Explanation/Group work (Sanja M,Edna,Dženana)

In this mode, the writer wants to describe, define, or classify a subject. Exploration often opens a subject, while explanation helps to clarify and describe it so the reader can better understand it.

The assignment of our group was to "Explain a Marketing Strategy"

1.First question: Study the two clothing advertisements for Guess and Diesel? On a piece of paper make a list of details that describe each ad. What do you see? Be specific, but also be factual. Only list what you see.

Guess: We see two people, man and a woman, dancing somewhere that looks like a supermarket, girl is looking towards us and smiling, while the guy is turned to the other side. They are both wearing jeans and they both have belts on their jeans.

Diesel: In the other ad we also see two people, again man and a woman dancing somewhere that looks like a a court room, or an office. They are also wearing jeans. On guys jeans we can clearly see etiquette (label) of the producer. In the same room there is a table with a computer on it, and on the wall there is a prepared head of a reindeer. In the middle of the ad there is newspapers called The Daily African with a banner headline:"European developing countries targeted by African tobacco industry".

2.Second question: Based on your list of details, what is the story the ad is trying to tell its intended audience? Do you think the "story" is successful for selling clothes? Why or why not?

We think that the story that both ads are trying to tell to its audience is: "Wear jeans, jeans looks good on everyone".

Yes, we think that the story is successful for selling clothes because in it you can see two young, beautiful, romantic couples that look really good in what they ware, in jeans. Most of the people, when they see this ad, will think: "If they look so good in jeans, probably I will look good in it too, or maybe even better. Maybe this jeans will make me look like J.Lo".

3.Third question: Compare the two ads and decide which is more effective and why.

For us more effective is the Guess's ad. Why? Three reasons:

-Picture is more focused on models and what they are wearing, than on their surrounding ( not like in Diesels ad where too many details distract our attention from what we should be really looking at).

-Picture is better although is black and white and we can see more clearly models of jeans.

-Man and woman from Guess's ad look better in jeans than those from Diesel's ad.

My Picture/Photo

When I look at this this photo, I think about prom night, about that whole day, about all the people which came to see us, graduates, I think about how cold it was and how nervous I was.
A story that this picture prompts me to remember is my prom night, and that story goes like this.

The beginning of the prom night was at 8.00 o'clock. We, the students had to gather at 7.30 on Musala, a square in the centre of Mostar. When I came there, there were many people, many other students that were celebrating the end of high school. Everyone was dressed really nice: girls were wearing dresses and boys suits. Weather was at first warm but then it got windy. My first impression when I got out of the car was: "Oh, My God how much people". I was very nervous, especially because we had to walk in a row with our partner between the crowd. I had a feeling that the crowd was watching our every move so I had to be very careful, especially with the dress because of the wind.

When we came to the hotel the first thing we had to was to take a photo alone and with our partner. When my turn came to take a picture I was terrified, nervous and confused. In front of me stood a photographer and behind him a long row of other students waiting to be photographed. In that moment I felt like I wasn't there, more accurately, like my body was there but my thoughts were somewhere else.

When that part with the photos ended I was relieved. I went to the hotel and waited for the party to begin. As the night passed we had nice time dancing, joking, smiling, simply enjoying our last high school days.

• For me, things that have changed are:

I'm now on faculty, next to old I also have some new friends, there are no more those people from high school that are always teasing you, now I have some new teachers, better ones and also one thing that has changed is that I don't have a pet anymore.

• Things that I know now, that I didn't know when this photo was taken are: there are many cruel people in the world which bother if you are happy, which are jealous on you and your life, there are people that are not like your parents (wanting you only the best). But also there are those which are good, which want you all the luck of the world, which would share the last bite of bread with you. I know now that you should enjoy and smile every day and not let anyone hurt you, I know that I have every right to express my opinion as anyone else in the class, I know that after rain always comes Sun and I also know what quintessential and exuberant mean.

• What does this picture say about me that I didn't expect?

It says that I can look nice in a dress.

Response to Anne Lamott's essay

Here I am sitting in my room thinking how to respond to this theme. Thousand thoughts cross my mind: what to write first, how to write an introduction and everything else that comes after it, how to put my thoughts and emotions on a piece of paper.

These thoughts are confronting each other. One is saying write this, the other is saying write that. There is a mess in my head. I'm trying to make a pact between these two currents of whom each is pulling on it's side, I'm trying to take a part of each and make them work as one.

It seems that this plan of mine, plan of reconciliation of two confronted sides is working after all because I can feel that there is some structure forming in my head. I'm slowly putting this structure, my united thoughts, my emotions on a piece of paper. I'm writing the first sentence then another and another and so on.

Suddenly I realize that this way of writing isn't the way I would like to use, that I'm not on the wright track, that I'm not writing about the thing I would really like to write about, about that, that is in my imagination, but I also realize that without these previously three written pages I wouldn't come to something, as Anne says "...that is so beautiful or wild that you now know what you're supposed to be writing about, more or less, or in what direction you might go..."

With this new idea on my mind, new gained experience, direction I'm starting to write again, to write in a direction in which my imagination leads me and for which I'm sure is the right one.