In chapter three, I felt that there were two major main ideas.
One of them was about global revising and to think big. When you think about revising, some might think that they need to change a word or two, or change the one sentence. But when reading the information that chapter three provided, I learned that it is a big focus, overall its a strategy; meaning that you need to make improvements on the purpose, organization and the content. It like the essay as a whole. You could end up rearranging entire sentences, you may not even have the same sentences in your final draft that you had it in your rough draft. This is the importance of revising, making sure that you have all of the useful information in your essay that you want to give to your audience. You want to make sure that your making the main points stand out and that they are clear. The checklist that is provided for global revising is a great tool. It will keep you on track and help you pull out the main points that your striving to get on paper.
Another main point in the chapter is proofreading. It is the final and most important part of the preparation of your essay. Like the book says proofreading is a special kind of reading, slow and methodical. You want to make sure that you are checking for all misspelled words, omitted words, or word endings. These kinds of errors can be hard to locate due to the fact that you have been over your own essay so many times that it makes since to you and therefore you might not catch one of these kinds of errors. A solution could be to read the essay out loud, proof read your sentences in reverse order. Anything that will take your attention away from reading your essay like you would normally. Proofreading is crucial, and if you do not take the time to do it, you could ultimately pay the price by your grade.
From now on I will use the checklist to revise my essays. I will check off each category to make sure that I am on point and that I have my audiences attention, Its a great way to stay on track. I will also use the proofreading strategies that it offers, such as reading my essays aloud and using the reverse sentence order. I usually always proofread my essay's but I would do it a different way, I would just read them quietly to myself and check for the over use of commas and other punctuation. I would just rely on spell check for grammar, but I will not use it for sentence structure as well.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
"Coming Home Again" Dialogue
What's the importance of food in this essay?
I chose this question to write about because I feel that it is one of the main points of the story.
I feel that food is of importance in this essay because its the one thing that brought the boy and his mother together and created a bond; it brought there whole family together. Its was the one time in the day that they would all gather and be able to converse about there day.
When the boy was young he was always curious about what his mother had cooking in the
kitchen. Cooking was his calling, but his mother did not want to see that in his younger years, she did not think that cooking was for men. She thought it was for women, I think that was there culture; men in the field and women in the home. After a while she would allow him to watch her cook and ask questions about the meals that she would prepare, the boy would never write anything down, he would memorize what she did by memory. She would answer his questions, even if at time she thought that they were silly. I believe the deep inside she loved the fact that her child was so interested in her cooking and that it made them have some kind of special relationship.
Now that his mother had cancer, he took on the responsibility of the cooking in the home when he came home from school, it saved there family in a way, I think this because if it was not for the boy now a man, taking on the cooking who knows what state the family would be in, would they all live together? Would they even have a relationship at all?
Since he prepared all of the meals, even though his mother could not swallow the food, only taste it, it made her happy that her son would cook the meals that she used to make, it gave her a reason for living, she was proud and possibly did not feel so guilty after so many years of sending her son off to boarding school. I think that it was almost like a relief that he was so intriged by her cooking and took on her legacy.
Her son was her whole life, he is the reason that she lived, and she even told him so. So the importance of food in this essay his that it gave his mother and the boy a purpose; and later on in there lives, peace. She passed knowing that her son was going to prepare her meals for as long as he could, and he made sure that is was aware of that before she passed away.
I chose this question to write about because I feel that it is one of the main points of the story.
I feel that food is of importance in this essay because its the one thing that brought the boy and his mother together and created a bond; it brought there whole family together. Its was the one time in the day that they would all gather and be able to converse about there day.
When the boy was young he was always curious about what his mother had cooking in the
kitchen. Cooking was his calling, but his mother did not want to see that in his younger years, she did not think that cooking was for men. She thought it was for women, I think that was there culture; men in the field and women in the home. After a while she would allow him to watch her cook and ask questions about the meals that she would prepare, the boy would never write anything down, he would memorize what she did by memory. She would answer his questions, even if at time she thought that they were silly. I believe the deep inside she loved the fact that her child was so interested in her cooking and that it made them have some kind of special relationship.
Now that his mother had cancer, he took on the responsibility of the cooking in the home when he came home from school, it saved there family in a way, I think this because if it was not for the boy now a man, taking on the cooking who knows what state the family would be in, would they all live together? Would they even have a relationship at all?
Since he prepared all of the meals, even though his mother could not swallow the food, only taste it, it made her happy that her son would cook the meals that she used to make, it gave her a reason for living, she was proud and possibly did not feel so guilty after so many years of sending her son off to boarding school. I think that it was almost like a relief that he was so intriged by her cooking and took on her legacy.
Her son was her whole life, he is the reason that she lived, and she even told him so. So the importance of food in this essay his that it gave his mother and the boy a purpose; and later on in there lives, peace. She passed knowing that her son was going to prepare her meals for as long as he could, and he made sure that is was aware of that before she passed away.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Rules for Writers Chapter 2
Reading this chapter really helped me with the rough draft portion of my essay. It was easy to refer to on such things as the thesis and how to organize my thought process for putting my essay together. Especially the checklist that it provides. I really tried to use that as I was putting my essay together.
I think that one of the main ideas that this chapter provides is, the information about a thesis. I had a hard time starting my essay, I wrote most of the body and conclusion before I started the introduction. I was trying to go for a strong main point to get a great thesis and by reading this chapter it helped me by letting me know that I should start off with a few sentences to engage the reader and establish a purpose and then go for my main point. Also that an effective thesis is a central idea that requires supporting evidence. This knowledge helped me form my introduction and gave a way to come up with my thesis.
Another main idea in this chapter was the checklist that it provided. It was a small breakdown of all essential information that you need to have a strong essay. One: Purpose and Audience, that is key, you want to be able to have you audiences attention and you want to make sure they know the purpose of your essay. Two: Focus, this was a great tool for me, because I can sometimes wonder off topic but when I referred to this checklist it kept my mind on track. Three: Organizing and Preparing, this helped me gather all of my information and put it all together and have it makes sense to the reader. Four: Content. I think that this portion of the checklist will be helpful with my final essay. Five: Point of View. Making sure that your purpose is for the audience and that you are not distracting the main points in the essay.
In my future writings I will definitely use the checklist, its helps me stay on track and stay focused. I will also refer to this book for thesis information if I am stuck in trying to come up with a strong sentence.
I think that one of the main ideas that this chapter provides is, the information about a thesis. I had a hard time starting my essay, I wrote most of the body and conclusion before I started the introduction. I was trying to go for a strong main point to get a great thesis and by reading this chapter it helped me by letting me know that I should start off with a few sentences to engage the reader and establish a purpose and then go for my main point. Also that an effective thesis is a central idea that requires supporting evidence. This knowledge helped me form my introduction and gave a way to come up with my thesis.
Another main idea in this chapter was the checklist that it provided. It was a small breakdown of all essential information that you need to have a strong essay. One: Purpose and Audience, that is key, you want to be able to have you audiences attention and you want to make sure they know the purpose of your essay. Two: Focus, this was a great tool for me, because I can sometimes wonder off topic but when I referred to this checklist it kept my mind on track. Three: Organizing and Preparing, this helped me gather all of my information and put it all together and have it makes sense to the reader. Four: Content. I think that this portion of the checklist will be helpful with my final essay. Five: Point of View. Making sure that your purpose is for the audience and that you are not distracting the main points in the essay.
In my future writings I will definitely use the checklist, its helps me stay on track and stay focused. I will also refer to this book for thesis information if I am stuck in trying to come up with a strong sentence.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
"The Ways We Lie" Dialogue.
Is it possible to tell lies and still be an honest person?
This is actually a hard question to answer I think. Its like a double standard. To answer this question in my honest opinion without analyzing it, I would have to say no, you cannot be a lair and then consider yourself an "honest" person. How is that even possible.
When I analyze this question, I think well yes, you can lie and still be an honest person, I lie daily, there not lies that will necessarily harm anyone, but the fact is that I am lying. I consider myself a very honest person, and I think that I am that way because I am a huge believer in karma, so if I do something that I know is not right or I know that it is a huge lie that could have some repercussions than I think that karma will get me back in time. Like I said I lie probably more than once a day, rather it be at work and I have a drug rep that wants to meet and talk to the doctor about meds, I lie to the rep and tell them that the doctor is either n available or that the doctor is to behind to meet with anyone at this time. I do this because its what I have been told to do by the physicians. I do not tell them the truth that we have all the samples of the meds that we need and there is no point to talk to any doctor at this time, if I were to tell them that we probably would loose that rep and possibly not have that med sample avaible to the patients.
Another way that I lie is to my child, I know that sounds horrible, but its true. She will ask me something like "Mom are you scared at night, because Daddy is not here cause he has to work late" I feel obligated to lie. I feel that I cannot tell her yes, Lylia, mommy is terrified at night because Daddy works nights. I feel that if anything I have to lie and say no silly, why would I be scared. I have you here, and our house is safe. There is nothing to be scared about. When I tell her this I think it reassures her not to be scared that her dad is gone to work at night, maybe she feels scared that he is not here at night, and if I admit to her that I am scared to, she is not going feel safe. I would rather lie to her than to have her feel any type of fear.
So yes I think that it is okay to lie, to a certain extent. I do not think that it is okay to tell a lie that is going to cause harm to anyone. I also do not think it is okay to lie to make something sound better than it really is, I think that its pointless and in time you will just not be trusted. To deceive someone by lying is messing with emotions and breaking trust that you may never get back.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Essay #1 rough draft. Baby Natalia
Emily Lopez
L. Servais
English 100
February 9, 2011
Baby Natalia
One of the happiest moments in a women’s life is being able to bring a child into the world. The image I’ve chosen to write about will allow you to understand how meaningful it is to be able to carry a child and the feeling of knowing that there is a life inside of you. There is something indescribable about becoming a parent, weather it is your first child or your third. Especially for me, conceiving a child was not as easy as one would think.
When you look at this image you see a, 2D seventeen-week old fetus. When I look at this image I see hope, excitement, and prayers answered. When I first found out that I was finally pregnant, I was only three weeks along. I knew that it was way to early to see a doctor. The possibility of miscarriage was huge for me and that worried me. Getting pregnant was not an easy task for me. I was constantly having miscarriages and the reason why was unclear. The explanation my doctor came up with was that I had cysts on my ovaries month after month that were not allowing the egg to travel. Another possibility was that I was too active. I was an avid gym attendee, I worked out at least five times a week, not just on the stair master, but I was involved in very intense fitness training classes. My extreme workouts may have kept my fetus from being able to stick to my uterus, so my exercise routine had to be put on hold immediately. I tested everyday for a week. When the first two solid lines came up I was in shock. The lines were faint and they meant I was pregnant. The lines just kept getting darker as the week went by. I was so excited there was actually a fetus inside of me. I was beyond words. I thought that I was imagining things. It was almost unreal. It finally hit me. I was pregnant.
I knew that I still had a long road ahead of me, even if the test was positive. I was hopeful this time around, I knew that there was a lot that I was going to have to give up for this pregnancy and I was willing to do it. This included no exercise for the first trimester, rest as much as possible, and try not to let stress get in my way. Now all of those things seemed nearly impossible, but that all changed when I seen the ultrasound of my baby, I saw her heart beating so strong, her anatomy was perfect, she was moving around inside of me so freely. All of the sudden this image was all that mattered I was going to be a mother of a healthy baby girl, that had fought to stay attached to me. She was meant to be my child. Knowing that my husband and I had created this little life and were able to see her was so emotional. We started to wonder whose traits she would inherit and who she would look like.
When I look at this picture, it reassures me that my prayers have been answered. Anyone who has had issues with conceiving would understand the meaning that this picture holds. Its not just a baby, it’s a life that God wanted my husband and I to have. He has given us the opportunity to share a special bond of raising this child together as parents. This photo is very motivating to me, it reminds me on a bad day, when I am feeling selfish and overweight, that its okay not pressure myself with exercise. It allows me to be okay with taking the time to lay down and put my feet up. It makes me feel stress free to know, my baby is healthy and growing strong. At this point in time that is all the matters me.
Sometimes I have to look at this picture to remind myself that I am really carrying a baby. Its not butterflies that I feel in my belly, this baby bump is not there from not going to the gym and this back pain is truly real. I am carrying a life that will bring so many memories to our lives, such happiness that we cannot wait to embrace upon. It amazes me that just by looking at this photo, I feel a connection to my baby. Knowing that she will soon be born into this world is a great feeling.
I will always keep this picture of my child as a reminder of the memories that I have encountered throughout my pregnancy. Knowing that this pregnancy at one point could have never been. My hopes to be able to tell her once is she old enough the obstacles that we went through to bring her into this world and the spiritual meaning of her first ultrasound photo. Even though I have had some complications with my pregnancy, I would do it all over again, I cannot express enough the joy that I feel to becoming a mother. All of the pain and concerns are worth every minute of it. You almost forget what you have gone through because you become so infatuated with the realization that you are going to be a parent.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Rules for Writers: Chapter 1
Chapter one is mainly about how to start a writing and how to get the attention of the reader. It also states how to sketch out a plan to start your writing, I think that it gives very good tips on how to do this. For example; listening to music, jot down inspirations and ask your own questions. People use these tactics everyday, but as for using it as a brainstorm for a writing, I don't think so. This book gives a lot of useful information on how to get in gear and get to the core of what your ideas really are.
This chapter also talks about how to conduct writings on interviews and questionnaires, I thought that was very informational, usually you are always thinking of new ways to be creative and this paragraph offers some good tips on what to do, like to tape record an interview, so that you do not miss any main points, this way you would be able to pick through and get the key points of an interview. Also it says to keep questions simple, I usually always try to make them harder just because I thought it sounded better but this paragraph states a good point, simple, deadlines, and you will get a more reasonable reply!
Audience was another thing that was important in this reading, you don't realize it but its one of the most important things in writing, you want to make sure that when your writing something that you know what kind of audience you are trying to captivate.
Another main idea of this chapter that I really liked and I know that I will now use in my thought process of writing is the purpose of writing tools that the books offers. I like how it says that your purpose will be dictated by your specific writing situation. That sentence is key to me personally. I believe that when you write, you are always in certain situations, and your in a certain mood each time you sit down to write, that is why you can write about one topic daily and each time your in a different situation or mood, and therefore the writing has a different meaning each time. I will use the purpose guidelines from now on in my writings.
This chapter also talks about how to conduct writings on interviews and questionnaires, I thought that was very informational, usually you are always thinking of new ways to be creative and this paragraph offers some good tips on what to do, like to tape record an interview, so that you do not miss any main points, this way you would be able to pick through and get the key points of an interview. Also it says to keep questions simple, I usually always try to make them harder just because I thought it sounded better but this paragraph states a good point, simple, deadlines, and you will get a more reasonable reply!
Audience was another thing that was important in this reading, you don't realize it but its one of the most important things in writing, you want to make sure that when your writing something that you know what kind of audience you are trying to captivate.
Another main idea of this chapter that I really liked and I know that I will now use in my thought process of writing is the purpose of writing tools that the books offers. I like how it says that your purpose will be dictated by your specific writing situation. That sentence is key to me personally. I believe that when you write, you are always in certain situations, and your in a certain mood each time you sit down to write, that is why you can write about one topic daily and each time your in a different situation or mood, and therefore the writing has a different meaning each time. I will use the purpose guidelines from now on in my writings.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
"The Joy of reading and Writing: Superman and Me
Why is a "smart indian"dangerous?
In this reading I found that "indian smart"is dangerous because he is not a statistic to his culture, he was not like all of the other kids that were not going to amount to much. Alexie had a hopes and dreams for himself and was not going to let anyone destroy his dream of becoming the person that he wanted to become, a writer and a book reader like his father.
Dangerous to whom? How could it be dangerous to be smart?
He was dangerous to his own people, and also to the non- indian people. I think that he was dangerous to his own people because of the potential he knew that he had and I think that it put fear into his class mates. They always wanted him to be quite and sit back and watch like them and it was something that he was not willing to do.
I think that he was also dangerous to the non-indian people because he would not keep quite, he was curious and eager to learn, he did not want to be thought of as stupid, because to non-indian people, indians were expected to be stupid, it was nothing out of the ordinary but Alexie was not one of those indians, he wanted to make sure that they knew this, and with his courageousness he made it dangerous to be smart.
What does it mean to be smart in contemporary U.S. society? What do people need to know and/or be able to do? And where is this learned?
I think that in today's world, the meaning of being smart is simply to have a college degree. It can be in anything, seems like if you do not have a college education these days, you are looked at differently and considered "stupid" or "ignorant". In my personal opinion I do not agree with this, I think that there are plenty of smart people in the U.S. that do not have a college degree, who earn millions of dollars a year, and there are also very smart people out there that have not even completed elementary school but yet they are more street smart more than the person with a PhD. I think that it just depends on the way that you live your life and the career path that you go down.
People need to know that they can go to school and they can learn and become successful at any given time in life. I think that for a lot of people now a days, they loose hope too soon and give up to quick. We need to get the message out there that its not to late to learn and become what you have always dreamed of. I think people also need to know that there are so many resources out there to help them. On another note I think that people also need to realize that just because you do not go to school and get an education does not mean that you are stupid, a lot people get training on the job and become very successful.
I believe that a lot of judgement on the meaning of smart is started in the home, with parents that either are successful themselves and its is important to them for there children to go to college, or parents that would like for there children to just be able to get a good job and earn a good living, and graduate high school. Both of these options in my opinion make for a smart person with high potential, I just think in todays world people are more or less frowned upon if there is not a college degree to go along with great job experience.
How is education a means to save ones life? How is Alexie attempting to save the lives of students he works with? How did Alexie save his own life?
Education can save someones life is many ways. I think that it gives people hope and it inspires them to want to become a better person, it creates confidence because it is something that no one can take away from you. No matter what you came from or how you grow up, education is something personal and gives you meaning to yourself.
Alexie is attempting to save lives of the students that he works with by visiting there schools frequently, telling his story, letting it be known that they can become anyone or anything that they want to be, he has them writing poetry, short stories, novels. They also read his books, he tries to get through to them that they are not arrogant or worthless, they are human and writing is not a bad thing its there outlet.
Alexie saved his own life by not giving up, he would not be quite, he was eager to learn and her took that eagerness and ran with it. He read books until he fell asleep at night, he wanted to become someone in life and he did that by not letting anyone tell him that he was stupid, he knew that the more reading that he did, the more educated he would become, and he was right and he is now proving that to the world by speaking out about it.
Choose a quote from the reading and share your critical thinking in response.
" I didn't have the vocabulary to say "paragraph" but I realized that a paragraph was a fence that held words. The words inside a paragraph worked together for a common purpose, they had a specific reason for being inside the same fence. This knowledge delighted me" Pg 12.
I chose this quote because I think that it is very powerful to the meaning of his story. He started out not knowing a thing. For a long time he imagined the stories in his head, he made up the stories by the pictures in the books or just made up his own theory of what the book was about. Over time he learned to read and would put the pictures together to understand the meaning of the books. When he says that the words in a paragraph were in a fence, it goes to show that he would break up the words that he was familiar with, and the pictures made sense to him and then he would piece it all together and come up with stories about what he thought he was reading. Then he finishes this quote with this delighted him, That is acknowledgment great! His imagination fascinated him, and that is all that mattered, he did not need from anyone else, he had the confidence that most didn't, and with this he is now a succssful writer.
Come up with your own question/topic on the reading.
Who do you think Alexie would of become in life if his father was not a book reader?
In this reading I found that "indian smart"is dangerous because he is not a statistic to his culture, he was not like all of the other kids that were not going to amount to much. Alexie had a hopes and dreams for himself and was not going to let anyone destroy his dream of becoming the person that he wanted to become, a writer and a book reader like his father.
Dangerous to whom? How could it be dangerous to be smart?
He was dangerous to his own people, and also to the non- indian people. I think that he was dangerous to his own people because of the potential he knew that he had and I think that it put fear into his class mates. They always wanted him to be quite and sit back and watch like them and it was something that he was not willing to do.
I think that he was also dangerous to the non-indian people because he would not keep quite, he was curious and eager to learn, he did not want to be thought of as stupid, because to non-indian people, indians were expected to be stupid, it was nothing out of the ordinary but Alexie was not one of those indians, he wanted to make sure that they knew this, and with his courageousness he made it dangerous to be smart.
What does it mean to be smart in contemporary U.S. society? What do people need to know and/or be able to do? And where is this learned?
I think that in today's world, the meaning of being smart is simply to have a college degree. It can be in anything, seems like if you do not have a college education these days, you are looked at differently and considered "stupid" or "ignorant". In my personal opinion I do not agree with this, I think that there are plenty of smart people in the U.S. that do not have a college degree, who earn millions of dollars a year, and there are also very smart people out there that have not even completed elementary school but yet they are more street smart more than the person with a PhD. I think that it just depends on the way that you live your life and the career path that you go down.
People need to know that they can go to school and they can learn and become successful at any given time in life. I think that for a lot of people now a days, they loose hope too soon and give up to quick. We need to get the message out there that its not to late to learn and become what you have always dreamed of. I think people also need to know that there are so many resources out there to help them. On another note I think that people also need to realize that just because you do not go to school and get an education does not mean that you are stupid, a lot people get training on the job and become very successful.
I believe that a lot of judgement on the meaning of smart is started in the home, with parents that either are successful themselves and its is important to them for there children to go to college, or parents that would like for there children to just be able to get a good job and earn a good living, and graduate high school. Both of these options in my opinion make for a smart person with high potential, I just think in todays world people are more or less frowned upon if there is not a college degree to go along with great job experience.
How is education a means to save ones life? How is Alexie attempting to save the lives of students he works with? How did Alexie save his own life?
Education can save someones life is many ways. I think that it gives people hope and it inspires them to want to become a better person, it creates confidence because it is something that no one can take away from you. No matter what you came from or how you grow up, education is something personal and gives you meaning to yourself.
Alexie is attempting to save lives of the students that he works with by visiting there schools frequently, telling his story, letting it be known that they can become anyone or anything that they want to be, he has them writing poetry, short stories, novels. They also read his books, he tries to get through to them that they are not arrogant or worthless, they are human and writing is not a bad thing its there outlet.
Alexie saved his own life by not giving up, he would not be quite, he was eager to learn and her took that eagerness and ran with it. He read books until he fell asleep at night, he wanted to become someone in life and he did that by not letting anyone tell him that he was stupid, he knew that the more reading that he did, the more educated he would become, and he was right and he is now proving that to the world by speaking out about it.
Choose a quote from the reading and share your critical thinking in response.
" I didn't have the vocabulary to say "paragraph" but I realized that a paragraph was a fence that held words. The words inside a paragraph worked together for a common purpose, they had a specific reason for being inside the same fence. This knowledge delighted me" Pg 12.
I chose this quote because I think that it is very powerful to the meaning of his story. He started out not knowing a thing. For a long time he imagined the stories in his head, he made up the stories by the pictures in the books or just made up his own theory of what the book was about. Over time he learned to read and would put the pictures together to understand the meaning of the books. When he says that the words in a paragraph were in a fence, it goes to show that he would break up the words that he was familiar with, and the pictures made sense to him and then he would piece it all together and come up with stories about what he thought he was reading. Then he finishes this quote with this delighted him, That is acknowledgment great! His imagination fascinated him, and that is all that mattered, he did not need from anyone else, he had the confidence that most didn't, and with this he is now a succssful writer.
Come up with your own question/topic on the reading.
Who do you think Alexie would of become in life if his father was not a book reader?
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