Feb 1

Lamott

In her article Shitty First Drafts Lamott discuses how there is nothing wrong with writing a bad first draft. A first draft can just be something to get all your thoughts onto paper, then you can work from there to make a second or third draft. She says that having a “shitty first draft” can actually help improve a person’s writings.

Response

I agree with Lamott’s thought process, however, I do not think that this is a method that I personally will use. I usually just make one draft then, make improvements to that to make into my final paper.

King

In the article What Writing Is King brings in the idea of telepathy in terms of writing, which was difficult to follow. King describes the importance of being in the right mind state, or physical place to have your ideas flow to write a paper.

Response

I agree with what King is trying to say, because I do have to be in the right mind state and place for my papers to reach full potential. I like to be in a place that is extremely quiet, no music, and I need to clear my mind.

Goodman

In her article Calming the Inner Critic and Getting to Work Goodman discusses how you need to calm yourself and rid your mind of the negative critical thinking. She is trying to say that if you are less critical of your writing then your ideas will flow better and be more efficient.

Response

I agree with Goodman’s thoughts because sometimes people are way to critical with their own writings and never seem satisfied with their papers, but if people let loose and write more freely they will have better things to say.

Haruf

In his article To See Your Story Clearly, Start by Pulling the Wool over Your own Eyes, Kent Haruf talks about how people have their own strategies they take to writing a paper. He talks about blind folding himself to block out all distractions leaving only his thoughts about the paper.

Response

I thought that the tactics that he takes are a little extreme such as literally blind folding yourself. However, people should use whatever they feel is necessary for full potential.

Sontag

In Directions: Write, Read, Rewrite. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 as Needed. Susan discusses how important it is to read over your writings and then rewrite your ideas. She thinks that the outcome of your writings will be better if you reread what you have wrote multiple times to find new ideas and thoughts.

Response

I agree with what she is saying because when you read over your work, you usually spark new ideas that you can put into your paper. Also you can find mistakes that were not suppose to be there.

Diaz

In his article Becoming a Writer Junot tells his own accounts of how he “became a writer”. He discussed how he didn’t just become a writer one day, but he had to overcome man hardships. I think that in the end he is trying to tell the reader not to give up on your writing so easily because you can overcome those barriers.

Response

Diaz’s article is very inspirational to me because it shows that almost everyone has difficulties with their writing at some point in their lives. I am relieved that others are faced with these difficulties as well.

Using These Essays

After reading these articles I have found out that everyone has their own ways of writing, and to not do what you have been taught, but do what works for you. Also these articles have made me realize to not be so hard on my writing, but instead just go with the flow, and get your ideas onto paper.

Meta Moments

·      Something that I have learned is to not be so hard on your writings and to relax when you write. Also, if you are stuck and cannot seem to get yourself to write that polished paper right of the bat, then just start writing a shitty draft to get your thoughts onto paper. Lastly, I learned that to be a good writer people have to overcome obstacles, it does not just happen over night.

·      The thing that has changed is my mentality of how I start my paper. I will not be as critical from the start. Instead I will just start getting my thoughts out onto paper in any form.

Jan 30

Harris Summary

In the article, Composing Behaviors of One- and Multi- Draft Writers, Harris discusses the differences between one draft and multi draft writings. He talks about how each can be beneficial, however each have their flaws, and concludes, like the rest of our readings, that there is no set way to write a paper.

Response

I am more of a one- draft writer because I will make one draft of a paper at most, only if the teacher assigns a draft previously to the final copy. I know that I am a one-draft writer because I will always attempt to finish a paper at one or two sittings, then look over my one draft and make changes accordingly. A disadvantage to this way of writing is that I could leave out information that I could come across if I were to make multiple drafts of the paper.

Reflection

I understood the information that Harris was trying to get across, however it was difficult for me to read because it did not grab my attention at all.

Ransom Summary

In her article, How Do I Write?, Dominieq Ransom wrote a reflective paper discussing her writing process under a “timed” writing session. She discusses how she writes more efficiently when she has less time to write her response, which I found shocking. I would have thought that with less time she wouldn’t like the outcome that she got.

Questions To Consider

·      How much time goes toward revising, different ways to write papers, time constraints. I could do something similar to Ranson’s study, however, give myself more time because usually I write with a time constraint, because I procrastinate and wait till the last second when it comes to writing a paper.

·      I do think that taking notes leads to writing, because when you see your thoughts written down on paper you can then analyze them and format them into a structured paper. I have not tried writing for exploration.

Jan 27

Tomlinson
In the article Tuning, Tying, and Training Texts: Metaphors for Revision Tomlinson discusses eight different types of metaphors that authors use to describe their own revision processes. Tomlinson brings these metaphors to the readers attention because she wants use to see which metaphor we use when it comes to our revision process.

Summary
I thought it was interesting how the authors were creative in describing the different ways to look at the revising process. It made the writing process seem less of a "white and black" method and has us see the writing process as something else like the tuning of a car, or sewing and tailoring.

QD
1. Tomlinson uses sources from authors who describe their "composing practices" with figurative language while she uses interviews as evidence of "discourse about composing".
2. Focusing on a metaphor as a way of seeing writing is also considered not seeing writing because writing should not, and cannot be looked at as something else. When people think of writing as "wax" or "molten" they may not be getting the best results out of their work. We can get around this problem by having individual ideas about writing, or using your own strategies to write, and not be looking at it as something that it is not.
3. The "Fixing Things" metaphor seems true to what I do when I write, because like "tuning up a car" as they discussed, I somewhat have the same thinking process. I will write my entire paper and keep looking over it, making changes here and there until it is better than what it was before.
4. I do think that Tomlinson is going a step too far when she states that there are different stages when it comes to the metaphors, because a paper should always be able to change and make revisions to. I can argue this because she states that the revision process is "cyclical" which should indicate that the paper is always "molten" and ready to change.
5. The metaphors that I use to describe revision do not shape the ways that I revise, because there is not set strategy when it comes to my revising. If there is something that I see that I want to change, then I change it, even if I'm in the "solid" stage the Tomlinson discusses.

Jan 25 Blog post

Bekenkotter
In the article Decisions and Revisions: Berkenkotter attempts a study to find out what the planning and revising strategies of a skilled writer. Her subject that she observed and worked with was Murray. She would conduct the project in stages where Murray would either put his thoughts on tape, condense them into one hour, or she would go to his home and listen to him discuss his ideas.

Murray
In the article Response of a Laboratory Rat- or, Being Protocoled, Murray discusses his thoughts about the study, and the outcome that came from it. Murray said that he does not agree with the idea that the thought of writing and the act of thinking are separate. Also Murray discusses how he never realized how much time actually goes to his revision processes.

Summary
This was different from all the other articles that we have read in the past because it involved an experiment with writing, which i have never looked at. It was interesting to see how Bekenkotter conducted the experiment, and the results that she got from it. I also liked how they placed Murray's reflection to the experiment right after Bekenkotter's article.

QD:
1. I thought that it was really interesting to direct a persons writing processes how Bekenkotter did here. Murray's writing process does differ from mine because it seems that he thinks over his writings in his head more often then I do.
2. Murray says that he was far more aware of his audience then he thought he was, and he has to suppress them to hear what the text really says. This could be the case for me as well because I do not always think of my audience while I write a paper, unless the assignment specifically has me writing to a certain audience.
3. Berkenkotter came to the conclusion that planning and revising came hand in hand when it came to writing. She realized that while doing one, you are also inclined to do the other.

AEI
I do not have as much time as I would initially hope for when I write, because I procrastinate and put it off until the very end. With the clock ticking, I watch myself stress and quickly get all of my thoughts onto paper as fast as I can to finish on time, which not is the most efficient way of writing.

MM
I learned that you do not have to be sitting at a desk to begin planning or writing your paper. You could just be thinking about it in your mind throughout the day, then when you do sit down to begin writing it may be easier to get your ideas into your writing

Jan 23 assignment

In his article "What Is It We Do When We Write Articles Like This One- and How Can We Get Students to Join Us?', Kleine discusses how both teachers and students lack the ability to effectively collect research and relate it into their writings. He says the we should not just compile information, however you should challenge yourself to be involved in the actual research itself.

1. I do attempt to start my papers with the mentality to use the steps that they discuss, however I never follow through with all the steps. I either get too impatient to follow through with all the steps, or I do not have enough time to do so.
3. I do believe that sources play a large role in the writings of people, however I never used resources how Kleine wants people to. I would only use resources if it was a requirement for a paper, in that case I would pull pieces of information to back up my thesis. I would not extensively use the resources throughout the paper.
4. I feel that if i followed through with this process I would use more research, which would lead to there being more support to my thesis statement.
Response:
I felt like this article was repetitive information. I feel like we all know what steps we SHOULD take when writing a research paper, but we rarely follow through with every step.

Paper #1 and URL for paper

Cover Letter

            In this paper I was attempting to make a strong argument against the educational steps taken to teach grammar to students. The point that I tried to get across to the readers was that the use and teachings of grammar actually restricts students from reaching full potential in their writing skills. I supported this claim with statistics from previous articles supporting the same claims that I did. Such information included data discussing the percentages of middle school classrooms teaching grammar. The counter argument that I brought to attention was that it is a necessity to keep the teachings of grammar in- tact, however it needs to be taught more effectively. I think that I stated my claims very clear, and began my arguments with good statements. On the contrary, I was not able to effectively elongate my claims to effectively fit the recommended length of the paper. I would like the reader to discuss which points in my paper were the most effective along with the least effective.

http://www.scribd.com/hartmanb93/d/78865518-Paper-1

Jan 18

Allen Summary:

In the article “The Inspired Writer Vs. The Real Writer”, Allen discusses that writing does not necessarily come easy for people who write well. In the beginning of her article she discusses how her students automatically assumed that she enjoyed writing just because she was good at it. Allen then goes to explain that famous writers such as Hemingway, who had rings around their eyes and had tangled hair, went through difficulties with their writings just like every other writer. Allen jokingly explains that the rings around the eyes were from endless nights of sleep, and the tangled hair was from them frustratingly messing with it. The main point that Allen was attempting to get across was that everyone will struggle with writing, so do not get discouraged with your-self, because writing is difficult.

Allen Response:

My experiences relates to Allen’s article because I am that student that does not enjoy writing, along with many other students. I do find writing very difficult, and sometimes I feel lost as to what structure of format I should write my papers in. However, after reading this article I have a sense of reassurance, because now I know that I am not alone, writing is difficult for mostly are writers, you just have to “trudge” through it all.

Murray Summary

In the article All Writing is Autobiographical Murray attempts to prove that all writing is autobiographical and that we incorporate our own thoughts and opinions into our writing. Murray uses his own pieces of writing to prove that all writing is autobiographical, whether it be a poem, narrative, or nonfictional piece.

GGR Pg. 57

·      Never use words such as “I” or “you”

·      Do not incorporate yourself into your paper

·      Research papers should not be personal

QD Pg. 66

1.     The construct that Murray is asking to reconsider is that of never to put yourself into your writings. He actually encourages writers to make their writing autobiographical and to feel free to use words such as “I” in their writings.

3.     Murray’s article is different from the other articles in this chapter because his writing is more informal. He writes in a way that he is having a conversation with you because he uses the word I so often in his writings. It makes his writing seem more of a conversation than an academic article. I think that he wanted to “break out” to show that writing autobiographically makes it easier for both the writer and the reader to understand the information.

4.     Murray’s article fits the genre of a “scholarly article” because his format is somewhat similar to the other articles. He makes his claim in the beginning of his article, which is to make all writing autobiographical. He then discusses this through examples of his own poems, narratives and writings.

5.     Murray’s article made me reconsider all writings because I have always been told to never use the word I into my writings. However, Murray effectively uses I in basically every form of writing, including a nonfictional piece. If I do decide to take Murray’s thoughts about writing and utilize them in my writings, I feel that there will be many more possibilities to writing.

MM pg. 66

I think that understanding Murray’s claims will allow me to effectively get my points across to the reader. Also writing will seem more free, and not restricted by the any “rules”.

Dawkins Summary

In the article Teaching Punctuation as a Rhetorical Tool Dawkins argues that there is too much emphasis on grammar in writings. He thinks that there should be less stress on grading or correcting grammar, and more stress on looking at the actual writing. Dawkins discusses a set of “rules” that students and teachers should follow instead of the “rules” of grammar.

GRR pg. 139

1.     My sister’s tree house, made of wood scraps and cardboard, made a great place to play with her friends.

2.     My sister’s tree house that was made of wood scraps and cardboard, made a great place to play with her friends.

3.     The tree house made of wood scraps and cardboard made a great place for my sister to play with her friends.

QD Pg. 154 2, 3, 5, 6

2.

·      Handbook rules provide no instruction for use of the comma

·      Handbooks do not provide help for independent clauses

·      Handbooks do not tell you when to use semicolons.

3.“Pressure to use a mark higher in the hierarchy is call raising”, while lowering refers to the lack of or no punctuation between two clauses.

5. After reading this article I learned that handbooks really do not effectively set one way to set up sentences.

6. When I write I usually think of punctuation as a necessary aspect the piece I am writing. However, after reading this article my thoughts have slightly changed, I now think of punctuation as something added to the writing, not something that is needed.

MM pg. 155

By reading this article I have a better understanding about punctuation because of the examples that were given. I learned that I should spend less time on the punctuation of my writing and more time on my actual ideas I attempt to get across through my writing.