Friday, April 8, 2011
Discuss Writing
Discuss the aspects of writing that are most difficult for you and that you would like to improve upon (thesis statement/argument, introductory paragraph, conclusion, transitions, quotes, grammar and mechanics, spelling, Works Cited page, etc.). Write a nice FULL paragraph for this blog. A full paragraph should contain no less than 15 sentences. Explain yourself thoroughly. Please PROOFREAD! I will look for grammar/mechanics, punctuation, and spelling. This blog is optional for those of you who wish to have another assignment towards your grade, but please note that I will grade your entry accordingly and that I cannot assure you this grade will boost your overall grade in this class. I will NOT accept late submissions. Due Monday, April 11. Worth 20 points.
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I have several problems with writing. I cannot put my ideas into words very well, I get confused with rules, and basically everything else except for spelling, capital letters, and page format. I have plenty of good ideas; it’s just that for some reason I can’t put them onto paper. I think in full sentences too but when I write them down they don’t sound right. It’s a pain. Also, basic rules of things like literary analyses and proper grammar either confuse me or I don’t understand them. The rule that has to do with citation confuses me; I usually forget when to put whatever it is in the parentheses where. Also, I forget what goes in the parentheses to begin with. Page numbers are fine, but when it comes to citations from other sources like magazines, online databases, as well as other things I just get confused since it can vary so much depending on the information. I never really did learn much proper grammar. Rules about semi colons and commas are all new to me. I usually just put commas after transitions and wherever I think there should be a slight pause. Semi colons are completely new to me. I usually only use them when Microsoft Word tells me to. Although the whole concept of when to use them was explained I’m still unsure of when to use it. I guess writing is not one of my strong suits, but I really want to get better at it. Then maybe my grade won’t be so bad in English.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most difficult aspects of writing would be creating a thesis statement. I never know how to make an arguement off of it. My thesis statement is always just a fact about the book. Another difficult aspect of writing would be using quotes correctly. I don't know how to lead into the quotes from the book. I will just put them randomly in the paper.I am not very good at using transitions. I never know which is the right sentence to put them in front of. Another difficult aspect of writing would be when to use the right punctuation. I don't in a lot of my sentences is I'm supposed to use a comma, colon, or a semi colon. Also, I can never come up with good reasons that support my thesis. In my papers, I repeat myself alot and never know what to write about. I reword my sentences before to fill up the space to make it seem longer. My papers are always very weak and never really have a point or an arguement to them. I always have trouble starting the paper because I never know how to start it off and what to write in the opening paragraph. I have a lot of things I need to improve upon in writing.
ReplyDeleteFor me, English, especially writing, is very difficult subject for me. I have a hard time figuring out how to start my papers and finding topic is usually a really long process. Introductions are something I have a lot of trouble with too. I always want to summarize the book even though I know that you're not supposed to do that. I really want to work on my introductions because they are such an important part of papers. I also find that I have trouble organizing my ideas into thorough, concise paragraphs. I tend to want to put everything in one big paragraph instead of splitting it up into smaller paragraphs. When I write, I also have trouble with making all of my ideas flow together. I jump around a lot because I don't really know how to make my thoughts come together. I think I need to work on leading into my quotes better. I think that is my biggest problem with writing papers. I don't know how to best introduce a quote into my paper and I have a lot of trouble incorporating it into my thesis and other ideas. I hope that before this year is over I will be a much better writer and I will not find it so difficult to write an essay anymore.
ReplyDeleteThe aspects of writing that are most difficult for me are creating a thesis, transition, and a works cited page. Coming up with a thesis is difficult for me because I can never decide what to write about. I feel like when I am confined to a certain subject it is harder to write. For example, writing about Latin American musicians apposed to any musician in the world is harder to me because it is a limitation. I found many musicians I really wanted to write about but they were not Latin American and it made it more difficult to have to search. Another reason a thesis statement is hard to me is the length requirement of the paper. I am always worried I won't be able to find enough information to meet the length requirement of a paper. I find transitions very difficult to use in a paper. I just don't know how to use them correctly in a paper. A works cited page is the hardest thing in a paper for me. It's the reason I received a zero on my last research paper. I've been taught about five different ways how to do it and I remain unclear on the correct format of a works cited page and how to properly cite sources in a paper.
ReplyDeleteGina Manahan
I have many aspects of writing that are quite difficult for me. For example, I have a rough time trying to stay in present tense because I don’t know another way to word the sentence. Also, I would like to figure out a way to make some of my sentences in my papers less awkward. I think that I need to find a way so that I can rearrange some of the words so that it doesn’t seem weird in my paragraphs. Another thing that I have trouble with is explaining quotes and transitioning them into my paragraph. I also think that I need stronger and a to the point thesis. In addition, I don’t exactly understand what you mean when you ask for a topic sentence. I thought it meant that a topic sentence is a sentence in which the rest of your paragraph describes about. I saw that you wrote to “keep parallel structure” and I have no clue what that is. I think that I need help to makes some sentences less vague and be more descriptive. Also, I need to work on being clearer and go into depth about my ideas. Another thing I don’t get is concluding paragraphs because I thought that they were just for middle school and we needed to get away from that. I have a few grammatical mistakes that I can easily fix. I think that I have the most trouble with transitioning between ideas, paragraphs and quotes. In my opinion, I think that it’s a little more difficult now because we were so used to how Graff wanted our papers written and now you grade totally the opposite way. Those are the difficulties I have in writing a paper and what I would like to improve on in the future.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I find the most difficult when writing a report of any kind is coming up with a good thesis statement and an argument that goes along with it. At times, I have been able to come up with a thesis statement that wasn’t too bad, but I just don’t think I totally understand exactly what a good thesis statement needs to have in it. I know what I want to say, but I usually make it too long or too short and/or my argument doesn’t support it the way it should. I seem to have a hard time pulling it all together. In addition, I am a phonetic speller and, therefore, have to proofread everything I write. Unfortunately, since I am a bad speller, this is really difficult for me. I even try to get other people to read whatever I write whenever I can. It is really difficult for me when there are several ways to spell different words. I always use spell check on my computer. I don’t usually have enough time to look all the words I think might be spelled wrong in a dictionary. I have tried working on this for a long time, but I seem to have inherited this problem from my father and grandfather. Neither of them was very good at spelling and I have been cursed with the same problem. In addition, I sometimes have a problem ending my report with a conclusion that fully supports my thesis statement. In addition, I have always had a problem with doing a “Works Cited page” correctly.
ReplyDeleteI feel that when I write, I rush things and make them seem forced. Like when I make a feeble stab at writing a short story, I will have a specific scene in mind that I want to write. So I'll hurry up and write everything preceding that scene so that it will sound sloppy and uninspired. If I wrote down my ideas, perhaps I could write naturally and not feel like I need to keep a certain idea fresh in my mind or lose it. Another thing I feel I struggle with is quotations in a formal paper. I never know where to put commas, or whether I should put the period inside the quotation marks or not at all. It seems like the rules for this are just arbitrary and cruel, like they're designed just to confuse the hapless fool who has to write a paper with quotations. Woe betide that hapless fool. Also, I feel when I put a greater idea in my paper, I explain it insufficiently. The connections I've made seem clearly implied to myself, but when someone grades it, they tell me to explain it more clearly. It just seems like I shouldn't have to lay everything out in black and white, and that the reader should be able to make their own connections. Perhaps I should just give up on these grandiose aspirations to be an accomplished writer while I am still in high school. I'll just wait until I'm an unsuccessful, unwed, British mother, like J.K. Rowling did. It's worked well for her.
ReplyDeleteThis is Brett Johnson by the way. I'm not sure if you have our usernames for this site, or if Mrs. Graff has locked them away somewhere, never to see the light of day. My username is odd, as I am aware. Just wanted you to know. It also appears that I am the only one who has chosen to do this blog. I'm not sure whether to feel odd or smart. I enjoy writing very much, and I hope that you will enable me to become better at it. Lord knows my other teachers haven't...
Overall, i enjoy writing. I do, however, have many difficulties in my writing technique that hinders me from writing to my best ability. Lit analyses are my weakest point. I like creative writing and poems but I am not good at lit analyses. Usually I have to have my mom help me and fix all of my mistakes. I have a tough time staying in present tense. That is probably my biggest mistake when writing a lit analysis. I always end up switching to past tense and I have to go back and fix the entire paper to make it consistant. I also have a hard time transitioning between quotes. Its hard for me to find a sentence that connects to it without summarizing the whole quote. Other than lits, I also have difficulties writing a conclusion on any type of work. They are usually small and are not that good, in my opinion. I try really hard to write good solid conclusions but that never works out. It is hard for me to not write a moral at the end of my works. I always have to remind myself to not teach the reader a lesson at the end of a work. That combined with other small mistakes due to not proof reading makes my writing less than what it could be.
ReplyDeleteI think the same way I write and that does not always come out grammatically correct. I have issues making sense to others when I write. What I understand in my papers is awfully confusing when someone else reads it. It should be clear and to the point not take a lot of thought for someone else to understand it. This also includes staying organized; I have a tendency to skip from thought to thought in essays. Not staying organized is detrimental to any form of writing it is just difficult to see that in my own paper. When I look at a paper that I am writing I have difficulty picking up on the things I am lacking. This also includes proof reading and checking spelling of any of my work. Grammar is an area where I lack along with this. I always try to proof read my work before I submit it but I feel like this does me no good. Looking at it as a paper that I wrote I do not pick up on my mistakes or misspelled words. Somehow when I go through it I do not notice that a single thing is wrong with it. On top of that my quote placing like how to follow them in and ending them is off. I need to improve on this to write better papers which I know I am able to do. I just need to make improvement s on the areas on which I am struggling in.
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