Friday, December 7, 2012

Writing habits have improved ten fold since starting this blog project!

     
 As the writer of the essays and specific blog posts I have seen an incredible improvement of the quality of the writing and the habits that produce such great works of art. I have finally learned the difference between formal essay writing and informal everything else writing. I'm actually quite proud. 
     
  Prof. Jenn had to write "don't use 'you ' to mean 'I' or 'one'" on almost every one of my papers. I feel bad that I did it every single time, but sometimes I'd forget that I wasn't writing a blog post and accidently slip one or two in there. I really do know the difference between the two though. I've always had a problem staying in one tense, not using "you" and being formal enough because teachers have told me to write like I'm having a conversation. Well, what I didn't quite understand is that it's supposed to be an intelligent sounding conversation and one does not simple talk directly to their audience. I've got it now, so I'll leave the "Are you sitting me?" for blogging and use "One would not consider themselves to have been shat " for essays. I'm not sure that even answers the question. I'm not even sure that's an answer.

  I liked the blogging thing, so I hope the next batch of people do too. It really does help with differentiating between  what is formal and acceptable (not this) and what is informal and not really acceptable anywhere. Then apply that to an essay and the problem of "you" is no longer a problem. I also think it's good to have a project that is long term and expanded on in almost every class because you have a whole week to think about what you want to say. 

  
   I don't know if I could pick one post that I liked more than the others, but if I did it would be
"...consider the doubts you or other REASONABLE PEOPLE might have..."because I already knew a little bit about it from high school, so I found that reading more about it was interesting and writing about it was easy. I like when that happens. I also liked that the book was formal and sassy with the comment that I used for the title of that post. The book knows the difference. 

   This has been a work of art because I know the difference between formal and informal writing.




picture!

Final Blog Post

The blog post in English 1010 was a new experience that required a lot of reading and research to get familiarized with the online network. I think it was a good diversity instead of using just paper based writings, but I felt that it was more time consuming. In my case for instance I had to spend more time learning the tools before getting to the real task of learning essay writing. I am not sure if everybody in the class felt that way, but for me it was one of the most time costly activities and I also felt disadvantaged compared to others who had a good amount of blogging experience.
The reading, commenting, response, and classmate evaluations were some of the fun parts of this blog exercises. I think one of the first things that I noticed doing this blog posts was that it needed a lot of reading more than anything else. It was probably the only thing that required reading the textbooks. These readings I would say were great guidelines for writing effective essays. However, it could have been done on paper and it was not necessary to do all the additional blogs learning unless the intention was actually to learn blog themselves. The visuals, Google reader, blog designs, connecting to other bloggers and so were only a few of the burdens I had doing the blog assignment. Again I felt that it was not very important to learn all these things and the time could have been used to learn to write better conventional paper based essays.   
Commenting on fellow classmates and receiving one was one of my favorite things as far as this blog assignment. It was interesting to see what other students are writing, to know your level in comparison to others in the class, what they think about your post etc. Sometimes students could give valuable feedback that a teacher might have missed. Blog comments were not always reasonable and factual. Yet the author can get enough comments to assess his or her work in the eyes of his or her classmate.
My favorite blog post rather posts were the fallacy posts. This is because first of all by the time we started those fallacy posts I was already familiarized with the basic blogging procedures and second I was able to relate myself to the logic and arguments behind the fallacies from my math background. I wrote two posts of those fallacies and one comparison between two fallacies. They all had interesting background and it was at least a bit of fun after all the days I got stuck for hours posting just a blog or an image.  Of those fallacies posts I wrote the “Hasty generalization” was my favorite one.
I could not say Professor Boughn should just drop blogging of the list in the coming class because it might have been useful for others. I’ve seen many of my classmates take it as the fun part of English 1010. There were also some benefits such as the classmate network, evaluation, responses, comments etc. The best thing about the blogging assignment was I think that it enforced textbook readings. For me however, the blog assignment was not as helpful as might have been intended and I don’t think I gained much out of it.
 

Final Blog Post

My english 1010 experience has been beneficial towards my writing ability. As a result, I have found writing to be a little exciting along the way. This can be credited towards the work of my ENG 1010 blog where I wasn't so restricted to certain assignments.

At the beginning of the semester, my writing ability was very limited. I didn't use specific details and examples to support my ideas and my writing didn't flow. But four months later, I can positively say that these skills have incresed. I understand how to be more specific with my statements. Also, I feel that my sentences flow and connect with eacher where previously they were just choppy.  Despite this apparent increase in my writing ability, I know that I can still improve my overall writing for the future. As of now I can give a lot of credit to the blogging assignemnt for this increase.

My English 1010 blog was a great experience. It allowed me freedom towards writing and a sense of control. When writing about topics like ethos, I felt that I could encorporate some fun or silly ideas. Also, being part of one of many blog groups, made me more competetive. I wanted my groups blog to be the best. When Prof. Jenn asks "Should the blog project be assigned for the next ENG 1010 class?" my answer is a definite yes.

While on the topic my blog, I going to mention the favorite post I composed. The bland name of this blog is "My Peer Review of Tinyline16.com". This blog isn't my best piece of work but it allowed me to gain the confidence for future blogging assignments and essays. I felt that my overall structure of the blog was strong. Each paragraph was connected through a transition sentence, the paragraphs supported my thesis, and I incldued details for my ideas or claims. With such a clear idea of how to structure my writings after this post, I could then focus on my flow and other writing abilities.

 So this is the last blog post for my ENG 1010 class. After thinking about all the writing I did this semester I am now confident with my writing ability. Hopefully future students in this course will find the blogging assignements as beneficiary as I did. Now I need an image...






Image Link

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Designing Printed and Electronic Documents



The topic discusses design by explaining the key elements such as proximity, alignment, repetition, and contrast. According to this reading a writer needs to through planning including analyzing the purpose of the writing, the audience expectation, topic of discussion/writing, and the context & genre. Planning and organizing the project, is then followed by implementing design; overall impression as whether the design should be fun type or serious, hyping or conservative. Then the overall layout of that employs proximity, alignment, repetition and contrast. The last part of design, format, comes at the end. This part discusses the type, size, and color of font, usage of white space/ grouping of text, and listing items to guide the readers’ eyes to focus on the most important content of the writing. Finally the visuals were discussed in detail as when or what kind of visual to use. It was interesting reading with a good analogy to the ancient Peruvian art that used proximity, alignment, repetition, and contrast in honor of their sun god.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Friday, November 9, 2012

English 1010 Blog Reviews


BLOG
1010 Insight
DirtyBirdys
Tinyline 16
Denver English Bloggers
The Word Nerdz
English Spill Drill
Organized/Consistent:
9
8
9
10
10
10
Personal Connection:
8
8
9
8
8
10
Hook/Voice:
7
9
9
8
8
8
Visually Pleasing:
8
7
6
10
8
9
Multimedia:
8
8
9
9
9
8
Popularity:
8
8
8
8
8
8
Timeliness/Frequency:
9
9
9
9
6
9
Length Fits Purpose:
9
9
10
9
10
9

1010 Insight: Well organized, pretty good voice, overall a strong blog. The variety in text color/font/size is nice but at times is a little too wild.

Lauren Not La-Fonda (DirtyBirdys): Well organized, very unique voice, and great pictures. Overall a very good blog, but the plain black text-on white background gets a little boring.

English Spill Drill: Great, simplistic blog that overall achieves class expectations

Word Nerdz: Besides having a 2 week gap between posts, and overall good blog.

Tinyline 16: Greatly-written posts, overall visuals could be better.

Denver English Bloggers: Pretty, good voice, well organized. Colors make everything easy to read.

Denver English Bloggers Review

      We decided that we like the Denver English Bloggers' blog the best which is means for doing a review on it. We like it because it is very well organized, they took advantage of the colorful text option, they have different pictures and videos than most of the other blogs and the writers have good voice.
      Their blog has the drop-down archive to the side to provide easy access to any post that one would need to look up, their blog ratings are all in one spot with brief explanations below and in the posts it is easy to quickly see what they are writing about. Their posts have different colors for different purposes and/or topics that made it look neat and organized and is easy for the reader to follow.
      The colors on their pages also make their posts less boring because the reader sees lime green text and wants to read it. There are multiple colors in each post, one for the title, for each heading and the body of the post.
      Each writer creates posts that display the way they write and it's like they're talking directly to us. Sometimes they will have lists, simple sentences or just bursts of thought and that contributes to their voice as well. Each one is unique.
     They don't pick the same pictures and videos that everyone else does. Their pictures are clever and relevant too. Like the Dr. Seuss one, no one else has that!
      Good job! It's pretty with all the colors and organizational greatness and interesting pictures. We congratulate Denver English Bloggers on their wonderful and beautiful blog.
     

FALSE DILEMMA




      "False Dilemma" is an informal fallacy that omits a choice between two extremes intentionally to deceive readers or unintentionally. False dilemma also known as either-or fallacy is one of the most common fallacies because it is easier way of persuation as well as easier for people to use it accidentally with out throughly investigating all the possible choices. The statement "You are either with us or against us," is a good example of false dilemma because a person is entitled to the choice of not being affiliated with any group, but the fallacy is ignoring the fact that people could be in between (not on either side). Another example is   the famous Eldridge Cleaver's presidentias statement "You're either part of the solution or part of the problem." In this case Cleaver is the possibility that people could be neither part of the solution nor the problem. Eventhough, it is easy to fall into this fallacy we can avoid it by considering every possible options including the options that might not suit ourself. This is ofcourse given that the writer is not intending to mislead readers on purpose.


Handy-dandy Problem Chart

Basically if you feel like some aspect of your essay isn't quite up to par you can find the problem in this chart and it will advise you on how to fix it. 
      If you are having trouble presenting your subject you probably should add visuals, eliminate unrelated details and/or refer to other people's writings in a way that strengthens yours.
      If you are having trouble with clarification you should alter the language in your thesis and state your thesis early on in your paper and if your judgement changes you should change your thesis
      If your reasons and support are faulty you should clarify and justify by relating your point to the point of someone else who is considered an expert. Explain how your point is related to your thesis.
      If your counterargument is lacking you should probably think about it and why it is the counter then think about why your point is right instead and write that down.
      If your essay doesn't flow well you should consider reading it through and reorganizing it. Add appropriate transitions and signal when you are moving on to the conclusion.

Now you, hopefully, don't have a crappy essay! 

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Black or White Fallacy

The black or white fallacy is basically a statement that is narrowed down to two choices when more options exist. Politics being popular right now, a perfect example of this would be your part of a polotical party (Democrats,Republicans) or your against them. In reality there is an in-between, Indpendent. Black or white fallacy is a perfect name for this type of fallacy. Its either black or white, not red, green, blue or any other color. In order to avoid this type of fallacy, you need to have knowledge about what your talking about. Looking at all perspectives would be beneficial, knowing all aspects of the idea, and not taking an extreme stance for a certain argument.

False%20Dilemma-thumb-300x254-153811[1].jpg
Image Link

Friday, October 26, 2012

Have fun watching the big bang theory

First paragraph: includes brief introduction to the show and why I think it is worth watching it. I will also include my thesis in this paragraph.                         
  Second paragraph: I will lay down supporting points; I might also give a plot to introduce the characters and the story. Also how I got hooked with it.             
Third & Fourth paragraphs: These paragraphs will continue the work of backing up my point few details of the show and it’s relation to reality. In other words I would like to show how true and informative the content of the show is.           
Fifth & Sixth paragraphs: I will mention some other shows of its kind to compare and contrast. This will show the advantages and disadvantages of the show over the others. I will also talk about the producers and their reputation
 Seventh paragraph: Finally I will summarize my points and restate my thesis to finish the evaluation essay.

Pros                                                            Cons  
·                    Entertaining show (very funny)
·        Sometimes it takes long before new episode gets released
·                    Often it is educational and realistic topics are covered
·                    Too much commercial takes great deal of the time
·                    The show brings distinguished guests/scientists and discuss hot topics to make it up to date
·                    Limited characters and stage of action.
·                    Can be watched online for free
·                    There were few episodes with little story other than being funny
·                    Ongoing show (new episodes coming out)
·                     

WATCH IT RIGHT QUICK SO YOU CAN GET TO THE EPISODES WITH RIVER SONG!!!!/ You need to watch it because your feels depend on it!

Pros:
Cons
The idea is great
It’s just GREAT
It blows your mind
The writer, Steven Moffat, know how to make you laugh, cry, want to hide and crap your pants in one episode
Humans, Time Lords, Aliens (Characters)
After you watch it you can go on Tumblr and laugh about it
THE SOONER YOU WATCH IT THE SOONER YOU CAN MEET RIVER SONG!
It is perfect
The intensity and passion and all feelings of the     characters
Acting is impeccable
Acting, Characters, Story, Plot
THE FEELS!
You may have nightmares
You will NEVER look at a statue the same way again
There is a possibility you will get as obsessed as I am
 Some people think it's dumb and improbable those people are dumb 
Maybe a little too scary for younger viewers
THE FEELS!

Evaluation essay of Doctor Who Season 3, Episode 10, Blink
How am I going to make this into an actual essay without exploding feels and spoilers all over it? I’m so bad at this klduthlskdfgj

Outline
P1-Intro. Description of Doctor Who in all it's beautifulness
     Who is the Doctor? What is the Doctor? Why Doctor Who? The Fandom! 
                                                or
     Brief intro to Who to catch people. Talk a little about The Doctor and his Companions.
P2- He's saved the world more times than you can count and you didn't even know it.
     Thesis- Something about Blink being a worth while episode? and also why? Generic Plot of Episodes, plot of this episode.
P3- A sad man with both his hearts broken
     Story of the Doctor and his companions. Story of Revived series. Story of Blink.  Pick some Pros and include them.
P4- Spoilers!
     Characters past, present and future. Pick more Pros and include them
P5- Opposing?
     Why some people don't like Who and Whovians and  why they are WRONG
P6- Description of Doctor Who in all it's beautifulness
     Who is the Doctor? What is the Doctor? Why Doctor Who? The Fandom! River!!!!
                                            or
     Whatever else one would need to know about the Doctor and his life./ The feels
P7- Conclusion. 
     It's just wonderful and you need to watch it. River Song is my favorite. Go to Tumblr and laugh about it. Restate of thesis. 

Avatar Visuals

When looking at the poster Berardinelli displays for his review about Avatar, it definately add it's own dimensions to the review. The poster itself displays planets in the background and an overlapping of Jake's face over Neytiri's face whith the setting of the planet pandora in front of them. This poster has perception which indicates that this image represents a possible 3D movie.

The story itself is also somewhat summarized in this image. The resemblance of a setting with tons of planets in the sky, floating pieces of earth with vegetation and prehistoric-like flying creatures with futuristic helicopters indicates that a new world is going to be explored by mankind in the future. Jake's and Neytiri's face's being above all of the things in this world indicates that their relationship is going to be the focal point in the conflict. Also in the image, they are both looking in the same direction with an angry stare. Maybe they are going to be on the same side against an opposition.




I agree with Berardinelli.

The wording in the instructions of Reading Like A Writer is confusing to me, so I will do my best.
Comparisons that Berardinelli used in the second paragraph:
Avatar vs. Dances with Wolves- narrative and scifi
Avatar vs. Aliens- Space/military
Avatar vs. Titanic- Romance
Berardinelli  classifies Avatar as all of the above. It is not just a single one of them because it has aspects from the scifi in the fancy new Na'vi world and the space/military because Jake Sully is a military man and the bad guys are all working for the military, but there is romance with Jake and Neytiri. All of that packed into one wonderful movie means that it could not possibly fall into a single category. Even the poster would suggest that.

Don't Watch Sports Center

Sports Center

Pros

Cons

Shows Highlights
Can be very repetitive
Covers Major American Sports
East-Coast and Large Market Bias
In depth analysis of teams/players
Minor Sports Receive Minimal Coverage
New Show Daily
Ability to increase a Sport’s Popularity
Most popular Sports Show in US

Great Coverage of Major Sports




Outline

1st Paragraph- Description of Sports Center.
  • What is Sports Center about? Who watches Sports Center? Why is it so popular?
2nd Paragraph- My thesis.
  • My position about Sports Center.
3rd Paragraph- Support Point 1 and 2 for Thesis
  • East Coast and Large market bias. LA, Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, other east coast cities.
  • Ability to Increse a team's/sport's popularity.
4th Paragraph- Support Point 2 for Thesis
  • Can be very repetetive. Certain topics will be the headlining of the show for days even weeks.
5th Paragraph- Opposing argument.
  • Great coverage of NFL, MLB, and NBA. My response- Shows way to much of these sports while NHL (Hockey) and MLS (Soccer) are hardly ever shown.
  • What else is there to watch? My response- New networks have been emerging.
6th paragraph- Conclusion
  • Restate, but dont actually restate, my thesis.