Christmas Phrases

From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/travisspencer/8252325149

Today is the last day of English 109 honors. The class was in a festive mood. We made elf names (mine was Twinkle Monkey Buns), peer edited our reflection essays, and did a fun grammar activity. For the grammar activity, we made 5 sentences from the list of Christmas phrases. Here are my phrases:

• Up on the housetop, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
• I'm dreaming of a White Christmas and chestnuts roasting on an open fire.
• It's a marshmallow world; let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
• Deck the halls because baby, it's cold outside.
• After silent night, I heard the bells on Christmas Day.

I know it may be a bit early, but happy holidays everyone!

Blog 40: A Letter of Encouragement

Wikimedia Commons: "Writing a Letter"

My adventure in Honors English 109 is coming to an end. I will use the skills I learned from this class and apply them to my future classes. In case I do decide to look back at this blog, I use this post to write a letter to myself reminding me and others who are interested in reading to never stop learning even if times get tough.

Dear Michael,

You are probably reading this because you are going through tough times or want to look back at your experiences in Honors English 109. I know that you are prone to be being overly stressed. Do not let this stress impede your progress.

In your chemistry class this semester, remember how the professor used a silly slippery slope analogy to show that everyone is capable of learning? You will not end up being a broke hobo on the street because you had one bad grade. Just because you did not do well in college in your first and second year does not mean that you will never be able to pursue your dreams.

Do not let yourself or anyone bring you down. You must work hard and work with your professors to improve your grade. You have potential. As your high school world history TA said, "You are your own obstacle." The only person you are competing with is yourself. Comparing yourself to others will only exacerbate your stress.

You will be taking a large course load than last semester which can be intimidating, but do not lose hope. Remember to ask for help if you need it. If you are still doing this, then good for you! Learning is a process. if you do not grasp a topic the first time, do not become frustrated.

Do not give up! You will eventually excel.

Sincerely,
Your Former Self
Michael Gee

Blog 39: Letter to Former Self

"Envelope":

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to just go back in time to change mistakes made in the past? Unfortunately that is not possible with the current technology and probably will introduce further complications. For today, I will think of ideas that I can include in a letter to my former self in the beginning of the Fall 2015 semester about writing.

Dear Michael,

College is going to be a different experience than high school. You will find that out soon enough. Do not let this transition intimidate you. Remain calm, seek help when you need it, pay careful attention to assignment details, and do not feel confined to perfecting one draft.

I wish I would have known about the different resources available to help me raise my grade. This not only applies to English, but also applies to other classes, Do not be stubborn. You will find out that opening a paper with generalizations is not as effective as you think. Although it was acceptable in high school, remember, you are writing for different audiences in college. Make sure to understand what your professor wants in a paper.

Also pay careful attention to project requirements. The first English project will be tough if you do not keep in mind what the project is asking. It may seem like a simple guide to a topic, but it is more than that. Every time you write a paper, keep in mind these three things: who is your audience, what is the context/occasion, and what it the purpose?

In addition to paying attention, writing multiple drafts may be helpful. You will find it more stressful and boring to revise the same draft over and over again. Scrap the draft and write something completely different. If you do not know where to start, compose an outline or some other pre-writing activity.

That is all for now. Good luck with English; you will do fine if you do not stress and follow these tips.

Sincerely,
Your Future Self
Michael Gee

Blog 38: Reflective Essay Organizing Idea and Thesis

Crossroads: Which path will my reflection take?
Hmmm...

From my last blog post, I showed interest in writing a reflective essay about a specific assignment, but I will explore other options. Maybe I may change my mind and choose a different route. I will type five thesis statements corresponding to five themes:

Focus on a specific assignment, experience, or concept.

Throughout the revision process for the project two, the #LikeAGirl rhetorical analysis, I learned to be wary of my word choice, organization, and relevance of my ideas through the comments of my English professor, writing center tutors, and my classmates.

Compare your experiences in this course to past experiences.

Honors English 109 is a completely different experience from high school English in terms of the class' expectations. the genres being analyzed, and the different factors to consider in an essay,

Reflect on strengths and weaknesses.

As I became more self aware of my writing skills in Honors English 109, I realized that my strengths lied in formulating ideas and weaknesses lied in organization and word usage.

Focus on course objectives.

One semester of Honors English 109 enhanced my rhetorical awareness, critical thinking, revision skills, and understanding of conventions.

Focus on writing process/self-perception as a writer.

I had a chance to develop certain habits and personalities during my semester in Honors English 109 such as annotating sources, typing multiple drafts, and revising my paper more critically.

...and I choose:

The thesis that I will choose is the one about the specific assignment since it allows me to hone in on a specific assignment and incorporate specific evidence more easily than if I chose a broader topic. I can intertwine comparisons of my essay before and after with my personal experiences through the drafting process.

Feel free to provide feedback. I gave feedback to Alaina Michael's and Cati Krutilla's theses.

Blog 37: Audience and Invention For Reflective Essay

"A Thinking Man"

After reflecting on my experience and growth as a writer this semester in my last blog post, I will narrow those thoughts into a topic for the reflection essay. In this post, I will identify my audience and describe how I will write my essay, taking them into account.

The topic I want to discuss with my readers is my development as a writer throughout the semester. I will most likely delve into the revision process for my second essay about the #LikeAGirl Super Bowl commercial. Although the essay was daunting, I learned so much from the revisions. I want the readers to understand how these revisions, trips to the Think Tank, and input from classmates helped me think more critically about my writing.

In the prior paragraph, I mentioned that my essay is being read, but by who? The primary audience/reader of my reflective essay will be my English professor who will assign a grade for it. My professor is not my only audience. The people who will give feedback on my essay during the revision process will also be included. These people such as classmates and Think Tank tutors will serve as my secondary audience.

Finger pointing:
This assumes that readers of my blog are part of my audience.

So far I have pinpointed my audience. Now I need to analyze what they already know or believe about how to write essays. My professor is already familiar with my writing style and so do most if not all of my classmates through the blog and class workshops. They are also familiar with the how to effectively peer review and look for places in an essay that need to be shortened, clarified, or reorganized since the class stressed those concepts.

Now that I have pinpointed my professor as my primary audience, I need to organize and develop my ideas to reflect my growth as a writer. I will primarily rely on comparison and contrast of my multiple drafts from the rhetorical analysis of #LikeAGirl (subject to change). I will explain how my drafts progressed through the revision process and compare the different drafts using appropriate quotes/sentences from each one.

Next, I will decide how to establish my ethos with my readers. Since I had more than one person review my rhetorical analysis of #LikeAGirl commercial, I can include anecdotal evidence or use comments from credible sources such as my English professor to indicate what part of my rhetorical analysis needed attention. Another possibility is using shared values since everyone in the class had to do the same project. I may also choose to use a friendly tone to open my reflection through specific word choice.

With these ideas in mind, I will be able to narrow the scope of my reflection. In my next blog, we will see how these pieces come together when I compose different thesis statements.

Blog 36: Discovering My Writing Process

"A woman thinking statue"

Today is the first day of December. This college semester in close to ending and that means finals are approaching. For my English class, the final project is a reflection. I am sitting in my dorm wondering what would be the best way to begin this blog. I will start out with a simple question and answer format, exploring my growth as a writer.

What type(s) of writer do you consider yourself to be?

I consider myself a heavy reviser. Drafting and outlining help me plan my writing, but actually composing the draft helps me gauge whether my paper is well written or not. When I wrote my public argument and analysis, I wrote three significantly different drafts for each piece.

Have you changed your process to incorporate approaches from different writer identities?

I also try to incorporate some aspects of the heavy planner and sequential composer. For my last project, I had one document where I compiled all my sources and organized the information from those sources into pro/con categories. Normally, I would not use this strategy, but  found that it greatly helped me develop the main stance I should take for the argument.

In what ways has your approach to writing changed because of a particular assignment, activity, or concept you have learned?

The rhetorical analysis of the #LikeAGirl commercial marked a major change in my writing. I realized that I needed to be more careful about what words I used, how I organized my paper, and how I started my paper (introduction). Now I try not to use overly complex word choice unless it is appropriate. I also break up my paragraphs because I found that I tend to place too many major ideas into one paragraph. As for the introduction, I avoid generalizations and make it more relevant to the topic of the paper.

What does your writing process look like? Has it shifted throughout the course of the semester? Does it change for different writing situations?

Before, I would only compose one draft and heavily edit that draft myself, but throughout the semester, I found that writing multiple drafts helpful. I also had others read my paper and provide feedback. This is especially true for my second and third project. I also used the same strategy for my general education class, but have yet to see the results.

Did you try any new approaches to writing this semester? What worked? What didn't work? What might you try in future writing situations?

I definitely tried new approaches to writing this semester. As indicated by my response to the prior question, I will continue to seek help on my papers when I am unsure. I will also take into account the rhetorical aspects of a written assignment such as audience, message, and occasion. By understanding what my audience (the person grading my paper) expects from me, I am able to write a better paper. The cluster diagram and pre-writing activities helped me brainstorm, but did not help me much during the actual writing process. In the future, I will ask questions and seek help when I am unsure about a paper sooner rather than later. I might also try to actively engage in my writing through the pre-writing activities I learned in class.

Blog 35: Thanksgiving and the Syrian Refugee Crisis Political Cartoon

"Sorry but we're not accepting refugees."
http://imgur.com/gallery/SSh4gAC

Only three more days until Thanksgiving! To start the week off, we have this interesting political cartoon to analyze. Time to roll up my sleeves and analyze.

The political cartoon just recently circulated into social media, during the Syrian refugee crisis. Due to the crisis' proximity to Thanksgiving, alluding to the pilgrims and the Native Americans seems appropriate.

The audience would be the Americans who are oppose Syrian refugees entering the United States. The Thanksgiving theme reinforces the idea that the image is aimed at an American audience.

The message is simply "Sorry but we're not accepting refugees." The author conveys this message using a satirical tone. 

The purpose is to make those opposed to letting in Syrian refugees rethink their view. After looking at the image, the author hopes that the audience will realize that if the Native Americans treated the pilgrims with kindness. We would not be here today if the Native Americans had not accepted the pilgrims (although that point is debatable).

In order to understand the cartoon, readers need a general understanding of the Thanksgiving story, the reason why the pilgrims came to the New World, and knowledge of the Syrian refugee crisis. The pilgrim's voyage on the Mayflower was harsh. Even when the pilgrims reached land, many more died of starvation because they were unfamiliar with the land and came ill prepared for the harsh winter.

If the pilgrims stayed in England, they would be prosecuted due to their religion. That is why they took this arduous journey, for religious freedom.

The author of the cartoon contrasts this with how some Americans are reacting to Syrian refugees. The refugees also fled their homes like the pilgrims, but due to violence. 

After the terrorist attack in France, Americans are justified to think that we should be careful when accepting Syrian refugees, but we also need to extend a helping hand to those who are innocent victims.