FInal Words

I have progressed profoundly during my experience in this class and mostly for my writing skills. Before I entered this class I only knew how to write creative stories and expository essays but I learned a completely new approach to writing. I learned how to write an effective argumentative essay throughout the span of a few months. First of all I didn't really even know what an argumentative essay was and how I was supposed to write it. However, with the process of writing two argumentative essays almost simultaneously I have definitely progressed in my skills as a diverse writer.

When I wrote essays in high school I didn't really pay too much attention to the research aspect. However, throughout this class I have learned when trying to prove a point knowing your information is definitely an advantage. The extensive amount of research we did for our argumentative essays was tedious but it definitely helped us gain a better understanding of how researching is the most important part of an argumentative essay. When arguing something you obviously need evidence and searching for other other's opinions is essential to a strong thesis.

The length of a paper was another aspect that I had to get used to. Throughout high school I stuck to the 5-body paragraph format, which is great but it does not have to be crucial in an argumentative essay. When I realized the length of our two papers had to be in between 2-4 pages I began to hyperventilate. When I write I can go on for days and write a 20-page essay yet most of it would be excess fluff that is not necessary. I learned to eliminate extra information that I did not need in my papers and that really helped me create a paper that was simple and to the point.

All in all, this class was a great experience for me to gain confidence in my writing abilities and be able to produce great papers that leave a person thinking for days or maybe even months. I really enjoyed it as a core class. I would also personally like to thank Professor Thompson for being a great, down-to-earth professor and especially cooperating with our morning classes filled with tired students who just did not want to speak.

"Proofread carefully to see if you any words out."  ~Author Unknown

Development As A Thinker/Writer

I think the process of writing two essays and working on them simultaneously was the most rewarding aspect of this class. The reason being we had to seriously think about the argument and relate it to textual evidence and the relating part for me was quite challenging. In high school I would write four pages in a matter of hours but in high school we didn't have to dig down so deep into research to prove our claims. I think that writing these two essays was definitely a wake up call for me to understand a meaning of writing a paper rather than barfing a paper that is lengthy but not exactly accurate. The four page requirement was hard for me to maintain because when I want to argue something I could write a 20 page essay for all that matters. So limiting myself to four pages was very difficult but at the same time due to the page limit you are able to stick to what is important for the essay and eliminate the extra fluff.

As far as critical thinking, I felt I was thinking critically throughout the entire quarter because argumentative papers really require you to think. We had to think critically about our resources and how they prove our claims, we had to think critically on how to incorporate quotes from those resources and we also had to think critically about how to generally make this paper the best it can be through the various draft processes. So there was a lot of thinking going on for my part. Critical thinking and writing an argumentative essay go hand in hand and I think this course definitely taught me how to be good at doing both.

Development As a Writer

I feel I have truly developed as an argumentative writer throughout this quarter. I have improved my ability to create an argument AND back it up with supporting evidence that relates. To be honest, when Professor Thompson assigned the class the first essay I was utterly confused. I didn't really know how to base an argument or what the argument would be or how to how find evidence. I had a lot going on and I was overwhelmed. However as the weeks began to pass and we then received our second essay prompt I knew exactly what to do and how to do it. Some would say, well "duh cuz' you already did one," but I feel the entire process of starting from scratch also truly helped me as a writer to develop my skills.

Close reading was a skill I truly developed in tremendously throughout this quarter due to the extensive research we had to do for our two essays. An activity that helped with the close reading of some of the texts such as "Blogging" by Jill Walker Rettberg and Kathleen C. West's article, was creating a precis for the texts as a class. A precis basically summarizes what the text is about and that really helped me to understand it better and be able to apply it to my essays. As for the research aspect of this class, the class we had where the librarian came in and showed us what databases to use for research and how to use them was quite helpful. That class was also very useful because it kind of gave us a direction as to where to start the research aspect of our essays.

Revision

In class today we just watched a man who rapped about the process of "Performance," "Feedback," and "Revision." He rapped about how one can alter the context of what they are talking about just by the process of revising. He rapped about Darwin's theory and in the process he was basically revising his rap as he was saying it. This context  of revising can also be applied to academic writing because revision is the key aspect of creating a paper that has been tried and tested many times but then the resulting outcome is a paper that one is proud of. I was new to this weeks-long revision process and I didn't quite understand why we had to keep changing our essay but I now know that it is extremely important to do so. The revision process helps us to gain various perspectives from others and that insight and combined human knowledge is greatly beneficial to an a paper that is especially based on argument.

Second Essay-First Draft

I completed the draft for my second essay and I am pretty confident in it. I didn't just get to a point where I just stopped, I finished the entire essay which will benefit me in the revision process. Incorporating research into my essay was the most difficult part because I'm doing option 3. However I did do it, so I am quite proud of myself. I think this essay will be better than my first because I felt more comfortable in persuasion and argumentation as we have worked on it in class for the past couple of weeks. The only thing I didn't do was the bibliography which I will be doing for the second revision process.

For the revision process I want my reviewers to focus more on my presentation of the evidence and research. I have noticed that from my first essay  I have trouble organizing facts so that is the aspect I want my reviewers to focus most on. I also want my reviewers to see I have enough evidence to "expose" my claim. Remember, this essay is not proving that something exists. I know that it exists I just want to expose it. Option 3 is about extending the conversation not proving something.

Progress of Second Essay...

I decided to pick Option 3 as my prompt for the new essay. For this essay, instead of going down the identity of the blogger route, I will be creating an essay based around the benefits that classroom blogging has academically on college and/or high school students. At first, I was unsure of my thesis and I thought that it was too far away from the current identity perspective we are all focusing on but the option does in fact state that I can elaborate on other aspects that West discusses in her article. She really elaborates not only on the various identities the students are depicting in their blogs but also how this practice can positively influence their comprehension of course material. So, in relation to her argument I will find three other articles that discuss the benefits if blogging in the classroom and I will relate them to my thesis. As of this moment I feel pretty confident in my essay's progress and today's discussion with the class and our mini groups also helped me gather my thoughts. The only struggle I will face is finding the additional sources for my essay but other than that I don't think I will come across any struggles while creating this essay.

Article for my Essay...

So the thing is I have not found an article that I can use for my essay yet. I just can't seem to find anything that will help my essay become stronger and state my point clearly. I'm also having a hard time using the UWT library system, it's just not my thing to keep looking and not find anything. I guess I need to improve on my research skills and I have to realize that not everything can be handed to you on a silver platter like in high school. In high school all the sources were basically given to us and all we had to do was just review the sources and take out the information that worked best for our essays. I have taken bits and pieces from the "Blogging" book and I have conducted my own research through analyzing the blog, but I have failed to find an article. I still have tomorrow but I doubt I'll find anything. Maybe it's time to head down to the TLC...

New Essay...

For this new essay I still haven't decided on which option I will be choosing. Although, I have narrowed it down between options one and two. I feel it will be interesting to dissect my own blog entries and try to figure out what identity I am portraying on the web. However, analyzing one's own work can get quite difficult and rather weird so that is why I have not confirmed this option. The other option is that I will choose any blog online and examine the entries to state what identity the blogger has established and I will be using West's article as a reference. This option to me seems a bit repetitive to our current essay because we have already examined another person's blog and that is why I haven't confirmed it.

However which ever option I do pick, I feel that West's article is still a great source to refer back to. It is an article that exemplifies the importance of blogging and also puts it into context. The case study that West conducted also is a great example of how blogging is influential in forming online identities. The case study I believe will help me with my essay whether I pick option one or two because that is the type of method I will be using in order to confirm the theory that through blogging various types of identities are formed.

Interesting Article...

I really enjoyed reading Kathleen C. West's article about blogging in a classroom setting and I'm not just saying that because we had to read it. I thought it was really thought-provoking when West discussed how students actually benefit by participating in blogs. I thought the entire article was significant in stating that blogging is just not for commercial or personal use but it can also help students comprehend the literature they are reading. She stated in the article that she observed many of the students, including her three case studies, showed legit discussion of literature behind the web lingo. For example in Lucy's blog, also one of her case studies, West stated that behind Lucy's humorous pop culture lingo she showed academically advanced analysis of the novel she was reading at the time, which was Huckleberry Finn.

I thought it to be interesting that using blogs in a classroom setting can help a student form a better understanding of the work that is being taught in the class. West also stated in her article that when the student is away from a classroom setting, he/she can write more freely and therefore state things on his/her mind clearly without academic expectations. This article made me think that our use of blogging in our core class is actually pretty helpful in discussing things such as this article I am discussing now. Writing in blogs the way we want helps us stay focused and then we perform better in class because we have our thoughts gathered before hand.

Writing Habits/Rituals...

So today in class I realized that I didn't turn in a second draft of my essay but a first revised essay. That was my "duh" moment of the day. Anyway, on more serious terms as I began the writing process of my argumentative essay I did in fact realize that I do have both negative and positive habits/rituals. The first habit that I have possessed from as long as I can remember is procrastination. I get on my laptop to write my essay but somehow I end up on Facebook or I start "googling" random things. It's like the Internet has a power over me. So I end up "starting" at five then finish at midnight. Although I have turned in assignments on time I always leave them to the last minute. Now, some people might view this habit negatively but I view it to be quite positive. When I work under stress I tend to perform better and my ideas come rushing to me when my mind is on hiatus. As Professor Thompson stated today in class that she works better late at night, I perform better when I am under stress. Although I still feel procrastination is a bad habit and I try hard to get rid of but it always seems to follow me.

Another habit I observed of myself is that when I start writing whatever thoughts come into my head, my essay gradually becomes cohesive. My thoughts flow when I randomly start typing facts that come into my mind. I don't necessarily think that this is a positive habit or even a bad habit, it's just a tactic that works for me. I don't tend to pre-write or outline, all the "before" things I just think in my mind and start writing about it immediately. That is why this long process of revising can be quite difficult for me to keep up with. However, I have started to like this long process of revision because getting feedback from others through writing conferences is extremely helpful to get your ideas straight. Another viewpoint is always an excellent thing, especially for an argumentative paper.

Reflection On Essay...

A couple of days I just turned in my second draft for the argumentative essay we all are working so hard on. The reviewing process for me can get quite tedious because I always question every little sentence in my paper to make sure it is cohesive and coherent. It took me about 5 hours to review my essay and then I finally turned it in. Even after I turned it in I still was a little apprehensive because I have never really done a draft process before. In high school we just had one rough draft and from that draft, our peer reviewed it for us and after a little revising we turned it in. However, this 3-time draft process is a new aspect for me. I wrote about two different introductions and two body paragraphs. I just cannot decide if I want my paper to be serious or quirky. After a few tries I incorporated both my personality into the paper as well as the logic and serious mentality of a research paper. At this stage I am content  as to what direction my paper is heading.

Time to Revise...

Upon reading the Academic Writing book, I realized that there are many aspects of an argumentative essay that have to be feasible in order for it to be understood. Another fact I learned was that you have to switch up your diction in order to keep it from being boring and repetitive. When you have interesting but relatable diction it engages the reader more and keeps them reading. I also noticed that the order you put your facts in the essay also makes a huge difference as to how it is perceived. For example, if you start off straight with the something you don't agree with and don't state WHY, the reader will be confused and will not continue reading.

With these helpful hints in mind I will be able to revise my essay quite easily. Before we began the process of creating this essay, I sneaked a peek of the book, so I had a few things in mind as I began my first draft. One fact I had in mind is the use of right diction. I didn't over use "emphasize" or "help," when talking about how X will do this to Y. However, I still obviously have a lot more revising to do. I still have to gather more evidence and relate it to my argument to make the purpose of my essay strong.

My Presentation

All in all my presentation went pretty well considering my personal doubts on my public speaking skills. I was a little nervous at first but I then started to think just about how I wanted to make sure I get  my point across to the class. A strength that I felt like I had in my presentation is that of knowing what I was talking about. I obviously revised the night before and had avid notes, so I would not lose track of my thoughts and that's quite easy to do when you are in front of people. I would improve on my ability to remember all the things I want to say during a presentation. When I looked back at my notes, I had a lot of stuff that I didn't say which was important for my presentation. However, you always learn from your mistakes, so I will not repeat them in the future. Plus, the first presentation is always the most difficult and once you have conquered that obstacle you know where your strengths and faults lie and you can improve them.

"Self-Exploration" Through Blogging

In Chapter Five of Blogging by Jill Walker Rettberg there is a particular section that discusses blogging as a way of self exploration. The section discusses specific bloggers who have created blogs for a specific purpose but end up "discovering" a part of their personality or interests they did not otherwise knew existed. An example mentioned was that of a woman named Rebecca Blood who created a blog called, "Rebecca's Pocket" and through the writing of her daily posts she discovered things she was interested in, yet did not know of them before the creation of her blog. This phenomena in blogging is easily relatable to my essay because the blog I'm analyzing is a personal blog and not a "network" in which people are hired to talk about Twilight and they may not even be interested in the franchise. Personal blogs are obviously "personal" so there is always a possibility that the blogger may discover a part of them that may have otherwise been hidden. Even though, the blog I am analyzing is that of a Twilight fan and it is not a narrative, it is still possible that she may realize that she despises Edward Cullen in the movies yet loves him in the books. Personal blogging is a way for people to be independent and basically share their lives with the World Wide Web and when one is writing about themselves or a particular topic consistently, having epiphany's and discovering new interests is a common thing.

Overthinking things is never good...

The writing conference I participated in on Tuesday really helped me to understand what I needed to improve on my thought process. I also realized that I was over thinking my process for this essay and I didn't exactly comprehend my own thesis. So, taking in advice from the writing conference I now am in a position where I have a strong thesis and can also support it with good evidence. I also kept assuming that my original plan for the essay was not right and it didn't relate to the topic of the essay but I just realized that I was over thinking things. So, I kept to my original process and did not start from scratch as I thought I was going to. The writing conference assured me that I was not going down the wrong lane but actually getting off to a good start, I just needed to have that reassurance for myself.

My Research so far...

My research process so far is to gather all the information that I actually need for this essay such as the blog that I am going to be analyzing and which posts I will be further examining in detail to figure out the identity of the blogger. As we learned in class today by looking at the proposals, in order to figure out the identity I will be looking at syntax, tone and diction in the blogger’s writing. I will also determine what “label” this blogger falls under, although it is wrong to stereotype this is only for academic purposes of course. I am researching a Twilight blog, constructed by a loyal fan that is a “twi-hard” fan; there you already have a label. The only difficulty or issue I had was with my proposal which was completely wrong. Instead of trying to identify who the blogger was, I came up with random arguments about how Twilight is corrupting our society, just not with that dramatic syntax. However, now I have it all figured out and I am ready to put all my research together and form an essay.

Hoax Blogs: Ethical or Unethical?

An issue that was discussed in the book was that of blogs which are narrative but at the same time fiction yet to the followers they are perceived as real. This following quote introduces this statement and I will further discuss in this blog how "tricking" the audience into believing one is a real cancer patient as in the Kaycee Nicole blog or a girl who has occult practices in the family as in the lonelygirl15 video blog, can be unethical and extremely unfair to the followers.

"Blogs that primarily tell the story of a life or lives, as confessional blogs do, also come with problems of their own, as when readers discover that a blog they have treated as the sincere narrative of a real person's experience is actually a fiction."(111)

Although the book does not go into detail as to whether this issue is ethical or unethical but it does mention in Chapter 5 that these hoaxes do anger the loyal followers who realize that their bloggers are in fact a hoax. The two cases that this book discussed was the Kaycee Nicole blog and the lonelygirl15 video blog on youtube. The Kaycee Nicole blog was about a high school girl who was fighting leukaemia. Her blog became very popular in a short amount of time and gained the attention of many students and adults alike who supported her immensely till the end of the hoax blog. The hoax blogger even went to the trouble to create another blog, that she claimed was her mother who wrote about how she dealt with having a daughter with leukaemia. When Kaycee died in 2001, her followers were devastated. The other hoax was a video blog on youtube acted by Jessica Rose, the actress who starred as Bree in lonelygirl15 which was apparently a film project. She claimed she was extremely lonely and that her family practiced the occult and they wanted her to be a part of a ritual. However, people realized it was a hoax and many people bashed her verbally about the "betrayal."

In my opinion, it really depends on the blog's content for one to decide it to be ethical or unethical. For example, the Kaycee Nicole blog I thought was quite offensive for it to be a hoax. This girl lied about having such a horrible disease and that just seems as though she is mocking it and not taking it seriously. She manipulated people's feelings and that can be very unethical in it's own way. There could have been parents of children who have leukaemia as followers, and just imagine how they would have felt to know that it was all a hoax. As for the lonelygirl15 video blog, I just thought it was stupid and not exactly unethical but also depend on who you ask. Devout followers of the blog were probably devastated while others wouldn't have cared at all. So, are hoax blogs ethical or unethical, well it depends on who how the blog can be deemed offensive if a fake, and the audience you ask.

Blogging Interests

So, to be perfectly honest, I have never written a blog before. This is my first exposure to the huge world of blogging. I would never want to write a personal blog about my life because that would drive me crazy. I have a hard time talking about myself, although I don't want to get too philosophical and get mistaken for someone who can't "find themselves" in the world. I know perfectly who I am and what I want in life, I just don't like writing about it.

So, anyway I have an interest in pretty much everything except math and Justin Beiber. I love all kinds of music(except you know who), classic rock especially! I have been singing for the past 9 years and have not stopped ever since. It's my dream to be on stage someday, singing in front of thousands of people. I also love to watch movies, especially scary movies and I happened to find a blog about that specific topic, yay! Traveling around the world is something I would want to do before I die because I want to enjoy  the beauty and history of hundreds of fascinating places. Now that we're on the topic of traveling, I have a strange liking for airports. I love everything about them, watching people from different countries pass you by, the smell of espresso, the cute little gift shops and the airplanes taking off just always seem to amaze me.  I also love to read classic novels that have a strong and confident woman as the protagonist such as Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice, although I'm not a feminist, it's nice to relate to a woman who knows her place in life. I would have picked books as a blog topic to research but I like to interpret my own meanings of the novels I read because I love exploring my imagination and discussing a book to death would kill off the enjoyment of the novel altogether. Sometimes you should just leave things just the way they are.

After much contemplation (NOT!) I decided to pick movies as my blog topic to discuss because I personally enjoy watching movies (I know basically all the actors in Hollywood by heart) and also because I would enjoy reading other people's opinions about movies like how a  movie should have ended. Although, I'm new to blogging I think I am here to stay.

Who I am as a writer.

As a writer, I am someone who is very independent and good at writing creative stories about topics that interest me. When forced to write about something I'm not quite interested in kind of bothers me, but I have learned to suck it up. Writing comes pretty naturally to me, because I took AP class all throughout High School which taught me how to write effectively. Once I get good at something I want to keep doing it, just like writing. I would love to publish a novel someday.