Lamott Summary:
In her article "Shitty First Drafts", Anne Lamott argues the fact that everyone needs to write a "shitty" first draft to basically get all your ideas out, then using all those ideas to create a good second draft, which then makes for a really good final draft.
Lamott Response:
I really liked this article because it was short and got straight to the point. It also gave me kind of a boost of confidence knowing that I'm not the only one who really struggles with writing papers and that it's okay to write a really bad first draft because that can help make a much better paper.
King Summary:
In his article "What Writing Is", Stephen King talks about his own writing process and also talks about telepathy. The main point he is trying to make is that you, as a writer, can "never come lightly to a blank page" and you need to take it seriously.
King Response:
I really liked the unique way that he approached this article to get his point across about telepathy. He is basically just saying that you should take writing serious and just get do it.
Goodman Summary:
In her article "Calming the Inner Critic and Getting to Work", Allegra Goodman discusses how to basically become a more confident writer. She talks about all the negative things that come up while she writes and gives tips on how to overcome those obstacles and how to not let that negativity get to you so you can be a better, more confident writer.
Goodman Response:
This article really interested me because this is a problem that I face all the time and I just need to learn how to not let my "inner critic" get to me and to just be a more confident writer and with that, I'll become a better writer.
Haurf Summary:
In his article "To See Your Story Clearly, Start by Pulling the Wool Over Your Own Eyes", Kent Haurf talks about how every writer has a unique way of writing and he even blindfolds himself so that he can actually write his papers for their meaning and not worry about the words he uses, grammar, or punctuation.
Haurf Response:
I liked this article because he is basically saying that we just really need to get our words out on paper and not worry so much about punctuation or grammar until later, which I definitely agree with. We can always fix that stuff after we're done getting all of our ideas and our main points out.
Sontag Summary:
In her article "Directions: Write, Read, Rewrite. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 as Needed", Susan Sontag shows us her creative way of writing and it really appeals to us because we can add our own creativity into it to make it a better paper. She also says that if we write a good paper the first time, then we can definitely write a better second paper.
Sontag Response:
I liked this article because although it seemed a little more informative than anything, she did show us a more unique and creative way to write and that just gives me better ideas on how to write future papers.
Diaz Summary:
In his article "Becoming a Writer", Junot Diaz talks about the ways that he became a writer. He went through heartbreaks and struggles and just when he was about to give up, that's when he realized that he was a writer.
Diaz Response:
This article actually kind of shocked me in a way because most writers don't really say that this is the way they became a writer. I think it's really good that he can still write even when he feels like everything else is failing. I actually find it to be a little inspirational.
Using These Essays:
I don't really see any common metaphors with any of these articles because they are very unique in their own individual way. Lamott and Goodman kind of relate to each other because they both talk about how to become a more confident writer. All of these authors have at least one or more problems with rules that they are supposed to go by and they just kind of do their own thing. I believe that they all faced problems like Tony because of all the frustrations and problems that arise in writing. I believe that Tony could have definitely benefited from reading all of these articles.
MM:
1. One of the things I found really useful was Lamott's article with writing the shitty drafts. She basically just says you need to get all of your ideas down on paper for your first draft, then keep adding and building off of that to make a much better final paper.
2. The only thing that will probably change with my writing is the way I approach it. I feel like everyone has their own individual, unique way of writing and however they feel comfortable writing is the way they're going to write.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
January 30th homework
Ransom Summary:
In her article "How Do I Write?", Dominique Ransom discusses the way that she writes. She discusses all the things she goes through with writing, such as the good things, struggles, and distractions. During her experiment, she discovers who she really is as a writer.
Other Questions to Consider:
1. Some of the things that interested me the most was about all the distractions, time, struggles, and revisions that she talks about with her writings. If I could do my own research, I would look into the importance of the audience and better include them into my writings.
2. I don't think taking note really makes me think. I'm more of a person that gets ideas randomly by either talking to someone or just seeing something that may spark an idea. Once I get that idea, I usually write it down so I don't forget about it.
Reflection:
I personally enjoyed this article because it really gave me some good ideas on how to write my next paper. However, I found it kind of boring to read. I usually try to make my papers a little more fun to read for my audience.
Harris Summary:
In his article "Composing Behaviors of One- and Multi-Draft Writers", Muriel Harris compares and contrasts the differences between one-draft and multi-drafts and discusses the problems that occur in both things.
1. I'm more of a one-draft writer. I usually write my paper then go through and make corrections and do all my editing all in one draft.
2. According to Harris, one of the disadvantages about one-draft papers is that you miss out on some important details and information that could've been added.
Response:
I personally enjoyed reading this article because it gave me ideas on how to write my next papers and how to prepare myself better.
In her article "How Do I Write?", Dominique Ransom discusses the way that she writes. She discusses all the things she goes through with writing, such as the good things, struggles, and distractions. During her experiment, she discovers who she really is as a writer.
Other Questions to Consider:
1. Some of the things that interested me the most was about all the distractions, time, struggles, and revisions that she talks about with her writings. If I could do my own research, I would look into the importance of the audience and better include them into my writings.
2. I don't think taking note really makes me think. I'm more of a person that gets ideas randomly by either talking to someone or just seeing something that may spark an idea. Once I get that idea, I usually write it down so I don't forget about it.
Reflection:
I personally enjoyed this article because it really gave me some good ideas on how to write my next paper. However, I found it kind of boring to read. I usually try to make my papers a little more fun to read for my audience.
Harris Summary:
In his article "Composing Behaviors of One- and Multi-Draft Writers", Muriel Harris compares and contrasts the differences between one-draft and multi-drafts and discusses the problems that occur in both things.
1. I'm more of a one-draft writer. I usually write my paper then go through and make corrections and do all my editing all in one draft.
2. According to Harris, one of the disadvantages about one-draft papers is that you miss out on some important details and information that could've been added.
Response:
I personally enjoyed reading this article because it gave me ideas on how to write my next papers and how to prepare myself better.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
January 27th homework
Summary:
In the article "Tuning, Tying, and Training Texts: Metaphors for Revision", Barbara Tomlinson argues how important metaphors are and how to revise them. She uses many examples throughout the text to get her point across, rather than just explaining the whole process.
QD: 1-5
1. I believe she says this because not all metaphors can be trusted and because many people aren't honest during interviews, so it's more beneficial to look the information up yourself.
2. You can become blind for the rest of the reading when trying to interpret a metaphor because sometimes you may not understand the full meaning behind it, making the rest of the reading harder.
3. I don't usually use a lot of metaphors in my writings. Not many of them come from personal experiences or anything and sometimes I even find them hard to understand, so I probably won't be using them in my writings.
4. She was using a lot of different metaphors and it became pretty confusing for me myself, so I think she definitely over did it.
5. Because I don't really use metaphors, I wouldn't use this process.
Response:
I didn't really like reading this because I became easily confused with all the different metaphors she was using and I found it harder to read than our other readings. However, I do understand the importance of using metaphors and revising them.
In the article "Tuning, Tying, and Training Texts: Metaphors for Revision", Barbara Tomlinson argues how important metaphors are and how to revise them. She uses many examples throughout the text to get her point across, rather than just explaining the whole process.
QD: 1-5
1. I believe she says this because not all metaphors can be trusted and because many people aren't honest during interviews, so it's more beneficial to look the information up yourself.
2. You can become blind for the rest of the reading when trying to interpret a metaphor because sometimes you may not understand the full meaning behind it, making the rest of the reading harder.
3. I don't usually use a lot of metaphors in my writings. Not many of them come from personal experiences or anything and sometimes I even find them hard to understand, so I probably won't be using them in my writings.
4. She was using a lot of different metaphors and it became pretty confusing for me myself, so I think she definitely over did it.
5. Because I don't really use metaphors, I wouldn't use this process.
Response:
I didn't really like reading this because I became easily confused with all the different metaphors she was using and I found it harder to read than our other readings. However, I do understand the importance of using metaphors and revising them.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
January 25th homework
Berkenkotter and Murray Summary:
In this article "Decisions and Revisions: The Planning Strategies of a Publishing Writer", Carol Berkenkotter focuses on ways that skilled writers planning, approaches, and revisions their papers. She uses Donald Murray in her experiment. She would observe him in ways that he gets started with his papers and his thoughts. In the article "Response of a Laboratory Rat--or, Being Protocoled", Donald Murray discusses his thoughts and the outcomes from the experiment. He was pretty surprised, as stated on page 232, on how much time he actually spends planning.
QD: 1-3
1. My impression is that he has a pretty good way of planning and how it's pretty similar to my writing style. I usually think about the paper and start brainstorming ideas before I even sit down to write the paper.
2. Murray's relationship with his audience seemed pretty complicated because he always thinks and connects with his audience without even really noticing that he does it. Unlike him, I don't usually think about my audience when writing papers.
3. Berkenkotter realized that planning and revising basically go hand-in-hand with each other.
AEI:
Unfortunately, I'm a pretty big procrastinator so I usually wait until last minute to write my papers. I'm usually in a pretty big rush so I just sit down and get all my thoughts out so I don't forget about them and then I start actually putting all my thoughts and research I do into a good writing. I don't usually do a lot of revising, which I should probably start doing.
MM:
One thing I have learned from them is that writing a good paper takes a good bit of time, planning, and revising. I need to start giving myself some more time and do some better planning so I can write better papers. I also learned that you don't have to just be sitting at your desk and ideas will eventually come to you. You can be out doing something and an idea may come to your mind that you can use.
In this article "Decisions and Revisions: The Planning Strategies of a Publishing Writer", Carol Berkenkotter focuses on ways that skilled writers planning, approaches, and revisions their papers. She uses Donald Murray in her experiment. She would observe him in ways that he gets started with his papers and his thoughts. In the article "Response of a Laboratory Rat--or, Being Protocoled", Donald Murray discusses his thoughts and the outcomes from the experiment. He was pretty surprised, as stated on page 232, on how much time he actually spends planning.
QD: 1-3
1. My impression is that he has a pretty good way of planning and how it's pretty similar to my writing style. I usually think about the paper and start brainstorming ideas before I even sit down to write the paper.
2. Murray's relationship with his audience seemed pretty complicated because he always thinks and connects with his audience without even really noticing that he does it. Unlike him, I don't usually think about my audience when writing papers.
3. Berkenkotter realized that planning and revising basically go hand-in-hand with each other.
AEI:
Unfortunately, I'm a pretty big procrastinator so I usually wait until last minute to write my papers. I'm usually in a pretty big rush so I just sit down and get all my thoughts out so I don't forget about them and then I start actually putting all my thoughts and research I do into a good writing. I don't usually do a lot of revising, which I should probably start doing.
MM:
One thing I have learned from them is that writing a good paper takes a good bit of time, planning, and revising. I need to start giving myself some more time and do some better planning so I can write better papers. I also learned that you don't have to just be sitting at your desk and ideas will eventually come to you. You can be out doing something and an idea may come to your mind that you can use.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
January 23rd homework
Kleine Summary:
In his article "What Is It We Do When We Write Articles Like This One-and How Can We Get Students to Join Us?", Michael Kleine attempts to show teachers and students how to write research papers properly. On page 25, he uses the interesting idea of how we need to be like hunters and gatherers, which means that as "hunters", we need to find what we're looking for and a gatherer discovers that which might be of use. He also talks about how to use all of your information that you gather to put together a good research paper.
QD: 1, 3 & 41. His text is pretty much how I write my research papers. I never really enjoyed doing research papers, but when I'm told I need to do one, I usually do a lot of research to find good information and quotes or something to back up my arguments.
3. Sources play a pretty big role because a lot of people say things from what they have heard from other people. In high school, citing our sources was a MAJOR thing we had to do for our papers. If we didn't have a works cited page, it was an automatic zero. However, I think Kleine is saying that sources aren't as important as the actual idea behind the argument.
4. I think the only way I'd really change the way I do research is that I'd try to be more of a "hunter" so I can gather more information.
Response to Kleine:
I really liked this article because it really relates to what we're trying to learn in class now and it gave me a kind of new perspective on how to do my research.
In his article "What Is It We Do When We Write Articles Like This One-and How Can We Get Students to Join Us?", Michael Kleine attempts to show teachers and students how to write research papers properly. On page 25, he uses the interesting idea of how we need to be like hunters and gatherers, which means that as "hunters", we need to find what we're looking for and a gatherer discovers that which might be of use. He also talks about how to use all of your information that you gather to put together a good research paper.
QD: 1, 3 & 41. His text is pretty much how I write my research papers. I never really enjoyed doing research papers, but when I'm told I need to do one, I usually do a lot of research to find good information and quotes or something to back up my arguments.
3. Sources play a pretty big role because a lot of people say things from what they have heard from other people. In high school, citing our sources was a MAJOR thing we had to do for our papers. If we didn't have a works cited page, it was an automatic zero. However, I think Kleine is saying that sources aren't as important as the actual idea behind the argument.
4. I think the only way I'd really change the way I do research is that I'd try to be more of a "hunter" so I can gather more information.
Response to Kleine:
I really liked this article because it really relates to what we're trying to learn in class now and it gave me a kind of new perspective on how to do my research.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Paper #1
Reflective Cover Letter Paige Martin
English 151
For this paper, I was trying to show the different views that people have over if the use of technology and text messaging and its effects on student’s literacy. I was trying to prove that the use of technology and text messaging does not affect the literacy of students. The support I used for my claim is using different scholar’s quotes as examples and a couple of studies that have shown that the uprising of technology and text messaging is actually a good thing for the new generation of students. The counter-arguments that I used was where a couple other scholars have claimed that it is actually damaging our students. I think my introduction and conclusion were my strong points in my paper, but I think that I need to continue to work on the body of my papers. I want the readers to hopefully have a pretty good understanding of my main purpose and hopefully my reader can follow my paper pretty easily. If given more time, I think I would’ve given my research a little more depth, but I think/hope I did pretty good for this first paper.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/78821361/English-151-Paper
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
January 18th Homework
Response to Allen:
In the article "The Inspired Writer v. The Real Writer", Sarah Allen argues about all the different challenges that both students and writers face dealing with writing. She also points out that becoming a "good writer" does not come that easily and how getting help or advice can actually help you become a better writer. I really enjoyed this writing because I felt like I could connect with it, just because I'm always afraid of getting papers back because of "rejection" or seeing something bad written on the paper, but I feel like getting advice from friends and educators could really help me out.
Repsonse to Question:
My experiences are very similar to Allen's writing because whenever I write a paper or get a paper back, I usually seek advice or help from my peers and teachers on how I can make it better.
Reflection:
I personally really enjoyed reading this article because I've always been really scared about writing and I tend to get really nervous when I'm forced to write a paper, but I feel like with getting reviews from my peers first before my professor, I'll feel more comfortable and hopefully improve my writing skills.
Murray Summary:
In "All Writing is Autobiography", Donald M. Murray argues that writing can be autobiographical and that we've basically been taught wrong by saying we can't use "I" or make our objective writings personal. He gives a lot of examples to prove his point on where different writers actually have some autobiography in their writings and it just proves that all writings are autobiographical. I liked reading this piece, just because he gave many examples to prove his point and I felt like, although it felt like it was more directed towards professors, he was actually opening our eyes to show that we can have a little more fun with our writings now.
WAW GRR (pg. 57)
1. At my old high school, I was always taught to not use "I" in my writings because, as stated on page 56, a research paper isn't supposed to be personal, but rather more focused on the objective. The only time I was able to be more "personal" in my writings was in my Speech class, where we could use personal stories to get our points across.
QD: 1, 3-5 (pg. 66)
1. The construct that Murray is trying to get us to reconsider is that writing can't be "personal".
3. I believe that Murray is coming out more by saying "all writing is autobiographical." (pg. 57) He gives plenty of examples that show the "autobiographical" content within texts to prove his point.
4. Murray uses content that many students may not understand, but other professors may understand. He is trying to direct this more towards professors to prove his point on how they can't tell students that writing can't be "personal".
5. Murray's views kind of did change my views on writing because whenever I've been told to write a paper, I was always told to not use "I" or make it "personal". Now I can see where all writing is autobiographical, so that will change the way I approach papers.
MM:
One way Murray's claims have a positive impact is that young writers, such as students, can have a little bit more fun with writing because they can make it a little more personal instead of all objectively. Another way Murray's claims made a positive impact is actually knowing that we can put a little personal spin in our objective writings, which will make students enjoy writing a little bit more.
Dawkins Summary:
In his article "Teaching Punctuation as a Rhetorical Tool", John Dawkins argues that you don't have to use the basic punctuation rules for you to explain to your readers the point that you're trying to get to. He also wants us to think about grammar as "rhetorical". He uses the quote "it has to do with the choices that writers make to influence readers." (pg.139)
GRR (pg. 139)
1. My sister's treehouse made a great place for her to play with her friends; it was made of wood scraps and cardboard.
2. My sister's treehouse, which was made of wood scraps and cardboard, made a great place to play with her friends.
3. Wood scraps and cardboard made a great treehouse for my sister and her friends to play in.
QD: 2-3, 5-6
2. The handbook's rules do not provide instructions on how to use commas appropriately and punctuation is different depending on the structure of the sentence.
3. Raising is when a writer uses certain punctuation like "!" to emphasize what they're trying to say. Lowering is when they use other punctuation that doesn't need as much emphasis on it. Whenever I want to emphasize something important, I always do the "raising."
5. Before reading Dawkin's article, I knew the basic rules about punctuation, but I never really thought of the "raising and lowering" as a way to show emphasis in a sentence.
6. Whenever I write, I'm usually very cautious on my punctuation. I can't stand not putting a coma where it should be and the appropriate punctuation at the end of sentences have to be correct. I think it's very hard for readers to follow your writings if you hardly use any punctuation. He hasn't really done much to change my mind, just because I feel like it's just something that will always stick with me.
MM:
I think my professor wanted me to read this because he wanted us to better understand on how to become better writers and Dawkin's does a pretty good job of explaining all these things through his examples.
Reflection:
This article was kind of tough for me to read, but I got the gist of how he is saying that punctuation can be used in different ways, depending on the readers. It gave me a better understanding on how there are different ways to use punctuation and hopefully this will help make me a better writer.
In the article "The Inspired Writer v. The Real Writer", Sarah Allen argues about all the different challenges that both students and writers face dealing with writing. She also points out that becoming a "good writer" does not come that easily and how getting help or advice can actually help you become a better writer. I really enjoyed this writing because I felt like I could connect with it, just because I'm always afraid of getting papers back because of "rejection" or seeing something bad written on the paper, but I feel like getting advice from friends and educators could really help me out.
Repsonse to Question:
My experiences are very similar to Allen's writing because whenever I write a paper or get a paper back, I usually seek advice or help from my peers and teachers on how I can make it better.
Reflection:
I personally really enjoyed reading this article because I've always been really scared about writing and I tend to get really nervous when I'm forced to write a paper, but I feel like with getting reviews from my peers first before my professor, I'll feel more comfortable and hopefully improve my writing skills.
Murray Summary:
In "All Writing is Autobiography", Donald M. Murray argues that writing can be autobiographical and that we've basically been taught wrong by saying we can't use "I" or make our objective writings personal. He gives a lot of examples to prove his point on where different writers actually have some autobiography in their writings and it just proves that all writings are autobiographical. I liked reading this piece, just because he gave many examples to prove his point and I felt like, although it felt like it was more directed towards professors, he was actually opening our eyes to show that we can have a little more fun with our writings now.
WAW GRR (pg. 57)
1. At my old high school, I was always taught to not use "I" in my writings because, as stated on page 56, a research paper isn't supposed to be personal, but rather more focused on the objective. The only time I was able to be more "personal" in my writings was in my Speech class, where we could use personal stories to get our points across.
QD: 1, 3-5 (pg. 66)
1. The construct that Murray is trying to get us to reconsider is that writing can't be "personal".
3. I believe that Murray is coming out more by saying "all writing is autobiographical." (pg. 57) He gives plenty of examples that show the "autobiographical" content within texts to prove his point.
4. Murray uses content that many students may not understand, but other professors may understand. He is trying to direct this more towards professors to prove his point on how they can't tell students that writing can't be "personal".
5. Murray's views kind of did change my views on writing because whenever I've been told to write a paper, I was always told to not use "I" or make it "personal". Now I can see where all writing is autobiographical, so that will change the way I approach papers.
MM:
One way Murray's claims have a positive impact is that young writers, such as students, can have a little bit more fun with writing because they can make it a little more personal instead of all objectively. Another way Murray's claims made a positive impact is actually knowing that we can put a little personal spin in our objective writings, which will make students enjoy writing a little bit more.
Dawkins Summary:
In his article "Teaching Punctuation as a Rhetorical Tool", John Dawkins argues that you don't have to use the basic punctuation rules for you to explain to your readers the point that you're trying to get to. He also wants us to think about grammar as "rhetorical". He uses the quote "it has to do with the choices that writers make to influence readers." (pg.139)
GRR (pg. 139)
1. My sister's treehouse made a great place for her to play with her friends; it was made of wood scraps and cardboard.
2. My sister's treehouse, which was made of wood scraps and cardboard, made a great place to play with her friends.
3. Wood scraps and cardboard made a great treehouse for my sister and her friends to play in.
QD: 2-3, 5-6
2. The handbook's rules do not provide instructions on how to use commas appropriately and punctuation is different depending on the structure of the sentence.
3. Raising is when a writer uses certain punctuation like "!" to emphasize what they're trying to say. Lowering is when they use other punctuation that doesn't need as much emphasis on it. Whenever I want to emphasize something important, I always do the "raising."
5. Before reading Dawkin's article, I knew the basic rules about punctuation, but I never really thought of the "raising and lowering" as a way to show emphasis in a sentence.
6. Whenever I write, I'm usually very cautious on my punctuation. I can't stand not putting a coma where it should be and the appropriate punctuation at the end of sentences have to be correct. I think it's very hard for readers to follow your writings if you hardly use any punctuation. He hasn't really done much to change my mind, just because I feel like it's just something that will always stick with me.
MM:
I think my professor wanted me to read this because he wanted us to better understand on how to become better writers and Dawkin's does a pretty good job of explaining all these things through his examples.
Reflection:
This article was kind of tough for me to read, but I got the gist of how he is saying that punctuation can be used in different ways, depending on the readers. It gave me a better understanding on how there are different ways to use punctuation and hopefully this will help make me a better writer.
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