Tag: manuel’s tavern

When handed the Manuel’s Tavern assignment I was a little apprehensive but extremely excited as well. What drove me while I was writing was the idea that Manuel’s Tavern was all about establishing connections. When I toured the virtual North wall and read some of the preliminary drafts of other students it was clear just how deep the Tavern’s connections were to the community around it. I was lucky that I found the Angry Orchard sign because it meant that I could illustrate Manuel’s Tavern’s roots and the origin of how the sign got there through my own connections to it. I used the link between the hard cider sign, me, my father, and my old tournament softball days as a vehicle to help communicate this concept of connections.

Another spectacular outcome of this project is the fact it allowed me to explore writing as a process. In most academic courses throughout high school and college you are handed a research topic, told to analyze it and write an argument paper on it. In stark contrast this assignment let me investigate my own writing, learn more about my own creative process, how I write, and how I edit. After having written multiple drafts of the Manuel piece I know that peer and professional input are the key to successful writing. There must be an outside eye willing to pick apart and criticize the work put before them. An artifact of this is the fact that I then write another draft, but that also helps with the refining process.

photo credits: Lee Coursey

I began my analysis by querying why to put the picture of Great Wall on the wall. Manuel’s Tavern and the Great Wall have no similarities from the surface, so I attempt to figure out on their historical aspects. Following the hint, I dig into the global and long lasting nature of Manuel’s Tavern. The subsequently two paragraphs support my thesis respectively. In my last draft, I did not state specifically what aspects I am going to explain between Manuel’s Tavern and the Great Wall, making my whole analysis loosely connected and not backing my central idea firmly. The new version points out the controlling idea explicitly in the first paragraph. I also extend the inclusion principle of the tavern to diversity and tolerance of various culture and people, emphasizing the global nature of Manuel’s Tavern. Furthermore, I combine the last two paragraphs, concluding my argument briefly and expecting future outlook.

From the assignment, I learned critical thinking and reading resulting in writing and digital citizenship/ digital identity. Previously, I made a structural draft before writing the essay. I had trouble making a draft for this assignment, because nobody wants to know the history of the Great Wall in a short essay. In order to find connection behind Manuel’s Tavern and the Great Wall, I did some research and found images, texts, people’s words. The material I found inspired me and I integrate them, deciding to focus on the two aspects of the Manuel’s Tavern and the Great Wall. From the individual meeting, Prof. Morgen pointed out that I misuse one of the online pictures because there is no CC-license for the picture. I did not pay much attention to the copyright and license to images and videos when I used them in the past.

Doing some research before drafting is an efficiency tool for developing the thesis statement. Gleaning information from multiple resources can broaden my view to the question and infuse fresh air to my idea. I have no idea of which facets I would concentrate on before I did the research on Tavern. Due to this assignment, I realized I am good at integrating and concluding scattered information. I combined the useful fragments of information and my own idea and summarize as two similar characteristics. Besides, I need to pay more attention to the proper and responsible use of the technical resource. I will examine the license of the sources carefully, making sure I can put them on complementary items in my essay.

In writing the final draft of my Unpacking Manuel’s assignment, I took the time to do deeper research on the Mill High Life Girl on the Moon sign. I continued to use the Miller Company’s website because it had the the most credible and updated information. I decided to use a few more images as evidence that the Miller Company had launched campaigns directed towards the working class. I decided to keep the first paragraph, because I believe it is necessary to provide a brief history of the brewing company. I also kept the second paragraph, about the sign being up as a marketing tool. I still think it is part of the reason the sign is on the wall. If it wasn’t, there would be no stimulant getting someone to want to purchase a beverage.

Doing further research into the Miller Company was also a good choice. I found more evidence about the values that Miller brewing follows, which allowed me to see additional reasons why my sign is up on the wall at Manuel’s. I found that it was mostly political, centered around the working class, which is unique for a bar but understandable since Manuel’s is labeled as a local Democratic bar. If you want to read more you can here.

List of Sources used:

“Miller High Life | The Champagne of Beers.” Miller High Life. 2015. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

The controlling idea for my analysis of Manuel Maloof at the lectern with MARTA logo is Maloof’s claim regarding the racial issue. He was dissatisfied with the fact that racial issue divided people and counties. I think connecting the snippets of each resource into one controlling idea was more straightforward in my case, compared to finding resources. Unable to do reverse image search as no other image was found, I had any other option but to search using keywords. However, when I first surfed websites to find information related to Maloof and MARTA, I had trouble finding information. But, once my professor gave me some advices on where to start, from that point, I was back on the track. One of the resources that I found clearly indicated that Maloof wanted to expand MARTA service, but it was not possible because of the racial issue. Having that controlling idea, I was able to put supporting arguments from other resources.

When I was writing the revised version, my primary concern was the purpose of putting this image on the wall of Manuel’s Tavern. Manuel’s Tavern was not just a plain tavern we think of, but it was a place for political forum where all people with different backgrounds can voice their opinions and listen to others. Some people might argue that the image is just a picture of the owner, however; just as other people voicing their beliefs and opinions in the Tavern, I think Maloof expressed his belief and opinion via the image.

I think it is clear to see this assignment as guidance to students to learn writing as a process, from researching, editing to reflection. I could clearly visualize the process of my writing and how my analysis got improved as it processed. Besides of writing the analysis, we had to write two reflections based on the process we made. When I wrote the first reflection, I was overwhelmed by the fact I had to write another piece of writing; however, as I started revising my analysis, I then realized how much my thinking got organized through talking about the process. I never thought that writing about the process of my analysis could improve my writing. In addition to that, I also want to emphasize how much I learned in terms of collaboration. In class, we spent some time talking about why each individual object was relevant to others. It was a great opportunity for students not to just think about their own object, but to think things as a whole.

I have to mention that this assignment was different from any writing assignment I had previously received. Because of unfamiliar assignment and its process, I was confused and frustrated. I emailed Professor for help where to start with. From there, I was able to identify the pattern and get adjusted to the new assignment. If I were to get this type of assignment again in the future, I will not be as frustrated as I were before. Once again, it was a great experience to finish this assignment and I look forward to do more unfamiliar assignments in the future.

The controlling idea for my analysis of the Leifmans Cuvee-Brut sign that hangs on the bar wall at Manuel’s Tavern is Manuel Maloofs attempt at creating a European style tavern. I did not form the connection between my object and the controlling idea until after my first draft. After further research, I was able to form this connection, making my revised version significantly stronger than the first draft.

The Unpacking Manuel’s Tavern assignment has helped me to progress further in all five of the learning objectives for the course. For example, my critical thinking and reading resulting in writing has strengthened through my use of scholarly inquiry to produce my own arguments, summary, analysis, and evaluation of ideas. I’ve also learned about writing as a process which is learning about ones own writing by doing guided reflective work and critiquing their own and others’ work. I was able to meet this outcome with my work on this assignment through many meetings, revisions, and edits of the first and final drafts.

I have learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses as writer through this process. I think my strengths include my ideas and connections I offer which are unique and add a new twist or perspective. However, I am not very good at expressing my ideas in a simple way. I tend to write around the idea rather than being direct and explaining what I am trying to say right away. I am most proud of the significant differences between my first draft and my final draft. I put in a lot of work to editing the assignment and I am proud of the final work I have completed.

I believe that I have progressed as a learner; however, I know that I still have so much more to learn. Before this class, I always thought of English writing as very academic and proper. I’ve now learned that writing isn’t about the complex ideas or about using the biggest vocabulary words, but rather it is about writing directed at the audience and forming a connection with the readers.

Links: first draft, analysis of draft, final assignment

Seeing as how there was no information on my specific picture, the controlling idea for my analysis was the history and meaning behind the sad clown archetype. Surprisingly, there are many articles on the sad clown that relate to present-day comedians, specifically because it was such a huge topic after the death of Robert Williams. In my first draft, I was really lost: I had no leads that connected to Manuel’s Tavern so I ended up writing a lot of random things. However, once the class tried to sort their piece into larger categories in attempt to connect everything together, I realized that I wasn’t the only one lost and that it was okay that I didn’t have an answer to everything. I was able to condense my essay and try to put my own theory as to why my piece belongs on the wall of Manuel’s Tavern.

I really enjoyed this project. Usually for reading assignments, the professor goes over significant parts of the book and has a topic already laid out for the students to write about, which gives them similar ideas in their heads, leading to similarly written essays. However, starting this assignment with no real plan really made me extremely curious about my piece, which highlights how this was writing as a process. Researching the meaning behind the sad clown, analyzing how it relates to Manuel’s Tavern (if it does at all), and critiquing what worked and what didn’t work in my draft. These were all essential steps in order to make this assignment work. I also found collaborating with each other really enjoyable. Although I still don’t really have a concrete answer as to how each piece relates to each other, how it can be turned into a game, or why some are on the wall of Manuel’s Tavern, I found it really interesting how our tactic was to analyze our own piece, then branch out to other pieces. This specific-to-general process was foreign to me, as I’m more accustomed going from general to specific.

So what did I learn from writing this essay? It definitely helped peak my curiosity and helped me pay attention to details (and helped with distinguishing the difference between URLs and links). Why was this drawn? How did it get here? Why is it crooked? I couldn’t answer any of these questions with 100% confidence, but I think it’s important to ask yourself questions when looking at something or reading something in order to understand it better.

The controlling idea of my analysis is how Manuel Maloof wanted a European style tavern. Through my Harp Lager sign, I connected the history of beer which occurred during the same time period that Manuel was in Europe fighting World War II. This connection brings a possible reason for why the Harp Lager sign is hanging in the tavern.

In this version of my analysis, I actually knew what I wanted to talk about. In my previous draft I was just writing while searching for anything that could connect.  I also edited out some of my humor that honestly was not that humorous.

This analysis especially helped me in the learning outcome of writing as a process.  In my process, I realized that most of my papers start out the same way. I never know what I am doing at first, then with some time to think and maybe some guidance from others, I realize what I actually want to talk about.

For the question of have I progressed as a learner, I overwhelmingly say yes. I used to not care enough to go back for a second edition of my essays even if I were required to, but now I have learned that I can and effectively at that, write an even better second version of whatever diarrhea flows from my fingers in my first drafts. In applying this skill to another class, I can improve my general education. With more work that I know I can do, the better I will do. Previously I just did not care enough for it.