College Life: An Obituary

"Collegiate Life: An Obituary" by Dr. Arthur Levine was a very controversial and sometimes negative essay. I did, however, enjoy reading it. I liked how it showed the viewpoint from someone who is not in college today and I think that caused a lot of conversation about it. Being in college in this day myself, I thought that some of his essay held truth whereas other parts of it were ridiculous. When Dr. Arthur Levine says that college student today are only attending college to get a job rather than to learn, it came off as a negative statement. I thought that although he was correct in most cases, this didn't have to be a negative thing. Personally, I'm going to college because it's important for my future and getting a job. I think that some people aren't willing to admit it, but I really don't see it as something to be ashamed of because I don't see it as a negative. Other comments that Levine made about college students today, however, I found to be completely false. He makes a remark that "dating" is totally dead and basically referred to all college students as friends with benefits. Although some people may choose to live their lives that way, I know that many people do not and "dating" is not gone. Levine made other comments like this that I found rather offensive. Most of the comments seemed extremely stereotypical and I didn't like how the author grouped ALL college students into one group. Also, I thought the title was dramatic. It suggest that college life is over and should be considered "dead". Just because something is different and today many students go to school for different reasons, it shouldn't be looked at in such a negative light. Overall, I really did like reading this essay because I enjoy arguing over topics and controversial issues such as this. These types of writings spark great conversations and I enjoyed talking about it in class.

Recycling Awareness; Informative Essay

I'm glad that our schedule for English 101 included reading "Watch for the Blue Barrels" by Craig Broadbent. Before this essay, most of the other assigned readings for English 101 have been more narrative. I understand that the class is going to begin doing a more informative and research type essays so I thought that this piece was perfect to help with this transition to a different type of writing. It's easy to see the differences between previous readings that were more narrative and this one. First, this informative essay has a clear thesis statement that directly states the essay's purpose, "My purpose here is to outline what we're doing about recycling on campus, to show what the costs and income are from the program and finally, based on several interviews, to suggest the reasons that students don't sue the blue barrels." Also the essay is based around straight facts about recycling. There are tables, an inserted figure, and an interview to back up what the author is saying about the subject. I really enjoyed reading this essay because I was thinking about the next essay that I’d have to write for my own English class. I know that I'll be able to use some of the same strategies to inform my reader as Broadbent did and also, some techniques like directly stating my purpose of my essay. Even though I haven't yet been assigned the exact essay topic, it's helping me to notice these details so I'll remember them in the near future when I need to. I’m hoping for class I’ll read more essays like this before I have to write my own essay because I think reading the examples will really help me move away from the narrative form of writing that I’m so much more comfortable with.

Clocking Cultures and Wiki Policy Revisions

"Clocking Cultures” by Carol Ezzell was a great article and I really enjoyed reading it. I especially love this topic because we have been discussing this same notion in my communications class. I’m fascinated with the idea that all cultures view time so differently. American’s usually always have some form of clock on them and some use planners, date books, or calendars to stay punctual. In other cultures this idea could seem ridiculous. I know that personally I couldn’t go a day without my day planner or calendar and clock on my phone. I have to have everything written down or I will not remember. A great example which we discussed in communications class the other day was in the United States if you were heading to an interview for a new job you’d like to hopefully obtain you would arrive probably a few minutes early jus to make sure you made a good impression that you’re punctual and organized, but in some cultures if they say they have an interview the next day even if they specify a time, that could leave the whole day open to whenever they’d like to come in. As mentioned in the article, “any time is Trinidad time.” I loved that expression. It expresses the casual and relaxed nature that people in Trinidad have with time and punctuality.

The article about Wikipedia’s “Anyone Can Edit” policy did not interest me as much, but I still was interested in learning about the history and evolution of this site that I visit quiet often. The site is so popular and has literally "blown up" in the past few years. As for the new policy, I think that it’s necessary and I don’t think that people should be upset about it. The site shouldn’t be used in a harmful or vulgar way, so only people who would want to do that or want that to happen would be upset with the new policy. I think that Wikipedia is a very successful site and will continue to grow larger in the years to come. I actually predict that with time the policies may become stricter. This will probably cause more complaints from users of the site and may be potentially more hurtful than helpful for the site.

Revising 101

On pages 111-112 of my English textbook I read about revising a complete draft of a piece of written work. I read about how important revising really is to have a final product. The text suggests that you should let the draft sit for a little after you’ve finished it because when you return you’re more likely to realize what needs to be revised and details. Also, the textbook mentions how technology is such a large tool in editing a draft. I’m surprised at how focused this textbook has been on technology. In each section you can find some reference to the technology that can help make things easier for the various things done in the English course. I began to understand more about peer editing from reading these pages. I’ve always thought that I didn’t need another person to read my work before it was final because I could revise it just as well, but the textbook emphasizes that outside sources can provide feedback that can provide suggestions or new ideas. It’s important to have more than one person’s opinion of the draft, as well.  The last part that was in these pages of the text was a “Writer’s Workshop” about “Responding to Full Drafts”. This section provides questions to use as guidelines that may be useful when editing someone else’s complete draft. Today in class we used these questions and I found it to be very useful. The questions helped me put all my thoughts together while I was reading another girl’s narrative essay and stay organized. Also, when I was reading the responses to the questions someone had made about the narrative essay I wrote, I was able to clearly follow them. The questions were good because they pointed out key things to pay attention to while editing that may have otherwise been forgotten. Although I have been writing essays and many class assignments over the years of schooling, this review on revising has definitely helped me improve my own writing and editing skills.

"Ed's Girl on the Hunt"

“Ed's Girl on the Hunt” is a short blog entry written by “Ed's Girl The Second”. The girl who wrote the blog had great energy throughout the whole thing which made it very enjoyable to read. I felt her excitement and can only imagine what it would feel like to have my dream job put so closely into my reach like that. I would imagine it would feel like fate almost. The author is really effective in expressing her joy from getting the summer job. Especially when the author uses all capitals to show emphasis when she says, “But this magazine, THIS magazine is the one I eventually want to write for and I emulate the people who do.” I also liked how the author shows her dedication towards reaching her goal of becoming a writer for the magazine she has just received an internship with. The author explains how enthusiastic she is about getting to read all the “back issues from the library and learn every article and nuance from the past few years.” That just shows her work ethic and I admire that a lot. Overall, this blog was encouraging and I enjoyed it.

"The Art of Eating Spaghetti"

“On Becoming a Writer” by Russell Baker is a great short story with an unpredictable ending. When I began reading the story I would have never guessed that the author would've eventually loved his high school English teacher, Mr. Fleagle. The story was interesting and it was easy to stay focused about what was going on in the story while I read. I enjoyed reading the short story especially because of the author's tone and use of irony. When the author constantly uses “prim” to describe his teacher and everything about the teacher, it shows his sense of humor and I really liked that. The short story about how Russell Baker decided to become a writer was unique. Most writers don't decide their careers from their high school English teachers congratulating them on one piece of material, especially an informal writing assignment titled “The Art of Eating Spaghetti”. It was ironic how the teacher, Mr. Fleagle, was supposed to be a very boring and uninspiring, but in the end ended up being on of the most influential people in Russell Baker's career and loved his improperly formatted essay. I liked how at the very end Baker says that after Mr. Fleagle showed how much he appreciated his work he ranked him among the finest teachers in the school. I believe this shows how much teacher's approval really influences a student's self-esteem. Russell Baker always knew in the back of his mind that he wanted to pursue a career in writing, but he was never a hundred percent sure. When Mr. Fleagle absolutely loved his essay, Russell Baker gained a ton of confidence and ultimately that helped in his decision to move forward and make writing his career, not just an idea.