I think the discussion forum shows that every persons sense of drafting versus writing is distinctly unique. Unique to their own writing abilities. Everyone is taught how to write and or draft projects in a different way. I think this is so important becuase it is how we end up with so many different styles of writing. How else would we end up with different forms of writing other than how they are very first formed and thought out. If everyone believes the very initial part of writing is to be done differently the of course each profect will be unique.
0 Comments
Two Sundays ago I was standing next to my Dad in church. He’s the youth pastor and children's ministry leader of our small Church. The piano begins to play and the words to the Doxoligy can be heard from the mouths of everyone around us. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow Praise him all creatures here below praise him above ye Heav ’nly host Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.” I look up at my Dad and smile. My memories come flooding in and suddenly i'm sitting on the top bunk in my sister and my shared bedroom. Our doors open and my Dad is standing in the hallway in between our room and our brothers room. We would sing those words together after he said goodnight to us all. I spent a lot of nights falling asleep thinking about those words sung. I thought about all the creatures. I thought about each animal and then the insects and all the people. I thought about how that sure is a lot of animals. All creatures praise him, I loved that line.
I love my Dad and how he raised me and my siblings. He shared his faith with us from the beginning. People have questioned us. Is it your faith or your parents faith? A good question for a young believer. That is something everyone decides for themselves. My parents never pressured us to believe something we didn’t. That song has always stuck with me throughout my years. It has been there to strengthen my faith and I have always been thankful that my Dad taught me those words and shared them with me. How does your outward appearance (i.e. clothing, makeup, hairstyle, accessories, etc.) reflect your cultural identity?
I try to dress somewhat modest out of respect for my religious parents. I have curly brown hair like my mothers and i always try to enhance it because i know she appreciates it and i have always felt lucky to be white still have natural curls. I try not wear too much makeup because it irritates my skin, but i love to wear stuff that compliments my blue eyes. I have a nose ring and i feel as though it gives me a sense of individuality and freedom from where i come from. How do your behaviors and practices (i.e. rituals, daily activities, routines, habits, etc.) reflect your cultural identity? I come from a christian family. My dad was the youth pastor at my church growing up. I go to church and I try to daily devotionals. I pray before eating and before going to bed. I do yoga because it releases negative energy you accumulate throughout your day. I take communion on Sundays with my congregation. I share my faith. How do your beliefs and values (i.e. opinions, commitments, memberships, principles, etc.) reflect your cultural identity? I’m committed to my church, family, education and my job. Where i come from you work hard and honest for what you get. I workout. Not often, but i have a gym membership which doesn't say much. Living a healthy balanced life style is important. Sleep is sacred. Always get a full night of sleep. Take care of yourself and your body. How do your dietary and domestic practices (i.e. hygienic routines, meals and mealtimes, food choices, daily chores) reflect your cultural identity? My family is busy and our lives are hectic, but we eat together on holidays. We all pitch in with chores and keeping things together. My mothers a nurse. Nutrient rich foods are important in my house and so is hygiene. Always wash your hands before dealing with any sort of food. I am allergic to gluten. We keep certain food and dishes separate from the families. How does your region or location in the world reflect your cultural identity? I live in northern America my family loves warm weather and we love being outside. We love hiking and going to the lake, river, and beach. We love being close to the ocean and the mountains. We love being tan and my mom is concerned all of us will have skin cancer when we are older and we just might. We love natural things. My mom and i like to garden. We love flowers. Describe a time when you were judged, excluded, or misunderstood because of one of the cultural traits noted above. I have been judged for my religion. I think that is common no matter the religion. I believe in what i believe and that is what matters. It is not anyone else's faith, but my own. When coming up with ideas I always pull from what I know for sure. I think of things i’ve been taught by people that I trust or by reliable resources. If it’s not something im sure of I research and become sure. I’m extremely visual when it comes to learning. When I create ideas i love to draw them out so that i can see my thoughts. I often use spider web thought bubbles. A concept I was taught back in grade school. I defintely use the internet to do alot my research. An amazing tool, but something I think my generation could use less of. I love reading so I never hesitate to take a trip to the library. Especially if I think I might find a more reliable source there. I also often go to elders in my life that I trust to know about a specific subject. I think this is because it is easier to trust people you know. The information seems more reliable. I think that the peers in my community all have similar forms of generating ideas. In my generation the internet is such a huge part of our everyday lives. For many of us It’s part of our home lives, social lives, work lives, and academic lives. Many of our ideas stem from the internet. I think people in generations, such as my parents a grandparents, create more ideas from things they already know or things they are sure of. Things they see themselves. I feel they are less trusting of things they have not themselves expiernced. Which i think my generation could understand better. I feel that we trust and believe things we do not fully understand or are well researched in. When I was in the first grade I fell ill and I spent the following year in a continuous downward spiral. I became all to familiar with Kaisers pediatrics center. The nurses knew me well and so did the doctors. Tests and procedures were done, but nothing was working and i was wasting away. Among more vital issues my mother soon realized i was forgetting important things such as, my colors, shapes, and letters. A year in and a doctor located in Vallejo California had a hunch and ran some tests. I was diagnosed with Primary Carnitine Deficiency.
I was quickly put on a supplement that now has been keeping me alive for the past twelve years. I was seven almost eight and i was suddenly very behind my class. I spent the next few years struggling to learn to read and write as well and as fast as my peers. I was embarrassed that i was behind and that i needed extra help. It put a dent in my confidence for some time. As I got older I began to write more in my free time. Writing about my day, how I felt, or simple days dreams. These writings were for me and they felt more meaningful than anything i had written before. I still carried a lack of self confidence in this area, but i began to appreciate writing things that mattered. Mattered in my immediate world. Writing letters to my cousin, Meaningful notes to people whom I care for, and love notes to my significant other changed my opinion of my own work. When i wrote about things that were good and honest, it brought joy. I let writing become a positive part of my life. I only hope that while taking this class i can improve my writing so that i can further the joy i hope to bring. I hope that while taking this course I can become more thoughtful in how I form and compose any piece I write. I have to admit i don't take much into consideration when I write. I hope to come out sounding more educated and more mature in my writing. I want to learn to write with more meaning and purpose. I want to feel prepared for the rest of the courses I will be taking in my college career. This as well is something I hope for my fellow classmates. That we may all leave prepared for whatever our next courses may ask of us to write. In one of my first writers journals i expressed my lack of knowledge on the concept. I explained how this topic was something i have not yet grasped. As we have advanced forward i feel as though i have accumulated a better understanding. I feel as though rhetoric refers to a persuasive aspect of writing. The ability to pinpoint the topic or genre and use this knowledge to convince a specific audience. Rhetoric is something used to benefit the writer. For a writer to gain what reaction or response they hope for. This experience is not all to recent, but i remember it clearly. It was the second semester of my Junior year in high school. I was currently attending a small charter school about a half hour away from where i lived. I had grown unhappy and uncomfortable with the staff, students, and academic route I was placed on. My parents knew little about the public school in our small town and were hesitant to send me there. I took it upon myself to do in depth research about the pros and cons about both schools. I composed a paper in high hopes to persuade my parents, the key audience, to allow me to transfer schools. I researched staff, programs, courses, and sports. I included every positive aspect and redefined any potential negatives. The research paper persuaded my parents and I transferred in the spring. I think i was never quite aware of when i was using rhetoric or why i was using it. I believe simply having the knowledge of its purpose and how to use it is a huge attribute to any writer. In future writing projects I will certainly use this knowledge to my own advantage. Attempting to incorporate it into any persuasive writing I may do. To have Rhetorical Knowledge is something i believe will come in handy many times in my future. The notion of writing collaboratively proves that writing is not always personal. It is not an act always composed and thought out by one. Collaborative writing proves that writing isn’t always about one person's opinion or one persons voice. I will admit that collaborating on writing in the past has been quite intimidating for me. You are allowing yourself to be vulnerable. Sharing your abilities and opinions with people who you may not know well. I think collaborative writing makes me more aware of my writing abilities. How well i write or what i am compelled to write about.
While collaborating with other writers you are given an excellent opportunity to receive not only critique, but also observe your fellow writers. Assess how they compose their work. Every writer has a unique structure and collaborating gives you the opportunity to learn from each others writing skills. I believe writing together can always have the potential to create a more powerful piece. Two is always better than one. The WPA Outcomes value collaborative writing because of how powerful writing together can be. To heads with two brains full of separate sets of acquired knowledge. To share your writing abilities with one another is a sure way to compose a strong piece. When writing often times thoughts get lost in translation. Sometimes this happens when writing to quickly or with great passion for a topic. Reflecting back on a completed piece of work gives the writer a chance to acknowledge the true meaning behind the piece of work. Who it was written for and why it was written for them. Every written piece has a purpose and sometimes it’s true given purpose is not made clear. You are able to view the project as a whole and potentially have a better chance of grasping it in its entirety. Reflecting gives a writer a chance to evaluate themselves and asses how they can use this knowledge of they compose their work to help them further develop their skills.
Reflective writing is a way of attempting to understand yourself. To understand why you wrote they way you did and why you wrote what you wrote. Unlike other forms of writing it is personal. This form of writing is all about you and It takes another level of honesty. Compared to other forms of writing the evidence may feel less factual because it is directly from the creator of the piece. During our self assessments of our writing Journals we are given a chance to reflect on our work. To explain our thoughts and why we wrote what we wrote. I think reflecting on our journals is a great idea. The writers journals are so unique to each student and their own beliefs. These assessments give each student a chance to further explain themselves and their thoughts. This level of honesty is something i believe most people struggle with. As well i believe the discussion boards are a great way for students to reflect. The discussion boards gives students a chance to evaluate their own work after receiving thoughtful advice from peers. Out of all the WPA Outcomes i believe Rhetorical Knowledge best relates to reflective writing. Rhetorical thinking shares the great idea of analyzing a text and becoming familiar with both its purpose and origin. To take a deeper look at who a piece was written for and why it was written for that specific audience. As i finish up this writers journal i feel as though my grasp of rhetorical knowledge is expanding. I believe it’s relation to reflective writing has made it more relevant to my own experience. I believe that learning to write starts with language. In most cases one learns to speak before they learn to write. They become familiar with words and expressions a few years before they learn to properly write them down. When one can form words and emotions verbally they are then taught simple things like how to form letters on paper. They are taught the sound a letter portrays and how letters together can create words.
The learning process of writing will be different for each individual depending on where and with who they grow up. As well it depends on what language you are learning. Although most of my peers speak the same language as me i believe who taught each of us, plays a drastic role in our understanding of writing. I believe who raised you and how they write plays a huge role. People you look up to and admire give us ideas on how we wish to speak and this plays a role in how we learn to write. Each person learns at a different pace and processes information differently. There are so many factors that play into how we learn to write and how our writing develops. No two people are the same and because of this no two will have the same experience. The writing process is unique to each individual. Prior to starting this English composition course i assumed it would be just as any other English class i had taken before. However after having read and gone over the course outcomes i was surprised at how many expectations were described. Even more so after remembering that the course is in fact only seven weeks long. Although i will say that the course outcomes are well expressed and made easy to understand what was to be expected of each student. The outcomes did not seem to be to challenging, but diverse for the length of the course and made me wonder how we might tackle each idea.
I will say though that the concept of rhetorical knowledge is taking me a bit longer to wrap my head around. I have always struggled with its description and have always felt that somehow it was not specific enough. I don’t feel as though i know how to apply it well to my own writing. I am hopeful that as i continue on throughout these next weeks that i will be able to grow a more accurate understanding of rhetorical knowledge. The course introduction outcomes clearly explain that students should be able to finish this class with new knowledge that will be applicable in many areas of our lives. Knowledge and structure that will aid students in composing their own writings. Whether their future writing be for personal enjoyment, educational, academic, or in the workplace. Students will have developed enough structure to allow themselves to interpret what they know and learn and apply it appropriately to their own writing. |
|