I wanted to share this article with this class not only because I am the proud aunt of the talented boy (Jack Lyle) in the article, but also because I felt it is somewhat related to what we have been working on this semester. This article is about sled hockey, which is a sport for the disabled ranging from the age 5-20 years old. This is a non-profit organization that is run by volunteers and donations. I have been to several games and although it looks easy, it is quite difficult. It is astonishing what these children can do with their disabilities. If you are a big hockey fan, this is a great way to help out in the community. If you are not, step out of your comfort zone again and come watch a game! You will not only be impressed, but you will walk away with a great appreciation for these children. They are all truly amazing. http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/news/12358608-418/sled-hockey-lets-players-put-disabilities-on-ice.html
Vickroy, Donna. “Sled hockey lets players put disabilities on ice.” Southtown Star [Chicago] 08 05 2012, n. pag. Web. 9 May. 2012. .
Updates from May, 2012 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Maureen Rich
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Linda Seguin
I believe in compassionate care for the family members involved with my patient. As a nurse I am bound to the Code of Ethics for Nurses. The #1 foundation for my profession is that, “The nurse, in all professional relationships, practices with compassion…” I establish some very strong relationships with my patients in the course of my practice. I must be able to incorporate a multitude of factors in delivering excellent care to my patient and one of those factors is the care and education of my patients loved ones. They are in many cases the key factor as to a patient’s successful recovery. I can tell many stories as to the compassionate acts that I have extended to my patients and families. One such elderly couple quickly comes to mind. I will call them the Smiths to protect their right for privacy. Mr. Smith was critically ill and Mrs. Smith was often alone in dealing with the stress and decisions to be made in regards to the care of Mr. Smith. I made sure to request to care for Mr. Smith whenever I was at work in order to provide continuity of care and continue to develop the professional relationship. When I had to feed Mr. Smith I made sure Mrs. Smith also had a tray and was able to continue to share meals with her husband as she did for over 50 years of marriage. Many times Mrs. Smith looked exhausted; I would offer her a pillow and a warm blanket to make her more comfortable. On one occasion I was leaving the hospital and found her wondering the employee parking lot looking for her car. I drove her around until we located her car and the next day asked if social services could be placed on their case in order to help Mrs. Smith with the stress and burden that she was about to face with the future discharge of her husband. It was through compassionate care, listening and viewing the entire scope of this family’s situation that I was best able to facilitate the proper care and treatment of the Smiths. I value and try to maintain this compassionate care with everyone that I come in contact with. It is my professional job to address all facets of care in regards to maintaining and improving my patient’s health.
American Nurses Association. Code of Ethics for Nurses. Silver Springs: Nursingbooks.org, 2001. Print.-
Patrycja Gola
I enjoyed reading your story about the “Smiths”, it’s nice to see there are people that are passionate about what they do. I have come in contact with a lot of grumpy nurses, it’s great to see the ones such as yourself who treat their patients with the care and respect they deserve.
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Maureen Rich
I agree with Patrycja. It’s nice to see how passionate you are about not only the patient, but the family as well. Nurses can really ease your pain even if you are not the patient! Thanks for doing what you do and taking pride in your work!
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Mary Zayed
journal #14 The “Impotence” of Proofreading video was absolutely hilarious. I enjoyed watching it because it was a way to show students the “importance” of proofreading our papers because even if we might have spell check it would not necessarily be a word that we intended to use. I, like many other students, can relate to this video. Back in high school I was not the best speller, but I wasn’t as bad as the guy in the video. But it is a humorous reminder to proofread our papers. While reading the rest if the Final Ending Strategies one of the things that stood out most to me was, “Leads are like flashlights that shine down into a piece of writing. They illuminate an aspect of the subject and establish the direction for the entire piece. When working with another, you can test the effectiveness of your lead.” Basically try to make your lead as strong as possibly so your readers can understand and follow through on your paper easily. It will help give your paper more of a flow.
McGuire, Michael. “Final Editing Strategies.” learning.writing101. WordPress -
Eric Wisch
I decided to read over the final editing, and then go back and check some of my work before I posted this RJE. Whilst taking a closer look, there are words you may type that may not get caught by spell check. They are spelled correctly, but they may be the wrong word. I found this a good amount of times in my writing. You may be spelling something that you want, but forget an “s” or maybe add a different letter and it completely changes the word. I found that when this happens I lose all focus in my reading, and I can’t imagine the reader taking it very lightly either. I recommend that everyone go and double check your writings like Professor McGuire suggests. I found so many stupid mistakes that could cause some issues while reading, especially if you don’t know what the reader means, or in what context they mean it.You definitely want to pick someone who can be brutally honest with your writing. IE: NOT your mother. Everything you do is fine in your mother’s eyes, so you want to pick a friend, or a teacher who will tear your paper/portfolio to shreds so you can build it back up. Everyone should take this portfolio very seriously, the whole semester could be pointless if your portfolio doesn’t meet requirements, or if it is complete junk. Good luck to everyone. If anyone needs a peer review feel free to email me @ ericjwisch@gmail.com I will do my best to help!
McGuire, Michael. “Final Editing Strategies.” learning.writing101. WordPress 2012-
Maureen Rich
Hey Eric, I sent you an email!!
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Eric Wisch
Just got this to my phone, will definitely peruse through it and give you some help/insight. I will email you some feedback soon. like I said im on my phone, which will be terribly difficult to resond on..haha
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Maureen Rich
Thanks Eric! I appreciate it!
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Eric Wisch
Maureen I got your email about the portfolio. I don’t think it will be a problem if you put everything on one post. Just make sure you have something there and all complete.
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Alex Jellema
I have always had difficulty with final editing. I always put a lot of time into my writing so the idea of a final edit seemed to be rather unnecessary. That has not to say that I think my work is perfect but it was more a matter of not knowing how to approach the process. The suggestions Professor McGuire offers are a new approach to an old problem. I especially like the idea of getting rid of “clutter words”. I believe that sometimes what I think of as descriptive is, in fact, just a lot of clutter. I can think of two people who would be more than willing to be “brutally honest” about my writing. (I think the key to choosing someone is making sure it is someone you trust AND respect.) The addition of the video “The the Impotence of Proofreading” was welcome since I am starting to feel the stress that goes with the end of the semester. It put a smile on my face, especially when I realized that most everyone has been in the embarrassing situation of trusting spellcheck and then not taking the time to reread his or her work. I also really appreciate the selection “Pulling Your Portfolio Together”. I plan to use it as a check off to make sure that I have included and/or completed everything required for the course. With everything we need to make sure to include, it is nice not to have to go back through an entire semester’s notes and assignments. The links are particularly useful.
McGuire, Michael. “Final Editing Strategies.” learning.writing101. WordPress, 4/29/2012. Web. 5/3/2012. -
Shawnette Sierra
I thought that reading the final editing strategies has been really helpful while getting prepared to edit and revise all of my previous work for the final portfolio. Turning in all of my assignments for the entire semester is kind of nerve wrecking, so I will welcome any and all advice and suggestions in making the task a little bit easier. I particularly enjoyed the part on how to clear the clutter from your entries. I must admit, sometimes when writing a paper that has a minimum amount of words required, I wonder if all the information I wrote was in fact relevant or interesting to the topic at hand. The advice is to cut 7 words from each page to remove any extra clutter, so that is my plan. The section about proofreading may have seemed a little bit obvious, but necessary. After reading one of my entries out loud, I noticed quite a few simple mistakes that I did not see when reading to myself. It really is helpful advice! I did not think it would have made a difference to read out loud instead of to myself, but I find by reading out loud, you read slower and can catch more mistakes that way. Other advice I really enjoyed was to take your paper or entry and cut it up, see which paragraphs are relevant and important, and which are not really informative or interesting at all. I plan to do this advice as well to see where I need to strengthen my pieces, to make sure nothing is boring for my reader.
McGuire, Michael. “Final Editing Strategies.” learning.writing101. learning.writing101, 2012 . Web. 3 May. 2012. -
Peter Traxler
The final editing strategies provided are very helpful. It is one thing to tell you, you need to proofread your major writing, but it is another to give you guidance on how to effectively proof read. Most of this lesson seems pointed in this direction. The basics are provided here, allowing us to fully understand the what, where, why, and how to get these tasks completed. I like that this lesson is short and simple, yet has very concrete ideas. It really drives a clear path on how to edit effectively. The Cut-N-Paste revision idea is a bit “out there”, but I am very excited to try it out. I am reading this section and it dawns on me that I have not printed and read anything I wrote in probably the last decade! This idea seems like a great one, I am thinking that you could really weed out the trouble paragraphs, and get a logical order for things. I could see me using this technique in the future as well. The ideas presented in the section about clutter seem risky. I feel like if I go down this road I will never get anything accomplished. I try to write greatly, so I feel like this may go on the backburner for a bit, maybe once I feel confident that I have enough content and have covered all the topics. Maybe then, at the end I can go back into the piece and slim it down. I agree that “clutter”, can distract and disengage the reader, that is why I try to keep it out in the first place.
McGuire, Michael. “Final Editing Strategies.” learning.writing101. learning.writing101, 2012 . Web. 2 May. 2012. -
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. -
Sarah Binger
On an unrelated note. I was wondering if anyone knew anything about the final? For instance when we will be taking it, etc.? For some reason this is not clear to me. Thanks!
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Sarah Binger
Alright, thanks Professor!
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Sarah Binger
You know you’re probably right, thanks Mayra!
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Mayra Pulido
I thought the finals was the portfolio
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Prof McGuire
Nope nope. I’ll post info on the final soon. Nothing to worry about, though.
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Sarah Binger
Reading/Research: As the end of the semester approaches and I begin to look at the whole of my work as one final piece of work so comes the act of revision. I honestly am not someone who has been big on revising papers for other classes, I like the organic feeling of my first work. However I wish to make my work slightly for this course simply because it is in portfolio form and will look much better. This is not an easy task by any means, in fact I kind of started out as a sort of chicken with its head cut off. However I am glad to say that Professor Mcguire’s guidelines have been incredibly helpful for starting a plan. Of course not everything applies to me specifically, but I would definitely say everyone should look it over carefully and use his advice to better their final product. Good luck to everyone!
Mcguire, Michael. “Lesson 15: Final Editing Strategies.” 2012 Web. -
Jessica Konstant
The first couple sentences of Chapter eight really caught my attention. It talked about asking stupid questions, and if there really was such thing as a stupid question. It was strange because earlier in my day my two younder brothers were having their own discussion on the topic and it was funny watching them argue their opinions to eachother. Aside from the coincidence there were some good questions in this chapter that a lot of people may ask or be curious about. Especially since we are working on and coming to an end with our portfolios. One question that stood out to me was, “How can I say something about a topic I’m just beginning to explore?” For me that was a recurring question because there were some topics that I have done papers on for this course that I didn’t know much about. But after research and sharing my own ideas about the topic I learned a lot more about it. “I’m just a college student, so I’m totally not an expert here, but here are my two cents anyway.” Am amusing, but sometimes true statment for me. Or how can you forgot the the question of, “How can I possibly write five pages about this?” I know when I get assignments that I don’t know much about the topic, I have no idea how I can possibly meet the required length. I believe that everytime I have done homework with a friend and they’re writing papers they utter that question, and so do I. But it is more important to focus on the actual flow and angle of the paper, and not just meeting the required length. Quality over quantity.
Dow, Thomas. “Advice, Writer to Writer.’ Why White Rice? Thinking Through Writing. Kendall Hunt, 2010. 175-197. Print -
Maureen Rich
In the beginning our final portfolio seemed so far away. Now with the due date approaching, I cannot believe how fast this course flew by. I would like to express my gratitude to Professor McGuire and my classmates with assisting me in being one step closer to my goal. I started in this course assuming it was to improve my writing skills. It didn’t take long, but I soon discovered that this course was much more than gaining knowledge in writing. I obtained knowledge of myself as a person. I may have dug deep to pull my thoughts out through my writing, but I feel I dug deeper in pulling out my thoughts on who I am, who I want to be and who I am now determined to become. Thank you to all who have contributed to this life lesson. Now….is anyone else nervous about their portfolio? Am I the only sap or does anyone else get emotional each time you re-read your piece and make changes?
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Maureen Rich
Chapter 8 caught my attention right away. In the beginning, I was amused with “Is it really true that there are no dumb questions? No, that is not true. There are, in fact, stupid questions.” This humor made me want to read on. There were a lot of questions to ponder on throughout this Chapter, especially to assist me in my revision for my final portfolio. I particularly liked how it states on page 183 “Find a way to make each project your own. Then, own it. And see it through.” We have all been given the same requirements for each of our papers, yet each one of us has a different thoughts and opinions, which makes each of our own work unique. We are responsible for what we wrote, as well as how we were educated by the lesson learned. Throughout our revision process, it has taught me to be a more confident writer. So when I read “own it” it made me feel proud. We all began with our drafts and made our changes accordingly. I know with each change, as a writer, I felt more attached to each piece. I felt as if more of my own emotions were grasping on. I found myself getting more emotional each time I revised or re-read. Does that make sense to anyone else? LOL I was also able to relate to page 188 where it states “Practice over time will yield results.” I remember in the beginning of this course, I dreaded my revision. Now, I have to admit, I actually enjoyed this process. I don’t think I was ever really taught how to revise correctly. After learning more about revision in this course, it wasn’t that bad after all.
Dow, Thomas. “Advice, Writer to Writer.’ Why White Rice? Thinking Through Writing. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt, 2010. 175-197. Print. -
Courtney Watkins
Since I am rapping up my final portfolio it is a good decision for me to start doing some serious revision to my portfolio. Like Professor said, it does not take long to revise your work and it is really worth it to do so. I actually already started proofreading my work and I found some few minor mistakes. Also, before I even started to revise my work I read the reviews from my peers again and they were really helpful. The poem, “The Impotence of Proofreading” was very entertaining. I really liked how he changed the words about english into funny wordingd that would make everyone laugh. I think he is very creative for making something like that. I actually watched the video more than twice and everytime I watched it I was thinking about our professor. I think it is even more funny that our professor chose this video for us to watch. This just brings back memories about all the interesting videos I have seen in the past lessons for this course. The important part was that I got the message he wanted to get across which is there is no prostitute for carefully editing your own work. I must say that I am glad that I have gotten this far in this course. I have came very in this course and learned so much. I have not yet finishsed fully editing my writing for my final portfolio. After doing some editing already I know that it is important because otherwise, I will senseless mistakes which could really have an impact on my grade. Farewell, to you all.
McGuire, Michael. “Final Editing Strategies.” learning.writing101. learning.writing101, 2012 . Web. 3 May. 2012. -
Kelly Creed
I like how chapter 8 answers frequently asked questions. Some of the questions I found to be redundant that we hear in a lot of classes, however it is good to always have a refresher. One point that resonated with me was, “How can I say something about a topic I’m just beginning to explore.” Throughout this semester, I have battled with this obstacle in my geography class. The course is set up where we read 3-4 chapter and then take a test. Over time I have found that the test does not correlate with the information we learned in the chapters. A lot of the time the test calls for us to do outside research and then answer the question from the sources we found. I have had a hard time grasping this concept. Why would our teacher want to test our knowledge on information that does not pertain to the reading materials in the book? I thought I signed up for a geography course, not a search the web course? With the class being set up like this, I had a hard time writing convincing essays about material that I had little to no knowledge about. I wanted to sound like I knew the material, but not too well. My discovery and research had only begun. I wish I had read Chapter 8 earlier in the semester, so I would have some insightful information to guide me in my geography course. I like how chapter 8 states to focus on supporting your position in a clear, organized, and developed piece of writing. It doesn’t matter if you spent three weeks researching a topic or two days researching a topic, as long as you pick a perspective to write about and then write it well you will achieve success.
Dow, Thomas. “Advice, Writer to Writer.’ Why White Rice? Thinking Through Writing. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt, 2010. 175-197. Print. -
Mayra Pulido
The conclusion was interesting to me. It took you on the journey of processing, thinking, the observing, the understanding, and to focus. Even if it was about the book, I can relate it to the writings I have done. As the chapters were about our writings, this part focused a little more on the title. I was always told that the title was important, but not like a “punch to the throat.” The process of how the title for the book came to be and the picture of how its not just a picture to match the title, but the artist response and how it relates to the goal and purpose of this book. I have to say I enjoyed reading this book and it has a lot of good pointers. I think this book should be made available to teachers in elementary school for children’s writing to be more developed by the time they go to college. Or maybe the same book in a format (if this is not appropiate) where students alone can read it and apply it to their writing. High school students especially. I am going to make sure I take the title of each of my paper and ask around if they would read anything with that title. This final portfolio makes me nervous. Trying to really pull in readers. Especially right now that I shared my writings to my family members and friends for feedback. I think they are being to nice to me and do not want to make me feel bad, so I have to push them to really look at it and really ask themselves if they would read it and if it caught their attention the whole way forgetting that I am the one that wrote it.
De Villez, Eric. “A conclusion that began briefly as a tip of the hat to the idea of process-and then lingered’ Why White Rice? Thinking Through Writing. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt, 2010. 175-197. Print. -
Kenyatta Greer
Editing used to be the most dreaded part of the writing process for me. I would have pieces close to being finished, but I would not complete them, because I dreaded the editing process. After talking to a friend about it, I was convinced it was because of over identification with my work. I felt great when writing, but when it was time to take out the red pen, I hesitated. I finally realized that just like me, my writing would never be perfect. So instead of me editing my work, I sent it to friends and family. After reading their responses, it was clear again that the process was not as daunting as I imagined. This week, I sat down with a friend with one of my portfolio drafts. Of course, it was the one that I thought I did well on, but he was not impressed. I asked him to read the first sentence and answer the question outlined in our notes. He put it down. At first, I thought he was just joking, but he wasn’t. What I thought was my best opening in my portfolio, did not impress my reader. After all, my writing should be all about the reader, right? He was kind enough to give me some great feedback that I will use during my revision process.
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Linda Seguin
Reading Chapter 8 in Why White Rice reinforced many of the important concepts that were presented in our material throughout the class. I am an adult learner and continue to be so until I die. I agree with the Professor Dow in this chapter and find his “Breaking it Down “summaries to be great advice to the younger students in the class. I love to spend a lot of time in local libraries. We are very fortunate to have such knowledge at our fingertips and there is something nostalgic about holding a classic book in contrast to the electronic books that everyone is utilizing. There is so much to learn and explore. Professor Dow writes, “We continue to grow as writers and thinkers over a lifetime” (197). Going back to college has been a more enjoyable to me as an adult learner. I appreciate this knowledge and do apply what I have learned into my professional scope of practice. This knowledge strengthens my skills. Another excellent remark by the Professor was on page 185, he stated, “Reading will improve your writing. You will expand your knowledge, have more to say, and discover new and interesting ways to say what you need to say.” I think we can all agree that this course with Professor McGuire has done just that to our writing . I do take pen and paper in hand every day and have noticed that my style is more concise and organized and I add more precise detail. It is easier for those who must read my writing, therefore to understand my situation with minimal questioning. “ The best advice I can share with you is to keep writing what you think…” Dow writes, “ …what you want and/or need to say- and writing to help you think more clearly” (197).
Dow, Thomas. “Advice, Writer to Writer.’ Why White Rice? Thinking Through Writing. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt, 2010. 175-197. Print. -
Kenyatta Greer
I really enjoyed this week’s writing style presentation. This class has challenged me in a number of ways as a writer. For example, writing about service is something that is new to me, but I have benefited from the progression. I learned during my service opportunities, however, I was shocked at how much came out of me because of writing about the process. Thus, it was challenging to reflect on my experiences, and communicate to others, who may have never heard of the organization. The video was authentication, because it looked at how when writing, the writer must “show” their audience. Another piece of the video that resonated with me was the part on style. Given that, this is something that I am constantly trying to develop, it was great to examine how different authors use words. My personal style has changed dramatically in the last six months. I believe it was because I was doing more reading than writing. I know it is important for all writers to read, but I had to balance the two, so I would be using my “voice,” instead of sounding like someone else. I am now comfortable with the fact that writing is a process. Through this class, I have become more open to others reading and reviewing my writing. The reviews have been positive, while remaining beneficial. Thus, I have learned a great deal from my peers about a variety of topics.
— McGuire, Michael. “Writing Style what is it?.” learning.writing101. writing101, 2012. Web. 26 Apr. 2012.-
Patrycja Gola
I too have become more comfortable with others reviewing and reading my writing, I realized that if I am uncomfortable with someone reading something I wrote than I didn’t do a good enough job on my writing. When you feel good and like what you wrote then you’re more confident and not afraid of what others have to say about it because you know you did a good job and put your all into it.
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Alex Jellema
The slide show about Writing Style was interesting to read through. The idea of “showing” vs “telling” was an interesting one and many examples were given along with ways on how to avoid doing so. While reading the tips, another way of saying “showing” came to me. I think another appropriate way to say it would be “painting a picture”. When you are writing something, especially something that other people will be reading, you want to be as descriptive as possible to make it really easy for the people reading it to be able to imagine everything you are describing clearly and easily. The ability to write something and “show” it is something that needs to be practiced by most people, but is worthwhile to achieve. By being able to write like this you will become a much better writer in general and you work will be much more enjoyable to read. The slides given to us to look over this week definitely give a good foundation and will definitely help those struggling with the concept. Now that it has been brought to my attention, I will try to do my best in the future to be as descriptive and intricate in my writing as possible, using all five senses and detailed imagery. Passive voice is always something that Word brings up, so I’ll try to fix those as well. I will also go back before in turn in my portfolio and look over all the work that needs to be turned in and add any of these ideas before I submit it.
McGuire, Michael. “Writing Style: What is it?.” Composition II. WordPress, 4/22/2012. Web. 4/26/2012. -
Sarah Binger
Reading/Research Journal 13: When listening to Professor Mcguire’s lecture on the topic of writing style I got to thinking about my own writing style and what that means for any future writing I might do. What really is a writing style? I thought back to the first times I ever came in contact with the written word, the times when my parents would read stories to my siblings and I. The first literature I heard was in their voices, and each of their voices was different down to the stories they read to us. Winnie the Pooh belonged to my mother, Paddington belonged to my father. Their voices changed the way I understood what was written. As I grew and began to be able to read for myself the voice I heard was the author himself having to make me understand through written word what exactly he was trying to say. With this in mind I begin to think of my own writing style, what is it that I want to convey to the audience? I want to paint words and not just “tell” a story as Professor put it. Recently I began reading the novel “No Country for Old Men” by Cormac McCarthy, now that is an author that has his own style, disregarding any cues for conversation or normal transitions he tells a story in such a way that it feels very natural, like you’re watching from a bird’s eye view. I wish to write in such a way that people feel compelled to read my work and possibly even enjoy it.
Mcguire, Professor Mike. Writing Style: What is it? 25 April 2012. Slide Presentation. -
Joan Garrity
RRJ # 13: For this entry, i wanted to express my opinions on the story i read in 8.7, i found this to really hit home with me. I have experienced some teachers who will be so power driven that they will not give anyone the benefit of the doubt, or any courtisness whatsoever. In regards to absences. I have experienced times where i had to miss class due to uncontrollable things, such as a babysitter cancelling at the last moment. Or my car breaking down/not starting. I would try to find out what i missed and if i could make it up and sometimes the teacher wouldn’t care to give me a chance to do so. I dont expect it to be all the time. but here is the whole point, they still get paid regardless of whether or not i pass or fail.. whether or not they give me a 2nd chance or not. I feel that it is just a niceness quality. Some kindness never hurts, nor does understanding! Some teachers i have encountered have been so power trip driven that it is sickening. However, i have had way more teachers that are / were so wonderful, i wish i had a class with them all year round. In this story he discusses that of course the teacher would not cancel class just because you were absent. I think thats a little rough. Nobody expects class to be cancelled because they were absent. Really?! thats absurd. I also understand his point that you know your going to “miss” something/s that maybe important or crucial. I get that. But, if i email a teacher to state i will be absent, wouldn’t it be courtious to email a response stating, ” ok, we are going to be doing/ working on this today” and possibly inform me of the expectations of the days class. would that be so hard? i dont think so. We are adults, College students, not grammar school students. It can be very frustrating.
Why White Rice, Thinking through writing.Eric R DeVillez, Thomas P Dow, Michael S McGuire. Troy A Swanson. -
Shawnette Sierra
I found the video/slide-show about writing style interesting. I never really thought about writing style, as I have read other essays, journal entries, articles, or even books. Nor have I really ever thought about my own personal writing style and how it effects my readers. The slideshow talks about grammar, how it effects the reader. For myself personally, I like to write in a way that is easy for readers to understand my point, or what I am trying to get them to understand. I think I like to prefer reading in that way too, I want to be able to read something and understand what they are saying off the bat, not sit and think about what I read really means. I do agree that all writing is creative. I do believe it is important for the writer to make it interesting for the reader. No one enjoys reading fact after fact, emotions, abstract visuals, and so on make anything more enjoyable to read. I agree that details are important. I also agree that using all of your senses to describe things is a great way to be creative and interesting for the reader. When reading something, I like to imagine the person, place, or thing in my head. I like to think about how it would smell, or look like, maybe feel. So I do agree being specific can make a difference to the reader. After watching this video, I think it will really help when revising my previous draft work. I will make sure that my draft work has been interesting, creative, and descriptive for the readers.
McGuire, Michael. “Writing Style what is it?.” learning.writing101. writing101, 2012. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. -
Peter Traxler
I really enjoyed the article “Dracula Sucks” on page 182 of WWR. There is so much truth about how to gain the attention of others in this article. There is a certain aspect of something being so cheesy that it is funny. I have seen movies like this, but in most cases that was not the intent of the director. Most other times cheesiness can result in boring, uninteresting, and failing. We are to write something that attracts the audience to our portfolio. I hope in reading this I can be more cognizant of the fact that coming off as cheesy will not work. I am glad Troy shared this lesson he has learned with us, unfortunately most lessons like this I end up learning the hard way. For instance in this class alone I have learned that something is better than nothing, that it is best to stay ahead of the game, and to use my voice before it is too late. Coming back to the point of “Dracula Sucks”, I think the following sentence sums up how to avoid this pitfall. “Now, Tom does point out that you can go over the top, so you might want to substitute substance for cheesiness.” It seems that in doing some major writing you would want to have all your t’s crossed and you i’s dotted so to speak. When you have that firm base of good ideas and “solid points”, you are more free and open to enhance your writing or speech. Only when the foundation is set can you make the ideas vibrant.
Swanson, Troy “Why Dracula Sucks” Why White Rice? Thinking Through Writing. Dubuque:Kendall Hunt,2010. 182-183. Print. -
Eric Wisch
Loved the chapter about style. I definitely have a certain style to my writing. From when I first started writing papers in 8th grade, through high school teachers hated my style. I would get corrections on my test cancelling out words like “ridiculous” and other super-adjectives. I hated that my writing to them was out-there or weird. I hate writing boring non-sense. I hate knowing that someone is reading something that is boring, or not palatable. Even when I read some of your guys writings I want to stop, and immediately comment on how bored I am. Just kidding, I don’t think any of your guys’ writing have been boring; if it was I would definitely tell you, though. I think style is definitely something that is very omnipotent to each author, or writer. I have read a ton of Clive Barker’s stuff and he has a way of writing that is way different than anything else I have ever read. he just has a way of relaying what he is saying, or making you want to absolutely never sleep, or eat again. In regards to getting close to our final portfolios, I am definitely stoked to sort of back track and do a little better on my first writings. If you get this far in my RJE, I just want to let you know that your portfolio is very important. I have taken Com 101, with McGuire and he is just as strict with your portfolio as he is with everything else. Make your work stand out, make sure you site your work, and don’t bore him. Good luck guys!
McGuire, Michael “Writing Style: What is it?” learning.writing101 Web 2012 -
Mayra Pulido
Chapter 8 was a good chapter to read at this point of the class. Especially getting close to putting together our final portfolios. The first advice was how to make a topic interesting even though their is no interest on the topic at all. Taking a chance without be afraid of being wrong. Another advice was timing. Giving yourself time to write. Not doing it last minute like the day before. Pg. 184 “I worked on it again this morning, and now I’m adding to it. I’ll also keep writing it, re-working parts, revising the whole thing, and thinking about it pretty much non-stop until this manuscript is in our publisher’s hands.” Of course another advice that we all know we should not do is plagiarizing. Professor Dow also mentioned in this chapter that Professors really check the sources their students use and you have to state your sources. He also gave examples of two different ways you can write when using the word “you”. It is interesting to see how different the two examples become. He also talked about is their such thing a a stupid question, and his answer was yes. A good question is a question with will keep the mind thinking, expanding the different views of a question. What I mentioned above were the things that stood out to me more, especially when I have in mind how will I begin my intro to my portfolio. What can I say or use to keep the reader interested in what I have to say. I want my readers to not be able to put my paper done until they are done completely. I will certainly keep these point in mind. And I hope I have become a better writer than I was in the beginning. I do feel like I have learned different things here about writing. I am excited to put it all the “pieces” together and see what I have made all together (final portfolio).
Dow, Thomas “Advice, Writer to Writer. Answering your Frequently Asked Questions” Why White Rice? Thinking Through Writing. Dubuque:Kendall Hunt,2010. 77-99. Print. -
Jessica Konstant
Style has never been something that I thought about very much when I am writing. I never thought about what my style was and how it affected my writing until now. This presentation was very informative for me, mostly because I usually don’t think about it. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was and the different things that make up your writing style. What was most interesting to me was how much grammar and style are related. But after reading about it, it makes sense that they would go together. Thinking about what we are going to write affects the tone and the overall paper and how the reader perceives it. The advice of “Show don’t tell” is very good advice to take as you are writing. When you are showing you are very detailed and try to make it so the person can feel like they were there when they are reading your writing. It is important to do this so that the reader doesn’t get bored. They want it to be exciting to read and feel like it is as real as possible, and let their imaginations take them to what you are describing. The video also said, “No subject is really interesting; it’s the writer’s job to make it so.” This was the part that stuck out to me the most, and really just shows what the writer’s job is. There were also a lot of good examples of showing and telling, and good tips that I will be using while revising.
McGuire, Michael. “Writing Style: What is it?” learning.writing101. writing101, 2012. Web -
Natalie Nalepa
I think that everyone is pretty much born into their writing style, and it is very diffuicult to change your style once you have developed it. I can tell the different styles of some people in this class, and could probably identify who wrote a few different things if I haven’t read them before. As for vocabulary, I’d much rather not have to whip out the dictionary while reading your work. I hate it when people try to use big words that most people do not know unless they read the dictionary on a regular basis. I know a couple people outside of this class that seriously study the dictionary and use big words just to make themselves seem smarter and to try and make other people feel like they are stupid. As for descriptions, it is nice to create a nice visual image, but sometimes people go a little too far with that, and it is obvious that they are just trying to fill in those extra 250 words they need for their 1,000 word essay.. The more you describe, the less is actually left up to my imagination. I think I am going to have some trouble revising my writing. I have not really started to yet, but I reread everything I have written severl times to make sure it was satisfied with it before I submitted it. Maybe I am wrong though, maybe looking back on things I wrote months ago, I will have better ideas now.
— McGuire, Michael. “Writing Style: What Is It?.” learning.writing101.net 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2012 -
Maureen Rich
After watching the video Writing Style What is it? I was really anxious to go and start revising! I found this to be quite helpful and inspiring. I never really thought of grammar and style to be the same. It was stated in the video “Grammar and Style are part of the same continuum. Essentially they refer to the same thing: the choices a writer makes and the effects those choices have on the reader.” I never looked at the two it the way the video described. There was a lot to learn in this video. The part I was pulled in the most was “all writing is creative”, explaining the “show don’t tell” aspect. I was able to tell the difference of which writing was “show” and which one was “tell”. This aspect is great to learn from to become a better writer. It assists you in your writing with creativity to reach out to the reader and engage them. Like Professor McGuire stated, let the reader determine what he wants to feel or believe. It is the writers job to get the reader to be interested. I also think the reminder of using all five senses is a tip I know I personally forget when writing. Using the specific details using the senses is a way to pull the reader in so they can really feel you. The video also stated “images are not just visuals” which is also inspiring to me. Using the 5 senses can help you with having the reader visualize without an image. All these tips will definitely be significant in my revision and whereas before I dreaded revising, I am actually looking forward to it.
McGuire, Michael. “Writing Style what is it?.” learning.writing101. writing101, 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.-
Linda Seguin
Good Morning Maureen, Just wanted to cheer you on with the revision process. I know you will make it come to life even more! Excellent statement, “Using the 5 senses can help you with having the reader visualize without an image.”
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Maureen Rich
Thanks Linda!!!
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Linda Seguin
The power point presentation in last weeks assignment briefly explained some of the basic concepts involved with textual positioning and the language choices that a writer must make. From what I can decipher positioning includes all the subjective responses that can effect the researcher and how they interpret the data that they collect. The writer has the ethical responsibility to properly represent their subjects and given the type of position the writer tales it may change the position of the reader. All of this power through the words they chose. From past readings their where 3 positions explained; #1) Fixed Position: Includes personal facts that might sway your initial impression of your subject, ex. age, gender, class, nationality or race. #2) Subjective Positions: Subjects life events and personal experiences. #3) Textual Positions; Which connects/supports our current reading and deals with language choices you make to represent what you see. It reflects the position the writer takes in the field with respect to people you study. It is through this connection of all the positions/perspectives that is the goal of all fieldwork writers. I believe by incorporating all three positions a writers paper would be very interesting/ colorful and rich in all detail making it a creative work. In our current reading, ” What We Call Ourselves and Others,” it becomes clear that a writer must clearly comprehend the context and language in which is chosen and the sentence structure that is utilized in order to properly convey a true reflection of the subject. When it comes to using labels to describe people i am very careful. I do not want to offend anyone and I do not want to offend anyone and I do not want to shed negative light on those individuals. I agree with the chapter that labels are distracting and cam be detrimental if the language chosen in mot properly placed in the paper. So, in summary I will continue to be cautious with the craft of any of my writings in regards to textual positions.
Copossela ed., “What We Call Ourselves and Others: Names, Solidarity, and Stereotypes.” learning.writing101.net. Professor McGuire. 15 April 2012. Web. 23 April 2012.
Maureen Rich, 
Kelly Creed, and 
Patrycja Gola are discussing. 
Eric Wisch, and 
Sarah Binger, 
Mayra Pulido are discussing. 
Linda Seguin are discussing. 
Kelly Creed 8:34 pm on May 13, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for sharing this Maureen!
Maureen Rich 8:03 pm on May 14, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks girls!
Patrycja Gola 2:01 pm on May 12, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I loved that you shared this article, it really does relate to everything we have been learning about, and what makes it even better is that your nephew is apart of it.