Assessing Your Strength and Weaknesses Post#2

I have many strengths and weaknesses in the four goal areas of writing. My strength in Rhetorical knowledge is being able to write to an audience using a specific format. My weakness is being very specific when writing. My strength in critical thinking, reading, and writing is I can persuade my audience to accept my point but my weaknesses is that I have a hard time seeing others prospective. My strength in the writing process is that I can follow and do the steps to writing an effective paper but my weakness is that I can’t write more than one draft as they say you should do. As for knowledge of conventions I know when to use the correct tone and grammar. My weakness however is that I have a hard time with placing some correct punctuation.

Reading Ch.1 - 3 Post #1

Summary:
After reading the first three chapters of The McGraw-Hill guide I got a nice introduction on what writing for college is going to be like. In chapter one they discuss the four writing areas of life. Writing as a college student, as a professional, as a citizen, and as a family member or friend. There are four learning goals in this course. Rhetorical knowledge is writing for a specific purpose or audience. Critical thinking, reading, and writing is when you examine the idea from many different prospectives. The writing process is learning how to write an effective paper through so many steps. First you generate ideas then relate them to the assignment, then research and begin writing an inital draft, finally ask for advice and revise, edit, and polish the paper. As for the knowledge of convertions, it's the table manners of writing. When to use the correct grammar and mechanics. In chapter two they talk how to help you better understanding of readings, visuals, and websites. By scanning or skimming the text before actually reading it can help give a better idea. To annotate a reading effectively you should underline the main point or thesis and the key supporting points using the margins. While reading visuals find words that can describe it and ask yourself questions and for reading websites make a journal and list questions from research and keep a summary of everything you have read. They also talk about steps to writing a good summary. To write a summary you first read the text quickly and get a good sense of what it's saying, then read it again and write down the main points of each paragraph, after label the major sections, then write a statement that captures the writer's main point or thesis, and lastly work backwards from step four, writing a paragraph in your own words. In chapter three they discuss ways to discover ideas for your writings and keeping journals. Using lists, freewriting, questioning, answering the questions, brainstorming, and clustering are all ways to help you come up with ideas for a paper topic. There are many different journals a writer can use while in the process of writing their paper. Using a dialectical journal can help you to write notes about the topic then on the facing side write questions and comments about the notes you took. A vocabulary journal is used to write down words and definitions that you discovered when reading. Using concept maps, flowcharts, timelines, and pedigree charts can help you to discover and learn more about your topic.

Reaction:
My reaction to this reading was that it was very informative and gives me ideas and ways to get started, draft, and revise and polish a paper. The concepts of these chapters gives me a good insight on what its going to be like in composition two.

3 Questions:
1. How did you come up with an effective writing process?
2. How well does the writing process you have talked about work?
3. What were the main reasons for coming up with the this writing process?

8/1 Readings

Summary:
Reading the article by Archie Zariski he discusses how a Professor Hibbitts has convinced him that technical obstacles to scholarly self-publication can be overcome but has left him with some doubts. Archie believes that knowledge is more of a matter of participating in relatively well-defined discourse sustained and enriched by debate. In which I have to agree. He gives a second theoretical reason for the demise of journals. Archie says that Professor Hibbitts is somewhat naïve and romantic. Hibbitt appears to believe that the web has some kind of democratic nature that may lead to a creative explosion of knowledge. Archie states that if the web is currently “undisciplined” it will have to become more so to live up to its potential revolutionary break through in the pursuit of knowledge. In the In the Basement of the Ivory Tower Article written by Professor X he discusses his job as an English professor at a small private college and at a community college. He teaches Introduction to College Writing (ENC 101) and Introduction into College Literature (ENC 102). His students are ones who didn’t plan on being there they were just thrown into college. He talks about how he teaches and grades his students. He says he feels bad for failing the students who put in the effort and just can’t pass but he can’t put that on the college. In my opinion I am wishy washy on this article but then again I see where he is coming from.

Reaction:
My reaction to Archie Zariski article was that I agree. You can better someone’s knowledge by using the web/internet but you can’t relay completely on it.
My reaction to Professor X’s article was that it was kind of wrong but then I can also see where he’s coming from.

3 Questions:
1. Why does Archie Zariski feel that the internet must come a long way if it wants to live up to its revolutionary break through of knowledge?
2. Why did Professor X write his In the Basement of the Ivory Tower Article?
3. What do you think is the reason why Professor X wouldn’t allow students who put forth the effort but couldn’t get the grade pass the class?