My Blog

Writing about Writing

kdcarini — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:16:06 +0000

I’ve been working on my introduction paragraph for my research essay and I think I’ve got it right. I talked with Andrew today and he like my intro. I was really happy, because the previous week he looked at my intro and told me that it needed to be more like a joke. A lead-in and then the punchline. I think that that is how our research paper as a whole is supposed to go. I am glad that we are turning our papers in on Wednesday because I feel like I’ve read it a million times. It is hard to pick out what’s wrong with the paper after you’ve read it so many times. I’ve learned a lot more about the reading and writing processes. I learned new ways of doing both which is pretty cool.

Almost There

kdcarini — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:12:34 +0000

I can’t believe that this semester is almost over. It went so quick. Overall I enjoyed my first semester in college. I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned a new writing style, a new reading style, and what I like and don’t like. I’ve learned that I don’t like some things as much as I thought, and I learned that I liked some things more than I thought I would. English 102 was very challenging. It was a lot of hard-work, and it challenged the way I’ve been doing things for a long time. Even though this class is required to graduate, I still would recommend it to anyone who comes to the school. It’s interesting, and it’s something different.

Writing about Writing-Intros

kdcarini — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:14:31 +0000

Today in conferences, I learned more about what the introduction of a research paper should accomplish. It should be like a joke. It needs a lead-up, background, and a punchline. Also, I learned that the side that we choose to support should be clearly stated. The intro is very important to a paper, because this is the part that people read and decide if they want to keep reading or not. A good intro will get the reader interested in the topic, and we should talk to the reader like they know nothing about our question. With the portfolio due date drawing nearer, I hope that I can piece together my paper in a way that will be interesting and thought-provoking.

Choosing a Path

kdcarini — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:09:45 +0000

Going through almost a whole semester of college, I have to say that the ideas that I had about what I wanted to do have been changed. After liking the sciences in high school, I found out that I don’t like it as much as I thought. I wanted to go into the medical field, but now I’m not so sure. Maybe it’s for the best. I am an engineering intern at a geotechnical engineering firm. I love what I do at work, so maybe I should think about doing that. There is some science involved, but not as much as the medical field. Even though it is still early to decide what I want to do, I would like to have some ideas going into the next semester. I am really looking forward to the next semester so I can experience some different classes. English 102, although a lot of work, showed me a whole different perspective on how to read and write. I appreciate that.

Writing about Writing

kdcarini — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:39:05 +0000

After writing my research analysis essay, I think that I did the wrong thing. I didn’t use a lot of quotes. I’m going to use Andrew’s comments to write the paper again. We’ll see what happens. After the talk we had in class Monday, I’m worrying about the class a little bit. I was confident earlier in the semester, but that changed for some reason. I really want to pass this class the first time around. I’ve put so much effort and work into it. I just hope my paper passes.

Thanksgiving

kdcarini — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:35:39 +0000

I am so glad Thanksgiving is here. Not only do we have a break from school, but we get to see our families. I don’t get to see my distant family too much. Only for Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving. So I always enjoy seeing them. During break I plan on working on my research paper, and studying. (Hopefully that will happen) In a way I am glad that the semester is almost over because I would like a break. I’ve been working hard all semester. I’ve noticed that I’ve sleeping in class more! I’m going to try to kick up the pace through the end of the semester though. I don’t want to quit now.

English 102

kdcarini — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:15:04 +0000

Overall I liked English 102. It introduced me to close-reading, and a better way to use quotes to back up my statements. I think that this class was a lot of work. In the beginning of the class we had papers due everytime we met. I think maybe if we would’ve been given a few more class periods with no papers due the next time we met, I think I could’ve produced work that was a little better. I think this might be true for other students who have four other classes. I’m not saying that it can’t be done, because we’re almost done, and countless other students passed the class with a big courseload, but it was tough overall. However, I feel like I am a better research writer because of the class, and I feel like I am a better writer overall too.

Writing about Writing

kdcarini — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:05:01 +0000

I really want to talk about quote dropping. I used to do it a lot just to get a paper done and move on, but I’ve been learning a lot about using quotes to back up my points, not just using it as my commentary. I think what I did was find a quote the author had written, and then formulate an idea from that quote. What we should be doing is formulating our own ideas and then trying to find a quote to back up our ideas within the source. I think that is how it is supposed to go. We talked about this a lot at the beginning of English 102, but I want to talk about how doing the ‘generic’ research paper for so many years kind of set us up to not see our topic from a different point of view. So then we weren’t able to think differently about our topic and discover hidden relationships between information in the text or other sources we were using. As the class winds down, I just want to say that it really opened my eyes to a whole new way of writing, thinking, and reading, all of which are extremely important skills to have. It’s like having another tool in the box for those situations that we have never been up against before.

Our Veterans

kdcarini — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:11:45 +0000

With Veterans Day, it made me think a lot about our veterans, and the veterans in my family. My dad was in the marine corps., both of my uncles were in the army and fought in the Persian Gulf War, my great uncle was in the army, and my step-dad was in the army. I think having so many veterans in my family makes me a little more appreciative of what our fighting men and women do everyday. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to do anything we want to. I think when people say ‘freedom isn’t free,’ I completely agree with them. We can do anything we want to because of what our military men and women do everyday, and because people in our military die for their country. I hope that everyone appreciates our veterans and fighting men and women. They deserve it.

Writing about Writing

kdcarini — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:04:37 +0000

I am very happy that our papers are getting reviewed so many times. It really puts my mind at ease for when we turn in our portfolio. The reviewing process seems like a filter. The stuff we don’t need gets ‘filtered’ out. The good stuff is left. I am also really appreciative to everyone who reviews my work because that’s part of who the audience is anyway. They help me make sense of my own work too. Often when I’m writing, I have a lot of good ideas, it’s just hard to connect them and make a ‘flowy’ paper. I don’t know how many other people have this problem, but having it peer reviewed helps a lot. In the beginning of this class I was really worried about if my paper would pass. But realizing that my paper will be reviewed many times before I actually turn it in, that really makes me feel better, and in a way free because I can do my best work not having to worry about it at the end.