Reflection Essay

This semester in English 250 we have used all the concepts of WOVE in our writing. We
Have written about a place that is important to us, a critical analysis of a place, and an argument about a place. The oral aspect was exercised during class presentations of our jammed ad. Visual aids were used throughout papers whether it was a picture of an ad or our photo essay. We used electronic communication with our blogs and with our power point presentation. All of these projects have dealt with a place because places play an important part in our lives.

The writing process is an important part of communicating with people. This class
Helped me to see that places have formed who I am. Now, I also look at how places have had an impact on my life. At the beginning of this semester I liked to write my entire paper at one time. Throughout the semester we have had to write part of the paper and then expand on our ideas to reach the required amount. This technique involves writing down some of the main points and then having someone look at them and give suggestions about how you could expand and what can be taken out. This makes it easier to make revisions and add things into the paper. Before this semester I didn’t show my work to anyone. I have now started to run my work through several people. This helps me to see what isn’t clear in my writing and to find grammatical errors in the paper. I will look at all the feedback from these people and decide how to work these ideas into my paper. Any part they say needs to be clearer I will see how it can be revised. I look at all the grammatical errors that they have pointed out and the parts that should be expanded and parts that can be taken out. During the semester we have used different ways of communicating with other people. At the beginning of the semester my strongest way of communicating with people was by oral presentations. Throughout the semester I have had to work on developing my other areas of communication. Electronic communication was new to me; I had never composed a blog before. This experience has shown me that electronic communication is a very easy way to share your ideas with a large audience. I have greatly improved with my electronic communication; I learned how to make a blog that is easy to understand. I have also improved in my written work. I had the most problems with writing papers and clearly making my points. I have improved in my writing technique and I am getting better at putting my ideas on paper. I also learned some techniques of adding visuals into my work. In the jammed ad we had to use a power point and I learned new techniques about presenting ideas to people through a power point presentation. My favorite assignment was the argument essay. In this essay I was able to argue about an issue that was relatively local and how it would affect my area and people from my hometown. It also helped me to see that there are many sides to an issue and that they should all be looked at and be given a fair shot.

In conclusion, places have played an important role in everyone’s life. Being able to communicate about these places is what cultivates our relationships with others. The use of different means of communication helps us to be able to express, not only the facts but also, how these places have affected us. This class has helped me learn to better communicate in many different ways; orally, electronically, written, and visually. Because of this class I will better be able to communicate with those I come into contact with both now and in the future.

Written Communication

The purpose of written communication is to express an idea or an opinion to other people. The basic layout is to have a strong thesis that will help other people to understand your idea. This selection is an argument about how big companies should not be able to push other people out of their homes and that a historical landmark should not be torn down so that these companies can make a little more money. I will talk about the fact that the alternative building sites are a better selection than the place that the large companies want to build at.

The Cost of an Airport
There have always been disputes over land and the government. In the towns of Pella, Iowa, and Oskaloosa, Iowa, companies need a larger runway so that they will be able to land their jets. They asked the city council to approve the building of a new airport. The sites that were selected for the building of this airport come into conflict with fertile farmland and other historical landmark. The people that want the airport are calling for eminent domain to be called so that this airport will be able to be built. The need for a larger airport will affect many people, but the economic benefit is not worth the loss of history.
This debate involves 3 multi-million dollar companies- Pella Corporation and Vermeer Manufacturing based in Pella, Iowa and Musco Lighting Corporation located in Oskaloosa, IA. These three companies have the need for bigger jets. The new jets would allow these companies to take longer flights and be able to accommodate a larger party of people on them. This need for bigger jets comes with the need for a longer runway. The local airports will not be able to accommodate these needs. Authorization to land the larger airplanes that these industries need may be revoked because of certain safety issues at that current airport. A research committee was commissioned to do a study and find the best economical solution to this problem, and they resolved that a new airport should be built to accommodate this need. The airport would also be much safer for all aircrafts and will be able to operate in more demanding weather conditions than the old one. (Aviation Review Committee)
Many people in the community of Pella have been looking for alternative solutions to this problem to avoid the building of a new airport. The first thing that would come to mind is to expand and update an existing local airport. This is not possible at the Pella airport because it is between a major golf course and some other buildings. The nearby town of Oskaloosa has an airport that is located in Cedar which is a 40-45 minute drive to Pella and they see this as being too far for them to drive. The only option that is available is to build a new airport. This airport is said to be able to draw people to the town and to help give an added incentive for larger companies to move to the area. For instance, more people would be able to come to the major races at Knoxville and Newton. (Aviation Review Committee)
There are two locations that a committee has determined to be the most economical. The two sites that are being pushed for are a local township called Black Oak and a city named Otley. (Woodhouse) The township that the council is now considering putting on the contingency site is located in Black Oak. The reason why the council suggested this area is because this place is between Oskaloosa and Pella. The companies in Pella agree that this would be the best spot because a major company that is pushing for this airport is located in Oskaloosa. This area would put the airport in between the major companies. This site would take many people’s homes away and many acres of farmland. (Supervisors delay airport decision) In order to obtain these lands, there would have to be an eminent domain declared so that the Council could take these lands for a price that is determined by an appraiser. One woman that would lose her land says, “It’s a century farm that’s been passed down for years, and we want to keep it that way.” (Kappelman) This site also has a farmstead that has been registered in the National Registry of Historical Places. The farmstead is said to call attention to the movements of the 20th century of rural life. (Kappelman) Some of the better farmland in the region and the symbol of
history would be lost if we tore down the historic farmstead. Even though it is not the most economical decision it would do the least harm to the history of our region and to the rich farmland that is at the proposed site.
The other proposed site is in Otley, IA. This region has now become the frontrunner for the airport. Since this is a new proposed site that has just occurred lately there are not any responses from the landowners at this region. (Woodhouse) Some of the land that is needed for the airport has gone up for sale, which means that less people would be forced to sell their land and that there aren’t any historical landmarks in this area. The drawback of this site is that the airport would be located in the northwest corner of Marion County. This would make the company in Oskaloosa drive an extra 15-20 minutes to reach the airport. This is why the company in Oskaloosa is trying to get Mahaska County to let them build over the historical landmark. There are 4 or 5 other sites but all of these would require the moving of cell phone towers, which would be a much greater cost and hassle. (Woodhouse)
Though the Otley airport would cost the company more money it is still the best choice of sites. Even though it is not the most economical decision it would do the least harm to the history of our region and to the rich farmland that is at the proposed site. The argument of the major businesses and the research committee may be the most economical solution but there are other costs we need to think about. Are we willing to give up prime farmland and a landmark that represents the history of this region in an effort to save a few dollars? The loss of this farmland and the history is not worth the result of saving a company few dollars.

Works Cited
Aviation Review Committee. Aviation Review Committee Report to Mayor and Council. 15 November 2007 .
Kappelman, Wes. Pella looks at two sites for new airport. 30 October 2007. 15 November 2007 .
Woodhouse, Steve. Otley is likely airport site. 22 October 2007. 15 November 2007 .

Oral Communication

We have used groups in many of our assignments. The aspect of getting everyone on the same page and to do their work on time is hard. At the beginning of the semester on the jammed ad we had some problems on the fact that we couldn’t get everyone together at the same time. We eventually got this done and were able to complete the assignment on time and get everyone organized so that we could have an effective presentation. The fact that we were all pressed for time when we finally met helped me to see the importance of meeting early with my group so that we would have more time to get the project done. The hard thing in group work is to try to get everybody to agree on the way to do things and what to do them on. Everyone needs to be flexible with their ideas so that the entire group will be able to agree upon ideas. For instance in the audio project we had some disagreements on what place we would do our project on. We finally were able to agree because everybody was flexible with their ideas. The main thing that has to happen is that everyone needs to be flexible and respect everyone else’s ideas.

Visual Communication

The purpose of a visual communication is to catch peoples eye and to get them thinking about what they ad has to say. The purpose of this project was to use a series of photos to portray a side of the campanile. The different angles of the picture and the different objects that we have in the pictures portray a different side of the campanile.

This is a picture of the campanile on central campus. This picture is taken in the middle of the day and shadows are being cast on the structure. The campanile is a structure that has many different traditions that go along with it. This picture was chosen because it gives a food overall view of the structure. For an ISU student or alumni, this picture gives us a sense of community and tradition. The sight of the campanile gives us a good feeling because we know the traditions that go along with the campanile and the university. When you first look at this picture your eyes focus on the top where the sun is shining, and then slowly works down to the shaded part and the trees at the base of the campanile. This leads your eyes down to the next picture that we will describe.

This is the archway of the campanile. This archway faces the memorial union. The arches have a significant role in the tradition of the campanile. The story goes that someone is not a true Iowa Stater unless they take there loved one and kiss them under the campanile when the bells ring at midnight. This has been a tradition for over a hundred years and this shows the heritage that this school has. This also shows the old decorative architecture that was put into the arches. This is contrasted with the new bright green leaves. This shows a merging of the old tradition and the new students that still hang onto this tradition. When you first look at this picture your eyes are drawn to the arches and the branches that are in front of them. Then your eyes are drawn down to the green grass which leads to the next picture.

This is a picture of the top of the campanile. This shows the clocks that are on all four faces of the campanile that can be seen from most places in central campus. Every quarter hour the bells of Iowa State are rung. Most days at 11:50 someone will go up and actually play the carillon that is up in the tower for a twenty minute concert. At other times carilloners go up and play concerts at different times throughout the years. The bells of Iowa State can be heard over most of the campus. This is a tradition that goes back to when the campanile was first built. Your eyes focus on the top of the campanile and are drawn down to the shadows at the bottom of the page. This picture is bright and warm and gives you a good feeling about the campanile.

This is one of the corners of the campanile. This photo represents the old architecture that was put into the campanile. This is merged with the new trees that are in the background. This represents that the old traditions that go along with the campanile are still alive today. The sun in the background makes you feel warm and comfortable which is how you feel whenever you see the campanile a realize that some things in the university are the same now as they were many years ago. When you look at the picture your eyes glance over the building and are drawn to the bright spot in the picture, which is the sun and then your eyes follow the tree branches until you are looking at the base of the building and then work up to the top of the picture. This is the last picture in my sequence because as you look at it, it does not really lead your eyes to the next picture down.

Electronic Communication

I didn't have much experience with electronic communication before this semester. When we had to use power point to present our jammed ad, It was a good experience and taught me many things about how to make an effect slide show that gets your theme across and how to make your thoughts clear to other people. I had never had a blog before this semester and I didn’t really know what it was. This experience helped me to understand the basics of blogging. That you can post anything that you want and it can be viewed by whoever you select. This means that you can post your opinions and it can be read by anybody that can get on the internet. This form of communication seems likely to get even more popular since it is a quick and easy way to express yourself and your thoughts to people. Where a paper copy of a paper will work for a small audience, a blog can be presented to anybody in the world. People need to keep in mind that not everyone has the same views as them and that they should be considerate of other people when they post comments or opinions to their blogs.