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            I have learned so much throughout the course of this semester. Looking back at my skills as a writer and comparing them to the skills I have learned is astonishing to me. By working on projects throughout the course I have achieved critical thinking, reading, and composing skills, rhetorical knowledge, and skills using processes.
           Through working on the summary analysis project I was able to gain knowledge in critical thinking, reading, and composing. At first I really struggled with this project because I had a hard time analyzing the article I chose. It’s not that the article was difficult to understand, it was just that I had never done that before. Of course as humans we are analyzing things constantly in our everyday lives, but I really struggled with adding that into my paper. I personally had to break this assignment down into multiple steps. First I wrote the summary aspect of the assignment. Next I picked out quotes from the article that really stood out and had an impact on me. Then I made “quote sandwiches” for each quote I had chosen. In the quote sandwich you set up the quote by introducing who said it and the context, then include the quote, and lastly you analyze it. This technique of breaking everything down to make the project simpler was a really good strategy for me. I think what I struggled with the most was explaining what the author was appealing to. When I created my quote sandwiches this became much easier for me. Overall, I believe that my critical thinking, reading, and composing skills improved a lot by working on my summary analysis paper. I had to learn how to read an article, analyze if the author did well on persuading the audience of his/her topic by using different appeals, and put that into my own words in the essay. I was very happy with my final draft of this paper and was very proud of myself for working through the struggles I faced.
            Both the documentary project and the summary analysis helped me gain knowledge with rhetoric. After struggling through and completing these projects I was able to analyze context and create texts. The documentary project was a nice introduction to rhetoric for me. Even though we did not have to add a lot of analysis in this project, I still was able to analyze it myself. Most of the project was summarizing a documentary film that you watched and explaining how the different components and use of film techniques helped to grab at the audience. This helped me when it came time for the summary analysis project that I mentioned earlier. I achieved skills in analyzing and determining the purpose and effectiveness of the way the documentary film and article changed in either tone, design, form, structure, and/or voice.
           I always thought I had a decent organization process/pre-writing method I used before I started a paper, but I realized my previous method wasn’t very effective. I learned how to be successful in using processes for my projects. The microtheme assignment really helped me become more comfortable and open to using this type of process to gather my ideas before just jumping into the final paper. The microtheme was a great tool to open up questions, create thoughts, and explore the topic at hand. Even though the microtheme is designed to dig deeper and explore the topic, it also really helped me focus on the purpose. This might have been the shortest assignment but it was definitely the hardest assignment for me by far. The reason this assignment was so difficult for me is because I have been trained my whole life to argue your side in a pro/con type of way. Also, I was never able to put my input into papers I had to write in the past. For these reasons the microtheme was extremely difficult for me. In the end I was able to create a microtheme that I was proud of. It may have taken multiple rough drafts and rounds of editing, but that’s what practicing is all about!

Better Watch What You Say...

I thought this picture was a funny way to remind everyone of the importance of grammar in the context of your words!

Oh the Irony....

Well... isn't that a bit hypocritical and ironic.

Designing Writing

           If I thought about writing as a design perhaps I would approach writing tasks differently. Thinking about

 having to write a paper compared to having to design a paper may have a different effect. The word design

 makes me think of being creative and making something unique. The word design means to create something

 and this could ultimately make a paper turn out better rather than thinking I have to write a paper. 

            If you're designing something then you work in steps. When it comes to designing a paper some steps

 you could take would be to create a microtheme, pull out quotes from your source (depending on what kind of

 assignment/paper it is), create a rough draft, and edit the rough draft until you feel confident in the final draft.

This would allow for a very developed and well organized paper. If you were to just "write a paper" then it could

 be lacking some necessary components or it could be underdeveloped. 

Free-write

Free write

03/24/17

Today in class we discussed how to break down quote sandwiches. Using the table of “I say..”, “Author says...” is really helps to fully develop the quote sandwich. I think using this technique is great when writing a summarizing and analysis paper. I always struggled with the analysis aspect of these types of paper, but this is very helpful.  

Gaining Knowledge on Argument Essays

The current summary analysis project is revealing a lot of things about how I used to write and argument essay. While working on the summary analysis, we have been taught to use the idea of quote sandwiches. I never realized how helpful of a concept that is. In past argument essays I did not use quote sandwiches. Looking back I can see that I did a lot of unnecessary explaining. In past arguments I used to provide a quote from the source I used and just explain the heck out of it! It was unnecessary because the quotes were pretty self explanatory themselves. I also noticed that I never included what the author was appealing to. The way this summary analysis project has been broken down has really helped me to better understand how to effectively write an argumentative essay.

My Thoughts on the In-class Videos

In this blog I just wanted to post my thoughts on the videos that Dr. Kyburz showed the class. (Both the videos on urbanization and the self-made film by Dr. Kyburz.)

I really enjoyed watching the video on urbanization. The way that the mayor thought not only about the upper class citizens but also the lower and middle class was refreshing to see. When he was talking about how the streets are set up to benefit all types of people really intrigued me. He talked about how there was lanes for cars, then lanes for buses, then lanes for bicycle riders. This made transportation more efficient and more safe. It's more efficient because the bus that is offered to everyone, eliminates a lot of backed up traffic the area was having previously. It is more safe because the bicyclists are out of harms way from the vehicles.

I also really enjoyed the film Dr. Kyburz made. I enjoyed watching her film and listening to what she had to say and her opinions on certain topics. I thought the political aspects and pictures she included was brilliant.
 The only thing I am confused about is the snowman videos. I would really like it if Dr. Kyburz could explain that experiment and its meaning to the class!:)

Struggling

I have learned a lot about myself as a writer lately. While working on the micro-theme assignment, I realized that I have trouble straying away from the traditional five paragraph essay that I had been taught throughout my education. When Dr. Kyburz said that this assignment would be different from what we learned in the past and that some of us would struggle with it, I had no doubt in my mind that it would be easy. I thought to myself, it only has to be one page? This will be easy! Boy was I wrong! I knew that there wasn't supposed to be any bias in the paper, yet I still found bias woven throughout my wording. Even after I edited my micro-theme when Dr. Kyburz told me I needed to fix some things, I still noticed bias was in there. I just really struggled with completely getting rid of any sort of bias. I completely understand that a micro-theme is nothing like an argumentative paper and I wasn't purposely trying to argue, but I can now see that I was in fact doing just that. Not purposefully but subconsciously. In the end, I feel that I revised my micro-theme very well. I changed to explaining possible causes rather than consequences to help get rid of the bias. I feel that my revised paper turned out well but now all that's left is waiting for that grade! :)

Revision of microtheme 4

I also wanted to add that keeping the traditional five paragraph essay vs. getting rid of being taught that way wasn’t very evenly balanced for the most part. I noticed the writer included a bias on the issue. It is pretty clear that the writer believes that being taught a broader method of writing rather than only the five paragraph way of writing is what is best.

Ambiguity

If someone is speaking with ambiguity it means that they are speaking in an unclear or vague manner. There is uncertainty and doubtfulness in the meaning of what they're talking or writing about. 

This picture is stating that when something has ambiguity, it is very vague and unclear.

The image above shows a scenario where ambiguity comes to play. It can be used to be misleading.

This picture is an example of ambiguity. It is unclear and can cause confusion on what the sign is trying to say.

Freewrite

Through working on my microtheme in this course, I am learning that I have been very conditioned as a writer. I was taught a very strict way of writing and have written every paper with the same backbone. I am learning that the way I was taught to write doesn’t really apply to all types of writing. In this assignment I struggled with writing about a problematic question rather than a topic. It felt so wrong not having a typical five paragraph essay. I had to learn how to condense my thoughts and add in my own opinion rather than researched facts. I would say that I am learning to become more creative in my writing. I feel myself thinking about things that happen in everyday life more closely. Overall, I think this course is making me think deeper about a lot of things that I never really looked at that way. My work on the documentary project and the microtheme has taught me the nature of knowledge and truth. It has definitely made me a more knowledgeable writer. As far as truth, the documentary project was very insightful. That’s as true as it gets since a documentary follows real life stories.

Self Review for Microtheme

So far I am pretty confident in my micro theme draft. The most challenging part of writing my microtheme was creating the third paragraph. In this paragraph, you are supposed to recognize the problem. I know what the problematic question of my microtheme is but I had a hard time starting this paragraph with, "If we could"... I think I did a fairly good job of overcoming this obstacle for myself. I was able to find a way that the "If we could.." statement fit my problematic question. However, it was surprisingly easy to write the first paragraph since it is based off of my own viewpoints and opinions. I think the main reason I was struggling with this assignment is because I was overthinking it all. Once I made sure that I had a problematic question rather than a topic, it all kind of fell into place.

Discussion of Documentary Films

I believe documentary film is a great tool to teach rhetorical knowledge and skill. Even without thinking about it, documentaries include many elements of rhetoric. Documentaries can use pathos, ethos, and logos to persuade their audience to feel a certain way. Whether the documentary is using facts or emotion, they are meant to get through to an audience. At the same time, documentaries are valid sources as they directly show information for what they are trying to persuade the audience about. Working with documentaries helped reframe my understanding of how to select good questions because they force you to make your own assumptions and opinions on the topic being discussed. I also think documentaries are a good way to teach writing to students because they are interesting. While some students may get bored from reading text all day, being able to watch a documentary on something that interests you is refreshing. It’s always nice to be able to enjoy the material that you have to do homework on because then it won’t feel like work. I believe using documentaries is a fun way to teach writing.

My Reflective Blog Post vs. a Published Review

I chose to read an article by The New York Times reviewing the documentary War Dance. The reflective blog entry I posted and this published review are similar and different in many ways. For example, both explained how inspiring the children in the documentary are. In my reflective post, I talked about how strong the children are to be able to overcome the horrifying realities of their pasts. I explained that the children’s love for music gave them a sense of hope. Music plays such a big role in the children’s lives and helps them to forget about the war. The published review expresses this when the author says, “presented in a spirit of hope”. The author of this review clearly believes that this film gives off a sense of hopefulness. Also, both my reflective blog post and this published review talks about the emotional scene when Nancy visits her father’s burial site. One difference is that I believe that most of these kids are sincerely sharing their sad stories publicly for the first time. Other than possibly telling any loved ones or friends they have left, they have held onto these deep dark secrets that are haunting them. For example, when Dominic describes the day he had to kill three innocent farmers to save himself from the rebels, he expressed that this was the first time he has ever told anyone that. However, the published review thinks that these interviews were “rehearsed.” I do not believe this is the case. Overall I enjoyed reading this published review because while I agreed with most of the statements made, I also liked to see a different point of view and opinion. It is clear that my reflective blog post and The New York Times review share similarities and differences.

Documentary Reflection

1. The scene that got to me the most was when the kids talked about how they were taken from their homes. One of the kids at the camp explained that he was forced to kill two innocent farmers by beating them over the head with their own tools. If he did not kill the farmers, the rebel soldiers would have killed him. Another scene that made my heart ache was watching young Nancy visit her father's burial site. Nancy sobbed uncontrollably, threw herself to the ground, and even wished that the rebels had killed her along with her father. Seeing how the war in Uganda is ruining innocent people's lives is heart wrenching.
2. What surprised me the most was how strong the young children in these camps are. They have been through so much pain and suffering yet they still manage to find happiness through music and dance. They were all determined to show the other schools at the competition that just because they are from the war zone doesn't mean they are not capable of great things and have many talents.
3. After watching this documentary, I felt very appreciative for the life that I have and all the little things that I take for granted in my daily life. I felt great joy watching the kids bring back the trophy from the competition for winning the traditional Acholi dance. The suffering they have endured could not stop them from doing something great and making their tribe proud. I love and appreciate music very much and this documentary proved how powerful it truly is. When interviewed Dominic said, "If there's music, life becomes so good." Nancy added, "When I'm singing I feel like everything is exactly like it used to be. Everything feels okay again, like I'm at home and not in the camp." This shows the power that music has in their lives.
4. There was a few problematic concepts I noticed from the documentary. The main problem is clearly the war in Uganda. All of the other problems I came across all are due to this main conflict. How long will the war last that is causing people to live in camps? How will the economy be after the war? Will people be able to return to their homes they had in the village before they were abducted? However, none of these problems can be fully researched until the war ends.

My First Blog

http://a4.files.blazepress.com/image/upload/c_fit,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTI4OTkzNTIwNjM4ODE2MjI2.jpg

I chose to talk about the picture linked above for my first blog entry. The reason I chose this picture is because the words are simple yet effective. Just because an individual might view a something differently than you do doesn't give you the right to judge them. Everyone is unique and beautiful in their own way and should be treated as such. Instead of putting people down for their views, we should embrace and learn from others. The moral of the picture is to respect others ways of thinking because there are multiple ways to complete a task.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e7/b0/fa/e7b0fa76c442bb46ffb06a10b57cd695.jpg

The link above leads to a saying about writing. I included this image because I want to become a better writer. As the text in the image says, "You might not write well everyday, but you can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page." This has inspired me to start writing/blogging as best as I can this semester. Even if I'm not completely sure what I want to write about, I will start a draft and go from there.

I also wanted to make sure that the design of my blog was okay. I picked from the simple design options but I want to make sure it's not too plain or boring.