Reflection Unit Two Essay

For this unit, I had a hard time figuring out how I should put my website together. A lot of questions were going through my head. As time went on, I asked you what I should do with my website and you told me to include both sides of the argument. My research question was is there more success if the baby’s father is around or if they have some other form of strong moral support. Before doing research, I believed that women can be successful without the support of a father around. In my website, I had to decide what information had to go on there and not be so one-sided. I thought of putting both sides of the argument on there. I did the benefits of having moral support and the benefits of having no support. I also did the disadvantages of the two. I decided to put bright colors because the agency I am working with is Baby Steps. At the agency itself, there is bright and fun colors everywhere so I incorporated that in my website. The images I chose was a baby walking up the stairs. Since I do Service Learning at Baby Steps, I chose that picture of the baby going up the stairs. To me I seen a connection between the two. The layout I chose was blue and had a rusty type of texture to it. This mothers have a rough and gloomy lifestyle from what I’ve seen and heard. I tried to connect Baby Steps with the rhetorical choices I made from the website. I designed my website the way I did because I felt that adding bright colors and making it fun would relate to how the agency is. The agency tries to make the mothers happy by doing fun, stress free activities. I wrote my website the way I did because I didn’t want my entire website to show one side of the argument. I had to integrate both moral and amoral support. I wanted to show people that mothers are successful with or without the baby’s father and moral support around. My thinking of rhetorical choices has changed after I did this website because I learned that certain aspects such as color choices, layouts and images affect audience awareness, research strategies, source use/integration, awareness of discourse community and argumentation. If I were to use different colors such as black and blue. It would be too serious for my audience and they would have had a different perspective on it. Being able to put both sides of the argument into my website gives my audience an idea of what low-income single mothers go through to raise a baby. I used Wysocki to help me design my website. I also had more help when we did the peer review for each other's website in class. Gloria also helped with giving me some thoughts on how to start it which was also helpful. I also used Wix because I used Wix last year and it was more easier to use. After doing this website, I learned more about the purpose of writing, the topic of my research question and different audiences. I also learned more about doing research. Primer was something I used for my discourse analysis and annotated bibliographies. It was something that was true because it was research someone else did. Bias is also in everything I read! That is also another thing that caught my attention. I developed strategies for source use and integration and I used the agency as one of my sources to back up my argument that women can be successful without the baby’s father involved. I have learned a lot from this unit alone. I’m slowly becoming a better writer by doing various things such as making websites and posting on a blog. Although, this is not your average english 102 class, now I learn how to use a blog and make a website for a second time around. I’m excited to learn how to work with videos and be able to make that. All of what I’m doing connects to English somehow. I’m learning more and more each day with just making rhetorical choices and being able to understand why I did what I did. In the end, I’m progressing with English itself and becoming a better writer. Before doing this unit, I was kind of iffy because I did not know what a discourse analysis was or an annotated bibliography was. Now I do. Here is my website:http://www.wix.com/tyadao/babysteps

Annotated Bibliography #2

BabySteps - A Community Ministry of St. Michael's Episcopal Cathedral. Baby Steps, Dec.-Jan. 2010. Web. 28 Feb. 2011.

This website give us readers information on low-income families and their struggles. Baby Steps ensures us that they help these women in everything they need such as diapers, cribs, clothes and so forth. The background of the author is legit. I used this source in my discourse analysis to show people that women are far more successful without the baby’s father involved. She made it through high school and college. She is now following her dream. This source illuminates my essay topic because she is a prime example of why I believe women are successful without any moral support. If she can do it, any other women can to that has struggled with a baby. I believe this is a good source to use because it’s a first hand account of the women and their issues. I met some of these women when I volunteer at the agency every week.

Jennifer F. Culhane, et al. "Beyond Marital Status: The Quality of the Mother–Father Relationship and Its Influence on Reproductive Health Behaviors and Outcomes Among Unmarried Low Income Pregnant Women." Maternal & Child Health Journal 14.5 (2010): 726-734. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 15 Mar. 2011.

This article discusses psychosocial characteristics, health behaviors and birth outcomes between unmarried pregnant women who reported to have a good relationship with the baby’s father compared to those who have a poor relationship with the baby’s father. The authority seemed legit due to the fact that the information stated was on empirical evidence on a study. This source is different from another source I used such as the Baby Steps website because this is solely based on numbers whereas the Baby Steps website is on success stories and how they help low-income pregnancy families. This will help clarify my essay topic because it states that the relationship with a baby’s father is important which is the opposite from what I am saying. This study shows that the worse the relationship is, the worse the outcomes is for the family.

Website/Audience Proposal

1. My audience will include women who have been in difficult relationships. They might of had to deal with domestic abuse. It might help to create my website that is sensitive to their situation. I also want to lean towards mothers who had a baby during high school and decided not to graduate. The education would be mothers who had a baby in high school, graduated or not. Women who had babies might be interested in my research.

2. The background my audience has in regards to my topic is that they experienced it first hand. I will talk about what moms can do if the baby’s father is not around. I would have to include a lot of information so that a different audience can agree with what I’m saying in regards that single mothers are successful without the baby’s father involved.

3. I envision my audience to be interested in my research question. I want my audience to agree with me because we all know these young women are left unattended with a responsibility to take care of a child and they are still successful, raising above all challenges.

4. The gist of the conversation is that women without moral support still can graduate from high school and college, find a job and support their child. Even with a child, it may be hard to accomplish all of those goals but these women still manage to do it regardless. The women that want more in life can attempt these goals and are determined to raise a child with no help.

5. To capture the attention of my audience, I will embed pictures and videos about my topic so they will not be disinterested. It will also be professional.

6. Women are successful without the baby’s father involved. What led me make this particular claim is that my grandma was a single women raising 5 kids and she had no help. The kids helped watched one another. If she can be successful without the father around, any other women can as well.

Annotated Bibliography #1

Atkins, Rahshida. "Self-efficacy and the promotion of health for depressed single mothers." Mental Health in Family Medicine 7.3 (2010): 155-168. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 3 Mar. 2011

Rahshida Atkins argues that single mothers are at risk for poor mental and physical health. Some of the problems single women face is low income, educational statuses, social support and stress. To me this factors can lead to depression. This articles is different from the one I cited from my discourse analysis which was my “Predictors and Correlates of Continuing Involvement with the Baby’s Father Among Adolescent Mothers.” This source talks about the things that can lead up to depression and bad health. The fact that single mothers have no help raising a baby causes stress and leads to depression. I wanted my readers to have a different perspective of my original research question. Even if the baby’s father were to be there, these women can still be depressed due to other factors. This source is valid because I found it under Academic Premier which is a valid database that uses research that is true.

Berridge, Clara W., and Jennifer L. Romich. "“Raising Him . . . to Pull His Own Weight”: Boys’ Household Work in Single-Mother Households." Journal of Family Issues 32.2 (2011): 157-180. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 3 Mar. 2011.

Clara Berridge and Jennifer Romich argue that single mothers teach their sons how to do their household work. According to these authors housework works as an arena for gender role production. After these boys did their work and looked back at themselves and took pride in what they did. This source compares to my third extended bibliography where the single fathers took care of their children. They took pride in raising their children. This source clarifies my essay topic because these women can be successful if their children just helped them do household chores around the house. A mother wants to relax when she gets home. Having a little help would reduce her stress. Having these boys grow into men who were competent around the house and are good partners.

Discourse Analysis

Daniel W. Russell, et al. "Predictors and Correlates of Continuing Involvement with the Baby's Father Among Adolescent Mothers." Journal of Family Psychology 12.3 (1998): 369-387. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.

At Baby Steps women get points if they bring support with them to their classes. They can use these points to go to the store to buy their child diapers, cribs and clothes. According to the article, fathers were more likely to stay involved with the adolescent mother if the couple had an intimate and supportive relationship 6 weeks after delivery. As I read more and more women are more likely to become successful due to the fact that they have assistance and it takes stress off of them to take care of a baby on their own. There is a difference between an adolescent father and father that is old in age. Youngs boy do not know how to take care of a child according to this article. I find this discriminatory because fathers that bare in old age might not know how to take care of a child also. Young boys have a lack of parenting skills and knowledge of child development. Women reply on men for emotional support, married or not. Men have an impact on a women’s well-being and behavior. Without moral support, I don’t think any women can take care of a baby on their own.

Father’s have a positive impact on their children. If he stays around the child is more likely to behave throughout their life. Fathers associated with their baby have advantages where as fathers who are not involved with their child causes problems with mothers and their success. The agency Baby Steps really stress these young ladies to bring support with them. They offer women points which makes no sense. The baby’s father should be involved regardless of the situation. These men are to provide a safe and nurturing environment for their infants. I find it fascinating that men effect women and their success. I find it bias that the articles looks only on adolescent father’s involved but it looks to me that everyone at Baby Steps are under the age of 25. After reading this article, I believe that a women can have success without a man being on her side. Every women in this world should be independent financially and emotionally. It was interesting to me that the article said that young boys do not know how to take care of a baby. I believe this is true. How can a baby take care of a baby? In today’s society, boys are leaving their significant other when it comes to their baby. The bias was coming from a particular group of people which was young boys, The worldview is that men, despite their age should step up to the plate and take care of their child. A women needs helps raising a baby but I think success should be put upon someone else. If you want to be something in life, you should be able to go get it if you wanted to. Baby Steps encourages all the young women to bring support because thats their back bone. They are offered double incentive points when they bring support. A support is an adult who is: the baby’s father, family member, friend, caseworker or anyone else who they feel is supportive.

I find it disappointing when I see these young women at Baby Steps and the baby’s father is not there to support them. I want to talk to these young ladies and figure out why the baby’s father isn’t there and why must they have to reply on an agency for money. The fathers should pay for child support and help these women out. Then again as I said before women should be independent and not rely on a man for success. It being money or a job. Men should just be there to handle their business and take care of their child. Moral Support is important in the agency, Baby Steps because it helps young limited low-income pregnant and newly parenting mothers.

BabySteps - A Community Ministry of St. Michael's Episcopal Cathedral. Baby Steps, Dec.-Jan. 2010. Web. 28 Feb. 2011.

Baby Steps rely on a strong support system. As said on the website, “we rely on donations from individuals, businesses, and private foundations to guarantee that no family is ever charged a fee for our services.” Many women who attend Baby Steps are successful afterwards. With the abundance of help, these women have the opportunity to receive diapers, clothes, cribs, baby shower and so much more. A big thing in Baby Steps is having donations to help out other mothers. Some donations include toys, clothes, cribs and money. I would say these women are eachother’s support system. They help one another out by having stroller fitness where they do cardio and strength training exercises as well as weight loss after the birth. This provides a peer support environment. Most of these women are in the same predicament. They have no male figure for the baby and come alone. These women rely on the organization to help them since they are low in income. Baby Steps makes a difference and depends on us to provide many of the things needed for babies such as diapers, toiletries, new clothing, Boise transit bus passes and meter cards.

I read a success story from a mother named Ashley. She is a prime example of what I mean when women should be independent. She grew from her challenges. She graduated from high school earning her diploma with a 2 year old and pregnant with triplets at that time. She is now at a message therapy school with plans on continuing school as a CNA. She is a role model for other mothers at Baby Steps. She is determined to go beyond the horizons and show everyone she can handle any challenge put in front of her. The key to her success was education. Having a solid career is important to her and she sees that she must be better than her own mother. Her mother did not complete high school and she took that experience as something to better herself with. A said in her story, “As a single mother without the emotional or financial support of the children’s father, she is blessed to have a supportive grandmother who assists with her children’s care; allowing her to continue her education, work and provide for her family.” I give this mother credit because she showed everyone the baby’s father does not have to be there to be successful in life.

I found it bias that the program only helps women who are pregnant. Once you delivered your baby you can not join the program because the program is designed to help women have a healthy pregnancy and delivery. The women who can join is women who receive prenatal care, reside in Ada County, pregnant, English speaking and low in income. Women who did Baby Steps before can not do it again due to preventing a wait list. I think that women in general need help to raise a baby. I see why the agency only helps these women once so that they can learn from the first time and be able to save up and make money for the baby. I find it bias helping women instead of looking as it as generally speaking. Helping someone from one perspective is kind of iffy to me. I would want an agency to help all women in need of help. Helping others as Baby Steps does is amazing! The underlying values of this is that women should be successful without moral support. The world views is that people think that men are the reason for a women’s success which is not true. Ashley’s sorry is an example of being a single successful young women. She had no help and did everything on her own.

Obama, Barack. “Promoting Responsible Fatherhood.” Speech. 21 June. 2010. Youtube. Accessed on 28 Feb 2011.

Obama talks about fatherhood and personal responsibility. Men should balance the need of their families with the demands of their jobs. His question to all was how can we all come together to help fathers meet their responsibilities to our families and communities? He goes on talking about fathers are role models for a household. Fathers are teachers, coaches and mentors. Children who grow up without a father is most likely to live in poverty. Kids are more likely to drop out of school,wind up in prison, abuse drugs and alcohol, run away from home and become teenage parents themselves. Obama has a point but I disagree with that list. My father grew up without his dad and he finished high school, did not wind up in prison, never took a drug in his life or abused alcohol. He became old enough to have a kid and he’s the best father I can ever ask for. Leaving a family leaves a permanent scar on the child’s heart. Father’s are to give a kid everything they never had and more.

I believe that fathers should make their kids a priority in their lives. Father’s also set examples for us to follow and build a child’s character. They teach us trust in life and to enter it with confidence. I think that fathers should step up and take care of their obligations. Everyone has responsibilities in life but the men should also be there to help their girlfriend or wife with the baby. Obama really tries to enforce and raise awareness about responsible fatherhood and working to re-engage absent fathers with their families. Obama wants these men to be caught up in their child support payments and to reunite with their children.

I agree with Obama and what he has to say but I remember that he did vote against giving medical care to babies born alive after an abortion attempt. Did he not just go through an entire list of what “good fathers” are? He worked against efforts to ban the practice of leaving babies who survived failed abortions to die. There’s a lot of issues in the government such as funding for schools, how are these children supposed to share book, pens if there’s a lack of teachers and funding.

The bias I found in this was that it was kind of a contradictory of his actions and words. He tells these fathers to support single mothers and their children. This speech was mainly the coercion of men to support women that are not their wives and children that are not apart of their lives. The underlying values of this speech is that people don’t realize how how it is to be a father and that women are successful with a father being involved. I get what Obama says about a father being involved and having a hug impact on the child’s life. The world views this speech as something not to be proud of since other issues come into account like funding for school and the abortion issue. I agree that father’s take full responsibility of their actions and pay for child support. If you have sex, you should be able to be a man and step up to the plate.

Sheldon, Sally. "From 'absent objects of blame' to 'fathers who want to take responsibility': reforming birth registration law." Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law 31.4 (2009): 373-389. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 2 Mar. 2011.

Absent fathers has been an issue for some decades now weather they should pay child support or to support the relationships with children that men want and deserved but are unfairly denied. I don’t blame child if they don’t want to accept their father if he was absent for a long period of time and decides to show up. I wouldn’t want him to be involved in my life at all. This article talks about fatherhood, single fathers, domestic relations, social problems and child welfare. My response to this is that men should be involved with the child regardless of the situation. The Welfare Reform Bill which aims to increase the proportion of unmarried fathers who are names on birth certificates. The implies that fatherhood is an active engagement with their children rather than a disciplinary act. As said in the article, “fathers to be more involved with their offspring and the likely success of initiatives in parenting as a means of addressing broader social problems.”

My research question was is there more chance of success if the baby’s father is around or if they have some form of strong moral support? According to thus article, men in fact do have an impact on a child’s success. I don’t believe in this because if you want something in life you should be able to strive for it yourself. No one is going to help you get to where you want to be in life. I want to be a delivery nurse when I’m older. My father always told me if I want something, go get it and don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do it cause you can. Fathers do have an impact on a child but I believe an absent father has an effect on a child’s success.

I find it bias that they look at fathers in one perspective. I think every child has a different effect if their father was not there in their lives. Some children find it a hard time living through life without a dad. My friend has never seen his dad and does not know him. He doesn’t like discussing him because he left when he was just a baby, My other friend on the other had sees her dad once a month and comes in contact with him. I’m glad I have a dad that supports me in my endeavors and what I want to become when I get older. The world views that men be involved. They key word is involved. If you want to make a baby, be responsible for your actions.

"MTV." Advertising Age 81.18 (2010): C50. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 28 Feb. 2011.

I used this source because it shows young teen single mothers on a show called Teen Moms. This young girls ages, 16-18 show us the challenges they go through everyday without their baby’s father involved. These young ladies are successful without them. They have the help of their family to help out with the babies. Girls move out and find an apartment and find a job to help pay for rent. These girls boyfriends leave them unattended and these girls have a hard time taking care of the baby. Half of these girls go back to school to get their GED.

I would say these girls are successful because they balance out taking care of a baby, having a job and going to school. I give these girls credit because I don’t think I can do it without the help of someone else. I have learned a lot from Baby Steps and looking up sources that correspond to my question. The bias I found was that all young boys do not stick around to handle their business. I found this interesting because they want to have sex but when it comes down to it, they leave when they find out they are having a baby.

Discourse Analysis #3

Obama, Barack. “Promoting Responsible Fatherhood.” Speech. 21 June. 2010. Youtube. Accessed on 28 Feb 2011.

Obama talks about fatherhood and personal responsibility. Men should balance the need of their families with the demands of their jobs. His question to all was how can we all come together to help fathers meet their responsibilities to our families and communities? He goes on talking about fathers are role models for a household. Fathers are teachers, coaches and mentors. Children who grow up without a father is most likely to live in poverty. Kids are more likely to drop out of school,wind up in prison, abuse drugs and alcohol, run away from home and become teenage parents themselves. Obama has a point but I disagree with that list. My father grew up without his dad and he finished high school, did not wind up in prison, never took a drug in his life or abused alcohol. He became old enough to have a kid and he’s the best father I can ever ask for. Leaving a family leaves a permanent scar on the child’s heart. Father’s are to give a kid everything they never had and more.

I believe that fathers should make their kids a priority in their lives. Father’s also set examples for us to follow and build a child’s character. They teach us trust in life and to enter it with confidence. I think that fathers should step up and take care of their obligations. Everyone has responsibilities in life but the men should also be there to help their girlfriend or wife with the baby. Obama really tries to enforce and raise awareness about responsible fatherhood and working to re-engage absent fathers with their families. Obama wants these men to be caught up in their child support payments and to reunite with their children.

I agree with Obama and what he has to say but I remember that he did vote against giving medical care to babies born alive after an abortion attempt. Did he not just go through an entire list of what “good fathers” are? He worked against efforts to ban the practice of leaving babies who survived failed abortions to die. There’s a lot of issues in the government such as funding for schools, how are these children supposed to share book, pens if there’s a lack of teachers and funding.

The bias I found in this was that it was kind of a contradictory of his actions and words. He tells these fathers to support single mothers and their children. This speech was mainly the coercion of men to support women that are not their wives and children that are not apart of their lives. The underlying values of this speech is that people don’t realize how how it is to be a father and that women are successful with a father being involved. I get what Obama says about a father being involved and having a hug impact on the child’s life. The world views this speech as something not to be proud of since other issues come into account like funding for school and the abortion issue. I agree that father’s take full responsibility of their actions and pay for child support. If you have sex, you should be able to be a man and step up to the plate.

Discourse Analysis #2

BabySteps - A Community Ministry of St. Michael's Episcopal Cathedral. Baby Steps, Dec.-Jan. 2010. Web. 28 Feb. 2011.

Baby Steps rely on a strong support system. As said on the website, “we rely on donations from individuals, businesses, and private foundations to guarantee that no family is ever charged a fee for our services.” Many women who attend Baby Steps are successful afterwards. With the abundance of help, these women have the opportunity to receive diapers, clothes, cribs, baby shower and so much more. A big thing in Baby Steps is having donations to help out other mothers. Some donations include toys, clothes, cribs and money. I would say these women are eachother’s support system. They help one another out by having stroller fitness where they do cardio and strength training exercises as well as weight loss after the birth. This provides a peer support environment. Most of these women are in the same predicament. They have no male figure for the baby and come alone. These women rely on the organization to help them since they are low in income. Baby Steps makes a difference and depends on us to provide many of the things needed for babies such as diapers, toiletries, new clothing, Boise transit bus passes and meter cards.

I read a success story from a mother named Ashley. She is a prime example of what I mean when women should be independent. She grew from her challenges. She graduated from high school earning her diploma with a 2 year old and pregnant with triplets at that time. She is now at a message therapy school with plans on continuing school as a CNA. She is a role model for other mothers at Baby Steps. She is determined to go beyond the horizons and show everyone she can handle any challenge put in front of her. The key to her success was education. Having a solid career is important to her and she sees that she must be better than her own mother. Her mother did not complete high school and she took that experience as something to better herself with. A said in her story, “As a single mother without the emotional or financial support of the children’s father, she is blessed to have a supportive grandmother who assists with her children’s care; allowing her to continue her education, work and provide for her family.” I give this mother credit because she showed everyone the baby’s father does not have to be there to be successful in life.

I found it bias that the program only helps women who are pregnant. Once you delivered your baby you can not join the program because the program is designed to help women have a healthy pregnancy and delivery. The women who can join is women who receive prenatal care, reside in Ada County, pregnant, English speaking and low in income. Women who did Baby Steps before can not do it again due to preventing a wait list. I think that women in general need help to raise a baby. I see why the agency only helps these women once so that they can learn from the first time and be able to save up and make money for the baby. I find it bias helping women instead of looking as it as generally speaking. Helping someone from one perspective is kind of iffy to me. I would want an agency to help all women in need of help. Helping others as Baby Steps does is amazing! The underlying values of this is that women should be successful without moral support. The world views is that people think that men are the reason for a women’s success which is not true. Ashley’s sorry is an example of being a single successful young women. She had no help and did everything on her own.

Discourse Analysis #1

Daniel W. Russell, et al. "Predictors and Correlates of Continuing Involvement with the Baby's Father Among Adolescent Mothers." Journal of Family Psychology 12.3 (1998): 369-387. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.

At Baby Steps women get points if they bring support with them to their classes. They can use these points to go to the store to buy their child diapers, cribs and clothes. According to the article, fathers were more likely to stay involved with the adolescent mother if the couple had an intimate and supportive relationship 6 weeks after delivery. As I read more and more women are more likely to become successful due to the fact that they have assistance and it takes stress off of them to take care of a baby on their own. There is a difference between an adolescent father and father that is old in age. Youngs boy do not know how to take care of a child according to this article. I find this discriminatory because fathers that bare in old age might not know how to take care of a child also. Young boys have a lack of parenting skills and knowledge of child development. Women reply on men for emotional support, married or not. Men have an impact on a women’s well-being and behavior. Without moral support, I don’t think any women can take care of a baby on their own.

Father’s have a positive impact on their children. If he stays around the child is more likely to behave throughout their life. Fathers associated with their baby have advantages where as fathers who are not involved with their child causes problems with mothers and their success. The agency Baby Steps really stress these young ladies to bring support with them. They offer women points which makes no sense. The baby’s father should be involved regardless of the situation. These men are to provide a safe and nurturing environment for their infants. I find it fascinating that men effect women and their success. I find it bias that the articles looks only on adolescent father’s involved but it looks to me that everyone at Baby Steps are under the age of 25. After reading this article, I believe that a women can have success without a man being on her side. Every women in this world should be independent financially and emotionally. It was interesting to me that the article said that young boys do not know how to take care of a baby. I believe this is true. How can a baby take care of a baby? In today’s society, boys are leaving their significant other when it comes to their baby. The bias was coming from a particular group of people which was young boys, The worldview is that men, despite their age should step up to the plate and take care of their child. A women needs helps raising a baby but I think success should be put upon someone else. If you want to be something in life, you should be able to go get it if you wanted to. Baby Steps encourages all the young women to bring support because thats their back bone. They are offered double incentive points when they bring support. A support is an adult who is: the baby’s father, family member, friend, caseworker or anyone else who they feel is supportive.

I find it disappointing when I see these young women at Baby Steps and the baby’s father is not there to support them. I want to talk to these young ladies and figure out why the baby’s father isn’t there and why must they have to reply on an agency for money. The fathers should pay for child support and help these women out. Then again as I said before women should be independent and not rely on a man for success. It being money or a job. Men should just be there to handle their business and take care of their child. Moral Support is important in the agency, Baby Steps because it helps young limited low-income pregnant and newly parenting mothers.

Research Question

Is there more chance of success if the baby's father is around or if they have some other form of strong moral support?

Reflection Unit One Essay

At first, I knew that this English 102 course would be hard knowing that English 101 class was difficult for me. My academic writing was rocky in 101 so I knew I had to step up my game in writing not only grammatically speaking but analytically too. To be honest I knew nothing about the depth of research and source. As discussed in class, we went over using the databases in the Albertsons Library. For the bibliographies I used the databases in the library which was my time using it. After finding my articles I realized those sources were reliable and true to believe. I learned that “if you find that you have nothing to say, this is a surefire way to know either that you haven’t found a good source or that you need to reconsider what they’re saying.” You must be able to talk about a source and rely on it. If you have nothing to comment about finding a better source is the answer. Some articles such as wikipedia is not dependable because people can go and edit anything on that website making it skeptical to me. I also got a lot of feedback which helped me with the Unit One project. These comments changed my understanding of research and sources being used. For the first peer review, my peers read and added their comments about my bibliography. She graded it as if she was a tough teacher and told me I need sources to back up my argument. She also told me to research a different topic such as “why so many families don’t have insurance in the first place.” I felt that that topic didn’t have any relevance to Baby Steps so I just stuck to my initial research topic of low-income pregnancy families. For my second and third sources I researched topics in the databases which was quite easier than looking for a topic on google.

My understanding of the values and rhetorical features underlying academic writing and inquiry have developed by researching articles and analyzing them using the six strategies for analyzing sources. For my first bibliography, I took your comments into account. You said “I had a bit of a hard time getting a feel for what your source was all about because you dive straight in. Also, I think you could dig a little deeper on some of your sections: I would be interested in what specifically showed their bias.” I dived straight in and it was hard to get a feel for it. I added and showed how the article was bias towards. I made it more clear to understand. I added question about the piece and information they did not include which may have been helpful. “I believe this source is bias because they aimed towards single low-come women. Women who are pregnant in general need help getting money to raise a baby. Baby Steps and this article are similar due to the fact that the organization do help women out by distributing diapers, clothes and cribs.” For my second bibliography, I took Alex’s comments into account. I changed my summary around. She said,” the summary was worded very well and was a great start but felt more like an intro rather than a summary. Adding a little more information about what goes in the article after jesseca is interviewed.” I added how my source is credible by adding this, “The credibility of this article is legitimate due to the fact that I did get it from the library website. The University only post valid information which makes this source reliable.” I added into my reflection how the article connected to my thoughts and arguments. “This article connected with my argument that teen moms can go back to school and live above the poverty line because if Jesseca can do it, anyone can. The benefits of joining a low-income pregnancy organization is that they help moms abundantly.” For my third bibliography I revised the summary because it felt like it was all over the place. “This article takes you inside the lives of two black single male parents and what they go through on the daily basis-with dating, day care and financial needs. Alfonso Morrell and Dr. Forrest King Jr play the role of being a father and mother. They cook, clean, wash clothes and discipline while providing a masculine role model for their son.” This sounded more better because before I felt like I was rambling on. I also added to my questions. I figured that men and women should be equal. Everyone should get the same treatment with these agencies that are trying to help low-income pregnancy families.

That was some of my revision made. The experience I had with this Unit One was that it was confusing at first but then I got the hang of it. The reading is long and confusing. Sometimes I don’t know what they are talking about so I feel like why should I read more if I don’t comprehend it. I like the fact that we do peer editing because I will know what I need to fix and work on in my paper. Being able to receive feedback is better because you can learn and grow from your mistakes. My experience with blogging for the first time was frustrating at first. I need to get used to working with technology because that’s what I’ll be doing in the next units. My overall experience was good. I walked out learning more than what I expected. I learned how to research a topic and know weather it’s a reliable source. I learned how to analyze and reflect on a source. Also asking questions and becoming a better writer by intaking other’s comments. I also learned a lot from reading chapters 13 and 14 from Writing Analytically, from reading about the six strategies about analyzing sources, applying a reading as a lens and begin about to identify the pitch-what the piece wishes you to believe, the compliant-what the piece is reacting to or worried about and the moment-the historical and cultural context within which the piece is operating. Overall, I got a lot out of this unit!

Revised Bibliographies

Bibliography #1

“Help For Low-Income Pregnant Families Women And Families.” babycenter.com. BabyCenter. n.d Jan. 2011.

In this article, Judy Meehan states that “getting medical care in pregnancy, and keeping all of your doctors’ appointments, is essential to your health and baby’s development. Eating healthy foods is important. Help is available, and government programs can connect you to care.” The article also talks about various organizations locally dedicated just to low pregnancy income families to improve infant and prenatal care. Some families do not have enough money for health insurance so they can apply for Medicaid or call the low-cost medical care for help.

This author is making an argument to help those families with low incomes to help pay for their newborn’s necessities. By placing baby pictures and videos on the website which gives us a reputable feel of the work. The website is effective but then again I feel like they should strictly focus on one key element which is the low-income pregnancy families. The audience is women who are having trouble coming up with money to feed their newborns due to low income or no health insurance. I intentionally thought that the topic was “low-income families” but it veered off. This ties into the agency because Baby Steps focuses on low income pregnancy families. The author is making a pitch about helping families out.

I believe this source is bias because they aimed towards single low-come women. Women who are pregnant in general need help getting money to raise a baby. The article also aimed more towards “advertisement” rather than strictly sticking to talking about Baby Steps. There was a picture of advertising a car at the top of the page and at the bottom of the page, they were advertising credit cards. This made me kind of skeptical because it was jumping from various topics on the page. The credibility also makes me leery because there was a comment box at the bottom so people can add their opinions about anything on the page-cars, credit cards or even the topic “low-income pregnant women.” Baby Steps and this article are similar due to the fact that the organization do help women out by distributing diapers, clothes and cribs.

I had a more better understanding of the source as a whole because I wasn’t reading it for the gist of getting the blog down but I actually thought of the material. I feel that I need to learn why they must put other advertisements on the website. I also want to learn why there is other subjects on the website such as baby shower tips, best celebrities, girl scouts and some other things which are irrelevant to low income families. I want to know why there is a list of other pregnancy topics on the side of the page. The information they should have included which would have been helpful were to discuss why women have no money in general and is the government really helping these low-income families out.

Revised Bibliography #2

Rinaldo, Denise. "The Touch Life Of A Teen Mom." Scholastic Choices 25.4 (2010): 4-7. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 7 Feb. 2011.

In this article, “The Touch Life Of A Teen Mom” Denise Rinaldo describes how United States has the highest teen birth rate in the industrialized world. Every year the number of teen pregnancies increase. Rinaldo also discuss the downfalls of teen moms. Teen moms are likely to drop out of school and experience poverty. In this article, 16 year old Jesseca Heatherly talks about her story about being a teen mom. She did the opposite of any typical mom does in life. She went to school and got money from her job.

This article is aimed towards teen moms. Jesseca talks about her struggles and what she went through to overcome those struggles. Between school, work, and caring for her daughter, Bella, Jesseca has no free time for herself. She is extremely happy with an organization called The Children and Family Resource Center. She relied on them for help such as food, diapers and everything a baby might need. I think that this article is a little bias due to the fact that it only aims to teen moms instead of pregnant moms in general. All mothers need help regardless if you’re single or not. Raising a baby is money. As for credibility, there is pics of Jesseca and her baby reading a book and eating cake which makes the story seem true. The credibility of this article is legitimate due to the fact that I did get it from the library website. The University only post valid information which makes this source reliable. “I would always say I wasn’t going to get married or pregnant until I was 30 years old,” was a motto Jesseca lived by. I found this interesting because she did the exact opposite. She got pregnant at 16 and quickly realized her life would be difficult.

This article applies to Baby Steps because just as in the article Jesseca used a program called The Children and Family Resource Center. The group helped her get medical care while she was pregnant just as baby Steps does with women of low income. The program also helped Jesseca enroll in an alternative high school with an on-site-day-care center. Teen moms as well as single moms are steadily increasing. Jesseca is raising awareness that teen moms can graduate from high school. That is a big accomplishment because most teen moms give up on their education. The program helped her get a job from day care and she applied to college. I agree with everything the Family Resource Center does because it parallels with what Baby Steps tries to aim. This article connected with my argument that teen moms can go back to school and live above the poverty line because if Jesseca can do it, anyone can. The benefits of joining a low-income pregnancy organization is that they help moms abundantly.

I feel like why do single teen moms have to rely on an organization to get through their problems. Jesseca couldn’t rely on a family member to help her out financially? As I went to orientation the women there are in the same predicament as Jesseca is. Most of them are teen moms with no spouse and have no money coming in. Baby Steps is a good program to help with low income families.

Revised Bibliography #3

Jeffers, Glenn. "Single Dads: Fathering And Mothering." Ebony 57.8 (2002): 88. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 7 Feb. 2011.

This article takes you inside the lives of two black single male parents and what they go through on the daily basis-with dating, day care and financial needs. Alfonso Morrell and Dr. Forrest King Jr play the role of being a father and mother. They cook, clean, wash clothes and discipline while providing a masculine role model for their son.

This articles is aimed towards black single fathers that play the role of a father and mother. These two men are breaking the barriers that all black men are unwilling or unable to take care of their children. “Thousands of fathers are stepping up and taking care of their responsibility,” quoted by Jeffers. Morrell and Dr. King are primes examples of this quote. Some dads out here in the world, make a baby and don’t take up for their responsibility. This article is bias because it looks at single fathers from one aspect of the spectrum-racially. It also leans to single mothers and how men need to remarry so that their child can have a mother figure in their life and to share their responsibility with. As for credibility, the source is true because it’s a real life account of two single male fathers trying to provide for their children. Dr. King is financially independent and that’s a plus in his case. As for other fathers like Morrell he has help from his sisters. I also got this article from the University library databases. They only post and publish valid information which makes this article reliable and true to believe.

This article ties in with Baby steps because when I went to orientation there were single parents everywhere in that agency. Women who came with a support system gained points. At the end of the orientation, the women can take their point booklets to the baby store to buy diapers, clothes, cribs and other baby necessities with their points. This article ties in with me because my grandfather raised me and he was a single father with 5 kids. My grandpa was also like my mother when she was away for a bit. I agree that men can play the role of both father and mother because I know a lot of parents that are doing it right now. My uncle is a father of two kids and he’s a single parent. He resembles the life of Morrell and King.

These two men had a goal of raising their children to be confident, strong, and responsible men which they lead by example. I want to learn why organizations don’t help single fathers out. Baby Steps only help women who are pregnant. I see a discrepancy between the two. Shouldn’t the agencies be able to help men too? I also think that men should be rewarded just are women are in Baby Steps. They get free diapers, clothes and cribs just by going to doctor appointments and attending the classes at the organization. Single fathers should be treated the same as women do regardless of gender.

Bibliography #3

Jeffers, Glenn. "Single Dads: Fathering And Mothering." Ebony 57.8 (2002): 88. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 7 Feb. 2011.

Morrell plays the roll of a being a single father and mother. He cooks, cleans, washes and disciplines while providing a masculine role model for his son. Another man by the name of Dr. Forrest King Jr. is a single dad who also cooks for his son although his son will not eat his cooking. This article takes you inside the lives of two black single male parents and what they go through on the daily basis-with dating, day care and financial needs.

This articles aimed towards black single fathers that play that role of a father and mother. These two men are breaking the barriers that all black men are unwilling or unable to take care of their children. It talks about how thousands of fathers are stepping up and taking care of their responsibility. This article is bias because it looks at single fathers from one aspect of the spectrum racially. It also leans to single mothers and how men need to remarry so that their child can have a mother figure in their life and to share their responsibility with. As for credibility, the source is true because it’s a real life account of two single male fathers trying to provide for their children. Dr. King is financially independent and that’s a plus in his case. As for other fathers like Morrell he has help from his sisters.

This article ties in with Baby steps because when I went to orientation there were single parents everywhere in that agency. Women who came with a support system gained points. At the end of the orientation, the women can take their point booklets to the baby store to buy diapers, clothes, cribs and other baby necessities with their points. This article ties in with me because my grandfather raised me and he was a single father with 5 kids. My grandpa was also like my mother when she was away for a bit.

These two men had a goal of raising their children to be confident, strong, and responsible men which they lead by example. I want to learn why organizations don’t help single fathers out. Baby Steps only help women who are pregnant. I see a discrepancy between the two. Shouldn’t the agencies be able to help men too?

Bibliography #2

Rinaldo, Denise. "The Touch Life Of A Teen Mom." Scholastic Choices 25.4 (2010): 4-7. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 7 Feb. 2011.

In this article, “The Touch Life Of A Teen Mom” Denise Rinaldo describes how United States has the highest teen birth rate in the industrialized world. Every year the number of teen pregnancies increase. Rinaldo also discuss the downfalls of teen moms. Teen moms are likely to drop out of school and experience poverty. In this article, 16 year old Jesseca Heatherly talks about her story about being a teen mom.

This article is aimed towards teen moms. Jesseca talks about her struggles and what she went through to overcome those struggles. Between school, work, and caring for her daughter, Bella, Jesseca has no free time for herself. She is extremely happy with an organization called The Children and Family Resource Center. She relied on them for help such as food, diapers and everything a baby might need. I think that this article is a little bias due to the fact that it only aims to teen moms instead of pregnant moms in general. All mothers need help regardless if you’re single or not. Raising a baby is money. As for credibility, there is pics of Jesseca and her baby reading a book and eating cake which makes the story seem true.

This article applies to Baby Steps because just as in the article Jesseca used a program called The Children and Family Resource Center. The group helped her get medical care while she was pregnant just as baby Steps does with women of low income. The program also helped Jesseca enroll in a alternative high school with an on-site-day-care center. Teen moms as well as single moms are steadily increasing. Jesseca is raising awareness that teen moms can graduate from high school. That is a big accomplishment because most teen moms give up on their education. The program helped her get a job from day care and she applied to college. I agree with everything the Family Resource Center does because it parallels with what Baby Steps tries to aim.

I feel like why do single teen moms have to rely on an organization to get through their problems. Jesseca couldn’t rely on a family member to help her out financially? As I went to orientation the women there are in the same predicament as Jesseca is. Most of them are teen moms with no spouse and have no money coming in. Baby Steps is a good program to help with low income families.

Bibliography #1

“Help for low-income pregnant families women and families.” babycenter.com. BabyCenter. n.d Sun. 30 January. 2011.

Judy Meehan states that “getting medical care in pregnancy, and keeping all of your doctors’ appointments, is essential to your health and baby’s development. Eating healthy foods is important. Help is available, and government programs can connect you to care.” There are various organizations locally dedicated just to low pregnancy income families to improve infant and prenatal care. Some families do not have enough money for health insurance so they can apply for Medicaid or call the low-cost medical care for help.

This author is making an argument to help those families with low incomes to help pay for their newborn’s necessities. By placing baby pictures and videos on the website which gives us a reputable feel of the work. The website is effective but then again I feel like they should strictly focus on one key element which is the low-income pregnancy families. The audience is women who are having trouble coming up with money to feed their newborns due to low income or no health insurance. I intentionally thought it was a topic but it veered off. This ties into the agency because babysteps focuses on low income pregnancy families. The author is making a pitch about helping families out.

I believe this source is bias. They aimed more towards “advertisement” rather than strictly sticking to talking about babysteps. There was a picture of advertising a car at the top of the page and at the bottom of the page, they were advertising credit cards. This made me kind of skeptical because it was jumping from various topics on the page.

I had a more better understanding of the source as a whole because I wasn’t reading it for the gist of getting the blog down but I actually thought of the material. I feel that I need to learn why they must put other advertisements on the website. I also want to learn why there is other subjects on the website such as baby shower tips, best celebrities, girl scouts and some other things which are irrelevant to low income families. I want to know why there is a list of other pregnancy topics on the side of the page.