Welcome to my last blog post, I'm sorry that this is our last meeting. Below I wrote about composing GRITT. I reflected on the different methods this course I taught me. Becoming a more informed author was one my hopes when I began this class and I know that this is just the first success of many in my writing career. I looked at some informal articles and videos that helped me dig deeper into giving a self reflection and I will link those. I hope you enjoy this reflection of mine.. Reflective Writing Genres In Academic Writing: Reflection. This ENG 100 course has opened my mind to a completely different type of approach to writing. Professor Mangini has taught me how to find my author self and make my meaning with my writings. I’ve become more aware in multiple areas of my writing. My genre awareness has improved because I am able to identify the genre based on the tone, the words used, and even picturing the setting. I remember watching one of the movie scenes that was presented in class where the son was sitting on the counter making breakfast with his dad. We gave our opinions on what we thought was going on and it was a different style of thinking that I believe challenged all of us. The genre of my MLA Research Paper is in the direction of educating the reader on the potential trouble the state of PA can be in if we don’t open the state after June 4th.
Rhetorical awareness is knowing the purpose, audience, and context when writing a piece. In this class, perfecting this took discipline by reading and listening and knowing how to give the information I had to the right audience in the appropriate way. In my research paper, it was more than just looking up accurate statistics. I had to prove why I really felt the way that I did and I still stand by it. My identity as an author in the past was just one that could write on the fly and do my best. After making it through this class, I feel more confident that I am able to write on any subject, in any genre. The most challenging blog was “Writing Process Roundtable” because even though we had a few quotes total to work with, making it into a realistic scenario made me think as a writer and forced me to think outside the box. I created my author-self’s name, Turkey Dog Coma, out of being random and now I am proud to know that I gave all in maintaining a strong writing identity. This course has impacted the way that I value writing because I now know that there is so much work into making a piece come to life. Writing is both a joy and a struggle. The struggle can come from not knowing how to get off on the right foot with your subject but once you find the supporting details, the points reach up to the climax. From there you are in control of how the piece can go. The joy is realizing that a simple method can work for any style of writing. I plan to apply my writing knowledge to every form of writing and make the effort to write with a purpose. I've learnt I have the opportunity to give the reader something to look forward to. I’ve realized that writing can be just as loud as a speaker. Before I write now, I take a moment to see if there are meanings between the lines. Professor Manginin using his houses’ brings to represent structure was one of the best examples I’ve seen. It was a visual representation of how writing should be from top to bottom. In the future, there I am sitting with a young boy. He is more a visual learner than a listening learner. So instead of saying you have to work your way up to the point of the story, I make a pyramid to represent my words. Each level has its own value but together it makes the story whole.
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For this blog post I took the story from my previous blog post,Composing an Emotional Scene with Dialogue and Symbolism, and made it into a story on how it would be if I made the wrong decisions. I will include the texts that helped me and I will also include the link to my upcoming Narrative Project. Enjoy my story and stay tuned!
“Amen.” the pastor said after his closing remarks.
“How do I tell the truth?” I thought to myself. “What do I gain by keeping it to myself? I’m only a kid so it shouldn’t be a big deal anyway.” I was only 13 years old and I felt guilty because I stole my from my friend. What I stole was some headphones. That night at bible study, I had thought about going to the pastor to explain myself but I chose not to because I’d feel too embarrassed. The very next day I forgot all about bible study and decided to steal again but this time I stole from someone else at school and was caught by school’s security. I was brought into the principal's office. “Why’d you steal?” The principal asked me. “I don’t know.” “Well I’m going to have to give you a 3 day suspension and 2 detentions when you get back. You need to learn your lesson.” “Ok.” I told the Principal. I started crying on the spot and I had no one there with me to take in my tears. Those 3 days were the worst because the same feeling I had at bible study was 10 times worse because I was actually caught this time. I lost the trust of friends that were close to me. They didn’t even want to hang out with me anymore, and who would anyway? I was now known as a thief. I spent most of my time in my room laying down on my bed, looking up at the ceiling, wishing it would fall on me and my troubles would somehow end. When there was bible study again I decided to approach the Pastor. “Pastor I messed up.” I said. “What happened?” “I got suspended from school for stealing and I lost my friends.” “Well, what have you learned?” he asked me. I started to shake my head with the look of knowing I screwed up. “I learned that I needed to do the right thing and swallow my pride. I was going to come to you earlier for help but I felt too embarrassed.” Pastor himself gave a look of disappointment. When it was time for me to head back to school, I felt like I had a target on my back. There were students looking at me all the time and I felt so bad about myself. I started to sit by myself at lunch. I can recall once trying to sit with a kid I didn’t know. He told me, “I heard about you. That wasn’t cool.” He then walked away and found another table. I spent the rest of the year thinking about what I’ve lost. If only I decided to approach Pastor before it was too late. Welcome back to my blog! Below I made a scene of time where I was hurting as a child and a strong man in my life was there to help me. In preparation for my story, I read My Name is Margaret (Maya Angelou) and Hills Like White Elephants. These stories showed me the power of meaningful storytelling. I will also include other articles that have educated me if you’d like to look for yourself. There was a bible study meeting at the pastors house. “Amen.” the pastor said after his closing remarks. “How do I tell the truth?” I thought to myself. “What do I gain by keeping it to myself?” “I’m only a kid so it shouldn’t be a big deal anyway.” Not too long before I walk up to the Pastor. “Hey Pastor, how are you? I appreciate the word tonight.” “Thank you Nathan. I want you to take it home with you.” “I will. Is there any chance I can have a moment to talk to you in private?” “Sure, just give me one second.” “No problem.” Pastor is talking to other congregation members and I’m still thinking of a way to come out clean but I feel too ashamed. “Come over here Nate. What’s the problem?” “I feel like I haven’t been true to myself and I’m too scared to tell my mom because I’ll get in trouble.” “I’m listening.” Pastor said. “I’ve done things that I think that I should be in jail for. I don’t know how I’m still here but maybe it’s luck.” Tears begin falling down my eyes as I am opening up to him. I am so ashamed of myself. “I don’t know where to go from here. Please help.” As I’m crying, he looks like he understands because he’s spoken to other people about their problems, hence why I feel comfortable opening up. “Let’s pray. Bow your head. Father God, I ask you to give Nathan comfort in this moment right now…” “In Jesus’ name, Amen.” We prayed for 5 minutes. “Thank you for being here for me.” “What should I do now?” “Build a stronger relationship with Christ.” Pastor said. “How do I do that?” I’m so used to just going to church with my mom and sometimes falling asleep throughout the service anyway. “Keep reading the Bible and praying. You can go to the Lord the same way you came to me. He loves you and will forgive your sins.” “Ok thank you Pastor.” The next bible study meeting I approached Pastor again. “Pastor, I’ve prayed and I feel better.” “That’s good.” “Why I came to you the other day is because I stole from a friend a few times. I think that I’m a horrible person. I don’t know if I would be forgiven or loved by God. I really want to make it heaven.” “As I’ve said before, God loves you. Jesus died for your sins. My job as your Pastor is to show you the love of Christ.” “Ok. I will continue praying.” I didn’t know how important Pastor would be in my life until I went to him. He’s the biggest male influence I have in my life right now. Welcome to my 4th blog! For this blog post I read three pieces (I will provide links below) on the writing process. I got to dive into the works of Don Murray, Mary Karr, and Anne Lamott where they addressed the process. I took that information and put it into a fun narrative story. Working on this narrative put a pair of creative glasses on me and I learned how to incorporate what I read into how to make a story engaging. I hope you enjoy it!
Yesterday was my first day at DCCC and as a young man, my ambition to finally become a English teacher is through the roof! It was around 8:30am and I had scheduled a meeting with three people who I thought of as mentors. Authors, Don Murray, Anne Lamott, and Mary Karr were waiting for me. They were at the school to promote ways to teach and understanding the writing process. Luckily they had 30 minutes in their busy schedule to talk to me. As I was sitting in the waiting area, I can remember tapping the side of my leg with my fingers because of so much anticipation. I looked at my phone to check the time and it seemed like one minute was really 30 minutes. So damn dreadful.
The front desk associate told me “They’re ready for you.” I walked into the room with confidence to find all three of them smiling and giving their hellos as I took my seat. Only 5 minutes in, we started our conversation and went into depth about the process of writing. I said to the room, “So like movies and television where there’s pre-production, producing, and post production, there’s a similar process in writing?” They all smiled because of the comparison and Murray answered, “The writing process itself can be divided into three stages: prewriting, writing, and rewriting.” I brought up how difficult the work has been for myself and my peers. I mentioned that in high school, the work felt like a duty and not improvement. Karr was ready to answer but Murray politely asked to take this one and he said, “We have to respect the student, not for his product, not for the paper we call literature by giving it a grade, but for the search for truth in which he is engaged.” Karr then chimed in saying, “Revision is the secret to their troubles---and yours. That, and a sense of quality that exceeds what you can do---that gives you something to strive for.” 10 minutes later into the meeting I said, “First drafts are sometimes difficult but I learn from my mistakes and look for the areas I struggle in.” “Writing is the act of producing a first draft. It is the fastest part of the process, and the most frightening, for it is a commitment.” Murray said. But then Lamott threw me off guard. “What I’ve learned to do when I sit down to work on a shitty first draft is to quiet the voices in my head.” Lamott said. I didn’t expect such language lol. She added on, “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something--- anything--- down on paper.” I asked, “But what if I spend more time doing the first draft and I know there’s more to do, am I wasting time and putting myself in a bad position? Please help me.” I started panicking because of my past failures. Karr added in her gentle voice saying, “A writer can always go back to an earlier draft. The point is to have more curiosity about possible forms the work could take than a sense of self-protection for your ego.” I responded, “I understand now. This has been a struggle and since I want to get into teaching, something like revision is continuously being brought up. One thing I like about revising is that I can be more creative with my work when I go back.” Karr agreed and said “Remind yourself that revising proves your care for the reader and the nature of your ambition.” “Will do.” I said. Before the meeting was over I asked the group, “I understand that stress can be a pain when revising, but with skill and practice, the art of writing can be achieved correct?” Lamott added “If one of the characters wants to say, ‘Well, so what, Mr. Poopy Pants?,’ you let her. No one is going to see it. If the kid wants to get into really sentimental, weepy, emotional territory, you let him.” Just get it all down on paper, because there may be something great in those six crazy pages that you would have never gotten to by more rational, grown-up means.” We all laughed again while remembering her particular choice of words earlier and I thanked them and went to class. When I got home later that night, I sent them emails saying “The process of writing is the best part of the journey. Thank you for showing me the way.” Welcome back to my blog. I had the pleasure of reading A Fable for the Living. The piece gave me a different way of approaching writing in the form of a letter to self. The story showed me that there are meanings between the lines of our words. Each individual has their own way of expressing those meanings. The beauty as a reader is that we get to dive into the authors brain to grasp a glimpse of their world. Take a look into my world. Dear Turkey Dog Coma, We are certainly at the top of a mountain called Potential. I can see you fighting the chains that are attached to your ankles. I can see your face with fear thinking that you will never be set free. I continue to look at you, feeling your pain and I still ignore you. Please forgive me for not bringing you to me. We are meant for each other and I know that you cannot wait for the day you’ll connect with me again. I am guilty of turning around my shoulder and seeing everything thing else that pleases me but ignoring the fact that you can give me a stronger ability so that we both get higher than this mountain. Please, take the time to read this and know by the end of it that I am ready to connect again. Again, I apologize and now’s the time we I will set you free. I have came up with three steps that will improve myself. The first step I have in place to strengthen our relationship is that I write you more. You are so different from me yet I know that you complete me. Without writing on a consistent basis, I’m sure that I will lose some of you each day. I’ve also learned that when I start writing, I don’t stop. It’s like a forever going engine for me and when it’s time, you let me know when to end. The next step is to read more with you. When I do read, every past negative feeling I had goes away because you comfort me. I don’t know if it’s lack of courage or disinterest but I need to get over myself. If I don’t continue to read, I will probably fall off of the Potential Mountain. The last step is that I take time to understand the interests you love. From what I’ve learned so far about you, it seems that I’ve been missing out on what you like most and boy can we do something special when we’re together. I’ve learned that you like to stay up to date with the news through articles, I’ve learnt that you love to write stories through creative storytelling. I can learn your interests by reading, listening to podcasts, and exploring the world, just to name a few. I sincerely hope that you see that I have changed for the better and I am ready to reach new heights with you. The opportunity for success is there, now all it takes is applying the steps. Writing to you right now for the first time has made me feel like I have a chance to set you free. Not often am I given the opportunity to change what I screwed up. Consider this letter as the beginning of an adventure. Sincerely, Nate For today’s blog, the subject is creating my multimodal website and understand the aspects of it. I learned different types of multimodal modes including linguistic, aural, gestures, visual and spatial. I also went over C.R.A.P. and examining composition strategies to make better content for my website. Take a look!
Add links from readings and questions
1. The purpose of creating a website for our English Composition I course is for us to use our content as a way of connecting with our author selves and also being more creative. 2. In the article “All Writing is Multimodal”, authors Cheryl Ball and Colin Charlton define multimodal writing as a way of communicating or meaning-making. They also state that every combination of modes makes a multimodal text and that every piece of writing uses more than one mode which makes it multimodal. 3. I agree with Ball and Charlton’s claim on “all writing is multimodal” because the examples that they brought up as multimodal writings were accurate. There are different ways to communicate our meanings such as digital, print, and art. 4. On a scale of 1-5, I rank the importance of Linguistics in my writing as a 5 because understanding how to use my language as a writer is important so that any reader can understand and comprehend it. Next, I rank Aural at a 3 because it doesn’t have as big an impact my website as the others do but it’s still valuable for those impaired or for those that would rather hear what they are reading. Visual is at a 5 because since there are different types of ways to view such as tablets, phones, books, magazines, or paintings, the importance of the Visual mode will be there. Gestural is at 1 for me because I don’t see how it can be applied to my web content. Spatial is ranked at 5 because in any type of communication, blogs in particular, there needs to be organization. Without it, the message could be lost. 5. C.R.A.P. C is for contrast; creating contrast for elements to stand out. R is for repetition in production, making the website easier to scan. A is for alignment, making things easier to read. P is for proximity, meaning that things are associated with each other or not. 6. “C” is scaled at a 4 because I’d like my content to have areas where links and pictures are easily viewable. I don’t want a page that looks dull. R is on a 5 because I have to make sure that my website is consistent in its functionality. A is also at a 5 because the site for me is going to straight forward with no surprises. P is at 5 because there needs to be a balance with my content and the way it is being presented. 7. The composition conveys a specific purpose. The composition identifies a specific purpose. The composition employs a tone. The composition is organized. The composition uses transitions. The composition synthesizes. The composition uses detailed description. 8. The criteria that Borton and Huot uses seems similar for traditional print essay because the criteria covers all areas for a balanced essay. From personal experience, I have struggled with multiple points like audience and synthesizing. I saw the difference in the essay once they were improved. The Proust Questionnaire Welcome to my first blog! I was given instructions to describe myself through 35 questions using the The Proust Questionnaire. While completing this activity, it has helped me understand myself a little bit more. After reading my answers, I hope that you’ll have a better understanding of how I am as an individual. __1.__What is your idea of perfect happiness? My idea of perfect happiness is having peace in my mind, having healthy relationships with others and achieving my goals. These are my ideas because I know what it’s like to struggle to reach that happiness. __2.__What is your greatest fear? My greatest fear is not being successful in life. I want to make my family proud and although they may already be proud, I’m holding myself to high expectations to be great. __3.__What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? The trait I most deplore in myself is being an over thinker. Overthinking can be a curse and a blessing. It can be a curse because I could make a situation what it’s not. It can be a blessing because I can become a strategic thinker for projects that require strong details. __4.__What is the trait you most deplore in others? I cannot think of a trait that I most deplore in others. __5.__Which living person do you most admire? I admire my mom the most because she is living her dream. She performs music for a living and I want to follow in her steps to live my dream. __6.__What is your greatest extravagance? My greatest extravagance was buying basketball tickets that totaled in $600. __7.__What is your current state of mind? My current state of mind is good. My goals are clear to me, I do my best to stay positive and ignore the negative things that happen in life. __8.__What do you consider the most overrated virtue? I consider “Alone and down time” overrated because too much of it can lead to depression and anxiety. I think that socially, we as humans are best when we are with others. __9.__On what occasion do you lie? When I’m not in a good mood and I don’t want to explain myself, I’ll tell someone that asks how I’m doing that “I am doing good.” Sometimes I don’t feel like going into a whole discussion. __10.__What do you most dislike about your appearance? I dislike my blackheads the most on my face. I want to apply better skin remedies to help it. __11.__Which living person do you most despise? Although I’m not into politics a lot, I despise Donalds Trump for a lot of the comments he has made as the President. There should be someone with more sense in office. __12.__What is the quality you most like in a man? The quality I like most in a man is one that is there for his family. I can’t respect a man that chooses not to be there for his family. __13.__What is the quality you most like in a woman? The quality I like the most in a woman is where she is always supportive of her man. I believe that every man needs a woman that can support his dreams and goals. __14.__Which words or phrases do you most overuse? I overuse the word “Jawn”. Being from Philly has its toll. __15.__What or who is the greatest love of your life? My greatest love of my life is music. I cannot go a day without playing instruments or listening to music. Music is deep in my family history. __16.__When and where were you happiest? I think I was the happiest in 2014 and 2015 because I worked for the Philadelphia Eagles. I got to work football games and concerts. At age 18-20, those were some eye opening experiences for me. __17.__Which talent would you most like to have? A talent I would most like to have NBA level talent. I love watching them perform. __18.__If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I’d like to be taller. At least 6’3. __19.__What do you consider your greatest achievement? My greatest achievement has been going back to school and completely my first semester after getting my GED in 2013. Times for me were tough back then and I’m proud to be succeeding. __20.__If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? I’d be a creature that lives on another planet because I’d love to see what’s outside of this planet. I think there’s a lot in the galaxy that we don’t know about. __21.__Where would you most like to live? This is a tricky question because I’d like to Los Angeles because of the beautiful weather but I also love New York because how busy it is and the fast pace. I haven’t visited Los Angeles yet so it’s still a toss up. __22.__What is your most treasured possession? My most treasured possession is a picture of me when I got the job at the Philadelphia Eagles. I value how life changing the experience was. __23.__What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Being depressed is the lowest depth of misery. When you’re depressed, you don’t want to do anything and it can have a serious effect on your life. __24.__What is your favorite occupation? My favorite occupation is playing the drums because I get to make money while doing something I love to do. A lot of people certainly wish they had musical talents. __25.__What is your most marked characteristic? I believe that my most marked characteristic is that I see things in black and white. I am very straightforward and blunt. __26.__What do you most value in your friends? What I value most in friends are those that value spending time with others. Time is guaranteed so I want to make the most of it. __27.__Who are your favorite writers? My favorite writer is a sports columnist named Adrian Wojnarowski. I like him because he is a reliable source in the sports industry and tells the facts how they are. __28.__Who is your hero of fiction? My hero of fiction has to be Wolverine because I love how raw his character is. After watching the movie “Logan”, I got a deeper understanding of him as a person. __29.__Which historical figure do you most identify with? I most identify with Steve Jobs because I have a creative mind just as he did. I can also unfortunately be hard on people because I want the best out of them and want to achieve. __30.__Who are your heroes in real life? I don’t have any heroes in real life. __31.__What are your favorite names? My favorite names are Trey, Victoria and Arielle. __32.__What is it that you most dislike? I dislike when people aren’t truthful. It makes me look at them differently and my trust level goes down. __33.__What is your greatest regret? My greatest regret is dropping out of High School. If I didn’t dropout, I probably would’ve been graduating college right now. I don’t like talking about it but the experiences that came afterwards were interesting. __34.__How would you like to die? I’d like to die peacefully in my sleep during the night. Hopefully when I am old and grey. |
Turkey Dog ComaI am a creative and I hope that my work will inspire, motivate, and give a different perspective. Archives
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