January 2021 – ashurst

Reading Journal- Dirk

January 27, 2021 ashurst

Reading Journal

Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page	Navigating Genres by Kerry Dirk
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words	In the article, Navigating Genres by Kerry Dirk, He talks about different types of genres and how important they are. He goes on to quote Carolyn Miller who says “a rhetorically sound definition of genre must be centered on the action it is used to accomplish.” This shows that a genre can have many different meanings depending on what it is you are referring it to. A genre can correlate with music, or the way you talk to someone, or someone’s writing style/what they are writing about.
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.	Genre: Not exactly defined because the definition changes based off the “genre”, however, a genre is “a rhetorically sound definition of genre must be centered on the action it is used to accomplish”
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?	This reading connects to other articles I have read in this class by providing another perspective to writing. Writing is not just about having a pen and paper and starting somewhere. It’s about knowing what you are going to write about and knowing how you can communicate it in the best way possible to a targeted audience.
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion.	I would say a question I have from the article is how to best illustrate what genre you are trying to write about. How would you make it clear what genre you are trying to fit under when writing an essay?

Letter to my #Selfie

January 26, 2021 ashurst

If I had to describe myself as a writer, I would use the word determined. I am always determined to get my work done but not only get it done, but do the best work that I can do. I do enjoy writing and sometimes when I see I have an essay due, I dread having to sit down and write it but when I am actually doing it, I realize I actually quite enjoy writing and am fairly good at it.
A time that comes to mind when I felt I was a successful writer was probably last semester in my history class. We had a final exam essay due and I remember I was already home so I was busy hanging out with friends and family but than remember I had an essay due the next week. I was not looking forward to writing it because it was a very long essay and it was about something that I couldn’t really connect to or feel passionate about. However, once I started, I knocked it out and when I finished writing my conclusion, I realized it was one of the best papers I have ever written. I ended up getting a 97 I believe which made me really excited because I was really proud of the paper!
I would like to work on being able to feel more connected to my work and on making sure I don’t get off topic when working. Sometimes I find that when I am writing I start drifting off topic and I go back through and I don’t even know how I got to where I did!
I would like my instructor to just help me with tips on how to stay on topic when writing and not add too much unnecessary information about whatever it is I am writing about.
I would say one thing I want my instructor to know about my learning style is that I work best when writing about something I am passionate about or that I want to write about. I know that is usually a lot to ask because it is still an academic class and I can still usually find some sort of connection to a piece of work, but sometimes its nice to pick your on topic and write from there.

In Ann Johns article, she discusses many different discourse communities and goes in depth about what each community represents. The term discourse communities primarily focuses on texts and languages and that is why Ann Jones chooses to refer to all the types of communities as “discourse” communities. The different types of communities are Social, Political, and recreational communities, Professional communities and academic communities. Those are just the main discourse communities that Ann Jones highlights but under all those titles is an abundance of titles that many different people could relate to or qualify for. Ann Jones highlights how all of these discourse communities have lots of diversity in them and really dives into the idea that everyone comes from different backgrounds and places and that can have an effect on the way that people write. Having those discourse communities allows to bring people together who share a similar way of being. I would say the communities I most closely belong to are social, professional, academic, political, and recreational discourse communities. I think most people, especially students could belong to these discourse communities. Socially, everyone is different because everyone has different backgrounds, professionally and academically, I write and read for school so I would say I fall into those two categories as well. Politically, I think everyone can find themselves in this one as well because everyone has different standpoints and views. Lastly, I strongly feel about of the recreational community because I do quite often write for fun or just when I feel like writing. Everyone can find themselves in any of these discourse communities, its more a matter of which you feel the most connected to.

Free writing Exercise- Blog Post

January 21, 2021 ashurst

Out of all the exercises that were available to do, I chose exercise 3. The prompt is “What is a type of writing that you do outside of school writing? How does your knowledge about the context of writing determine how you communicate in this writing situation?” I would say, to answer this question, the main type of writing that I do that is outside of a school type of writing is when I write in a journal. I don’t really journal a whole lot anymore however, every once in a while when I have a lot on my mind and I sort of just want to unload somewhere, I will write in a journal about my day or whatever I am feeling. The writing I do in my journal is a lot different than how I would write on an essay. Since I am not writing for an audience I use a lot more casual lingo and not making everything so proper. I also probably have a lot of run on sentences in my journal because I don’t typically pay attention to punctuation or anything like that, its more about just getting all my thoughts down on paper. Sometimes I enjoy writing essays about things I am passionate about or writing a paper that is proper and grammatically correct, however, sometimes it is also nice to just not have to make a paper perfect and just to get everything that you can down. Sometimes I find that by not paying attention to every little detail, it is a lot easier for the story to flow and it can also make the story you are trying to tell a lot more personal as well.

Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page	Critical Thinking in College Writing: From the Personal to the Academic By: Gita DasBender
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words	In the article written by Gita DasBender, she talks about critical thinking and what it really means. A lot of time, the term “critical thinking” can sound a little intimidating and hard to define, however all it really means is diving deeper into your thinking, and not only your thinking but your reading and writing. She talks about how “critical thinking is a process that is fundamental to all disciplines.” This shows how critical thinking is not only applied to school but is really applied to all aspects of life. She also gives tips as to how to apply critical thinking to reading and writing and how to really stay on track when doing work that needs critical thinking skills.
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.	Criticism: The process of responding to and evaluating ideas, argument, and style so that readers understand how and why you value these items. Critical thinking: A process that is fundamental to all disciplines.
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?	We have not read any articles this semester but it doest correspond with some articles from last semester because the article really teaches you and gives you good tips on how to better your reading and writing. This article provided a different stance that I had never thought of before because it connected critical thinking to reading and writing, not just thinking in your head.
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion.	I would say my only question would be how to really apply your critical thinking and reading into your writing. Sometimes when I am writing I tend to get distracted so what are some ways to keep your mind fully on track.