In the process of researching information for this project, I’ve gone over the community’s genres and with this being a community that I’m not a part of  I think its harder to really entail what this  community is really about. Seeing the events they host and the accomplishments of the community is something that makes the research interesting. I still need to combine my ideas about my research. I have a jumbled mess of ways to form a paper about my research , I just don’t know how to structure it all. I still need to have an interview , to see what this community really means to the people in it. Research concerns are the amount of research, i think too much research is actually enough research ,but what if the research seems equate to what the community actually is, what if my opinion of the research is far off from what this community really is. What has gone well is the interesting things to learn about involving a community as well as finding the information for the MP#2 ,which gave a different insight to things.

Reading Journal

Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page	Kahn. “Putting Ethnographic Writing into Context.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, Volume 2, 2011, pgs 175-192.
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words	“Put simply then, ethnographers: observe, participate, interact, analyze, reflect, write, rethink, and describe cultures, their members, and our own involvements with them.” In this article it mainly speaks about having an experience before writing. Allowing the things we encounter to be the things that guide us to a better writing. The author mentioned a paper he typed for a class and how the teacher’s response angered him. The writer knew his writing was good and even received a good grade but he didn’t take in consideration his teacher reputation. Ethnographers have a way of writing that isn’t a usual format. Type of writing allows writers to be more open-minded,but in a way that is mindful and considerate of the participants.
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.	No longer is ethnography a direct descendent of missionary work, an effort to romanticize the voyeurism of wealthy travelers, or a scientific effort to document different cultures—although it still wrestles with all of those influences. The discussions would focus on issues they saw recurring or emerging, what they found interesting or anomalous, and questions they had either about the method or the data. Ethnography-the scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures. Voyeurism-enjoyment from seeing the pain or distress of others Anomalous-deviating from what is standard, normal, or expected.
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?	This reading connects to the interview as well as how we might write our paper for the major project. I think it shows that information is always good in essays ,especially when accurate, but when writing something be mindful of what to include and what to exclude.
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion.	Is it better to write things ethically or to write in a more ethnographic way?

 

In doing this research essay ,I intended for readers to receive more information about the specific community I chose ,which was the BSU ,Black Student Union. My purpose was to tell the information I discovered , to draw a readers interests to this community. The intended audience is a Ole Miss student looking for social interactions. I wanted the research I had done to allow the reader to want to see what this specific community is about and see if it’s something worth being involved in. I am the initial reader, this essay in a way was simply for me to see if BSU is the community I should try to be a part of.

The process of my research was a difficult process because I want to include information that was relevant, information that helped my paper. I didn’t know whether the source I used would help or if I used the source correctly in a way that helped my paper. The process was difficult because I second guessed myself. The comments from peer group really helped. It help me to know that my paper wasn’t bad ,as well as helped in how my paper was structured. I took the feedback very seriously , especially after reading my peers paper.

The changes I made to the research essay were minor. I didn’t want to completely rewrite my paper and it lose it’s flow or the slightest bit of structure it had. I had to just take the critique from peers and the teacher and try to make my paper understandable and better to the best of my ability.

In writing the Major project ,I wrote about the discourse community Black Student Union of Ole Miss. In writing about the community I decided to include information that would describe the purpose of the community. I wanted to explain what the community is from my viewpoint. I am not a member of this community ,but I had the intentions of become a member of this community. I included certain information in my synthesis because of what I felt the community stood for. I also included what the community said their purpose was.

The decision to exclude certain information was simply because I am not a part of this community. There were certain things I read and I felt would be more reliable/ credible coming from someone that is a part of this community. Information in regards to how the community grew over time and how it has become home to some students, I felt I couldn’t include that because it is “home” for me.

The research I did started with the forum and seeing exactly what the purpose of this community. I followed up with reading the constitution and bylaws of the community and then went to their social media pages and followed up with reading the Minority ,which was done in 2019 and posted on their facebook page.

Research that I am still searching for is what the community means to people now ,how has it helped people adjust to living at Ole Miss. I want to know how does this community remain a strong community for the communities around it ,the community it has helped/ came together with.

Reading Journal

Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page	Driscoll. “Introduction to Primary Research: Observations, Surveys, and Interviews” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, Volume 2, 2011, pgs 153-174
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words	Research can be done in numerous ways. It can be done by surveys ,interviews, observation, statistical analysis, letters, journals, etc. Primary research is research collected firsthand. Secondary research being a book or article or journal.Primary research has a process from starting with research to narrowing down your topic and developing questions and a hypothesis.
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.	If you are observing people, you can choose between two common ways to observe: participant observation and unobtrusive observation.  Participant observation is a common method within ethnographic research in sociology and anthropology. Unobtrusive- not conspicuous Ethnographic-relating to scientific description of people and cultures with their customs, habits, and mutual differences.
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?	This reading connects with research I have done for the first major project. It connects in a way that will help me to know exactly what to look for when finding my primary and secondary sources.
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion.	In the process of asking questions in an interview, how do you know when to use open or closed questions?

 

Reading Journal

Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page	Warrington, Kovalyova, King. “Assessing Source Credibility for Crafting a Well-Informed Argument.”  Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, Volume 3, 2020, pgs 189-203.
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words	“Evaluating sources and critical reading go hand-in-hand.” In reading this article, it speaks about analyzing sources and papers properly.It specifically gave questions as a guideline to understand whether a writer is credible, knowledgeable or even biased, is the writer argument believable.It even speaks about the credibility of sources. The article speaks on how libraries are arranged and how most books from the library are reliable sources. Knowing that the internet is the most used sourced now, the author speaks on how it is used and how to narrow your search to get more credible sources.
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.	Jack (pseudonym). Reader Response to “What Did You Expect?”).  How authors put arguments together and what support they use to bolster their arguments can affect the credibility of the source.  No trained staff is out there to assist you in sieving through what you have pulled onto your screen.  Your interest in the topic was piqued by a brief memory of a handmade poster you saw earlier at a gas station. Pseudonym-a fictitious name Bolster-support/ strengthen Sieving-examine in detail Piqued-stimulated
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?	This reading connects to the other articles from this class because they are all guidelines to construct an appropriate paper.
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion.	Can a writer be biased and still have a strong argument?

 

Reading Journal

Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page	Giles. “Reflective Writing and the Revision Process: What Were You Thinking” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, Volume 1, 2010, pgs 191-204.
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words	In reading this article, it specifically speaks on the value of reflective writing. It speaks on how reflective writing helps writers improve as well as helping the instructor understand. “ “Reflection” and “reflective writing” are umbrella terms that refer to any activity that asks you to think about your own thinking.*” In reflecting on what a writer has written allows the writer to grasp their thoughts or even broaden their thoughts. In one example the writer didn’t know specifically the direction she wanted to take with her writing and even called her freewriting “jumbled”, this gave her instructor a chance to help. A reflective writing is a clarifying process.
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.	For instance, Rebecca Moore Howard states that “writers who can assess their own prose can successfully revise that prose” (36). If a writer indicates in the memo that he knows something is still a problem with the story, then the instructor can curtail lengthy discussion of that issue’s existence during the workshop and instead prompt peers to provide suggestions.  Prose-Written or spoken language in its ordinary form Curtail-Reduce in extent or quantity
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?	This article is similar to the article by author Gita DasBender. The critical thinking article speaks on understanding a piece and making logical critiques to a piece. These pieces connect because as a writer reflects on their piece they critique it. They see problems and try to change them logically and to a responsible extent that readers will understand.
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion.	Is there more than one process to reflective writing?

In reading the two student essays , they were both similarly structured. They were both structured in a way that allowed enough information for readers to understand the purpose of the association ,as well as how the association operates.

The first essay was from a member of that specific community. I think this allowed for an easier conversation to be held between a chairman of that association. I also think that allowed for the structure of this essay to flow differently than second essay. The second essay seemed more like an interview. It mentioned specific conversations and what specifically was said ,but the writer also included pictures. The second essay seemed like the writer was someone fond of the specific organization ,rather than apart of it. I think that played into the strengths of this essay because it allowed for a specific conversation between the writer and the interviewee. In the first essay I think the strengths were being apart of the community and listing specific genres and languages of the community.

The sources that these two essays used were: (First essay) Dirk, Kerry. “Navigating Genres.” Writing Spaces: Reading on Writing, vol.1, 2010, pp. 249-262.
Glatch, Sean. Personal interview. 29 Mar. 2019.
Johns, Ann M. “Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice: Membership, Conflict, and Diversity.” Text, Role, and Context: Developing Academic Literacies, 1997, pp. 498-510.
Project: Spit. “About.” facebook

(Second essay) Johns, Ann M. “Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice: Membership, Conflict,
and Diversity.” Text, Role, and Context: Developing Academic Literacies. 1997, pp. 498-510.

Puerto Rican Student Association. “Constitution of Puerto Rican Student Association.” PRSA at
UCF, 25 Oct. 2017.

Swales, John. “The Concept of Discourse Community.” Genre Analysis: English in Academic
and Research Settings. Boston, Cambridge: UP, 1990, pp. 466-473.

To describe myself as a writer, I would say that I write freely, but structured. I would initially describe the way I write as a mess. I see writing a free way of expression, rather than an informative, structured format. Knowing that writing takes many different formats, it’s hard for me to look past the freedom of writing and write as an purposeful, informative writer. That is an aspect of writing that I would like to improve on this semester, a writer’s perspective. Along with improving that aspect, I would like to improve using scholarly sources. I think last semester it was hard for me to use scholarly sources because of the specific topic relating to tragedies.

A time that I felt successful as a writer, I wouldn’t say there was one. I think with writing there comes a lot of opinions on how things can be worded, how things can be better, or even how an audience can be influenced by that specific writing. There’s so many aspects to writing ,that I think no writer may ever truly be successful. When learning I can typically grasp concepts easily,but I can only perfect them with time. I don’t typically ask question unless I can’t figure things out for myself.

Something that I want to improve on in this course is any aspect of writing. Writing is an important form of communication and anything I can take from this class I would love and appreciate it.

Reading Journal 

Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page	Melzer. “Understanding Discourse Communities” Writing Spaces:Readings on Writing, Volume 3, 2020, pg 100-115.
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words	In reading this article, it mainly tells that a discourse community is a community within a community. A discourse community is a way of developing as a writer ,in a way that you learn from others along a different caliber, allowing new things to come about as well as remembering old things.Being a college student, everything varies depending on the course and professor. When being in a discourse community it allows for help and understanding among those who relate to each other.
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.	“We talked about the root note of scale, a 1/4/5 chord progression, putting a capo on different frets, whether to play solos in a major or minor scale, double drop D tuning, and so on.” “What incidental information can you glean from them by reading carefully?” Capo-small device that clamps on to the neck of a guitar Glean-collect gradually
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?	This article mainly connects with the article specifically about genres. It entails on certain things of a genre that relate to a discourse community. “Understanding what a discourse community is and the ways that genres perform social actions in discourse communities can help you better understand where your college teachers are coming from in their writing assignments and also help you understand why there are different writing expectations and genres for different classes in different fields.” By reading this statement I understand that a discourse community is something that lies within a genre ,in a way that allows a better understanding of a specific writing.
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion.	Are discourse communities similar to peer-review?