Natty's Blog

As We Part

xpre2yursef — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:50:19 +0000

Farewell my Advance Writing Class warriors–what an experience this has been. I’m sure we will meet again. Until that time, “be the light that others can come to with their ideas, visions, and dreams. Never doubt that blending your talents with those of others can change the world” (author unknown).

Have a wonderful Christmas holiday and a safe and Happy New Year!

Lynette

Planning and Organizing

xpre2yursef — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:48:05 +0000

When our first writing assignment was given, I thought I could sit down and produce a large portion of my paper and then come back to it for editing and finalizing. I learned quickly that writing is a process that entails many sittings–one that is well thought out and planned. So when I receive an assignment now, after I brainstorm some ideas and arrange them in an outline format, I would begin to compose my thesis and introduction which warms me up and leads me to filling in my thoughts.

I’ve learned that it’s easier to write a little at a time and come back to it instead of experiencing writer’s block when trying to get it done in one sitting. That’s why planning and organizing is so important. It alleviates the burden of having to do it all at once because of waiting until the last minute.

Thinking Critically

xpre2yursef — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:54:16 +0000

To think critically you must first establish the facts, theories or opinions, and then decide if you believe them as they were presented. In this English 202U class, we induced a lot of critical thinking when we were called upon to read and analyze written works. I recall a class discussion about Percy’s essay that consisted of the key words (planner, consumer, expert, sightseeing, and educator) that he chose to use and their meaning. From those choice of words, we could reasonably determine that he was categorizing a group. We talked about other aspects of his essay that trigged our thinking. Thinking critically is fairly easy, it’s the art of writing that challenges me.

Writing Components

xpre2yursef — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 09:21:00 +0000

Until this semester, I have not had the pleasure of citing a source, developing a works cited page or using MLA. These concepts were fairly new to me. I had a vague assumption of what summarizing and paraphrasing entailed. I learned during my earlier years of education that summarizing and paraphrasing is putting what you have read into your own words. At the university, this still remains to be true; however, in academic writing it is best to summarize personal essays and narratives which should be no more than a paragraph. Hopefully within those five to six sentences, I would have captured the pertinent information.

As with paraphrasing, the restating of a passage in your own words without changing its meaning, you first have to understand what you have read, similar to that in summarizing. At any rate, they both come into play as you develop and organize support for an argument. The beauty of all this is how the different pieces fit to create not a puzzle, although some of my first writings may have been a bit puzzling, but a paper full of all the essentials a writer uses to persuade their audience.

Writing Can Be A Messy Business

xpre2yursef — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 23:21:29 +0000

Writing can be a messy business unless you have the proper tools. I learned some useful tools outside of the PHRG that I want to mention. For one, the sandwich drawing that illustrated the structure of an argument with its contents representing a formula to include the pieces for writing an argument paper. The sandwich was like a paragraph containing one point. This visual aid played an instrumental part in my ability to include the meat of my writing assignments. Especially when it came to interpreting the support I used as evidence. At first, I would drop in my evidence (direct quote) and flea without even realizing that I had left the support dangling there for my readers to figure out.

Another thing that I learned was how to discover the original source of a document from a URL address. We had the web site address to where the “Loss of the Creature” was located as a pdf file. Happy demonstrated to the class how backspacing could bring you to the place of its origin. I would have never guessed this clever tip.

The Process of Learning To Write

xpre2yursef — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:31:32 +0000

At this point I can see a difference in my writing by way of sentence structure. Most importantly, I can recognize and correct the flaws I didn’t realize I had. After reading so much information about fragments, comma rules, transition words, subject verb agreement and shifts in person, I feel more confident that I can write a paper that won’t totally confuse my readers.

As I write, I’m more conscious of how to use connectors like the fanboys and transitional phrases to join sentences. I also have a better understanding of when it’s appropriate to use the semicolon versus the comma which can be tricky at times. These are the type of things that I think about as I construct my long drawn out sentences.

Learning to write better is a process, but as long as I have my PHRG handy, I’ll be just fine.

Coming to an end

xpre2yursef — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:30:06 +0000

I enjoyed breaking bread with my classmates yesterday. It was nice to sit back and conversate with one another. The food was a welcome change from the leftovers I’ve been eating since Thanksgiving.

Let me be the first to admit, that I am not saddened that the final days of this semester are upon us, because I have pushed myself to the breaking point. I’ve never known the true meaning of the word “struggle” until I encountered Percy and Fromm. I looked over and underneath the box trying to receive all that I could from them. As a result of the process, I feel that I’ve elevated to a higher level in my education because of it. I know that the struggle is not over, but it’s just the beginning. So I am willing to push further and strive a little harder as I complete my studies at the university to make certain that I don’t end up being what the planner think I am.

PHRG “Style and Word Choice”

xpre2yursef — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 21:42:42 +0000

Our reading in PHRG this week, pages 211 – 237, covered a lot of need to know information. During my preview of the chapter readings last week, there were a few topics I was anxious to read prior to finalizing my 3^rd writing assignment.

First, the author talked about writing gender free and the alternatives to using sexist terms like man and mankind as well as alternatives to using titles. I had used the word mankind in my paper not realizing it could seem sexist and changed it to humanity (one of the examples from the reading). The author talked about using Ms. instead of Mrs. to avoid indicating if the female was married or not. The administrative manual that my agency refers to notes that we are to use Ms. when addressing a female in correspondence. I thought we only did this when we didn’t know the marital status, not that it was more professional.

Second, choosing the level of formality and being consistent with it. I can understand how it would be necessary for a writer to choose words that would be appropriate for their audience. It has been my preference to write formal regardless of my audience. As the saying goes, there is a time and place for everything. (I couldn’t resist throwing in that cliché) I choose that style of writing only because I feel I would be taken more seriously.

Finally, the use of active rather than passive can alleviate confusion and wordiness. The author provided good examples that showed clear distinctions between the two; however, I still have to practice more on writing in active voice.

PHRG Reading Post 11.1

xpre2yursef — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:25:09 +0000

PHRG Chapters 14 – 17.

Chapters 14 and 15 were readings from a previous week; however, re-reading chapter 15 brought to my attention something I had not picked up on regarding the active and passive voice.

When I communicate via email, I have a tendency to write in passive voice because I don’t want my tone to come across too strong or offensive. At this point, I feel that, I don’t know how to use active voice in my writings. The author explained that the active voice relates to the doer. Knowing this helps me to understand that, when I write, I should make the doer of the action known. Whalla!

My examples:

Passive: The timesheet, that is due today, has not been received from you.

Active: Your timesheet, that is due today, has not been received.

The example used in the above image – The mouse was eaten by the cat. The mouse ate the cat.

Analyzing & Thinking Critically

xpre2yursef — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:42:57 +0000

ANALYZING FROMM’S ESSAY

I can see some similarities in both writings. They each express ideas about a struggle, a loss and how to recover something. Fromm’s essay ends using the same tone as Percy did in his ending. Both made reference to one not knowing something.

My biggest challenge is trying to piece the two sources together. I assumed that using two different sources would give me more to write about. It is really difficult to find words that make the two flow smoothly together, so I keep asking myself what Percy would say as I try to relate his principles to support Fromm’s beliefs.