For this assignment, we were to take a piece of writing we had previously done, and revise it using the rules of writing, which were challenged in the text. I found this assignment more difficult than it originally seemed to be. At first thought, it seemed very simplistic and it looked like something that could be done in just a few minutes. Delving into the assignment, I realized how hard it actually is to revise your own writing.
During class, in our small groups, we exchanged papers and advised each other on what could be changed. It is easy enough to modify another person's work. However, it is very difficult to change and modify your own paper due to the fact that nothing looks like it needs to be modified. Looking at my previous work (which dated only a year ago), it looked like a good, finished product. I had a few struggles in changing sentences around, especially since it made it look like I was working backwards, from a final copy back to a first, rough draft.
I now realize there are many different opinions on writing, and "proper" writing is merely relative to one's own perspective of what is correct.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Revision Assignment
Here are links to...
Original Document: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhcrxj5x_2d6vwjrhd
Revision 1: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhcrxj5x_3fczn7hpn
Final Revision: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhcrxj5x_4dccqgcmn
Original Document: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhcrxj5x_2d6vwjrhd
Revision 1: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhcrxj5x_3fczn7hpn
Final Revision: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhcrxj5x_4dccqgcmn
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Styles Assignment Reflection
For my Styles Narrative assignment, I chose a time that I felt had a somewhat significant impact on me. I discussed freshman year of high school and elaborated on a paper I had to write for English class. During that time, I had a bad habit of beginning a sentence with the words "and" or "but," which is considered improper. A rough draft I had written was returned to me with numerous red ink marks on it, as well as a paragraph written at the end by my teacher. This paragraph embodied her hatred for the improper use of those two words.
My reason for choosing this is I feel it relates to many other people. I know we have all had a time in our lives when we made grammatical errors or even errors in sentence structure, and were chided for this mistake. What is viewed as a perfect draft, or as I viewed it, "a fine piece of work," can be shattered by another person's view of what should be and what shouldn't be.
As stated in my narrative, "Due to that experience, my future writing was affected, seeing as I try not to make that same mistake each time I write a paper. " True, it wasn't a life-changing experience or revelation. However, it did affect all future papers and other correspondence I write. You will not see the words "and" or "but" at the beginning of a sentence I write, lest I once again see a hate-filled paragraph written in red ink.
In addition, I discussed my useage of the word "however" which now replaces "but" in sentences I write. Even in this blog post, you can see sentences in which I use "however" instead of "but," an error my freshman-age self would have made (for example, the above paragraph shows the substitution). I conclude with my main point being this: Certain rules are necessary for writing, but we must remember the main point of language is communication.
My reason for choosing this is I feel it relates to many other people. I know we have all had a time in our lives when we made grammatical errors or even errors in sentence structure, and were chided for this mistake. What is viewed as a perfect draft, or as I viewed it, "a fine piece of work," can be shattered by another person's view of what should be and what shouldn't be.
As stated in my narrative, "Due to that experience, my future writing was affected, seeing as I try not to make that same mistake each time I write a paper. " True, it wasn't a life-changing experience or revelation. However, it did affect all future papers and other correspondence I write. You will not see the words "and" or "but" at the beginning of a sentence I write, lest I once again see a hate-filled paragraph written in red ink.
In addition, I discussed my useage of the word "however" which now replaces "but" in sentences I write. Even in this blog post, you can see sentences in which I use "however" instead of "but," an error my freshman-age self would have made (for example, the above paragraph shows the substitution). I conclude with my main point being this: Certain rules are necessary for writing, but we must remember the main point of language is communication.
Friday, April 10, 2009
The Way I See It
(This stems largely from "The Way I See It" written on our original cup):
The degradation of society is often blamed on one particular thing: cell phones, watching excessive television, being a computer junkie. However, the truth is that the flaws within each person cannot be blamed on one particular thing. Each person has their own unique vices. All in all, before blaming the “problems of America” on one thing, take time to understand that there is no cure-all solution. Every person has their own flaws, and always will. We must understand to accept our own flaws as a natural part of humanity. By a greater understanding and acceptance, we will be closer to a solution.
The degradation of society is often blamed on one particular thing: cell phones, watching excessive television, being a computer junkie. However, the truth is that the flaws within each person cannot be blamed on one particular thing. Each person has their own unique vices. All in all, before blaming the “problems of America” on one thing, take time to understand that there is no cure-all solution. Every person has their own flaws, and always will. We must understand to accept our own flaws as a natural part of humanity. By a greater understanding and acceptance, we will be closer to a solution.
Reflection: Friday, April 10
Today, we received the cup from the other group. We basically sat down and discussed the different things written on the cup. One topic we spoke about was the comment made on the cup, which said something about the loss of diversity of culture as the world gets smaller and closer. One interpretation we had was cell phones and the Internet have made it very simple for people around the world to speak to one another as if they were in the same room. However, our opinion differed in that we agreed that, although the world is becoming "closer" by the advent of technology, we feel the diversity of culture would not be affected or lost by this.
Following this, we discussed the allocation of duties as well as what we were going to include in our presentation Monday.
Following this, we discussed the allocation of duties as well as what we were going to include in our presentation Monday.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Wednesday, April 8: Reflection
Today, my group met at the top floor of the Starbucks on the UC campus at 9 AM. One of our group members, Christine, was late for understandable personal reasons. However, once she arrived, we started throwing around ideas immediately regarding the cup. Then, the conversation transitioned into another. We began discussing our majors and our hometowns. Three of us (Brandon, Christine and myself) are from Cincinnati, while Dominique is from Los Angeles and Gustavo is from Texas.
We were running short on time, so we agreed to collaborate more via e-mail regarding the cup later on in the day. We plan to meet at the same time and place on Friday.
We were running short on time, so we agreed to collaborate more via e-mail regarding the cup later on in the day. We plan to meet at the same time and place on Friday.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Reflection 1 (Syllabus)
I created my pseudo-class as one geared toward freshmen. It deals with many common struggles first year students encounter, such as time management, budgeting, dealing with part-time jobs, and several other miscellaneous topics. I felt this would be a good class to have, even if just taken as an elective. It would introduce college students to the real world of college life.
My motivation for creating this particular class stems from a few years back. I have been in school for several years now, but I remember what it was like starting out. I was a "non-traditional" student who worked for a few years after high school, and came back to further my education, so I was used to time management and budgeting. My goal in creating this class was to pass along my knowledge to students and perhaps help them out.
Reviewing the syllabus I created, I admit I felt I organized it nicely and even worded it in a way that would welcome new students, rather than intimidate them. However, I feel I could have elaborated on a few key points. Perhaps I could have gone into further detail about additional topics that would have been studied, or even created a very brief, tentative schedule.
In conclusion, I feel I did well in creating the syllabus.
My motivation for creating this particular class stems from a few years back. I have been in school for several years now, but I remember what it was like starting out. I was a "non-traditional" student who worked for a few years after high school, and came back to further my education, so I was used to time management and budgeting. My goal in creating this class was to pass along my knowledge to students and perhaps help them out.
Reviewing the syllabus I created, I admit I felt I organized it nicely and even worded it in a way that would welcome new students, rather than intimidate them. However, I feel I could have elaborated on a few key points. Perhaps I could have gone into further detail about additional topics that would have been studied, or even created a very brief, tentative schedule.
In conclusion, I feel I did well in creating the syllabus.
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