January 2021

Reading Journal

 

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Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page	Author(s). “Title of Article.” Title of Journal, Volume, Issue, Year, pages.  Dirk,Kerry. “Navigating Genres.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 1, 2010, 249-262.
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words	This article was about genres and learning how to analyze your audience and choose the best genre to write in for that audience. I like how Dirk gave the example of a country music song as his intro, because I related to that and it drew me into reading more. The article also gives great examples about different genres. Dirk also pointed out that we as students already know genres, because we know what is socially acceptable to send a professor vs. a friend. Old genres help us to form new ones nowadays. Dirk also talks about it is not about mastering one genre, but rather learning about all genres.
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.	“Genre used to refer primarily to form, which meant that writing in a particular genre was seen as simply a matter of filling in the blanks.”(Dirk 251.) “True, genres often have formulaic features, but these features can change even as the nature of the genre remains (Devitt, Writing, 48).”(Dirk 253).
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?	This relates to the critical thinking article, because in the critical thinking article it was trying to get readers to change their mindset on critical thinking and open up. With these article Dirk was trying to help readers relize that it is not all about one genre and open up their mind more.
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion.	What is a genre that you are not used to writing in and what can you do to become more comfortable with that genre?

 

Reading Journal

 

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Title of Article + Proper MLA Citation for Works Cited page	Author(s). “Title of Article.” Title of Journal, Volume, Issue, Year, pages.  DasBender, Gita. “Critical Thinking in College Writing: From the Personal to the Academic.”Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 2, 2011, 37-51.
Summarize the article — include your reaction, thoughts, anything to help you remember its claims. 100 to 150 words	This article talks about critical thinking and how you have to prepare your mind while reading. You need to have a mind that is open to what a person is saying and be nice when giving feedback. It also talks about what it means to be an attentive reader and to ask questions while reading. It also points out you should write down quotes and paraphrase certain things to help you better understand and in order to point out to the writer some of their strong points. The author then begins to talk about academic writing and the steps you need to take in order to get the most out of your writing. I thought this article was very lengthy, but also very informative.
Define new terms and concepts by quoting or paraphrasing the original author.	“Critical thinking is also a process that is fundamental to all disciplines.”(DasBender 38) “To be a critical thinker you not only have to have an informed opinion about the text but also a thoughtful response to it.”(DasBender 38) “academic writing often implies impersonal writing, writing that is detached, distant, and lacking in personal meaning or relevance.”(DasBender 43)
How does this reading connect to other articles from class and/or your own research?	This article connects to the reading from Ann Johns. They both talk about academic writing and what steps and understandings you need to have about it.
Based on the reading, craft one question to act as a springboard for class discussion.	What are some other questions you could come up with while reading and trying to understand an article that would help with critical thinking?

Ann M. Johns article, Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice, talks about how certain people belong to a community or social group just by their beliefs or the shared knowledge they have with others. She talks about how there are some groups we do not choose to be in rather we are brought into them because of where our parents raised us. For example a child did not pick their religion at the age of three, but rather their parents took them to the church they attend and thus the child feels more a part of that church then any other. There are also communities you pick to join, because of your interest. You also become a part of a community any time you leave your hometown. Ann describes how each community or group is different in their own way. Even the people in the group might not share the same religion or political views, but the shared interest in a particular thing joins them into a community together. She also describes a discourse community as the things that you read or participate in that keep you connected to that certain community. Once you go to college you become part of that community and group. I thought this article was very well written and an interesting read. 

List of Discourse Communities I am apart of:

• Cheerleading 
• Student at Ole Miss
• Phi Mu sorority
• Community of my town Clarksdale
• Community of my dorm Hefley

What I am currently thinking about is the dinner I just had. It was spaghetti and I love spaghetti. I used to actually hate it and I do not know why. Anytime my father would cook it when I was little I would only eat the noodles and ask for no red sauce. Now, I could imagine eating spaghetti without the red sauce or the meatball. I especially love when it is served with toast. While driving back from dinner where I got my spaghetti, my father turned on the heated seat and I kept saying why is it so hot in here. It was not until I parked the car in the driveway that I had realized he had turned my heated seat on. Then he yelled at me for the way I parked in the driveway. Like it was just a little angle, but I thought everyone could still get out of the driveway. Apparently I was wrong and my dad made me backup and re-park. I hate when this happens it is just so annoying to me like ugh. Now, I am sitting here writing this free write for an assignment. I actually think this could be a good thing you know. To just type words out and your thoughts. I guess they do not always have to be a deep thought. I used to keep a notebook beside my bed almost like a dairy. I would write my deep feelings and thoughts in it. Honestly I do not know how much it helped, but it just felt good to put it on paper. I stopped doing that and I have not done it in a while and maybe I should start again. I was always scared that my mom or friends would read it and tell everyone or my mom would think I was just depressed all the time. Well I did put the date at the top so I guess she could not accuse me of being depressed all the time. Speaking of my mom, I really enjoyed the day I had with her today in Memphis. We went shopping and I got some new shoes that I love and am really excited about. I also had a doctors appointment which was not as fun as shopping of course. I love to shop. It does not matter if it is online or in person. I just love it. Only if I had the unlimited amount of money so I could feed my love for shopping even more.