Compared to writing a conventional essay, creating the halfa kucha felt very different. I had to consider how the concepts would develop in real time while the slides progressed automatically, rather than depending on paragraphs to construct my case. This made me condense my points and concentrate on the most important aspects of my case. A clear progression was created for the audience by structuring the presentation so that Kindred was discussed first, followed by It’s Lonely at the Center of the Earth, and concluded with a link between the two.
The presentation was significantly shaped by the visual selections. I chose symbolic images, like overlapping silhouettes, roots, and broken line art, to reflect each book’s portrayal of trauma and identity because the slides could not contain a lot of text. Without directly depicting scenes from the texts, these images supported what I had said. I became more deliberate about the relationship between content and design by carefully considering how the images would interact with my explanation.
It was difficult but beneficial to present using timed slides. It encouraged a more organic delivery and stopped me from using the slides as a script. Observing my peers, I saw that the best presentations struck a balance between careful image selection and pacing, and I intend to apply that balance to my own work in the future. If I could make any changes to my own presentation, I would focus on improving the pacing of my explanations and streamlining the transitions between slides. In general, the project made me consider argument structure and communication in various media more carefully.
Album Cover:
My mixtape is inspired by the semifinal loss my team suffered this past weekend. I wanted to create a playlist that captured the flood of emotions that hit the moment we were scored on in overtime. In sudden death, one goal decides everything, and when the other team put the ball in the net, I watched my teammates drop to their knees in agony. Seeing that broke me. Their dreams and college careers ended in an instant, and the realization that I would never share the field with them again was what hurt the most. I made this mixtape as a way to cope with that wave of sadness. It helped me work through the acceptance stage of grief and begin to move forward with my life.
My album cover is inspired by the iconic missed penalty in a World Cup final, often remembered through the image of a player standing alone in a moment of absolute heartbreak. People sometimes refer to it as “the man who died standing,” because the image captures someone who looks shattered but refuses to collapse. That posture, that silence, and that weight all mirror the emotions I felt when we lost our semifinal.
In that moment, I felt the same mix of shock, emptiness, and disbelief. Just like the player in the photo, I stood there trying to process the sudden end of something I cared deeply about. My album cover represents that feeling: the stillness after everything falls apart, and the struggle to accept what just happened.
I found this assignment interesting because I’ve never presented with a set time limit for each slide. I liked this style of presentation more than writing an essay because it is more straight to the point and there was more freedom around the organization of our argument. I chose to structure my presentation by spitting the first half about The Talk and the second half about Kindred and for each book, first talking about the traumatic moments and then show how the main characters healed by preventing repetition and protecting a loved one from experiencing the same harm. I organized the books and their patterns one after another to emphasize the pattern of healing through others more clearly.
I thought that since there is a time limit per side, having no script and just discussing as if it were a class discussion would be the most fitting. I’m glad I made this decision because I was able to talk more freely and improvise with the timing instead of just waiting for the slide to switch. It was also fitting because I was able to talk and point out specific details on the pages at the same time; Whereas if I had a script it would be less smooth. I also chose to have a few words on each slide to stay on track and make sure I get the main point across. I liked how some students had other images that weren’t from the book since it kept it more interesting and in the future I think practicing presenting with the time limit would improve the presentation.
For this project, I chose to structure my argument using the ABT framework—“A and B, but something; therefore, something.” Starting with this format helped me introduce the broad contexts of Kindred and The Talk before narrowing into my main claim. Constructing an argument for a live presentation felt very different from writing a traditional essay. In an essay, I don’t need to rely on visuals to communicate ideas, and I can explain concepts in longer, more detailed ways. Presenting, however, required me to think about how the audience responds in real time—their facial expressions, their reactions, and whether the images I chose helped guide them toward my argument.
I also realized that the ABT structure actually freed me from the typical five-paragraph essay format. Instead of trying to craft a “perfect” thesis first, I focused on identifying meaningful moments in each comic—like Dana being whipped or young Darrin being treated as a threat—and worked backward to find the deeper connection between them. The ABT structure helped me shape the audience’s line of reasoning and led naturally to my conclusion about ongoing trauma and the complexities of healing. I can definitely imagine using this structure in my future writing because it encourages more fluid, analytical thinking rather than rigid outlining.
Reflection on Visual Choices:
For the visuals, I chose panels that captured the most striking and emotional moments from each comic. I intentionally kept text on the slides to a minimum so the audience would pay attention to the images while I explained their significance. The only words I included were brief references to Hillary Chute’s concept of retracing trauma and Herman’s three stages of recovery, since those ideas anchored my argument. My goal was for the images to carry emotional weight while my speech supplied the analysis.
Reflection on the Presentation Experience:
The timed-slide format made this presentation very different from others I have given. Not having control over the slide transitions and not being able to include much text forced me to rely on my own pacing and clarity. Even though I had a technology issue at the beginning, with the slides advancing at ten seconds instead of twenty, and the autosynchronized captions popping up. I learned how important it is to respond quickly and calmly. Switching to Google Slides helped me restart smoothly, and it reminded me that presenting often requires solving unexpected problems on the spot.
Once I got into the flow, the timing wasn’t as stressful as I expected, though I was still worried I might not finish speaking before the slide changed. Watching my classmates’ presentations also gave me ideas for the future. Some students used metaphorical images, such as a broken vase repaired with gold, to express abstract ideas visually rather than relying solely on panels from the texts. I thought that was a creative way to deepen the emotional impact, and I’d like to experiment with that approach next time.
Looking back, I think I could improve by becoming more comfortable with the technology beforehand and by building more confidence so I rely less on my notecards. While I tried not to read directly from them, there were moments when I didn’t feel secure enough to go completely off-script. With more practice, I hope to speak more fluidly and present my ideas with greater confidence and ease.
This assignment was somewhat difficult for me, especially since there were no really clear guidelines on what to do. I wasn’t sure if I was completing it correctly, and struggled with what I wanted my presentation’s bigger picture to be. However, I did enjoy the change from our typical essays that we have been doing in class. I chose to structure my argument by laying out my claim in the 1st slide and just breaking down the evidence I had in each slide to support it. Personally, I wanted my presentation to be all visuals, so I used pictures from each comic book so that while I made my argument, the audience could compare the 2 texts. This is definitely different from how I would structure written work because usually you can’t put pictures in essays; however, I could describe the images. Going through this assignment, my analytical thinking was not much different, I would say, because while creating the piece, I had a thesis that I based everything on. I learned that practice is everything and that many unexpected things can happen throughout your presentation. Personally for me, I had practiced a lot on my computer, but when it came to presenting on the projector, the screen would flicker, making me think the slide had already advanced. This presented a problem for me because I thought I was going too slow; however, it was just a glitch. What I noticed about my classmates was the use of the comics’ images in the slides, and that’s what made me want to incorporate them into mine. I think that I could have definitely looked up more in my presentation; however, I was already a little flustered from the technical difficulties.
Album Cover (In Case Spotify Does Not Display)
I decided to address the rhetorical situation of how one feels on a late-night ride. There are always those nights when you drop a friend off and are now driving down the highway alone. On top of the three rules, I also established the fact that the songs need to be more calming to fit the vibe. They could not be anything to cause a ruckus or any other genre like that. To put it simply, they were mostly R&B. Creating this outline allowed me to pick songs right for the mood and avoid the ones that were not right. As an argument, my mix provides closure that being alone may not necessarily be a bad thing. It shows how solitude can be great for emotional reflection or just social recharging. The playlist does this by taking the listener through a story where they are first introduced to chill music that merges into more nostalgic songs and finally ends on a calm note again.
(I could not figure out how to put it in the correct order)
My process of building ideas and scripts versus actually presenting those ideas was very different due to the time I was given. When I was writing down scenes, traumas, and healing in both of these books in relation to Hillary Chute, I had multiple points and details I wanted to share. However, when it actually came down to presenting those ideas, I had to condense them into rather brief and to the point descriptions since I could not say everything in the 20 second time slot.
However, I did follow the same structure I had laid out in my notes, where I first discusses early on trauma, when safety was lost, then when they started building community, and show their ending position of healing. Through this structure, I was able to show the book’s progression in regard to trauma and healing while also circling back to Hillary Chute’s ideas. To make up for my concise description of these scenes, my slides were made up of mostly just images of pages in the books. This offers my audience context to what specific scene I’m talking about.
Looking at my peers presentations, I would incorporate small titles or summaries on my slides since I only used images. This ultimately forced me to do more talking, which I couldn’t fully fit into the 20 seconds, so by having small portions of text in my slides, it would take off how much I have to speak.
Throughout the course of this assignment, I was able to construct this argument through a presentation rather than an essay. I found it a little different in the fact that I could not write down all my ideas entirely, but had to sum them up into brief bullet points to talk about in the presentation.
When constructing it in this unique format, I had to plan out my argument to fit into the 10 slides. This forced me to think differently and really plan everything out, other than be able to condense it, and make it make sense. While creating this structure, I had a topic planned out in every slide. I think I could make use of this for my written work, except for replacing the slides with paragraphs. Every paragraph could have a specific topic to talk about, a stark difference from my traditional thinking process style of free writing without any care for structure.
Regarding the visuals, I chose strong and relevant pictures/scenes from the book that I thought would match my argument or what I was talking about on that specific slide. I presented this with little to no words, merely using the visuals to elaborate on. Consequently, this allowed me to present a more powerful message in which I was strengthening my argument with the compelling visuals while those same visuals also helped bring my verbal arguments to life.
For this presentation specifically, I believe that I improved my inner timing as I learned better how to time my words, trying not to speak too fast to get ahead of my slides while simultaneously trying to not go too slowly and fall behind. I also had to really learn what I was talking about, since I had no bullet points or paragraphs to read off on my slide.
After observing 13 other presentations from my classmates, I noticed how several of them had used visuals from outside the comics. For example, someone used a broken glass pot that was fixed with gold while someone else incorporated a picture of footprints in the sand at a shoreline. These pictures were very compelling and helped them significantly in proving their points, even though they were not taken directly from the comics. If I were to do this again, I think I would also follow in their footsteps, taking pictures from outside the story. I would also practice my timing better to be able to fit in everything I wanted to say, as I was only able to say so much during my presentation. Some topics, I ran out of time on and had to cut it short, while for others, I had to throw in some useless jargon to fill up the empty time.
