Phase 1 Draft
A significant moment in my life regarding language that I can’t seem to forget would take place during this one summer vacation in China. I believe I was still in middle school and my mother had taken my sister and I to Beijing where she grew up. I remember the language barrier was very interesting to me because my sister and I were put in Chinese schools growing up to learn Mandarin. The thing was that we both failed to fully learn the language and came out only understanding basic conversations in Mandarin. Neither of us were comfortable enough with our abilities to really speak the language even though we could understand most of what was being said to us. One moment that summer that really stuck out to me was when I was forced to conversate without my mother translating and speaking for me.
My mother took my sister and I to this convention that held a ton of activities for kids to do. I ended up participating in this magic show that was occurring there which had rows filled with people watching. My instructions were to tuck myself in a tiny box which only I could fit in, and wait for them to open the box to the audience. It was one of those contraptions that had a door inside so when they showed the audience the other side of the box it was empty, but then they did some “magic” and I ended up visible to the audience the second time they opened the box. At the end of the show all of the kids that participated were lined up and had to interact with the audience. We were supposed to tell the audience our name, our age, and a little about ourselves.
When it was my turn to speak the spotlight hit me and my anxiety kicked in. I was literally unable to speak the most basic of Mandarin and I just froze. Thankfully, my friend who is from Beijing came onstage and spoke for me. She was very social and extroverted so she told the audience everything about me. Starting with my age, all the way to the fact that I grew up in America. It was funny because it seemed like she knew more about me than myself.
Another experience that I remember regarding the language barrier was when I went to a mall with my mother and sister, and I wanted to buy some bubble tea. My mother gave me the cash to go buy the bubble tea myself two floors down. I went downstairs and approached the shop, and suddenly I forgot how to pronounce the bubble tea I wanted. Something I should easily remember because I get bubble tea weekly, and yet it just slipped my mind at the exact moment I needed to remember. I then repeatedly said “menu” in English and drew an imaginary rectangle with my fingers in the air, hoping the workers would understand me. Eventually, the hostess didn’t say a word to me and returned with a menu. I then pointed out on the menu with the pictures what I wanted and gave them the money. It turns out my mother didn’t give me enough money (renminbi). Keep in mind I can understand most of what they say to me, but I am just unable to find the words to communicate back. I then told them I will be right back in English and then I came back with the right amount of money.
I just remember feeling so awkward because on the outside I fit in that environment but deep down I’m just another tourist. The fact that I am Chinese and can’t even speak it while in China, was a very interesting experience that I find somewhat fun. I remember these experiences not being terribly embarrassing but it was just very entertaining to me, almost fun. It didn’t give me the courage or drive to try and fully learn Mandarin, it just forever remained in my brain as a fond memory. Even to this day, my Mandarin has not progressed any further and even though it would be nice for it to get better, I am too lazy and won’t put the effort to do what it takes to learn the language that has been a core surrounding my life. My parents speak Mandarin in and out the house and when speaking to my sister and I, they don’t expect us to respond in the same language. They know that we can understand what they are saying to us, but they have accepted that is the limit to our Mandarin. It is almost as if all of my family members stopped forcing us to fully learn their language, which should be enough drive for me to start learning the language myself, but I am glad that such a generation can accept my sister and I for who we are.
Phase 2 Draft
The right to an abortion is nobody’s choice but the people involved. Protesting against abortion leads to real consequences for people who are totally unrelated to those protesting. States that make abortion illegal due to protesting may affect innocent people. Those who are unready and unfit to be parents should not go through the hardships of pregnancy and giving birth. And victims of rape should not be forced to have a baby because abortion is illegal. Women who are forced to keep a baby through the product of rape is extremely harsh and unfair. Limiting and banning abortion will only force those who need the abortion into doing illegitimate and shady procedures that are unsafe because those that are determined will find alternatives. The best thing will be for abortions to be easily accessible because it should be the choice of whoever’s involved, especially the woman because it is her own body.
The argument being used to support anti-abortion that a fetus is still a person is very controversial. I personally believe that rights should not be applied to a fetus because it has not even been born yet. Something to think about though, at what point would it be immoral to have an abortion? Typically when somebody finds out they are pregnant it is usually because they have missed their period. Usually one to two months in during the pregnancy is when people find out. By then the fetus is barely forming a heart, is it considered alive? If anything, laws that have to ban abortion can at least state what stage in the pregnancy would abortion be illegal.
It is a mother’s job to take care of herself during pregnancy to therefore take care of the unborn child, but when a woman is not fit to be a mother or is unable to take care of herself it leads the unborn child to an unjust future. It is true that if one isn’t ready to be a mother then they shouldn’t have unprotected sex, but if what’s done is done then the baby that would be born shouldn’t have to suffer. All of these protestors fighting for an unborn child have never truly considered the people carrying the fetus. If their situation requires an abortion, who will have the right to judge? And even if there is no plausible cause, it is still the person’s right to determine whether or not they want to keep the baby or go through pregnancy. At the end of the day, it really should be the decision of whoever has to birth the child to have the access to whether or not they should have an abortion, not can.
Phase 3 Draft
Abortion is widely considered immoral and people have protested for it to be illegal. I believe that abortion when necessary is a woman’s right and her own decision to make. Making abortion illegal will take away that women’s right, so those who protest to make abortion illegal give no regard to those who are unready for pregnancy. At what point would an abortion be immoral? If a woman discovers that she is pregnant, it would usually be around the time when she has first missed her cycle. The fetus first forms its heart around 3 weeks after conception, a woman typically finds out they are pregnant once they have missed their cycle which would be 4 weeks after conception. Should abortion be made illegal even when a victim has been raped?
A woman should have access and the right to an abortion, obtaining early evaluation and the support that is needed is essential to a woman’s physical and mental health when going through something as serious as an unexpected/unwanted pregnancy. Those who have no other option only have abortion to rely on, having that option taken away will ruin lives and force those who need abortions into dire situations. According to Faundes A, Hardy E, “the legality of abortion does not influence the abortion rate and is instead associated with a much greater risk of complications and death regarding abortion”. Those who are determined and require an abortion will be forced to perform dangerous procedures all because the law would state that abortion is illegal. Faundes A and Hardy E state in their article that if abortion is legal: “the abortion rate will drop and the safety of the procedure will improve, parallel to the position women occupy in a given society, and to the level of recognition of their sexual and reproductive rights”, a right that will be violated if abortion is made illegal.
There are hundreds of thousands of deaths that are caused yearly due to clandestine abortions suggesting that abortion is going to happen whether it is illegal or not, the legality of it only determines the safety and mortality of abortion. Should the argument that abortion is immoral in regards to the life of the fetus outweigh the argument that some pregnancies and illegal abortion take lives also? Abortion should be easily accessible and therefore safe, with the decision to have the abortion ultimately rests on whoever is getting the abortion.
There are many articles that scientifically support the fact that a fetus is still a human being and that having an abortion would be considered murder. Although a fetus develops its vital organs like the heart within a couple of weeks, it only has the ability to feel emotions months later. Having an abortion would be like having the fetus dying in its sleep. An abortion would rob the potential future of one life, but may save the future of the mother’s.
In the summer of 2022, the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade, a Supreme Court decision in 1973 that established a constitutional right to abortion. This led to a banning of abortion in at least 18 states as of October 2022, with expectations that abortion will eventually be banned in at least half of the states. The right to do what you want or need for your own body have been violated and restricts women in these states to a safe and legal abortion. This can only lead to more problems and increases the need for legal abortion because those who would even consider abortion are likely the ones that need to have one. Teenagers and victims of rape are likely going to keep their abortion discreet, and unable to have a legal abortion makes it even more unsafe and dangerous.
According to an article by Lauren Hoffman, the 1973 Supreme Court case Roe v, Wade which provided access to abortion and reproductive healthcare, research confirms the positive effects of the right to an abortion towards economic indicators such as labor force participation, educational attainment, earnings, and child poverty. The new case of Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturns this and research shows that when women are denied access to abortion, there are negative effects on economic security and state/local economies can suffer significant financial losses. This makes sense because when somebody is forced to take care of a child in which they were not prepared to do so, it can take up all of their time and therefore have an impact on the economy.
Studies show that the biggest increase in women’s labor force participation occurred after the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade in 1973. Another study showed that “access to abortion for women facing early, undesired pregnancies increased the probability of their entering college by 41 percent and completing college by 71 percent”. Abortion legalization has also boosted women’s earnings, this has led to less children growing up and living in poverty. These are facts that are recorded and prove that there are actual benefits to society when abortion is legalized.
Making abortion illegal not only harms the economy but it only takes into consideration the future of a fetus. There are studies that show laws that restrict access to abortion widened the gender pay gap for women of childbearing age by pushing them out of the labor force and into lower-paying jobs. The article also states that “women who were forced to carry a pregnancy to term experienced a wide range of negative financial consequences, including lower credit scores, increased debt, and more negative public financial records such as bankruptcies and evictions. In addition to the impact on women themselves, the study showed that these restrictions are associated with worse child developmental outcomes and a greater likelihood of child poverty”.
Researchers state that if abortion is banned throughout the United States, the overall maternal deaths would rise by 24 percent, and 39 percent for Black women. The restriction to abortion will only lead to unsafe abortions which will ultimately increase the chance for death. “When a person is barred from accessing abortion care, she is compelled to continue a pregnancy against her will, even when serious health threats exist. This is, itself, a violation of human rights”.
But what about the teenagers who are not mature enough to handle a child, or those who are financially unstable? Allowing the future of those children to come into existence because of irresponsible parents would be forsaking them. The right to determine whether or not somebody is ready to be a parent should be that person’s own choice. It should also be their decision to have to go through the hardships of pregnancy for it is their body that develops and takes care of the child. Nobody should tell somebody else what to do with their own body, especially when it is a life changing decision like pregnancy.
Phase 4 Draft
Throughout this semester in this class, Professor Shearer has introduced many attributes that go into reading and writing for English. Overall, they all help with one’s understanding of the language and good study habits that support us students,. wWhether it is practicing our grammar in writing, to more direct approaches like speaking in front of the entire class. I’ve really enjoyed taking this class and it is mostly because of how nicely the professor handles it, mostly putting the students first and always being considerate.
Towards the beginning of this semester, we were learning about rhetorical situations such as ethos, logos, and pathos. We started reading articles and identifying which rhetorical strategies were used, this helped me understand which strategy means what and how they can be used. I’ve leaned towards the logos strategy in most of my essays – and especially my research essay –, where logistics and hard facts are used to support the argument. In my Phase 3 eEssay, many articles were sourced and almost all of them contained cold, hard facts that support my argument about abortion laws. For my Phase 2 eEssay, I’ve leaned more towards the pathos aspect where I tried convincing the reader to feel bad about what banning abortion could do.
The constant workshops in class where students go over each other’s work before submitting them are very appreciated and helpful. Professor Shearer is always looking out for us students and these practices are a way of doing so. Spotting possible mistakes or just learning what solid works are about is very helpful and helps students with their summarizing skills. This allows students to develop more reading skills and strategies for revising and editing. Looking through other people’s work, studying their writing techniques or just taking examples of what to do and what not to do have always been a great way for me to understand things in general.
The Phase 1 assignments were the most challenging for me, requiring a personal experience to write about and eventually talking about it in front of the whole class. It really made me think, and practiced my speech, and confront my nervousness/anxiety when speaking in front of the class. I felt that I didn’t really do well on the speech part, mostly because I was not prepared and thought I could improvise/wing it. I got really nervous and tried to maintain my composure but the constant blanking of in my mind got the best of me and I ended up ending my speech very early. I personally believe that writing over and over again with direction given by a professor enforces what I already know and pushes my understanding of writing to the next level. The entire class was a bunch of writing, reading, and research which only improved my skills.
The past couple of essays written for this class have required me to cite and source in a specific format. I chose to do the MLA format, but I have realized that I do not fully understand how to cite in this style or any other style. Some feedback I have received for Essay 4 was that I need to properly cite my sources and I have yet to learn how to do so. Other than that, I feel like all of the work we have done in class has been good practice towards my writing, reading, analyzing, and, partly, my stage frightstagefright. I felt like I had’ve already had a pretty good overall understanding of the subject of English and that this course has furthered my understanding of rhetorical analysis.
