In the Reflective Writing and the Revision Process article it starts out by talking about how the first time this student had to perform a reflective writing process when this person was a doctoral student at Florida State University. In this Article Giles talks a lot about reflecting and editing student’s works. One thing that this Writing one class has taught me is that I have to plan out my writing and approach my writing with an angle. I used to just not think and write whatever comes to mind which is good but it does not get you consistent good grades. 

Also in this class we do a lot of peer editing. I think peer editing is very beneficial. It not only helps me revise my papers but it helps everybody in the class with their revisions. Their comments give me a great starting point when editing my papers. After I see their comments I look them over and then reread my essay. In high school I would be lazy and just turn in whatever my first draft is and be satisfied with a C but this class has taught me did take the extra time to look over my writing and never be satisfied. 

In the reading Giles talks about writing workshops and how they are useful. I completely agree with this. I think when you are writing a paper you sometimes get stuck in your own thoughts and it is good to have another set of eyes and opinions take a look at your writing. It allows your writing to progress and get better.

Sample 1:

• The first thing I noticed about sample draft number one is that the poem is shaped like an upward facing arrow. I am not sure his purpose for this but I think he did this because he symbolizes something along the lines of that he is always moving forward never backward, and always thinking positively. As for the actual writing in the blog, he is talking about his essay writing and how he is never perfect and he is always revising and making changes to his writing. This reminds me of a blog post that I had when I talked about how writing and life and golf are very similar to the fact that I am always tweaking little things here and there to make myself the best version of what I am doing. His reflection is always very good and I feel like it is similar to the way I write. He does a great job of writing to appeal to someone’s emotions and he does a great job of using ethos in his writing, my best writing is real life situational writing and this poem and reflection does an awesome job of emotional writing. A+ if I were a teacher.

Sample 2:

• The first thing I notice about this second poem is that it is much shorter in length than the first one and the author used different colors. He used the color red for his negative thoughts and he used the color green for his positive thoughts.

I will be honest with you I am not an avid reader, so for my to be determined blog I am going to write about my favorite tv show entourage. I know I know I should read more, but I am just one of those people who is not motivated to read. 

Entourage the tv show is a show loosely based on actor Mark Whalbergs life. It`s five main characters are Andrien Greiner (Vincent Chase) an A list movie star, Jeremy Piven (Ari Gold) Vince’s agent who is a high powered and big egoed Hollywood agent, Kevin Connolly (Eric Murphy) Vince`s manager and best friend since they were kids, Jerry Ferrara (Turtle) another one of Vince`s best friends and his driver, and Kevin Dillion (Johnny “Drama” Chase) Vince`s brother and small time actor. 

One of the great things about this show that makes it so funny is the cast, this show is perfectly casted and each different personality and humor goes so well together. This show had eight successful seasons and a movie following it and I loved following each main character`s ups and downs and how they changed through eight seasons. Before I watched this show I did not realize how many moving pieces there are that goes into a movie, it was also cool to see the reality and what happens behind the scenes as to how a movie gets made. I have watched this show over five different times and I could watch it five times over more and still laugh every time.

In the article “Annoying Ways People Use Sources” written by Kyle D. Stedman, the beginning of the article talks about how readers get annoyed with people if they do not cite sources correctly. I agree and disagree with Stedman’s point of view. I know correctly cited the sources gives credibility  and looks good ; and it sets the tone for the writer but I think the writing itself is more important. I believe from both a readers and writers perspective that everyone has a different style that is unique to them and brings a different point of view. Yes, it is nice to have structure and a nice rubric to write off of but I think to be a successful writer you have to have your own swagger  and angle. Just like in any sport, every great player is great because they have their own swagger that fuels them and attracts fans. I view writing the same way, ya citing sources and having good writing etiquette is important but I think the individual style and tone is more attractive. I enjoy more of a blog style writing, when you have free rain to say pretty much whatever you want. It lightens the mood and makes it more fun and enjoyable for both the writers and readers, which is what it’s all about. I enjoy reading and recognizing everyone’s different styles and biases when reading. Staying true to one’s beliefs and views is important and I think it goes hand in hand with writing. If I were a teacher my protocol would be different, I would grade more on the writing and not give points away for not properly citing.

Starting off I really like this way of teaching kids, giving a kid an orange tree and letting him try to care for it and letting it die. Not only is it a good way of teaching a young kid about the root system but I love how it is a way of teaching individual independence, taking care of things, and responsibility at a young age. I believe that I learn more from real life experiences than in textbooks and classrooms, so I love this teaching exercise. Also this method of teaching is fun, it will make young kids enjoy coming to school instead of dreading it. 

 The rest of the storys and things that happen in this classroom just do not seem real. Like who in the hell has class snakes. Maybe I am biased because I hate snakes but what the heck, what is the point of having class snakes. Sounds like a lawsuit. 

Planting a garden seems cool but it teaches the same lessons as the orange tree. Not sure why they had fish. Now to the story of the puppy, I am not sure what this is. They bring in a stray off the street and keep it. Like What?! Who is teaching this class? The kids would not be able to get anything done, and as a teacher I would be so pissed. I’m not sure if the principal knows what’s going down in his classrooms. I love the last message about how they shouldn’t be frightened (although I am often frightened) and that there was value everywhere.

After Reading “Revision Attitudes” by Brock Deither I learned that the first step to becoming a better revisor is having a better attitude. This really hits home with me because golf is constant revision. Whether its is practicing with my dad or playing in a college tournament, I am always adjusting little things here and there to be better. Just like what my dad always says to me, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”. Deither says in the article “Improving your attitude toward revision can revolutionize your writing and your enjoyment of it”. I will admit it after I saw all your comments and suggested changes to my Narrative Inquiry Rough Draft I was pretty down on myself and not motivated about writing, but after reading this and linking it to something I am passionate about (golf) I am going to have a better attitude towards revising and my essay. 

I also really like the seeing is believing paragraph. Why do people watch shows or games? So they can see what the end result is. Obviously if I can envision a better essay they it will motivate and incentivize it more for me to revise. Like the article and I said earlier, we are constantly revising and adding, so why not make it fun and enjoyable. But what is revisioning without knowing why you are making the changes. Revision works best if you know the reason for the changes, if you do not understand the changes being made then it will take longer for you to understand the concept of why.

This reading is about the peer editing process. This article is written by Richard Straub. Straub who earned his Ph.D. at Ohio State, taught courses in writing, composition and rhetoric, and literature at Florida State University. Much of his work revolved around the response to the evaluation of students writing. 

Straub first talks about the easy way of peer editing, doing the least amount possible and still satisfying the teachers requirements while staying under the radar (sounds like me in high school). Then he goes into what you should do if you actually want to put in the time and effort and help a peer out. He says to be supportive and give them the benefit of the doubt which I like because it doesn’t make the writer feel insecure about his/her writing while at the same time you are helping them write a better essay. I also like when he says that being a good friend and peer editor that you still have to point out the problems and areas for improvement, like constructive criticism. Another thing I agreed with is how he said your comments should be more than two to three words, they should be sentences. My teachers in high school used to only leave two to three word responses in the margins, stuff like “unclear” or “add more detail” and my favorite “revise”, i hated that. When I peer edit a paper on Wednesday then I will know what to write. No short answers, be constructive while still giving praise and never try to get the writer down.

Mother Tongue

To be honest I did not really get the point of mother tongue and how it correlates to what we are learning in class. Or maybe it don’t get it because I am so tired I can barely put thoughts together. Ok I am already getting off track, ok lets go. Like I said earlier I do not get this but there are a couple things I take away from this. First being about how Amy Tan was talking about her getting less opportunities because of her mother’s lack of knowledge of the english language. I personally disagree with that, I believe that the asain americans have many opportunities because they are a very smart population and are very hard working. But the thing they lack in, and we can see an example of it in Amy’s mother, is their people skills. Jobs nowadays are so competitive that the bosses and executives will take the person who has better people skills over the person who doesn’t even if their resumes’ are the same.

Just Walk On By

This story is about how a smart athletic built black man. Brent Staples received his bachelor’s degree from Widener University and his doctorate in psychology from Chicago University. So he is a very smart individual who on multiple accounts got racially profiled in the streets of Chicago and New York. The first time being in Chicago, when he was walking in a dark street and a girl thought he was following him and she decided to run away because of the stereotypes society has placed.

“Backpacks vs Briefcases” 

After reading and analyzing the Backpacks vs Briefcases piece, it brought back all the high school snobby, arrogant, preppy, ritzy judgements of Newport Beach that I finally got away from when I left for college. There are many aspects to love about Newport Beach but that is not one of them. I don’t like admitting to it but I sometimes judge “a book by its cover”, like it said in the reading it is hard not to judge because of the stereotypes already placed. With social media and being able to see everything we want to see with a touch of a finger, we as a society quickly place stereotypes and judge people more now than we ever have before. All the interactions I’ve had, whether it be on the golf course or just by talking to friends at lunch; I’ve witnessed it first hand. I agree and believe in never judging a book by its cover, everyone deserves a fair shot because everyone can be surprising. More human to human interaction can better our manners and quick judgments, and it also betters our realization and understanding of the rhetoric. 

In the reading it takes about how billboards or commercials and even social media are rhetorical. On a day to day basis we are always trying to satisfy, it can be a boss, parents or coaches. The media does this with us all the time. Through commercials, fancy words, and aesthetic colors they try to persuade and convince us to buy their products. We even try to convince people through our new clothes and shoes that we are cool and hip or maybe even popular. The point of my response is try not to judge a book by its cover, give everyone a chance, and stay true to who you are.

After reading Anne Lamott’s thoughts on the writing process I now know that even some of the best writers in the world have a similar writing process to me and think the same shitty thoughts about their pieces of work when they are finished as I do to mine. “I know some very great writers. Writers you love who write beautifully- and have made a great deal of money. and not one of them sits down routinely feeling wildly enthusiastic and confident. Not one of them writes elegant first drafts.” 

Ok here is my process on writing. When I am writing a piece I can only write at night, I know it’s weird but when I write during the day I cannot focus cause all I can think about is the stuff I could be doing outside. Plus the approaching deadline of the next day gives me the motivation to hurry up and finish the essay. When I write I do not listen to any music, the outside noise just distracts my brain and I can’t think of what I am trying to write. The first thing I do when I am asked to write an essay is just write down as much as I possibly can, kinda like the best writers ever. After that rough draft is done I then look over it, try to separate my chicken scratch into different arguments while adding some fancy synonyms. After that is done the make everything into MLA format, make sure I am answering whatever the prompt is asking for. Finally I hope and pray that the work count is over the lowest required amount.