Welcome back to another blog post! In this post, I will be focussing on what I learned in this course. For this blog, I watched Reflective Writing. This video was very informative in explaining how to write a reflection piece. In high school, we were told to write a lot of reflections about everything. I always thought writing a reflection was explaining what I did and my thoughts on it, but after watching this video, I know how I can make a better reflection. This video explains a reflection also involves seeing how the event can be applied to the future and my viewpoint. I have also read Genres in Academic Writing: Reflection which also gives information on how to plan writing a reflection and the purpose. These two sources explained that writing a reflection about what you learn from it and your thoughts or feelings rather than describing events. The acronym GRITT can help us transform our relationship with writing.
G: genre awareness R: rhetorical awareness I: identity as an author T: theory of writing T: transfer of writing to future writing situations In genre awareness, it helps anyone become a good writer. Having genre awareness helps produce the style of writing which is what makes the written piece good. My genre awareness changed since being in this english composition class. Before this class, I thought that genre was more or less the topic of what I am writing. I learned that the genre is also the style of writing, for example, my narrative and MLA paper. For my narrative I wrote about how I was basically forced to listen to my parents and go to a college I didn’t want to go to and study a major that I had no interest in, causing me to be put in debt and wasted my time. For my MLA paper, I wrote about how America can better respond to the climate change crisis. In this class, I learned it’s okay to look at someone else’s work for an idea of how to write your paper. There are different styles of writing and it can sometimes be difficult to get a grasp of how your writing should look. I now see a deeper meaning to genre awareness as it applies to all writings and has personally helped me become a better writer than what I was before. I also learned about rhetoric awareness in this class. Prior to this course, I did not know rhetoric awareness was a thing. “Rhetoric is the study and practice of communication that persuades, informs, inspires, or entertains target audiences in order to change or reinforce beliefs, values, habits or actions.” For my MLA paper, I used my rhetoric to change people’s beliefs and persuade or inform them about climate change. It was somewhat used in my narrative too since I was also hoping for it to inspire people. Before this course, I did not know about author identity. My past experiences with academic writing was pretty rough to me. I hated writing and it showed in my paper that I did not care. I was never taught different styles of writing so all of my papers were the same, just different topics. My past and present experiences are similar in a way that they are both writing that was assigned to me. I was always lost on what to write, but since being in this class, my writing process has run much better. Because of learning specifically how to write and what makes a good story, I was able to have more ideas and expand my writing to be more interesting. I think that writing the blogs was a good form of writing exercises because in each blog, I learned what I should do as opposed to what I did. I thought naming and establishing a relationship with my author identity was fun, it was like having another person there to help me write. I think the blogs definitely helped shape my author identity too since it was weekly and there was something new to write about. This class has taught me a lot about writing and I liked how I was able to go back to my narrative or MLA paper to edit them and get feedback to help me become a better writer. This course helped me tolerate writing much more. I can use different styles of writing in the future with any other of my classes where I’d have to write essays. I was never really into writing, but this course has helped me understand it better. In the beginning I struggled to write, but it’s much easier now. I can use what I learned from this course to apply it towards my future writing. All of these skills are good to have to show my writing capabilities and I will definitely put them to use. This class was very useful and taught us a lot about writing, and it’s good that we learned many writing skills that can be used in any writing situation.
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Welcome back! For this post, I listened to Rewinding & Rewriting: The Alternate Universes in Our Heads (NPR Hidden Brain Episode). In the Hidden Brain Episode, a woman is telling her story about a tragic accident when she and her husband went skiing. She tells us how her husband died from an avalanche and how it could’ve gone differently to prevent his death. This is counterfactual thinking which will help me add depth to my narrative project. For this memoir, I will be writing about the time I listened to my family and chose a major and school that they wanted me to be in, but what I did not want for myself. I will be showing what I could’ve done differently.
I was a business major in my first year of college, doing terribly in classes. I stopped showing up to all of my classes, too scared to check emails, too scared to check my grades, so I never did. I came to this school full of confidence, only for it to get shut down so quickly. If I’d have chosen the path I wanted from the start, I wouldn’t have wasted a whole year for nothing. It was that time for high schoolers to apply for college. I applied to multiple schools, but the one I really wanted to go to was Temple University. However, my mother was trying to discourage me from going. We were in her bedroom while having this discussion. Her bedroom was sort of this controlled clutter. The wooden floors were clean, but she had a bunch of random things cluttered on her dresser and at her headboard. My mother had this cream, marbly looking Italian made bed set with a flat surface at the headboard, so I placed my Macbook on it while she laid next to me. She told me, “you can’t go to Temple, Elaine. It’s too dangerous” I get annoyed, still browsing through colleges to apply to and respond to her, “but aunt Kieu, aunt Quin, her husband, and so many other people went there. They’re doing perfectly fine. Why can’t I?” She grabs her phone and pulls up one of her games that she always plays, “I’m just giving you my advice, if you get in trouble then that’s on you” I was starting to get paranoid and almost let her words get to me. I thought to myself, “what does she know? She didn’t even go to college. She relies on the occasional news story and old people’s comments about Temple to judge it” I clicked apply anyway. I was choosing my major and said out loud I am choosing to be a biology major. My mother’s annoying ass wannabe politician boyfriend comes into the room from hearing what I said and decides to make a comment, “why are you choosing that? You’re not gonna get a job with that degree” I never liked my mom’s boyfriend, in fact, I hated him and wished he would just leave one day. I rolled my eyes and replied with, “Well I want to go to med school and become a doctor so what else would I choose” He frowns at me and says with an attitude, “you’re not gonna find a job in that field, you should do accounting and later on I’ll help you get an office job for the government” I dramatically gag to show how utterly disgusted I already am with him, “ew I don’t wanna do accounting I don’t even know anything about it and everyone says it’s boring” He goes on his laptop and looks up random YouTube videos as what he does every night then replies, “But you will find a job easier that way, make more money, and you’ll be popular and have power when I help you get a job for the city” I continue choosing what I want for my life. Even though my mom and her boyfriend aren’t happy with my decision, I am. To me, it's not about the power or money, it's about doing what I know I want. When college starts, I am living on campus, making new friends, and I take classes I am actually interested in and have the motivation to go to. I check my emails, I look at my grades to make sure I’m on top of my assignments, and I know what I’m doing. Life is good, I finally feel free and have the chance to go out and socialize with people my age and I feel like I figured out who I want to be and on the path to chasing my dreams. For this blog post, I read My Name is Margaret (Maya Angelou) and Hills Like White Elephants (Ernest Hemingway). I thought these short stories were very well written and were full of emotions. Both stories had such strong emotions and I think the theme of emotions would connect with my story.This memory I am sharing is something I think of often and will never forget. I am not a very emotional person as of today, but I think my story is what made me the way that I am.
When I was about 3 years old, my parents decided to get a divorce. I was very clingy to my parents, at the time, they were my whole world and I thought we were just one happy, loving family. I still vividly remember them fighting in front of me and my father walking out the door. I ran out the door behind him and chased him into the street, crying because he was suddenly leaving. He told me to go back inside and I listened to him. From that point on, everything started to turn dark for me. 10 years later, I moved in with my father in Arkansas because I wasn’t happy living with my mother and her boyfriend. One day he picked me up from school and decided to tell me something that I wish he never did. He started driving and went on with the usual trash talking about my mom, I wasn’t really paying attention because I figured it was the same thing every time. I looked out the window as he kept driving and watched everything we passed by as I always do when he drives me to school and home. We were in Arkansas, so all I saw were trees and roads. He then says, “Did you know your mother cheated on me with the man she’s with now?” I felt my heart drop and I didn’t know what to feel for a second. I said to him, “She never told me that” I tried to keep my cool and show no emotions. I never liked showing my emotions to anyone. The one time I did, my mother and her boyfriend dismissed me as if they didn’t even notice, so I learned to bottle up my feelings very well. He proceeded with, “I came home one day and found out she changed the locks on me and when I looked into the bedroom window, I saw her with him” I was trying so hard to keep myself together and not lose it. I was angry at him for telling me and angry at my mother for doing such a thing. I bent my head over my knees and faced the opposite of him, pretending to watch out the window because I didn’t want him to see me crying. I was trying so hard to stop crying, but then more tears came from my eyes and my face felt very hot. He said, “I didn’t want to divorce your mother because I wanted to stay for you, but it’s what she really wanted. I even left all the money that I had for you” How was I supposed to reply to that? Especially while I’m trying to focus on stop crying? I remained quiet for a little. I finally was able to get myself together enough to speak and told him, “It’s okay, I understand. You are better off without her and she is better off without you” I realize we didn’t even look at each other the whole time. He then says, “I am sorry, Elaine. I tried to stay for you, but everyday she kept telling me to sign the divorce papers” I reassured him, “It’s not your fault. It’s okay. Things are better off this way” He repeated what he said before, “I left you everything that I had” Then continued with, “Your mother probably took it” I replied with, “I wouldn’t know” The drive from school to home felt so long and definitely not as boring as it usually is because of what just happened. We haven't spoke of what he told me after that. When we got home, I went straight towards my room and let all of my emotions out alone. Since then, I grew more and more distant from my parents, as if I felt absolutely nothing for them. For this post, I read the articles by Don Murray, Mary Karr, and Anne Lamott. Below is a scene I created where I discuss writing with these three authors using three quotes from each of the articles.
One day, I took the septa bus for the first time by myself in South Philly and I usually never take the bus, but I didn’t feel like driving. I had no idea what I was doing and somehow ended up in Kensington. I was aimlessly walking around and stumbled below a bridge with a lot of graffiti and peeling paint. I saw three other people in the distance and had no other choice but to ask for help. I couldn’t really make out what they were doing, but I heard one of the women that the others called “Anne Lamott” say “Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises. That thing you had to force yourself to do—the actual act of writing—turns out to be the best part.” I assume they were writers when I heard that. I figured I’d continue listening in hope of getting some ideas of writing for my english class. “I’ve heard three truths from every mouth: (1) Writing is painful—it’s “fun” only for novices, the very young, and hacks; (2) other than a few instances of luck, good work only comes through revision; (3) the best revisers often have reading habits that stretch back before the current age, which lends them a sense of history and raises their standards for quality.” says Mary Karr. I subconsciously interrupted them and asked, “What even is the process of writing?” Don Murray turns to me and says “The writing process itself can be divided into three stages: prewriting, writing, and rewriting” he then follows up with, “And you don’t learn a process by talking about it, but by doing it.” I reply with “ok, but I feel like what I write is just trash” Mary Karr looks at me and says “Revision is the secret to their troubles—and yours. That, and a sense of quality that exceeds what you can do—that gives you something to strive for. Actually, every writer needs two selves—the generative self and the editor self.” Anne Lamott then says “I still encourage anyone who feels at all compelled to write to do so” I ask her, “how do you come up with something to write?” she tells me “With the writer’s equivalent of canvas and brush, I wrote a description of what I saw” “How is it that you are all so passionate about writing?” I say. Mary Karr responded with, “Just picking up a pen makes you part of a tradition of writers that dates thousands of years back and includes Homer and Toni Morrison and cave artists sketching buffalo” I was eager to leave and start working on my writing after being given all of this information. I looked over and saw there was a bus stop to Center City and told them I have to leave now. Before I left, Donnie Murray said to me, “Writing is the act of producing a first draft. It is the fastest part of the process, and the most frightening, for it is a commitment” For this post, I read A Fable for the Living. This was a very meaningful short story. I felt for the character losing her significant other and then writing letters to him. I could imagine it made her feel like he was still there with her as he was responding back to her letters. I saw the letters in this story as a way to stay connected for the people who are living and passed. The letter below is to my author-self, "Chicken Nuggie" so that my author-self can reflect on it later when it is needed.
Dear Chicken Nuggie, "You are biscuit and I am gravy. We are good separate, but we can work with each other to be better" I am sorry that you are so bad at writing, but it's okay. Things just don't come to your head so easily when writing. That's writer's block, I think. The words may not come to you, but don't stop because you will find the inspiration and ideas to come up with something. Putting off writing and waiting for ideas to come to you won't do anything, you need to look for that inspiration. If you find yourself stuck, don't shut down and think life is over. You have the brain and resources, just think that getting something down is better than nothing. If you feel like what you wrote is trash just remember you can edit and revise it, because you can't edit something that isn't there. You can get anything done as long as you set your mind to it and keep going. I have a three-step plan to stay consistent for the rest of the semester. The first will be to stop getting distracted easily when writing something so that I can keep the flow and not lose my ideas. The second step is to not forget or dismiss everything after english classes. The third step is to check in on my website and see if there is anything I can do to improve my blogs or any other writing aspect. Sincerely, Elaine In this post, I will explore the multimodal nature of website design and composition. The following reading framed this exploration:
The focus of my blog posts is to create meaning and connect with my classmates. Blogging expresses different thoughts that could be shared to others and uses technology. Blogs are multimodal, they are used to make meaning and communication with people. The blogs also link to C.R.A.P by following it’s guideline to catch the reader’s attention. Creating a blog takes time because of the thought and effort that gets put into it to have purpose and meaning. Why are we creating a website for our English Composition I course? We are creating a website for our English Composition I course to gain a better understanding and grasp of the inner workings to blogs. Blogging is relevant to current day because of the use of technology, so it is useful to know and understand it by creating it ourselves. How do Ball and Charlton define "multimodal" writing? Cheryl Ball and Colin Charlton define multimodal writing as all kinds of writing. To them, mode is defined as a way to make meaning or communicating and people use different ways to create their writing which makes it multi. Do you agree with Ball and Charlton when they claim "all writing is multimodal"? I do agree with Ball and Charlton that all writing is multimodal. With their explanation and definition of multimodal, it makes sense to me that all writing is multimodal. People make meaning through many ways and it connects with different people, making it also communication when others respond. As a web site author who will create your own web page content in this course, how would you rank the importance of the five modes on a scale of 1-5? Please provide a brief rationale to support each mode ranking. On a scale from 1-5, I would rank the modes as a 4. I think the components of the modes are important, but I also think people do not use all of these in their writing. The modes and the information it holds of creating a piece of writing makes sense and it could be very useful when writing. However, I have seen other people go about writing and not putting in as much structure as these modes. In the first mode, the writer is expressing the effort and time they put into just to make a short film, just as other people would create a topic and body to what they are writing. In the second mode, it explains the process of writing and the result of it. In the third mode, the Borton and Huot sample and other samples breaks down what composes in writing such as purpose, who it is targeted at, and the detailing. In the fourth mode, it explains planning and how it is important to plan the writing to set the goal. In the fifth mode, it goes over the results of the process in writing. What does the C.R.A.P. acronym stand for? The C.R.A.P acronym stands for contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity. As a web site author who will create your own web page content in this course, how would you rank the importance of the four C.R.A.P. principles of design on a scale of 1-5? Please provide a brief rationale to support each design principle ranking. On a scale from 1-5, I would rank the four C.R.A.P principles a 5. I think these four principles are important to have in writing to catch the reader’s attention. It is important to not only to catch the reader’s attention, but also keeping their attention and having them engage into the piece of writing. In context, it explains how a certain part of the writing needs to stand out from everything else in order to catch the reader’s attention. In repetition, it tells us how to make our writing easier to read using headers, footers, bullet points, and other shapes. In alignment, the way the words are aligned makes writing piece easier to read for the viewers. In proximity, it is a way to organize each subtopic and to make it easier to read. What are the seven sample criteria Borton and Huot suggest writers use to assess a multimodal composition? The seven samples Borton and Huot suggests are purpose, audience, tone, organized, transitions, synthesizes, and details. Do the Borton-and-Huot criteria seem similar or different from the criteria we would use to assess a traditional print essay? Why or why not? This criteria is similar to how we would assess traditional print essay because it holds all the things that are expected from a traditional essay. In this post, I am responding to The Proust Questionnaire. The Proust Questionnaire __1.__What is your idea of perfect happiness? My idea of perfect happiness is people leaving me alone and a room full of puppies. I would be perfectly happy with lots of puppies and enough money to give them the life they deserve. __2.__What is your greatest fear? My greatest fear is failing school, not getting my dream job, then being stuck with a job that I hate. __3.__What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? I am very lazy and I get unmotivated very easily. __4.__What is the trait you most deplore in others? I see a lot of people who are very ignorant and inconsiderate and it bursts my bubbles. I feel like we should all have a mutual understanding with each other to make life easier. __5.__Which living person do you most admire? I don’t admire anyone. I dislike very much a lot people. I like my friends and family, but not enough to admire any of them. __6.__What is your greatest extravagance? My greatest extravagance is my $3.4k puppy that I no longer have because I couldn’t find the time to take care of him. He was a purebred pomeranian and his name is Leonardo Butter-Biscuit. __7.__What is your current state of mind? My current state of mind is hungry. __8.__What do you consider the most overrated virtue? I think obedience is an overrated virtue. Growing up, my family was always bossing me around and telling me what to do with my life and I always listened. Now that I am an adult, I realize I am my own person and if I listen to others instead of pursuing what I want, I will be the one miserable. __9.__On what occasion do you lie? I lie when it benefits me greatly. Like when I fill out resumes I stretch the truth a little. __10.__What do you most dislike about your appearance? I dislike everything about my appearance. __11.__Which living person do you most despise? I despise a lot of people. One certain group of people that I despise greatly are customers. __12.__What is the quality you most like in a man? A quality I like most in a man is when they are not being dumb and annoying. I've met a lot of males in my life and they often tend to give me a headache. . __13.__What is the quality you most like in a woman? A quality I like most in a woman is when they are being kind and not judge. __14.__Which words or phrases do you most overuse? A word that I most overuse is “yikes” because I feel like there are a lot of “yikes” moments. __15.__What or who is the greatest love of your life? Puppies are the greatest love of my life. I love puppies. Puppies always light up my mood. __16.__When and where were you happiest? I am happiest when I am being left alone at home. I feel like people constantly need me for something and I have a busy schedule everyday, so I think it's great when I'm finally left alone and relaxing. __17.__Which talent would you most like to have? A talent I would like to have is being good at math. I think God knew I’d be too powerful if I was good at math. __18.__If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I would change my crippling anxiety. It holds me back from many things. __19.__What do you consider your greatest achievement? My greatest achievement is surviving high school and being able to tolerate all the annoying people everyday. __20.__If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? If I were to die, I would not want to come back because I dislike almost everything in life. I would not like to relive everything. __21.__Where would you most like to live? I would most like to live in Bali, Indonesia where the nice vacation spots are. I always wanted to go to Bali since I was in middle school. __22.__What is your most treasured possession? My most treasured possession is my blanket, but you’re not ready for that conversation. __23.__What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? The lowest depth of misery is when my bank account is at a negative number and I owe money. It gives me great stress. __24.__What is your favorite occupation? I would like to become a doctor one day. If I don't become a doctor, then my life is over. __25.__What is your most marked characteristic? My most marked characteristic is not judging people. I don't really care enough to judge people. __26.__What do you most value in your friends? What I value most in my friends is that they are there for me to try and cheer me up and comfort me when I am ugly crying or having a mental breakdown. __27.__Who are your favorite writers? My favorite writer is Dr. Seuss. I grew up reading Dr. Seuss and watching movies based off of his books. __28.__Who is your hero of fiction? My hero of fiction is Squidward Tentacles from Spongebob Squarepants because he is just living his life while dealing with annoying people that are always bothering him and working a shitty job. I think Squidward deserves an award for being so brave. __29.__Which historical figure do you most identify with? A historical figure I most identify with is Emily Dickinson because I too am reluctant to meet guests and leave my room. __30.__Who are your heroes in real life? My heroes in real life are people that make quizlets. People who pay for me are also heroes. __31.__What are your favorite names? My significant other nicknamed me boo bear and I smile whenever he calls me that. __32.__What is it that you most dislike? I dislike many things. I think what I dislike most is being broke and how expensive bare necessities can be. __33.__What is your greatest regret? Choosing a college and major that I didn’t want just because my family discouraged me from doing what I want. __34.__How would you like to die? I would like to die from eating too many chicken nuggets. I don't want to die any other way. __35.__What is your motto? My motto is "Life is like a sandwich, no matter which way you flip it the bread comes first" |
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