English A: Learner Portfolio by

The brief analysis of the story "The Garden Party"

apollinariafentezy — 2020-09-15 12:01:09 UTC

The author of the article "Garden Party" Katherine Mansfield raised the problem
of the existence of class inequality in 1921 in the UK. From the first sight, what was
quite unclear about the piece was the fact that the ending of the story was left
open for the reader, and I would even say unfinished. However, by building several
connections between storylines, we can understand that it was the specific literary
technique with the help of which the author brightly shows the ignorance and the
hypocritical concerns from the higher class to the working class in the UK:
" Let's make up a basket. Let's send that poor creature some of this perfectly
good food. At any rate, it will be the greatest treat for the children", and within a
second we can notice the arrogance and the pride of the main characters: "People
of that class are so impressed by arum lilies". The "higher" society treat the
working class as if they are homeless animals. For them, their neighbourhood is "the
greatest possible eyesore". Moreover, the higher class is sure that "they had no
right to be in that neighbourhood at all".
Besides all the perfectly handpicked metaphors, epithets and comparisons, the
writer uses a very intriguing stylistic feature the oxymoron throughout the text.
Beginning with numerous descriptions of "the beautiful morning", she transfers us
to the aesthetic of Downtown Abbey:
"She had washed her hair before breakfast, and she sat drinking her coffee in a
green turban, with a dark wet curl, stamped on each cheek".
Then, after a few pages, we end up in the Oscar Wild's world with his breaker
boys, chimneys and child labour:
"The very smoke coming out of their chimneys was poverty-stricken".
In conclusion, I want to say that Katherine Mansfield colourfully objected the
problem of inequality between different classes and gave her generation an
observation of their hypocrisy and duplicity.

My reflections&ways to improve my reading skills after the lesson

apollinariafentezy — 2020-09-15 12:07:46 UTC

To begin with, I want to mention that after reading Professor Foster’s own ideas about the story "The Garden Party" I was fascinated and inspired by the depth and wideness of his knowledge. His detailed notes about congenialities of the story to the Greek myth of Persephone were argued well, and apart from that, they gave me food for thoughts, which will be useful for my future analysis and works.
Previously, I did not pay a lot of attention to the Garden phenomena in the story, but after professor"s association with Garden of Edem, I can also examine this piece from the perspective of Christianity and The Bible). From now on I will be more attentive to the Phenomena of nature, weather, etc. in literary text.
In my analysis, I did not also mention the relationship between the mother and the daughter, which was a significant thing to consider. For instance, during my work on this article, I could make more deeper research on the examples of different types of connections between mother and daughter.
In conclusion, I want to say that this lesson gave me an enormous amount of tips I can use in my future works.

Key words 17.09.2020

apollinariafentezy — 2020-09-17 07:12:05 UTC

Nationalism - an idea and movement that promotes the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), especially with the aim of gaining and maintaining the nation's sovereignty (self-governance) over its homeland.
Patriotism - the feeling of love, devotion and sense of attachment to a homeland and alliance with other citizens who share the same sentiment. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or historical aspects. It encompasses a set of concepts closely related to nationalism.
Cultural relativism - the idea that a person's beliefs, values, and practices should be understood based on that person's own culture, rather than be judged against the criteria of another.

21.09.2020

apollinariafentezy — 2020-09-21 08:43:50 UTC

Media - channels of mass communications
Public opinion - is the collection of opinions and beliefs held by the adult population of a nation. It is a general consensus on issues such as who should be elected, which brands are trendy and so on.
Bias - the skewed presentation of a story from a particular ideological position.
Manufactured consent - a term coined by the political scientist and linguist Noam Chomsky. It describes the phenomenon that a small ruling elite can shape public opinion in the favor by controlling the media.

27.09.2020 Notes about Op-Ed article

apollinariafentezy — 2020-09-27 12:50:16 UTC

Never have I ever thought about the idea that you can actually write an article in a serious redaction without being a professional journalist or at least person with a diploma from University.

Basically, the intention of the Op-Ed article is to be heard and considered, so the first thing to do is - to be honest, sincere and factual with your audience.

Secondly, it is important to attract public attention, the use of different writing techniques (e.g. figurative language, irony, sarcastic points, anecdotes, rhetoric questions) will be helpful.

Your writing should be plain but not flavorless and disrespectful. Sentences should be well-structured and not complex. The reader should be lead throughout the text.

The well-defined, simple structure should contain the introduction, the main body, the conclusion. The article should be no more than 750 words.

Your ideas and intentions must be clear and observable from the very beginning of your writing.

You should prove your words and statements with credible, reliable evidence, but there is no need of doing deep, scientific research. Do not forget that you express your opinion.

Last but not the least, always respect your reader. Do not use slang, jargon phrases and discriminative ideas. You should respect people who may disagree with you.

Warm up 3.2 (29.09.2020)

apollinariafentezy — 2020-09-29 11:47:16 UTC

To fulfil this task I consulted the Homepage of BBC:
https://www.bbc.com/
The first thing that I noticed on the front page was the suggestion to read the most sensational world news stories of the day.
1. The most sensational news is about the total number of deaths from coronavirus.
2. The second is about the US election
3. Then readers are suggested to read an interesting case study about psychology.
4. The fourth main suggestion is to read a historical article about "The chilling experiment which created the first vaccine". The reader can notice the intriguing choice of the theme of this article (the obvious association with coronavirus) and the way editors chose the area for this piece "FUTURE".
The homepage is well structured and simple in use. The explorer is lead through the main events of the day. Everything is divided into sections:

News (the most sensational information)
Sport ( this section contains news stories, opinion editorials and feature articles; the pleasant mix of everything)
Editors picks and Business News section alongside
Future planet (The reader is informed about climate change and provided with different analysis, guides, call to action, problem-solving stories)
Business (the suggestion to read a portrait/interview story about one successful woman) and Food (the feature article about Japan's rare citrus fruit)
Featured videos (the sensational and the latest videos for the day which touch various topics)
The correspondents and their latest works (analysis, opinion editorials, columns)
Arts and entertainment (the extraordinary review with the loud and provocative headline "Artemisia Gentileschi: Five-star reviews for 'the Beyoncé of art history"
The section with news stories related to different topics
Technology of Business (The column about the future development of technologies in China)
Nature (the descriptive narratives story about the "forgotten" underwater forest in the Pacific ocean)

Key Terms 29.09.2020

apollinariafentezy — 2020-09-29 12:12:41 UTC

newsworthiness - the quality of being sufficiently interesting to be reported in news bulletins. There are three criteria for determining whether the story or event is newsworthy or worthy to be covered in the media. For a story to be newsworthy, it has to be sensational, it has to be relevant, or it has to be extraordinary, or a combination of all three. Journalists commonly use six values to determine how newsworthy a story or elements of a story are.
The six news values are:

Timeliness- Recent events have a higher news value than less recent ones.

Proximity- Stories taking place in one’s hometown or community are more newsworthy than those taking place far away.

Prominence- Famous people and those in the public eye have a higher news value than ordinary citizens.

Uniqueness/oddity- A story with a bizarre twist or strange occurrences. “Man bites dog” instead of “dog bites man.”

Impact- Stories that impact a large number of people may be more newsworthy than those impacting a smaller number of people.

Conflict- “If it bleeds, it leads.” Stories with strife, whether it’s actual violence or not, are more interesting.

relevance - the condition of being relevant, or connected with the matter at hand. In other words, what makes a particular story relevant to us, and from there, why is it newsworthy? Usually, the story has to be relevant to a particular country, perhaps involving citizens of that country, for it to be reported there.
extraordinariness - the quality of being extraordinary and not commonly encountered.
sensationalism - (especially in journalism) the use of exciting or shocking stories or language at the expense of accuracy, in order to provoke public interest or excitement. Many readers tend to enjoy a story full of intrigue, plot and sensation (a "juicy" story, in other words). Sensationalism sells. Sensationalism refers to a style of writing that is exaggerated, emotive or controversial.

personalisation - Most news stories focus on individuals rather than institutions, and emphasize human-interest angles and emotional impact over and often at the expense of broader social contexts and political perspectives. News stories are people-centred and do not observe problems on the social level.
dramatisation - The news is overwhelmingly biased toward the narrative presentation of information. Regardless of the specific issues, journalists are reporting on, those issues tend to be structured as stories. Moreover, to heighten audience interest, journalists frequently focus on the most sensational, scandalous, and shocking details of the story. This leads to inaccurate or misrepresentative reporting. Secondly, it creates the illusion of closure on complex, enduring issues.
fragmentation - A third information bias in the news is the tendency to treat stories in isolation, ignoring their connection to other stories and the larger contexts they occur.
authority disorder - The fourth and the final informational bias of the news is closely related to the first three, and in particular, the way that personalized news becomes dramatized. Since personalization leads to a focus on individuals and dramatization favours the sensational, it is common to depict individuals and parties involved in a story as in conflict or tension. This tension is typically represented as one between authority and disorder. Furthermore, since the news is comprised of individual capsules that require narrative closure, the authority-disorder tension is generally resolved either in the direction of authority through the restoration of the normalcy or in the direction of the disorder and the cynical view that public officials are incompetent.
inverted pyramid:
News articles are written in a structure known as the “inverted pyramid.” In the inverted pyramid format, the most newsworthy information goes at the beginning of the story and the least newsworthy information goes at the end.

Why do you think information is organised in this structure?

The way I see it - the inverted pyramid is a well-defined, simple and stable structure, which immediately provides the busy reader with the most important information, in order to keep his/her attention till the end of the article.

Warm up 3.1 (29.09.2020)

apollinariafentezy — 2020-09-29 13:32:56 UTC

Types of stories that are typically covered by the news:
1.Hard News Stories
News: what happened/ events happened.
It is very serious news of widespread import, concerning politics, foreign affairs, or the like.
Serious news has a high level of importance usually has to do with politics or foreign affairs as opposed to human interest. The reporting and newsgathering is both time-sensitive and as complete as possible. News stories go straight to the point, using simple and effective words to deliver the facts quickly. They are usually average between 300-500 words. News stories should be factual, objective and impartial -they should not contain personal opinion, incomplete information or errors.
2. Analysis and Columns
Analysis: an expert considers the facts and draws conclusions or events that happened could/can be understood this way
Analysis are interpretive articles that examine the way an event might affect people or places. These are typically made by experts who can bring in-depth knowledge to a topic. Readers want to understand what events mean. They want to hear what an expert thinks about events within their area of expertise. It is what readers are seeking analysis want to find (not what a writer wants to tell them). Analysis provides the reader with facts and evidence. They do not conclude their own opinion. They are "professional teachers". The conclusions they state are clearly based on evidence.
Columns do something similar. Columnists are experts who write about subjects that engage them, freely expressing their own points of view in their own words. They observe a strict word count to facilitate layout of the opinion pages or the design of a specific section such as arts or sports>
3.Editorial Opinion
Opinion: What I think of something/ here's what I think about events that happened.
The third type of writing - the meaning of events. Not everyone is an expert, but many non-experts (or non-expert writers) have something important to say about an event. Every voice is important to understanding news. Opinion articles are these voices. An opinion article is an interpretation of an event or events in a particular form. They are brief, informed, reasoned arguments in favour of or against a position, idea, development. While an opinion article voices point of view, it must not misrepresent other points of view.
4.Feature Articles (Fun and Informative)
Feature articles bridge the gap between an entertaining story and straight information. This type of article is the fodder of the paper's interest sections and would almost never be found on the front page or in the news sections. Features appeal to reader interests and include personal profiles. They may also include in-depth reporting on a news event that takes a personal angle and goes wide of straight, factual recounting.
THESE ARE NOT MY OWN WORDS< THESE ARE MY NOTES

NEWS Article Analysis 29.09.30

apollinariafentezy — 2020-09-30 16:24:45 UTC

The actual article:

US 2020 election: Social media's nightmare scenario

By James Clayton
North America technology reporter
Published
12 hours ago
Related Topics
US election 2020

There's an election scenario that is giving social media company bosses nightmares.
The period between the polls closing and the declared result usually takes a few hours.
But this time it's likely to take days - perhaps even weeks. Millions of postal votes will take time to process.
Social media companies believe this period - of claim and counterclaim - could push the US over the edge.
If both Donald Trump and Joe Biden declare themselves the winner, there are fears of violence between the already polarised communities of the US.
And all of this could be played out on social media.

Three weeks ago, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said he was "worried".
On Facebook he wrote: "With our nation so divided and election results potentially taking days or even weeks to be finalised, there could be an increased risk of civil unrest across the country."
In what may well be a first, several of the Big Tech companies have been working together to "scenario plan" different results of the vote.
They've essentially been war-gaming election night.
There's one scenario that worries the tech bosses: postal votes are expected to be weighted towards the Democratic candidate, while voting at the ballot box is expected to favour the incumbent Republican.
This is because Mr Trump has told his supporters to vote in person. He says the postal voting process is rigged (there is no evidence of this).
The Democrats, by contrast, have no such problem with encouraging postal voting.
As a result, these two ways of voting have become politically skewed.
This could create what is being coined as a "red mirage" on the night of the poll and a "blue shift" in the days after.
In this scenario, Mr Trump would "win" on the day because ballot box votes will have been counted.
But then, after the postal votes slowly rack up, Mr Biden would claw away at Mr Trump's lead.

Disputed result
What would Mr Trump do? Well almost everything he's said and tweeted thus far suggests he'd declare victory - or at the very least question the result.
"[We] must know election results on the night of the election, not days, months, or even years later!" he tweeted in July.
His constant talk of postal voting fraud also points to him questioning the final tally.
And last week he refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power.
In fact, Mr Trump has already done something similar. During the Florida mid-term elections of 2018, as recounts were beginning to haul in a Republican majority, he tweeted the following:

So the evidence points one way. Mr Trump doesn't want to hang around for all those postal votes to be counted.
This is where the Big Tech bosses come in.
If Mr Trump is going to declare victory, it's likely he'll do it via Twitter and Facebook.
And these platforms have said - unequivocally - that they will not allow him to do that.

image caption:Election fraud in the US is believed to be very rare
Twitter has said it will "label or remove misleading information intended to undermine public confidence in an election… eg claiming victory before election results have been certified".
Facebook has said it will reject ads from US political campaigns prematurely claiming victory before results have been declared - and remove disinformation about the vote.
On Friday, news site Axios reported that Google would block election ads after election day as a response to this same concern.
So we now have this possibility: Mr Trump claims victory, but is blocked from spreading the word on social media.

Dangerous moment
This could create perhaps the most dangerous moment that any of these social media companies have faced.

image caption: President Donald Trump claims the US could be heading towards its most corrupt election ever
They will have to censor potentially thousands of politically charged posts.
As passions intensify, the presidential candidates may vow revenge for decisions taken about what to leave up or take down that they disagree with.
What could Mr Trump do to punish them? Well in the future he could seek to repeal Section 230 - which protects social media companies from being responsible for the content people publish.
He's already indicated - through executive orders - that he's willing to do this.
Biden too could refuse to concede defeat - or go too far in claiming that Republicans are trying to "steal" the election.
And if Mr Biden wins but feels social media fanned the flames of division? Well there are many Democrats who are concerned with the power that these companies have. Some believe they should even be split up.

image caption: Joe Biden has said that President Trump could try to steal the election
Of course, this might not happen. Mr Trump could win by a landslide and Mr Biden accept defeat immediately. Or Mr Biden could win the popular vote on the night, and Mr Trump could go graciously.
But all of the evidence so far suggests that's not going to happen.
And that could mean serious problems for not just the United States, but the future of social media itself.

ANALYSIS:
The first thing to mention is the provocative, "loud" headline. Especially, the word 'nightmare' in it adds this uncertainty and the strong desire for the reader to pay attention to this article and to make it more clear and to "set things down" a little bit.
On the contrary, the beginning of the article is very anxious and sounds like a serious and scary statement. The writer uses the actual technique for the analysis writing, that is why the introduction is quite dry, realistic and very concentrated and concerned about the future of the US. Even though the author changes the tone and the mood of his work quite unexpectedly. He uses some expressions to shorten the distance between the audience (i.e. "politically skewed", "to favour the incumbent Republican", "claw away", etc.). As far as I concern, I would state that the article is not so biased, herewith there are some phrases and the irony, which may be interpreted as the support of Democratic candidate, but still, it is balanced and the reader feels his equality in front of the writer no matter his political views.
In conclusion, I would recommend to read this work if you are interested and "worried" about the current situation in the US, by the reason of the fact that it is not creating the panic among the audience. On the contrary, the playful tone will relax the reader and prepare him for the uncertainty and the actual gravity of the topic.

Key terms 01.10.2020

apollinariafentezy — 2020-10-02 11:20:51 UTC

TONE AND MOOD VOCABULARY:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a7uLGyx2eyKdwOsaL8M14JvhcUxx_7gkXtSOgCANJss/edit?usp=sharing

Emotive (loaded) language - (also known as loaded terms, emotive language, high-inference language and language-persuasive techniques) is rhetoric used to influence an audience by using words and phrases with strong connotations associated with them in order to invoke an emotional response and/or exploit stereotypes. Loaded words and phrases have significant emotional implications and involve strongly positive or negative reactions beyond their literal meaning.
Examples:
Aggravate vs. annoy
Agony vs. discomfort
Atrocious vs. bad
Bony vs. slim
Bureaucrat vs. public servant
Categorical vs. specific
Challenging vs. distressing
Damaging vs. hurtful
Demonization vs. criticism
Displeased vs. unhappy
Dreadful vs. bad
Effective vs. good
Eliminate vs. remove
Elitist vs. expert
Exploit vs. take advantage of
Historic vs. memorable
Infanticide vs. abortion
Phenomenon vs. event
Propaganda vs. message
Slashed vs. reduced
Superior vs. better
Tremendous vs. very good
Triumphant vs. successful
Veritable vs. actual
Vigilante vs. crime fighter

Vague Language - words and phrases that aren't very exact or precise. You might want to use these phrases if you aren't sure of all the details of something, to speak informally in a friendly way, or perhaps just to save time in a conversation.
Examples:
The word thing refers to objects which aren't described - we don't know what the objects are, only that they exist! So in the sentence:

There are a few things I'm not happy about

we don't know what the speaker is unhappy about. Bit often refers to a part or section of something. Both bit and thing can be used if we don't know the English word for something or if we've forgotten it -

I've broken my stapler... I dropped it and the bit which holds the paper in place snapped

The word stuff refers to more than one object. It is a non-count noun.

There's loads of stuff in the attic - can you have a look and see if any of it's yours?

It can also be used to talk about ideas or words:

All this stuff in his speech about workers' rights... do you think he actually meant any of that?

Euphemism - words or phrases that are subtitled for more direct words or phrases in an attempt to make things easier to accept or less embarrassing.
Examples:
Passed away instead of died
Dearly departed instead of died
Ethnic cleansing instead of genocide
Negative patient outcome instead of died
Collateral damage instead of accidental deaths
Put to sleep instead of euthanize
Pregnancy termination instead of abortion
Bite the big one instead of die
Bought the farm instead of died
Wearing cement shoes instead of killed
Bit the dust instead of died
Croaked instead of died
Kick the bucket instead of die
Whacked instead of killed

Slant- to present information in a particular way, especially showing one group of people, one side of an argument, etc. in such a positive or negative way that it is unfair.
Examples: the bias in newspapers

Dysphemism (vs euphemism) - (originated from the Greek word dys, means “miss,” or “none,” and theme, which means “reputation,” or “speech.") it is a figure of speech that is defined as the use of disparaging or offensive expressions instead of inoffensive ones. Dysphemism is the use of negative expressions instead of positive ones. A speaker uses them to humiliate or degrade the disapproved person or character. Dysphemism examples may be classified according to the following types.
Types of Dysphemism
Synecdoche – It is used to describe something as a whole like, “she is a prick.”
Dysphemistic Epithets – The use of animal names, such as “pig,” “bitch,” “rat,” “dog,” or “snake.”
Euphemistic Dysphemism – This is when a soft expression is used without offending.
Dysphemistic Euphemism – It is used as a mockery between close friends without any animosity.
“-ist” Dysphemism – Targeted at a particular ethnicity.
Homosexual Dysphemism – These terms are used regarding homosexuality like, “gay,” “faggot,” and “queer.”
Name Dysphemism – It is used when someone is called by his name, rather than by using his proper title, such as “How are you Bill?” (Instead of “Uncle Bill”).
Non–verbal Dysphemism – It is used when offending someone with gestures.
Cross-cultural Dysphemism – Different slang terms are used as dysphemistic in one culture; on the other hand, they might have a totally different meaning in other cultures. For instance, “fag” is a slur used for a gay man in American English, whereas, in British English, it used for a cigarette
Examples:
#1: The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man (By James Joyce)
“Let him remember too, cried Mr. Casey to her from across the table, the language with which the priests and the priests’ pawns broke Parnell’s heart and hounded him into his grave. Let him remember that too when he grows up.“— Sons of bitches! cried Mr.Daedalus. When he was down they turned on him to betray him and rend him like rats in a sewer. Low–lived dogs! And they look it! By Christ, they look it! They behaved rightly, cried Dante. They obeyed their bishops and their priests. Honour to them!”
In this excerpt, Mr. Daedalus uses very harsh words in order to express his anger. Though he could have used less offensive words, Joyce has employed the dysphemistic technique. These humiliating expressions are shown in bold.
#2: Hamlet (By William Shakespeare)
Hamlet
“Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew,
Or that the Everlasting had not fixed
His canon ‘gainst self–slaughter! O God, God…
Fie on’t, ah fie! ‘Tis an unweeded garden
That grows to seed…So excellent a king, that was to this
Hyperion to a satyr…”
Hamlet feels despondency about his mother’s second marriage to his uncle. Hence, he uses harsh language to state that his flesh could have melted away, or that God has not forbidden suicide, and “fie on’t” means “damn it.” His father is like a god (Hyperion), and his uncle is like a beast (satyr).
#3: The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man (By James Joyce)
“Whatever else is unsure in this stinking dunghill of a world a mother’s love is not…”
Stephen Daedalus, in this excerpt, uses a harsh and disparaging term for a world that is a “stinking dunghill,” while comparing it to a mother’s love which is opposite to that, being pure and free of such negativities of the world.
#4: Othello (By William Shakespeare)
OTHELLO
“By heaven, I saw my handkerchief in ‘s hand.
O perjured woman, thou dost stone my heart…”DESDEMONA
“Alas, he is betrayed and I undone.”OTHELLO
“Out, strumpet! weep’st thou for him to my face?”OTHELLO
“Down, strumpet.”
Here, Shakespeare uses the first type of dysphemism, which is Synecdoche, which means he describes the character of Desdemona as a sinful person by calling her a “perjured woman,” and a “strumpet,” which is an offensive word meaning “whore.”

Epithet - a descriptive literary device that describes a place, a thing, or a person in such a way that it helps in making its characteristics more prominent than they actually are. Also, it is known as a “by-name,” or “descriptive title.”
Examples:
#1: Brendon Hills (A. E. Housman)
“Here of a Sunday morning
My love and I would lie,
And see the coloured counties,
And hear the larks so high
About us in the sky.”
Here, “coloured” is an epithet used to describe the pleasant and beautiful spring season in those countries where the poet wishes to enjoy his beloved’s company.
#2: Beauty and Beauty (By Rupert Brooke)
“The earth is crying-sweet,
And scattering-bright the air,
Eddying, dizzying, closing round,
With soft and drunken laughter…”
In this excerpt, the description of the air and earth is enhanced by the usage of epithets: “crying-sweet,” “scattering-bright,” and “soft and drunken laughter.” These epithets help in developing imagery in the minds of readers.
#3: Ulysses (By James Joyce)
“God! he said quietly. Isn’t the sea what Algy calls it: a great sweet mother? The snot-green sea. The scrotum-tightening sea! I must teach you. You must read them in the original. Thalatta! Thalatta! She is our great sweet mother…”
In this passage, Joyce uses several epithets to describe the sea. These epithets include “a great sweet mother,” “snot-green sea,” and “scrotum-tightening sea.”
#4: In Blue Evening (By Rupert Brooke)
“My restless blood now lies a-quiver,
Knowing that always, exquisitely,
This April twilight on the river
Stirs anguish in the heart of me…”
Brooke makes use of epithets (“a-quiver,” and “April twilight on the river”) to describe the anguish and agitation he feels deep inside him.
#5: The Odyssey (By Homer)
“I’ve come,
As you surmise, with comrades on a ship,
Sailing across the wine-dark sea to men
Whose style of speech is very different…”
In these lines, the phrase “wine-dark’ is used as an epithet in order to explain the colour of the sea. This epithet enhances the description of the colour of the sea.
#6: In Lycidas (By John Milton)
“What time the gray-fly winds her sultry horn,
Blind mouths! that scarce themselves know how to hold
A sheep-hook, or have learn’d aught else the least
That to the faithful herdman’s art belongs!”
Milton employs epithets (“gray-fly,” and “blind mouths”) in this excerpt, describing first insects, and later referring to the desire of feeding the mouths.

Hyperbole - (derived from a Greek word meaning “over-casting,” is a figure of speech that involves an exaggeration of ideas for the sake of emphasis)
It is a device that we employ in our day-to-day speech. For instance, when you meet a friend after a long time, you say, “It’s been ages since I last saw you.” You may not have met him for three or four hours, or a day, but the use of the word “ages” exaggerates this statement to add emphasis to your wait. Therefore, hyperbole is an unreal exaggeration to emphasize the real situation.
Examples:
My grandmother is as old as the hills.
Your suitcase weighs a ton!
She is as heavy as an elephant!
I am dying of shame.
I am trying to solve a million issues these days.

Glittering generality - A glittering generality (also called glowing generality) is an emotionally appealing phrase so closely associated with highly valued concepts and beliefs that it carries conviction without supporting information or reason. Such highly valued concepts attract general approval and acclaim. Their appeal is to emotions such as love of country and home, and desire for peace, freedom, glory, and honour. They ask for approval without examination of the reason. They are typically used by politicians and propagandists.
Examples:
Patriotism.
Justice
Truth
Hero.
Science.
Freedom
These are all glittering generalities. These words sound great, but they mean different things to different people.

Idiom (idiomatic expression) - a set expression or a phrase comprising two or more words. An interesting fact regarding the device is that the expression is not interpreted literally. The phrase is understood to mean something quite different from what individual words of the phrase would imply. Alternatively, it can be said that the phrase is interpreted in a figurative sense. Further, idioms vary in different cultures and countries.
Examples:
#1:
“Every cloud has its silver lining but it is sometimes a little difficult to get it to the mint.”
(By Don Marquis)
The statement quoted above uses “silver lining” as an idiom which means some auspicious moment is lurking behind the cloud or the difficult time.
#2:
“American idioms drive me up the hall!” (By character Ziva David, NCIS television series)
Here, the word “idioms” is used as an idiom.
#3:
“I worked the graveyard shift with old people, which was really demoralizing, because the old people didn’t have a chance in hell of ever getting out.” (By Kate Millett)
In the extract quoted above, “graveyard shift” is employed as an idiom.
#4:
Kirk: “If we play our cards right, we may be able to find out when those whales are being released.”

Spock: “How will playing cards help?”
(Dialogue between characters Captain James T. Kirk and Spock in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, 1986)
Here, “if we play our cards right” means “if we avail our opportunities rightly.”
#5:
“Shakespeare is credited with coining more than 2,000 words, infusing thousands more existing ones with electrifying new meanings and forging idioms that would last for centuries. ‘A fool’s paradise,’ ‘at one fell swoop,’ ‘heart’s content,’ ‘in a pickle,’ ‘send him packing,’ ‘too much of a good thing,’ ‘the game is up,’ ‘good riddance,’ ‘love is blind,’ and ‘a sorry sight,’ to name a few.
(Righting the Mother Tongue: From Olde English to Email, the Tangled Story of English Spelling, by David Wolman)
This passage highlights the collection of idioms used by Shakespeare in his works. They are still used in everyday writing.
#6:
“Idioms vary in ‘transparency’: that is, whether their meaning can be derived from the literal meanings of the individual words. For example, make up [one’s] mind is rather transparent in suggesting the meaning ‘reach a decision,’ while kick the bucket is far from transparent in representing the meaning ‘die.'”
(Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English, by Douglas Biber,‎ Stig Johansson,‎ Geoffrey Leech,‎ Susan Conrad,‎ and Edward Finegan)
The extract quoted above explains that idioms vary in their degree of transparency, which is the extent to which an idiom reveals its true meaning varies.
#7:
“Modal idioms are idiosyncratic verbal formations which consist of more than one word and which have modal meanings that are not predictable from the constituent parts (compare the non‑modal idioms kick the bucket). Under this heading we include have got [to], had better/best, would rather/sooner/as soon, and be [to].”
The extract quoted above highlights the use and significance of modal idioms.

Proverb - a brief, simple, and popular saying, or a phrase that gives advice and effectively embodies a commonplace truth based on practical experience or common sense. A proverb may have an allegorical message behind its odd appearance. The reason for the popularity is due to its usage in spoken language, as well as in folk literature.
Some authors twist and bend proverbs, and create anti-proverbs to add literary effect to their works. However, in poetry, poets use proverbs strategically by employing some parts of them in poems’ titles, such as Lord Kennet has done in his poem, A Bird in the Bush, which is a popular proverb. Some poems contain multiple proverbs, like Paul Muldoon’s poem Symposium.
Examples:
Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
All that glitters is not gold.
An army of sheep led by a lion would defeat an army of lions led by a sheep.
The old horse in the stable still yearns to run.

Case Study #1 -The Vietnam War

apollinariafentezy — 2020-10-02 11:30:21 UTC

~~Language Bias and War~~ - Annotations and Text work
Text D: Analysis (Polina & Masha)
The first thing we noticed in the article that it was not strongly biased, even though the true intentions of the writer was to gather the American community against “Communist Aggression”. The author is playing with words and citations. For instance, the reader is stuck with the hyperbola “to strengthen his hand in dealing with Communist aggression”, which is also trying to awaken American patriotism. Afterwards, the audience faces various citations of the President, which also affect the readers’ motivation to assemble society and create the atmosphere of unity, and undoubtedly show "a demonstration to all the world of the unity of all Americans."
However, the text flashes the phrase that everything is not as good and united as they would like. Allegedly "an impression of disunity and nonsupport" could have been created under certain conditions, but then we see the phrase that "that did not, in fact, exist." In other words, whatever doubts arise about the lack of a strong patriotic spirit of the united people of the United States, they are all false.

Tabloids - Context - Origins and History 19.10.2020

apollinariafentezy — 2020-10-19 19:37:40 UTC

TIMELINE
The roots of modern tabloids can be traced directly to the U.S. penny press of the mid-1800s. Prior to the advent of the penny press, most newspapers cost about six cents -- nearly half a day's pay for the working class at the time. These mainstream newspapers catered to businessmen and politicians.
In the 1830s, newspapers like the Sun and the Herald in New York began to focus more on human-interest stories and less on politics and business. The style of writing was also different. The penny press didn't lay out the facts of a story with dry detachment. Their stories were written to appeal to the senses and emotions of readers with vivid descriptions, simple sentences and shorter paragraphs.
In 1900 Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of the New York World, invited Alfred Harmsworth (later Viscount Northciffe), founder of the Daily Mail in London, to edit the World for one day.
Harmsworth’s imaginative version of the World, which came out on January 1, 1901, was half the size of the paper’s customary format and was heralded as the “newspaper of the 20th century.” Harmsworth’s conception of a tabloid, however, referred not to the reduced size of the newspaper but to the economical use of printing space, which he filled with short stories, short paragraphs, and simple sentences.
In 1903 Harmsworth started the first modern tabloid newspaper, The Daily Mirror, in London. Appealing to the mass market, it presented crime stories, human tragedies, celebrity gossip, sports, comics, and puzzles. The Mirror offered more photographs than other newspapers and presented its stories in a reduced and easy-to-read manner.
By 1909 it was selling a million copies per day. Soon the new British tabloids the Daily Sketch and the Daily Graphic were employing Harmsworth’s concept.
In terms of print circulation, the British press of the late 20th and early 21st centuries was dominated by tabloids: five national dailies (Daily Express, The Daily Mirror, Daily Star, Daily Mail, and The Sun) and their respective Sunday papers had a combined circulation of roughly 10 million at the middle of the second decade of the 21st century.
In the 1970s many U.S. tabloids were transformed into weekly publications and shifted from newsstand to supermarket distribution.
From the 1980s and ’90s, the tabloid as a journalistic model for popular entertainment appealing to a mass audience was successfully applied to television, producing low-brow talk shows such as Jerry Springer and pseudo-documentaries such as Unsolved Mysteries.
By the 2010s the main producer of tabloid weeklies in the United States was American Media, Inc., based in Boca Raton, Florida, which published some of the most-popular tabloids in the United States; those included the National Enquirer, the Globe, and the Star, which devoted themselves almost completely to coverage of Hollywood and other American celebrities. Also originally published by American Media, Weekly World News (which ceased publication in 2007 but returned under new ownership as an online-only presence in 2011) and Sun focused on the weird and bizarre, featuring (largely) faked news stories of aliens and supernatural powers, religious prophecies, curious mysteries, juicy scandals, and political conspiracies.

Key Terms 29.10.2020

apollinariafentezy — 2020-10-29 07:49:08 UTC

Stereotype (n.) -
a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.
a person or thing that conforms to a stereotypical image.
synonyms
standard/conventional image, received idea, cliché, hackneyed idea, formula
a relief printing plate cast in a mold made from composed type or an original plate.
Perpetuate (v.) -
make (something, typically an undesirable situation or an unfounded belief) continue indefinitely.
preserve (something valued) from oblivion or extinction.
synonyms:
keep alive, keep going, keep in existence, preserve, conserve, sustain, maintain, continue, extend, carry on, keep up, cause to continue, prolong, immortalize, commemorate, memorialize, eternalize, eternize
Challenge (v.) - to invite someone to compete or take part, especially in a game or argument:
Tina has challenged me to a game of poker.
Purposes of texts (active verbs):

Inform: enlighten, comment on, outline, depict
Instruct: explain, educate, teach, explore
Persuade: influence, convince, comment on, incline
Entertain: humour, consider, intrigue

Key Terms 02.11.2020

apollinariafentezy — 2020-11-02 21:56:27 UTC

‘Authorship’:
One can develop a greater understanding of an idiosyncratic style by examining multiple works from the same author. For example, a number of photographs by the same photographer, a number of articles by the same commentator, a number of speeches by a public speaker. In cases where you want to look at a range of texts whose authorship is not clear, you can ‘broaden’ the definition. For example, a number of advertisements from a company in a particular campaign.
‘Authorial voice’:
A writer / speaker / artist’s particular style. What sets their work apart from others and helps one immediately recognise that author.
‘Bodies of work’:
Collections of language (non-literary) texts to be gathered throughout the unit. These will be drawn on for the individual oral. (E.g. x5 essays, x20 photographs, x15 song lyrics, x5-8 articles) How many texts would be necessary to examine? Ask your teacher! (The ‘Goldilocks Principle’ - enough to confident understand an ‘authorial voice’.)

UNIT 2 (09.11.2020)

apollinariafentezy — 2020-11-09 09:59:13 UTC

INTRODUCTION TO POETRY:
Essential idea:
Poetry broadens our understanding of global issues and topics of importance by allowing us to participate in the experiences of others and relate them to ourselves.

POETRY VS PROSE
Poetry - literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm; poems collectively or as a genre of literature.
Prose - written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure.

Summary:

Poetry vs. Prose - defining poetry: poetry is language that says more and says it more intensely than other types of language.

Practical (communicate information) vs literary (communicate experience) vs. persuasive (hortatory). Not discrete categories - overlap.

Poetry broadens our experiences by allowing us to participate in the experiences of others and relating them to ourselves. Reader participates in four ways: sensual, imaginative, emotive, intelligent.

(Warning: not always supposed to be beautiful or communicate a message).

It is dense - through poetic devices, more pressure per word is produced. Every single word is carefully chosen and organised to be cohesive.
KEY SKILLS:
How to ‘read’ a poem (basic):
read once for enjoyment
read again, SLOWLY
use a dictionary or the Internet to research unfamiliar words and references
read aloud (or listen to it) or at least lip read
pay careful attention to what the poet is saying
2. Paraphrasing a Poem in Prose
To paraphrase a poem in prose means to rewrite a it in everyday, regular language. It is a useful technique to understand a poem at the simplest level.

Session 2 - Diction - The Power of Words
KEY TERMS:
Diction: an author’s choice of words.
Denotation: a word’s dictionary definition
Connotation: associations implied by a specific word
Tone: the author’s attitude towards the subject matter, audience or him/herself
Author’s meaning: the intent behind the written piece and the way that purpose is conveyed

TEAM NAME: Kent and Company (Darik, Siri, Yotam, Ngoc Audrey, Polina)
TS Eliot (UK/USA, M, 20)
Biography: https://www.britannica.com/biography/T-S-Eliot#ref2088
Ideas and Feelings about him:
Thomas Stearns Eliot was born in 1888 in St. Louis. in the U.S. of America and died in 1965 in London. He was a poet, playwright, literary critic and a leader of the Modernist Movement in poetry.
His works played a vital role in the development and the modernisation of American-English poetry, specifically "Four Quarters" and "The Waste Land". He received an excellent education and was awarded with Noble prize for literature.
I believe that T. S. Eliot is a classic example of a highly educated person who faced problems of the World War I and who created the most valid and reasonable rights and wrongs in the English literature.
His 'programmatic' criticism created an innovative movement.

T.S ELIOT POEM COLLECTION
Table of contents
Morning at the Window
First line: They are rattling breakfast plates in basement kitchens
Date: Autumn 1914
p. 3

The Boston Evening Transcript
First line: The readers of the Boston Evening Transcript
Date: October 1915
p. 3

Aunt Helen
First line: Miss Helen Slingsby was my maiden aunt
Date: October 1915
p. 3

Cousin Nancy
First line: Miss Nancy Ellicott Strode across the hills and broke them
Date: October 1915
p. 4

Mr. Apollinax
First line: When Mr. Apollinax visited the United States
Date: 1915
p. 4

Hysteria
First line: As she laughed I was aware of becoming involved in her
Date: 1915
p. 5

Conversation Galante
First line: I observe: "Our sentimental friend the moon
Date: 1920
p. 5

La Figlia Che Piange
First line: Stand on the highest pavement of the stair
Date: 1917
p. 6

BURNT NORTON
(No. 1 of 'Four Quartets')
First line: Time present and time past
Date: 1940
p. 7-8

Song
First line: When we came home across the hill
Date: May 24, 1907
p. 8

Song
First line: If space and time, as sages say,
Date: June 3, 1907
p. 8

Before Morning
First line: While all the East was weaving red with gray,
Date: 13/1908
p. 8

Circe's Palace
First line: Around her fountain which flows
Date: November 25, 1908
p. 9

On a Portrait
First line: Among a crowd of tenuous dreams, unknown
Date: January 26, 1909
p. 9

Song
First line: The moonflower opens to the moth,
Date: January 26, 1909
p. 9

Temped

apollinariafentezy — 2020-11-19 07:44:30 UTC

Today I woke up
from the marvelous smell.
It touched my nose
As if it was a dangerous spell.

So I looked around,
And found this glazed enemy.
It tempted me as if
It was a charming fantasy.

And I must admit if
I invade it heavily.
I'll not judge myself
For this unfairly.

Since how can one
Protect oneself effectively
Whilst being overrun
By the desires merely.

Bow Purl

apollinariafentezy — 2020-11-30 10:21:12 UTC

Gender stereotypes and Ideas of Women's Beauty

apollinariafentezy — 2021-01-25 17:15:35 UTC

Prizing Poetry: Essay Mindmap

apollinariafentezy — 2021-01-25 17:16:46 UTC

Unit 3 Tough Guys and Sexy Gals:

apollinariafentezy — 2021-02-06 14:45:40 UTC

Reflection on the Old Spice Ad:
How does this text target men and women differently?
This text is a clear representation of hyper-masculinity. The authors depict the typical representation of the man as a predator who should be a leader and dominator. Whereas women are seen as a weak, dependent creatures who are searching for the protection and cash security from men.
How is male ‘beauty’ (attractiveness) constructed in this commercial?
Here the male's beauty is constructed on the harmful stereotypes of hyper-masculinity. A man should be strong, emotionless, serious, rich and dominant. If a man has weaknesses, he is no longer a man, he is a "girl".
What ideas about gender are implicitly communicated by this commercial? How so? And to what effect?
The ad is based on stereotypes on men and women. They are depicted as a brainless, hypersexual animals that are driven by money and instincts. The main message is that a man can only attract women by his physical appearance of the predator. The relationship between man and women can, thus, are build on sex and attraction, where self-respect and equality have no role to play.
To what extent is the messaging about the ‘ideal’ damaging in this commercial? Or is it just a bit of harmless fun? (Hint: consider satire) Discuss.
From my perspective, I see this ad as a disrespectful objection of a "ideal" male beauty. In fact, these standards are based on the outdated and senseless stereotypes. Moreover, it depicts women's role in the society as a parasite on men. Women here is something dependent, unintelligent and weak creature that cannot survive in this world that is ruled by "men" and, therefore, needs protection. These ideas are very harmful, because they evoke insecurities and strengthen social inequality between men and women.

Unit 3 - Tough Guys and Sexy Gals - 05.02.2021

apollinariafentezy — 2021-02-14 12:55:55 UTC

Advertising techniques: Key Terms

apollinariafentezy — 2021-02-14 17:28:28 UTC

Unit 3 11.02.2021

apollinariafentezy — 2021-02-14 17:29:02 UTC

Individual Deconstruction

Imagery Poem

apollinariafentezy — 2021-02-14 17:31:03 UTC

Tone and Mood Sample

apollinariafentezy — 2021-02-14 17:31:55 UTC

apollinariafentezy — 2021-02-14 17:33:15 UTC

apollinariafentezy — 2021-02-14 17:35:20 UTC

apollinariafentezy — 2021-02-14 17:36:30 UTC

apollinariafentezy — 2021-02-14 17:40:20 UTC

apollinariafentezy — 2021-02-14 17:41:44 UTC

Unit 3 Session 5

apollinariafentezy — 2021-03-01 09:34:17 UTC

01.03.2021
How have representations of masculine and feminine beauty in artwork changed over time?
~~What Art History Can Tell Us about Female Beauty Ideals~~
~~The history of the 'ideal' woman and where that has left us~~
CONNECT:
Before reading these two articles about feminine beauty, the timeline of different beauty standards was defined for me. I knew approximate time periods when people were amused by thick, thin, athletic or other type of body. I had also understood the harmful effects of the circulation of the beauty standards on the self-esteem and self-image.
EXTEND:
Not only did I remind myself about time periods and types of body that were favorable, but also realized why such particular ideas emerged. I further developed my understanding of culture and identity, and how they affect your perception of beauty.
CHALLENGE:
I don't understand why beauty standards are always associated with something obligatory or urgent to possess/ that women even make themselves suffering from eating disorders or problems with mental, physical health.
I do not understand why in our world every culture is trying to create an ideal person in order to establish unrealistic goals that will make her/him suffer.

Unit 3 Session 4

apollinariafentezy — 2021-03-01 10:59:27 UTC

01.03.2021

Unit 3 Session 6

apollinariafentezy — 2021-03-07 14:40:33 UTC

02.03.2021

Unit 3 Session 7; 08.03.2021

apollinariafentezy — 2021-03-08 09:12:53 UTC

How do the following three advertisements play with established conventions in order to advocate for social change and promote equality?

1. Salvation army -Awareness Campaign
In this ad, authors used an example of a viral dress in order to object the problem of home violence and ignorance of people that surround victims.
In 2015, this dress attracted a lot of media attention. The problem was that certain people saw it in black and blue colors, whereas others saw it in white and gold colors.
In the text, author used the allusion of this dress in order to target the harmfulness of ignorance towards victims of home violence. The author used the metonymy of blue and black in order to accentuate the bruises on the women pictured there. The victim of home violence is wearing the viral dress but it is white and gold. This further stresses the main subject of the text, implying that people should not ignore the abuse of women, and, thereby, they SHOULD notice "black and blue".
2. Make Your Move! - Awareness Campaign
This ad stresses a highly important and relevant problem of sexual assaults and victim-blaming. Similar to the previous text, the creator motivates its targeted audience to act and help women that undergo or underwent sexual assault and were blamed for it. The text is multimodal. The written mode enhances the understanding of the visual part and vice versa. At the beginning, the author uses the phrase that is highly connoted with the victim-blaming slogan: "She was asking for it, and i could tell it, looking at her clothes, manners, attitude, facial expressions, etc." But instead of ending typically, the depicted man protects the woman from the potential abuser.
The mix of colloquial and formal languages like "buddy", "backed off" and "no way to treat a lady" in the same sentence attracts public attention to the respectful attitude of the man towards the woman.
The facial expression and the body language enhances the tone of the text that was created by the written mode.
The crossed arms pose and indignant and angry facial expressions of a man that is depicted demonstrates his condemnation of an abuser, and reflects on the targeted goal of the text, i.e. to show that the only person that is guilty in the crime is the person who committed the crime, and if you witness something wrong to happen you should step up and help the potential victim.
3. Oregon Center of Nursing - Guerilla advertising
The ad appeals to the insecurities and fears of the male audience, more precisely in appeals to the gender roles' stereotypes and prejudices. It is using an idiomatic phrase "Are you man enough" to induce its male audience to work as a nurse, and this actually is ironical since many professions like nurse are considered feminine. Through such a cultural contradiction the author is attempting to destroy harmful and unreasonable stereotypes that prevent men to become nurses. Furthermore, the author is objecting the importance of this job.

Unit 4 Session 1

apollinariafentezy — 2021-03-16 11:17:50 UTC

Mind-map of recent technological advances

Unit 4 Session 1

apollinariafentezy — 2021-03-16 11:21:25 UTC

Will science and technology save or destroy us?

Genetic Fortune-Telling:
I am quite concerned about this technology advancement. From my perspective, it gives not certain results that can traumatize you and expose you to the lack of privacy in terms of your health condition.
Nonetheless, i think it is vital to develop this technology but with different angle and purpose. It would be great to develop genetic treatment or efficient diagnostic technology but for now existed one carries with it uncertainties and potential dangers.
Babel-Fish Earbuds:
I strongly believe that this is an amazing discovery. It enables a communication with a wider group of people and enhances
Dueling Neural Networks:
I reckon that AI is a wonderful innovation that will allow humanity to make significant developments in chemistry, biotechnology and other fields of science.

Unit 4: Innovations and Insights; Session 1; Notes 16.03.2021

apollinariafentezy — 2021-03-16 12:54:09 UTC

How do texts adhere to and/or deviate from conventions associated with particular text types?
Genre describes a category in literature that can be defined by the structural and stylistic conventions that are frequently found in that category.
Movement, in a literary sense, is a collection of works which seek to address similar concerns or express similar ideas, or which come out of the same period in history.
Dystopian Fiction:
The main character is an oppressed individual.
The main character suffers at the hands of an oppressive state, often a totalitarian state.
A major theme of the novel might be justice, freedom or happiness.
The text has a purpose of warning its audience about certain trends in politics or society at the time when it was written.
Examples: Jonathan Swift "Gulliver's Travels"; Ray Bradbury "Fahreinheit 451"; George Orwell "Animal Farm"; Margaret Atwood "The Handmaid's Tale".
Science Fiction: a genre of literary texts that explore all the different ways in which science and technology could affect human society - both in our own time and in the future.
Characteristics of Science Fiction:
Setting in an Alternative World
Non-human Characters
Allegory
Science and Technology
Time-Travel
Journey
Dystopia
Age of Reason
Advances in Science and Technology
Serial publications in Sci-Fi magazines
Speculative Fiction: a genre that encompasses the larger genres of science fiction, fantasy, super-national fiction, alternate history fiction, apocalyptic and post apocalyptic fiction and horror.

A modern example: Gene Editing:

What is exciting about the technology for editing genes?
I belief that it is very astonishing and inspiring that with the help of CRISPR technology with can potentially find effective treatments to high-mortality and aggressive cancers, and genetic diseases that significantly worsen the quality of life and many more.

What is frightening about the technology for editing genes?
From my perspective, the ethical issues that surround the topic raise concerning questions as well as lack of information and in-depth knowledge of a genome. In other words, to what extent are scientists confident that the consequences of the gene editing will be precise and not far more devastating than they were before the procedure.

What stance does this article take on the issue? What makes you say this? (Consider the content and style of the article in your response.)
The article examines the perspective of imitations and dangers of the procedure. The author discusses an unethical example of a Chinese scientist.
Nevertheless, the author also communicates an importance of gene editing in the medicine development and the potential usage of the technique.

Unit 4: Session 2 22.03.2021

apollinariafentezy — 2021-03-22 10:06:23 UTC

Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus
Luigi Galvani
Nationality: Italian
Born: 09.09.1737
Died: 04.12.1798
What was his theory on animal electricity?
In 1780, he and his wife Lucia discovered that the muscles of dead frogs' legs twitched when struck by an electrical spark. This was one of the first forays into the study of bioelectricity, a field that studies the electrical patterns and signals from tissues such as the nerves and muscles.

Which animal did he famously experiment on?
Frog

What is Galvanic reanimation?
In biology, galvanism is the contraction of a muscle that is stimulated by an electric current.

Giovanni Aldini
Nationality: Italian
Born: 10.04.1762
Died: 17.01.1834
What did he do during his public performances?
Aldini's most famous public demonstration of the electro-stimulation technique of deceased limbs was performed on the executed criminal George Forster at Newgate in London in 1803.

How did he treat and cure the mentally ill?
A showman in many respects, Aldini was among the first to treat mentally ill patients with shocks to the brain, reporting complete electrical cures for a number of mental illnesses.

Describe the experiment he did on George Forster:
In 1803 the College invited Professor Giovanni Aldini to carry out galvanic experiments on the body of George Foster, who had been found guilty of murdering his wife and child by drowning them in the Paddington Canal.
Almost immediately upon his arrival at the Royal College, Aldini attached the probes to Foster's body and powered up the battery.

Count Alessandro Volta
Nationality: Italian
Born: 18.02.1745
Died: 05.03.1827
What did he invent?
The scientist is credited as the inventor of the electric battery (Voltaic pile 1799) and the discoverer of methane.

What is named after him?
Volta invented the voltaic pile, an early electric battery, which produced a steady electric current and this battery was named after him as the measure "The Volt".

What did he think of Galvani?
They had professional disagreements.
Volta believed that the contractions depended on the metal cable.
Galvani used to connect the nerves and muscles in his experiments.
Volta's investigations led shortly to the invention of an early battery.
Galvani believed that the animal electricity came from the muscle in its pelvis.

Ben Franklin
Nationality: American
Born: 17.01.1706
Died: 17.04.1790
What did he learn about electricity?
His idea was about electricity and lightning. Franklin noticed several similarities between the two: They both created light, made loud crashes when they exploded, were attracted to metal, had a particular smell, and more. Based on these observations, Franklin thought electricity and lightning were the same thing.
Describe his famous experiment?
In 1752, Franklin conducted his famous kite experiment. In order to show that lightning was electricity, he flew a kite during a thunderstorm. He tied a metal key to the kite string to conduct the electricity.

What did he invent as a result?
Franklin was a prodigious inventor. Among his many creations were the lightning rod, glass harmonica (a glass instrument, not to be confused with the metal harmonica), Franklin stove, bifocal glasses and the flexible urinary catheter.

Johann Wilhelm Ritter
Nationality: German
Born: 16.12.1776
Died: 23.01.1810
How old was he when he died and what may have caused his death?
He was 33 years old when he died. Much of his success in studies was due to use of his own body, even at very high voltages. Such work may have exacted a high, personal toll from Ritter. He became very ill.

Andrew Ure
Nationality: Scottish
Born: 18.05.1778
Died: 02.01.1857
What did he do with Professor Jeffray on 4th November 1818?
On 4 November 1818 Ure assisted the Professor of Anatomy, James Jeffray, in experiments he had been carrying out on a murderer named Matthew Clydesdale, after the man's execution by hanging. He claimed that, by stimulating the phrenic nerve, life could be restored in cases of suffocation, drowning or hanging.

Professor James Jeffray
Nationality:
Born: 1759
Died: 28.01.1849
Why did an angry mob smash the windows of his house
In 1813 a mob smashed the windows of his house at College Court, wrongly believing him connected to the theft of the body of Janet McAlister from the Ramshorn Cemetery in central Glasgow.

1. What similarities do you notice between each of the seven men?
Each of these men were so much devoted to science and progress in it that they somehow lost the border between ethical and unethical studies. Some of them even sacrificed their life in order to contribute to science. All of them were interested in physics, bioenergetics and life and death.

2. How do you think that this relates to Frankenstein by Mary Shelley?
From my perspective, all the unbelievable and somehow terrifying stories of these scientists and their discoveries became the main ground for inspiration for the author. As well as scientists, the main character is balancing between the status of scientific genius and madman. Not only is the writer narrating the fantastic story but also arguing the issues of ethics in science.

3. Did you find out anything else relevant or interesting?
Yes, I learnt about ground-breaking inventions and discoveries and rethought the issues of ethics in science.

Unit 4: Session 4 05.04.2021

apollinariafentezy — 2021-04-05 10:32:01 UTC

Science and Technology:
What are some of the top ethical dilemmas relating to science and technology recently?
On today's list, the top ethical issues are bound to the ethics of DNA interpretation, social privacy on Internet, and the system of social credits somehow similar to the science-fiction dystopian books.
Which case studies do you find more disconcerting? Why?
From my perspective, the system of social credits proposed in China was the most terrifying things I have recently read. Such a system completely undermines the basic human rights, such as freedom of choice and freedom of speech. Secondly, such a system promotes social inequality and discrimination. The last but not the least, it simplifies the complex nature of human mentality. It proposes a model that should work in the world with robots where living creatures are not subjected to any kind of emotional factors or social pressures. In other words, this system is doomed to fail.

~~Key terms and concepts:~~

Ethics:
- Rules of conduct that originate from an external source, like a culture or governmental system.
Morals:
- Personal habits that dictate ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ conduct. They are personal.

Unit 4: Session 2 25.03.2021

apollinariafentezy — 2021-04-05 10:50:39 UTC

Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus: ~~Theories of Literature~~
How might two different readers arrive at different thoughts about this extract?

Unit 4: Session 4; 05.04.2021

apollinariafentezy — 2021-04-05 11:10:40 UTC

TOK Ethics AOK description

Unit 4: Session 4; 05.04.2021

apollinariafentezy — 2021-04-05 17:47:30 UTC

Science and Ethics: Language Text Type Features:
Text 1 - Letter to the editor:
- Audience:
Usually letters to the editor are addressed to the editor or author of a particular article that was read.
Nevertheless, they are normally published in blogs or specific platforms in the news outlets or even entire articles, thereby they are aimed to be exposed to a larger audience.
The audience of the article to which the letter is addressed becomes the principle reader of the letter.
- Purpose:
Letters to the editor represent the reaction of the public to the news article or magazine.
Therefore, the purpose of such letters is to either express the positive feeling and fascination gained from the reading or to express the strong disagreement and judgement.
- Language features
First person pronouns (I, me, we, us)
Mix of hard facts and opinion
Declarative voice
Expert testimony
High modality (readers, scientists, you, etc. must; should; ought to, etc.)
Emotive/evaluative language
Passive, timeless present tense verbs
Connotations
Pathos (EMOTION: emotional impact or personal stories)/Ethos (CREDIBILITY: tone&style; trustworthiness&reputation)/Logos (LOGIC: reasoning&argumentation; facts; figures; case studies)
Call to action
Assertions
Text 2 - Informative web page:
- Audience:
The audience of this type of text greatly depends on the topic and sphere of interests of the web page.
- Purpose:
The main aim of informative web page is to communicate of "who", "how";"when"; "why" and "what" of a specific organisation with their online audience.
- Language Features:
Formal, objective style
Factual information (Ethos & Logos)
Timeless present tense verbs or active verbs
Factual and precise adjectives
SOME technical or jargon terms relating to the subject; but overall accessible language for a lay audience
Inverted pyramid structure ( News articles are written in a structure known as the “inverted pyramid.” In the inverted pyramid format, the most newsworthy information goes at the beginning of the story and the least newsworthy information goes at the end.)
Active sentences
Mixed media / multimodal texts
Hyperlinks
Image
Text 3 - Academic argument:
- Audience:
The audience of such texts greatly varies, depending on the selected topic and specific aim of the writing piece.
We can often meet such articles both in our English A or Global Politics class and in the media under special categories called Analysis and Columns.
However, the audience must be interested or acknowledged about the topic.
- Purpose:
The main purpose of this type of texts is to persuade or assure an intended group of people interested in your topic in the trustworthiness of your arguments.
This is usually done with the help of strong evidence and careful analysis that supports writer's perspective.
Sometimes academic argument texts are aimed in introducing a new idea or belief to their audience.
- Language Features:

Mix of hard fact and opinion
Declarative voice
Expert testimony
High modality
Nominalisation (Nominalisation is a noun phrase generated from another word class, usually a verb. (Other word classes include adjectives and nouns) In other words, the process of nominalisation turns verbs (actions or events) into nouns (things, concepts or people))
Emotive/evaluative language
Passive, timeless present tense verbs
Connotations
Pathos/ethos/logos
Call to action
Assertions
Technical or jargon terms relating to subject
Formal objective style (first person views often hidden)
Conjunctions (Conjunction is a word that joins words, phrases, clauses or sentence. e.g. but, and, yet, or, because, nor, although, since, unless, while, where etc.)

Unit 4 Session 4: 05.04.2021

apollinariafentezy — 2021-04-08 05:16:40 UTC

New-Scientist: The Ethics Issue

Context for a Raisin in the Sun 11.09.2021

apollinariafentezy — 2021-09-11 15:00:55 UTC

Who wrote the play? What is significant about this?

Lorraine Hansberry is the author of the play "A Raising in the Sun". This play is the Hansberry's best-known work that premiered in 1959. Lorraine Hansberry was the fist African-American female playwright that had a play produced on Broadway.

When and where was it first performed?

It was first performed on Broadway on March 11, 1959.

What are some key contextual facts (biographical and general history)?

In the 1920s and 30s the discriminatory "Jim Crow" laws in the South provoked a movement of African-American communities called the Great Migration to the North of the country.
These PoC minorities faced a severe discrimination policies like segregation of housing, education and employment until 1954 when the Supreme Court finally ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional.
Lorraine Hansberry was raised in African-American middle-class family with activist foundation.
Her family suffered violent attacks from their white neighbors after they moved in Chicago in 1938.
In 1940 her family fought the covenant imposed by their neighbors to exclude black families from the community to the Supreme court, which ruled in favor of Hansberry's family.
In 1950 Lorraine Hansberry moved to New York in pursuit of writing and social activism, where she wrote her most famous play "A Raisin in the Sun".

"Harlem" by Langston Hughes

apollinariafentezy — 2021-09-26 16:36:34 UTC

14.09.2021

Learner Portfolio Entry

apollinariafentezy — 2021-11-09 08:07:25 UTC

Unit "A Dream Deferred"
Session 11

Higher Level Essay

apollinariafentezy — 2022-05-25 13:11:18 UTC

Oral Notes

apollinariafentezy — 2022-05-25 13:13:38 UTC

IO Official IB Bullet Points Form

apollinariafentezy — 2022-05-25 13:15:22 UTC

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The brief analysis of the story "The Garden Party"

My reflections&ways to improve my reading skills after the lesson

Key words 17.09.2020

21.09.2020

27.09.2020 Notes about Op-Ed article

Warm up 3.2 (29.09.2020)

Key Terms 29.09.2020

Warm up 3.1 (29.09.2020)

NEWS Article Analysis 29.09.30

US 2020 election: Social media's nightmare scenario

Key terms 01.10.2020

Case Study #1 -The Vietnam War

Tabloids - Context - Origins and History 19.10.2020

Key Terms 29.10.2020

Key Terms 02.11.2020

UNIT 2 (09.11.2020)

Temped

Bow Purl

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Unit 3 - Tough Guys and Sexy Gals - 05.02.2021

Unit 3 11.02.2021

Imagery Poem

Tone and Mood Sample

Unit 3 Session 5

Unit 3 Session 4

Unit 3 Session 6

Unit 3 Session 7; 08.03.2021

Unit 4 Session 1

Unit 4 Session 1

Genetic Fortune-Telling:

Babel-Fish Earbuds:

Dueling Neural Networks:

Unit 4: Innovations and Insights; Session 1; Notes 16.03.2021

Unit 4: Session 2 22.03.2021

Unit 4: Session 4 05.04.2021

Unit 4: Session 2 25.03.2021

Unit 4: Session 4; 05.04.2021

Unit 4: Session 4; 05.04.2021

Unit 4 Session 4: 05.04.2021

Context for a Raisin in the Sun 11.09.2021

"Harlem" by Langston Hughes

Learner Portfolio Entry

Higher Level Essay

Oral Notes

IO Official IB Bullet Points Form