Category: Uncategorized (Page 3 of 3)

Mushfake according to Gee is, “making do with something less when the real thing is not available” (13) I agree with Gee’s idea here because because using what you already know is a good substitute for when you don’t have the real thing. Gee’s theory of  mushfaking is extremely useful because it sheds light on the difficult problem of learning something new by using your current knowledge.

“Fake it till you become it. Do it enough until you actually become it and internalize” (19:03). I completely agree with Cuddy’s idea that you can fake it till you become it because once you repeat something enough  you eventually do it with ease and without recognizing that you are doing it. Cuddy’s theory of faking it till you make it is extremely useful because it sheds light on the difficult problem of learning something new.

“While you can teach someone linguistics, a body of knowledge, you can’t teach them to be a linguist” (para.7) I agree with Gee’s beliefs that you must practice linguistics in order to be a linguist. However, i believe you can use what you already know in order to obtain certain aspects of learning to be a linguist. I’m of two minds about Gees claim that you cannot be taught to be a linguist. On one hand I agree that you must practice to become a linguist. On the other hand i’m not sure if that is the only way to learn to be a linguist.

“It’s language, so we think about communication. When we think about communication, we think about interactions. So what is your body language communicating to me? What’s mine communicating to you?” I partially agree with Cuddy because body language is a form of communication but it’s not the only way of communicating. Though I concede that body language makes me thing of communication I still insist that other forms of communication can mean just as much.

Ashley Levesque

Revision Planning

Sept 18, 2018

1. My main concern as I was writing my draft was that I run out of information to talk about. I was also concerned that I would be really repetitive when trying to explain my thoughts.
2. My peers seemed to like my conclusion the best. Matthew Cardona said, “Very good conclusion. Brings all ideas together into one concise piece of text”. Ben Turbide agreed with Matthew. Laura Donaghey said, “this is a good conclusion and I like how you bring up your thesis again to tie it all together. It all makes sense because of the body paragraphs but now that you are refreshing our memory and tying it all together it makes even more sense”
3. I feel I am working best with Gee in my third paragraph. However some of my peers felt that I had some run on sentences that could be improved.
4. I feel I am working best with Cuddy in my third paragraph as well. However, Laura Donaghey said, “maybe use some believe instead of I believe because then it leaves a question in some people’s mind wondering If people actually do believe that rather than just straight up knowing you believe it”.
5. My peers feel I need to work more on using a more diverse selection of words to explain my thoughts. They also felt I needed to work towards improving my integration of quotes and try relating them more towards the point.

Ashley Levesque

ENG 110 I

They Say, I Say Ch. 1 & 3

1. According to Graff and Birkenstein “to give writing the most important thing of all — namely, a point– a writer needs to indicate clearly not only what his or her thesis is, but also what larger conversation that thesis is responding to” (pg. 20). Overall Graff and Birkenstein are implying that it is important to engage with others views and recognize them in order to show the overall topic you are engaged in. This helps spark the concept that there is in fact a larger conversation to be talked about. In other words Graff and Birkenstein are saying the importance of engaging with others views is to set a platform to build your own views on. Without using others thoughts there would be nothing to argue against or with. Another reason that it is important to see others views is to help you construct and frame your own thesis on the topic. As stated by Graff and Birkenstein, “One added benefit of summarizing others’ views as soon as you can: you let those others do some of the work framing and clarifying the issue you’re writing about” (pg. 21). In conclusion it is important to engage in others views in order to improve your stance on the topic and to help frame the overall idea.
2. It is believed that starting with others opinions in the attempt to provide a “they say” will better help you form an “I Say”. Looking back to my highschool experiences I have always found that in order to deal with the tension of not providing an argument immediately is to keep the “they say” short in order to lead into my views of the topic. Similar to my experiences, Graff and Birkenstein recommend, “that you shouldn’t keep your readers in suspense too long about your central argument, we also believe that you need to present that argument as part of some larger conversation, indication something about the arguments of others that you are supporting, opposing, amending, complication, or qualifying” (21). Graff and Birkenstein views help explain that although having been taught different, it is crucial to provide background on what you are writing and or speaking about.  
3. A common mistake at my high school known as a “hit and run” quotation (qtd. In Graff and Birkenstein 45) is the use of a quote without any relevance to the work around it. Graff and Birkenstein explain, “Before you can select appropriate quotations, you need to have a sense of what you want to do with them– that is, how they will support your text at the particular point where you insert them. Be careful not to select quotations just for the sake of demonstrating that you’ve read the author’s work; you need to make sure they support your own argument” (44). This passage from They say, I say is a good example of one of the many literacy issues I encountered in my high school writing. The use of a quote that has no ties to your writing is essentially useless. As stated above you should have a sense of what that quote will provide for you to assist your topic. A common mistake that I had made was inserting quotes that had a brief note on my topic and using it despite what part in my writing I was using it in. Although the quote would relate to my topic in some aspects it would not fit into the current discussion I was hoping to cram it into.

Ashley Levesque

English 110 I

Gee’s first theorem emphasizes how discourses are not like languages. Gee describes this as having the ability to speak english but not being fluent. Gee states, “Discourses (and therefore literacies) are not like languages in one very important regard. Someone can speak English, but not fluently. However, someone cannot engage in a Discourse in a less than fully fluent manner. You are either in it or you’re not”(Pg. 9). This is important because like Gee said you cannot be half fluent in a discourse because you either have or you don’t. However, Gee’s second theorem states, “ Primary Discourses, no matter whose they are, can never really be liberating literacies” (Pg. 10). Gee is saying that for a literacy to be liberating it must have a discourse to critique and meta-elements such as; languages, values, attitudes and words. This is because a primary discourse is our own personal beliefs and views which cannot be critiqued by others if it cannot be verbalized and therefore assessed.

Mushfake as stated by Gee is, “making do with something less when the real things is not available” (13). Gee then proceeds to explain how making “mushfaking, resistance students full of meta-knowledge is a good combination. In order to make sense of this we must understand how resistance and meta knowledge are connected to it. This means that students should learn to perhaps resist the ways they are taught to learn in classes and acquire more of a hands on ability to pick up on discourses since they can only be learned through doing. For this concept to occur a student must have partial understanding in order to pair it with their meta-knowledge (languages, values, attitudes and words) to make do and or “mushfake”.

Cuddy’s ideas relate and assist Gee’s thoughts of discourses in the way that you must adapt it in order to become it. As stated by Cuddy “Fake it till you become it. Do it enough until you actually become it and internalize” (19:03). This relates to Gee because as he states, “Discourse are not mastered by overt instruction (even less so than languages, and hard anyone ever fluently acquired a second language sitting in a classroom), but by enculturation (“apprenticeship”) into social practices through scaffolded a supported interaction with people who have already mastered” (Pg. 7). This relates to cuddy in the sense that both cannot be taught but must be embodied.

Text relates to Cuddy because cuddy states that you must fake it till you make it which is essentially using what you have and making do with it.

This helps to understand that before you can understand the minor details and correctness you must first understand the whole concept.

This helps understand that you can use knowledge from your first discourse in order to gain knowledge of your second discourse.

I am challenging this because you can use what you already know in order to then gain knowledge. Also known as “mushfake”.

Cuddy says, “fake it till you become it.” This shows that if you repeat something enough it will become a habit.

This is important information because changing your physical behavior can alter your chemical responses

Cuddy explains that females feel less powerful than men. This seems to be because men are usually bigger and also have higher amounts of testosterone compared to women. Testosterone essentially is known as the power hormone.

Gee explains how to become a linguist. This is important because similar to many things you have to be shown and practice yourself in order to become and embody it.

My annotation of a discourse as explained by Gee tells me that discourse is essentially everything that has to do with communication aside from verbal.

In the first annotation Gee is expressing that nonverbal is just as important as verbal. This leads me to believe that just because you say one thing, your body language could be saying another. In the second annotation it relates to my first one that actions speak volumes. Although actions don’t necessary relate to verbal communication they still “speak volumes”. This means that they have just as much impact as words

Ashley Levesque

9/5/18

110 I

2. James Paul Gee’s, “Literacy, Discourse and Linguistics” focuses around the idea that although there is verbal communication there is also body language which is just as important. Gee’s writing specifically focuses around linguistics (the study of language), and discourses. Gee states, “Discourses are ways of being in the world; they are forms of life which integrate words, acts, values, beliefs, attitudes, and social identities as well as gestures, glances, body positions, and clothes” (Para. 5). So how does one learn to be a linguist? Well, according to Gee, “While you can teach someone linguistics, a body of knowledge, you can’t teach them to be a linguist” (Para. 7). You can’t necessarily teach someone to be a linguist, a sociologist, a biologist, a veterinarian, a historian, etc. However, you can apprentice them and allow them to practice being a linguist with someone who has already mastered the skill. Teaching it is simply informing but doing it allows you to become it.

3. The difference between a primary discourse and a secondary discourse according to James Paul Gee is that Primary Discourse is learned earlier in life. Primary Discourse is acquired through early socialization and usually happens with a peer group and at home. This discourse helps to understand the world and interact with others. A secondary discourse is built off of a primary but is used outside of immediate family, and your peer group. This discourse extends to local stores, churches, a community, and organizations, etc. Dominant discourses are secondary discourses which help acquire social goods. Non dominant discourses are also secondary discourses that bring solidarity with a social network however, does not help increase social status or social goods.

5. Nonverbal communication is important for someone who is in the discourse of business because it is alot about how you show yourself. Cuddy says, “And what are nonverbal expression of power and dominance? Well, this is what they are. So in the animal kingdom, they are about expanding. So you make yourself big, you stretch out, you take up space, you’re basically opening up” (Para. 10). Essentially when you are dealing with business or have a job interview you need to show power. An experiment conducted by Cuddy shows that during a job interview people wanted to hire people who presented themselves better. Cuddy states, “It’s not about the content of the speech. It’s about the presence that they’re bringing to the speech” (Para. 30). The research shows that people who demonstrated better non verbal communication were preferred in a job interview.