Essay 4.2

The Severity of an Unexcused Absence

            I can always feel it coming. That uncomfortable feeling in the back of your throat, the hesitation when you swallow, and even the achiness in your neck. When I get sick, I always know ahead of time. Getting sick in college, however, has been a completely new experience for me. The week before spring break I woke up one morning and felt it. The mucus from my unusually runny nose had begun to coat my throat and I just knew that the day ahead of me was going to be rough. Without my mom around to bring me medicine or orange juice, I dangerously balanced on the top of my chair as I reached to the top of my closet to access my medicine basket. Had I fallen, I really think I would have just given up for the day and laid there until my roommate returned to get me up. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) I was able to grab my bottle of Ibuprofen and move forward with my day. I stuffed my pockets with tissues and went down to the dining hall to get some orange juice. I felt alright at that point. On the sickometer, I would give it a 5. However, as the day went on, I started to feel worse and worse. My head ached and my neck was stiff. All I wanted to do was find as many blankets as possible, crawl in bed and heat up some tomato soup for myself. I managed to get through my classes and work and finally got back to my room at around 7:15. I reset my alarm for the next morning, loaded up on Ibuprofen, and went to bed.

            As soon as my alarm went of in the morning, I could feel that the sickometer had moved up to a ten overnight and I was incapable of leaving my room. Even if I could, I did not want to risk infecting all of my classmates and ruining the weekend of somebody else. As sick as I was, I realized I still had one more issue to factor in: the absence policy for the theater department states that “The only absences that will be excused are those due to a verifiable emergency such as: illness requiring attention by a health care provider; the hospitalization, death, or serious illness of a family member; or required appearance in a court of law” and that “After one unexcused absence, each unexcused absence will lower the final grade 1/3 point (A to A-, B- to C+, etc.)” (Current Student Resources, para. 1). While some of my classes outside of the department offer a few “free” unexcused absences, my grade will still be docked once those days pass.  What makes this serious is that if my GPA is ever to drop below a 3.0 by the end of spring semester my freshman, sophomore, or junior year, I lose my scholarship that allows me to be here. For me, this is not just another college. Ithaca College, to me, is a dream that I have been given the chance to fulfill. Theater behind the scenes has been my passion since I discovered it in 4^th grade. It is the perfect combination of artistic expression, nerdy technical gadgetry, and rugged construction ideas that satisfies all of my aspirations. The theater program at Ithaca College is ranked among the top ten in the nation, essentially making it an Ivy League level program. Students go through auditions and interviews to get in, spend up to 80 hours a week working on productions and doing the assortment of assigned projects for design and technical classes, and on top of that, at least a third of the total 18-20 students entering will be cut from the program with in the first two years just because the teachers do not see enough potential in them. Graduating students often find work at the Broadway level, which is certainly on the top of my “To-Do” list in life. So, in essence, my dream is currently at stake because I’m too sick to attend one day of class.

            There are a few reasons why this makes absolutely no sense to me. First, college courses are a consumable product. We, as students, are the consumer. According to CollegeBoard, an organization that many of us took advantage of to research schools and find good matches, the cost per credit hour at Ithaca College is $1,121. This averages out to approximately $80 per individual class. Imagine going to a restaurant, ordering a nice meal, and then getting full about half way through the meal. Then, your waiter comes over to your table and says “Oh, at this establishment we require you to finish your meal or else we charge a ‘food-wasting’ fee”. In the end, I would have been better off ordering a smaller meal resulting in less profit for the restaurant. The same idea applies to college. A student would be pressured into dropping classes that they are missing a lot of, thusly paying the school less money.

            In addition, the purpose of a grading system is to represent the amount of knowledge as student has shown on the given topic of a class. According to the standards kept at Harvard University, a grade represents “the quality and quantity of your work submitted throughout the term”(Harvard 1). In other words, all that a professor should judge when determining the grade of an individual is the body of work completed by the student. Therefore, lowering a grade for missed classes would be an inaccurate representation of the knowledge a student has shown.

            So, how necessary is it that I should feel obliged to crawl my way across campus to class? Under the current policy, I received a 2.98 GPA after fall semester. This was a result of missing two classes past the allotted amount in my U.S. Politics class. Had I attended those classes, my GPA would have been a 3.12. Had this occurred at the end of spring semester, missing two classes essentially would have been grounds for me to not be able to return to Ithaca. To answer my question, even under feverish conditions, the policies set up by the college and its individual professors forced me to leave my room and participate in classes all day long.

Soon I encountered a second feeling that I can always foresee. A slight constant gag, a harsh turning in my stomach, and an increased heaviness in breathing. I ran out of my Basic Lighting and Sound Technology class and found the closest bathroom. I returned to class without mentioning what had happened and attempted to catch up the notes I had missed.

As Thoreau, author of Walden, said, "That government is best which governs least". I feel that as adults, we students can maintain responsibility for attending class on our own and even if we cannot, the beneficiary of our money should not penalize that decision. The college setting is no place for an absence policy. As one of the many students paying thousands of dollars to attend Ithaca College, I feel that it is time for the school to take a more progressive stance and give students a choice: attend class when they can and when they want with the knowledge that failure to attend might hurt their own personal achievement in the class. We are all adults and a little trust will go a long way.

Works Cited

1.       "Grades – Harvard Summer School 2010 – Boston/Cambridge." Harvard Summer School | Summer College Courses & Summer Programs. Web. 14 Apr. 2011

2.       Pestello, Fred P. "The Social Construction of Grades." Teaching Sociology. American Sociological Association. 414-17. Jstor, 2008. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.

3.    "Ithaca College." Collegeboard.com. Collegeboard, 2010. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.

4.       Byron, Lee. "Attedance Policy for B.F.A. Classes." Ithaca College Theater Dept., 30 Jan. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.

Essay 4.1

The Severity of an Unexcused Absence

            I can always feel it coming. That uncomfortable feeling in the back of your throat, the hesitation when you swallow, and even the achiness in your neck. When I get sick, I always know ahead of time. Getting sick in college, however, has been a completely new experience for me. The week before spring break I woke up one morning and felt it. The mucus from my unusually runny nose had begun to coat my throat and I just knew that the day ahead of me was going to be rough. Without my mom around to bring me medicine or orange juice, I dangerously balanced on the top of my chair as I reached to the top of my closet to access my medicine basket. Had I fallen, I really think I would have just given up for the day and laid there until my roommate returned to get me up. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) I was able to grab my bottle of Ibuprofen and move forward with my day. I stuffed my pockets with tissues and went down to the dining hall to get some orange juice. I felt alright at that point. On the sickometer, I would give it a 5. However, as the day went on, I started to feel worse and worse. My head ached and my neck was stiff. All I wanted to do was find as many blankets as possible, crawl in bed and heat up some tomato soup for myself. I managed to get through my classes and work and finally got back to my room at around 7:15. I reset my alarm for the next morning, loaded up on Ibuprofen, and went to bed.

            As soon as my alarm went of in the morning, I could feel that the sickometer had moved up to a ten overnight and I was incapable of leaving my room. Even if I could, I did not want to risk infecting all of my classmates and ruining the weekend of somebody else. As sick as I was, I realized I still had one more issue to factor in: the absence policy for the theater department states that “The only absences that will be excused are those due to a verifiable emergency such as: illness requiring attention by a health care provider; the hospitalization, death, or serious illness of a family member; or required appearance in a court of law” and that “After one unexcused absence, each unexcused absence will lower the final grade 1/3 point (A to A-, B- to C+, etc.)” (Current Student Resources, para. 1). While some of my classes outside of the department offer a few “free” unexcused absences, my grade will still be docked once those days pass.  What makes this serious is that if my GPA is ever to drop below a 3.0 by the end of spring semester my freshman, sophomore, or junior year, I lose my scholarship that allows me to be here. For me, this is not just another college. Ithaca College, to me, is a dream that I have been given the chance to fulfill. Theater behind the scenes has been my passion since I discovered it in 4^th grade. It is the perfect combination of artistic expression, nerdy technical gadgetry, and rugged construction ideas that satisfies all of my aspirations. The theater program at Ithaca College is ranked among the top ten in the nation, essentially making it an Ivy League level program. Students go through auditions and interviews to get in, spend up to 80 hours a week working on productions and doing the assortment of assigned projects for design and technical classes, and on top of that, at least a third of the total 18-20 students entering will be cut from the program with in the first two years just because the teachers do not see enough potential in them. Graduating students often find work at the Broadway level, which is certainly on the top of my “To-Do” list in life. So, in essence, my dream is currently at stake because I’m too sick to attend one day of class.

            There are a few reasons why this makes absolutely no sense to me. First, college courses are a consumable product. We, as students, are the consumer. According to CollegeBoard, an organization that many of us took advantage of to research schools and find good matches, the cost per credit hour at Ithaca College is $1,121. This averages out to approximately $80 per individual class. Imagine going to a restaurant, ordering a nice meal, and then getting full about half way through the meal. Then, your waiter comes over to your table and says “Oh, at this establishment we require you to finish your meal or else we charge a ‘food-wasting’ fee”. In the end, I would have been better off ordering a smaller meal resulting in less profit for the restaurant. The same idea applies to college. A student would be pressured into dropping classes that they are missing a lot of, thusly paying the school less money.

            In addition, the purpose of a grading system is to represent the amount of knowledge as student has shown on the given topic of a class. According to the standards kept at Harvard University, a grade represents “the quality and quantity of your work submitted throughout the term”(Harvard 1). In other words, all that a professor should judge when determining the grade of an individual is the body of work completed by the student. Therefore, lowering a grade for missed classes would be an inaccurate representation of the knowledge a student has shown.

            So, how necessary is it that I should feel obliged to crawl my way across campus to class? Under the current policy, I received a 2.98 GPA after fall semester. This was a result of missing two classes past the allotted amount in my U.S. Politics class. Had I attended those classes, my GPA would have been a 3.12. Had this occurred at the end of spring semester, missing two classes essentially would have been grounds for me to not be able to return to Ithaca. To answer my question, even under feverish conditions, the policies set up by the college and its individual professors forced me to leave my room and participate in classes all day long.

Soon I encountered a second feeling that I can always foresee. A slight constant gag, a harsh turning in my stomach, and an increased heaviness in breathing. I ran out of my Basic Lighting and Sound Technology class and found the closest bathroom. I returned to class without mentioning what had happened and attempted to catch up the notes I had missed.

As Thoreau, author of Walden, said, "That government is best which governs least". I feel that as adults, we students can maintain responsibility for attending class on our own and even if we cannot, the beneficiary of our money should not penalize that decision. The college setting is no place for an absence policy.

Works Cited

1.       "Grades – Harvard Summer School 2010 – Boston/Cambridge." Harvard Summer School | Summer College Courses & Summer Programs. Web. 14 Apr. 2011

2.       Pestello, Fred P. "The Social Construction of Grades." Teaching Sociology. American Sociological Association. 414-17. Jstor, 2008. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.

3.    "Ithaca College." Collegeboard.com. Collegeboard, 2010. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.

4.       Byron, Lee. "Attedance Policy for B.F.A. Classes." Ithaca College Theater Dept., 30 Jan. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.

 

Reflection Essay 3

Although this essay is not completely finished for me, I still feel like I can reflect on this paper. For me, it was a completely revolutionary experience in writing. I had to fight my urges to just argue my point with no holds what so ever. Passive voice was almost encouraged, another idea I have never dealt with. Topic choice seemed to be the biggest issue for me. Many of my classmates chose issues where you would have a successful argument if you changed the mind of an opposing audience. For me, finding a topic that could be suggested to have no difference or no change for the audience in terms of view point seemed crucial. Instead of suggesting that Broadway producers start doing completely different shows or appealed to a completely different audience, I proposed a "best of both worlds scenario" in which they could achieve mass appeal as well as strive to maintain an artistic ideology that production staff members strive to reach. I feel that this approach was perfect for the compromising aspect of this paper. It allowed me to stay away from more controversial topics.

Prewriting Essay 4

Topic: For the average theater student, there are not nearly enough hours in a day.

Looking back at this week, or even this year as a whole, I am truly amazed at not only the amount of work I accomplish on a daily basis, but also the amount of work I am expected to accomplish by a group of 8 professors who have claimed my life for the next four years. As a major in the Theater Production Arts program at Ithaca College, I spend my days doing homework form 8-12, classes from 12-3 and then crew from 3-midnight. All week I wait for the weekend so I can finally have a chance to sleep in and attempt to catch up on my life. Maybe I'll call home, maybe I'll watch a movie, but whatever I do, I use that time to decompress. After working through a week of a two plate drafting assignment, I finally made it. It was Sunday morning; the god given day of rest had finally arrived. Across the nation millions of Americans had shut off their alarms the night before so they could catch up the much needed rest that they deserved (insert statistics on average waking time). Unfortunately, this week I would not get that opportunity. Out of nowhere, my alarm screams and beeps annoyingly at quarter past 7 to wake me up for my work call 45 minutes later. I was called today from 8am until midnight to prepare for the approaching tech rehearsal for a production of a musical called Baby being put on by the college. I crawled out of bed trying not to wake my roommate, showered, and threw on whatever work clothes I could find in the dark.




Prewriting Session 2
As I exited Dillingham, I could barely feel my feet under me. I felt as though any small wind could push me over at any moment. It was finally time for my one hour lunch break after four hours of work, to which I would return to start another four hour session. As I walked across the quad to Campus Center, I passed fellow Ithaca college students relaxing on the green, slacklining, playing frisbee, or even just reading a book.

Essay 3.1 Reflection

For me this essay was challenging to write. The format was something that was completely new to me so trying to outline the essay took a few tries. I found that I really like the format though. Coming up with a  compromise at the end fit my topic very well. I think  I would struggle to use this format for a more controversial issue, however. While it was easy to plea with Broadway producers to add a little more art and passion to what is essentially a Las Vegas style show nowadays, I think trying to find a middle ground on a more heated topic such as abortion or gay rights would be very difficult. I think I learned that in order to compromise,  one must ask for something that the opposite side has not clearly stated they will not do. Broadway producers don't fight against the artistic value of their productions; they just dont find it necessary. I think that helped me a lot.

Prewriting Essay 3 Rogerian Essay

Today's Broadway shows offer little more than two hours of entertainment and a reason to visit New York City. Something that once provided an artistic outlet for thespians at the highest level is now nothing more than a tourist trap that makes producers money and leaves its passionate followers disappointed after every show.

Negotiations: Valid that producers need to make money and everyone needs to get paid.
                       Understandable that the majority of the population does not really understand the art that is behind theater and will not see shows that offer insight in to our lives.
                       Offers a venue for new technology like moving lights and led displays to be presented in a very flashy circus-like way
                       "Rent-style" shows such as spring awakening and next to normal

Documentation Quiz

1. We are using the MLA Format to cite sources in this class.

2. The other type of citation is a Works Cited page found at the end of the paper. It gives the full citation with all necessary information.

3. Author or editor, site name, version number, name of institution affiliated with site, date of publication, medium, date of access.

Reflection 1.2

For me, editing my paper was mostly about bringing my introduction in to a smooth transition to the claim of my thesis. I found a great quote that would link battle strategies to the strategy of essay writing and how it relates to the lack of planning that the author shows. I think a lot of my transitions and conclusions at the end of each reason could use some work to really make the paper more cohesive as a single idea.

Essay 1.2: Shortcomings of Logical Argument

Sun Tzu, a Chinese general during China’s “Spring and Autumn Period” and author of Art of War, comments that “Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory”. Megan Weitraut, a journalist for The Ithacan, published an essay on January 26, 2011 crying out for the instatement of stricter gun laws. Her approach is clearly that of the latter strategist however; she enters battle looking only to fight with nothing but facts and then tries to salvage her argument with late dabbles in other facets of essay writing. In her essay “Government should create stricter gun laws”, she creates a fact sheet of information and statistics to inform the reader about gun usage, failing to make the argument that she attempts to make. Her argument, while filled with logos, lacks the balance of ethos and pathos to hold the reader’s attention, her attempt to acknowledge and respond fails as it is misplaced and misused, and her conclusion does not succeed in supporting her original purpose.

            Although it is essential for any argument to be supported by facts and data from varieties of sources to be convincing, when appealing to an audience of mostly students, one must entice them with emotion and attempt to gain credibility so any conclusion formed can be taken seriously. Weitraut does a great job of incorporating logos, logical arguments, that nail down the point that she is trying to make. Among her eleven pieces of evidence that incorporate logos, she states “The American Journal of Public Health determined that, in comparison to all other developed nations, Americans own significantly more firearms, and this accounts for our higher rate of homicide” and “Many of the 70 million American gun owners claim they own guns for self defense”(Weintraut, par. 3). These statements directly relate to her claim that “Guns have become decreasingly essential for personal survival. Why bother owning one?”(par. 2) However, she makes one statement incorporating pathos at the end of the passage stating that “Events such as the Columbine High School shooting, the Virginia Tech shooting and most recently the Arizona shooting have forced us to address the issue” (par. 6). She includes zero statements that lead a reader to feel any confidence that she might have an above average knowledge of what she is claiming. Her use of ethos and pathos is extremely overshadowed by her listing of fact after fact, making the reading extremely dry. Grabbing readers’ attention so they would be able to maintain focus until the end of the article to even get to her conclusion is surely not something Weintraut has accomplished.

            Arguments are only completely sound if the writer acknowledges the possible reciprocation of opposing viewpoints and explains the faults in any of those ways of thinking. While Weintraut does provide an acknowledgement of opposing viewpoints, she not only does so before making her claim, but she stretches her response to the point that it becomes unbelievable. She states that during the 1800’s

“many families lived in isolation, and it was necessary to hunt and kill animals to supply food. Guns were essential in protecting and providing for families. But today… we have diverse and organized military services as well as law enforcement agencies at all levels of government [and] we have companies that raise and kill animals for mass food production.” (par. 1-2)

Essentially, she is asserting that we should not have guns because we can kill things in other ways. This point is rather counterproductive. If one follows her logic, surely they will never have the urge to own any kind of weapon. However, if one simply enjoys using guns for sport or other recreational uses, or even just because they feel the need to kill, then they will. Her point here does not advocate for laws to be put in effect; it is more of a call to action to individual citizens to stop them selves from buying weapons.

  Conclusions are meant to sum up the paper and not only restate the claim of the writer, but then to also show some possible solution towards reaching their claim. Weintraut does a decent job of providing a solution, calling for “focusing on what really causes the problems: bullets” , and quoting the comedian Chris Rock, who says “Everybody is talking about gun control … I think we need some bullet control! … If a bullet costs $5,000, there’d be no more innocent bystanders” is a nice way to appeal to her audience and back up her previous claim (par. 6). However, her claim at the beginning of the essay calls for gun control, not bullet control. A sudden switch of focus leaves the reader confused as to what Weintraut is really trying to say.

            Megan Weintraut fought to convince readers that gun laws should be tightened in America. Although she provided many good examples and connected with her audience to really seal the deal at the end, over emphasizing the facts and nothing else left readers struggling to get through the reading to reach her overall conclusion.

College Free Write

These essays obviously have very contradictory views; not only in claim, but also in reasoning behind the claim. As a college student, I am inclined to agree with the ideas brought up by Weigner. There is a very clear generation gap between the two writers which clearly underscores the difference in ideas. Different times call for different measures and today's world is more conduscive to a college experience similiar to Weigner's. In terms of response, Weigner's use of counter argument was highly effective.

Reflection 1.1

Upon analyzing Megan Weintraut's essay "Government should create stricter gun laws", writing my first draft of my thoughts was both simple and very challenging. With a limit of 750 words, it was difficult to incorporate aspects of all terms we have discussed in class, such as occasion and purpose. It was also challenging to combine the information about the article I read with the formulaic broad -> specific nature of an introduction as I have learned it. Because the paper is essentially about how to present an argument, not the specific article itself, it was difficult to incorporate both aspects and lead to a lengthy introduction. Everything afterwords was pretty simple; I plugged in quotes based on each control and then provided analysis. It was very formulaic. I think my second draft will allow me to provide diversified reasoning and a opening quote that will rlate more to my topic.

Essay 1.1: Rhetorical Analysis of “Government should create stricter gun laws” by Megan Weintraut

            Marlee Matlin, an academy award winning actress who overcame loss of hearing at an early age, describes her struggle to gain legitimacy as “Every one of us is different in some way, but for those of us who are more different, we have to put more effort into convincing the less different that we can do the same thing they can, just differently”.  As Matlin surely did in her endeavors, one must present their belief using a barrage of appeals to ascertain the attention of the desired audience. Building off of a clearly defined claim, one must present reasons with evidence using a blend of logos, ethos, and pathos to make their case truly air-tight. Megan Weitraut, a journalist for The Ithacan, published an essay on January 26, 2011 crying out for the instatement of stricter gun laws. In her essay “Government should create stricter gun laws”, she is essentially handing out a fact sheet of information and statistics to inform the reader about gun usage, failing to make the argument that she attempts to make. Her argument, while filled with logos, lacks the balance of ethos and pathos to hold the reader’s attention, her attempt to acknowledge and respond fails as it is misplaced and misused, and her conclusion fails to support her original purpose.

            Although it is essential for any argument to be supported by facts and data from varieties of sources to be convincing, when appealing to an audience of mostly students, one must entice them with emotion and attempt to gain credibility so any conclusion formed can be taken seriously. Megan Weitraut does a great job of incorporating logos, logical arguments, that nail down the point that she is trying to make. Among her eleven pieces of evidence that incorporate logos, she states “The American Journal of Public Health determined that, in comparison to all other developed nations, Americans own significantly more firearms, and this accounts for our higher rate of homicide” and “Many of the 70 million American gun owners claim they own guns for self defense”(Weintraut par. 3). These statements directly relate to her claim that “Guns have become decreasingly essential for personal survival. Why bother owning one?”(par. 2) However, she makes one statement incorporating pathos at the end of the passage stating that “Events such as the Columbine High School shooting, the Virginia Tech shooting and most recently the Arizona shooting have forced us to address the issue” (par. 6). She includes zero statements that lead a reader to feel any confidence that she might have an above average knowledge of what she is claiming. Her use of ethos and pathos is extremely overshadowed by her listing of fact after fact, making the reading extremely dry. Grabbing readers’ attention so they would be able to maintain focus until the end of the article to even get to her conclusion is surely not something Weintraut has accomplished.

            Arguments are only completely sound if the writer acknowledges the possible reciprocation of opposing viewpoints and explains the faults in any of those ways of thinking. While Weintraut does provide an acknowledgement of opposing viewpoints, she not only does so before making her claim, but she stretches her response to the point that it becomes unbelievable. She states that during the 1800’s “many families lived in isolation, and it was necessary to hunt and kill animals to supply food. Guns were essential in protecting and providing for families. But today… we have diverse and organized military services as well as law enforcement agencies at all levels of government [and] we have companies that raise and kill animals for mass food production.” (par. 1-2) Essentially, she is asserting that we should not have guns because we can kill things in other ways. This point is rather counterproductive.

            Conclusions are meant to sum up the paper and not only restate the claim of the writer, but then to also show some possible solution towards reaching their claim. Weintraut does a decent job of providing a solution, calling for “focusing on what really causes the problems: bullets” , and quoting the comedian Chris Rock, who says “Everybody is talking about gun control … I think we need some bullet control! … If a bullet costs $5,000, there’d be no more innocent bystanders” is a nice way to appeal to her audience and back up her previous claim (par. 6). However, her claim at the beginning of the essay calls for gun control, not bullet control. A sudden switch of focus leaves the reader confused as to what Weintraut is really trying to say.

            Megan Weintraut fought to convince readers that gun laws should be tightened in America. Although she provided many good examples and connected with her audience to really seal the deal at the end, over emphasizing the facts and nothing else left readers struggling to get through the reading to reach her overall conclusion.

Works Cited

1. Weintraut, Megan. "Government should create stricter gun laws"The Ithacan. 26 Jan. 2011. Web. 6 Feb. 2011

Pre-writing for Gun Control Argument Essay

• Used lots of logos. 
• Many sources
• Lots of number
• Got boring
• Appealed to audience at the end
• Acknowledgment at reversal at the beginning
• Had a strong reason listed at the beginning of each paragraph and then supported it with evidence directly linked to reason
• Not all reasons were linked to claim however
• Not much use of pathos
• No use of ethos
• 
  

Rhetorical Analysis Quiz

Textual analysis focuses specifically on what one can find directly in the text itself. There is no extrapolation of what one finds in the text to the real world; more of a focus on voice and style, etc. Contextual evidence, however, creates that link from what one finds in the text to a larger overall idea in the real world. This type of analysis tries to answer question like who, what, where, etc.