Month: October 2021

Week 10 of College

1. 1. What I did
      • Took notes for multiple classes
      • Wrote on the discussion board for multiple classes
   2. What went well
      • I worked hard and I finished most of my homework pretty early.
   3. What was hard
      • I realized I have more tests coming up so I had to rush to finish my homework so I have time to study later.
   4. To-Do List
      • Complete assignments for all of my classes
      • Study for some tests next week
   5. Where I left off
      • Taking more notes for my classes
   6. Feelings
      • I am excited for Halloween weekend! It is going to be really fun! However, I was recently informed by my teachers that I have some upcoming tests. That kind of ruined my mood since I am now thinking about how I am going to plan my time to study. Also, I am going to be choosing courses for next semester soon. It is my first time so I am worried if I choose bad professors or end up not having space in classes I want to be in. There is some more pressure now but I will not let that ruin my weekend!

My research question is “How does the purpose of first-year college writing courses differ from the purpose of high school English classes?”. There are a list of terms I could use to search for sources on databases: first-year writing, first-year composition, freshman writing, freshman composition, college writing, high school English, high school ELA, high school writing, high school language arts, AP English Language, AP English Literature. I found a source titled “The Research Prospectus in First-Year Writing (and Beyond)”. Using the CRAAP Test, I analyzed each element and found this source to be appropriate to use for my research, but I still need more. For currency, this source is an article dated in 2021, so it applies to college students today. For relevance, it directly discusses the differences between college-level and high school-level research reports and how to improve it to college-level, so it somewhat applies to my research question. There is more to writing than research reports so I would need to find other sources to discuss the other types of writing. For authority, the author is Carol L. Hayes who works for The George Washington University, and therefore has the credentials to be talking about this subject. For accuracy, this article is written under a journal of academic writing assignments. Finally, for purpose, according to the introduction, it is “designed to teach first-year undergraduate students how to move beyond high school research reports into college level writing.” Once again, it only focuses on informing students the differences in level for research reports, not all types of writing. So, I need to find a source that discusses other types.

Week 9 of College

1. 1. What I did
      • Took notes for multiple classes
      • Wrote on the discussion board for multiple classes
   2. What went well
      • I worked hard and I finished most of my homework pretty early.
   3. What was hard
      • Getting back to doing homework after not doing it for midterms week was slightly difficult.
   4. To-Do List
      • Complete assignments for all of my classes
   5. Where I left off
      • Taking more notes for my classes
   6. Feelings
      • I am excited for Halloween this year. It was so disappointing last year when no one was out and about. Now that the holiday is on the weekend and covid-19 is cleared up a little more, I am fully expecting lots of people to be celebrating. I love the sense of community from seeing everyone walking the streets wearing costumes, especially cute babies! Also, I associate this holiday with lots of fun times I had as a child and just have positive feelings all around.

In the past, I have used most strategies such as asking critical questions to develop my topic and brainstorming to generate ideas. The ones I just mentioned are the ones that worked the best for me. Back then, I had to write essays for tests with time limits, so those strategies were most useful when trying to come up with something on the spot to write about. The most interesting strategy that I have not tried before is using stasis theory. I have never heard of that before. However, when I looked into it, it does seem like a technique that can really fill in the gaps of my writing process. It has me answer questions in different categories which allows me to dive deeper into the complexities of my topic and really consider what I need to do for my research. For now, my tentative research question is “How does the purpose of first-year college writing courses differ from the purpose of high school English classes?”. Although these strategies have helped with my invention, I still need to practice some more to be able to come up with better topics.

Week 8 of College

1. 1. What I did
      • Took notes for multiple classes
      • Wrote on the discussion board for multiple classes
      • Took my psychology and government tests
   2. What went well
      • I studied very hard for my tests so I’m glad I knew what the questions were about when I took the tests.
   3. What was hard
      • Studying 3-4 chapters per test was difficult and time-consuming.
   4. To-Do List
      • Take my FYS quiz
      • Complete assignments for all of my classes
   5. Where I left off
      • Writing my analysis assignment polished draft
   6. Feelings
      • Since it was midterms week, I was rushing to study for my tests and finish writing all my essays. I’m happy to say that my studying paid off well because when I was taking my tests, I knew what each question was talking about. I just hope that reflects well in my test grade. To relax and wind down, I actually went out more than I usually do with my friends and hung out with them. It was really fun and I hope I have more days in the future to be able to relax again.

An issue that intrigues me is whether or not using first person narrative is acceptable. This is from the chapter “Response: Never Use ‘I'”. The author argues that first person narrative is necessary because it connects the writer on a personal level to the writing piece and to the readers which therefore elevates its quality. Other conversations happening around this issue are by organizations who have some part in writing such as test prep centers and colleges and any individuals who write such as students and bloggers. They talk about this issue through sharing their opinions on online blogs and pages. Their arguments and positions vary drastically. Some will lean more toward not using first person because it is just an informal, unscientific, and weak way of writing what you have to say. Others will lean more toward using first person, like the author of this chapter, because it can capture readers’ attention better and get them more involved in what you have to say. Then there are those who are right in the middle and say first person is only acceptable during appropriate situations. I notice that there is a lot of debate around this issue that does not seem to be clearing up anytime soon. There is no definite answer for what to do. It just depends on the person. The problem is important to me because ever since I was young, I was taught to never use “I”. Over a decade later, this chapter was the first to plant the seed in my mind that I should use “I” to elevate my writing. Now I am wondering just when exactly is first person narrative acceptable in writing.

Week 7 of College

1. 1. What I did

• 1. • Took notes for multiple classes
     • Finished writing essays for multiple classes
     • Wrote on the discussion board for multiple classes
  2. What went well
     • I had so many assignments due this week but I planned it out quite well that I was not rushing to finish it all in one day. My time management improved.
  3. What was hard
     • I never wrote so many essays in a row before. It was struggle to get over my writer’s block.
  4. To-Do List
     • Study and take my psychology test
     • Study and take my government class test
  5. Where I left off
     • Study for both tests
  6. Feelings
     • This week was busier than last week. I had a constant flow of essays, assignments, and tests to take everyday. It was stressful but I’m glad I got through it all. I’m actually writing this journal a day earlier than I usually do because I’m going to go on a mini roadtrip with my family on Saturday! This is my reward for all my hard work this week. I can’t wait!

I read the chapter “You Need My Credentials To Be a Writer” in addition to the introduction. Overall, this book was meant to modify the many different perspectives people have of writing. In our society today, the social norm about writing is that it can only be done in a certain way by certain people. The context behind this is that the gap between what is known from writing studies and what the public knows about writing is increasing. In other words, changes made about the principles of writing does not reach the public. Therefore, this book’s purpose is to inform and correct the common myths of writing that are false or outdated. There are various messages being communicated as there are various sections and chapters that discuss the different aspects of writing. However, all of the messages in each chapter do address the inaccuracy of the social norm about that certain aspect of writing. The people communicating these messages are various experienced writing teachers and scholars from across the country who have had encounters with writing myths that they would like to debunk. They are communicating to the audience of the general public who has basic knowledge of writing that could be false or outdated. This includes students, teachers, parents, administrators, lawmakers, news media, etc. So the general public finally has a chance to be informed by experts of the newer, more accurate perspectives on writing.

Week 6 of College

1. 1. What I did
      • Took notes for my psychology class
      • Wrote on the discussion board for multiple classes
      • Finished assignment 3 for my business recitation class
      • Took my business lecture quiz
      • Completed some SONA surveys
      • Interviewed for AKPsi
   2. What went well
      • I take down a lot of notes from my textbook for business class. It came in handy when I was studying for the quiz and I ended up doing really well on it.
   3. What was hard
      • It was the first time I was ever interviewed so I was really nervous and couldn’t think straight. My answers definitely could’ve been better.
   4. To-Do List
      • FYS reflection paper #2
      • Government class short essay
      • Business recitation Shadow-A-Company group project outline
      • Analysis assignment rough draft
   5. Where I left off
      • Analysis assignment rough draft
   6. Feelings
      • This week was pretty busy. It was the first time I had an interview and the first time I had a quiz in college. Both were very nerve-wracking. I’m just glad I was able to survive the week. However, I definitely know that next week is going to be even busier. I have three papers to write and a group project. All I’m thinking is that I just got to survive the next week and everything will be fine. I will be going to see the fall foliage with my family next weekend so I have that to look forward to.

I use rhetoric in my daily life through posting on my social medias. The messages I try to communicate are mostly positive about myself. For example, on my main Instagram account, I would often post good pictures of myself and with my friends. I am trying to show that I can look really pretty, I go out to a lot of cool places, I am very social and have a great group of friends, and I am having so much fun. My audience is all of my Instagram followers, which include close friends, old friends, people I know of but do not know too well, and family friends. It is not a public account and I do not want to show off to random strangers. I just want the people in my world to only see those positive aspects about me, never the negative. It is a profile to give others a good impression of me. Another example, on my other Instagram account, I would post random pictures of anything and everything. I am trying to show the more random aspects of my life such as what I like, what I did that day, and what I found funny. My audience is my followers consisting only of close friends who I trust. These are the people that I can be more of myself to. I do not need to try so hard to make myself look good to them compared to the followers on my main account.