An Essay for Your Time?

...Or not. I don't really care.

Well. That may have been ruder than necessary--oh, well.

Going back to the dead horse topic of the American Experience, here's the research paper I was required to write on the topic.

Oh, joy of joys.

It's not the greatest, because it was decided, towards the end of the year, that, no, it wasn't going to be our final project. It hasn't really been edited since I turned it in, so... Here goes nothing, heh. Note the fact that I'm about ninety percent certain I didn't use the proper MLA format for the works cited or the in-text citations. This is, after all, only a draft.

The American Experience – Research

The American Experience sounds like the most boring subject on the planet. I am not going to lie; it is. However, aspects of said experience can be a very touchy subject for people. Take for instance, our government; we take pride in our bipartisan, democratic, “for-the-people” government, but during election-time, the normal gap between political parties like the Democrats and Republicans grows exponentially larger. Our government, especially the way it's run during times of political turmoil, is a major part of the so very unique American Experience.

Since our government is bi-partisan, we have two distinct political parties: The Republicans and the Democrats, as well as various “third” parties that fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum between liberal and conservative viewpoints. Each political party comes about because a large group of people have similar beliefs in what the federal government should be and what role, if any, it should play in the daily lives of American citizens—or, on a larger scale, the role our government should play in international affairs.

Many of us think the government should do everything it can to protect our citizens and ensure we all have the means to live. More of us think the government should also do more to ensure the complete equality between citizens—especially economically—so that there is no longer a huge gap in the distribution of wealth (“Wealth Distribution in America”)(“Conscience of a Liberal”). Some of us even think so far along in that thought process that it almost comes full-circle; the communists among us believe that the only thing the government should do is create total equality, then be completely abolished. Yet another large group of our population thinks the government should only act as a regulator of dangerous practices and as the basis of the judiciary system.

All of those views have merit, and no matter who you are or what your opinion is, there is a legitimate reason for you believe the way you do. Our experiences, as proven by psychology, determine what we believe. Whether you agree or disagree, I must say that I have a very “gray” view—in that I see merits within both extremes, and choose to align myself right down the middle. The government should regulate many practices whilst still being relatively limited, because otherwise, bad things will happen.

In the early 1900's, immigration was a very common thing. Many people, from all over the world, impoverished and envisioning a better life for themselves and their families, would be processed through Ellis Island. Rich immigrants were generally exempt from this (Auch). The boats were unhygienic in their own right, but this facility, that poor immigrants were forced through, was many times worse. Just the slightest sign of sickness was enough to be sent back to one's home country, but with so many people crammed into such a small, dirty space, bacteria spread like wildfire, and it's honestly quite surprising that anyone became a naturalized citizen (Auch).

The working conditions for the immigrants who managed to be accepted were terrible; they were possibly worse than their living conditions in tenements. Girls were generally employed in sweatshops that made simple, cheap trinkets, like paper flowers. Luckier girls got to work in factories, like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York (Auch).

The fire that struck the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in 1911 was a national tragedy (article). Many girls' deaths were mourned, but it is undeniable that the political reform that occurred as a result was almost a good enough end to justify the means. Regulations in work hours, business building conditions, and the necessity of fire escapes made employment that much safer, which is, obviously, a good thing (“Triangle Shirtwaist...”).

I cannot deny the fact that we need a certain amount of regulation within our government, because I also believe that people are quite corrupt, and if certain things weren't regulated, people would inevitably do bad things, like treating their employees like scum. However, I think our society is built in such a way that sheer equality is impossible. Our country has a history of various discriminatory practices, both within our government and within our citizens. We may try to downplay these events or shove them under the rug, but the facts are undeniable; this discrimination in in direct opposition of our well-known, cardinal creed of freedom.

The opposite of freedom is oppression, and that's exactly what our forefathers did to the original residents of the western hemisphere, by taking their land and murdering them. We all know the story of Thanksgiving and how the British colonists pushed the “Indians” back from their land, so colonies could be created. Yet, come winter-time, they were quick to beg the natives for food. Rinse and repeat. We celebrate the imperialistic genius of our ancestors annually, so it comes as no surprise that discrimination is a more than somewhat common theme in our history. History is destined to repeat itself, after all, and we've got a pretty good pedigree going on.

We had slaves from shortly after the initial colonization until Lincoln gave his Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War. The slaves weren't even technically freed until shortly thereafter, but the intent was obvious and honorable enough. Yet even with this new-found freedom, African Americans were disliked and greatly distrusted, and in the South, we even had the Jim Crow Laws, which were famous for their “separate but equal” approach to civil liberties. This was a bunch of baloney, as we now all know, Public facilities for people of color were ghastly. Goodness forbid they get tired of those conditions! Oh, and dear goodness, having peaceful marches was just the darn worst thing that could possibly happen. The worst part about it was that when the news was represented, it was done in such a fashion that one sympathized with the white folk, rather than the people actually being ostracized (Reed).

Women were—and still sometimes are—also treated pretty horribly, which brought about the Suffrage movement of the late 1800's and early 1900's. Even after the slaves were freed, women remained subservient to men. How ironic that one of the so-distrusted black men had more rights than a so-classy white woman. Ladies couldn't vote and were, in many places, not allowed to have a job or their own property. Everything they owned, by our laws, were property of whomever they married. Even if a woman's husband was terrible, it wasn't worth it to leave him, because she would lose her livelihood—and any children she gave birth to (“Not for Ourselves Alone”). Women today complain about not getting paid as much as men, which is bad enough, but when suffrage first began, it was even considered improper for a woman to speak in public!

The American Experience can be many things, depending on what we've each experienced in our lives. It is an undeniable fact, though, that we believe in freedom, no matter what the cost. We even tried to ignore the darker side of things, beatifying this amazing freedom. We even attempted to spread it! During the Age of Imperialism, we “liberated” many small countries, many of which were under the control of the oh-so-evil Spanish. We should still be concerned about our tendency towards “splendiferous” freedom, because not all people completely agree with our views, like Iraq. Now, we, as a country, need to really think about how much we're willing to sacrifice for this freedom—and how much freedom is too much freedom...Or how much regulation does it take before oppression, once again, occurs?

Works Cited 
"American Indian Wars." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. 
     <http://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/277590?terms=european+colonization+1500>. 
Auch, Mary Jane. Ashes of Roses. N.p.: Laurel Leaf, 2004. Print. 
Cong. Rec. 17 Jan. 1948: 1-135. US Department of State. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://www.state.gov/ 
     documents/organization/175257.pdf>. 
"The Conscience of a Liberal ." Editorial. New York Times. New York Times, 18 Sept. 2007. Web. 14 
     Mar. 2012. <http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/18/introducing-this-blog/>. 
Curwick, Stephanie. "War and Red Scare: 1940-1960." Communism in Washington State: History and 
     Memory. University of Washington, 2002. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://depts.washington.edu/ 
     labhist/cpproject/curwick.shtml>. 
"Living in the Atomic Age: The Space Race." Nebraska Studies. Nebraska, 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. 
     <http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0900/frameset_reset.html?http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0900/ 
     stories/0901_0105.html>. 
Miller, Worth Robert. "The Lost World of Gilded Age Politics ." Journal of the Gilded Age and 
     Progressive Era 1 (Jan. 2002): 49-67. JSTOR. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/ 
     25144285?seq=1>. 
"The Monroe Doctrine (overview)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. 
     <http://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Topics/Display/1183615?cid=41&terms=Monroe+doctrine>. 
"Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony ." Not for 
     Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony . PBS. WETA, 
     Washington, DC, 1999. American History in Video. Web. Transcript. 8 Mar. 2012. 
     <http://ahiv.alexanderstreet.com/View/734202>. 
Reed, Roy. "Alabama Police Use Gas and Clubs to Rout Negroes." The New York Times  7 Mar. 1965: n. 
     pag. New York Times . Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/ 
     big/0307.html#article>. 
"Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911)." New York Times. New York Times , 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 16 
     Mar. 2012. <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/t/ 
     triangle_shirtwaist_factory_fire/index.html>. 
United States. Census. Income, Expenditures, Poverty, & Wealth. U.S. Census Bureau . Census Bureau , 
     n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/ 
     income_expenditures_poverty_wealth.html>. 
Wealth Distribution in America. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://www.commonblog.com/wp-content/uploads/ 
     2011/03/2011-03-21-American-pie-chart-distribution-of-wealth.jpg>. 
"What the United States Has Fought For." Cartoon. American History 102. Stanley. K. Schultz, 2012. 
     Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/photos/assets/photos/1084.jpg>. 

The American Experience

This is my second quarter reflection from my AP Lang class. It's definitely not my best piece of writing, and even in the short time since I wrote this, I think I've grown as a writer. It's only a couple of paragraphs long, and I hope it's not horribly boring!

The prompt: "What is the American Experience? Explain."

My response:
The American Experience should be the main trait of most folks' ideal: freedom. Unfortunately, it would be described as something different by each person asked of their opinion. A rich man may say that hard work, the free market system, capitalism, and freedom are the American Experience. A poor man may believe something almost the exact opposite. But the American Experience cannot be defined by one singular American citizen, and only his or her personal experiences! In theory, this "experience" is freedom, as previously stated, but it cannot possible be so. This ideal of having freedom, specifically the freedom to live one's life as one chooses is exactly that; an ideal--a dream. Humans are drawn to strife, though.
In the past, it would have been an agreeable thought for freedom to be the basis of the American lifestyle, but how could that possibly have been true? The country held slaves for decades! And now, two hundred years later, there may no longer be slavery, but evils nearly as bad still exist. Racism, sexism, and general discrimination are far too common. How a country can claim freedom even with such things existing is appalling. Hate crimes are committed against gays and those who stand out--especially in educational environments--on a daily basis. People are hated for their skin colour, gender, and sexuality -- all things that they cannot choose! If the American Experience really is freedom, there can be absolutely no hope for the future of the world.

Now for the moment we've all been waiting for...

In first place...

Time Management~~!


And why? "Why," you're asking me? Because there's a TON of homework included in this course. It's immensely difficult in the first month or so of the course, I promise you. Especially if you don't possess any of the skills already mentioned in this list--the homework can take hours upon hours to do. I remember, during my first quarter of the course, I was spending at least three hours a night just on APLC work. Sometimes, it would be lighter--sometimes there was none. But on average, I was spending three or more. It got easier around November, but, man, it was tough.

You need to be ready to give some stuff up. Lots of people do sports in school, right? Well, I don't do that, but my course-load involves two languages, physics, AP Lang and more. Yes. Two languages. Korean and German. In order to handle the work for all of my courses, I had to pretty much give up the internet, and cut my dance-time short. It was not the most preferable thing on the planet, but you have to do what you have to do.

So, let's say you have sports. You're doing winter and spring, alright? So you've got conditioning through fall, games during winter, conditioning during late winter, then games all through spring. You're not going to have much time to do what you want, and far be it from me to tell you to drop sports. More power to you for doing them!

Rather than that...isn't there usually a period between the final bell and when practice/conditioning/the game starts? Usually about an hour, if I'm not mistaken. Take that time to do your other courses' work. You can't avoid your other classes just because you have AP Lang, you know. Then, when you get home, eat or whatever, then do more homework. Trust me, it's a million times easier to just get your work out of the way before you do fun stuff. Not only does it oftentimes seem faster, but while you're enjoying yourself, you don't have a boat-load of homework hanging over your head.

It's not going to be easy, it's not going to be fun, but organizing your time is a skill you not only need for APLC, but for life in general. May as well do well in school with a skill you're going to have to possess for the rest of your life, right?

Good luck~!

In Second Place...

Well, let's see...we've learned that it's necessary to know how to annotate, how to study (specifically vocab!), and that everything's an argument. What else could you possibly need for an AP course?

...A ton. But the second most important thing you need to know how to do is form a unique opinion. Think about it; if for nothing else, then for the AP Final Exam. Not everyone will have the same prompt, I'm sure, but there will be more than just you having your prompt. If you don't stand out from the crowd, your essay will turn into some average "meh" work that blends in with everyone else's. You don't want that. At least, I hope you don't...if you're gonna be in an AP class, you should stand out from everyone else, right?

Unique opinions are seriously important. With synthesis prompts (these are ones where you decide why something is "right" or "wrong," and you're given several source types to use to form your outlook), everyone will choose one side or the other. That's the easy way out, even if doesn't seem like it. Think about your every day life. Are things ever really that black and white? Ever? There are probably two or three things that you are entirely for or entirely against. Like politics. But most things? You're somewhere in the middle.

That's what you need to do for your essays. An essay is so much more interesting when a person uses his/her actual opinion. Don't make things black and white; not only is it actually more difficult, but the audience doesn't get as interested. Even if it's for an assignment, I'm sure you don't want people falling asleep while reading it.

So, you're probably thinking, what are you supposed to do if you can't come up with an opinion--there are some things that you just could care less about, right?--or, worse, you're actually dead set for/against the topic?! If you can't come up with an opinion...well...try to think of a way to argue for the opposite of what the source types are saying.

Like, for example...uh...you've got a prompt that asks you to form an opinion on whether the penny should be destroyed or not, right? Okay. So you're reading the sources, and...just about...every...single...article (or picture) seems to be all, "Ohemgee, gais! We soooo need to, liek, keep the penny! It's, liek, so, liek, ttly perfect!"  Take a closer look at things (remember, you want to stand out; and if you don't have an opinion, anyway, don't take the easy way out); I guarantee there are sentences that can deter the "positive" argument. Gather a few of those, and voila! You stand out from the crowd, and people aren't falling asleep while reading your essay. Yay, you!

In Third Place...

You've got to know how to argue. I know, isn't it great? Every teen has that rebellious streak in them--and with APLC, you're actually told to argue [with/about] things! Your parents were totally wrong when they told you that arguing/fighting would get you nowhere; an AP class is somewhere, right? Especially since it looks so good on a college application, and all~

So, arguing. It's a basic human nature, or so I've been told. People like to disagree. The thing is...arguing doesn't mean exactly what you think it means (Inconceivable!), in fact, it may just mean the exact opposite of what you think it means. Everything is an argument. Yes. Everything. My post is an argument. The fact that I think the food I had for dinner last night was a bit...shall we say...off...is an argument.

As a matter of fact, Monty Python put it really nicely. "An argument is a collective series of statements to establish a definite proposition." Or, in English (rather than smart-people jargon), an argument is an idea. Any idea that you can back up. Otherwise, it's just...sort of...a statement, I suppose. "Look, if I argue with you, I must take up a contradictory position." That statement (which could be an argument!) is rather false. You could argue that you agree with something--as long as you can support it.

And, pray tell, how do you support that? Easily--there are only four different support types, after all. First, there are facts and statistics -- these ones are the most difficult sources to dispute. Next is authority, which is where you can prove that someone like, say, President Obama said something about the point you're trying to make. Third is an anecdote -- just any old personal experience. And the best part about that? You don't have to use your own personal story! It can be anyone's, as long as it's relevant to your topic, of course. And, finally, we have the support type of values. This can be any type of PERSONAL value; like religious beliefs, national beliefs, traditions, or anything like that. Not value like money, 'cause, you know, that would be difficult to do. "My opinion is worth fifty million; yours is only worth five bucks!" Okay, maybe not...but there would be a lot of hurt feelings, y'know.

If you don't think you'll need to know how to use arguments...well, enjoy being naive! There is not a single assignment in the AP Lang course that doesn't involve argumentation of some sort. Everything's an argument, remember?

In Fourth Place...

Studying vocab! And the crowd goes wild!...or...not. Tough crowd, man. Tough crowd.

I know. Studying vocab. This is even more dull than annotation, isn't it? Le ew. Oh well, if you don't study your vocab--and I really mean study it, you may as well just give up now, and go talk to your counselor. There is absolutely no way you could withstand the course without adequate vocabulary study. Like, you'd have less chance than an ice cream cone sitting under the hot August sun.

Your vocab is your lifeline to understanding what exactly is going on in the class. Seriously. And I'm not talking about the wimpy English class vocab lists, with words like "hierarchy," and "adequate." I'm talking about the difference between a qualifier and an antithesis. Or  the difference between a thesis and a claim. You have no idea, do you? If you do, congratulations, you're ahead of the game. Would you like a trophy? I'd give you one, but that wouldn't really mean much, because knowing simple differences isn't enough.

You have to know the exact definitions, especially for the evils of the vocabulary definitions quizzes. You don't define the words. The quiz has a bunch of blanks, no word banks, and a bunch of definitions. There will probably be at least 3 sets of words that have definitions that could mean the exact same thing.

Getting the idea, now? Vocabulary is the key to surviving...at least for the first semester or so of the course. After that, you'll probably be done with vocabulary--quizzes, at least. Oh, you thought that was the least of it? Unfortunately, no. You'll be expected to know just about every possible word to describe sentence structure, not to mention paragraph structure and various different ways to structure one's arguments. On what, you ask? On in-class essays, on timed writings, on the AP Exam.

I had one exam where I had to write an essay using rhetorical modes. Go figure I always mix up "Rhetorical Modes," "Rhetorical Structures," and "Rhetorical Devices," huh? Rather than modes, I put a bunch of rhetorical devices. I knew that I had done poorly, before I even handed it in. Why? Because even though, for once, I hadn't mixed up the various rhetorical ____s, I could not, for the life of me, remember a single mode. Not a one. Oh joy of joys.

You're going to need to be able to call on difficult terms at a moment's notice; whether it be during an essay, a quiz, a test, or a class discussion. It's probably a good idea to learn some studying habits now, while you have the chance.

Vocabulary doesn't stick well with me, for some reason. Grammar, sure. Vocabulary? Not so much. I've found that flashcards (if you have a different word for them, let me know; it's basically where you put the word on one side, and the definition on the other) and/or flashcard apps for my phone seem to work best for me. Physical flashcards being far better than the alternative. And there are even vocabulary fans you could use...all sorts of things.

Like I mentioned, practice studying terms now, because it can only get easier. There are also practice AP multiple choice exams you can take, to see how much you already know, so that you know what you need to study. I do that all the time, personally. We had several in-class or for homework over the first semester, and every time I got one back, I'd study the words I didn't know, or the answers that I didn't get correct, with fervor. I suggest doing the same, and saving all of those quizzes for reference. I mean, it's not like it can do anything to make your life more difficult; attempting new ways of studying can only make your life easier.

So, this one may not be interesting, but really...vocabulary is way important. Take my word for it, or don't. I've already learned the hard way; if you want to do so as well, that's your prerogative.