Poetry Project
Click Here to read my Poem
Click her to read my Reflection
Globalization Project
Click Here To read my Globalization Op-ed
In humanities, our winter unit was about globalization, which is the worldwide spread of technology and resources that creates a global, not local economy. The final project for this unit was and Op-Ed between 750-1000 words with an accompanying political cartoon. To get to that point, we first had to understand globalization, so we read texts such as The Lexus and the Olive Tree and Jihad vs. Mcworld. Then, we studied political cartoons and the elements that go into them, such as irony and symbolism. After that, we submitted rough drafts for both our Op-Eds and cartoons for peer critique, and put the finishing touches on them for the upcoming exhibition.
The biggest shift in my understanding of globalization came while I was revising the conclusion to my Op-Ed. I was trying to figure out how to sum up my idea connecting globalization to the black market, and just could not come up with anything that sounded right without conflicting with a paragraph or two of the body. While re-reading it, I realized that my idea was that the globalization and the black market was completely conflicting. While globalization aims to regulate everything and eliminate the black markets, the technology that is paired with globalization becomes available to the illegal markets, which strengthens them. This revelation ultimately shifted both my paper and my understanding of globalization, because it made me realize the almost hypocritical nature of globalization’s connection to illegal trade.
The most difficult part of this project for me was the cartoon, for two main reasons. One, my drawing skills are sub-par to say the least, and second I struggled with getting my idea from the Op-Ed into a visual form an still have it be simple to interpret. My first draft of the cartoon had some serious problems with the latter concept, as both of my peer reviewers had no idea what the message of my cartoon was. This feedback acted as sort of a reality check, where I realized that without extensive knowledge of my subject, it would be near impossible for one to understand my cartoon. After that, I started from scratch and changed my entire cartoon. This taught me that as a cartoonist, the only part that truly matters is the audience’s understanding. The cartoon could be beautifully drawn with the neatest calligraphy, but if the viewer cannot interpret it the cartoon is bunk. This knowledge has improved my confidence in drawing cartoons, because I know that as long as the viewer understands the point i’m making, the cartoon is a success.
This writing assignment differed from ones I have done it the past, because of the mandatory conciseness. In most writing assignments, I tend to ramble on for a few sentences, gradually building up to my point. Not in this assignment, with the cap at 1000 words. The word cap forced me to cut to the chase and immediately make my point, with no semi-related tangents or paragraph long anecdotes. From this assignment, I learned that conciseness is a very valuable skill to have, because in certain situations like a job interview, you have to be concise and be 100% sure what you are saying is beneficial to your end goal, be that a writing assignment or a new job.
The biggest shift in my understanding of globalization came while I was revising the conclusion to my Op-Ed. I was trying to figure out how to sum up my idea connecting globalization to the black market, and just could not come up with anything that sounded right without conflicting with a paragraph or two of the body. While re-reading it, I realized that my idea was that the globalization and the black market was completely conflicting. While globalization aims to regulate everything and eliminate the black markets, the technology that is paired with globalization becomes available to the illegal markets, which strengthens them. This revelation ultimately shifted both my paper and my understanding of globalization, because it made me realize the almost hypocritical nature of globalization’s connection to illegal trade.
The most difficult part of this project for me was the cartoon, for two main reasons. One, my drawing skills are sub-par to say the least, and second I struggled with getting my idea from the Op-Ed into a visual form an still have it be simple to interpret. My first draft of the cartoon had some serious problems with the latter concept, as both of my peer reviewers had no idea what the message of my cartoon was. This feedback acted as sort of a reality check, where I realized that without extensive knowledge of my subject, it would be near impossible for one to understand my cartoon. After that, I started from scratch and changed my entire cartoon. This taught me that as a cartoonist, the only part that truly matters is the audience’s understanding. The cartoon could be beautifully drawn with the neatest calligraphy, but if the viewer cannot interpret it the cartoon is bunk. This knowledge has improved my confidence in drawing cartoons, because I know that as long as the viewer understands the point i’m making, the cartoon is a success.
This writing assignment differed from ones I have done it the past, because of the mandatory conciseness. In most writing assignments, I tend to ramble on for a few sentences, gradually building up to my point. Not in this assignment, with the cap at 1000 words. The word cap forced me to cut to the chase and immediately make my point, with no semi-related tangents or paragraph long anecdotes. From this assignment, I learned that conciseness is a very valuable skill to have, because in certain situations like a job interview, you have to be concise and be 100% sure what you are saying is beneficial to your end goal, be that a writing assignment or a new job.
Vietnam Project
Click here to read my Reflection
Click here to read my Paper
Creative Historians ww1 fiction project
CLIck here to read my short story
WW1 Creative Historians Reflection
By Derek Pansze
1) The goal of this project was too learn about WW1 and to write a short story based on what we had learned. First, we did a brief overview of WW1, starting with the 5 causes of it and finishing with the major battles on the different fronts. After this, we read All Quiet on the Western Front be Erich Remarque, or AQotWF for short, to get a better understanding of what it was actually like to be on the front line in WW1. Then, we did research on a major historical event, such as a battle, and 3 historical details like what they war and slang they used. Finally, we started the writing process, and after multiple revisions to our short stories, we turned them in and started prepping for exhibition. For this exhibition, we will be reading a short piece of our stories to an audience at our public library.
2) I think the literary element that I used the best in my story was show don't tell. I believe I did a very good job proofreading for this and revised multiple to make my story more interesting.
"He grunts. "Smacked my head, or something. I'll be fine." A shell landed near us, and he winces. "Damn that was loud" I think this section shows how I used this literary element well. Instead of just saying "He has a concussion," I showed you by having the character have concussion symptoms.
3) A literary element that I could use better would be characterization. Although my character did change, it was hard for readers to grasp his personality, which I wasn't 100% on either. I think that this element was hard for me because when I planned out my story, I didn't think to brainstorm about this and when revising It was hard to add in personality, because it had to reflect in the characters actions also. To overcome this, I tried to just insert little tidbits, like when his cheeks burned when he fell behind because of his disability, which shows that he likes to project a good self-image.
4) One substantial revision I made was deleting a whole paragraph about the changes that happen to soldiers over time. I felt that it was put in at a very awkward place that didn't go with the plot, and also it told instead of showed. I replaced it with a paragraph showing how my main character's actions effected him, how they changed him mentally. This made it better for the reader because instead of me telling them "soldiers are often irreversible changed by the actions they make," I can show how ones actions can tear them apart. Another revision I made was writing a little about how before the war he wanted to visit France, but now that he is there all he wants to do is leave. I added this passage because it hints at who he was before the war, and how the war has changed all of him, even his hopes and dreams.
By Derek Pansze
1) The goal of this project was too learn about WW1 and to write a short story based on what we had learned. First, we did a brief overview of WW1, starting with the 5 causes of it and finishing with the major battles on the different fronts. After this, we read All Quiet on the Western Front be Erich Remarque, or AQotWF for short, to get a better understanding of what it was actually like to be on the front line in WW1. Then, we did research on a major historical event, such as a battle, and 3 historical details like what they war and slang they used. Finally, we started the writing process, and after multiple revisions to our short stories, we turned them in and started prepping for exhibition. For this exhibition, we will be reading a short piece of our stories to an audience at our public library.
2) I think the literary element that I used the best in my story was show don't tell. I believe I did a very good job proofreading for this and revised multiple to make my story more interesting.
"He grunts. "Smacked my head, or something. I'll be fine." A shell landed near us, and he winces. "Damn that was loud" I think this section shows how I used this literary element well. Instead of just saying "He has a concussion," I showed you by having the character have concussion symptoms.
3) A literary element that I could use better would be characterization. Although my character did change, it was hard for readers to grasp his personality, which I wasn't 100% on either. I think that this element was hard for me because when I planned out my story, I didn't think to brainstorm about this and when revising It was hard to add in personality, because it had to reflect in the characters actions also. To overcome this, I tried to just insert little tidbits, like when his cheeks burned when he fell behind because of his disability, which shows that he likes to project a good self-image.
4) One substantial revision I made was deleting a whole paragraph about the changes that happen to soldiers over time. I felt that it was put in at a very awkward place that didn't go with the plot, and also it told instead of showed. I replaced it with a paragraph showing how my main character's actions effected him, how they changed him mentally. This made it better for the reader because instead of me telling them "soldiers are often irreversible changed by the actions they make," I can show how ones actions can tear them apart. Another revision I made was writing a little about how before the war he wanted to visit France, but now that he is there all he wants to do is leave. I added this passage because it hints at who he was before the war, and how the war has changed all of him, even his hopes and dreams.