Hi guys!! It's a freaking beautiful day! I'm currently blogging in a lovely grassy spot outside :)
I'm a little nervous because theres a bunch of tables nearby.. I think they're gonna set up that W day thing right where I'm sitting. Awkward.
Also, warning: I can't really see my computer screen due to the glare of the sun. Let's just say this blog is free form... I'm just going to keep typing. I can't see what I'm typing, and I'm not going to put in much effort to go back and change things (because I can't see)
Anways, I figured it was about time for me to start reflecting on the session we had on Tuesday. I'm a little nervous because I didn't really take any notes. I hope I can remember enough to write the reflection. I should have just blogged right after the session on Tuesday, but I was really tired and cranky. I guess that's my first point. I had been having a pretty bad couple of days before the session. I had a paper due that day, got minimal sleep the few previous nights before, was super stressed out with other homework, and honestly just wanted to pause life for a bit so I could sleep and get my shit together. I was feeling like my life's a mess.
Naturally, I was especially nervous about the session I was supposed to have. I felt like there was no way I could lead a productive session! I couldn't even think straight. The was no way I could help John make a cohesive paper if my thoughts weren't even cohesive. I was feeling a little guilty. I didn't want my life problems to hinder our session. Regardless, we started the session like any other.
Of course, John asked me to read the paper out loud. The one day where I really, truly didn't want to read aloud, and probably couldn't even focus enough to do so, the writer wanted me to read aloud. It was awful. I stumbling over lots of words, I had to stop and thinking about what I was actually reading. It was a problem.
I actually cane to realize that my confusion might have helped the session. I was asking real, honest questions because I didn't know what was going on. John was able to clear things up, and I think it changed the way he thought about the paper. He marked some things to change and clarify. Most importantly, we talked about whether or not each part of the paper was even relevant. We realized the argument he was trying to make was not stated in his thesis. WE made a plan to change the thesis, and restructure the paper to match. I feel like at the end of the session John knew what he needed to do, but I'm not sure.
I hope he thought the session went well. I hope he didn't realize I was a tired, cranky mess. Tuesday I learned that I need to make sure my personal problems don't affect the sessions.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Sex.
Hi guys. I don't remember the last time I wrote a blog outside of the hollenbeck lab. I'm in my dorm right now. We'll see how this goes.
Seeing as I come from an academic environment where the importance of a thesis was drilled into my head, I was digging the acronym today: FAST (focused, arguable, sexy, thesis). But on my way back to New Hall, I was thinking about the concept of a thesis. Is it possible to have a really well-written essay that doesn't have a thesis? I can't imagine every attempting such a thing, but what if the intro paragraph layed out the paper and set up an argument but didn't have a specific thesis presented at the end of the first paragraph?
Just a thought. Because I know we kind of have the concept of a five paragraph essay drilled into our heads in American. Hook, thesis, topic sentences, transitions, conclusion... why? This brings me back to that video we watched about ESL students and how other cultures tackle writing differently. In American academia, inconclusive, circular writing is frowned upon. A straight-forward argument is expected.
Returning to my first rhetorical question, I just realised: the definition of a "well-written" paper is so completly subjective. It depends on what country you're in and a whole host of other things. Regardless, it might be interesting to attempt an essay without a thesis. I don't think I could do it.
I like theses, like most of us. I believe in the power of a sexy thesis, and the "turn-off" created from the lack of a thesis. When there isn't a thesis in an essay, I'm immediately sceptical and nervous. I hate not knowing what the paper is going to be about by the time I've read through the introduction paragraph. A paper without a thesis leaves me disappointed, confused, and generally uninterested before I've even reached the second paragraph. That's a big deal.
So yay for sexy theses! Today's class redefined my relationship with theses and took it to a whole new level...
I'm gonna make some posters about this, I swear.
Sarah
Seeing as I come from an academic environment where the importance of a thesis was drilled into my head, I was digging the acronym today: FAST (focused, arguable, sexy, thesis). But on my way back to New Hall, I was thinking about the concept of a thesis. Is it possible to have a really well-written essay that doesn't have a thesis? I can't imagine every attempting such a thing, but what if the intro paragraph layed out the paper and set up an argument but didn't have a specific thesis presented at the end of the first paragraph?
Just a thought. Because I know we kind of have the concept of a five paragraph essay drilled into our heads in American. Hook, thesis, topic sentences, transitions, conclusion... why? This brings me back to that video we watched about ESL students and how other cultures tackle writing differently. In American academia, inconclusive, circular writing is frowned upon. A straight-forward argument is expected.
Returning to my first rhetorical question, I just realised: the definition of a "well-written" paper is so completly subjective. It depends on what country you're in and a whole host of other things. Regardless, it might be interesting to attempt an essay without a thesis. I don't think I could do it.
I like theses, like most of us. I believe in the power of a sexy thesis, and the "turn-off" created from the lack of a thesis. When there isn't a thesis in an essay, I'm immediately sceptical and nervous. I hate not knowing what the paper is going to be about by the time I've read through the introduction paragraph. A paper without a thesis leaves me disappointed, confused, and generally uninterested before I've even reached the second paragraph. That's a big deal.
So yay for sexy theses! Today's class redefined my relationship with theses and took it to a whole new level...
I'm gonna make some posters about this, I swear.
Sarah
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Love a Good Metaphor
Hi guys.
I loved the metaphor worksheet we did today! While at first I thought it was kind of strange, it really got me thinking about myself as a writing advisor. I love metaphors and symbolism and all that jazz. It reminds me of my theater classes in high school. Everything symbolizes something in theater! I remember having to design sets, and then having to write up a justification for everything on the set. A lot of the time, I would create the set with the first ideas that came to mind, and then make a metaphor/justification for it all later. My theater director really helped me realize that usually the first thing that comes to mind has relevance to us, and has strong meaning and symbolism. Often, people try to force a metaphor and make it really meaningful, but the ideas in the back of our head often have more power than the ideas we spends hours trying to come up with.
Cool stuff.
So, to summarize my metaphor sheet, I am a circular, navy chihuahua who loves yoga pants, Tuesdays, jazz, wind, and bread. Yay.
At first I tried to come up with a really significant response to each of these questions, but then I realized that by over thinking things, I wasn't giving honest answers. Kind of like theater.
With the animal metaphor, at first I wanted to describe myself as an animal known for wisdom or poise, but I realized that was so forced (and possibly inaccurate :P). I am a chihuahua --not the super annoying, wimpy kind, but the chihuahua that is excited, involved, enthusiastic, and ready to go. I love the writing center, and I'm already getting really excited about the work we do. I love talking to people about papers! I think language is really freaking awesome and I love to see how people use their words. Yes, I may have my tired days, but my enthusiasm for writing will never change.
The yoga pants were kind of a stretch (pun?). I think I am yoga pants as an advisor because yoga pants are comfortable and familiar, but they still make you look good. They are far more presentable than sweatpants, and look a lot less sloppy.
As an advisor, I am navy. Navy is warm and deep. I'm constantly searching for hidden metaphors and philosophical reasoning/ symbolism. I try to find a deeper meaning for everything, even if the writer wasn't intending to have some form of symbolism. (Although I won't try to change the writer's ideas; sometimes I keep these supposed metaphors to myself). I'm a circle because I always look for connection and logical progression in a paper. Papers must have a certain fluidity and cohesion.
I am wind because I push the writers along. I ask questions, and always look for a deeper development.
I am jazz music because, similar to the wind, I like to have the session constantly moving and developing. I ask unexpected questions, and I'm quick to improvise and create.
I am Tuesday because Monday's suck, but by Tuesday you're ready to take on the week. At least for me, I always have a general weekly to-do list created by Tuesday. I'm ready to be productive and dominate the week.
I am bread, because I believe in starting with the basics. Bread serves as a substantial base to every meal. I believe that a strong thesis and an clear set of ideas are the most important part of a a paper. They are the base of the paper, and that's where I like to focus my attention.
Have a lovely day,
Chihuahua <3
I loved the metaphor worksheet we did today! While at first I thought it was kind of strange, it really got me thinking about myself as a writing advisor. I love metaphors and symbolism and all that jazz. It reminds me of my theater classes in high school. Everything symbolizes something in theater! I remember having to design sets, and then having to write up a justification for everything on the set. A lot of the time, I would create the set with the first ideas that came to mind, and then make a metaphor/justification for it all later. My theater director really helped me realize that usually the first thing that comes to mind has relevance to us, and has strong meaning and symbolism. Often, people try to force a metaphor and make it really meaningful, but the ideas in the back of our head often have more power than the ideas we spends hours trying to come up with.
Cool stuff.
So, to summarize my metaphor sheet, I am a circular, navy chihuahua who loves yoga pants, Tuesdays, jazz, wind, and bread. Yay.
At first I tried to come up with a really significant response to each of these questions, but then I realized that by over thinking things, I wasn't giving honest answers. Kind of like theater.
With the animal metaphor, at first I wanted to describe myself as an animal known for wisdom or poise, but I realized that was so forced (and possibly inaccurate :P). I am a chihuahua --not the super annoying, wimpy kind, but the chihuahua that is excited, involved, enthusiastic, and ready to go. I love the writing center, and I'm already getting really excited about the work we do. I love talking to people about papers! I think language is really freaking awesome and I love to see how people use their words. Yes, I may have my tired days, but my enthusiasm for writing will never change.
The yoga pants were kind of a stretch (pun?). I think I am yoga pants as an advisor because yoga pants are comfortable and familiar, but they still make you look good. They are far more presentable than sweatpants, and look a lot less sloppy.
As an advisor, I am navy. Navy is warm and deep. I'm constantly searching for hidden metaphors and philosophical reasoning/ symbolism. I try to find a deeper meaning for everything, even if the writer wasn't intending to have some form of symbolism. (Although I won't try to change the writer's ideas; sometimes I keep these supposed metaphors to myself). I'm a circle because I always look for connection and logical progression in a paper. Papers must have a certain fluidity and cohesion.
I am wind because I push the writers along. I ask questions, and always look for a deeper development.
I am jazz music because, similar to the wind, I like to have the session constantly moving and developing. I ask unexpected questions, and I'm quick to improvise and create.
I am Tuesday because Monday's suck, but by Tuesday you're ready to take on the week. At least for me, I always have a general weekly to-do list created by Tuesday. I'm ready to be productive and dominate the week.
I am bread, because I believe in starting with the basics. Bread serves as a substantial base to every meal. I believe that a strong thesis and an clear set of ideas are the most important part of a a paper. They are the base of the paper, and that's where I like to focus my attention.
Have a lovely day,
Chihuahua <3
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Are all sessions this fun??
Hi friends!
Due to my excessive coffee consumption over the past couple hours, my excitement for the writing center is completely amplified, but I ensure you the excitement is not false. I'm super excited for next year!!! Back home I used to work at an Italian restaurant, and that job made me happy. I love having a job to escape from the rest of my moderately stressful life. I can already tell that working on the Writing Center is going to be the same kind of happy escape :)
Talking to people about their papers is really cool --especially when the subjects are this interesting! A book about how technology is going to destroy society? Heck yes. So cool. I hate technology. I have avoided a smart phone for the longest time. I'm only getting one this weekend because my phone broke, and an iPhone is equally as expensive as a non-smart phone.
I will be stealing Whitney's copy of Feed and reading that book this summer. Yay. John's paper was over all pretty well written and made me want to read the book. I was actually pretty nervous about how well written it was. I thought I wasn't going to have much to say (who am I kidding, I always have something to say), but I feel that by paraphrasing his argument as we went along, we were able to have a pretty solid conversation. I gave him the perspective of someone who hadn't read the book, which happened to be exactly what his paper needed to consider.
Throughout his paper, there were several instances where he would mention characters or events from the book that I was unable to fully grasp. These were easy fixes, but still extremely important. When he quoted the book, I was unable to understand the significance of the quote because I didn't understand exactly what was going on, or who the character speaking was.
There were also sentences that would be unclear to even those who have read the book. Every once in a while, we paused and examined sentences that were vague, had pronoun issues, or had lack of parallelism. I was able to voice what the sentence appeared to say, and John was able to correct the sentence in a way the conveyed what he was actually trying to say. It went well. He's a strong writer and immediately knew how to rephrase the sentence. I mean the kid took AP lit. I didn't even take AP lit at my high school.
Our final concerns were repetition and being concice. I was a little nervous because John's thesis appeared to set the body paragraph's up for 1) a paragraph on technology and being uniformed 2)a paragraph on technology on ignorance. But John actually had two paragraphs on ignorance. I thought this was going to feel kind of unbalanced, but it worked really well. His second paragraph on ignorance proved to be a natural extension of the first. I didn't see a ton of overlap, but we marked a couple things he said he was concerned about. At the end of the session, he seemed to have a clear direction.
I like using my blogs as a way to collect my own thoughts. This session reflection shouldn't be too bad, seeing as I just essentially reflected for 500 words or so. Awesome.
PS: "Our final concerns were repetition and being concise." -----> is there a noun that basically means "the act of being concise"? Concision? Oh I googled. Concision it is!
Pretend it says: "Our final concerns were repetition and concision". Sounds better.
Kay bye friends.
Have a lovely day.
Check out the Jack Johnson Pandora Station. Instant happiness.
That's all.
Due to my excessive coffee consumption over the past couple hours, my excitement for the writing center is completely amplified, but I ensure you the excitement is not false. I'm super excited for next year!!! Back home I used to work at an Italian restaurant, and that job made me happy. I love having a job to escape from the rest of my moderately stressful life. I can already tell that working on the Writing Center is going to be the same kind of happy escape :)
Talking to people about their papers is really cool --especially when the subjects are this interesting! A book about how technology is going to destroy society? Heck yes. So cool. I hate technology. I have avoided a smart phone for the longest time. I'm only getting one this weekend because my phone broke, and an iPhone is equally as expensive as a non-smart phone.
I will be stealing Whitney's copy of Feed and reading that book this summer. Yay. John's paper was over all pretty well written and made me want to read the book. I was actually pretty nervous about how well written it was. I thought I wasn't going to have much to say (who am I kidding, I always have something to say), but I feel that by paraphrasing his argument as we went along, we were able to have a pretty solid conversation. I gave him the perspective of someone who hadn't read the book, which happened to be exactly what his paper needed to consider.
Throughout his paper, there were several instances where he would mention characters or events from the book that I was unable to fully grasp. These were easy fixes, but still extremely important. When he quoted the book, I was unable to understand the significance of the quote because I didn't understand exactly what was going on, or who the character speaking was.
There were also sentences that would be unclear to even those who have read the book. Every once in a while, we paused and examined sentences that were vague, had pronoun issues, or had lack of parallelism. I was able to voice what the sentence appeared to say, and John was able to correct the sentence in a way the conveyed what he was actually trying to say. It went well. He's a strong writer and immediately knew how to rephrase the sentence. I mean the kid took AP lit. I didn't even take AP lit at my high school.
Our final concerns were repetition and being concice. I was a little nervous because John's thesis appeared to set the body paragraph's up for 1) a paragraph on technology and being uniformed 2)a paragraph on technology on ignorance. But John actually had two paragraphs on ignorance. I thought this was going to feel kind of unbalanced, but it worked really well. His second paragraph on ignorance proved to be a natural extension of the first. I didn't see a ton of overlap, but we marked a couple things he said he was concerned about. At the end of the session, he seemed to have a clear direction.
I like using my blogs as a way to collect my own thoughts. This session reflection shouldn't be too bad, seeing as I just essentially reflected for 500 words or so. Awesome.
PS: "Our final concerns were repetition and being concise." -----> is there a noun that basically means "the act of being concise"? Concision? Oh I googled. Concision it is!
Pretend it says: "Our final concerns were repetition and concision". Sounds better.
Kay bye friends.
Have a lovely day.
Check out the Jack Johnson Pandora Station. Instant happiness.
That's all.
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