Assignment No. 7- Reflecting Progress.

Now that I've entered this English 101 course, I don't think I've ever had a writing class focusing just on writing. I remember Humanities, which is a combination of history and English, I remember philosophy and Linguistics but never just writing. Overall, I think I am pretty good at finding the main ideas of something specific and picking it apart and what not, but it wasn't until now that I am unsure if I'm a good writer. Our first assignment had me kind of dumbfounded, I felt like I was writing a paper, about reading or writing a paper (or book, whatever). I didn't know where to start or what to talk about. I didn't really feel like we had adequate examples because I never had any struggles or conflicts with literacy worth talking about. I just gather all my notes, pull up some sources on the web and start writing. What is so interesting there? I was completely confused. I thought that if any class I took and I would do exceedingly well in, it would Writing 101. However, I’m on my fourth paper for the Literacy Narrative assignment , and I think I’ve grasped the point better after sitting down and having a meeting. I like that we have more than enough time to write and revise our papers with one on one time with our peers and our professors. It helps because it honestly would have been a downer to receive my original grade. I feel like you’d have to try really hard to not do well in this class.

Assignment #1: Why Writing 101

First thing I thought when I learned it was mandatory to take an English class is, "I already know how to write! Why do I have to take more English??" However, as the great philosopher Socrates said, if you think you know everything there is to know, you don't leave room for improvement. In fact, when you are examined by another, you may be found incompetent. I'm taking English 101 to better my writing and speaking skills because I aspire to be an English teacher overseas. I think I am what some consider a "cocky writer". Usually I write something and automatically expect it to be greatness, I barely look it over and turn it in. I have a lot of creative thoughts and literal juices flowing but I think my skills have weakened over the years and I make silly mistakes. I need to be brought back down to Earth with my writing and be further analyzed to become an even better writer in the future.

Assignment #5: Analyzing Advertisement

What does a REAL woman look like?

Purpose: Typical models displayed in advertisement are tall and thin with attributes the average woman you'd see walking down the street would not have. That kind of advertisement makes the majority of women aspire to be something that isn't realistic for the majority. This is ad by Dove was created to do the exact opposite, showing that your "girl next door" is beautiful too.


Audience: The audience is all women of different shapes, sizes, and colors. It's aimed towards the young, the middle aged, and the older woman, the mother and the daughter. Such diversity is shown by the wide variety of women posing.


Genre: The genre is skin care, advertising Dove's Beauty Bar and products. Dove shows mostly women in their most natural states to promote the use for everyday women, not just the model in Vogue.


Tone: The tone is very bright because of the variety of skin tones against the white background and underwear, the beauty and smoothness of their is more apparent. 

Assignment #3: "Good" Papers.

    One of the most differentiating qualities in writing that separates a mediocre paper and an awesome one is description. I think that a description of the surroundings and emotions that effected the author is extremely important. For example in the book Great Expectations, Charles Dickens describes his sister (Mrs. Joe) buttering a loaf of bread. To some readers, he goes on for a tedious, painstaking page and half (or however long that section is, I honestly don't remember) giving pointless details... or to others, just that very action of buttering bread showed her angry, intense personality like you were in the room with her.
    Secondly, variety of word choice. Usually when I'm writing a paper I have dictionary.com and thesaurus.com because, face it, we're all human and sometimes we get into the habit of using the same word over and over again. For example, "He was a very big man, and he chewed his food very loud." vs. "He was a bulky guy who obnoxiously chewed his food." Not only is this a great tool to spark up a paper, but it widens your vocabulary and you'll need the thesaurus less as time goes on.
   Next, is organization and some kind of structure. The paper should be easy to follow and not drifting from topic to topic.It's hard to grasp the concept or idea of a paper that isn't sticking to the topic.
   Lastly, a good paper has emotion. Unless it's a research paper with specific details and what not, it should have some soul. Nobody wants to read a dry narrative about some experience you've had. When I read someone's work, I want to feel like I'm teleporting into their imagination, their setting, their drama or whatever they're trying to draw you into.
Personally, I find all of the qualities easy except for sticking to the topic. I think I'm kind of sarcastic in my writing and I tend to ramble (in normal speech and writing!). Some readers find it interesting but you would already have to be knowledgeable about whatever my topic is to follow sometimes.

Assignment #2- Generating Ideas

 

The most life changing event that has most recently effected my life is my move to Chicago. It was kind of a random decision I made while I was bored, like this nose piercing I just got. I'm very spontaneous with my free time... I could write about my transition itself, how it affected my friends, family, and most of all myself. Chicago
is a very interesting city coming from Columbus, Ohio, so I could write about the abrupt culture shock. Moving here meant my life was going to be in every way different, mostly because this is my first time living with my father and he has a family so I'm in the middle of trying not to impose and walking eggshells to appease but still be myself in essence.
The pros of writing on this topic is that I would have plenty to write about and I could give people insight about me... But the cons are that to fully understand me and my story, you'd have to know it all and that could be a bit to personal for English class.

-Aeryn♥