42.101 Blog

Please read the essays by Gerald Graff and George Will in your reader. Comment below who has the better argument and why? What evidence does your favorite author use to make his argument? What larger conversations does your author contribute to?

Feel free to respond to your colleague's comments if you wish.

(The post is due by Sunday night at midnight and will be graded - any later posts will be read but not graded.)

The following should give you some detail on how I will evaluate your essays. Grading essays is not mathematical and the following is meant to serve as a guide. But I hope the topics will help you focus your revision.

Thesis: The paper needs to announce a clear, arguable thesis in the beginning of the paper. For the paper to succeed it needs to engage with opposing or differing views of your thesis, the "they say" in your textbook.

Organization: The paper needs to progress logically with each point (reason) building off of the previous. Each paragraph should provide a clear topic and then develop or analyze that topic with analysis and evidence (quotes). Furthermore, the conclusion should not be a simple reiteration of the introduction, but it should gesture toward larger issues or topics that your paper relates to. One way to think of a conclusion is to answer (or begin to answer) "why does it all matter?"

Readability: Sentences need to be largely without grammatical, syntactical, or logical errors. Confusing sentences structures, quotes without context, or rough transitions between paragraphs distract the reader and take away from the paper's purpose. The essay needs to move forward and develop an argument rather than repeat points made in the beginning.

Use of Evidence: Papers need to demonstrate a competent knowledge of the texts, and they need to integrate quotes into the essay when needed. Quotes should serve a purpose in the essay, such as providing an example of your critique or providing evidence to a claim. Quotes should be incorporated organically into the essay with a set-up and a follow-up after explaining to the reader why the quote is relevant. Quotes need to be cited properly (parenthetically).

Please take a look at the two web pages:

*http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/jeffdec.html

*http://www.flickr.com/photos/61139623@N00/4456618289/

The first is a link to a site you've already seen on the Declaration. Read specifically on the process of revision while writing the Declaration. What surprises you? What did you learn?

Then look at the second site, a photo of Obama's revisions to one of his speeches. What surprises you here? Why do you think the White House decided to release that photo to the public? What is its message?

Please jot down a few answers to the above questions.
Also, please write how you revise. What are the steps you take to refine your papers? What steps would you like to take? In other words, what do you imagine you could do to improve your writing (in terms of revision)?

Please have this written by Friday's class.

For me, writing has been something that never came easy to me. When ever there was a writing assignment due, for any class, I would always put it off to the last minute, just to avoid it as long as possible. Reason being that it has always been hard for me to get started on something like an Expository Essay or even a journal entry because I could never get my thoughts into focus. I mostly write something when it is required of me, either by a school or a job. It's not so much that I hate writing, but I do find it annoying at times. Most of the time, especially in English, when ever you write you are doing it to achieve a grade, not always the best motivation to write something worth putting a ton of your time in to, right? But yes, there are those times where it is not worth 150 points or something like that, like this, where I enjoy it slightly more and am more willing to put more thought into what I write.

I have very mixed feelings when it comes to writing. If I'm writing an assignment describing how the placebo effects subject T17M compared to Triglyceride Diwhateveritis, it will take me a long time with many in between. If I am supposed to write an essay on something I enjoy, like history or architecture, I can at least enjoy it. If the subject is creating a fake battle where the hero kills the enemy general in the most gruesome and creative way possible, I would sit at my desk for hours writing pages on the subject. It depends on the subject.

How do you write? When do you write? Is it ever something you enjoy, need, fear? Be open, be creative, be inquisitive.

Writing to me is something I only do when it is required. I never really enjoyed writing, mainly since all of the assignments I have ever had have been about books that I didn't enjoy. My English teacher last year was a ruthless old hag who thought way too much about every sentence and made me do everything HER way. She made it so that I was frustrated by her criticism to the point that by the end of senior year, I refused to do the assignments. Writing was atleast bearable before that, now I simply hate it.

Writing is dumb. Sorry its the first thing that pops in my head when I even start thinking about writing... well next to writing is stupid. I write mostly only when i need to, when i have to, when it is a necessity because everything that revolves around writing I suck at. I can't spell, my vocabulary is not that great at all and I feel like writing is one of those things I can sometimes be secretly embarressed about. (Ex: hahaha no dude I totally ment to write they had toast at the wedding... not they made a toste. You really think I'm that dumb?) Though i do sometimes write freely without taking my hand off the paper when I'm stressed or feeling, for lack of a better word, emotional. It actually kinda helps. Anyway I suppose writing is important and I need to work on it so I'll try like I do with everything else.

Writing is something I was never good at. i used to try long and hard to get something that was ok. My writing changed up sophomore year in high school. I thought less and just had it flow. It started to become easier each time I wrote, and then I started to enjoy writing. I used to think writing would pull me down because I wasn?t as good as I wanted to be but then I realized its something you need to practice at so you can become better.

Writing used to be something I absolutely loathed. Writing papers took more time out of my day than anything I have attempted to that point. But then it clicked; writing is not some small math problem that takes mere moments to formulate the correct answer, Writing is about creating impressions and fostering ideas for both you, the reader, and me, the writer. The best way to do that is through clear, effective writing that flows just as if the writer was saying it.

Sometimes writing something down on paper means a lot more than just saying something. For myself writing is a way to express something that I might not be able to say with words. In times of stress or sorrow, writing has always been a way for me to escape and find the better side of life. For me, writing plays a very important role, without it where would I be?

Just about everything in life that you have to prove you are better then someone else involves writing in some way. While applying for a job, a scholarship, or even an academic club; writing seems to be a required skill. Whether or not I personally enjoy or look forward to writing makes no difference overall, I'm going to have to acquire the skill of writing if I wish to make it anywhere in life.

Writing is neither my forte nor my Achilles heal, but I believe that it is a great way to express ideas, learn to argue informatively, and improves how we talk in real life conversations with others. Writing has taught me that it takes more than personal opinion to back up one's idea or theory. I personally write only for school and not for personal enjoyment. As technology is progressing, writing and the usage of grammar is depleting as well. I hope that by keeping up with school and this course's curriculum that my writing skills will not be a thing in the past for me.

Writing has never been a big part in my life. I would rather speak to someone face to face then to write a letter or an essay. Its not that i hate the fact of taking time to write my feelings down, but the fact that I can't figure out how to do it. I'm always afraid to let people read my writing because of the fear of what they have to say about it. I've never been a great writer and instead of trying to improve my writing I try to stay away from it as much as possible. The only piece of writing that i did, that I actually liked and was proud to say i wrote was my college essay. I had so much emotion and imagery in one essay that I wasn't afraid to let people see what i had to say.

Writing in my life is like any other activity. I do it when I want to or Im forced to. When I write, I try to not overdo it with words that people have to look up. I try to make it so anyone reading it could understand it. I don?t fear it, enjoy it, hate it, or need it. I actually prefer a face to face conversation over a letter or e-mail.

For the vast majority of my life, writing was both unimportant and a hassle in my life. I did not enjoy doing it, and it was torturous for me to sit down and write an essay. That all changed, however, when I entered high school. I discovered that writing was a way to freely express any ideas, however real or fictitious they might be. Poetry, short stories and short, opinionated paragraphs are really my favorite forms of writing. These genres of writing allow me to voice ideas freely, without the rules and restrictions you find when writing essays or papers for school. When I have many things on my mind at once, I find it helps me to clear my head if I write down some ideas of what I'm thinking about. For these reasons, I can easily say that writing has become an important factor in my life.

Writing plays a big role in my life. While I very rarely write stories myself, my best friend, Sarah, writes constantly, and I help co-author, inspire, advise, and edit what she writes. Currently, the two of us, with the help from some other of our friends, are working on a story based on the role playing game, Dungeons and Dragons. This story is already over four hundred pages long, and is a very good read, if I do say so myself.
I myself have never finished any of my personal writing projects, so I currently have three unfinished novels and a handful of short stories sitting around until I find the inspiration to finish them. I usually will write or Sarah write as a way to get over depression, anxiety, sadness, or any other type of negative emotion; most of my best ideas have come out of being depressed. I was a member of my high school's creative writers club, and I enjoy reading, so my writing style has countless influences, and my style seems to change by day and what type of piece I am trying to write.

Welcome to the course blog for College Writing. Here we will share ideas and questions about our reading and discussions. To begin with, I would like everyone to write a brief entry on what role writing plays in your life. How do you write? When do you write? Is it ever something you enjoy, need, fear? Be open, be creative, be inquisitive.
Please write between 50 to 100 words. While this is meant to be an informal, personal reflection, remember the rules of grammar and logic still apply. You're welcome to post something wholly original or respond to something a classmate has written.

If you haven't yet, register for the site so that you can post.

Please complete this by Sunday, 9/5, noon (12 pm).