MLA Formatting

MLA format has always been a difficult topic for me. However, as I’ve gone through the years it has gotten significantly simpler. As I’ve been writing for ENGL 1101 we have had to use MLA formatting quite a bit. From in text citations to works cited pages, we’ve done it. The one thing that I can never quite get down is how to properly quote or italicize a work. There have been many examples given to me throughout the years and still to this day, I usually don’t get it right. When they are typical examples like a short work or a newspaper, I find it simple. However, when it becomes complicated like a poem or a song, is when I get confused. Moral of the story, most of MLA formatting I can understand. But for some odd reason, I can never get italicizing or quoting. I hope no one else has the same issues!

What I Learned About Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton is running to become the first female president. I have recently written an essay about her views on higher education. Before I researched this topic there were many things I did not know about Clinton. For example, according to Hillary For America “Factsheets: Hillary Clinton’s New College Compact Act” she plans on making sure that “students never have to borrow to pay for tuition, books, and fees to attend a 4-year public college in their state under the New College Compact”. This is so important considering that college students hold more than “1.2 trillion in student loan debt” (Healy). I also learned that Hillary is taking most of her education views from Bernie Sanders, considering his were so popular. All in all, I learned that Hillary Clinton is seriously trying to change what happens to students who want to pursue college. It’s comforting to know that she will fight for what happens to the future generation of America.

Responding to Classmates #4

This week we were asked to write about a hobby or profession that we have, or will, spend 10,000 hours on. I wrote about mine previously but I decided to read about a few of my colleagues professions. I first read about Makayla Beall’s dream of becoming a nurse. According to her post “[She] [has] not exactly spent 10,000 hours on it yet but [she] knows she will for sure”. She then discusses how she is attending “college to become a neonatal nurse”. I admire her desire to become a neonatal nurse. I think that it's wonderful to want to help children. I hope Makayla achieves this dream because she is “dedicated to become a nurse” and we need more people like her. Next I read “10,000 Hour Devotion” by Zion Dixon. He explains in his post that he aspires to be a computer programmer. He “intends to make a career out of programming”. He also explains in his post that he has only spent 10,000 hours “sleeping, eating, and playing video games”. All in all Zion intends to spend his 10,000 hours developing his love and passion for computer programming and video game design.

My Profession

Learning has always been an important part of my life. Ever since kindergarten I have been extremely interested in school. In fourth grade I even asked my teacher to print me out times tables so I could learn them before everyone else, just to get ahead. When we are young, many adults ask us “What do you want to be when you grow up?” and for me, it was always a teacher.

As long as I can remember I wanted to become a teacher. Ever since 2nd grade I have kept all of my workbooks and binders. My friend and I would always “play school,” and more often than not I would be the teacher in the “classroom.” As a result of all of that playing, I got more involved with the idea of becoming a teacher. Eventually I will be moving on to studying to become a teacher, and become an expert at it.

Blogging: Is It a Genre?

Blogging has become a popular way of communicating thoughts and ideas over the internet. Many people use blogs to connect to a specific type of audience. For example, Aspyn Ovard of AspynOvard.com is a lifestyle blogger. She blogs about her favorite clothing styles and places to explore. People that are also interested in the same content gravitate toward her blog. This creates a community of people who all enjoy the same kinds of things. Blogging is a special kind of genre. As mentioned in The Little Seagull Handbook “Genres are kind of writing. Reports, position papers, poems, letters, instructions -- even jokes -- are genres”. Blogging is something that people look for when they want a casual style of writing. When they want to feel like they are talking to a friend. Blogging “has certain features and follows particular conventions of style and presentation”. For instance, if you had to chose a blog post out of a group of scholarly journals it would be simple. Blogging is a very relaxed genre that anyone can do if they put their minds to it. Happy Writing!

Wikipedia? Is It Good or Bad?

Wikipedia is a common argument among English teachers nowadays. It seems like whenever you search any document the first website that pops up is Wikipedia. There are some speculations that it is not considered a credible source. That’s what I used to think before I read Purdy’s article “Wikipedia Is Good for You?”. After reading this essay I learned that it is possible to use Wikipedia as a source for a document. However, there are ways to use it correctly, and incorrectly. In Purdy’s Article, he states “It’s always a good idea to verify information with multiple sources”. Therefore, it is okay to use Wikipedia a resource. However, make sure you double check the information. You never know what someone has changed when it comes to Wikipedia.

Credible Sources

Finding sources have never been an issue for me. However, it is critical that the kinds of resources that I find are the right ones. Credible sources are extremely important in writing academic essays. Most of the time you can not do a quick Google search and find credible resources. There are some steps you can take to assure that you find good resources every time. According to the online article “Using Research and Evidence” by Purdue University, the first step to finding out if a source is credible is asking yourself “Who is the author?”. Does this author have authority? Do they have the credentials to be writing about this topic? Those are extremely important questions to ask yourself when determining whether or not a source is credible. Second, ask yourself “Is this website reputable?”. It is important that you do not “use websites where an author cannot be determined, unless the site is associated with a reputable institution…”. Last, but not least, you should look to see “how recent the source is”. There are instances where you might not find up to date sources for topic, such as the American Civil War. However, other topics “that are experiencing rapid changes, need to be much more current”. It is crucial for you to determine whether or not your topic needs current sources, or can get by with some that are a bit out of date. I hope that gives you some insight into finding reputable sources, as it is so important for academic essays. Always make sure you check the author, the website/source, and when it was published. You never know what could make the difference between getting an A or not. Good luck everyone!

Responding to Classmates #3

Writing is an important part of any person's life. Whether it be for school or work. However, most people look at writing in different ways. I have recently read two of my colleagues work about how they approach writing. I was excited to see how differently people saw writing. First I read “How I Approach a Writing Assignment” by Emily Auld. I was not surprised to learn that Emily has her own process for writing, as most people do. That is one thing we have in common. However, she starts by “writing [her] outline on paper because it helps [her] to collect [her] thoughts”. I on the other hand, I do not enjoy writing outlines. I feel that it’s better to write out the thesis, then to just start the paper. One thing I mentioned in my post, but Emily did not, was how tough starting a writing assignment can be. I read another one of my classmates posts, “How I Approach a Writing Assignment” by Charles Casteel. He mentions how “Writing assignments are a tough start for [him] because honestly [he does] not really want to do them”. With that, I completely agree. Most of the time writing assignments are dreadful. However, it is very important that you do not wait until the last minute to start them. Charles explains how “[He] is trying to get better about doing [his] assignments on time and ahead of time but so far it’s been rough”. That is a good motto to go by. The sooner you get them done, the less you’ll have to worry. Happy writing everyone!

Writing to Learn

Writing is something that we have been doing since we were children. However, the way we use writing has changed throughout our lifetime. Young children use writing to express their feelings and to complete assignments. As we got older we started writing essays. Maybe they were to explain something or to ask a question. Either way, we use writing in many ways. We use writing to learn vocabulary, grammar, and more! Along with that we use writing to learn about certain topics. If you are assigned a research paper you learn about the topic that you chose to write about! There are many ways we use writing for learning. I just explained a few but in what ways do you use writing to learn? Leave a comment!

What Do I Do When I Get a Writing Assignment?

When I get a writing assignment I am usually extremely overwhelmed. However, this does not last long. I start by figuring out the main purpose of the assignment. Am I going to be writing a research paper, a narrative, an argumentative essay, or what? After I figure out what kind of writing I’m going to be doing I find the different requirements and deadlines for the essay. I try and write down all of my due dates in my planner so I do not miss any. Once I do that, I start to think about my topic. Am I assigned a specific topic? If not, I tend to stick to things I’m interested in or are somewhat familiar with. I find it easier to write about something I enjoy. Pre-writing is something I have grown out of as I’ve gotten older. When I was in Middle School, it was engraved in our brains that making an outline is the only way to write. Sure, it certainly does help, but it is not the only way to write. I like to write my thesis first. From here, I can usually begin to write my essay. I like to have my sources close at hand so I can quickly reference them, if need be. Once I finish my rough draft, I go through and make sure there are no mistakes. I usually get some friends to read through it before I start rewriting. I’m not going to lie, I don’t usually change much when I rewrite. That doesn’t mean I don’t fix my mistakes, though. Once I make sure that everything is perfect, I submit the assignment! That is how I go about all of my writing assignments. Happy writing!

Responding to Classmates #2

First I am going to be responding to my classmates post “Building an Online Brand” by Damien Redshirt. I enjoyed reading his post! He explained it very well how important it is to have a clean and professional brand. He explained that what you post on social media “can pretty much express your personality from a third person view point”. I totally agree! There are many people in this world who think that no one would bother looking them up. They are wrong! Many employers keep tabs on their employees. They wouldn’t want their company to be misrepresented. It is important to keep your online presence as clean and true to your character as possible.

Next I will be reviewing a post by Emily Staub, titled, "My Stance on Atkins' Advice on Working in Groups." Again, I completely agree with what was said. Projects are serious, and if my group were to, "procrastinate until we had a very poorly done project thrown together at the last minute," I would not be a happy camper. Another subject Emily covered is the requirement for the project. I can relate to this, as I have, "gone head-first into a project," and been unpleasantly surprised when I didn't receive a good grade. Both these points tie into communicating as a group. If the group goes over everything they need to together, there is no reason the group should not be successful and efficient.

Working In Groups

I completely agree with what Atkins wrote about. I enjoyed reading his tips about working in groups, since Doc 1 is a group project. He really emphasised the different ways that using online resources can help a group. It’s very important for groups to use collaborating resources, such as Google Docs, to communicate and work together on group assignments. I believe the group will begin to crumble if everyone does not give one hundred percent to the project. Overall, I enjoyed reading Atkins’ work and it really changed my view on working in groups.