I learned many lessons in this course, the one that sticks out to me is one that will help me in any future writing that I do, as well as help me convince others to do something by talking about my own actions. My lesson learned was on the aspect of doing something physically and writing about that experience. I learned in COM 101 that physical writing is one of the best ways in which to write about something, the physical writing that I had to do in that course was not on something that I was able to just research. My experience in COM 102 was much different, I once again had to have an experience in order to create a draft but this time my experience was one that could be researched. What I learned from this was the power that a physical experience had on the writing that we did, instead of just researching on an issue we had to go out and do it for ourselves, we had to see the real thing. A topic can easily be found at the click of a mouse, but when you see what really happens during an experience then your writing shifts from the same research that everyone else can find on the internet, to a paper on your insights and views on the issue. Writing about an experience creates visuals for that reader from your own point of view, this can create a moment for your reader where they may want to go out and have an experience like you had. If you are writing on an issue that is important to you, and if you are trying to inform others that they can help and ease the dreadfulness of what comes with that issue, then using research you have found on the internet and in books may not be the best way to convince readers. Telling someone that you have done it yourself, and providing them with the exact process that you went through may convince them that experiencing the same thing is something they need to do as well.
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Patrycja Gola
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Patrycja Gola
The final editing strategies along with the video were great tips on how to catch errors in our revisions as well as make our revisions even better than our drafts. Personally I am very picky with my writing and I will look over it and read it again at least three times in order to make sure it’s perfect. I thought the video was a good way to make a point but halfway through I was just like ok I get it already! I like the tip on finding someone to read over your title and your first sentence. It’s hard to find someone who is willing to read an entire paper for you and state their opinion so I think I can manage to find someone to read a sentence and a title. I like brutal honesty but it’s also hard to find someone who will be brutally honest. My parents don’t read very good english so they are not an option, my brother is not very willing to help, so hopefully I can find a friend who’s nice enough to be honest with me. The first two paragraphs really are the most important in a paper as it is mentioned in the final editing strategies. Typically when we begin to read something we are into the idea of trying to finish what we are reading, but if we cannot even get through the first one or two paragraphs than the chances are we will not finish reading the rest of the paper. We all need to make sure that our two paragraphs are awesome but that doesn’t mean the rest of the paper can’t be awesome. There’s nothing more that I hate about reading someone’s writing than finding a careless mistake in every paragraph, if we just read over our paper’s a couple times those mistakes won’t happen.
McGuire, Michael. “Final Editing Strategies.” learning.writing101. learning.writing101, 2012 . Web. 2 May. 2012. -
Patrycja Gola
The video titled Writing Style What is it? was a good way to explain exactly what style in writing means and how we can accomplish an excellent style of writing. Depending on the style we choose to use in our writing then that is what our writing will be portrayed as. The writing we do can be funny, dramatic, sad, or make the reader feel happy, it just depends what our goals are when it comes to what we are writing. The difference between grammar and style in writing is simple, grammar is making sure your words are spelled correctly, you use a comma when one is needed, and that your sentences end with a period. Style refers to the creative ways in which we choose to write, the more creativity someone chooses to add to their writing the more enjoyable the piece of writing becomes. I like how the video stated that “No subject is really interesting; it’s the writer’s job to make it so.” I have never really thought about this before, I suppose that could be true even with the most boring subjects. If someone is talking about a boring subject such as politics they can write about a current political scandal and make it more humorous than serious, people like myself who don’t enjoy politics may find their writing interesting and readable because of the humor they added. This relates to books we may read on subjects that really do interest us. I am interested in fitness and nutrition, I like reading on those topics constantly, but there are certain books or internet articles that I will reflect on again, or finish reading the entire thing without shutting the book because of the boring content. I am more inclined to read about fitness when the author makes it exciting to read otherwise even though it’s written about a subject that interests me I may put it down and never read it because of the style in which it was written.
McGuire, Michael. “Writing Style what is it?.” learning.writing101. writing101, 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. -
Patrycja Gola
When we look at a person that “has something wrong with them” or their skin color is “different” then many people will see that and only that about that person. In “What we call ourselves and others: Names, Solidarity, and Stereotypes”, an example of this is the story of the blind man and the interviewer. A man was interviewing a blind man, the interviewer did not look at the blind man’s abilities as an excellent listener and student, he just kept mentioning the fact that the man is blind, he could not look beyond it and look at the good things that the blind man had to offer. It is also sad how the last name of a person can become a stereotype in itself without even getting to know the person, you may judge them just because of their name. Stereotypes may be given to anyone for anything, blondes are dumb, hispanics mow grass, asians can’t drive, this happens often. We subconsciously think these things without even thinking about them, it’s like a natural thing because of all that we have been exposed to. I found the test with the pictures of the college girls very interesting. The girls were being rated based on the way they looked, but when they were being rated a couple months later with last names attached suddenly they were so much less pretty or intelligent. The one thing I did not like that was mentioned was a story that the author told of when he was in the third grade. Papers were being passed down the rows and he handed a math paper to a boy that was sitting behind him and made a remark that the boy received a “much lower mark that I did.” The boy got angry and called him the “n” word for his remark…umm ok if someone ever had the nerve to say something like that, and yes I understand they are only third graders, but you say something about my grade and it’s on. I would never call someone the “n” word but I would for sure say something bad, what did he expect? I feel like the author is the one who began that fight, I mean really how rude, you don’t ever make fun of someone’s intelligence, majority of the time you will get called a name for it. I don’t think that story should have been mentioned this part, it just made me angry.
Winslow. “What we call ourselves and others: Names, Solidarity, and Stereotypes.” Language Matters. New York, Pennsylvania: n.a., 1965-1968. 293-333. Web. -
Patrycja Gola
The Geography of Exclusion assignment made me really think about things that I see everyday that I may not think are meant for something else other than what it seems like it’s meant for. The one thing that I can think of is right outside my house, my neighbor’s fence. I remember years ago the neighbors built this tall wooded fence that we cannot see through whatsoever. Thinking of it our neighbors are not very friendly with us, I feel like this border we cannot see through was just so they don’t have to look at us. This is probably a fairly common example though, unfriendly neighbors are in every neighborhood.
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Alex Jellema
I never thought of my neighbor’s fence as an example. You so often see “privacy fences” being advertised. We go to such extents to keep people out from places.
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Patrycja Gola
Ok, so my draft is pretty much finished, I added a bunch of photos to my word document that I have saved on my computer but I don’t know how to get them over to this site to be a part of my draft, can anyone help?
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Maureen Rich
If you were not able to get it, to the left click “Media” then add new. Once your photos are added and you are in your draft, at the top is a link that says upload/insert. This will then pull up all your pictures you just added.
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Patrycja Gola
Thanks so much, that is the way to do it! But it wont let me use the pictures I wanted it keeps saying because of security reasons, looks like I won’t have those pictures included in m draft after all. : /
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Patrycja Gola
Thanks so much! Yea ill just mess with it , ill get it eventually but you gave me an idea of where to start!
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Maureen Rich
Sorry, I wish I could help you more. I still can’t get into that section. If I were to see it I would be able to walk you through it. Lots of luck!
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Maureen Rich
Patrycja, were you able to figure it out yet? I keep trying to go into mine so I can help you, but for some reason it won’t open. I have been having problems all week with this. Not sure if it is the site or my service. Anyway, from what I remember you need to download the pictures into your library. I think there was a section on your draft that said insert. It may bring up a box and you click it and can move it around. Or in the library there may have been a section that said “move to…” and whatever work you are working on you click that. I am sorry I could not be much more help. I also remember having problems and playing around with it before I got it. I hope this helps you a little. Good luck!
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Patrycja Gola
I have never used photography in an essay but am excited to try and do so. A photo really does say a million words, at times more than our writing can say. The video on “Writing Images” made some interesting points about why photography is so important and what it can tell a reader. For one thing a photo captures more than the human eye can see. You can essentially freeze a moment in time and take a look at little things that you may have not noticed on the day of the action taking place in the photo. Privacy is also a big issue when it comes to taking photos, many people are not okay with a photo being taken of them. Respecting people’s wishes to not have a picture taken is something we need to all take into account when putting any pictures into our essay’s. Many people like to see pictures that have been taken of themselves so letting them see those photos is a plus, it’s a great way to say thanks for the help. Adding pictures can be a good way to represent something that physically will not fit on a paper, you can add a picture of something that you are describing to add a better visual for the reader. I have never thought of cropping pictures changing the meaning of the picture, through the examples in the video I have realized just how important it is to take into account cropping your pictures in a way that reflects what it is you are trying to convey to the reader.
McGuire, Michael. “Writing Images.” learning.writing.101. writing101, 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.-
Linda Seguin
If you read my Service fieldwork paper you will understand why I chose not to include pictures of my topic. It is ugly and a filthy subject. Now I have your attention and curiosity to read my work! But I do agree with your assessment that, ” Adding pictures can be a good way to represent something that physically will not fit on a paper, you can add a picture of something that you are describing to add a better visual for the reader.” It defininetly fills any visual holes that words can sometimes miss.
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Patrycja Gola
The video on “Sharpening our Fieldworker’s Gaze” was interesting and a bit odd. It was good to see people who live here supporting their own people that live in another country. The people in this rally showed that they care about what’s going on in their country even though they live here. I would do the same, if something was going on in Poland that I did not agree with I would be a part of such a rally in the US. The people a part of the rally seemed compassionate toward the issue and they seemed determined to help put a stop to it. It was interesting how the camera took shots of certain things such as the window, I wasn’t sure what that was about but wonder…
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Patrycja Gola
When reading the story “Ruptura” I was able to relate to a student named Kaye, and her struggle to write a descriptive paper on her experience with an after school program she was involved in. I too struggled composing a descriptive paper on my experience at the animal shelter. “I just don’t know what I feel good writing about and what I think should not be brought across on paper”, I struggled with the same exact thing. I did not have the best things to say about the shelter but I wasn’t completely comfortable putting people out there like that. One of the managers at the shelter came off so insensitive and uncaring but I was not sure if I should talk about it. “I am not someone who feels comfortable writing about other people.” I feel like this at times, I feel like it’s not my place to put someone out there and make them look bad, but in the same regards I have to disagree. I like letting people know about issues, and people who create those issues is important to write about, to let people know what’s going on in the world. I felt good in a way letting my readers know about the manager at the shelter and how disgusted I was by some of the things she said and the way she acted at the shelter. At the same time it’s a bit scary, what if she somehow read this and got real angry..I’m just saying, there are crazy people out there, it’s scary to talk about someone especially when you don’t know them and how they may react.
Carrick, Tracy Hamler, Himley, Margaret, Jacobi, Tobi. “Ruptura.” Language and Learning Across the Disciplines 4.3 (2000): 56-74. learning.writing101. Web. 4 April 2012.-
Linda Seguin
Hello Patrycja,
I am well aquanted with the animal shelter that you volunteered at and I have had some unpleaesant experiences there as well. I believe that it is a very difficult job running the shelter on the budget that is constantly being cut and the stress level day after day must be tremendous. I found myself frustrated by the practices that were in place but knew I could not change them. I could not do this line of work yet I realize it is a part of our community that must be supported. Hopefully people will come around to the misfortune of animals as well and realize that the need for this critters is great. We need to be much more responsible for our own animals. -
Maureen Rich
I can see where you are coming from when you said you did not feel comfortable putting the manager out there like that, but how it made you feel good also. Stating your opinion and your experience gives the opportunity to others to visualize the problems that need to be addressed more. I liked how honest you were in your writing. It have a true clear picture as to what needs to be changed in this facility.
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Patrycja Gola
The Examined Life was a short video about woman who has a disability but still seems to live a normal life. People can easily go into a coffee shop and order a coffee at any time. Sunaura has a hard time at a coffee shop because people don’t get why she uses something that is not meant to hold coffee in order to hold her coffee. It was hard to watch a person not able to even put their own sweater on and then how she had to take the bills and change separate because she couldn’t hold them at the same time. The cashier was saying that the pricing works by weight and Sunaura was already wearing the sweater so it would be hard for her to just take it off and let the cashier weigh it, while many other people without any impairment would be able to do it easily. The story judith told of the boy who walked with a distinct swish movement and got killed by his classmates was an awfully sad story. Why would someone kill a person because they are different, especially people in high school who should already by that time accept different people and be grown enough to not make fun of someone with a disability. It’s amazing to see people who are disabled and impaired to be able to live a normal life fully accepting the way they are and doing things like picking up coffee but in a different way that works for them.
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Patrycja Gola
I’m a bit confused..so project 5 is supposed to go with what we wrote about in project 2?? So if in project 2 I wrote about animal shelters then in project 5 I have to go to an actual animal shelter?
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Prof McGuire
Well, yes, the idea was that Project 2 would lay the groundwork for this Project 5; however, I did say in the most recent lesson notes that if folks wanted/needed to switch directions that would be okay too. It’s up to you really. Whatever you think would be the most productive path forward.
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Patrycja Gola
Well I’m ok with tying project 2 with project 5 but I already went to an animal shelter for my first service assignment. I would like to go to another one ,PAWS Chicago, since it seems like it would be a different experience, the two shelters “work” different and my first shelter experience was not the best. Can I do this?
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Prof McGuire
You can. Keep in mind that this second experience–Project 5–is a bit more involved than what was asked for during the first half of the semester. As long as you can meet those basic requirements, that sounds like a good “fieldsite” for your project. Go for it.
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Patrycja Gola
I did not really think of any questions as I listened to the song that was recorded by Allsion Mathis, I didn’t like the song and honestly did not care for it much so it was hard to think of any questions about it. The activity of listening to the song and asking questions about it was a good idea and made a point about researching and asking questions. Observation and questioning are incredibly important aspects of a research paper such as the one we are in the process of doing for another service assignment. I like the idea of inductive writing and how it is based on questions. Curiosity can write a great paper, when we are curious and asking questions about a particular thing we get ideas to write about, our curiosity can turn into a full out research paper that we can really get into. There’s no doubt that questioning leads to understanding. I’m huge on asking questions, I am so annoying and will annoy anyone I encounter with all my questions. I’m just a very curious person, I like to know everything, I mean every single detail. I have never met anyone else who asks more questions than I do, at least when it comes to an interesting subject or story. Journalists have to ask many questions and that is why they are typically good at what they do, they get all their facts from questioning others and getting the story they desire.I see nothing wrong with asking a million questions, it’s the way to learn and find out exactly what’s going on so you understand something fully.
Mathis, Allsion. “Posing Questions”. learning.writing101. learning.writing101, n.d. Web. 28. Mar. 2012. -
Patrycja Gola
The vision test video seemed a bit odd to me and didn’t seem like it represented what it was that they were trying to prove. The point of the video was to see what type of attitudes people have toward Chinese and Asian Americans but I didn’t feel as though it proved anything. The first slide the woman chose a black man over an Asian man, but a couple of the other slides Asians were chosen as well. I felt as though the test was pretty even and a person from every race was chosen, maybe the point was to show that everyone is equal, I’m not exactly sure.
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Patrycja Gola
The article by Bobbie Harro was very open with opinions of oppression. He mentioned things that many of us keep inside and would never say because of fear of what others will say or do back to us. He mentions things such as “Arabs are terrorists” and “Kids who live in certain sections of town are probably on welfare.” These are the types of things many people think but will typically never say out loud. We would never say this to an arabic person because of fear of how they will react, or simply because it is just something we all know is not appropriate to say. We all make assumptions such as the people in that disadvantaged area are all on welfare, but most of us will not make comments because it is rude. Bobbie makes some really good points such as how we become because of the people that raised us. We tend to think the same way the people that brought us up think, if they are racists, then it tends to rub off on us. As we grow up we become our own person, some of the values we grew up with our still with us but some we let go and create a new life and a new way of thinking for ourselves. We do not get to choose what type of life we are born into which Bobbie mentions. The people who are born into a wealthy family are brought up thinking this is normal. Kids that have celebrities as parents think their lives are completely normal because they have never known anything else. Then there’s the underprivileged who do not know any other life, so to them having nothing may in fact be totally normal.
Harro, Bobbi. “Cycle of Socialization”. Reading for Diversity and Social Justice. Ed. 15-21. Web. -
Patrycja Gola
The article by Bobbie Harro was very open with opinions of oppression. He mentioned things that many of us keep inside and would never say because of fear of what others will say or do back to us. He mentions things such as “Arabs are terrorists” and “Kids who live in certain sections of town are probably on welfare.” These are the types of things many people think but will typically never say out loud. We would never say this to an arabic person because of fear of how they will react, or simply because it is just something we all know is not appropriate to say. We all make assumptions such as the people in that disadvantaged area are all on welfare, but most of us will not make comments because it is rude. Bobbie makes some really good points such as how we become because of the people that raised us. We tend to think the same way the people that brought us up think, if they are racists, then it tends to rub off on us. As we grow up we become our own person, some of the values we grew up with our still with us but some we let go and create a new life and a new way of thinking for ourselves. We do not get to choose what type of life we are born into which Bobbie mentions. The people who are born into a wealthy family are brought up thinking this is normal. Kids that have celebrities as parents think their lives are completely normal because they have never known anything else. Then there’s the underprivileged who do not know any other life, so to them having nothing may in fact be totally normal.
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Patrycja Gola
The article by Bobbie Harro was very open with opinions of oppression. He mentioned things that many of us keep inside and would never say because of fear of what others will say or do back to us. He mentions things such as “Arabs are terrorists” and “Kids who live in certain sections of town are probably on welfare.” These are the types of things many people think but will typically never say out loud. We would never say this to an arabic person because of fear of how they will react, or simply because it is just something we all know is not appropriate to say. We all make assumptions such as the people in that disadvantaged area are all on welfare, but most of us will not make comments because it is rude. Bobbie makes some really good points such as how we become because of the people that raised us. We tend to think the same way the people that brought us up think, if they are racists, then it tends to rub off on us. As we grow up we become our own person, some of the values we grew up with our still with us but some we let go and create a new life and a new way of thinking for ourselves. We do not get to choose what type of life we are born into which Bobbie mentions. The people who are born into a wealthy family are brought up thinking this is normal. Kids that have celebrities as parents think their lives are completely normal because they have never known anything else. Then there’s the underprivileged who do not know any other life, so to them having nothing may in fact be totally normal.
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Patrycja Gola
It’s amazing to see someone like Sister Helen who has endured so much to be able to move forward and do so much for others. I love what she says about second chances and how she was given the chance to do something for the men in the house that she did not do for her own family. The way she is with the men is a way that gets through to them and makes them realize she isn’t just an older lady that will take care of them and do everything for them. It’s interesting to find someone who is willing to forgive like Sister Helen did, like her son being murdered. Robert’s story is also a very heartfelt one, he had everything, made a lot of money, had a great life, and then he lost it all. I’m not quite sure what the ethical issue is with the 10$ that Robert refused to take from Sister Helen. My thought about it is that he once had a lot of his own money and now suddenly people are giving him donations, it probably makes him feel terrible about himself and makes him think of where he once was and where he is now. All Robert seems to want is help to get his life back together and not charity donations. There are people who might feel like they are failures if they need to take donations, but they might appreciate help like the kind Sister Helen is providing. The type of storytelling in this movie keeps you interested and wanting to see more. Sister Helen gives pieces of her life and how she lost her family throughout the movie and not at once, this keeps the movie interesting.
Sister Helen. Perf. Sister Helen. Hulu, 2003. Web. -
Patrycja Gola
I agree with what Peter Singer says about needing to put yourself in someone else’s position and not always just think of yourself. At the same time the world is so crazy now with how much we have to do on a daily basis that there is not much time left for much else. Volunteering is hard because the spare time people have left they want to spend with their family and friends that they never get to see. People that have a lot of money can definitely donate and many of them do. I know people who don’t have much money that donate to the Children’s hospital as well as other places. I myself donate to animals in need, not much, but whatever I can give, little things like that do matter. There are plenty of people who have a lot that don’t share but it’s not like we can force them to give their money to a charity, they may work incredibly hard for their money and they don’t feel like they should give that up. There are third world countries that don’t have anything but there are also people who take advantage of the system and collect donations when they aren’t in that desperate of a need, so how do you know that your money and donations are going to the right places and the right people.
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Linda Seguin
Patrycja,
I agree with your line, ” so how do you know that your money and donations are going to the right places and the right people.” That is the sad reality of many once reputable organizations. By the time the money trickles down the organization, not much of the money is left leaving very little impact to the people who where supposed to receive the help. Organizations are finally being called out on this despicable behavior and many have had to revamp their entire system in order to provide more help to those we pledge our hard earned dollars for. Unfortunately , employees working full time for a charity does carry with it a lot of overhead, these individuals must pay their bills and support a family to but I do believe their must be a balence with volunteering and overhead. Using creativity to lure volunteers is the key. Look at the Breast Cancer walks, they are highly successful and murge the cancer organization employees with a massive amount of volunteers for a great cause. Now hopefully most of that money raised will reach the right hands to find a cure.
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Patrycja Gola
Isn’t there another community service trip coming up on a Wednesday of this Month??
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Prof McGuire
Yes, find the details here: Share Your Soles.
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Patrycja Gola
Chapter 2 was a great topic to read on and I’m glad it was written because it is something I completely agree with. Grades are way to overrated, I have met some not so smart people who got good grades their whole lives. I have also met many smart people who have had some of the worst grades. Grades should not be the deciding factor of who we are and how smart we are. I believe that creativity and the ability to come up with original ideas can get someone much further in life than just a good grade. The way our school system works is messed up, teachers seemed to always like the students who got the grades. I have met students who are so creative and full of ideas and know what they want to accomplish in life because they weren’t caught up in getting the grades, they were more caught up in using their knowledge toward things that actually matter. Some students get caught up in doing great in school that they forget why they’re even there, it’s not just about receiving good grades, it’s about using the knowledge you have gained and doing something with it, accomplishing things, and being successful. Freewriting is really a great way to get our writing going, this chapter describes the benefits of it well.(p37-38) I also like how this chapter compares writing and not preparing it too much and not worrying about the expectations, same as sex, great analogy.(p38)
McGuire, Michael. Why White Rice?. Iowa:Kendall Hunt, 2010. Print.-
Maureen Rich
I also agree with you both. Grades should not be the deciding factor of who we are. There are several people I know that had great grades growing up and are not doing much with their life now. I also know alot of people who were class clowns and didn’t care at all about their bad grades and are out there making the big bucks now! So Patrycja, you are right about grades being overrated. It’s like you said, it’s more about what we do with that knowledge and how successful we can become with it. Linda, I have to say I am with you on appreciating learning more now as an adult and being more mature.
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Linda Seguin
“Patrycja I love this statement that you made,…I have met some not so smart people who got good grades their whole lives. I have also met many smart people who have had some of the worst grades.” One of my close friends in high school was valedictorian of the class yet can’t to this day pump gas or make a recipe if there is more than four ingrediants in it. Its called OCD, and I believe alot of overachieving students may have a touch of it. I am an excellent student now that I am more mature ( I won’t say old) . I appreciate learning and the process of education more and with my career I can easily apply much of what I learn now in college . It is pretty cool being an adult student and I love to rub it into my college boys!
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Patrycja Gola
The “Writing a Position Paper” video helped me to understand more on how to write a convincing paper. It gave great advice on writing a thesis and the fact that it needs to be something that some people may not agree with and not just something people already agree with, because then there is no argument. Personally in my paper, I think everyone can agree that millions of animals being euthanized in shelters every year is a terrible thing, but I also know I need to create an argument that some people may not agree with. My argument can be something like, everyone needs to stop buying pets from stores and adopt instead. Some people may disagree with this because they can argue back and say something like, but if we don’t buy the pets from the stores then those pets will end up in the shelters as well and there will be even more pets in shelters. That would be a challenge that I would probably face and have to make my point to change those people’s minds. I like how during the video I got to choose which was the best thesis statement, it made me think of how I can phrase my own thesis to make it sound like a strong argument. I basically learned that having a strong argument and thesis is the foundation to a great paper on something that’s important to each of us. When it comes to my own paper I need to convince everyone why the pets at shelters need our help and why everyone should care about this important issue.
McGuire, Michael. “Writing a Position Paper.” Narr Michael McGuire. learning.writing101. writing101, 2012. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. -
Patrycja Gola
The “Writing a Position Paper” video helped me to understand more on how to write a convincing paper. It gave great advice on writing a thesis and the fact that it needs to be something that some people may not agree with and not just something people already agree with, because then there is no argument. Personally in my paper, I think everyone can agree that millions of animals being euthanized in shelters every year is a terrible thing, but I also know I need to create an argument that some people may not agree with. My argument can be something like, everyone needs to stop buying pets from stores and adopt instead. Some people may disagree with this because they can argue back and say something like, but if we don’t buy the pets from the stores then those pets will end up in the shelters as well and there will be even more pets in shelters. That would be a challenge that I would probably face and have to make my point to change those people’s minds. I like how during the video I got to choose which was the best thesis statement, it made me think of how I can phrase my own thesis to make it sound like a strong argument. I basically learned that having a strong argument and thesis is the foundation to a great paper on something that’s important to each of us. When it comes to my own paper I need to convince everyone why the pets at shelters need our help and why everyone should care about this important issue.
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Patrycja Gola
I believe critical thinking is a skill that we all have to learn, that’s why we go to college to learn how to think. Critical thinking is done by analyzing and being in deep thought about something. It means to take a concept and really understand it and know how to solve it. Critical thinking means to break up a tough concept and get to the core of it. It can be mastered by anyone all we have to do is apply ourselves.
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Patrycja Gola
I think Chomsky is talking about a heightened sense of critical awareness, he is talking about the issue in real depth and using examples from his own family. We are all oppressed when we have something big on our mind and it is all we can think about and interferes with our lives. All we can really do is try and control our thoughts and the thing we keep thinking about.
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Patrycja Gola
I agree with Nussbaum on her perspective of the social contract. Some of the things she says are a bit surprising, one of the things she said was odd about how “We all have mental and physical disabilities, when we are younger and as we age.” I thought it was interesting when she mentioned how women would be discriminated against because they were physically weaker than men. The issues discussed are very sad and we need to keep organizations that help people going. We need to make sure people with mental disabilities get the proper care they need and deserve and better laws need to be put in place to do this.
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Patrycja Gola
Rajeev is a very creative guy, he solves problems in ways many people would not think of doing. One of the ways in which he did this was by taking his own knowledge that he learned in his pre-med physics classes and using it to create a way for the villagers to get water. He also used his own contacts in order to meet doctors and convince them to donate money.
I will engage myself in creative problem solving with my service/activism project by trying to think of ways in which I can help the cause more. The possibilities of helping others are endless, there are events that can be set up, money can be raised for a cause we believe in, and we can get others to join in helping. I’m not sure yet what I will do for my service/activism project yet so I can’t say exactly how I can help. I will definitely research the issue further and see what others in the past have done to help and take it from there.
I am hoping that this semester I can get the word out to my classmates about the issue animals go through in shelters and puppy mills. I want my message to be clear and I will make sure to make my draft an even stronger and convincing one so I can at least convince a few people to try and look into this issue and hopefully they can help in some way.
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Patrycja Gola
The example of the grandmother was a very creative way of letting the reader know that writing helps us to understand people better, I have never even thought about that. The writer talked about how all the details of writing about someone will never truly give you a complete description of the type of person they are. (p 78-79) I really liked the story “You can’t dodge all the bullets”, it made a lot of good points and was pretty funny. “The difference between people who succeed and those who don’t is how well you problem solve”, I like that this was mentioned and there is so much truth to it. Everyone encounters problems, some people encounter huge obstacles, but only the people who succeed in overcoming those obstacles are the ones to make something of themselves, to succeed in life. If instead we decide to just sit there and sulk about something that we previously went through, or we are faced with a task that just seems impossible, then we will sit there and feel sorry for ourselves forever because of something that happened, or we will never finish a task that we began because it’s too hard. (p 80) A thesis really is like planting a yard as it states on page 85. A thesis needs to be planned, you need to critically think, and for many of us it can be toughest part of writing a paper, coming up with what we are even writing about. (p 85)
DeVillez, Eric R. Why White Rice?. Iowa: Kendall Hunt, 2010. Print. -
Patrycja Gola
I actually really enjoyed the peer review and was looking forward to it. I took COM 101 online as well and we also did peer reviews so I was used to them. The comments that are left are usually pretty useful and we can take a lot of good criticism and use it in our final drafts. For this particular draft i had peers letting me know what else I can add, it actually made a lot of sense to put in the extras they wanted to see and now I know exactly what is missing from my draft. Giving feedback was also a good experience since it benefits us to read others drafts and see the way they chose to write it in comparison to ours. I don’t mind telling others what else they can add or take away from their writing, regardless of what we say it is still your draft and you decide whether you want to take and use our opinions or you don’t have to.
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Patrycja Gola
Rajeeve’s determination to keep pushing for what he believes in really makes me want to do something big myself. I liked how he kept asking for people’s help, and not just anybody but kept mentioning big names. I liked how he used his own knowledge from what he learned in his premed physics classes to help bring water to the village of Namje. He got people to donate a lot of money to help with the water system which is a huge achievement for only one person to accomplish. It’s crazy to see how much one person can accomplish and that he was able to talk people into helping him to create things, and make the village a more livable place. There were teachers who were in charge of big projects like handling the village politics which I thought was interesting since in the US the only people who handle politics are politicians not teachers. It seems as though Rajeev commit a huge chunk of his life to help others and there are not too many people out there like him. This story is very motivating and inspiring and shows just how much can be changed by just one person.
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Patrycja Gola
Chapter 7 made some interesting points about plagiarism that I have not thought about. I did not know that Obama took a part of someone else’s speech and used it as his own but I hated the thought of it. I agreed with how angered the author got about the speech and how he mentioned that Obama could have said something before using the part from his friend’s speech such as, “My friend Deval Patrick reminded us that words do matter.” I think it was wrong of Obama to simply put someone else’s words into his own speech even if it was his friend and he gave Obama permission, that’s not okay to do. (p172) I always knew plagiarism was bad but this chapter made me realize just how bad it really is. I always thought all the possible ideas that can be put into a paper are already out there, and although I always cited my papers it felt strange sometimes since there were about twenty other sites with the same information but I would only give credit to the site that I used the information from. When someone that is in college plagiarizes I feel like that person learns absolutely nothing. They didn’t really search, read, and find other information that could potentially be more useful or different than from what they copy and pasted from a site. What is the point of college when they will never learn how to think for themselves, the computer will think for them.
Devillez, Eric R., Thomas P. Dow, Michael S. McGuire, Troy A. Swanson. Why White Rice. Iowa: Kendall Hunt, 2010. Print.-
Eric Wisch
If his friend gave him direct permission, and didn’t ask for any high regards during the speech I don’t see an issue. I do things for people all the time, and don’t ask for any thanks. Some people don’t need the affirmation..
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Mayra Pulido
But sometimes people would like to know where exactly did it come from? Who came up with that, did you or did a friend help you, or did a friend say it?
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Kimberly Kolozy
Yes and without noting that permission was given whether it be verbal or written it can damage one’s credibility when the truth comes out on where it really came from.
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Patrycja Gola
Eric, I do things for people as well and do not ask for thanks in return, but this was in regards to a speech to the entire United States not just giving your friend a ride to work.
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Iwona Ligeska
Plagiarism and copying are obviously a big thing and we can see that in the example that you mentioned during the Presidential election by Obama. We go to school to learn who we are, what do we represent and want to be credible. We can not make a success by plagiarism or copying somebody’s words. It will not take us far. Thanks to this ” loyal speech ” by Obama we know how big deal it is not to copy somebody’s work.
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Patrycja Gola, and 
Natalie Nalepa are discussing. 
Alex Jellema is discussing. 
Maureen Rich are discussing. 
Linda Seguin is discussing. 
Kimberly Kolozy, 
Mayra Pulido and 2 others are discussing. 
Natalie Nalepa 1:07 pm on April 17, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Didn’t really make me angry that they mentioned that. It’s something that people have to deal with on a daily basis, I found it interesting to hear it from someone else’s point of view.
Patrycja Gola 6:33 pm on April 17, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Yes but he had no right telling the boy behind him that his grade wasn’t as good as his, the boy should not have called him that but there should be no surprise why the boy got angry.