Student Writing Center Extra Credit

My final paper ended up being nearly 26 pages long. I'm very happy with how my paper turned out. To achieve this I wanted as many eyes as possible to see my paper and provide me feedback. I went to the student writing center not only once, but twice. The scheduling process for the writin center isn't the easiest especially around finals time. There weren't many spots available. The first time I went was on Tuesday and I was worried that this senior undergrad tutor named George was going to rip my paper apart. I was delighted to find that he was extremely helpful and gave me some great feedback. In an hour we went through all three of my papers and definitely had an idea of changes to make. I discussed with him that I expected there to be more necessary revisions in my paper. He said that sometimes the smallest changes, whether making paragraphs or fixing small sentences, can make a huge difference in the persuasive effect of a paper. I was beyond surprised when he said he felt I had a real talent with writing. I was even more suprised when my professional writing tutor on Wednesday, Gabe, said the exact same thing and that he encourages me to continue writing. Gabe and George definitely had two different outlooks and teaching styles when it came to helping me with editing. George took the time and read through all the papers on his own and made edits and from there we discussed the revisions in depth. He was very personable and on my level. Gabe on the other hand was extremely different. He really pushed me to search my paper on my own for issues and it was a challenge. Both tutors were very helpful. Even though not all the changes I made in my paper were huge changes, I think they made the overall effect of the paper much better and I addressed many of the revision changes you suggested.

Literature Festival Extra Credit

Diane Ackerman: The Compassion of Observing

Literature Festival

            When I sat down in Baker Theatre I honestly assumed I would be quite bored for an hour or so while an honored author lectured about something I just either didn’t understand or couldn’t make any connection too. Diane Ackerman’s reading was quite the opposite of that. The lady whom introduced Ms. Ackerman talked of all the awards she had received and how much of a gift her writing was. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to sit down and read a book because I wanted too and had time too. When looking through the program of events for the week it showed her adorable picture with her bright smile. The introducer read one of her articles that were published in the New York Times about Pythons in Florida this past fall. I have never heard someone describe Pythons in such a way I felt like the Python was slithering around in front of me as I hold my breath. The introducer also read an excerpt from a novel in which she tells the story of rehabbing her husband from a stroke. This little excerpt from the novel was from deep within the book after her husband had his stroke and was working to gain back many years of knowledge the stroke had taken from his through elementary style workbooks. Ackerman chose to read several excerpts from different books. As she began to read these excerpts I realized she is one of the most diverse authors I’ve noticed in a long time. Not only because all of the different types of literature she publishes; novel, research, blog and articles. But also the topics about which she chooses to write about. Her article in the New York Times was discussing pythons and describing them like painting a picture in my head. Her novel, which is her own story of her and her husbands journey after his stroke. The first excerpt she read, Remembering Winter, an insightful and almost childlike outlook of not only winter but also summer and all the little thing we didn’t appreciate as children, but we should have. Her second excerpt, An Alchemy of Mind, discusses the brain as a complex, intrinsic thing. But not in a way that only scientist and doctors could understand. In such a way that everyone can understand and wants to understand, wants to learn. At this point in the readings I assumed I would have been bore to the point I could no longer sit still; not the case. Her third excerpt, Dawn Light, she described as an awakening to life. She then proceeded to talk about how she regularly stops reading and imagines herself as things such as slime mold and owls to see how the world would be in their shoes.

“An owl can read the bottom line of eye chart from a mile away.”

            She ended the reading with her stories from her trip to Patagonia when she went to observe the whale camps. Diane Ackerman is a marvelous author. This may be a biased opinion but I support this with the fact that she can write about so many different topics. Yet she is just as capable and intriguing with each topic that she writes about from pythons to whales, from slime mold to owls, from the story of her husbands stroke to the story of her childhood winters to the brain. 

Discussion Questions/ Chapter 4 Intro and Swales

1. Regarding discourse communities Swales is one of the most well-known authors and researchers. He  discusses his six characteristics of a discourse community and makes it very simply to understand, which is awesome. Maybe this is a question that could be answered from browsing the section before the reading but how did Swales come up with these characteristics? Did he do it on his own or can we attribute the creation of these characteristics to others too? What type of research did he perform to form these characteristics? They questions are unimportant in the long run but it's interesting to know how these six characteristics came about.

2. Since we've began discussing and analyzing discourse communities more I've had a chance to understand each of the characteristics more. After having dealt with all the characteristics and how they relate to discourse communities I'm wondering if the fourth characteristic is necessary? Swales discusses the characteristics that discourse communities need including goals, outer communication, inner communication, genres, lexis and hierarchy. Why is the genres of communication needed as a characteristic of discourse communities? I feel like it's over kill.

3. I would also be interested to know of Glenn, Wardle and Swales who came out with their research first and did they influence each others texts. Swales, Glenn and Wardle all make relevant points about discourse communities but who's idea was the original idea?

Discussion Questions: Glenn

1. I was a vegetarian for almost a year and a half and during that time I was crazy about animal rights and animal equality. I was constantly talking about how horrible animals are treated and looking back on it now I was probably extremely annoying. Yes, animals are treated bad, especially in the food industry where they are born and raised for their meat. But since that time I've come to realize that you can't save all the animals, you just can't. Why were they created, why did our ancestors eat meat ? Apparently if society has gotten this far then there must be some reason that we continue to eat meat. Whether it's because God created them to be eaten, we would be over populated if we didn't, for the health benefits or because they simply taste good. After hundreds of thousands of years we're still eating meat.

2. I realize this article isn't supposed to be focused around the example of Farm Industry and how cruel it is but I think it's hard to focus on the real point of the article with such a strong example. One of the questions in my mind is how can people live with themselves? Not the farmers who make a truthful living and treat their animals with respect and real living beings but the farmers who beat their animals and treat them as if they're not a living, breathing beings. Do they realize the beings that they are treating so horribly is what is producing their paycheck?

3. The idea of double speak that Wardle introduces is an interesting concept especially with the farm industry example. Wardle discussed that commercials and the fact that they are clearly lying to us in two ways; cows don't speak (which really isn't a lie) and also what the cows are saying is a lie. The California cheese cows are probably more than likely in a single pin that is extremely small that allows them no room to move. How is it legal for these commercials to be so deceptive? How gulable and oblivious are people that believe that farmers actually take care of these animals and treat them with respect.

Informal Writing Assignment: Learning to Read/ Malcolm X

In his article Learning to Read, Malcolm X "demonstrates the extent to which literacies shape the worlds available to people and the experiences they can have."  He discusses, through this excerpt from his autobiography his experience in life and how literacy transformed his life while in prison. He is successful in his argument by discussing his own life experiences and how his life changed so drastically as well as the amount of opportunities that become available to him because of his newly gained knowledge. 

Not only does Malcolm X's article relate to Brandt's Literacy Sponsors but it is a great supporting example of her argument. Literary sponsors don't have to be people. In many situations they may be but not for Malcolm X. His literacy sponsors included the literature he was reading, the prison, his cell mate that he looked up to, Muhammad and the library in the prison. These places, people and items all helped Malcolm on his journey to greater knowledge and understanding while he was in prison. One of the authors, discusses how you can not move from the discourse community you were born into to a higher status community. But Malcolm X does just that. He is "eligible" for this higher status discourse community because of the level of knowledge he has gained.  

Nearly all of the articles we have read in class proceeding this one have nearly bore me to death. This excerpt though had my full attention the entire time I was reading. I had only heard the name Malcolm X a few times but never knew who he was. I also think this article is very inspiring because it breaks many stereotypes. When most people go to jail they don't do anything with their lives, or try to change the issues that put them there. Malcolm X turned his life around and became someone who inspired others. I think this story should be shared with other young, troubled adolescents so they realize they have the opportunity to turn their lives around and become someone; to realize their life doesn't have to be wasted in jail. I have always wanted to believe that all people are good at heart and can change for the better. Malcolm X's story is all around such an inspiring story that should be told more often. 

Discussion Questions: Annoying Ways People Use Sources/ Stedman

1. One of the biggest issues with the annoyances Stedman discusses is simply being unsure of what is allowed. In our last project we argued in support or opposition of a writing construct. Part of this being unsure, I believe, comes from not wanting to break these writing constructs. How do we ever know what is wrong and what is acceptable? In high school I had teachers who told me never start a sentence with and or because. I've seen very famous authors start sentences with and. I was told in junior high to never use quotations at the beginning of essays but I began my senior thesis paper with a quote and it is by far one of the best papers I have ever written. I argued for the five-paragraph writing form, but there are many professors who don't like it. With all these conflicting rules swirling around in the academic world who is too decide what is right and what is wrong?

2. Another issue that parallels this topic is plagiarism. Young students and even careless older students don't understand how important  it is to cite when quoting. Does this not understanding plagiarism descend from the topic not being taught and stressed or students simply not caring? To many students who don't appreciate the english language, citing is just extra work. They don't understand nor care that the words they are taking are someone else's words On the other hand, my little sister became frustrated this past year with citing because she is in the first stages of learning how to do so. 

3. Kahn discusses early in the article how important is it for authors to know and understand the audience they are trying to reach to know how to write. But when is it okay to start bending the rules? I was always told you have to learn the basics before you can do the fun stuff. Does this mean that students shouldn't be able to start breaking from these "rules" until late high school and early college? Or is the rule breaking for best selling authors and professors only? I think this question is up for heated debate. Obviously many of the annoyances Kahn discussed were grammatical issues that make writing better. But quotes, for example are a tool in writing I feel very strongly about to deepen the audiences understanding and make them think.  

Discussion Questions:Putting Ethnographic Writing in Context/ Seth Kahn

1. After reading Kahn's stories of ethnographers' struggles I think it is a huge responsibility to write one.   On the other hand it is great writing experience. Kahn mentioned that the ethnographer had the participants sign papers to wave any legal situations that may come up. But how did this professor not have any idea of how his actions were affecting his students? If he did know about his actions, then why would he have agreed to allowing the observations then gotten mad at the ethnographer. It's a hard decision to select a discourse community to study. If you select a community of someone who you or another group member is close with and the conclusions doesn't come out in a positive manner it can cause serious interpersonal issues. Though, having a known person in the community can give you the in you need to truly understand the community on another level.

2. Another question that I've had throughout this project and after reading this article was if these ethnography's can be successfully written by a group of people. The situation Kahn discussed was one person writing. We are working on the project in groups. The person in Kahn's example had to be very unbiased, which he/she does a good job of, even though she has already had the professor in class and enjoyed it. With a group of people working on such a project I think it would be difficult to have everyone be unbiased as well as perceive every participant in the same way. One group member may interview a participant and perceive their reactions in a certain way and then another perceive that same participant in another way. These may be minor conflicts but when trying to make a conclusion it could become problematic.

3. Kahn discussed some of the positive effects of ethnographers writing. One situation he discussed was a college escort service which had once been successful now lacked funding and was used less frequently. With the help of the ethnographers' findings, the escort service was able to present the findings to the university and regain the necessary funding. In what other positive ways could ethnographic writing be used? Ethnographic writing pushes you to consider all sides of a situation in the most unbiased way because it's not benefiting you at all, its effecting those participating and being observed. With these unbiased views I believe there are many more ways and situations where ethnographic writing could be a positive tool.