Blog Post #1

Questions

1. Final e-Portfolios are due Tuesday, December 6th.

2. During the exam period, we will present Extended Inquiry Projects, which are worth two participation grades.

3. Three absences are allowed before your grade is affected.

4. Ms. Ingram does not excuse absences.

5. Digital copies will not be accepted when hard copies are due.

6. If you miss a peer workshop, you will automatically receive a zero for participation.

7. The e-Portfolio is worth 70% of your grade.

8. Late drafts will automatically receive a zero, but Ms. Ingram will still accept it to provide feedback up to three days after the due date.

9. An “average” e-Portfolio will receive a “C” (70 - 79).

10. Copies of the Academic Integrity Policy can be obtained from the Dean of Students Office or on the Office of Legal Affairs website.

Short Answer Questions

1. The three key concepts that seem the most challenging to me are rhetorical knowledge, critical reflection and stretching my comfort zone. I feel as though I will struggle with rhetorical knowledge because I’ve never been particularly good at applying vague concepts to my work. While I have a handle on literary devices, rhetorical devices have always confused me. My analysis of any text given to me in high school never seemed to fit the standard that the teacher was going for. Critical reflection has never come easy to me either. I think I am too focused on the point I’m trying to make with my writing that I ignore blatant errors until it is too late. Lastly, I think I may struggle with stretching out of my comfort zone. I’ve always loved to write fiction and poetry, but structured school essays were always my enemy. Starting them was always the hardest part, mostly because I was never interested in them. (see video above!) However, I do have a good grasp on the knowledge of conventions. It’s fairly easy for me to spot genres and styles, because I’ve experiment with writing in different ones every once in a while. I hope that this class will encourage me to stretch my comfort zone a little further than that, and help me learn to apply the other concepts I’m not comfortable with as well.

2. In high school, I wrote in a very safe manner. I followed the basic essay rules and my teacher’s guidelines carefully and to the point. I tried my best not to show how I really felt about a topic in fear of losing points for getting derailed. My personal writing was done at home, including but not limited to: poetry and prose about my life scribbled into endless journals and novels that I knew that I’d never finish. But in either situation, home or school, I found that I lost interest in my work if I spent too much time with it. Luckily, I learned this about myself quickly, so I make sure that I jot my thoughts down as soon as possible and incorporate them into whatever I’m working on. I believe that I’m really good at writing with detail and precision, but that may just apply to fiction and poetry. I don’t know how I feel about writing anymore. I used to love it. Also, I’m not sure what kind of college writer I am, or who I am as a writer either. I hope I will have answers to these questions by the end of this class.

3. I really liked Chirstensen’s answer to the question. It was thought-provoking and I had to think over it for a few minutes. Overall, I have to agree with him. We, as human beings, hear many facts and detail throughout our days, but if we don’t have a use for them, we ignore them. However, instead of “bouncing off” I believe the extra information we have swims around our brains, looking for its home. When we finally make the correct connection or ask the right question, the information clicks. I feel like I have all of this writing knowledge that’s been crammed into my brain by high school teachers, but none of it has really found its home because I haven’t fully understood it yet.