"They Just Be So Wordy"

Michelle Speed's article, " Kanye West doesn't read books, but he want you to buy his", is about how Kanye feels that novels "be so wordy ". Kanye West is being very hypocritical. Speed explains to us that Kanye is proud to be a non-reader, but he just published a book  called, "Thank You and You're Welcome". Although the book is short, and technically not considered a novel because it is filled with "Kanye-isms", he is still promoting not reading. This is not good. Everyone needs to have some form of reading in their lives. If you do not read, you cannot learn how to properly speak, and reading also increases your knowledge. Reading novels builds up your vocabulary. If Kanye is such a  " non-reader",  why is he writing a book, and expecting people to buy it?
        Despite the fact that Kanye thinks people should not read,  his reasons are very justifiable. He feels as though people should go out and live life, rather than sitting in and reading imaginary stories. I completely agree with this. People should not be wasting their time reading novels that they may never understand. I think that is okay to read to learn, but wasting your time on old literature seems nearly pointless. What are you getting out of reading a story that you don't understand? You should be living your life, rather than trying to live an imaginary one through a story.
       Kanye not promoting reading is not very good for his image. After being so opinionated recently, this is really the last thing he needs.  I think that Kanye looks stupid in a way because he completely contradicted himself. He complains that he frequently gets misquoted and incorrectly paraphrased all the time, but then he goes and writes a book, after he talked down on reading.Overall, many people feel as though reading is one of the most important things to do in life. Reading is what makes you smart. But truthfully, I think Kanye is right when he says ,you should be living your life though, rather than sitting all day with your nose in a book.

Black

 I lay in  bed looking around,
the darkness lurks, it is profound.
Noises arrive through the walls,
fear strikes like a relentless call.
Nothing but black seeps into my room,
the feeling of emptiness is coming too soon.
I close my eyes and keep them tight -
A world of black remains with me through the night.

Is text messaging destroying the grammar and writing skills of students?

          Is txtin affectin ur evrydy writin skills?  Many people believe that text messaging is slowly destroying the grammar and writing skills of many people. Over the years, electronic devices used for communication have developed their own language.  When one is text messaging they shorten words, use abbreviations, and do not use proper capitalization and punctuation techniques.  Although this "language" is shorter and takes less time to write, it is not considered formal writing. This unfortunately is leaking into many students everyday school work.
        Text messaging is hurting many students' grammar skills. As the world wide fad of text messaging increases, grammar knowledge is decreasing. Spelling is a very big problem for many students. It has gotten to the point where students don't even know how to spell words. It is not that they did not learn how to spell in school, but they are never using the techniques that they learned. Shortening words is very common when text messaging. The words “be right back" are shortened to "brb", or “got to go” is shortened to” g2g". In many cases letters are dropped off of words such as "going" is shortened to "goin". Not only are words being shortened and abbreviated, but students do not use proper capitalization and punctuation techniques. In many cases capital letters are rarely ever used. In a conversation through texting, many students will say "i" rather than "I". Also the proper nouns are not usually capitalized when need be. Punctuation is not even used when text messaging. Periods, question marks, exclamation points, apostrophes, quotation marks, etc. are not incorporated into the sentences at all. This is a problem because this means students are not learning how to properly punctuate their sentences. Student’s grammar techniques are not used when text messaging. This is hurting them because they do not know the rules of the English language.
         The text messaging language is slowly making its way into students’ formal writing. This is a major problem. When text messaging, many people talk in an “informal” voice. This is fine, for text messaging. It is not fine for school work. Using the abbreviations and improper grammar techniques in the classroom is completely unacceptable. Text messaging is causing this problem. The students are so used to typing in that informal way, that they start to write in the same exact manner. Many teachers of high and low grades have complained about this problem. They have reported that the text messaging language is appearing in many students’ schoolwork. Some teachers have even reported that students are actually starting to speak the way they would text. Teachers have exclaimed that it is very frustrating when a student uses this text messaging language. It is very difficult to break the students of this habit.
       Text messaging is hurting students’ grammar and writing skills. Many people feel that some students are lacking knowledge in the English language. They do not know many of the rules of the language and are talking in a constant informal way. Many students have let the text messaging language take over their life. It is used everywhere, including school work. Text messaging is destroying students’ grammar and writing skills.

http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20090716/ARTICLES/907165030?Title=Does-texting-hurt-writing-skills-
http://www.edutopia.org/poll-text-messaging-writing-skills

" To Be Or Not To Be " Three ways

              In  Franco Zeffirelli's To Be Or Not To Be, Mel Gibson stars as " Hamlet". In this scene, Zeffirelli decided to put Hamlet into a dark underground room. He is alone in this room  in silence. In the scene, there are many dead casted bodies. I think that  this use of props gives us the image of death.  Zeffirelli chose to use these bodies because they create an eerie  feeling. Also, when Hamlet is giving his soliloquy, he is talking toward the bodies, as if this is a way a connecting with death. The setting of being underground with dead bodies makes you feel like Hamlet is near hell.
              In Lawrence Oliver's To Be Or Not To Be, Oliver himself stars as " Hamlet". In his version of the scene, he has Hamlet sitting alone on a rock on a cliff.  All that is around this cliff is a rough body of water. The scene itself  is shot in black and white which sets a dreary mood.  You are able to tell that the sky is very cloudy. Oliver decided to use a knife in this scene. The knife represents the fact that  Hamlet is about to kill himself.  After Hamlet brings out the knife, he walks toward the edge of the cliff. The fact that we know Hamlet is near suicide gives us the fear that he may jump off of the cliff.
            In Kenneth Branaugh's To Be Or Not To Be, Branaugh stars as " Hamlet". Branaugh chose to put this scene into a very different setting than the other two. In  this version, it is clear that Hamlet is being watched by various people. In the other versions, Hamlet was completely alone. Hamlet is in a very nice house, in a room that is empty other than the people watching from a distance. Hamlet looks at himself in the mirror as he gives is soliloquy. In the beginning of the scene, there is complete silence. As the soliloquy goes on, music beings to play. Branaugh also decided to use a knife as a prop. He has Hamlet bring the knife at himself. He then taps the knife to the mirror. When someone points a knife at themselves, it is clear that they are thinking about committing suicide.
        Each version is takes place in different settings and uses different props. Oliver and Branaugh decided to use a knife in their as, where Zeffirelli chose not too. Zeffirelli and Oliver made their settings in very melancholy places, where Branaugh made his setting in a nice palace. Although all the versions have their differences, they are very much alike. Each version gets the point of suicide across. Despite the props used and the settings, the powerful words of Shakespeare let us know that Hamlet is near suicide.  Each version basically had Hamlet alone, focusing on  his life. They all also used props that symbolized death. All in all, the settings and props created a different feel in each version, but the same message of suicide was still gotten across.

The Medium and the Message

                 Mamatas's interview revealed his voice, diction, and tone. Mamatas talked very quickly. He seemed to be very nervous. Whenever he was asked a question, he seemed confident with his answers, once he figured out what to say. Mamatas's diction shows how he feels about his work, and his customers. He uses more "everyday" language when he is speaking which makes him more understandable. Instead of reading all of his descriptive words, we realize that he likes to write, but feels that his customers are just plain stupid in a more informal sense. This interview also revealed Mamatas's tone. He talked about his customers being stupid and how he thought that they were dumb for buying a term paper. He was  very sarcastic, and constantly laughed over the interviewer's questions. Listening to Mamatas proves that he did not care whether his customers got a good grade, or whether they got caught or not, all he cared about was getting paid and writing.
          Hearing Mamatas does not affect my opinion of his work at the term paper mill but it does affect my opinion of him. Either way, I still think that he is just trying to make a living, and wanted to write. He did not want to help people cheat, but in order to be a part of the writing business, he  chose to work at the term paper mill. When i read Mamatas's article I didn't get the idea that he thought of his customers as a joke. When I heard Mamatas laugh and talk about his customers, it made me realize that he  was happy to write the papers, but knew that what his customers were doing was wrong.
           I think that using this medium does change peoples' perspective on buying papers from Mamatas. I think that if they actually hear someone saying that they are dumb, they will not want to  buy papers from him. Hearing someone say something compared to seeing it written down can have a huge impact on people. It can affect them and make them realize that buying a paper from someone is wrong. In this case, the audio compared to print can change a person's thoughts on Mamata's career.  Choosing the right medium when sharing information is very important. If you want to be more personalized, it is better to use an audio medium so that people  feel as though they are talking to you. When you use a print medium, it is more formal. You are able to use bigger, more descriptive words.

http://www.onthemedia.org/episodes/2008/11/28/segments/116673

The Term Paper Artist

             The Term Paper Artist, written by Nick Mamatas, is an article that describes Mamata's writing experiences.  He  states, "I'll  tell them  my horrible secret- for several years I made much of my  freelance income writing term papers." Mamatas  tells us that becoming a  writer has always been his dream.  At an early age, he was told that " such a dream was futile" which was discouraging to him, until he discovered a job at the term paper mill. At the mill, he would write term papers for money on business, economics, and literature. The term paper mill was managed by brokers, and they had a significant amount of clients. Mamatas explains to us that being in the term paper industry  is easy, once you can get the hang of it which isn't easy. He compares it by saying " It's like an old dance routine buried in one's muscle memory." The business doesn't bring in a huge income, but it satisfied his desires to be a writer.
              Mamatas classifies his customers into three groups: Dumb clients, one-timers, and the well-educated professionals who lack English language skills. The dumb clients, are simply stupid. They have to buy a paper because they do not even know how to write one on their own. They should not be in college. The one-timers are describable from their name. Mamatas says that they are the students who are  "generally lost and really did simply need a decent summary of their class readings." This group of clients also tends to get stuck on their personal statements for college. Last, the well-educated professionals who lack English language skills,  usually use their own papers. They mostly just need editing suggestions.  He tells us that, " most of the customers just aren't very bright."
               Mamata's career may not seem  right, but without him, how would many students make it through school? Although some students are being lazy, others just do not know how to write the term papers.  They do not know what the thesis statement is, what argumentative writing is, or how to do proper citations. He states, " The student's aren't only cheating themselves, they are being cheated by the schools that take tuition and give nothing in  exchange." The term paper mill may be considered as cheating, but many students use it as a last resort. Cheating is the wrong thing to do, but some students need to do anything they can to survive through school.