The right way to read

When reading something, I like to skim over the reading. I like to see how long it is and if anything stands out at me when I first look it over. I then read the article or paper. I usually take a pen or highlighter to the important parts because that is what I was taught to do when reading, identify the most important parts. Another thing to do is to read the first paragraph and pick out the thesis of the article; you will know what the story is about. 

If you read something and do not understand it, you can always go back and reread the article or you can just go over what you did when you were reading the article. The thesis and annotations will help you understand.

Analyzing Texts

You have an assignment in a class to analyze a poem or a paper. Most people will pick the paper because poetry is very hard to understand. There are many ways to interpret texts. 

First you have to decide what you want to analyze, then study how the text works. You need to identify patterns and analyze the argument. Another thing to do is to think about the larger context. For example don't think about the text as one little thing, the text could be related to other important things. This makes my life easier when I analyze texts, come up with a thesis. Once you have a main idea it is smooth sailing from there. Once the main idea is out, nothing will stop you from figuring out what you are reading.

The Importance of Proof Reading

If you have ever had to write a paper for class, you know the importance of reading your work before you turn it in. Word has this wonderful thing called Spell Check that helps us out when we don't know how to spell something, but if we use the wrong word it will only hurt us. For example: I went over their. Spell Check will not catch that it is the wrong there. 

When proof reading your work, make sure you read everything and not just skim the paper. You wouldn't want to miss something and make yourself look dumb because you used a wrong word or a sentence did not make sense. 

To Assess or Not to Assess

When writing do you just write or do you write a little then read it and correct every little thing that is wrong? Do you worry about being correct when you write or do you just write?

I believe that when you write you just have to get everything out and then just go back and correct mistakes. Better yet, why don't you just write and then have someone read and correct your work for you? I think you just have to use these questions when writing. From the Norton Field Guide, What works? What still needs work? Where do you need to say more (or less)?  If you use these questions writing should not be a problem. You also have to know who your audience is because if it is your friends you can use simple things to explain because they know who you are. When writing to other students or teachers you have to explain everything in full detail so they understand what you are saying. 

Aspects of a Narrative

The Norton Field Guide to Writing has many ways to enhance the way you write a narrative. You can use reverse chronological order, flashbacks, time markers, transitions, and pertinent detail. They also said that a narrative can be a good way of summing up a paper. 

I think that when writing a paper or narrative that we just have to write and when we are done putting our words on paper we go back and correct what we had just written. I also think that even though there are many ways to write a paper, our point gets across either way. It shouldn't matter how we write or what the paper is about, we are getting our word out there. 

What to write about?

Who has ever had to write a paper and didn't have a clue what to write about? Have you ever tried to just start writing a paper and it took you forever to get to a starting point? I have had these problems. I try to just think of things that relate to me and just base my paper off what I know. There are a bunch of ways to start a paper. 

There is freewriting, cubing, questioning, outlining, letter writing, and discovery drafting. For me, freewritting and outlining are the best things for me to generate ideas for papers. I just start to write and then whatever I write about is what my paper will be about.

Rhetorical Situations

They say that all writing has a purpose and we write because we need to put our thoughts down on paper. They also say, that narratives are written, read and told for many different reasons. I totally agree with this reading because most people write about their life and try to tell their story through these narratives. Each person has a story because something happened to them and they don't want it to happen to you. In my opinion that is the reason people write. 

They say whenever we write, whether it's email to a friend or a toast for a wedding, and an English essay, we face some kind of rhetorical situation. We have a purpose, a certain audience, a particular stance,  genre, and a medium to consider. 

I say that I totally agree with this statement. I believe that when we write anything we have to have a purpose. If I am bored, I will txt my friends. The purpose is that I am bored and I wanted to talk to my friends. When talking to people you have to talk with respect. For example: I will not talk to my grandmother the same way I talk to my friends. Also, when you write you have to take everything else into consideration. You want to get your voice out without over doing your stance. 

People write for a purpose, to get their voice heard.

My First Entry

Hey, here is my first blog entry for English class.