Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Reflection on Open Letter Draft
In this blog post I will be reflecting on the peer feedback that I received on my Open letter draft.
I peer reviewed Jayni and Nick's draft.
From what I have learned based off of what other students have expressed, we all seem to be in the same boat. Most of us were somewhat taken aback by this english class because it was so much different from the english classes that we were used to taking even though everyone had a different experience with english in the past. The heavy workload and writing in many different genres was new for me and I'm not alone. Along with me, I would say that the majority of people are procrastinators like myself, although there are differing severities. This course has helped me fight against the urge to procrastinate due to the structure of the coursework and from what I have heard others have benefitted as well.
1. Did you demonstrate an ability to think about your writing and yourself as a writer?
Yes. In my Open Letter Draft I provided a backbone of ideas to elaborate on. In my draft I talked about several things that I think of my own writing style but in my final I will try to become more specific about the things that I have done this year in term of myself as a writer.
2. Did you provide analysis of your experiences, writing assignments, or concepts you have learned?
I think that I did provide analysis of my own experiences in the class. I provided examples of certain assignment that were assigned throughout the year and I talked about how I approached them at the beginning of the year vs how I changed and improved by the end of the year.
3. Did you provide concrete examples from your own writing (either quotes from your writing or rich descriptions of your writing process)?
I did provide examples of my own writing to support the claims that I made throughout the letter. I did not quote myself or give very specific examples however and this is where I can improve my letter.
4. Did you explain why you made certain choices and whether those choices were effective?
I did explain why some of the choices that I made were made. The main reason being that in the past I wasn't successful in certain aspects of writing so I made a choice to try to change that.
5. Did you use specific terms and concepts relating to writing and the writing process?
I did use at least one specific term that relates to writing and that was genre. I specifically talked about how we observed genre this year and how what I have learned from doing so will help me in my future endeavors.
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| Oregon's Mt. Hood Territory. "Mount Hood reflected in Mirror Lake, Oregon" Public Domain Dedication. |
I peer reviewed Jayni and Nick's draft.
From what I have learned based off of what other students have expressed, we all seem to be in the same boat. Most of us were somewhat taken aback by this english class because it was so much different from the english classes that we were used to taking even though everyone had a different experience with english in the past. The heavy workload and writing in many different genres was new for me and I'm not alone. Along with me, I would say that the majority of people are procrastinators like myself, although there are differing severities. This course has helped me fight against the urge to procrastinate due to the structure of the coursework and from what I have heard others have benefitted as well.
1. Did you demonstrate an ability to think about your writing and yourself as a writer?
Yes. In my Open Letter Draft I provided a backbone of ideas to elaborate on. In my draft I talked about several things that I think of my own writing style but in my final I will try to become more specific about the things that I have done this year in term of myself as a writer.
2. Did you provide analysis of your experiences, writing assignments, or concepts you have learned?
I think that I did provide analysis of my own experiences in the class. I provided examples of certain assignment that were assigned throughout the year and I talked about how I approached them at the beginning of the year vs how I changed and improved by the end of the year.
3. Did you provide concrete examples from your own writing (either quotes from your writing or rich descriptions of your writing process)?
I did provide examples of my own writing to support the claims that I made throughout the letter. I did not quote myself or give very specific examples however and this is where I can improve my letter.
4. Did you explain why you made certain choices and whether those choices were effective?
I did explain why some of the choices that I made were made. The main reason being that in the past I wasn't successful in certain aspects of writing so I made a choice to try to change that.
5. Did you use specific terms and concepts relating to writing and the writing process?
I did use at least one specific term that relates to writing and that was genre. I specifically talked about how we observed genre this year and how what I have learned from doing so will help me in my future endeavors.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Draft of Open Letter
In this blog post I will be providing you with a link to my draft of an open letter.
HERE is a link to my draft.
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| Reneman. "DRAFT ICON" 2/24/2013. Creative Commons. |
I want you to pay attention to the organization of my letter and tell me if it flows well. A lot of times my writing can come off as choppy. Should I move this sentence somewhere else? Should I move a whole paragraph to a different part of the paper? Im worried that the letter might be too formal or not formal enough so look out for that. Obviously look out for grammatical errors but also let me know if the conventions of a letter are met. Thanks.
Reflecting More on My Writing Experiences
In this blog post I will be reflecting further on my writing experiences during this class by answering some questions.
1. What were the biggest challenges you faced this semester, overall?
The biggest challenge this year was keeping up with the course work. I felt that there was a lot to be done each and every week. This was hard for me because I am a procrastinator by nature which made everything very difficult to finish on time with high quality.
2. What did you learn this semester about your own time managment, writing and editorial skills?
I learned that time management is a very useful skill to have. I always thought that I have been good at time management until I came to college. In the weeks of this school year that I was on top of all my work I produced some of the best work. After realizing my writing and editorial skills became much better.
3. What do you know about the concept of 'genre'? Explain how understanding this concept is central to being a more effective writer.
genre is very important in writing. I never really had much concept of genre coming into this class because most of the writing I had done was directed at one person, my teacher. Now that I have studied genre I know that it is one of the most important concepts when writing.
4. What skills from this course might you use and/or develop further in the next few years of college coursework?
My time management skills will definitely develop in the near future. After taking this class where everything was basically a timeline, I realized that time management is key when doing work. I hope to develop this skill further because I saw a hint of success when I used it correctly in this class.
5. What was your most effective moment from this semester in 109H?
The most effective moment in this class was when I was ahead of the game on my blog posts and I finished project 2 draft ahead of time. This gave me so much time to revise the essay that I had wrote as well as gave me optimal time to have other people review and comment on my work through peer review.
6. What was your least effective moment from this semester in 109H?
The hardest part of this class was falling behind. Several times throughout the semester I fell behind and it was seemingly impossible to catch back up. It was these moments when I realized that I was putting out some of my worst work.
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| Kjunstorm. "Flower reflection" 4/7/2010. Creative Commons. |
The biggest challenge this year was keeping up with the course work. I felt that there was a lot to be done each and every week. This was hard for me because I am a procrastinator by nature which made everything very difficult to finish on time with high quality.
2. What did you learn this semester about your own time managment, writing and editorial skills?
I learned that time management is a very useful skill to have. I always thought that I have been good at time management until I came to college. In the weeks of this school year that I was on top of all my work I produced some of the best work. After realizing my writing and editorial skills became much better.
3. What do you know about the concept of 'genre'? Explain how understanding this concept is central to being a more effective writer.
genre is very important in writing. I never really had much concept of genre coming into this class because most of the writing I had done was directed at one person, my teacher. Now that I have studied genre I know that it is one of the most important concepts when writing.
4. What skills from this course might you use and/or develop further in the next few years of college coursework?
My time management skills will definitely develop in the near future. After taking this class where everything was basically a timeline, I realized that time management is key when doing work. I hope to develop this skill further because I saw a hint of success when I used it correctly in this class.
5. What was your most effective moment from this semester in 109H?
The most effective moment in this class was when I was ahead of the game on my blog posts and I finished project 2 draft ahead of time. This gave me so much time to revise the essay that I had wrote as well as gave me optimal time to have other people review and comment on my work through peer review.
6. What was your least effective moment from this semester in 109H?
The hardest part of this class was falling behind. Several times throughout the semester I fell behind and it was seemingly impossible to catch back up. It was these moments when I realized that I was putting out some of my worst work.
Revisiting My Writing Process.
In this Blog post I will be revisiting my first two blog posts and reflecting on what I wrote in them.
In my post "My Writing Process" I talked a lot about being a heavy procrastinator because I often found that I would spend too long thinking about what I was going to write rather than just starting to write. Because of the way that I used to write, I would often not have enough time to revise my work, a crucial step in the writing process. I talked about how I would usually get the paper done by the deadline despite procrastinating but that the work wouldn't be the best quality possible. This is something that I have worked on a lot throughout the semester and I think that I have set myself on a good track. The way that Mr. Bottai has the class organized forced me to complete a draft before I would have on my own. This has really helped me because it has given me ample time to revise my work which I talked about being one of the worst parts about my writing. I feel that after taking this class it has shown me a better way to be successful and in the near future I will adopt many of the techniques used in this class. The main technique being smarter with my time management by doing things in chunks and not leaving everything for the last moment. In the next couple of years I see myself as being a much better writer mainly because of the organizational techniques I used in this class.
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| Ferreira, Rosana. "Revisit (12854291315)" 2/2/2014. Creative Commons. |
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Reflection on Project 3
In this blog post I will be reflecting on my Project 3 essay.
I tried to reorganize my whole essay so that it flows better with what I am trying to say. I tried to start with medical school and go through all the problems you could have up to becoming a doctor.
I think that flow of the essay was the reason that I changed. The purpose or audience didn't really shift but I wanted the essay to flow better.
I always kept the audience in mind when writing this and when I did my revisions, I did it so that it would appeal more to the audience and sound like a better argument.
I reconsidered the sentence structure and style so that the essay would have more flow. Once I created more flow the essay arguments sounded stronger.
These will help the audience because it makes my argument stronger.
I didn't have to rethink the conventions because when I wrote the draft I made sure that I kept the conventions in mind at all time.
I think this reflection process helps me realize where I am as a writer because it helps me realize what exactly I am doing during my whole writing process.
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| Piolle, Guillaume. "Loch Alsh - Reflection" 8/7/2009. Creative Commons. |
1. What was specifically revised from one draft to the next?
I mainly revised the grammatical errors that were in my draft. I also revised the draft so that they essay would flow better. I also tried to change the organization.
I mainly revised the grammatical errors that were in my draft. I also revised the draft so that they essay would flow better. I also tried to change the organization.
2. Point to global changes: how did you reconsider your thesis or organization?
I tried to reorganize my whole essay so that it flows better with what I am trying to say. I tried to start with medical school and go through all the problems you could have up to becoming a doctor.
3. What led you to these changes? A reconsideration of audience? A shift in purpose?
I think that flow of the essay was the reason that I changed. The purpose or audience didn't really shift but I wanted the essay to flow better.
4. How do these changes affect your credibility as an author?
This effects my credibility because it makes my whole essay more sound and that makes my arguments appear stronger which adds to my credibility.
5. How will these changes better address the audience or the venue?
I always kept the audience in mind when writing this and when I did my revisions, I did it so that it would appeal more to the audience and sound like a better argument.
6. Point to local changes: how did you reconsider sentence structure and style?
I reconsidered the sentence structure and style so that the essay would have more flow. Once I created more flow the essay arguments sounded stronger.
7. How will these changes assist your audience in understanding your purpose?
These will help the audience because it makes my argument stronger.
8. Did you have to reconsider the conventions of the particular genre in which you are writing?
I didn't have to rethink the conventions because when I wrote the draft I made sure that I kept the conventions in mind at all time.
9. Finally, how does the process of reflection help you reconsider your identity as a writer?
I think this reflection process helps me realize where I am as a writer because it helps me realize what exactly I am doing during my whole writing process.
Publishing Public Argument
In this blog post I will be publishing my Public Argument. A link can be found HERE.
1. Mark with an "x" where you feel your target audience currently stands on the issue (before reading/watcing/hearing your argument) below:
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| llyushka88. "Done" 12/4/2009. Creative Commons. |
1. Mark with an "x" where you feel your target audience currently stands on the issue (before reading/watcing/hearing your argument) below:
←----------------------X------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------->
Strongly Totally neutral Strongly
agree disagree
2. Now mark with an "x" where you feel your target audience should be (after they've read/watched/heard your argument) below:
←----------------------------------------------------|----------------X----------------------------------------->
Strongly Totally neutral Strongly
agree disagree
3. Check one (and only one) of the argument types below for your public argument:
_______ My public argument etablishes an original pro position on an issue of debate.
_______ My public argument establishes an original con position on an issue of debate.
_______ My public argument clarifies the causes for a problem that is being debated.
___X___ My public argument prooposes a solution for a problem that is being debated.
_______ My public argument positively evaluate a specific solution or policy under debate (and clearly identifies the idea I'm supporting).
_______ My public argument openly refutes a specific solution or policy under debate (and clearly identifies the idea I'm refuting).
4. Briefly explain how your public argument doesn’t simply restate information from other sources, but provides original context and insight into the situation:
5. Identify the specific rhetorical appeals you believe you've employedi n your public argument below:
Ethical or credibility-establishing appeals
__X__ Telling personal stories that establish a credible point-of-view
__X__ Referring to credible sources (established journalism, credentialed experts, etc.)
__X__ Employing carefully chosen key words or phrases that demonstrate you are credible (proper terminology, strong but clear vocabulary, etc.)
__X__ Adopting a tone that is inviting and trustworthy rather than distancing or alienating
_____ Arranging visual elements properly (not employing watermarked images, cropping images carefully, avoiding sloppy presentation)
_____ Establishing your own public image in an inviting way (using an appropriate images of yourself, if you appear on camera dressing in a warm or friendly or professional manner, appearing against a background that’s welcoming or credibility-establishing)
_____ Sharing any personal expertise you may possess about the subject (your identity as a student in your discipline affords you some authority here)
__X__ Openly acknowledging counterarguments and refuting them intelligently
__X__ Appealing openly to the values and beliefs shared by the audience (remember that the website/platform/YouTube channel your argument is designed for helps determine the kind of audience who will encounter your piece)
_____ Other:
Emotional appeals
__X__ Telling personal stories that create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate
_____ Telling emotionally compelling narratives drawn from history and/or the current culture
__X__ Employing the repetition of key words or phrases that create an appropriate emotional impact
_____ Employing an appropriate level of formality for the subject matter (through appearance, formatting, style of language, etc.)
_____ Appropriate use of humor for subject matter, platform/website, audience
__X__ Use of “shocking” statistics in order to underline a specific point
_____ Use of imagery to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate
_____ Employing an attractive color palette that sets an appropriate emotional tone (no clashing or ‘ugly’ colors, no overuse of too many variant colors, etc.)
_____ Use of music to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate
_____ Use of sound effects to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate
____ Employing an engaging and appropriate tone of voice for the debate
_____ Other:
Logical or rational appeals
_____ Using historical records from credible sources in order to establish precedents, trends, or patterns
__X__ Using statistics from credible sources in order to establish precedents, trends, or patterns
_____Using interviews from stakeholders that help affirm your stance or position
__X__ Using expert opinions that help affirm your stance or position
__X__ Effective organization of elements, images, text, etc.
_____ Clear transitions between different sections of the argument (by using title cards, interstitial music, voiceover, etc.)
__X__ Crafted sequencing of images/text/content in order to make linear arguments
__X__ Intentional emphasis on specific images/text/content in order to strengthen argument
_____ Careful design of size/color relationships between objects to effectively direct the viewer’s attention/gaze (for visual arguments)
_____ Other:
6. Below, provide us with working hyperlinks to THREE good examples of the genre you've chosen to write in. These examples can come from Blog Post 11.3 or they can be new examples. But they should all come from the same specific website/platform and should demonstrate the conventions for your piece:
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