Circus in Winter

Circus in Winter is a play inspired by the novel of Hoosier author Cathy Day. I went to see this play for my theater class along with my own interest of play. This play takes place in Lima Indiana with the people of the Greater Porter Circus. The production of Circus in Winter featured a large elephant puppet that was operated by multiple people. I have been to many plays in my high school and a few local theaters and this elephant puppet was the most real life and visually stunning prop or piece of theater equipment I have ever seen. Also, the musical aspect of the production was very well performed. I really enjoyed this play and even thought I was interested in it I probably wouldn’t have gone if I didn’t have to for my theater class.

envision chapter 9

Chapter 9 of Envision explains how to create and deliver a presentation. I feel that I could get better at creating and delivering presentation, not because I get nervous, but I always seem to not have a enough information to cover the time allotment. However, presentations have become much easier as I have gone through school. This chapter gives the Branches of Oratory which are Judicial, Deliberative, and Epideictic. These three branches date back to ancient times. Also, this chapter mentions the late Steve Jobs as an example of a great presenter or speaker. I believe that when you are in a line of work that is so complex as the Apple chairman that speeches become second nature. This was a very interesting chapter in Envision that I believe is one of the most important to read. This advice will be useful for future speeches and presentations.

chapter 8

A visual argument is a graphic representation of a written argument. Chapter 8 of Envision deals with the design of an argument. A visual argument is a way to connect with the reader by giving them a visual key to view and capture their attention like an opening state. The chapter also mentions decorum and how it is used in everyday language. Decorum actually has different levels. Grand or high style is formal, middle style is less formal, and plain or low style is the least formal. The chapter goes on to mention abstract papers and how decorum is used for these papers. Finally the chapter concludes with the writer’s process and how the writer makes the decision on their work by choosing their type of decorum and how they incorporate their opinion into their paper.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 of Envision deals with the organization of research papers. A lot of people do different things to help them organize their papers the best like flow charts. For me it was always a web chart. I felt this was the best way to get my ideas down. Organization of a paper is key for the paper to have a good flow to it. The book says organizing a research paper is like structuring a film. Actions in films go on later to support other actions in the film. This is like a paper where you have supports for your ideas and they are structured in a way that flow nicely with the whole paper. Transitions also play a big part in papers because they let the reader know when one thought is ending and a new thought is starting. This chapter also mentions the sources for a research paper and how to integrate them into a paper to cite one’s work and avoid plagiarism.

Letterman and Maddow

On Friday December 2^nd I went to Emens Auditorium to view the conversation with David Letterman and Rachel Maddow. This was a very educational and interesting event. I didn’t know what to expect at first. As the show started Dave and Rachel each spoke individually before sitting down to start the conversation which consisted of politics and current issues. President Jo Ann Gora also took part in the conversation which was unknown to me that she would be doing so. Many of the issues they talked about like the current presidential race was very interesting to me. Also, I found out a lot of information about Rachel Maddow that I didn’t know. She is a Rhode Scholar and for that she had to study at Oxford. Overall this event was a great experience I hope to go to the conversation next year as well.

chapter 7 envision

Chapter 7 of Envisions deals with plagiarism and how to avoid it in writing. Plagiarism is the act of taking someone else’s work or ideas and saying it is your own work or ideas. Plagiarism is a serious offense especially at a higher level education institutions like college or graduate school. However, plagiarism is very easy to avoid if the correct steps are taken like citing sources. This chapter of envision teaches the reader how to cite sources correctly. It also teaches how to create a works cited page and use in text citations. This is a very educational chapter in envision that any writer or student taking a writing course should read.

Envision chapter 5

Chapter 5 of envision thoroughly covers the aspects of writing research papers. This chapter gave me great details on how these types of papers need to be structured. It covers the different types of sources that can be used and shows how to find the sources you need for a research paper. This chapter also covers the differences of primary and secondary sources and what each one contributes to the paper. This was something that was never fully clear to me before reading this chapter. For me, research papers can be a good experience if I am doing research on something I enjoy or I am interested in. This chapter has helped me learn skills to write better research papers.