E-Portfolio

Welcome to my E-Portfolio!

My name is Reema Pangarkar and I’m a student at Pennsylvania State University. This e-portfolio is compilation of my best writings, speeches, and blog entries. I hope to look back on this portfolio and see the growth of my communications skills and more importantly my growth as a person. Literature gives us the unique opportunity to see our own personal views and values reflected in words. Writing, while mechanical in spelling, grammar, and usage, is also incredibly personal.  I hope that through out the course of my time at Penn State, and my future academic endeavors, my growth as a person will be reflected in my academic endevors. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments!  

The Link for my E-Portfolio

Going out with a Bang

               As I’m sure all of you heard Dick Clark has sadly passed away.  As I found out later yesterday many people don’t know who Dick Clark is. Honestly the only reason I know him is because of the TV show friends, Monica and Ross are obsessed with him and his rockin’ New Years Eve show. So now in my mind Dick Clark, uses the bridge of friends, to make me think of New Years Eve.

www.someecards.com/

            While I doubt anyone in my generation will feel any difference December 31^st 2012 when Dick Clark isn’t there to welcome us into the new year, it did bring up something important about rhetoric. The ending. ( I didn’t mean that in reference to Dick Clark’s death, but rather the end of the year…). I felt that this topic was even more appropriate considering this is my last obligatory blog entry. I feel as though a lot of emphasis is given to sentence structure, grammar, and information in the body of a piece of work. But when people read a paper or listen to a speech the things that stay in their memory are the beginning and the end. So what is the right way to end a piece of rhetoric? There are many different approaches but the worst way to end it is by a “well, that’s it!”. BORING. I like when people leave you with something to keep your brain thinking, or by tying the subject in with my life. I like when people have a catchy ending that is equal parts moving and thought provoking. I prefer to have my intro be broad, then get specific in my body, and then go broad again in my conclusion. The opposite way is effective too, and more effective in speeches (at least in my opinion). On New Years Eve we choose to go out with a bang: fire works, champagne and a kiss; why shouldn’t it be the same in rhetoric? 

Not Everyone drank the Koolaid

            I like realists, in my opinion they are more matter-of-fact people. It is the happy medium between everything in this world is meaningless and the world is made of rainbows and sunshine. I’ve talked about attitude in rhetoric before, but this ecard reminded me of something a little different. Attitude is how you reacted to a situation. This is more of an outlook, by knowing your outlook on life I can predict how you will react to a situation.

www.someecards.com

            Today in class we talked about motivational speeches. I like motivational speakers, I’m not saying I need motivation to build up my self esteem, but I enjoy people talking about things they are really passionate about. It makes me see some good yet in the world. What I don’t like is when motivational speakers have to over optimistic outlook, like I said I like realists. You all know who I’m talking about. Those super peppy speakers, who try really hard to get the audience involved and participating. Yea them… I appreciate when people are passionate, but I don’t think over optimistic is a realistic attitude to have when giving motivational speech. You can’t go into a motivational speech thinking that you are going to change every ones mind, that’s not possible. You can however go into a motivational speech being a realist. If you understand that not everyone is going to take what you say to heart, but still get to some people and make the majority of people listen, then you’ve done a great job. As we, meaning my la101 class, start our motivational speeches, this is something I want to keep in consideration, my goal is too make people listen, and maybe do something more, not make everyone drink the kool aid with me. 

All the Small Thing

           No this is not a post about Blink 182, though there is much to be said about their rhetoric. One of the most annoying things is when people have a great idea in their writing or speech, but their execution fails because of little things. I once had to sit through an entire 8 minutes presentation in science class about organisms in our eco system. That of course is normal for anyone who ha taken a bio class, but what was abnormal was that the girl said orgasm instead of organism for 8 whole minutes.  No matter how good her presentation was no one could get past that one small detail.

            I’m sure everyone has seen some rhetoric where the idea and content is well done, but there are basic details that the audience just cannot get past. Whether it is grammar issues, or spelling, it is distracting from the point of the writing. I know I do this a lot, everyone does. It is easy to make mistakes with spelling and grammar, but it is when it because repetitive that it gets annoying. People have their own pet peeves, I hate when people say “I’m doing good” and my best friend can’t stand when people use you’re and your wrong.

            So while the elegant aspects of rhetoric are important, the small stuff is just as essential. Just because you learned about it in 3^rd grade, it does not make it any less important.