9th Grade Writing Samples
Analyzing Artwork
In the water color painting, Waiting, But Late, Caitlyn L. illustrated a young girl sitting formally on a floral couch. In the foreground there is a young woman sitting on the couch with her legs crossed. She is all fancied and dressed up in some accessories and a dress with floral matching print like the couch. In the middle ground there's a floral printed couch that matches with her dress. The background is covered in a vertically striped, pastel wallpaper consisting of pink green and a light beige/yellow.
Describing Works of Art
Sample 1
Describing Works of Art
Sample 2
In the digital illustration, Happy Earth Friends Toy Poster Design, Kelly C. illustrated cartoon like animals along with a cartoon like odd landscape, filled with mushrooms and broccoli/asparagus like trees. Throughout the picture plane, there are a total of 6 animals. In the foreground there looks to be a cow, a turd, and a red, big spotted mushroom on the right bottom corner peeking out. In the middle ground, there are two strange animals that I cannot identify but both of them have an open mouth with spiky teeth. The one to the right is clothed with a blue shirt paired with green pants, and an orange backpack. In the background there's three animals hiding behind the bushes. There are also a title that says "Happy Earth Friends", a big mushroom to the left, and lots of those 'trees'.
Artist: Caitlyn L.
Title: Waiting, But Late
Media: Watercolor Painting
Data: 2006
Artist: Kelly C.
Title: Happy Earth Friends Toy Poster Design
Media: Illustrator Digital Illustration
Data: 2009
Final Formal Art Analysis
In the digital illustration, Mirror of Memory, by the artist Lilia Osipova, the viewer sees a woman looking at what seems to be the reflection of the mirror. In the foreground there is a woman facing and looking at her 'reflection' on the mirror. This woman takes up atleast/is located on 1/3 of the left side of this portrait. She does not look like an ordinary woman though, she portrays Medusa somehow. She is facing at an angle towards the mirror which is on the front right of her. There is a nest of many snakes on her head that are well and alive. Some snakes are looking towards the viewer and the others looking in various different directions. The woman's back is bare but once your eyes move a little lower, you can see she has a long, snake like tail. Her snake like tail coils up behind her and near her right side. It has a very scaly visual texture. Her scales go from her tail, all the way up to the front part of her chest. Her right arm is very long and slender. Her fingers curl a little bit outward, showing off her very long and fang shaped black nails. Her left hand is reaching towards the mirror of the reflection. In the foreground there is a mirror with the woman's 'reflection' on it. It is at angle and faces the front right of the woman. There is a border all around the mirror that has a square, aztec like repeated pattern. The border on the left and right side has a bigger pattern than the one on the bottom border. The top border is covered by cave like icicles but they are not made with ice, they're stone. The reflection of the woman is different from the woman itself with the medusa like appearance. Her reflection gives off a goddess like glow. She is wearing a yellow, golden, and white toned toga like the greek goddesses would wear. Her face is very delicate looking and her is blonde and curly. The woman's hair goes from the top of her head and goes all the way to the left side of her, just right above the her shoulder. The front part of her hair seems to be in cornrows. The reflection of her hands and arms are the same as how she's reaching out with the actual woman. In the reflection, she has short nails. In the reflection, behind the woman is a long cloth that drapes behind her like a backdrop but only to the left side. Near the bottom of the mirror there is an oil lamp, similar to the one in Aladdin. It is a gold color. The background if this portrait is like a cave atmosphere. There are items in the shadows and to the upper left corner there is an unidentifiable item. This item has a gothic like texture. This whole picture plane's color is tinted in a gradient-like blue, green, and yellow. There is also many shadows and dark areas throughout the portrait. The oil lamp has only lit up only some areas of the portrait.
Title: Mirror of Memory
Artist: Lilia Osipova
Media: Digital Media
Analyzing Works of Art
Artist: Barry McGee
Title: Untitled
Media: Painted Illustration
Data: 2010
In the mural, Untitled by Barry McGee, the artist has used repetition, pattern, and shape all through out this piece. To begin with, there are many patterns throughout this mural that use repetition. For example, there are patterns that only uses diamonds which help create a 3D cube like look. The color scheme for this mural is very much like split complimentary colors.
But is it artwork?
In my opinion, yes I think that Susan O'Malley's wall of screen prints of positive phrases is art. I believe this because:
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Of the color schemes each screen print has. From the text, to the background. They very much represent the color theory.
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Gradients are being used. It is almost as if it was a colorful sunset painting.
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The sayings/phrases. Although they may seem very cliche and cheesy, they may have more meaning behind it, just like poetry does.
My favorite saying was the screen print that said, "It's not a dumb idea". This was my favorite screen print because often I get told that I'm stupid or dumb for my ideas, thoughts, and visions. People often think I am 'dumb' with their first impression of me but little do they know what I'm capable of.
Oakland Museum Field Trip - My favorite work
English I - Schools Starting at a Later Time
For the past three or so years now, there have been many controversies on whether schools should start at a later time. There are definitely many pros and cons if school were to start at a later time, but many teenagers would greatly appreciate it. Nowadays lately, especially in our generation that is full of technology and socializing, students tend to stay up much later than they should be. This not only causes many problems for a student’s health itself, but also pushes many problems into a teacher’s hand. This leads to the conclusion that schools should start a much later time.
To begin with, if schools were to start a later time, students would get much more sleep compared to waking up early in the morning just to attend your classes for the day. Many students at this time around, like to and have the tendency to stay up exceedingly late. The cause of this is simply either because of their electronics, piles of homework, or even simply just not being able to sleep at an earlier time to get the full recommended hours. A congresswoman who was interviewed for an article said, " ‘Over time, sleep deprivation leads to serious consequences for academic achievement, social behavior, and the health and safety of our nation's youth.’ ” (School Start Time and Sleep). To build on that, a poll that was conducted by the National Sleep Foundation as they analyzed that over 60% of students under the age of 18, have whined that they have been very tired during the school day. “Another 15% said they fell asleep at school during the year.” (School Start Time and Sleep). This idea would ideally help students to not only get the amount of sleep they need, but also help them thrive in their education and also their emotional health, mental health, or even both.
Despite the fact that students may have less time to do extracurricular activities and whatnot by having school start later on in the day, it has been shown at eight different high schools, in which they start at a later time, that there was a major improvement. According to the article, Why School Should Start Later in the Morning, these eight high schools have had a great boost in the attendance of students and grades in math, English, social studies, science, etc.. Along with this boost in improvement of attendance and grades, there was an immense decrease in tardiness, substance abuse, symptoms of depression, and a less amount of teen car accidents. Analyzing this information, you can see that these eight high schools did not magically have a vast improvement out of nowhere, but it was because that their schools started at a later time in the morning. “Researchers analyzed data from more than 9,000 students at eight high schools in Minnesota, Colorado, and Wyoming and found that shifting the school day later in the morning resulted in a boost in attendance, test scores, and grades in math, English, science, and social studies.” (Why School Should Start Later in the Morning). Many teachers who teach at schools who start at a later time, have said how students were much more alert in class, less moody, and have had a lower likelihood of sleeping in class.
Scientifically, it is actually more difficult for adolescents to fall asleep earlier in the evening that it is for adults and other age groups. Sleep researchers have also found that early school hours are harming students. Consequently, lack of sleep can lead to sleep deprivation, a condition if you suffer from lack of sleep, which has many poor impacts to one’s lifestyle and body. From sleep deprivation you can gain weight and may suffer from future obesity or can also create eating disorders. Other impacts would also include depression, anxiety, mood swings, motor vehicle accidents, suicidal thoughts, diabetes, brain development impact, and much more. These early school hours not only risk students to get these possible outcomes, but also prevents them from getting the sleep they need. “Early school hours prevent many students and young teachers from getting the 9 or so hours of sleep per night that most teenagers and young adults need.” (Why We Must - and Can - Restore Safe & Healthy School Hours).
Although students should have the discipline when it comes to sleeping early, if we have the opportunity to help them out, then we should. If we can’t get students to sleep earlier, then why don’t we move the hours of school to a later time, for they can get the sleep they need? Sleep is extremely important to everybody, not just for those who go to school. It is important to get enough sleep for your body can grow, develop, and get the amount of rest it needs. Having school start at such an early time prevents many people to get the rest they need in order to be healthy and happy. If schools just started at a later time in the morning, there would definitely be an increase of positive impacts. We all love our sleep, and we all need to be educated in order to become successful in the future, we cannot just simply do that when we are falling asleep in class and cranky.
March 19, 2017
Mr. Frank Mendez
President
Sony Corporation
125 Madison Ave.
New York, NY 10024
Dear Mr. Mendez:
In regards of your new product, the Sony - 50" Class (49.5" Diag.) television, there have been many issues. I am here to inform you that this product came in very scratched and it did not come with a few of the items stated on your website. I bought this item at my local Best Buy, hoping to replace the old box television I have at home. I called Best Buy hoping they would help me, but informed me that I should contact the company and branding of this product.
When I first received the television from an employee, I noticed that the box was pretty rough and worn down a bit, but I did not mind it that much knowing that there is styrofoam and a plastic cover protecting it from any harm or damage. Since my car is extremely small, I payed for a delivery service from Best Buy to have them come over and deliver it to my house safely, the same day I had bought it. Once I received it, I immediately began to set up the product. To begin with, when I first had opened the box and peeled off the protective coverings, I observed that there were a few scratches around the rim and the screen that have already been there. Adding on to that, it did not include an AC power adapter and AC power cord, which is key to powering the television. To conclude, it also as well did not contain a tabletop stand for my dresser as stated online.
In terms of all these issues with your product and the missing items, I request a full refund on this product or a brand new replacement.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Nicole Fuertez
2450 Grant St.
Concord, CA 94520
English I - Business Letter
Biology - Global Warming in the Arctic
Due to the excess amount of carbon dioxide in our Earth’s atmosphere, it has caused an increase of Earth’s average surface temperature, this is called global warming. Global warming does not just affect one biome or region, it affects almost the whole entire world. Although it affects the whole planet, the Arctic is more impacted by global warming than any other place and region in the world. It is highly threatening to the animals and plants who live in the Arctic, along with their safety and will change the way they live their life. Even just a 2 degrees celsius increase in temperature can make a tremendous change.
The major causes of global warming can be traced back to the highly significant amount of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, in our atmosphere. As fossil fuels burn, heat gets trapped up in our air that causes lots of heat in which leads to the melting of the ice in the Arctic. As the ice caps melt, the albedo goes down. Considering that cold and icy land reflect back the energy from the sun, if the frozen land were to start melting and heating up, it would result in the ice absorbing more of that radiation rather than reflecting it back, this is called the albedo effect. Some other causes would include factors linked to human activities and major volcanic eruptions.
As a result, many abiotic factors, plants, and animals in the Arctic are impacted. A major abiotic factor of the Arctic are strong winds and rainfall. If the Arctic were to start warming up, the amount of rainfall would decrease and temperatures would increase, leading to possible forest fires. To build on that, grass, mosses, and lichens would not live or grow there anymore because of the sudden climate change. Polar bears use the sea ice to do everything, from giving birth, to hunting, and raising their small cubs. They also feed exclusively on seals who are also as well dependent on the sea ice. Ice is very important to the animals in the Arctic because they need it in order to feed and reproduce their next generation. If the ice were to start melting in the Arctic, it would influence not only abiotic factors, but plant and animal life as well.
After analyzing the evidence, ultimately it becomes apparent that global warming has a major influence in our world. Fortunately, we can do many things to help reduce and prevent global warming. We can start reducing carbon emissions and be less dependent on fossil fuels, which create all the carbon dioxide in our air. Along with that, we can join local campaigns or simply just shopping greener at the supermarket and making our houses energy efficient. Telling the government that we want green energy and for them to back us up on fighting climate change. Global warming can majorly impact our world in the near future, and not in a good way. We should do everything we can to not only save the animals, plants, and people, but our home, Earth.