Writing Portfolio

Throughout these 8 weeks of this English 102 course I must say it was a lot harder then I expected and definitely an eye-opener to different styles of writing. I started off really rough and made some progress later down the road. My first blog post the Diagnostic Essay, I had to publish an analysis of a mash-up between Nas' song "If I Ruled the World" and M.I.A.'s song "Paper Planes". This particular analysis demonstrated SOME mastery in clarity, organization, and grammar/mechanics. Although, I still needed a lot of work on my thesis, application of literary theory, and comparative analysis as those did not demonstrate any mastery.

Surprisingly, I did really well on my blog post on William Blake's "A Little GIRL Lost" even though I did not feel confident about it. This essay demonstrated mastery on application of theory, media, and visual design. I still didn't do my best because I only demonstrated some mastery on my thesis, clarity, organization, comparative analysis, and grammar/mechanics; and no mastery on citation, and integration of sources. Even though this essay was not perfect I still made some progress and improvements from my previous blog the diagnostic essay.


For this next blog post I had to create a Comparative Analysis with a gender studies literary theory on Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" and Carlos Atanes film version of "The Metamorphosis". This analysis was my worst essay by far! I only demonstrated mastery in grammar/mechanics and demonstrated some mastery on media, and visual design. Unfortunately, I demonstrated NO mastery on my thesis, clarity, organization, application of theory, comparative analysis, integration of sources, and citation.  This essay was a big turning point for me as I started to feel like this class was just too hard, but I wasn't ready to give up. The class was given the opportunity to revise one of our essays and I chose to revise this comparative analysis. For my Revised Comparative Analysis I made a lot of improvements from the original one above. I demonstrated some mastery on clarity, thesis, organization, application of theory, comparative analysis, grammar/mechanics, media and visual design. I demonstrated no mastery only on my integration of sources, and citation. I wasn't completely happy with my results but I was happy that I made much needed progress.


The blog post that I did the absolute best on was my Shakespeare analysis of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with a gender studies literary theory. When I was writing this essay I thought it was horrible and didn't feel confident with it at all. Come to find out, I did outstandingly well on it! I demonstrated perfect mastery on my thesis, application of theory, grammar/mechanics, and citation. I demonstrated some mastery on clarity, integration of sources, and organization. The only thing I did not demonstrate mastery on was media and visual design. There is no doubt that this is my best essay because I made huge improvements and progress from all of my other essays.

In conclusion, as you can tell I did have a lot of things I needed to improve on. Some essays were better then others and some were worst. But most of all I didn't give up and I completed the course. I learned a lot from this course and I will continue to learn more about writing in the future. Never expect the unexpected!

Thanks Mrs. Sasser!

Diagnostic Essay

M.I.A./Nas

            The mash-up between M.I.A/Nas highlights Nas’ lyrics to “If I Ruled the World” to M.I.A.’s beat of “Paper Planes”. It symbolizes how Nas explains his definition of how things would be if he ruled the world. But in a post-colonial opinion he won’t be able to get that power. Nas raps, “Imagine smoking weed in the streets without cops harassing, Imagine going to court with no trial”. As much as some people may wish this was true, it cannot happen. In reality and the way the laws work it’s impossible. The culture of people would be at a haywire. The economy would have no morals. They’re basically free to do whatever they would like. Freeing everyone from jail, as Nas raps, would put Police Departments in jeopardy. The city jails will be empty, police officers will lose their jobs and more importantly miss out on income. The death rate will be at an all-time high because drugs will be legal to all citizens with no consequences. Yes, people sneak drugs now, but legalizing them will make things worse.

“No welfare supporters more conscious of the way we raise our daughters”, Nas rapped. A lot of African-American fathers have walked out on their children and leave nothing for the mother and child. Child welfare is their only hope into getting child support whether the father likes it or not, either way they have to pay or their being sent to jail. Without welfare many children and families without fathers will struggle even more. Food won’t be able to be provided if the mother has a low income and is behind on bills for rent, children won’t get new clothes when their old ones has gotten old, and more importantly… education. Children graduating high school and attending college won’t happen with a family with no money.

Although a lot of us wish we were rich and could wear designer clothes every day drive nice cars, and travel the world whenever we want. Yes, that sounds nice and that’s one of the things Nas raps about if he ruled the world. But that’s living in a dream for us regular people. He can do all of that and more because he’s famous. But for us who aren’t were stuck in a world where businesses are closing and people are being laid off from their jobs and even worse, the killings of innocent people and the killer being free. The world is cruel. We all wish we could change society and rule the world, but we can’t. Nas can’t rule the world either, but because he’s famous and can rap about his dream of ruling the world it makes us believe we can too. Too bad this is reality.

Disney Mean Girls

Walter Elias, also known as Walt Disney, was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer international, and philanthropist. Because of Walt Disney, we have Cinderella, Snow White, Pocahontas, Ariel, Jasmine, Belle, Mulan, Rapunzel, and many more. Each of those women is defined as Walt Disney Princesses ("Wikipedia").   

“The Disney Princesses are characters that are currently featured in the Disney Princess franchise. The franchise is now comprised of ten female protagonists from ten different Walt Disney animated films who are either royal by birth, royal by marriage, or considered a “princess”, due to their significant portrayal of heroism in their film and/or of a very high status in their country/region” ("Wikia"). Disney Princesses normally have to maintain a good reputation, or that’s how it seems. The characters themselves are very similar and are known for their inner and outer beauty. They were not chosen specifically for their royal titles, but rather for how well they fit into what Disney executives deemed “the Princess mythology” ("Wikia").

         n. Princess

o   A non-reigning female member of a royal family, a female sovereign or monarch; queen, the consent of a prince, and considered to have the qualities or characteristics of a princess ("Dictionary").

Growing up many girls has looked up to Disney Princesses as they portray the “perfect” women as classy, independent, strong, royal, and all other characteristics of a princess. In this generation today, many girls believe the perfect woman is stuck-up; rich, all the boys like them, a celebrity, and most importantly popular, like some of the young ladies presented in the movie “Mean Girls”.

The movie “Mean Girls”, written by Rosalind Wiseman, portrays the role of women as evil, harsh, back-stabbing, and untrustworthy. The movie is based on a 16-year-old homeschooled daughter of zoologist parents named Cady, who has recently moved from Africa to a public high school in Illinois. She has trouble fitting in until she gets help from social outcasts who teach her about the various cliques around school. Cady is warned to avoid the school’s most exclusive clique, the Plastics ("Wikipedia"). The Plastics are the schools most popular trio of girls. They’re pretty, independent, have perfect bodies, all the boys love them, and they’re rich. So, doesn’t that make them “perfect? This generation of young girls have grown-up to believe that those characteristics of a woman are considered “perfect” princess-like.

So, how are the female roles defined? The stereotypical role of a woman is vulnerable, weak, dependent, and belongs in the kitchen. From a feminist critique, this mash-up between the Disney Princesses and the voices of “Mean Girls” are teaching young girls the wrong characteristic roles of a woman. A Disney Princess is known for their all-around characteristics of a perfect woman, and using the Disney Princesses to play the role of the characters in the movie “Mean Girls” makes the Disney Princesses look like a hypocrite. Nevertheless, people have high expectations for the Disney Princesses but this mash-up is giving them a bad image.

Works Cited

. "Disney Princess." Wikia. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jun 2012.

. "Mean Girls." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jun 2012.

. "Princess." Dictionary. Ask Answers, n.d. Web. 26 Jun 2012.

. "Walt Disney." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jun 2012.

"The Metamorphosis" Comparative Analysis Text vs. Film

            “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka was first published in 1915. It is one of the most frequently analyzed works in literature. This elusive story, which chronicles the transformation of Gregor Samsa from a human being into an enormous insect, is renowned for its ability to inspire diverse, sometimes mutually exclusive interpretations ("Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka"). Two years after finishing film studies, Carlos Atanes, directed the film adaption very freely. He made the risky decision not to limit himself too much to the text. He took advantage of what production achieved and added some winks and above all, he dressed the story with a lot of allusions and references to the authors’ private and familiar life ("Carlos Atanes").

            The original text of “The Metamorphosis” demonstrates Gregor Samsa as the provider of the family thus transforms into an insect and is unable to work. Gregor’s father, Mr. Samsa, is forced to get a job to help provide for the family since Gregor cannot ("Wikipedia"). The film version of “The Metamorphosis” shows how Gregor is mistreated and left unnoticed by his family after he transforms into a half human half insect body. From a gender studies critique, the Samsa’s play very unique characteristic roles ("Carlos Atanes"). 

            Kafka’s story portrays Gregor as strong, independent, and a protector before his transformation. Unfortunately, after his metamorphosis Gregor was unable to provide for himself. Without Gregor being able to care for himself he becomes depressed, dependent, and vulnerable; all of these characteristic are used to describe your stereotypical woman. However, Gregor’s sister, Grete, took on the role as a caregiver to provide for the family and take care of Gregor as well as obtaining a job as a salesgirl. As I stated above, the Samsa’s play very unique characteristic roles, for example after Gregor’s transformation he portrays a feminist role and his sister, Grete, steps up to the plate and shows masculinity.

            Atanes’ short film portrayed gender roles very similar and different to Kafka’s.  The film shows Gregor as a half human half insect, but he doesn’t lose all of his independence and masculinity; unlike the original text by Kafka. The film also demonstrates the Samsa family as bitter and un-caring towards Gregor. Grete’s masculinity towards Gregor decreases as she gets tired of taking care of her brother and suggests that the family get rid of him ("Carlos Atanes"). Yes, Gregor’s family was unhappy with his transformation in the original text thus having to use your imagination, but the film really shows what happens between the texts with some differentiation. In the film, the father showed more anger towards Gregor because he could no longer provide for them; making Mr. Samsa become the “man” of the house and help provide for the family. Mr. Samsa’s characteristic role should have already been the “man” of the house. Yet, he relies on his son to provide for him and pay off his debts, therefore making his role very feministic.

            After Gregor’s death the family shows no remorse or grief after seeing his body lying on the library floor. Women, especially Grete, have come from being dependent and vulnerable resembling Kafka’s Gregor Samsa, unlike the film where women have gained more independence and also shows the balance of gender roles. Nevertheless, since Kafka’s original text and Atanes short film of “The Metamorphosis” gender roles are still gradually changing.

Works Cited

. "The Metamorphosis-The Complete Story." The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jun 2012.

. "The Metamorphosis of Franz Kafka." Carlos Atanes. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jun 2012. 

. "The Metamorphosis." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jun 2012. 

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" Play vs. Film: Gender Studies Critique

Shakespeare has always had few women in his works because women were not allowed to act in London in the late 1500s and early 1600s. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, a play by Shakespeare, is a perfect example. Shakespeare wrote this play to portray the relationship that existed between women and men in England in the 15^th century. The film version of the play directed by Ed Fraiman “ShakespeaRe-Told: A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is similar to the play but written in a more modern time. The film has been cleverly updated from Ancient Greece to a present-day British holiday camp, which also doubles as the location of the enchanted forest (Scheib).  

Although Hermia is one unique character in the play, she still portrays the strong independent role in the film. She is still very rebellious; she disobeys her father, king, and the Athenian law. Hermia’s father wants her to marry Demetrius despite the fact that she doesn’t love him. She is willing to throw away all of her luxuries in exchange for the freedom to love Lysnader instead of Demetrius. In the play Hermia leaves her father and mother upset at her actions. But in the film version, only her father seems to be upset with her. Hermia’s father demonstrates the traditional masculine role of a father in both the play and the film. He thinks he is in control but with a daughter like Hermia he won’t get his way.

Hermia’s best friend Helena has the role of a desperate and pathetic girl in the play. She attempts to love Demetrius with no consideration that he is Hermia’s man according to Hermia’s parents. After being too shy to ask for Demetrius’s love, she instead begs to be in his presence saying:

“I am your spaniel; and Demetrius, 

The more you beat me, I will fawn on you: 

Use me but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me, 

Neglect me, lose me; only give me leave, 

Unworthy as I am to follow you” (Shakespeare).

 But, her character completely switches in the film. She becomes a strong minded girl like Hermia. She over comes her insecurity of love with Demetrius and denies his love, instead of him denying her love like in the play.  Helena’s role in the play demonstrates another stereotypical role of women; she comes off as weak and a “home-wrecker”. Yet, in the film Helena doesn’t care for Demetrius as much, so she decides to destroy the love between Hermia and Lysander. Although Helena has no longer begged for Demetrius’ love, she is still in the wrong for trying to destroy her best friend’s love-life. Whether it’s the 16^th century or the 21^st century, she would not get any respect from other women (Scheib).

Shakespeare’s characters were and are scripted to perform cross-gender roles. So the similarities and differences in the play vs. the film have some resemblance. Shakespeare portrays his characters with different personalities that fit the category of the traditional masculine and feminine roles. Queen Elizabeth I helped influence many of Shakespeare’s plays which is why they have such a strong love role. Both the film and the play both show how friends and family can be envious of each other for something they want but cannot have.  

Works Cited

Scheib, Richard. "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Moria. N.p., 1999-2012. Web. 14 Jun 2012. 

Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. NY: Washington Square Press, Inc., 1962.

Annotated Bib. Play vs. Film "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Shakespeare "A Midsummer Night's Dream" Analysis

Shakespeare has always had few women in his works because women were not allowed to act in London in the late 1500s and early 1600s. Nevertheless, Shakespeare created many female characters that were strong-willed, intelligent, and daring. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, a play by Shakespeare, is a perfect example of the strong-willed and even weak roles of women. The role of women in the play is lost in control of men. Shakespeare wrote this play to portray the relationship that existed between women and men in England in the 15^th century (Greene 151).

Hermia of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is one unique character. She is very rebellious; she disobeys her father, king, and the Athenian law. She is willing to throw away all of her luxuries in exchange for the freedom to love Lysnader. Hermia’s father wants her to marry Demetrius despite the fact that she doesn’t love him. But because her father “owns” her she can either do what she is told or be put to death (Kolin 40-41). Hermia’s father demonstrates the traditional masculine role of a father. He thinks he is in control but with a daughter like Hermia he won’t get his way. Along with her father, Hermia demonstrates a feminine role of a strong and independent woman. She strives to provide for herself and not have her luxuries handed to her all for her own happiness.

Helena on the other hand is the opposite of Hermia. She’s pretty pathetic and desperate. She attempts the love Demetrius with no consideration that he is Hermia’s man. After being too shy to ask for Demetrius’s love, she instead begs to be in his presence saying:

“I am your spaniel; and Demetrius,
The more you beat me, I will fawn on you:
Use me but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me,
Neglect me, lose me; only give me leave,
Unworthy as I am to follow you” (II.i.203-207).

Her role in this play demonstrates another stereotypical role of women. She comes off as weak and a “home-wrecker”. Most people now-a-days will have no respect for her if this play was created in the 21^st century.

Shakespeare’s characters were and are scripted to perform cross-gender roles. That’s also another reason why Shakespeare portrays his characters with different personalities that fit the category of the traditional masculine and feminine roles. Feminists truly enjoy all of Shakespeare’s women. Queen Elizabeth I helped influence many of Shakespeare’s plays and characters, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” happens to be one of them along with the similar love story “Romeo and Juliet”. Shakespeare was most certainly an advocate for feminism when he wrote “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (Kolin 6-7).

Works Cited

Greene, Lenz, Neely, eds. The Woman’s Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1980.

Kolin, Philip C. Shakespeare and Feminist Criticism. NY: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1991.

Shakespeare, William. Four Comedies: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, The Tempest, Twelfth Night. NY: Washington Square Press, Inc., 1962.

Annotated Bibliography "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Comparative Analysis Essay

Comparative Analysis

Franz Kafka's text of the “Metamorphosis” shows Gregor as the provider of the family, although he transforms into an insect, he later is unable to work. His father is forced to get a job to provide for the family (which should have been his job already). Peter Kuper's film of the “Metamorphosis” shows how Gregor is treated and ignored by his family because of his transformation into an insect (half insect half human in the film)... 

Gender roles are visible in the modern world. Women are supposed to equal the beautiful house wife, as with men equaling the support beam. But in Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, the characters aren't portraying the modernized role of women and men. However, the film and the text differ in gender roles. The text illustrates Gregor's sister, Grete, to be helpful around the house... cooking, cleaning, etc. for Gregor. But the film shows her doing little to nothing to help her brother after his transformation. The mother seems worried about her son in the film. With the text, the mother doesn't seem very caring about her son. It's amazing how the roles differ in the two. Some scenes within the film are very similar to the illustration of the text.

The sister, Grete, still refuses to believe Gregor is her brother since his transformation. She believes he will be the death of the family if he stays any longer. The father goes through an outrage and throws apples at Gregor out of anger. Each of these is similar within the text and the film. People always say that the book or written version is always better than the movie. Well, that also applies to this comparative analysis. The text written by Franz Kafka illustrates more than the film by Peter Kuper. The characteristics and roles of each character seem to be more realistic in the text. Although, the text doesn’t tell us that Gregor transformed into a half human half insect. But in the film it shows Gregor as a half human half insect.

Peter Kuper’s version of “Metamorphosis” seems played out. Many different versions and short films have been released to show the transformation of Gregor but none of them cover the full story of Gregor in “Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka.

Comparative Analysis "Metamorphosis"

Franz Kafka "Metamorphosis"

"The Metamorphosis" written by Franz Kafka is about a man is poorly treated by his family when he goes through a major change within his life. That change causes him to turn into an insect. Before he became an insect he was just a regular human being, he was a traveling salesman who never missed a day of work in five years, and he was the "breadwinner", basically providing for his family. If you compare his life story to a feminist analysis you'd realize how much the feminist role changes.

Kafka identifies the role of characters and their persona, especially the gender role. The mother doesn't work, she doesn't do anything around the house except the cooking and the cleaning. She relies on her son, Gregor, for everything. Her role is very similar to the father's role too. Gregor's father doesn't fulfill the role as a leader, him and the mother both caused a lot of debt in which Gregor is paying for. The sister, Grete, has a very strong role. She cooked and cleaned for Gregor after his transformation into an insect, taking on the mother's role briefly. As time progresses Grete's demeanor changed and she no longer accepted Gregor's change. She also felt it was Gregor's job to provide for the family, and when he doesn't get up to go to work she becomes upset. After awhile Grete took on the job as a salesgirl. Grete played the violin and she wanted her brother, Gregor, to come to her recital but when he came... she becomes ungrateful. She doesn't claim him and even calls him a creature. Because of Gregor's transformation it allowed Grete to step up within the family and take on Gregor's role. She's even getting married!

Gender roles are visible in the modern world. Women are suppose to equal the beautiful house wife, as with men equaling the support beam. But in Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, the characters aren't portraying the modernized role of women and men. The father is weak and doesn't support the family to any extent and he's irresponsible. The mother is your stereotypical house wife who cooks and cleans. But the sister, Grete, actually has a dominant role. She does what she has to do after her brother, Gregor, can't. Balanced gender roles promote growth; and that's what happened with Gregor and Grete.

Gregor was the provider. He's the definition of a true man. He portrays the dominant man role that his father lacks in. All before his metamorphosis which caused a nightmare. His biggest nightmare was when his family turned on him. Which led to his death. His sister, Grete, wanted to get rid of him and the family agreed.

In the end, Gregor was a good man. Although his physical changes made his lose his job, lose his family, and even worse...lose his life. Kafka had a poor relationship with his family as he went through tuberculosis, and because of that he wrote "Metamorphosis" in comparison to his life.

Work Cited

Sokel, Walter H. “Kafka’s Metamorphosis: “Rebellion and Punishments. The University of  

          Wisconsin Press. Web. 21 May. 2012

Bryans, Lauren. "Gender Equality in Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis." Voices.Yahoo. N.p., 13 10 2010. Web. 25 May 2012. <http://voices.yahoo.com/gender-equality-franz-kafkas-metamorphosis-6689656.html>.

Metamorphosis

Gender Studies Analogy

A Little GIRL Lost

The poem "A Little GIRL Lost" published in 1794 by William Blake, was written to show the discrimination of women within religion, with a little references to Adam and Eve. He portrays a "youth pair" that "met in a garden" after "the holy night had just removed the curtains of the night", basically describing Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. The "Golden Age" is in reference to the past returning again. Today's generation of youth is nothing like the "Golden Age", where the people knew where they came from and had morals. I feel like the society had a major affect on William Blake's views on women and how he portrayed women in his poetry.

William Blake is discriminating women in a way. What I got from the poem is that a young girl is rebellious until her father puts her in her place. He's saying women can't make valuable choices and decisions of their own. The world is predominantly male dominated, which means women have to play a major role in standing out and proving themselves.

Women are a lot more valuable then what males portray us as. Some men think women are weak and that is what I believe William Blake is trying to say behind the text. Women are very strong individuals which makes us stand out from men; we're more then just a pretty face.

Towards the end of the poem William Blake wrote:

 " To her father white, came the maiden bright. But his loving look, like the holy book, all her tender limbs with terror shook. Ona! Pale and weak! To thy father speak, O the trembling fear! O the dismal care! That shakes the blossoms of my hoary."

What I got from that text is that the girl's father is the Lord and the young girl is unhappy. Unhappy with the decisions she has chosen in life; Similar to Eve going against God's word and eats the apple. Because of her unhappiness her father uses his bible to talk and reinforce her. She begins to tremble with fear that she might be punished. While the young girl is talking in her defense her father shows he doesn't care and he gets stressed, from his stress his hair begins to turn grey.

The illustration above is one of the main reasons I believe William Blake is referencing this poem toward Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden and how a young girl can make a bad decision that affects others. The tree in the illustration references the tree that the apple came from that Eve ate when she was told not to, by her father... the Lord. The young girl is lost in her own world and needs guidance to learn whats right from wrong.

Sources:
http://www.blakearchive.org/exist/blake/archive/object.xq?objectid=songsie.b.illbk.34&java=yes

http://www.online-literature.com/article/blake/7394/

http://www.eliteskills.com/c/5110

William Blake "A Little Girl Lost" a Feminist Critique

Here is my Critical Analysis on "A Little Girl Lost" by William Blake. I chose to do a feminist critique on the poem; the link is attached below. The essential question that ties to the Feminist Literary Theory is, What does the work say about women's creativity?

http://storify.com/_AKFortySeven/william-blake-s-a-little-girl-lost#publicize

About Me

I chose this photo of me because Cheerleading is a major part of my life. It's basically who I am as a person. Majority of the people that meet me will say I'm always smiling, or I'm silly or goofy. All of those characteristics are true. I like to have fun and brighten up the room when I walk in. I have a very warm and loving personality, I don't judge or discriminate people; and I love that about myself.

If you look up the definition of a Cheerleader you will find that they are joyful, very spirited, they like attention, they're always smiling, and mainly they are supporters. Most importantly they are leaders aside from just wearing a uniform and looking a certain way. "Be a leader not a follower", I live by this quote.

I may come off as quiet, but once you get to know me you'll understand that I'm more then what you view me as. I am the true definition of a Cheer(leader). :)

Final Assessment

     In my final assessment for this English course I will discuss the goals I have improved on and achieved on. In the beginning of the semester I was very hesitant and skeptical with this course. I felt as though it was way to much work given for no reason. I thought all of the website accounts we had to have was a waste of time. I had a very bad attitude for this course, I felt like I wasn't going to learn anything from an online class. I felt like I wasn't going to get the real English class feeling. I didn't like the fact that we were writing blog posts instead of actual writing papers like the typical English class. But through it all, I managed to have a different mindset as the course went on. I realized that the assigned work we did was actually beneficial. My professor, Mrs. Sasser, also helped me have a change of heart for the course after my first couple of blog posts; I thank her for that.

     One of the goals I have improved a lot on is learning how to brainstorm and map out ideas for my writing. I have always been able to brainstorm ideas for my writing but this course has helped me improve on different ways to brainstorm and keep them organized. A well organized brainstorm equals a well organized paper in most cases, and it really helps out a lot with a finished product. One of my piece's of writing that demonstrates brainstorming is http://skittlezzzz.blogspot.com/2012/01/as-writer.html because before I posted this blog I mapped out my ideas on what it takes to be a writer. I then wrote down my strong points in my writing and my weaknesses in my writing. After I had everything mapped out and organized I was able to write a decent blog post.

     My second goal I have really improved on is how to effectively compose a rough draft. I can't say I have really achieved this goal perfectly but I have greatly improved on it. I have always had trouble composing a rough draft because it seems like I'm always leaving something out that needs to be included. In this specific piece of writing http://skittlezzzz.blogspot.com/2012/03/if-its-boring-to-you-its-boring-to-your.html I actually wrote it as a rough draft before I posted it. Since I got the topic from a post Mrs.Sasser put on the Google+ site I figured it should be up to her potential when she reads it. I know it's not perfect but I actually did brainstorm, mapped it out, and wrote a rough draft before I posted it to my blog.

     Another goal I have learned so far is effective consideration of writing purpose. In the beginning of the semester I had no idea what it meant to write with a purpose. I didn't know how nor had I heard any other English professor talk about it. So I was clueless. I believe in this certain blog post, http://skittlezzzz.blogspot.com/2012/02/improvement-throughout-years.html, I achieved this goal. The purpose of this blog was to explain how my writing has improved over the years. I feel very confident with this certain blog post because I know I wrote with a purpose. I expressed how I've never really been a good writer and I'm showing improvement and also how my mother can see improvement in my speech.

     My fourth goal I have learned is how to have effective consideration of audience. The audience is a big aspect you have to remember when writing a paper, blog post, or etc. I never really understood how important the audience was until this course. The audience is more than just someone who reads your writing, but also someone who has to "feel" and relate to your writing. I think this blog post really appreciates my consideration for the audience http://skittlezzzz.blogspot.com/2012/02/ithoughts.html. I feel like the audience can really relate to what I wrote. Some people use the same writing techniques that I wrote about in this post and because of that they are able to relate to me. I believe I kept the audience entertained, and that is also a very important thing to remember when considering your audience.

     My final goal I have improved on and learned is how to have effective consideration of my role as a writer. Like in my previous paragraph I explained you have to entertain your audience and try to get them to relate to your writing. That is your role as a writer, to entertain, to persuade, to express, to describe, to explain and to inform. I believe this post, http://skittlezzzz.blogspot.com/2012/03/procrastinator.html, really shows how I have given the audience a chance to relate to my post about procrastinating. I expressed and explained how I have a problem with procrastinating. I entertained the audience with personal issues they can relate to. I persuaded them that nobody can procrastinate forever and there must be a breaking point for this bad habit.

     These are some of the goals I have improved on, achieved, and learned so far in this English course. The goals I have yet to achieve and need more help with are: how to effectively revise my writing, how to effectively edit and proofread my writing, how to develop a thesis, and how to support my thesis. I know these are major aspects when it comes to writing and I plan to make a lot of effort in learning how to achieve these goals in a timely manner. I will be taking your English 102 course this summer Mrs. Sasser, and because I know I learned so much in this English 101 course I am very confident I will learn a lot more and will achieve the goals I have not met yet. Even on my own I will continue to work hard towards my goals and learn more about the goals I have achieved already only to better myself in becoming a better writer.

Movie Trading Cards

For this assignment I had to make movie trading cards. Similar to Pokemon cards that us teens use to trade with our friends in elementary school. I used my all time favorite movie for this project, Titanic. I used the main characters of course which are Jack and Rose Dawson. I would say these cards are the exclusive cards, and only 10 of them were printed and sold. I showed that the cards came from Titanic INC. and are $1.00 each. I had really fun doing this assignment because it's different. People can trade these cards for other characters that were in the movie as well, or people can collect them and keep them forever.

Deserted Island

I really liked this project on the DS106 website. I felt like I could get really creative with this because I wanted to use real-life photos of me instead of photos off the internet. Growing up people have always asked me what I would take with me on a deserted island. My response would always be "Well, you know... my cellphone, etc, etc.", basically materialistic items that doesn't have any worth. But doing this project really opened my eyes because all I would really need is my friends to keep me occupied, my parents because I wouldn't want to leave them, and food to eat so I can survive. Who needs a cellphone to text from when you have your friends right there with you? That's how I view it. I feel like if I really was on a deserted island with these 3 things then I would have the time of my life. I would have so much fun just hanging with my friends and family, relaxing on the beach, playing in the water, then sitting down eating dinner at night like one big happy family. I would love that actually. So yes, these are the 3 things I would take with me on a deserted island. :)

What People Think College Students Do

This assignment is called "What People Think I Do". I addressed doing this assignment in my last blog post so here it is.This is my perception on what people think college students do. Nobody really knows what we do unless their living our lives. But until then, these are their assumptions. I think a lot of students can relate to this because they'll also think it's true.

Our professors think we study for all of our tests, we don't. Our society thinks we only come to college to party, we don't. The police think all college students smoke weed, we don't. Our friends back home think all we do is drink and get drunk, we don't. Our parents think we're in class being studious 24/7, we're not. To be honest, the only thing I really do... is sleep and eat. Yeah, we party and have fun but some of us also have limits on the partying we do so we can still accomplish our class work to the best of our abilities. We just want to have fun and also learn in the end.

DS 106

The DS106 assignments are actually pretty interesting now that I've explored the site and gotten familiar with it. I think I will have a lot of fun with this too. The selected category that I picked was Design. I am a very creative person, I like to draw, paint, color, put together projects, and just express myself on paper, poster, etc. So I think that category fits me the best. Plus, I feel as though these assignments will challenge me and also keep my interest. The specific assignment that I have chosen to do is called "What People I Think I Do" preparing a collage of what others think I am doing and then show what I really am doing.

One of the sample blogs that I liked was about What People Think When I Say I'm Just a College Student, it doesn't show a lot of creativity but I think it's very unique. It's different and also funny. Because it really does show the assumptions that some people make about college students and what they're doing instead of what they really should be doing. My assignment will be similar to this one about college students but not exact.

I am really excited about this assignment and this blog post for next week. I believe this DS 106 course will also help us to broaden our minds to different things. I am always up for new things and new material after I realize what it's really about. When this DS 106 course was first presented to us in class I really wasn't to sure about it. I didn't want to say "No" nor "Yes" to the decision. They way it was presented I felt like it was going to be a lot of work, not saying I can't do it, but just more work then what's really needed. But after exploring the page and going through the different categories and looking at other people's sample blogs of a certain assignment I started to like it.

All of the assignments have their own uniqueness to them especially Mashup and Fanfic, but the one that stands out the most and also adapts to my personality was Design. I can't wait to explore more into these assignments within these last few weeks of class.

If It's Boring to You, It's Boring to Your Reader

I got this topic from the post Ms. Sasser posted onto the Google+ site. It caught my eye because I also agree with it. I feel as though if I can't relate to someones writing as the reader and it's not interesting then it's boring. I also feel that way about my own writings. When given an assigned book from the professor that must be read and an assigned book report I feel under pressure. Even though in my last blog post I stated I like the feeling of being under pressure because I work harder, but this is different. Unless the book is interesting and I enjoy reading it and can also relate to then I feel like my writing will not be boring. I cannot tell you how many times I have read assigned books and even books of my own choice and they end up being boring. If the book is boring I just put it down and let it collect dust. I'm also the kind of person to judge the book by its cover. I know that it's wrong and I shouldn't do that but I do. If the book cover looks boring then I won't give the book the time of day. "Never Judge A Book By Its Cover", I've heard that saying for years and years. I understand what it means, but I think that if the author of a book is writing an outstanding piece of work then I believe the book cover should be outstanding as well. To attract the attention of the reader like myself. If I had to write a mini-book for a class assignment, I would decorate the cover to make it very appealing to the eye. In some cases I will make the cover more exciting then the writing itself.
I personally like books that are about real life, like my favorite book, "A Child Called It". That book is far from boring and the cover shows a little boy that's been through hell and back, and you can see it in his eyes. The cover and the title caught my attention so I gave it a chance. Come to find out I feel in love with it and that's how it became my favorite book. It's far from boring. So I do agree with the title, "If It's Boring to You, It's Boring to You Reader". I refuse to write a paper that's boring to me because the audience will put it down and let it collect dust like I do with books.

Procrastinator

This is one of my biggest problems when it comes to class assignments, projects, and just everyday life. I am the BIGGEST procrastinator. Once the professor gives out an assignment I always tell myself that I'm gonna go ahead and get it out the way so I don't have to do it at the last minute... well, that never happens. I always end up pushing it back and back to two days before its due or the night before. With everyday life, I'll tell myself I'm gonna go to the gym or finish an errand on a certain day and all I do is keep pushing it back until I just don't do it at all. I don't know why I procrastinate the way I do and I figured once I got to college I would change, but I didn't. Even though I am a procrastinator, it seems like that is when I do my best work. With every assignment or project I've procrastinated on I always receive an "A" as a grade. I like the feeling of being under pressure because it makes me work harder. I feel like if I work on an assignment/project right when it's assigned then I will half-ass it. Just so I can say I finished it and it's out the way. But if I do it two days before or the night before it's due that's when all of my effort goes into it. I also will feel happy with my work too. My mom has always gotten onto me about my procrastination but once I brought home that "A" she's nothing but happy. I also know that I cannot procrastinate forever and I cannot procrastinate all my years through college, so I plan on changing my bad habit very soon. But I know everyone procrastinates so I am not the only one.

iThoughts

I know in a lot of my previous blog posts I stated that I feel like I am not a good writer and I don't like to write. Well, I actually do spend a lot of my time writing or typing in my notes app on my iPhone. For some reason I tend to always have something weighing on my mind, whether it's school related, personal, or the weather; something is always on my mind and I think about it all day long and even before I fall asleep. Ever since high school I felt that I should write down what's going through my mind or what's going on in my life at the moment. If it came to me I wrote it down in my notebook, if I didn't have my notebook on me then I'd save it to my notes app. One reason why I started doing this and love it is because I like to look back and read what I wrote yesterday, 2 weeks ago, or even last year. I like to read it and reminisce on what happened that day. Another reason why I do this is because I feel like if I don't then I will have to many thoughts going through my mind at once and I just crash, sorta speak. All in all, I just like to write. If the topic is something I can relate to then I will enjoy writing about it, and will actually write with a purpose and not just to complete the assignment. Am I a bad writer? NO. Am I a great writer? NO. But I am a GOOD WRITER. And I will continue to write, whether it's for my knowledge and memories or for an assignment.

Improvement throughout the Years

I can honestly say my writing skills have improved so much throughout the years. My mom also thinks so too. I talked to my mom yesterday on the phone for about an hour and we started talking about how my classes are going, and how I'm feeling about them. She stopped me while I was talking and said my communication skills have improved and I told her my English class has helped me a lot with that. Basically what I'm trying to say is that, if my mom can see my progress than obviously I really have improved. She mentioned that she's never been a  "great" writer, but her writing has improved as shes aged. Once she said that it hit me that maybe I will take after her. I know my writing isn't perfect and could still use a lot of work, but I know I am not a terrible writer. It has improved over the years and will more than likely improve as I get older. I told my mom that some days I will open the notepad app on my iPhone and just write how I'm feeling and what's going on in my life at the time. She was very surprised and told me doing that will help better my writing as well.

Long story short, this course has really helped me with my writing I believe. Working with different sites, like Wikipedia, has helped me write more properly and with etiquette. The work we do stimulates my mind to work even harder and that helps me write even better. I'm curious to see how far I can test myself to become an amazing writer one day.

Staying Focused

Most of the time when I'm writing I cannot stay focused for some reason. The smallest thing can catch my attention and cause me to get off track with my writing. I like to listen to music when I'm writing because I think it'll help me stay focused a little bit, but I tend to start getting more into the music then my writing. I've tried writing in a closed and quiet place with no distractions around me but then I get bored and can't write. If I'm writing a paper on my laptop I'll start to open up other tabs with YouTube, Twitter, or shopping sites. So I ask myself, how can I work on staying focused? . It takes entirely to long for me to write when I'm not focused.
Because of my lack of focus I feel like it affects my grade because I can't put my all into my writing. I know when your given a topic you can relate to then it's easier for you to stay focused and just write away, but what about the topics that mean nothing to you? How do I focus then? Also when I'm writing and I feel like I can't write anymore because I'm out of stuff to say I'll just get distracted and get up and do something else. I need help with staying focused! :(

Blogs vs. Term Papers

I'm kind of 50/50 with this topic. I like blogs because it gives you a chance to better your writing. I like term papers because once you turn it in and get it back from the teacher you'll get a chance to see what you need to work on and what your strong points are. Once you know your strong and low points with your writing then you can use your blog to help. Writing a nicely detailed term paper takes time and practice, you can use your blog to write about what you'll be writing about in your paper. Using your blog like a brainstorming tool can be very helpful. Typing out all of your ideas and research can help you stay organized. Plus using a blog instead of a notebook to keep your brainstorming ideas is a lot easier to keep up with.

Blogs should be used to be creative and communicate with classmates, etc. Being creative will help a lot to have an open mind when given a term paper assignment. The term paper should reflect the amount of time and effort you put it in. A lot of effort can come from using your blog in a positive way. So in my opinion, I'm not against blogs nor term papers. They can only help you in the long run for future references. I know in my last blog post it seemed like I was totally against blogging and only wanted to write papers like a regular English class, but I've took into consideration how this blog can help me out a lot... and even this Hybrid class. :)

I feel like I'm not getting anywhere..

I feeling like I'm not getting anywhere when it comes to bettering my writing skills. Yes, I know writing blogs is a good helper but I also need a good instructor to push me into progress. I'd rather write an essay paper then keep up with an online blog, website, and this other online stuff. I feel as though that an English class should be writing papers and paragraphs for the teacher to grade and show us what we did wrong in. You know the edit and revise kinda stuff? I'm not saying the stuff I am doing in my current English class is bull, but it's not helping me either. Wikipedia? That is not helping write a formal paper. I have all of these insecurities with my writing already and I feel like I can't conquer them with just writing a blog. Keeping my audience entertained and writing with a purpose are my downfalls with writing as I stated in my previous blogs. I thought I would be able to become more comfortable with it as the semester goes by but as of right now I haven't learned anything. I feel like I'm trying to teach myself and then being graded for absolutely nothing. I get nothing but a headache. I guess you can't expect the unexpected huh?

My Challenges

My challenges as a writer really do reflect in my finished project. Some of my challenges are just simple issues that I have like insecurities with my writing. I don't like to let people read my writings because I feel like it's not up to par with my peers writing. Some challenges that writers face are to be expected and it's a learning experience. Having to use more then common sense is a struggle for some people because you have to actually think for your writing to be successful. Staying organized can also help with writing challenges. I know I have improved a lot when it comes to being organized so I know my writing is improving as well. Using Venn Diagrams and Bubble Outlines are great ways to stay organized when your're brainstorming. I am so used to thinking negatively about my writing that I would not try my hardest and my grade would affect that. That is my biggest challenge that I am trying to overcome. The more I express my challenges I think the more it will help me. We'll see :)

As A Writer

As a writer, I somewhat feel confident with my work. Writing has never been my strong point because it always seems as though I'm always doing something wrong. Whether it's to many run on sentences, using a comma in the wrong place, writing an incomplete sentence, or not staying on topic. I can admit that I am a rambler when it comes to writing. I can ramble on and on and soon the audience will lose interest in my writing. I like to write to inform my audience more than entertaining them. I don't write to entertain my audience. I write to entertain myself if that makes sense. So maybe I should ask myself "How Do I Entertain My Audience Instead of Myself?". I think in order for me to entertain my audience I need to put more effort into my writing.
I need to write with a true "purpose" instead of just writing to complete an assignment. To be honest I am not the kind of person to show emotions towards things, and because of that my writing is affected by it. I need to learn how to add more emotions and show emphasis behind it to entertain my audience. I need to be more confident in my writing and that will help me a lot in the long-run.
I never knew how important formal writing really was until my English class last semester. She basically broke it down to the basics of its importance and that helped me understand that just writing on Facebook/Twitter will not get me anywhere in the future. From that class I became more familiar with writing persuasive and expository papers. They were not perfect when I wrote them, but I understood the difference in just writing to write and writing with structure. I need to know "When To Write With a Purpose?". Do I write with a purpose throughout the whole paper? What if I run out of stuff to say? What if I'm not being myself? What if the audience isn't entertained when I tried really hard? All of these questions are what intimidates me to write. My mom always told me that if I read more then it will help me with my writing and my vocabulary. That can also be a confidence booster for me to engaged in other people's writing to improve my own writing. This semester I hope to end up more comfortable with my writing for audiences all over the world or just personal audiences. "To Entertain" will soon be my strong point and maybe I can start my own blog to entertain audiences, such as teenagers, on daily life crisis.

"How to write in style?" -Vonnegut

The rules by Vonnegut that will be hard for me is "Do not ramble though" and "Have the guts to cut". When I am writing papers/essays I like to write a lot of detail to express the topic, but sometimes I tend to write to much stuff that is not needed. I start to ramble on and on and start writing whatever comes to my mind about the topic. Then when I read over my paper I usually have more detail then needed but if it sounds right then I leave it and don't cut it out. I'd rather leave the extra detail in my paper and not need it then to need it and not have it.

English 101

Testing 123