Reflection on Open Letter Draft

DaPuglet. "Bailey Puggins The Santa Pug." 6/1/2012 via flickr. CC0 Creative Commons. 

In this blog I will be talking about the revision process in the letter writing. I revised Isaak's and Swati's letters.

I saw how my peers organized their letters and that it was okay to make my paragraphs a little longer than I initially had them. It also gave me a good idea of how to improve upon my transitions. I felt that my own letter was a little bit more formal than Isaak's but I also threw in a bit of informality and humor, things that my peers could relate to.

Did I demonstrate an ability to think about my writing and myself as a writer?

Looking at others' writing helped compare what kind of writing I have been doing. Reading the way others transitioned their ideas make me think about how I can improve my own transitions and format my letter more properly. I figured out that I can use larger paragraphs than I was originally using. It also made me recognize that it would be a good idea to use quotes from some of the blogs I was talking about in my letter. There were also some grammar things that I figured out I needed to fix by reading other letters as well as reading over peer review.

Did I provide analysis of my experiences, writing assignments, or concepts you have learned?

I talked about how certain blogs and tasks in class assisted me in working on my time management, my planning process, and my condensing of my writing. I also talked about how it has shaped my overall thinking not just in my English class but in my other classes. It is also a learning process so my organization will continue to evolve and mold to how I need it to fix my schedule.

Did you provide concrete examples from your own writing (either quotes from your writing or rich descriptions of your writing process)?

I used quotes as well as a description about my new pre planning writing process that has evolved from blog assignments. The quote was from my very first blog post telling about how I was a "Heavy Reviser" and the detailed steps were also what we went over in class and what I experienced in my writing process.

Did you explain why you made certain choices and whether those choices were effective?

I talked about my mind set coming into college with my writing process and how it had to change and these were the biggest changes that I made due to Bottai's planning and assignments.

Draft of Open Letter

kpgolfpro. "Chihuahua Puppy Chihuahua Dog Small Cute Animal." 25/12/2014 via pixabay. CCO Public Domain.

On this post, I will be attaching a link to the draft of my open letter. It will go into talking about how this class has helped me become a better writer, thinker and planner.

To those of you viewing this, it is still a draft and needs to be reread a few times, but it is to get the overall idea of where I am going with the writing and that what I am saying makes sense and that overall it is well organized. I have always had trouble with bringing the final product together after thinking out my ideas for the first time so I hope it is not too bad! Despite the homework, I did enjoy this class and I feel that I did learn a lot. It was a big time commitment but it forced me to get my act together early on in the game and create a schedule and plan that worked best for me which is the most important thing.

Reflecting more on my Writing Process

pmbbun. "Sleeping Puppy Puppy Sleep Dog Animal Pet Cute." 22/2/2014 via pixabay. CCO Public Domain.

In this blog post, I will be doing more reflecting on the class as a whole and what I really got out of it. It was a challenge, but it was a learning experience in many ways.

1) What were the biggest challenges I faced this semester, overall?

The biggest challenge I faced was limiting how much I could write. I am one that likes to over explain ideas, so trying just to get the main points out without the extra fluff was a bit of a challenge for me. The blogging genre forced me to say what I wanted in a quick, concise manner.

Another challenge for me was time management. This class had a lot of writing homework and I had to work little bits of the homework into my schedule throughout the week so that I was hopefully not doing the whole thing Saturday evening. I had to think about my other classes and what homework they gave as well. In the beginning of the semester I had told myself that I would become more organized with my time, and it started out well in the begging but became harder to maintain as the year went on.

2) What did you learn this semester about my own time management, writing and editorial skills?

I know that I need to space out the time that I write my projects. Looking at the drafts at different points in time helped me find more of the errors not just in my grammar, but my organization. I had to plan into my homework time to get even one or two blog posts done each day so that I was not swamped at the end of the week with a lot of homework.

I learned that making an outline helps with the drafting process. I have a better idea going into it what main points I want to hit so that I don't end up rambling on and losing track of my organization. This preplanning process was key to my organization. But as I worked on my drafts, it also helped to keep referring to the outline so I can remember what points I am trying to make. It helps from getting lost in the research of the topic I am studying.

3) What do I know about the concept of "genre"? Explain how understanding this concept is central to being a more effective writer.

Better understanding a genre helps as the writer understand who I am writing for and in what context. This helps guide the language and what kind of information is important to include within the work of literature, whatever kind of genre it may be. By knowing my genre, I can better analyze my audience, purpose and context. I start out more organized and have more well thought out ideas because I know what kind of overall message I want to send the reader home with.

4) What skills from this course might I use and/or develop further in the next few years of college coursework?

I think my better practice of using concise language will help with any kind of future paper. And now, I have a better idea of how to start my writing process. There is a lot more pre- thought to writing than I was initially doing. Knowing these things to begin with will help me having to avoid making more changes in the drafting process.

This class also helped me better analyze readings. Learning how to find the main points in articles will help me better analyze and understand any articles I will have to read in the future. In science, I will probably have to start reading other scientific works and learn from them. I can pick up more information and even learn to better read between the lines. I am not sure exactly what the future has in store for me, but knowing how to better break down readings will help my overall comprehension of the topic(s) I am reading about.

5) What was my most effective moment from this semester in 109H?

The most effective moment I had this year was learning how to do research. Google is a vast search engine and learning how to sort through results and knowing what key words to use has helped me find more the sites that I was looking for. Even in this semester I have used this skill in other classes to help for research papers.

6) What was my least effective moment from this semester in 109H?

The least effective moments were probably in doing extra writing in blog posts that I could have learned by just doing a reading or annotating my sources. It was helpful to be asked the questions, but the need to go over and analyze in detail the questions was not quite as necessary. It took time away from actually working on my final projects.

Revisiting my Writing Process

Wang, Nicholas. "very_cute_puppy_01." 29/5/2007 via flickr. Creative Commons.

In this blog post I will be reflecting my writing process in the beginning of the year and how it had evolved over the semester. I will also look at how I wanted my writing process to become and if I met up to my own goals or not.

In blog post 1.10, it seemed that I classified myself as more of a heavy revisor where I did very little planning, would write a rough draft and just make a lot of changes into what I perceived to be my final draft. My goal was that maybe I would include more pre planning in my process of writing. By doing this, my draft would be more of what I want out of my final copy without the need to make so many revisions or even end up rewriting it. 

I would have to say that I have made improvements in my writing process to help meet my goal. I have been doing an outline of the points that I want to cover in my written work, no matter what it was, and I believe that it has helped with my draft work.  With the outline, I know exactly what points I want to make and what the most efficient way to make that point is. But even with this outline process, I still have to make a lot of revisions on the drafts. I think this can be because once I continue to reread what I write, I end up not liking what I initially write. 

Pertaining to my schedule analysis, one of the points I wanted to work on was spacing out the time I work on my blogging and project assignments. I did not do this very well. I tried to make sure that I worked on some blogging throughout the week, but the assignments that were due the next day always took priority to the blogging that was due Saturday evening. So I then I always tended to work on the blogging on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I still believe that it is good to space out your time to be more efficient so that you are not cramming to get it all done at once. But making that a reality has been hard. 

In the future, I want to continue to work on my time management. In improving this, I can start by writing down more of what I have to do and really analyzing how much time I have each day to do homework in a realistic manner. What I didn't do has much was organize my English homework around the homework for my other classes. But at the time, I also was not aware at what other homework I had for my other classes. This means that my homework schedule will have to be modified as the year progresses. This is something that I can work on for my next semester schedule. I can use my planner more as well. This can have me make sure I am getting everything I need to done not just for the evening, but by being able to get ahead as well.

In the next 3 or so years of college I will continue to find new strategies that will help improve my time management. There will be some trial and error, but the best thing right now is that I would consider myself more of a planner as well as a revisor with my writing. I know what kinds of information I need to find out before even thinking about what I need to write. With a clearer goal in mind of where I want to get with my paper, I can better clean up my writing. 

Reflection on Project 3

dbking. "St. Bernard Puppy." 11/6/2005 via wikipedia. Creative Commons Attribution.

In this blog post I will be reflecting on Project 3 by answering a series of questions posed by the Writing Public Lives reading.

1) What was specifically revised from one draft to another?

I had to work on making my essay more personalized and not just as much spitting out facts but becoming more emotionally involved in the issue. I also had to work on my organization a bit. When I wrote it I just kind of wrote what came to mind but reading it back, it didn't make much sense.

2) Point to global changes: how did you reconsider your thesis or organization?

I went through my main points and made sure that all my ideas from each main point flowed together in one section and that the different main points ended up flowing together as well.

3) What led you to these changes? A reconsideration of audience? A shift in purpose?

Advice from pier review as well as teacher review helped me think about what I needed to focus on. The different ideas were not in order and jumped around, not making it very convenient for the reader to follow along. I also had to make the purpose more personal as well, not just about getting a point across but the specific idea that I wanted to leave my audience with.

4) How do these changes affect your credibility as an author?

If my information seems more organized and well thought out the reader will be more inclined to think I know what I am talking about. If they believe that I am more of an expert in the area that I am writing about then they will be more likely to listen to what I have to say and believe my point of view. If it looks like I have seen all sides of the argument then the points I make seem more justified in my evaluation of the argument and my point.

5) How will these changes better address the audience or venue?

The audience will be more inclined to continue reading if they can follow my argument better.

6) Point to local changes: how did you reconsider sentence structure and style?

I had to shorted some of my sentences so they were not so long. Some of them became hard to follow and also made some a little more informal so that I could connect more with the audience.

7) How will these changes assist your audience in understanding your purpose?

By understanding the sentences better and being able to follow my argument, hopefully what I have to say will have a bigger influence on the audience and they will hopefully want to advocate for stem cell research.

8) Did you have to reconsider the conventions of the particular genre in which you are writing?

I had to do a bit more reading up on the genre to make sure that I got the formatting right as well.

9) Finally, how does the process of reflection help you reconsider your identity as a writer?

I feel like I am the same writer but it made me notice how much I am really using emotion in my writing. When I am looking at an argument I like to know the facts so that I can make my own opinion on the issue and I felt like I did include the fact (hyperlinks) but I also become more emotionally invested in the issue and hopefully I was able to spur some emotions onto the audience.

Publishing Public Argument

In this blog post I will post a link to the final draft of Project 3.  I will also be going over the rubric and giving a self evaluation of the article. 

Pham, Tony. "Husky Puppy." 9/6/2007 via wikimedia. Creative Common Attribution Share Alike 2.0 Generic.

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:

         ___X___ 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.

         _______ 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:

I do state a bit of what the situation is as well as the other side of the debate so the audience is given context but then I also dive into the emotional appeal about the health needs of certain individuals the the dramatic change this research will bring to their lives as well as the lives of their loved ones. The main idea though is that the pros of the research outweigh the cons and risks of doing the research on the embryonic stem cells. I put my own experiences and situation into the argument. I talk about my fondness of dogs, my wanted to be a doctor, and my moral views when it comes to the need to save lives. I bring in different points surrounding the issue that go beyond just talking about stem cells and what they can do but how they can change lives. 

5. Identify the specific rhetorical appeals you believe you've employed in 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.)

                    _____ 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

                    __X___ 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)

                    __X___ Sharing any personal expertise you may possess about the subject (your identity as a student in your discipline affords you some authority here)

                    _____ Openly acknowledging counterarguments and refuting them intelligently

                    _____ 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

                    _____ Use of “shocking” statistics in order to underline a specific point

                    ___X__ 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

                    ___X__ Other: creating a visual with language to help people feel sympathy for the sick people potentially not getting treatment or even the little dogs 

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 (more of just information pertaining to research going on today about stem cells)

                    _____ Using interviews from stakeholders that help affirm your stance or position

                    _____ Using expert opinions that help affirm your stance or position

                    _____ Effective organization of elements, images, text, etc.

                    ___X__ Clear transitions between different sections of the argument (by using title cards, interstitial music, voiceover, etc.)

                    _____ Crafted sequencing of images/text/content in order to make linear arguments

                    _____ 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)

                    __X___ Other: lots of links to sources giving information about stem cells and particular information on them that goes along with the argument that I am making at the moment. 

Sample articles that I used for reference are:

Tracking India's flu outbreak in Real Time
How Water is Reshaping the West

Reflection on Project 3 Draft

jackmac34. "Buttercups Flowers Orange Petals." 3/2015 via pixabay. CC0 Public Domain.

In this blog post I will go over who reviewed my draft for project 3 and give hyperlinks to the two projects that I commented on. These helped give me ideas on my own project as well.

I commented on Isaak's and Elliot's project 3s.

1) Isaak reviewed my rough draft.

2) What do I think and feel about the feedback I recieved? Did anything confuse me about the feedback?

I think the feedback was good. No much commentary on what I need to fix. Also I think that he interpreted my project as being a Tedd talk when instead I was really just linking a video to a Ted talk in the beginning and then going into my own article. So some of his comments he made were about it being a Tedd talk rather than an article.

3) What aspects of Project 3 need the most work going forward (Audience, Purpose, Argumentation, or Genre?) How do I plan on addressing these areas?

I need to work on better connecting with my audience. I start to get more personal with the argument towards the middle but I need to start that connection earlier and not just state facts but give my opinion on the facts as well.

4) How am I feeling overall about the direction of my project after peer review and teacher conferences this week?

I feel a lot better about my article since now I need to know what I need to work on the most.