Both essays were a lot to read, but I could safely say I enjoyed both, especially the one about poetry. What I liked most about the poetry essay that I think is a great strength, is that they had a great tone with their essay; in other words, it was almost as if they was explaining a club to a friend rather than a presentation for a professor. That is what I thought the other essay lacked about the Puerto Rico student association; although it was very informative, it was the hardest to read because it indeed felt like I was reading a research paper. What I give credit for both papers are the amount of reliable resources that they used. For the poetry they used sources from: books, personal interviews, reliable websites, and social media. For the Puerto Rico student association, they relied heavily on book information which is admirable.
Reading Journal: Melzer
| Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page | Dan Melzer, Understanding Discourse Communities |
| Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words | With this reading, I understand it a lot better than I did the other reading about discourse communities. I understand the goals and accomplishments and the things that these types of communities share with each other. In a way, these communities act more like family with each other rather than people who just share a common interest. Discourse communities in a way look out for each other no matter the size of the community. And it is almost like a safe space for someone because they share so many common interests but also because they want to achieve the same things, so they help each other out with it. |
| Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author. | There weren’t any new words that I did not recognize. |
| How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?
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I can connect this to the previous article that we read about discourse communities. |
| Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion. | If you are a part of more than one discourse community, what is the community you are the most active in. |
Reading Journal: Dirk
| Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page | Kerry Dirk, Navigating Genres |
| Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words | This was another hard article for me to read because I never really understood “genre” in the writing aspect. It was a lot of information to take in, but this is what I got from it. When it comes to writing, there are more than one genres that occur as opposed to music. With writing there are many different factors that go into it like personal devices, rhetorical devices, etc. to make the audience understand the essay. I didn’t even really know the definition of genre before I read this; it was really a word that I kind of just settled in my mind that genre meant music. I did not know genre could apply to writing. But now that I think about it: fiction, nonfiction, biographies, those could be genres of writing. |
| Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author. | Genre- a category of literature |
| How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?
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I cannot connect this with anything I have read. |
| Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion. | Do you have a genre of writing you enjoy? |
Reading Journal: DasBender
| Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page | Gita DasBender, “Critical Thinking in College Writing: From the Personal to the Academic” |
| Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words | Critical thinking is something most writers have to do when writing an academic paper. I know that I have a hard time with critical thinking sometimes because it is a little bit like comprehending. However, Dabner well explains the process of critical thinking. I think the criticism part would be the easiest part of the process because it seems easier to find something to rebuttal or to agree with in the writing. Now when I do critical thinking, I am going to remember that I just have to analyze and find valid points in the argument that I can discuss and do my own research on. |
| Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author. | I did not see any words I did not recognize. |
| How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?
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I cannot connect it to any articles but I can connect it to previous teachers who talked about critical thinking. |
| Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion. | What is your critical thinking process? |
Critical Thinking Intake Assessment
I can always find good credible sources for evidence (5). I am very good at analyzing information for its relevance to my research (6). I, for the most part, feel comfortable using secondary and primary sources in my own research (5). I am neutral when it comes to understanding the main idea and intention of the writer in an argument (4). I would like to improve on detecting problems in an argument, explain, and define them (3). I am neutral when it come to explaining my thoughts regarding an argument convincingly and logically (4). I am willing to change my stance on an issue provided by credible research if it convincing enough (5). I did not think about considering genre before I begin my writing process (3). I am neutral when it comes to thinking about the audience in the contextualization of research (4). My process of judging the accuracy and validation of sources is I check 3 other sources to see if the main evidence is similar. I usually type out my assumption or bias in a search engine and I see what sources support or go against my assumptions or biases. I scan through my rough draft and notes and see what points stand out and could make a strong impact for my final paper.
Ann Johns
As I have mentioned before, reading comprehension is not my strong suit. But this is what I gathered from the reading. There are different type of communities that we are a part of: discourse communities and communities of practice. The discourse communities are communities that we are born in or communities that we join. Communities of practice are communities that we actively participate in. We can be a part of many different communities but it could be just another notch in our belts rather than something that we are active in whether it is religious, economic, or academic. Different communities that I am in are Christian community, LGBTQ+ community, black community, mental health community, and the plus size community. The communities that I am most involved in are the LGBTQ+ community and the mental health community. They both mean a lot to me and I know many people who are a part of either or or both communities. My religion is Christianity and I pray and worship my God, but I am not active in a church setting or mission trips, etc. My black community means a lot to me as well, but I do not participate in active Black practices as much as I would like to. And the same for the plus size community, it is just what I am and I tend to surround myself with people of that nature.
Exercise 1: Freewriting
So i was worried sick that I missed a homework. And it was like God told me to check writing and low and behold we had something to do. My roomate and I are in the same class so we kind of panicked together. We did the google form thing where we had to email you the password. and then we had to go back to do the exercises. I was kind of freaking out because it was a lot of reading and I was nervous I wouldnt be able to get it done in time. But luckily one of the exercise was free writing and that is something that i know all too well to do. Just to free write is so freeing. So I set my timer for 10 minutes for me and my roommate and we just went ahead. Rupauls drag race was on tv so as I am typing this now I am listening to Untucked and saying bye to my least favorite queen. I just checked my timer and we have five minutes to go. This is fun. Im glad I dont have to worry about grammar or anything. At least after this I now officially dont have any homework to do. I can just take a shower and rest in my bed and be lazy for the rest of the day. I have nothing else to say and we still have three minutes to go. But maybe if I just talk about the time going by I can make up for the next minutes. Im seeing a bunch of red underlining and I am tempted to go back and correct them but Im not going to. We are now at 2 minutes. I dont know what else to talk about. Actually thats a lie I have to call my mom so we can talk about Rupauls Drag Race. I mean the girl that went home we both didnt like so we are probably just going to throw shade at her. I think I know what my mom is going to say about her and who she reminds her of. Ok we now have thirty seconds. In conclusion, I am excited for your class this semester Mr. G. I cant wait!
Define a writer; describe myself as a writer
I define a writer as someone who stays true to themselves in their writing. They look at rhetorical stand points and objective and subjective view points. I like reading stories where the writer is not trying to conform what some may consider as normal writing. For example, Peter Elbow writes about using your mother tongue in writing and not using the Standard Written English Language. An example could be from the book For Colored Girls. English is the author’s first language, but her poetry is almost in broken English, emphasizing how she actually spoke. She did not try to translate her own language for the likeliness of others. That leads to learning literacy their own way and carrying that throughout their whole writing career like Deborah Brandt talked about in Sponsors of Literacy. Not every writer is the same, and it is unfair to reduce them to just one way to write. There are so many creative minds.
I describe myself as an opiniated writer. It can be both a good and a bad thing, but I noticed that my favorite thing to do when it comes to writing is talk about my opinions and views and beliefs. Rhetorical essays are fun to read and do, because its healthy arguing. My writing skills, I believe, are at best when it comes to choosing a side in a topic.
10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation
I enjoyed watching this video because it was not only informative, but it was entertaining. Celeste Headlee gave ten points on how to have a better conversation and how people do the opposite of the points she gave whether we want to admit it or not. Two points that stuck out to me was do not multitask and be brief. I have a horrible habit of letting my mind run wild all the time, even when I am sleeping. My mom could be telling me about her promotion she got at work and I will be thinking about what I want to eat for dinner later. And doing that, it leaves me daydreaming and it will show all over my face that I am doing so, and so then the person I am talking to thinks I am not listening. I am listening, just not all the way. And with my mind running wild, I tend to make a conversation that could have really ended in five minutes and make it last for 15 because I would start getting off track. Watching this video is making me take in consideration what I am doing in a conversation, so I can have a productive one.
Student Essays
1. I give the first student an A letter grade. They do well in getting their points across with the topic they chose. They mention how others might feel about Anonymous, but they do not go into much detail about it. They add a good comparison to her argument, but it was a little lengthy. However, they did not use a simple generic voice.
2. I give the second student an A letter grade. They have a great hook and build up to their thesis. They clearly state a counterargument about their topic of activists. They did not stray from their topic, and brought up good points throughout the paper. They also had a great conclusion that summed up everything nicely.