Citation Challenge 

Chanelly Martinez 

MLA Citation Challenge 

Writing for Humanities and Arts

10/12/2023

1. Tate, Claudia C. “An Interview with Gayl Jones.” Black American Literature Forum, vol. 13, no. 4, 1979, pp. 142–48. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3041481. Accessed 12 Nov. 2023.  
2. Rankine, Claudia. Citizen. Penguin Books, 2015.
3. Geographic Society, National. The Making of an Icon Becoming Jane, National Geographic Society, 2017. 

Introductory Reflections

Part 1. 

I have always loved writing. It has been a way of expressing emotions I cannot vocalize and just being able to write down my thoughts. My writing assignments have ranged from focusing deeply on Freud lectures to writing about science and articles centered around scientists’ opinions. When it came to answering certain prompts, I always struggled beginning and being able to write down the first few sentences. This would happen because I always wanted it to sound perfect, but once I let that pressure go, my ideas would flow. I begin by writing drafts and coming back to it periodically because everyday our thoughts change and evolve. After having my final draft, I ask my peers to read over my work because it is important to get a second or third opinion. This helps me finalize my paper and hand it in. I access my abilities as a writer by setting the mood in the environment I am completing the assignment. This includes low lighting to help my eyes and music that makes me happy. I don’t listen to soft jazz or acoustic music. I need something to completely uplift me and my writing. On Fridays, I am a research volunteer at NYU/Bellevue, so I practice my writing skills. I do this by sending emails to my supervisors at the end of the day by being detailed and professional. This helps me tremendously because it forces me to be formal. I also practice my abilities as a writer by sending a text. I try to always send more formal texts because it helps me make it a routine in my everyday tasks. 

Part 2. 

Something I consider to be my creative gift is my ability to persuade. There are many scenarios where one has to write opinionated papers and I alway take those moments to use my skills of convincing. In addition, another creative gift I believe I have is that I can come up with creative ideas if given time. After reading the text, ““Everybody is Talented, Original, and Has Something to Say”, I realized that even if I believed that I didn’t have a creative gift, everyone has something to give. Music has always been an escape for me because I can always find a song that explains how I am feeling at the moment without saying anything. I often hear a lot of hispanic singers and most songs are about prospering and learning how to let go. The artists I listen to have changed my life a lot because again, they offer a safe space with their music. I don’t look up to any musical artists because I listen to their music, but I do not know them personally, so I wouldn’t be able to determine that. The world is very complicated to change because of the differing opinions and because of the amount of different ethnicities, cultures, and backgrounds. However, I believe having free painting classes around the city could be a perfect way to help some people be able to release any frustrations. Another interesting thing would be workshops that help anyone of any age write or learn more about art for free. This would help engage the community and bring art to the attention of many. My goal is that through this course, I learn more about art and learn the importance and the value of it, while still being able to write. 

Topic Reflection for Opinion Editorial

A political issue that greatly affects me is when congress rules against race being used in college admissions. This is a recent issue that was ruled on June 29th, 2023. While at my internship, my coordinator lets us know how race can’t be used in college admissions. Being that coordinator is hispanic and they were in the process of applying to medical schools, I could see the hurt and the frustration in their eyes. They made a good point of how certain races grow up better than others and the schooling is tremendously different. It was unfair because their lower score in an MCAT, for example, would be more acceptable because college admissions would be taking into consideration how certain races learn differently.

This affected my colleagues and me personally because we are in the minority community. We grew up in lower income neighborhoods where the public schools included more fighting than teaching. I am interested in going into the medical field and becoming a doctor. The MCAT is extremely difficult and medical schools are very competitive. Personally, I believe the government picks and chooses when they want us to all be equal. 

Growing up differently and being a minority doesn’t matter anymore. We would be considered equal next to a white person who had amazing schooling or grew up in the middle to upper class range. This causes a lot of issues, because the scores on exams and how someone grew up would not be considered in applications. Hispanic and African Americans will not be able to break these racial barriers and get into certain careers because of the competitiveness that some of them hold. Moreover, minorities will not be able to have the same opportunities as other races. The way I see it is that certain patients will try to avoid going to the hospital because they don’t usually see people who look like them. I think this is essential to create a sense of community in hospitals. This issue is definitely on a global scale because it affects everywhere in the United States.

However, I see both sides of the situation and how it can be unfair. Therefore, I will be addressing those concerns in my op-ed.

Group Rhetorical Analysis

Group Members:  Dejane, Brianna, Cypris, Chanelly, Soleil, Jeremy R, Natasha

Among ourselves, we discussed the 10 rhetorical tones.

Author: The author was a prominant figure in the music Industry: Megan Thee Stallion 

Audience: We believe the intended target audience was Black women, but we also feel that this was to open up the male communities eyes and how they can be to women, specifically black women.

Tone: Throughout the article, we believe that it was motivational because she was trying to use her platform to advocate for serious issues in society.

Purpose: She wants women to protect themselves and be aware of whats going on in the world. 

Stance: Her stance 

Medium: This was delivered on a news article website. This is directed more towards people who use social media and use these websites.

Language:

Exigence: The reason for her to be so passionate about this topic is that she got shot by an individual. She felt passionate about men discriminating against black women or women in general because of all the backlash she recieved after she was attacked by a man in power. 

Constraints: This case was very known and it was taken to court. Due to this, Megan Thee Stallion could not speak freely about the topic because of legal constraints.

Language Communities and Multiple Englishes

1. I speak both English and Spanish. I speak in Spanish when speaking to my parents and at work. I speak English when I talk to my friends, at school, and at work.

2. My way of speaking changes depending on the location. If I am at work and at school, I tend to speak more professionally. Whenever I speak to my friends or my siblings, I tend to speak in slang. This means that I sometimes find shortcuts to certain words. Other times, in Spanish I speak very fast where in English I can speak slower. I also have an accent in Spanish

3. My friends speak differently when we are together. We use slang and we say curse words here and there. An example is we say “it’s ma brick outside”. The proper way is “It is very cold outside”. We just find different ways to say things.

4. In therapy, the therapists speak very differently. I tend to express my emotions and they speak in a soft manner with professional vocabulary. For example, if I say that “I am feeling sad”, their usual response is “Let’s start off by what is making you sad and then we can speak about how to make it better”.

5. I haven’t lost a language because I speak Spanish everyday as well as English.

6.I haven’t been questioned in terms of vocabulary. However, in Spanish, I have a specific accent and I say certain words in a different way. Despite being from the Dominican Republic, every city speaks differently. 

7. These are influenced by my family. Where I am from in the Dominican Republic, my little town speaks in a certain way. My grandma has also influenced the way I have spoken because she would have the accent. Lastly, my cousins speak the same way in the Dominican Republic.

8. When writing papers for school, I try to focus on writing grammatically and professionally. I like using words that sound better and I try to avoid the constant usage of the words “of, the, so” etc.