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DEEROO MIDTERM REFLECTION

Page history last edited by PBworks 15 years, 5 months ago

 

start at minute six in the first one and finish a minute into the second.

__Reflective cover letter__

 

 

 

 

 

__Modes of blogging and informal writing: academic, political/community-based, and personal__

 

I have found that I pay far more attention to blogs and informal writing since the beginning of spring semester 08 and even more so this semester. Blogging is the pure form of journalism in my opinion because it is before all the editing and make sure that the writing applies to a wide enough audience. I am sad to say that I have not blogged as much this semester as I intended, but when something has truly caught my eye I have tried to share it with the class on the wiki. I am also disappointed that my blogs have been on the same track all semester (politics and mostly bashing Palin and McCain). This should have been an opportunity for me to talk about things that interest such as the lack of fans at Rays games earlier in the year and the coming of my newest niece Evelynn Mei. I think my ability to write blogs has been displayed through me work thus far, but my topics so become more varied. The blog is a great medium and very useful in an English class.

 

__Situating your writing: Analyzing, synthesizing, and composing with sources__

 

I have found that this semester I am using youtube videos a lot more than in prior classes. The possible reason could be that I have chosen a topic that can bored people to tears. The use of youtube videos has added a lighter feel to the very topics that I have chosen and in some sense compressed the ideas of my writings into five to six minute videos. These have also given me a place to start when I am at a total loss; staring at my computer screen and hoping that the random punching of keys will some how render me a paper. The sources I use for my information I either give credit to by linking directly to them or embedding the video in my paper. These sources are very important because I would very naive to say that I know everything about economics on more than a subconscious level (because everyone knows economics).

 

 

__Composing processes: argument and persuasion__

I have found that my argument this semester was driven mostly by the situations I found myself in. The Shiva book drove me to insanity with the misuse of the word economics so I felt the need to put my insanity to go use and write my definition argument on economics. Then I was talking to Danny trying to figure out what I missed in class and we got into a discussion about supply-side economics (a topic I had thought of, but wasn’t sure about). I then figured why not write about supply-side economics and how hurtful it is to an economy? This is a topic that I found myself to be fairly one side in the composition of my argument, but I am hoping that my peers will help me pull back the reigns and appeal more to everyone in my writings. The composing process I guess, in short, is I get annoyed by something and then vent through punching the keys of my computer for a couple hours. After that I go back and read and see where I could make improvements on my writing.

 

 

__Multimedia: visual analysis and composition, aural analysis and Composition__

I write whatever comes out of my mouth the first time I sit down. The idea of this tactic is that I speak much more clearly then write. I also try and have a conversation with my reader so that they feel a lot more comfortable with my topics. This leads to my method of rhetoric. I try to use as few big words as possible, fore as the slightly too young journalism teacher on Friday Night Lights said last season, “Don’t use a twenty dollar word when a nickel one will do.” This is very important in the topic I have chosen to tackle this semester because for some reason economics strikes fear in the hearts of students. I think the most important thing in making my arguments is to make it seem like the most obvious and reasonable conclusion.

 

 

 

__Collaborative, coordinated, or distributed writing: linking, interacting, and responding in writing to/with peers__

 

Peer review is very important in my writing because as I have said my first draft mostly is just me ranting to my computer for a couple hours. By having my peers review my work it helps get some of the assumptions that I make (like prior knowledge of the topic) out of my paper. This also helps me to be able to make my argument more appealing to a larger audience. This is the difference I see in formal writing and blogging and the bridge that must be crossed during peer review. Once I have received the feed back of my peers I feel my writing is not only more appealing but easier to understand. The harsh language I tend to use towards those that oppose my views tend to disappear after peer review. The main thing I get out of this part of the writing process has been the ability to make my audience broader.

 

 

__Writing in the disciplines: connecting your writing to research and scholarship in a specific field Community Writing (outside of academia)__

 

Writing this semester has helped me grasp the concepts of my major (economics). The ability to use the thing I learn in class and to be force to defend them has helped me gain a greater understanding of the topics in my economics class. This bridge between my classes I think is directly responsible to my success in my classes this semester.

 

 

__Rhetorical Knowledge__

I think that my rhetorical knowledge has expanded this semester mostly due to the presence of conflicting points of view in this class. In prior English classes my peers were either asleep or had similar points of view as mine which allowed to throw caution to the wind in word choice. This semester I need to tread a little more softly and there must keep a lot of my emotions in check. This has helped me practice the process of word choice. The audience purely determines the structure of a sentence. This is a lesson I had not learned until this semester. This semester my sentences have become shorter and my paragraphs less dense because that is easier reading for my peers. By making my papers easier to read it is more likely that I will receive a higher grade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

__Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing__

I believe the writing process starts by writing. Much like in the movie Finding Forrester, writing starts by just punching keys with reckless abandon. This leads to accumulation of ideas that the author truly cares about. Then after the rough draft is finished the author can go back and edit the writings to satiate the hunger for knowledge of his or her audience. This is a process I have tried to go about in my writing and I have taken this perspective in reading the rough drafts of my peers. This is why when I review my peers I rarely make grammar correction and instead write at the bottom what I think the paper is lacking. This gives them the same information that I hope to receive, how I can make my paper more appealing to my audience.

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