it be more horrifying if there was no shark?" However, an informed citizen, after careful thought, would realize the meaning behind this. The truth in shark exploitation and the rapidly declining number of sharks. The WWF is using this fact as the base in their argument that an ocean with no sharks is even more horrifying than an ocean with sharks. The advertisement is extremely simple, and in this case, with simplicity comes intensity, and the WWF was able to deliver a powerful message because of it.