Dear future English 110 students,
As you may know, english 110 is a required class that will expand your ability to analyze and review academic material. What you may not know, is that this class will actually help you succede is all of your future classes. For example, before this class, my analytical skills had not exactly been put to the test and I did not have a lot of practice with integrating sources into a paper; however, after this class I had a wealth of knowledge on writing analytically that is useful in many classes. I use these skills when writing lab memos and even in engineering classes. It is suprising to see how the information from this class plays into everyday life and much more than just a research paper. Although I had not had much experience with writing for an audience, this class gave me a great oppertunity to share my writing with others and participating in peer review was suprisingly helpful because it game me a chance to see what other people were writing, as well as their imput on my writing.
I have learned that it works well to stay on top of papers and blogs. Never let yourself get behind because it is hard to catch up. I have also learned that the teachers are here to help and that there are many resources to help you if you are stuck on something. To be successful, make sure and incorporate all of the information covered in the Writing Analytically book and use it to your advantage. I enjoyed using the Writing Analytically book because the readings were easy to understand and gave various examples that I often incorporated straight into my writing.
It may seem like a lot of work, but it really pays off in the end. I began to doubt myself and my writing when we started to write the Commonplace essay because it seemed like my topic was not interesting or compelling to other college students; however, thinking about the fact that other students would be reading and peer editing my paper gave me the drive to make it a good paper.
All in all, this class gives you some of the necessary skills you need for the rest of your college career. Don't underestimate the difference that this class can make and strive to do well on every assignment, but also enjoy the time in this class that you have writing about a topic of your choice.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Hell vs. Heaven
Recently, my friends and I started to argue and discuss about the exact meaning of purgatory. We could not agree on the purpose of purgatory and what really happens when and if someone goes there. There was also much discussion about hell and if it exists. In my opinion, purgatory is a waiting place where people go after they die; however, they do not suffer and go through pain while they are there. In the other person's opinion, purgatory is somewhere where people suffer and god punishes them. The tone of the argument was not harsh but it was a seriously argument. We were not able to discuss in a productive manner because each side would not respectfully listen to the other. As the discussion progressed, our arguments became more civil and we were able to listen to each other because we stated to organize our arguments and make more valid points. I tried to see their points, but at the same time, my beliefs have been engraved in me my entire life and it is not easy to change views off of one argument. The primary points of the other side were that in the bible there are verses that state the point that they were trying to make, however, my argument had the same evidence and I had been taught my argument's beliefs since childhood in school. I wanted the other person to leave with a new outlook on hell and purgatory and understand that this is not a place where people go to be punished. God would not make a place where people are punished and treated badly. I wanted them to understand this but they could not accept my argument. They left me with the impression that God would create a bad place, but I did not agree with them on this. I did not respect the position at all after this because I felt like the evidence for this argument was not valid and did not make sense. They did not explain where they got the information for this argument and it did not seem like they had any authority or credibility to be talking about their position. It did not have a lot to do with the way they produced their argument, mainly just because the evidence did not seem valid. The content of the argument was not concretely based, more based on theories and ideas. This is what made the argument seem weak and did not change my mind or influence my opinion at all.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Blog 3
Classmates,
In the article from the website, http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/Why_Do_People_Hate_The_Jews.htm, it is clear that the author of this article is trying to persuade the audience to feel sympathy for the Jewish population. The author uses words that portray a sad tone and tries to unveil the social unjust in Jewish perception. Many of the reasons he gives that show that people are prejudice to Jews use the word hate and the explanations he gives make the rest of the world seem socially and religiously ignorant. This type of writing would definitely make readers believe that the outside world doesn't accept Jews and that they should feel bad for them. The author gives a list of examples, each with information filled paragraphs and extended details. The author examines Jewish hatred compared to the hatred of other religious people and groups and explicitly states that Jews are the only people hated for no reason. He tries to narrow down the attention of the reader to get them to solely focus on the issues that Jews are faced with and no one else. I find the economic evidence, the scapegoat evidence, and the outsiders theory to be credible; however, the quotes provided by the author do not seem credible because it is evident that the author edited the quotes to make the words seem more harsh and to persuade the audience of the article that Jews are not bad and should not be blamed for problems or given specific stereotypes. For example, the author gives this quote in one of his theories of why people hate Jews, "We hate Jews because they are different than us." I find this quote hard to believe because it seems doubtful that someone would actually say this and he would be able to quote it. It also is doubtful that this quote truly describes the way people feel, but rather the author chose to use this quote because it seems the most harsh and sets a different type of tone that persuades the audience to feel a certain way towards the Jewish people. The Jewish people, according to this quote, have done nothing wrong and do not deserve to be treated in such a way. It is clear that the intent for the article is to use evidence to persuade the readers of this website article to feel sympathy for Jewish people and to get them to understand how the Jewish people that receive hatred feel. This article proves a good point and has good evidence that is full of examples. This argument seems like something that should be more well known and hopefully change the way people view those that are different from them! Thanks for reading!
In the article from the website, http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/Why_Do_People_Hate_The_Jews.htm, it is clear that the author of this article is trying to persuade the audience to feel sympathy for the Jewish population. The author uses words that portray a sad tone and tries to unveil the social unjust in Jewish perception. Many of the reasons he gives that show that people are prejudice to Jews use the word hate and the explanations he gives make the rest of the world seem socially and religiously ignorant. This type of writing would definitely make readers believe that the outside world doesn't accept Jews and that they should feel bad for them. The author gives a list of examples, each with information filled paragraphs and extended details. The author examines Jewish hatred compared to the hatred of other religious people and groups and explicitly states that Jews are the only people hated for no reason. He tries to narrow down the attention of the reader to get them to solely focus on the issues that Jews are faced with and no one else. I find the economic evidence, the scapegoat evidence, and the outsiders theory to be credible; however, the quotes provided by the author do not seem credible because it is evident that the author edited the quotes to make the words seem more harsh and to persuade the audience of the article that Jews are not bad and should not be blamed for problems or given specific stereotypes. For example, the author gives this quote in one of his theories of why people hate Jews, "We hate Jews because they are different than us." I find this quote hard to believe because it seems doubtful that someone would actually say this and he would be able to quote it. It also is doubtful that this quote truly describes the way people feel, but rather the author chose to use this quote because it seems the most harsh and sets a different type of tone that persuades the audience to feel a certain way towards the Jewish people. The Jewish people, according to this quote, have done nothing wrong and do not deserve to be treated in such a way. It is clear that the intent for the article is to use evidence to persuade the readers of this website article to feel sympathy for Jewish people and to get them to understand how the Jewish people that receive hatred feel. This article proves a good point and has good evidence that is full of examples. This argument seems like something that should be more well known and hopefully change the way people view those that are different from them! Thanks for reading!
Friday, October 9, 2009
my room!
Although my room is small, it means a lot to me. I know that everybody thinks that their room is the most special and the best room of all, I believe my room is the best! I have enjoyed setting it up almost as much as I have enjoyed living in it. The lofted beds give the bed the room more floor space and we can easily fit a futon and many other furnishings. Being in my room encourages people to relax and often times helps me relax enough to do homework. Our room is very people friendly and encourages friends! I love having friends in our room and spending time with people here because I feel so comfortable. The main function of our room is to hang out and the secondary "hidden" function is to do homework. Sometimes, doing homework in our room is difficult though because people are always in here and it can be noisy. The color, designs, and decorations make me love my room. My roommate and I have very similar tastes in color and we love decorating our room. I feel so fortunate to be given such a great roommate and room. The only negative aspect of my room is that it is very cluttered and crowded, I am a very messy person and it doesn't help that our room is small. The mess can accumulate and sometimes seem overwhelming, but eventually it gets cleaned up and order is restored. I hope that everyone else loves their room as much as I do! Thanks for reading class!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
First Blog Assignment!
Classmates,
Although I wish I could say I have had a vast audience of readers for my writing, my primary audience for any writing that I have done in the past typically consisted of my peers and classmates. I enjoyed writing in my short story class and sharing the stories with my class, as well as hearing others stories. It is interesting to see how other people come up with ideas and turn ideas into stories. I like creative writing, but I would rather do more a more factual style of writing, the writing involved in specific reports and research papers. Our main research paper in high school was very interesting to me, I chose to write about how a certain character in the book, One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest was a christ like firure. I found it easiest to do research online rather than in a library because there are so many more resources available online and my topic required many different sources of information in order to be a valid argument. Most of the other stories that I had written so far were very difficult to come up with, but the research paper came much easier to me. I would rather write about something of my own choosing or of a topic given to me rather than to come up with something creative on my own. I wish that creativity came more easily to me, it seems to be something that I have trouble with. Being secretary of my school's spanish club, I was the person responsible for writing the weekly newsletter that was distributed to all teachers, students, and familys of the students. These newsletters were usually informal and generally brief, however, they were something that I enjoyed writing because I knew that people would be reading something that I wrote and hopefully like what I had to say about the recent spanish club events and meetings. I liked having a large audience and having a specific topic to write about. Besides the above examples, I have not had much of a chance to share my writing with those around me. It would be interesting to see peoples responses to my writing and get more feedback than I've recieved before. I am not familiar with blogging or posting writing on the internet or a social networking site, but I still find the idea of having others read my writing very exciting. Hopefully, this blog will give us an oppertunity to expand our audiences. Thanks for reading!
Taylor Garrity
English 110
Although I wish I could say I have had a vast audience of readers for my writing, my primary audience for any writing that I have done in the past typically consisted of my peers and classmates. I enjoyed writing in my short story class and sharing the stories with my class, as well as hearing others stories. It is interesting to see how other people come up with ideas and turn ideas into stories. I like creative writing, but I would rather do more a more factual style of writing, the writing involved in specific reports and research papers. Our main research paper in high school was very interesting to me, I chose to write about how a certain character in the book, One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest was a christ like firure. I found it easiest to do research online rather than in a library because there are so many more resources available online and my topic required many different sources of information in order to be a valid argument. Most of the other stories that I had written so far were very difficult to come up with, but the research paper came much easier to me. I would rather write about something of my own choosing or of a topic given to me rather than to come up with something creative on my own. I wish that creativity came more easily to me, it seems to be something that I have trouble with. Being secretary of my school's spanish club, I was the person responsible for writing the weekly newsletter that was distributed to all teachers, students, and familys of the students. These newsletters were usually informal and generally brief, however, they were something that I enjoyed writing because I knew that people would be reading something that I wrote and hopefully like what I had to say about the recent spanish club events and meetings. I liked having a large audience and having a specific topic to write about. Besides the above examples, I have not had much of a chance to share my writing with those around me. It would be interesting to see peoples responses to my writing and get more feedback than I've recieved before. I am not familiar with blogging or posting writing on the internet or a social networking site, but I still find the idea of having others read my writing very exciting. Hopefully, this blog will give us an oppertunity to expand our audiences. Thanks for reading!
Taylor Garrity
English 110
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