Photography Project - Evaluate Instructions

The instructions for making a camera lucida are generally not well organized but still manage to give the most essential information. As soon as looking at the instructions, one gets confused as where to begin. After eventually finding the start and continuing reading, the confusion grows as one does not know what to glue together exactly. The general lack of numbered steps makes the instructions seem more complicated than necessary. While the drawings provide details for the construction of the camera, the text merely instructs the reader briefly in terms of what actions to perform. The text also does not contain a list of needed materials or tools, which would be very helpful. Another unhelpful part is that a certain David Hockney is mentioned but the reader has no idea who this is supposed to be, so it is a irrelevant information and could simply be left out. Although the text is rather confusing than helpful and although its references to the drawings are unclear, the construction of a camera lucida with the help of these instructions is generally speaking doable.

 

(181 words)

Photography Project: Descriptive Text "Migrant Mother"

The black and white picture “Migrant Mother” taken by famous photographer Dorothea Lange shows a Native American woman, probably in her 30s, holding a little baby in her arms while being surrounded by two toddlers leaning against their mother’s shoulder. They are hiding their faces, be it out of sombreness, embarrassment or shyness in front of the camera. The simple, slightly ragged yet proper clothes cannot distract from the sad and sorrowful atmosphere that is created by the little family huddled tightly together outside their simple tent. Her hand’s fingertips are resting thoughtfully against her lower jaw. When closely regarding the mother’s face in detail one can see that her face has been wrinkled by raw weather and the worries of her unforgiving life. With her lined forehead and her gaze into the distance, she seems to be troubled by her and her children’s uncertain future. Despite her obvious misery there lies a certain determination and strength in her appearance, as if she was a lonely wolf mother protecting her pups from the woes

of the world.   

                                                                                                                                      

(176 words)

                                       

A day in the life of…myself:)

The day before an exam can be tough. That is especially true when the exam happens to take place on a Monday. Whenever this is the case, I try to spend the Sunday at my parents’ since it’s just much more relaxing for me to recharge my batteries in the quiet countryside where they live than in the noisy city. These days usually begin with a nice cup of hot chocolate. (I only drink coffee when I’m extremely tired or exhausted because I simply can’t stand the taste of it.) Afterwards, I get ready in order to join the breakfast table which involves me getting dressed and picking out some earrings, while reading the ÖH students’ magazine “Libelle”.



Following a substantial brunch, the whole family takes the obligatory walk – these are usually the most beautiful when the landscape is winter wonderland-like. I really enjoy these walks because they distract me from the upcoming exam madness on the next day.
 

 

After a fun afternoon, I tend to go over the material one last time (yeah, I’m an avid member of the study-in-the-last-minute group) before I head off to Graz again – and hope for the best.

 

 

(200 words)

 

 

 

Text Project Part 4_Final Version

Here's the link to our awesome final essay on why "Joining the EU would be disadvantageous for Switzerland in many ways.":

http://sparklybirgit.blogspot.co.at/2013/12/text-project-part-4.html

Enjoy reading it:)

The EU’s focus for 2014: European Year for Reconciling Work and Family Life

Paragraph brainstorming






Original paragraph

The “European Year for Reconciling Work and Family Life“ is a campaign brought into being by COFACE (The Confederation of Family Organisations in the European Union) and is supported by the European Parliament itself. It puts the main emphasis on supporting families, how to make having a family and a job more compatible and gender equality. The latter is seen as the key to a successfully converted work-life-balance because it allows women to lead a working life as successful and well-paid as men do. As a result, women’s lives become more flexible and time-arrangements are easier to keep. The confederation understands devices such as care services, satisfactory wages, job security and working conditions which acknowledge family life as being the basis to a financially secure family life. Through this campaign, COFACE wants to promote family friendly policies within all of the member states of the European Union. While this year’s campaign exclusively revolves around families, it is also closely related to 2010’s focus The  European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion and 2012’s The European Year of Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations. Consequently, the confederation hopes to be able to directly follow these campaigns.

                                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                             (196 words)


Feedback and reflection from class this week 

Since I was absent from last week's class, I was only given feedback on my paragraph in this week's class. Although my classmates were fine with the paragraph's topic sentence and register, they agreed on me using the word "campaign" way too often. As far as vocabulary in general is concerned, they found that it is suitable for the topic.


Final version of the paragraph


The “European Year for Reconciling Work and Family Life“ is a campaign brought into being by COFACE (The Confederation of Family Organisations in the European Union) and is supported by the European Parliament itself. It puts the main emphasis on supporting families, how to make having a family and a job more compatible and gender equality. The latter is seen as the key to a successfully converted work-life-balance because it allows women to lead a working life as successfully and well-paid as men. As a result, women’s lives become more flexible and time-arrangements are easier to keep. The confederation understands devices such as care services, satisfactory wages, job security and working conditions which acknowledge family life as being the basis for a financially secure family life. Through this campaign, COFACE wants to promote family friendly policies within all of the member states of the European Union. While this year’s project exclusively revolves around families, it is also closely related to 2010’s focus The European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion and 2012’s The European Year of Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations. Consequently, the confederation hopes to be able to directly follow these initiatives.

(196 words)

 

Second final version of the paragraph

The “European Year for Reconciling Work and Family Life” is part of the “European Year” campaign brought into being by the EU. The campaign is led on many fronts by The Confederation of Family Organisations in the European Union (COFACE) and is supported by the European Parliament. It puts the main emphasis of its efforts on supporting families, reconciling work and family life, and gender equality. The latter is seen as the key to a successful work-life-balance because it allows women to lead a working life as successfully and well-paid as men. This results in women’s lives becoming more flexible and makes it easier to keep appointments. The confederation is convinced that care services, satisfactory wages, job security and working conditions which acknowledge family life are the basis for a financially secure family life. Through the EU’s focus for 2014, COFACE wants to promote family friendly policies within all of the member states of the European Union. While this year’s project exclusively revolves around families, it is also closely related to 2010’s focus The European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion and 2012’s The European Year of Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations. The confederation hopes to be able to directly follow the success of last year’s campaign.

(209 words)