Composition Process

Javier Zea Cueva

ENG 0100 – 3525

2nd Semester 2017-2018

09/05/2018
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Table of Content

Cover Letter: .....................................................3

Summarry: Oakley’s Project .............................5

Rethorical Analysis:The Power of Your Mind. 7

Argument: Super Minds....................................9

Restaurant Review:Good Time at Osaka ........ 12

Outside Writing: Legality of Euthanasia in

Ecuador ........................................................... 15
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Cover Letter:

Dear Katya:
It has been a good semester. Finally, I understood the importance of the Composition

and Rhetoric class. At the beginning of the semester, I was a little unmotivated about this class.

I thought that level seven of English was enough for the University, but then I realized how

important it is for my student life and for the rest of my career. Writing is so important in my

career and I was not doing so well. I had many mistakes, structure problems, punctuation

errors, this class helped me to improve these points that were my weaknesses in academic

writing. It also helped me to be able to quote the works well, Turnitin was like hell for me.

Every time I had to upload an essay or a report, my level of plagiarism was high, although I

made all the appointments. This was because I was not doing well the paraphrasing of the

works and I did not cite correctly, so the website detected me as plagiarism.

Before this class I gave little importance to academic writing I did not care about the

spelling mistake or the coherence of the text I only wrote and if I understand what I want to

say It was perfect for me and then I printed the work. This can be noticed in my outside work

that I put in this portfolio where I had several spelling and punctuation mistakes. Then I

realized that this process was wrong and that I needed to follow a guideline to make good

academic writing because when you write something, it is not the most important thing to

understand what you write, but another person need to understand what you write and what

message are you giving to them. That’s why the importance of Composition and Rhetoric. This
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class gave me the necessary tools to write good academic works and now I’m using it for all

my classes at the University I´m writing correctly and I’m improving my grades.

In conclusion, I am grateful for this class because it has been an evolution since I

entered the class to this point where I am doing my last written work for the Composition and

Rhetoric class. It has helped me a lot to improve my English level in both writing and speaking.

I am very happy to have been in this class and I know it will be of great use to me, and even

more so now that I am going to work all summer at an amusement park in Ohio. Now I feel

more comfortable when I’m speaking and writing in English.

Thank you, Katya and good luck, in the other semesters.

Javier Zea
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Javier Zea Cueva

ENG 0010/3525
Katya Palacios C
Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Summarry Essay: Oakley’s Project

Barbara Oakley and her husband Phil created “Learning How to Learn”. It is an online

course in which you acquire knowledge about interesting things with a relative low price. I am

not saying It is free, because if you want a certificate of the course it cost forty-nine dollars.

The program is a complete success; not because of the idea, such it is not new. Many important

companies have online courses, but the style the Oakley’s shows, the message they give in

their videos and the techniques they gave to the audience, made the program an online hit.

The beginning of the program was very simple, the studio equipment and the set

improves cost 5 thousand dollars1. At first the two were nervous about the show. They did not

know how the program would be received by the audience, but the style of the show which

illustrated concepts with goofy animations made it unique. These tricks caught better the

attention of the audience. Also, the lessons have a lot of metaphors which helped explaining in

a better way the complex ideas.

In another point, why “Learning How to learn” is a popular web show is because of the

message they transmit. The Oakley gives empathy with student who feel hopeless. Several kids

or teenagers have trouble with their learning abilities, so that is why this group of kids uses

their videos to understand the subjects, 2in a way school cannot transmit.

1
Reorganize ideas to give more coherence to the text. Changing this part of the text would gave a stronger
position to the essay. (H.O)
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Add a comma to highlight that part of the sentence. (M.O)
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The third reason that makes this broadcast a hit are the techniques they give to the

audience3. In one of the shows they demonstrate the audience four methods of learning. The

first one was the focus, which Dr. Oakley explained that the brain has two modes of thinking,

first is the focus and the second one is the diffuse in which our memory retained information.

The second technique was to take a break, this helps the brain consolidate new knowledge. The

third method is the practice, it is important because a pattern makes the process more fluid.

The last method or technique was “Know Thyself” Barbara, said that it is primal, that students

know their way of learning because every type of learning have their advantages and

disadvantages.

In Conclusion, the show that was created by Phil and Barbara Oakley have helped a lot

of students around the world. (Schwartz ) The style, message and techniques, which they put

in their videos made them a worldwide hit. Also, many kids can learn in an innovative way,

with a better explanation and the Oakley’s have the satisfaction of helping a lot of teenagers

and kids contributing to the educational system4.

3
Change the word things to reason. Changing this word would gave the text more coherence because this word
explained more what I what to say. (H.O)
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Spelling mistakes were corrected. (L.O)
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Rethorical Analysis: The Power of Your Mind.

You know it is a good video when you saw the views and they are over fourteen million.

That is what happened with the Ted Talk of Amy Cuddy. In her Ted Talk, she talks about Body

Language and how it shapes our identity. This type of non-verbal language Amy considers as

a type of communication in which we issue quick judgments based only on body language,

based on what we see. This type of language is also reflected in the power and domain

expressions. But how Amy convince all the audience of what she said? She tries to convince

of this by using comparison between animals and humans, Scientifics facts and evidence that

body can shape the mind.5

The first way in which Amy tried to convince her audience about the power and

dominance was using comparison between animals and humans. She noticed that both6

unconsciously tried to expand themselves when they want to show power. That is why when

someone wins something, he or she raised their arms in a “v” shape and their head lifts too.

This also happens with animals like the cobra that stretches when it wants to intimidate its

prey. This expression occurs even in blind people from birth who had never seen a similar

expression. On the other hand, the position of weakness makes both people and animals feel

unperceived, showing more and more small and closed. These interesting comparisons make

the conference more delightful for the audience.

Other interesting method that Amy applied was the use of scientific discoveries. For

that, she asked a question. Our minds change our bodies, but do our bodies change our minds?

So, for that she investigates the hormones and difference between a powerful mind versus a

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Change “they” to “both” to explain better that I want t talk about animals and humans. (M.O)
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powerless. She determines two key hormones in the human body. These are the testosterone

and the cortisol. The testosterone is the dominance hormone and the cortisol which is the stress

hormone. Amy explained that recent studies determined that in powerful minds or in alpha

male primates the level of testosterone is higher and the level of cortisol is lower, which means

that these types of people and animals are not affected by stress and tend to be quite dominant

and highly effective leaders. Even though there are other hormones that affect our mind such

as oxytocin and somatostatin, the testosterone and cortisol are the principles.

Finally, Amy presented evidence to the audience that the body can shape the mind. First

with the example of primates in which a monkey needs to take the post to become the new

leader. This new alpha testosterone will increase and the cortisol level will be lower. For

humans it is the same, if a person decides to stand in a dominance position only for two minutes

per day, their testosterone level would be higher and the cortisol level would be lower7.

In conclusion, the TED Talk presented by Amy Cuddy really convinced her audience.

Despite there were counterarguments like the other hormones in the brain, she had solid and

proven arguments to demonstrate8 her hypothesis and, secondly, her methods for attaching

people's attention, such as the comparison of human behavior with animals, the scientific facts

presented with good multimedia resources and the evidence that showed that the body can

shape the mind in both humans and animals were essential to convince the audience.9

7
Punctuation mistakes was corrected putting a coma to separate ideas (M.O)
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Change the word “prove” to “demonstrate” to not be repetitive with the words. (M.O)
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Argument: Super Minds

The human body is a complex mass, it has been studied for centuries, but every time

something new is discovered. Nowadays, with the technology we can have a lot of information

about new medic discoveries. Recently I watched an Amy Cuddy Ted Talk that talks about the

body can control the mind. I like the video but I disagree with Amy´s ideas10. The human brain

its interesting. Thanks to this the people can move, talk, think and create different things. The

brain is the cause of the Evolution. For that I want to talk about how Yoga, Placebo Effect and

Positive Attitude are evidences of how mind can change body.

First, I want to talk the ancient art of Yoga, in a recent investigation, which was made

to Tibetan Monks, they have shown that when they are concentrated and their minds are

focused, they can increase their body temperature and keep it high, enough to resist the cold

climates of the mountains with light clothes. The reason is that they cheat their minds, making

themselves believe that they are in a warm climate, so the mind sends by the nervous system

all this information which tells the body that is in a warm place so the corporal temperature

increase.

The second idea is the Placebo Effect. It consists on giving a sugar pill to the patient

making them believe that it’s a medicine pill11. This experiment was made by Dr. Bendetti the

result was that a lot of people felt better as they were thinking that the sugar pill was medicine

(Ferrari). This happens because when the patient is given the placebo, the production of

dopamine is activated, which is a type of neurotransmitter that creates pleasant feelings12. With

this effect the people felt better and they think that they illness has gone.13

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Add dots to separate ideas. (M.O)
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The last idea it’s the positive attitude. When a person its happy, they have less danger

of having an immunologic worry. A recent studied that was made by the university of Oslo,

confirms that negative persons are more susceptible to have head ache, back pains etc.

Whereas, a happier person has a low rate of suffering illness. This is explained because people

with a negative attitude are like a magnet, capture the evils and diseases of the environment

(Murphy).

On the other hand, there are studies that show that the body can change the mind. This

was demonstrated in Amy Cuddy's Ted Talk that was explained above. She showed that people

with a low level of cortisol have a lower level of stress, making these people have a healthier

mind. But, that people who do not have this type of expression and have high cortisol levels

can change their situation, only with having a more dominant position (Ferrari).

Although, there is information that supports the body can change the mind. Yoga, the

Placebo Effect and the positive attitude are clear evidences of how the mind controls the

body14. That is why scientists are constantly researching this important organ of the human

body. The recommendation is that people need to take care of their brains, so they have a good

mental health.

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Change the conclusion to end talking about the counterarguments and my ideas. (H.O)
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Bibliography

Ferrari, Leonardo. El Poder de Tu Mente. Milan: Trian, 2015. Book.

Murphy, Joseph. The Power of Your Subconscious Mind. Buenos Aires: Grupal Logística Y

Distribución, 2011. Book.

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Restaurant Review: Good Time at Osaka

Are you interested in fusion food?

Osaka is a gourmet Restaurant in Quito. It is in Isabela Catolica street, near the Swiss

Hotel. This restaurant is a Peruvian franchise. They have restaurants around Latin America.

This restaurant is famous for its type of food preparation which it is called Nikkei. That is the

miscegenation of Peruvian cuisine with Japanese. They mix seafood with steak15. I consider

Osaka as a great place where someone can have a great time with friends, couple or with clients,

because this restaurant has an excellent environment, good food quality and a great waitress

service.

Osaka has an oriental theme but with quite a modern approach. The restaurant has

three environments. The first one has a pergola, which covers you from the sun and gives you

an open and fresh environment, perfect for a brunch or a sunny day. The second, is a darker

interior environment with luxurious details such as oriental lamps and modern style tables16.

Perfect for romantic dates or important family’s dinner. The third one is a small room, by the

way, is very private with anti-sound walls, perfect for people who are negotiating ready to

close some agreement.

The type of food that this restaurant serve is fusion. They mix seafood with meat. I

ordered the degustation meal. It consists of five different dishes. The first one, was an appetizer

the name of the plate was “Ceviche Nikkei”. This dish was made of fresh raw tune, cooked

from oxidation with citrus fruits. It was also decorated with onions and cilantro. The second

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Add more details to the essay because it’s a review so it need to have more details to support your point.
(H.O)
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dish, was “Tiradito Nikudito”. It consists in a half-cooked meat with passion fruit sauce and

cucumber salad. The third dish was “Osk Ebi” it was a scalloped shell. The fourth and main

course was a balsamic tenderloin, served with mashed sweet potatoes and a pair of asparagus

in the decoration. The last dish was the dessert, it was an ice cream of rose served with mint.

All the plates included free water and a tea.

The last reason why Osaka is a good restaurant was for the attention received in the

establishment. When you enter to the restaurant, there is a receptionist who greets you and

takes you to your table. Then the waitresses, who are very kind and educated people, are always

asking you if everything it is alright, and if you had a problem they solved it with no argue.

They also gave us a salad for free, tiny but delicious,17 so it was very kind. When you finish

your food, they took your plates and there is no pression from employees to leave the

restaurant. You can talk until you want to leave.

In conclusion my experience in Osaka was good. Despite the prices of the dishes

were expensive (my plate cost around 25 dollars) the environment, the food and the attention

you receive makes, it worth eating in that restaurant18. So, if you had and important meeting,

or a special moment, do not hesitate visiting Osaka.

17
A Comma was adding to separate the two ideas. (M.O)
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Spelling mistakes were corrected. (L.O)
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Outside Writing: Legality of Euthanasia in Ecuador

Euthanasia is not a topic of modern medicine, the word comes from the Greek

"thanatos" which means good death or death without violence, it is a procedure that throughout

history was questioned by medieval thoughts that claim that taking one's life purpose is to

refuse the best gift of God. But nowadays this idea has been changed to a more modernist and

coherent one that has managed to break the medieval barriers. Which supports that legalized

euthanasia can come to bring positive effects in different areas such as the moral of people, the

economy and even "save lives."

The moral factors in people greatly influences when making the decision of

euthanasia, this is known as human dignity. If a person diagnosed with a terminal illness suffers

throughout the evolutionary process of this disease, when he is already entering an agonizing

stage, the person has the right to decide to what extent to continue with his life. In a study on

euthanasia made in 1991 by a group of European scientists, it was found that euthanasia cuts

life for up to a week. In other words, euthanasia is used as a last resort to make the agony

become shorter and avoid excessive suffering before death. (Pinjneborg, Van der Maas, Van

Delden, & Looman, 1993)

Another very important factor is the economic, although it seems half crazy, the

economy influences a lot in this environment; According to CNN, the United States allocates

one of every four dollars to the maintenance of five percent of patients who are in their last

year of life (Wang, 2012), also causes many families to go into debt for trying to take care of

one of its members that suffers a terminal illness, since within these expenses it is: food,

medicines, nurses, transport, etc. Becoming a very strong burden, although this idea sounds

very materialistic, there are cases in which the treatments given by the nurses towards patients
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with terminal illnesses are very painful and expensive, that is why patients prefer to die instead

of suffering from trying to have a few more months of life.

Finally, although euthanasia is synonymous with death, it has also "saved lives",

deciding that you want to die once and for all is a very strong decision, for this reason when

you decide to ask for an appointment to perform euthanasia in one of the countries where this

procedure is already legal (Holland, Belgium), they give a period of time for the person to

think well with their family and be sure of their decision. This method, according to a study,

has caused some people who had already paid for this procedure to cancel it, because they

realized that they were still not sure that death was the best for them; This prevents an unwanted

death. (Van Der Heide & Onwuteaka-Philipsen, 2007)

In conclusion, euthanasia cannot be considered a negative issue, because in reality it

has positive consequences in some aspects, as previously stated; In addition, euthanasia is

always seen as a bad thing because life is the best gift of all and removing it is a crime; I agree

with the fact that it is best to live, but it is because we always see it from the point of view of

people who enjoy health, their life is normal, without major complications, but we never put

ourselves in the shoes of the people with terminal illnesses, for them one more day of life is

synonymous with another day of severe pain, agonies and seizures caused by the medications

provided. And for them it is better to die and not continue suffering for a few more days of life.

For the above, I welcome the possibility that Ecuador becomes another of the countries where

euthanasia is legal, and can be managed responsibly and safely.