Persuasive much?!

Jackeline Salazar

My favorite blog post was the “WHITE AMERICAAAAAAAA” by Dannyon13, their blog post was the most persuaded post and that caught my attention. I liked how they mention the rhyme scheme in the beginning of their post describing what scheme the poems were by Mckay and how they mention that they were both sonnets. They also said in their first paragraph the theme within the poem they choose which was a great way to end the first paragraph. The next few paragraphs they are then describing what and why each poem was parting the theme of racism that they mention in the first paragraph. This blog post in particular had a great well written and it was concise throughout their entire blog post. Therefore I will grade this blog post a B+ almost an A-.

The 2nd most persuaded blog post “Tropic Shadows” by kitsham, their blog post was ver organized. In the 2nd paragraph I liked how they mentioned the poem and their sonnet form. They also brought up a few lines from the poem to back up their theme and thesis that they have mentioned in their first paragraph. I think the only difference is if they were to have separate their paragraphs or sections of the poems they were talking about in their blog post so that way it can be easier to point out that they mentioned both of the poems in their blogs instead of having it on one big paragraph. That is my only concern for this blog post other than that they seemed to have answered the prompt and were concise throughout their entire blog post. I would grade  this post an A-.

The last blog post, “The Great Divide” by marklipnickey was another good post too. I liked how they mentioned the form of the sonnets and they have mentioned where the volts where in each of the poems they chose. They mentioned a theme or a thesis in the beginning of their blog post. They had a very well structured and organized blog post throughout the whole way. They also talked about some elements that they found in their poems. Which was great way to start off before they stared to explain the poems and meanings of it. This was beyond and good in a way because it makes the reader understand the poem more. Overall the post was great I would grade this post an A. It was very well structured and organized and they had their main points and added some extras to make their post stand out more. Which was more persuading and it was a good post overall.

Harder Than I Thought

Diane Tarabay-Rodriguez

After reading all three blog posts, I ran them through the syllabus requirements. Giving each blog post was very difficult taski for me because It’s hard for me to point out the negative parts of any type of writing. I usually like giving positive feedback, but I tried my best to be completely honest and fair with the grading. 

The blog post that stood out to me was “Tropic shadows”. It included everything that the blog post needed, It did a very good job in providing references and quotes from certain lines. The thesis was very clear and it had a lot of textual evidence. It may have been a little boring but It contained everything a slid blog post needs. I give this blog post a sold A. 

When I began to read “White America”, I became instantly bored because of how basic it was. It provided clear analysis and textual evidence but I feel like the blogger could have dug more into the meaning. They could have also done a better job at explaining their textual evidence that they provided. I got the feeling that this blog was written at the last minute yet the writer was smart enough to cover everything that was required in no time. I would give this blog post a solid B- because I know the person could have done a better job by going more into depth with the analysis.

The blog post, “The Great Divide”, was enjoyable to read. You can tell that the writer of this blog post put some thought into it. The blogger mentioned their honest interpretation of both poems and was clear and straight to the point. The thesis was very clear and captivating.The post maintained a very good structure and it included textual evidence. I would give this post a solid A.

Mery Chrysler

To begin with, I thoroughly enjoyed reading “Tropic Shadows” due to the smooth way it was written as well as how the author analyzed the very format of the poems and gave it purpose in terms of the overall theme of “pseudo-freedom,” as the author puts it. The constant references to certain lines helps me as the reader follow the author’s point without getting lost. Not to mention, the quotes also add ethos for the author as we can trace their ideas to specific parts in the text. The writing (both form and idea) is clear and it has textual evidence to support it—I believe this post deserves an A.

The second post, “WHITE AMERICAAAAAAAA” was well written in the sense that it’s ideas were clear and simple, but I found myself wanting more from it. It’s analysis felt shallow, only skimming the surface of deeper meaning and adding textual evidence without explaining what the evidence spoke to regarding the blog’s idea. However, it did have the basis of ideas and it does feel as though this student attempted to work with the poems but was unable to offer further insight, so I think it is a B blog.

The final blog post, “The Great Divide,” offers an intriguing take on McKay’s poems when bringing up the idea of anxiety. It analyzed the structure of the poems through the voltas and rhyme scheme and although the author references back to the key idea of their blog post—the “anxiety of the heart,” as they say—I did find myself becoming lost in their writing, partially due to the fact that they only spoke on the theme twice in the opening and conclusion of their post; the references were too vague, made up of “this,” “these,” and “the message” without truly explaining how they tie into the blog’s central idea. However, I did find the idea to be original and captivating and would therefore give this blog post an A.

My personal favorite out of these three posts was originally torn between “Tropic Shadows” and “The Great Divide”; I think the former’s idea is not as original as the latter, but I believe it to be far more persuasive in the way it is presented with it’s smooth transitions and evidence. On the other hand, the latter offers an interesting take on McKay’s poem, but the writing itself felt jumbled and left me hoping for more. If “The Great Divide” was cleaned up, I would feel more indecisive, but I think “Tropic Shadows” reigns as the most persuasive and original.

Caitlyn Klemm