Assignment 10

Peer review is a helpful tool in our English class. I find it effective because classmates might be able to pick up on something in our paper that the write cannot or missed while reading it themselves. For instance, while we think we are correcting our grammar in our paper by using spell check, spell check can not always be trusted because it could confuse words such as "than" or "then", which have different uses in sentences. Also, peer review is effective because while we read other classmates papers, it gives us ideas and points we did not think about using that can be helpful in our own paper as well. A way peer review could be improved is by letting the students chose their own group. I know as being a more shy student, I feel more comfortable in a group I have previously worked in before where we have already gotten to know each other.

I think my strength as a peer reviewer is the feedback and marks I make on the other persons essay. I am honest and if I see something that is wrong or confusing I will circle it and give suggestions to my classmate. A weakness that I have as a peer reviewer is that I am horrible at comma splices so I am not a hundred percent sure if my classmates sentence is correct when they use or do not use commas.

I think that peer review is most effective at the beginning of the writing process. I find that the sooner others read my paper, the longer I have to fix my paper and make corrections on it. The smaller the group the more helpful it is for me. Big groups get too distracting and people are more likely to feel comfortable in a smaller group. Lastly, I think two class periods is enough time for the peer review process to take place. It also gives students time to take the peer review sheet home, and fully fill it out.

Assignment #9

As spring break quickly approaches, I cannot help but be shocked at how fast the year has gone by. It seems like only yesterday I was starting my freshman year. My college experience has been a difficult yet rewarding one. For my freshman year, I attended UIC but decided to transfer because it did not feel like a good match for my major, which is elementary education. I thought I would not like Northeastern because of how small and close it is to my house, but it is known as a great school for education.

            I was worried I would be making a huge mistake by transferring, but I was wrong. The smaller class sizes are a lot better than huge lecture rooms, where the teacher never knows your name. I am on the right track to being in the college of education and I cannot wait. I am excited to get into all education classes and be finished with my general education classes. Before I thought that gen eds were a waste of time, but now I have come to realize differently. All of my gen eds will help to better prepare me for my future classes in my field of studies. Even though I do not want to be and English teacher or a Science teacher, I will come across those subjects in every day life. Also, teachers do not always necessarily get to pick which grade they want to teach, so I need to be prepared when that day comes. Two more years down, two more to go and I cannot wait!! 

Argument Analysis Essay

After reading the three possible topics for our argument analysis essay, I have decided on writing about the "Free Speech Off Campus Must Be Protected" by Frank D. LoMonte. In this article, LoMonte talks about a student at the University of Minnesota, Amanda Tatro, who was taken to court over something she posted on her Facebook page. Tatro posted on her Facebook wall about how her and her friends gave their cadaver a nickname, and about stabbing someone with a dissecting knife. Although people are free to say whatever they want on the Internet, the university argues that that Amanda Tatro's speech was unprotected in the first amendment. Also, the university received several complaints from supporters of the mortuary-sciences program who had donated their family’s bodies for use of dissection and were offended by what Tatro had said.

            I chose this topic because I come from the generation of multimedia craze. As soon as all ages were open to create a Facebook account, I did so. In my paper, I am going to argue that Amanda Tatro should not be punished for something one posts on Facebook because of the right to free speech. The court has no proof that she intended to harm anyone by her comment; she just made a poor decision to display it on her Facebook page. As I grow older, I have bittersweet feelings about the decisions individuals make to post on their Facebook’s. People should watch what they post online, but unless they are intentionally harming another individual or cyber bullying another individual, no legal action should take place. 

Assignment #7

            As we approach the middle of the semester, I am able to evaluate myself academically. So far in English 101, we have completed one essay assignment and are currently in the process revising our second essay. When I received my grade for the first assignment I was discouraged with getting a B. I meant to meet with you and revise it, but I was so busy between work and school that I had missed my opportunity to do so.  My goal I set at the beginning of the semester was to pass this class, but now that has changed. I don’t want to just pass, but I want leave with an A.  I think my writing has improved since the first essay. Now I am more aware about the mistakes I am prone to making. Even though I am not a very good writing, I enjoy it. I have my own personal blog and it is something I look forward to doing.

            One thing I really like most about class time is the opportunity to work in small groups. Peer review is a good time to talk to my classmates and get feedback on my writing. I also enjoy getting to do some smaller assignments to help with my participation grades. However, sometimes I feel like some of the lectures we go over in class are things I have already learned. It is good to briefly go over these topics to refresh my memory, but when we go in depth I find myself getting distracted. I know that this is a writing class, but maybe we can do fun activities related to English. 

Assignment #6

The rhetorical situation from my literacy narrative and the ad analysis have a lot of differences. The audience for my literacy narrative was for pretty much anyone and any age. The audience for my ad analysis is mostly men of any age and younger women. The purpose of the literacy narrative was to tell a story about a writing or reading experience I had, good or bad. The purpose for the ad analysis is to pick apart and dissect the hidden messages in the ad of my choice. However, the tone for both essays are pretty similar. In my opinion, the tone is very laid back and easy going for both essays.

My writing strategy will be very different than that of my literacy narrative. For the ad analysis, I really need to dissect and pick apart the ad. I will need to support evidence with my claims and be very detailed.

Assignment #5

• Purpose- What is the purpose of the ad? What argument is it trying to make? How can you tell?
• The purpose of this Ad is to tell its audience that if you drink Bud Light than you will be living the good life. Also, with the use of the woman in the ad it implies you can have a good time with some as attractive as her.
• Audience- Who is the target audience for this ad? Is it trying to appeal to people of a certain age, gender, ethnicity, etc.? Again, what from the text makes this clear?
• The target audience for this ad is for all men 21 and up. Men are more known to prefer beer than women are. The ad also has a picture of an attractive woman on it to catch guys attention.
• Genre- How would you describe the genre of the ad? How might it compare to other ads for similar products? Is it what you would expect for that type of ad or does it subvert audience expectations? 
• The genre of this ad is young, wild, and fun. The text of the ad implies that when you're drinking bud light you will be having a good time. This ad is similar to other ads made by bud light because of the woman in the ad getting a mans attention. I definitely expected this to be the type of ad that bud light chooses because men mostly drink beer and they like women. 
• Tone- What is the tone of the ad? Why would the advertisers chose that tone for that particular product?
• The tone is similar to genre. It implies a fun, easy-going life if you drink this product. It uses big bold letters and the woman is wearing a bright pink shirt to catch peoples attention!

Assignment #4

• My final paper is different from my rough draft in several ways. First, it is longer. I've found that as a writer I tend to cram all my information in quickly, but then i go back and explain in more detail so that it is clearer to the reader. Secondly, it has a lot less grammatical errors. Between peer reviewing and lessons on incomplete sentences I was able to catch a lot of mistakes in my paper that are easily fixed. Lastly, my final paper is different from my rough draft because it tells a lot better story. In my opinion, it flows better and sounds less choppy. The details really help clarifying what is going on in the story for the reader, and the conclusion ties it all together. 
• I do not think I made any major revisions in my literacy narrative. All revisions are important, but when writing my rough drafts I try to put as much work into them as possible so that its less work for me later on. As i mentioned earlier, I made grammatical revisions and adding details to help my paper flow, but no big changes occurred. 
• After revising my paper I did notice a pattern somewhat. I learned that I need to work on comma splices. It has always been a problem for me because they do not stick out as much like a misspelled word would. I was lucky that we reviewed comma splices in class this week so that I can double and triple check if I slipped up. Another pattern I found is that I need to elongate my thoughts onto the paper so that I am not just spitting out all this information and it is too much to handle. 
• Several different things guided me while revising my paper. Peer review, class, and myself all helped to to guide my choices when it came time to revise. Peer review was the most helpful out of the three. Reading a paper out loud and saying it in your head are two totally different things I learned. It was really nice to get feedback from other classmates and see how their papers turned out as well. 
• I think my conclusion is the strongest part of my essay. It really ties the whole paper together and teaches a lesson to myself and hopefully the readers with struggles of writing assignments. Personally, I do not think any of my paper is weak. I worked really hard to revise and I am proud that it turned out the way it did. I'm 100% positive my paper is not perfect, but no ones writing ever is. Unless you are like the author of The Hunger Games! :)