Past the Point of No Return

Well, it's done. I've pressed the 'save and submit' button and there is no going back.

As much as I am grateful that I am finally done with my final portfolio I almost wish I could have had another week. Writing the cover letter for my portfolio made me realize all the unique skills I have learned throughout this course. I also feel more confident about working within academic inquiry and that makes me want to write both of my papers all over again.

When I entered this English class I thought of myself as an okay writer. I could put together well-done papers that were intelligent, but I realize now that my writing lacked a life. It had a voice, but the voice of only a fraction of what it could be. In redefining the essay I feel I was able to truly bring my writing to life, and the prospect of getting to do that for the rest of my life is so exciting.

To my classmates, take some time to breathe this weekend as you hit the books to study for you remaining finals. We've done some incredible work this semester, and its time to realize that this is only the beginning of the much greater work we have ahead of us.

Good luck to you all and I hope to continue to see you all around campus!

The End

Well this is it. The semester is over and so is this class too; It has been quite an experience. This following week we will all be stressing out about the other hundred finals that we have to take, but we also have everything plan up as to how to study, what to study, where to study, dont we? Anyways, I hope you guys all have an amazing break and enjoy your time back home! It was one of the most interesting class that I had this semester, with a lot of interesting people. It was great to get to know all of you, and hopefully we will see each other again in some other classes. Again, thank you Dr. Ballenger for your effort and great feedback on every single paper that we did this semester. It is truly appreciated. Have a nice break!

Last Blog Post

Well here we are. El fin. I write this sitting in the last few minutes of my last class for the semester. It's been a rough one that's for sure. Between the internships, speech and debate, two jobs, and an 18 credit course load, it's fair to say I overcommitted. I did want to spend this time/ space complaining about the fact that I'm going to get heavily docked for not blogging more often, but that would be a fruitless endeavor, so instead, I'll do what I'm supposed to and talk about the final portfolio.

The revision process has been helpful. It was nice to have all of Ballenger's comments to work with and it gave me enough to heavily revise my papers without having to take it through much more revision process. 20 pages sounded long for a portfolio but Ballenger did an effective job of getting us prepared for it ahead of time. Because I've been keeping up with most of the revision suggestions throughout the semester, this actual portfolio hasn't been too stressful, which is a beacon of light during dead week where there were about a million other things I could barely handle.
I wish there was more of an emphasis on the connections. I feel like the most important thing we can do is connect the concepts of our papers not only to the course (which we do briefly in the cover sheet) but also to outside the classroom. Understanding how the ideas we discuss apply outside of the course is the most important thing we could possibly do as students. The deeper connections to the world are what we ought to seek in our college classes.

I hope this class in the future is as structured on that as much as possible. Ballenger does as better job than most professors of tapping into our interconnectivity to world issues / the big ideas.

One Last Post

So I just hit submit on my final portfolio. Yeah, that was a little nerve racking. But I guess I am done with this class now. And I just wanted to say thanks to Dr. Ballenger for everything. You accomplished a hard task, to actually get me to enjoy my English class. But I honestly think that everything that I have learned in this class, will help me in my writing in my future classes and beyond that. I also want to thank everyone else. For listening to me while I read twelve pages on gluten or giving me good feedback on my brochure, it was all helpful and I really do appreciate it. But it's not really a goodbye. I will see everyone around campus, especially since we're all in Honors. Good luck to everyone on your portfolio and on the rest of your finals! Just remember that Christmas Day is only fifteen short days away :)

Take Time to Smell The Cheese

I've known what I've had to do for finals for the past two weeks. I've made a plan and had a handle on it. For no reason at all, all of that went flying out the window today.

Suddenly everything became overwhelming. Something was pushed over the edge and went from a lot of stuff to do and accomplish to This is too much... I am so stressed... I am so TIRED...I just...I just....CAN'T!

So, naturally, I call my mom.

After she proceeds to tell me exactly what I expected from her, "This is totally normal and ok to be feeling this way" I barely feel any better. My mother even says, "You're flying back in a week! We can't wait to see you!" and I reply, "Nope. Not *sniff* helping Mom. *sob* I just miss you more."

Her response?

These: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngz1hNBEDx0 (Good Morning)
           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijkg48_OYlQ (Take Time to Smell the Cheese) <-------

When I was younger, Bear in the Big Blue House was a favorite of mine, and to make my current stress level decrease, she sent me Bear.

It didn't help much, but it certainly brightened my day.

So if you're feeling particularly stressed, just remember to take time to smell the cheese. :)

The Final Stretch

I can't believe my first semester of college is practically over. Two more finals to get through and I am done! It truly flew by. I am going to miss Dr. Ballenger's class because it was totally different from all of my other classes. It was great to get away from math and science for awhile and enjoy English. I had fun writing different types of essays and learning more about myself. I need to finish revising my personal and my research essay but I would have to say I am almost done with those. I have written my cover letter (of course it needs a little revising) but that was the last writing assignment I had to do for this class. Now I need to be brave and submit my work onto my portfolio :)  I have learned a lot from my peers this semester in this class. I think everyone's constructive criticism and advice helped me become a better writer. I have had a great semester but I am definitely looking forward to Christmas break! So, the countdown begins.

The "hash and re-mash"

I would like to share my wonderful experience with what I would lovingly like to call the "hash and re-mash" of my research essay. As you may have read before, I was stuck. The amount of times I had deleted and rewritten my research paper had become disgusting and I was losing patience and motivation...fast. So I printed out what I had, grabbed my scissors and set up camp in the Driscoll lobby. See, I had done a different dance of the "hash and re-mash" before when I was working on my senior project but this was new. I literally chopped and labeled, wrote and pasted, and my work space expanded wider and wider until I was starting to see an essay, a conversation. I took a break then went back to work later, adding pages of handwritten information. Then I typed up the paper. Without a conclusion, without all the information I still wanted to add, without citations, I had hit the 9 page mark and I was ecstatic. I had learned the importance behind seeing your project as one piece rather than a long thought. I finally have gotten somewhere and learned what I feel was jumping out at me this whole class. I learned I need to always do this with my writing. This is the epiphany I was waiting for in this class and I am now viewing writing in a vastly different way.

Ten Course Themes

As you're developing your portfolio cover letter, you might consider reflecting on one or more of the following themes of the class:

1. Writing badly.  We've used this phrase to stand in for the idea that sometimes when we follow our words in writing rather than trying to muscle them into obedience, writing can be a mode of discovery and learning.  Frequently, this requires lower our standards enough to get some writing done.
2. Research as conversation.  Knowledge in a field is the product of an on-going conversation among people with authority to speak.  As novices and outsiders, we are obligated to first listen in to what has been said but ultimately to add in some small way to this on-going conversation.  We should extend this conversation metaphor to our reading as well, listening in and talking with sources when we encounter them.  Writing "in the middle" of research can help with this
3. Academic inquiry.  In much school writing, we're taught to figure out what we think before we see what we say.  This leads to the rush to a thesis, nailing things down as quickly as possible.  But this rush to judgment is the antithesis of academic inquiry, whose purpose is discovery.  In academic inquiry we begin with questions, not answers, and in the process try to figure out what we think.
4. Essaying.  A verb that describes the process of writing to find out.   
5. Essay.  A genre that encourages essaying.  Meanings emerge later in an essay rather than in a billboard thesis in the introductory paragraph.  We write essays to find out. We write papers to prove.
6. Narrator.  Strong writers always narrate, even in formal writing.  Readers look for the guiding hand to lead them through the material, and if they sense it's missing, they'll stop reading.
7. Narrative.  The four elements of narrative--time, place, character, and causality--are often used in researched writing to keep readers interested.  We anchor larger questions and ideas to particular people, places, and times, and in this way make concepts and claims less abstract and remote.  
8. Narrative thinking.  Logical thinking is a powerful way to work with larger ideas and concepts by stripping away concern about context. We write about how a problem affects "society." Narrative thinking foregrounds context.  This is how the problem affects this person or this particular community.  
9. Genre.  Genre is not an inert container into which we pour information but a dynamic one.  It changes the information and the information alters the form.  Genre is something we see through, that influences what we see and how we see it.
10. Rhetoric.  Persuasive writing depends on the appropriate balance of ethos, pathos, and logos, and this balance is determined by analyzing one's audience and the writer's purpose.  

The  cover letters are a key part of the portfolio. I encourage you to spend time writing and thinking about your takeaways from the course, including how you've come to understand one or more of these themes.

Confessions of a "Librarian"

So in case you all didn't already know the library is open 24 hours a day this week and next week.  And as you can imagine and I'm sure you already knew a little bit first hand, college students are kind of a little bit crazy.  And we all know they're even crazier late at night when they're stressing about their finals and group projects and portfolios.
Now, I work in the library.  But I don't work there when all the normal kids are there because I work closing shifts.  I work until midnight during a regular week.  It gets a little weird.  And it's already gotten weirder.  Last night there was this guy checking out a laptop from the front desk, and I'm not totally sure why but he had a half dozen container of hard boiled eggs.  Am I missing something here?  Are those a really good study food or something? There was also a girl checking out some books who was really persistent in telling all of us working there that her uncle was crazy for having a service animal.  When we asked her why he was so crazy she launched into a huge explanation for why snakes can't really be service animals.  Until last night I was not even aware that there needed to be an argument against snakes being used as service animals.
Needless to say there are some strange happenings at the library, and as the hours get later and later I'll bet you that people will start being weirder and weirder.  So this week as I'm frantically trying to revise my papers behind the circulation desk I will try to keep on eye on all of these crazy kids, and hopefully I'll come away with some good stories to tell.  And also a decent portfolio for this class.  That's probably a little more important than a handful of weird stories.

Ashley Bates

DISCLAIMER: I wrote this blog post over a week ago but never typed it up, that is why my blog posts that seem to be written right after another are actually about my research paper over time.

I have found my brain running loose with this new kind of writing. In high school, we used specific outlines to get only specific wheels turning while stopping others. This class is like greasing up those wheels with some WD-40 and letting them run and run and run and run and spew out information and the new job is trying to get it all down on paper in a way that makes sense.

But this seems to be my biggest struggle. I have thrown out and rewritten my research paper so many times it's ridiculous. Why am I doing this? Because I keep on letting the wheels spin and the paper begins to go out of control. Having never written a research paper, I don't even have a funnel for those to go into.

This, I believe, is the function of those structures we all write again and again in high school. These annoying formulas are the funnels we use so that when we get to this class, we can let the wheels spin but also funnel out what we need.

I have decided to literally write out an outline, make my essay structured but also randomly let the wheels spin a little. I need to call back my internal critic that I let go of at the beginning of the year and find a little structure for these crazy wheels in my head.

Reflection for Portfolio

As I wrote my cover letter for my portfolio, it actually made me stop and think about the semester. In five days we will all officially be done with this class, and for some of us, done with English classes for the rest of our lives. And looking back on my past semester, I am very glad that I was put into this section of English 112. English has never been my favorite subject and I have always liked/been better at math and science. And if I am not good at something, there is a very good chance that I will not like it either. But as I wrote the cover letter and it asked what we would take away from this class and what we had learned this semester, I had to think before I was able to put it simply. I had learned many things throughout this class- making every writing piece personal, making a research essay interesting, how to transform a twelve page essay into a few bullet points, but after I looked at all the things that I had learned I realized that it all came back to me spending more time on each piece of writing. I do not like revising things. I would rather write it and be done with it. But taking the extra time while I am writing the initial piece and especially while I am revising, truly makes a piece that much better. Another big thing that I pulled out from writing the cover letter was that looking at an essay from the audience's point of view really helped my writing. Asking myself, would I take the time to read this? And if the question was no, then I knew that there was still work to be done on my essay. Although I feel that I went through these processes as the seamster went on, I did not consciously realize them until I wrote my cover letter.

This is it

I'm excited to get the portfolio done, but I'm not looking forward to the process of revising. I hope when I finish everything I am proud of it all, however, I worry that I'm never going to be satisfied with what I "finish". I know what I want to put in the portfolio, I think, but I don't know if I'll be happy with what I end up writing.

I'm sure everyone else knows this feeling. In fact there's really only one project that I'm really proud of right now and that's the re-purposing project. I know exactly how I want to change that and what I need to do to make it what I want. The other essays I know they need to change drastically but I don't know if I'll ever be happy with them. When I write I'm either extremely pleased with a project or I don't care about it very much and I hate revising essays. This will be interesting but it's important to remember that this is it, it's the end, it's our last chance to make these papers what we want.

Revising on my Closet Door

My closet door has found a new purpose in my academic life.

Video vs. Essay

            When I showed my video in class on Monday it felt weird. It was like writing a really bad essay and having someone read over it as a final draft, but ten times worse. I felt like I was much more exposed making a video than I ever have been writing an essay. It wasn’t just easy to change words on a page. I felt like the video did a much better job of catching my voice than an essay, and I guess that was the whole point of this project. I converted my essay to a different mode and I think it actually improved what AI was trying to say. The video format really let me choose how I wanted people to feel. Yes, you can do this with words too, but with a video you also have music, narration and the actual cinematography itself. It really allows one to create a mood on multiple dimensions. However, because this was a personal essay, all of those dimensions became personal too. It wasn’t just about how the audience felt, but also about it made me feel. What was the internal process I had to go through while writing this essay? I found myself asking this over and over again. When I was finished the reason it made me uncomfortable was because I think it somewhat captured that emotion. It made me feel like that with all of those dimensions I was putting myself out there more than before. It wasn't just because I thought I could improve on the video, and I certainly can. When I revise it I will definitely add clearer audio, maybe cut down the length just a little bit but I will definitely leave the same feel. The fact that it made me uncomfortable meant it worked, so I should keep the tone. However, this means I can’t tear every part down and remake it as I would like too. That would certainly get rid of the tone, and that “tone” is what I want to shine through when I turn it in, in my portfolio. 

Of Revision and Long-Windedness

Revision is not everybody's strong suit. We, especially as Honor's students, don't like to be told that we are wrong or what we do is incorrect. In high school, revision was not something I needed to utilize too often because I would get a good enough grade the first time around or my teacher's would not offer a higher grade than say, a 90/100 on a revised essay and here I am, stuck with a 93. I can see how this methodology can promote getting it right on the first try, but let's be honest, how often does that really happen? I am forced to be satisfied with a score I am not necessarily proud of because my teacher does not want to go through the trouble of re-grading.

Which is why I am actually really happy that we are somewhat being forced to revise our two essays for the portfolio. After our initial conference after turning in the rough draft of the research essay, Prof. Ballenger and I went over what corrections I could work on. I was pretty content with the way my rough draft turned out but there were a couple of things I knew which would need some tender, loving edits. Ballenger recommended something I like to refer to as, 'nit-picking'. My lengthy sentences needed chopping, my long-winded, sometimes cheesy-wording needed fixing, tidbits here and there which were basically just restatements needed the boot, you catch my drift.

I found this method of revision worked very well after the first go at it. I was able to chop down my word count by about 450 words with a couple hours. I am still continuing to revise my research essay while working on my political cartoons, and I hope that the next conference will have even more insight.

Final Portfolio

As I started working on my final portfolio Monday night, I was surprised by how easily everything came to me. When I first found out that we would have to revise our previous essays, I was worried about not being able to. When I was first editing my essays to turn in the rough draft, I read them over and over, but I was never able to add more to them. I had said all I wanted to say, but still hadn't quite reached the page requirement. I ended up giving up and turning in the shorter than required essays.

Now that it has been a while since I've looked at my essays, I can see them in a new light. Armed with new experience and a handful of advice,  I have already added a lot to my research essay and have fulfilled the original page requirement. My personal essay is still harder for me to write, as was expected, but the words definitely come easier to me than the first time I wrote it.

I hope there are others who are finding this project easier than expected, because although it may not seem like we learned a lot of concrete material this semester, I think that everyone has improved their writing since taking this class.

Revising

I have been working for the past week or so (before thanksgiving break not during) on my final portfolio. I decided to give myself a break over thanksgiving and I didn't work on revising any of my essays. On Monday I received a lot of good advice on revising my website. I will try to work on the fixes that everyone in class gave me ideas about to make my website better. I want to use my website, research essay, and personal essay in my final portfolio. I have done the grammar and basic fixes to my personal essay. I still need to fully revise it and put a "new face" to it. I have done some of the big revising already to my research essay. I did Dr.Ballenger's idea of cutting up the essay and moving paragraphs to make your essay more cohesive and help it flow better. I did actually move around a couple of paragraphs. I think my essay makes more sense now and I am happier with it. However, I still need to work on changing both of my essays more. It is hard for me to do more than just the easy to see fixes. I will try to use more of Dr.Ballenger's tips about revising from the blog.

My dog ate my homework...

After making it through our first day back from break, I have to say that I'm a little bit surprised that I made it.  That was probably the longest Monday I've ever lived.  It seemed like every time I turned around there was some other thing that I still had to take care of.  Granted, I knew about a lot of these things before we left for Thanksgiving so none of them should have really caught me by surprise.  It's kind of funny that I made up so many lists and agendas and promises that I would get so much work done on each day of the break so that I would be caught up or ahead in all of my classes.  Now that we're back I'm wondering what happened to all of those lists and promises, because I haven't see any of them since last Friday.  And I'm guessing that I'm not the only student on campus who "forgot" to do any of their homework over the break.  So basically now is the time to cram.
These next two weeks or so are probably going to be the closest thing I can imagine to having a hell on earth, but as soon as we're done it's out of the frying pan and into our houses with our parents and Christmas lights and yummy food and relaxation.  Doesn't that just sound lovely?

Ashley Bates

Some Thoughts

Originally I was going to post about my portfolio and my revising but as I scroll through the blog I thought I was mix up the posts a little bit. It has been very interesting to see everyones presentations the past few weeks. Everyone's project is so different from each other and I like to see all the different aspects that we all have taken on the same assignment. I also admire those who truly stepped out of their comfort zone, and did something completely new.
In particular, I found the radio essays very interesting to listen to. When I first head some people talking about their radio essay, I was a little skeptical about it and was unsure how effective they would be. But I really have enjoyed listening to them. Each has been very unique and different from the others, even though they are radio essays. When I think about myself trying to make a radio essay, I feel like it would be hard for me to get across true emotion and feelings. But all the ones we listened to were very powerful, and I felt that the emotion was portrayed very well.
Also I do not know why this did not occur to me before, but those who created a website truly made something that others could use. For example, if I Googled "Colorado River",  Sydney's website could come up, and I could use the information from her. Although we could all share our project, there is a good possibility that few people will exactly see our projects. But a website it something that really gets your information out to a very large audience.

Awkward.

Well. I just have some random notes. I'm feeling scatterbrained today.

I had a pretty uneventful break... it was just really boring. Most of my time was spent working or at a cabin with a bunch of people I am not particularly fond of. Thus, I spent probably more time than most working on homework. So I pretty much finished my portfolio. I mean it wasn't fun but I was already bored so I may as well have. I think I need to work a little more but it's just about done.

Have you noticed how the doorknob on this building doesn't actually turn? I try to turn it every single time. I mean, I know it won't but I try every time. Does everyone do that?


I think I came to college with so many opinions. I am not sure if I have opinions anymore. I see so many things I didn't before. I want to sympathize with every argument.

If you are going to make an argument about anything. If you are going to start a movement about anything. If you are going to support anything. Please educate yourself. I am just about done with ignorance.

Suggestions for Revision

It's revision time. But what does that really mean?  Typically, we think about revision as "fixing things" (e.g. putting in citations, correcting grammar, tidying up sentences).  This editorial work is important, but revision, as the name implies, involves more than that.  It involves "re-seeing," which can mean anything from scrapping a first draft and starting over again with the real subject, or clarifying and developing a new question or thesis.  The problem with this, of course, is time. Student writers are understandably reluctant to surrender to the inefficiency of re-seeing.  So why do it, other than hopes of getting a better grade?  Because there can be a lot of pleasure in discovering what you didn't know you knew, and at being surprised at what you have discovered.  A major theme of the course is that we write to learn.  If we let it, writing can lead thought, not trail behind it.

As a practical matter, though, how do you begin revision?  Here are my suggestions:

1. Re-read a draft, set it aside. and then fastwrite for as long as you can about what you noticed about the piece, what you're thinking now about it, what you might be trying to say but not quite saying.  Explore what you think is working and what might need work. Think through writing about what you've done in a draft and what you might do.
2. Attack it physically.  Sometimes we can't seem to escape the pull of a first draft enough to see it freshly.  One solution is to literally take it apart so it doesn't look like the thing you started with.  This is especially useful for research essays.  For how to do this, see " Exercise 5.3: Cut and Paste Revision" on p. 196 of Curious Researcher.
3. Start with the most important thing:  What is the draft trying to say?  What is the SOFT?  To re-orient yourself to this, answer this question in writing:  What do I understand now about this topic that I didn't fully appreciate when I first starting writing about it?  Then tell yourself the story of how your thinking evolved from the beginning.  Skip a line, and answer the question you started with again.  Write this on a notecard and pin it above your desk.  Now go through your draft and ask yourself, "Does the information in each paragraph move the readers towards understanding what I'm trying to say on that notecsard?"
4. Multiple leads.  We've done this before as a class exercise.  But I can't overstate how powerful different beginnings can be in revision.  Work towards finding a place to begin that establishes the purpose of your essay:  the question, dilemma, problem, or idea that you're interested in.

I'll talk more with everybody in conference next week about their specific questions.

Back to Work

Coming back from break can be hard. Everyday during break I had a hard time actually convincing myself to do homework. The past two days I've been doing homework like crazy and I'm not ready to go back to classes tomorrow. I'm excited that there are only three weeks of semester left but I need to get back into the swing of things. A week of relaxing completely got me off my game, time to come back to reality!

The Trouble with Portfolios

Like all of you, I'm sure, I had the brilliant idea to work on my English portfolio over the break.

Needless to say, I have not accomplished all that I wanted to. I partially blame the three other projects I have had to do over the break, but with this break has also come an extreme lack of motivation to do anything.

I've tried to work on everything, when I'm not working that is. I just don't seem to have any motivation to do anything.

I've decided that I am revising my research and personal essays. I feel that those two essays will best represent the progress I have made throughout the semester. I'm not a very personal person to begin with, so write about my life or using life experience was a real change for me. 

My only worry is that my research essay will not turn out the way I want it to. I chose a challenging topic and I fear that will not be able to successfully support the point I am trying to make. Luckily, I have another two weeks with lots of people to help me. In the end, I think everything will turn out alright.

That Fairly Brilliant Thought (is not so brilliant after all)

Like many of us, I had the fairly brilliant thought of what to accomplish over Thanksgiving Break: Work on my Portfolio.

I know that my Personal, Research, and Re-Genre Essay are all begging to be edited, to become better, to not suck as much. But I'm sorry to tell them that I don't know where to start.

 My Personal Essay was so long ago I've forgotten what was wrong with it. There is, no doubt, many things wrong, but I don't know how to go back and edit an essay I wrote as a different person than I am now.

My Research Essay was written not as long ago, and I feel much more confident in it. I know the deeper criticism, and I know the easy fixes. But for the more in depth criticism I was given, I don't know how to start. I was given good criticism- I know that doing what people suggested would improve the essay, but I don't think I can. People suggested to go more in depth on certain aspects of my essay, but there isn't much more to delve into.

The Re-Genre Essay was a surprising success. I wasn't necessarily worried when presenting to the class, but I didn't think it would be good. I thought my imitating of my dad was ridiculous, and I was pretty sure you could hear some jingling in the background that was distracting. Apparently all my inner insecurities about this essay were for naught- it was decent. Got good reviews. And while I sincerely appreciate the good feedback, I don't know how to make it better. This Radio Essay was a first draft, I have to improve upon it. But with the good feedback I got, I don't know where to go, and I'm hesitant to change anything.

I'm someone who likes-no-needs to have a plan in order to move in with their life. As long as I know what I have to do and when I'm going to do it, I can watch Castle now, right?

Needless to say, I'm going to be very happy when I talk to Dr. Ballenger and discuss all these issues and make a plan.

Revising and Re-Evaluating

     I originally thought that the Re-Genre project would be a breeze for me. I had always been interested in radio and the power of words and music, and could think of no better situation with which to get my feet wet and test the waters.
     I thought that creating my radio essay would be extremely easy, seeing as I had a personal essay full of perfect content and the proper production software. It wouldn't just be easy, it would be fun!
It most definitely was fun - because I had proper content, I was really able to focus on the production aspect. I knew I needed to cut back on my content to give the audience time to think, but I chalked that up to it being a draft.
    I expected all of your comments about the pace of the radio essay, and plan to address that in my final draft. What I didn't expect were the comments about the music and it's application in a radio essay. I was a bit dismayed to find that some of you thought that the music added artistic and production value, and that others thought it took away from what I was saying - and not only that- that it actually diminished the importance of what I had to say.
     Although I can see both sides of the argument, as a musician, I am inclined to think that music enhances the message. Walk into any non-denominational Christian church and I will guarantee that the pastor will have some sort of music playing behind the final part of his message, to set the mood. I went into my radio essay with the same approach. I thought that the almost poetry-slam mood would enhance the content of my essay and bring it to life. Apparently, not everyone felt the same.
     Though I will most likely include music in my final draft, I will do so a bit reluctantly. I respect all of you as my classmates, and hold your criticism in high regard. If anything, this project is teaching me how and when to accept criticism and how to use it to revise your work. I just wish I knew how to discern better which criticism I will accept.

Portfolio

I started work on my portfolio and realized this semester has gone so fast. It is crazy to think that we are almost done with our first semester of college. Part of me feels like we just started, like I was just moving in to the dorms and meeting everyone yesterday. Another part feels like I have been here so long. Like these people have been in my life for an astonishingly long time. 

Thus, I have begun work on my portfolio since time often seems to speed up when a large project is due. I have found it really interesting to look back at my old papers. I can see the transformation that I have made as a student and as a writer.

I think it is interesting to note that we have all only been here for a few months but I have, as I am sure so many of you have, experienced such a transition in myself. As Ballenger says, I have had a bit of a learning plateau in a lot of areas of my life in the past few months. But, in a way, it has been a great experience thus far. I am looking forward to the rest of college.

Sorry for the mildly ramble tone to this post. Forgive me for my break laziness.

Finally Getting it all Together

While the draft I turned in on Blackboard of my podcast was not the best, I am proud of it (mostly because I figured out some of the editing). I was terrified that I would be chosen to present to the class. The last thing I want to do is listen to my own voice playing in front of an entire class. I can handle public speaking no problem but having to listen to my podcast with everyone really scares me. I would rather just turn it in and forget about it. While doing my re-genre project, I started to think about the cover letter we will write for our portfolio and I had a moment where I actually think I did learn something. One doesn't go to and English class expecting to learn much; we all know how to write. But I can see what Dr. B is trying to teach us and how he wants us to view academic writing differently. I also started working on my cover letter once I had that epiphany. I am glad I have something real to write about for that instead of having to make something up.

I feel like I have had so much to do these past few weeks and it is finally slowing down a bit and I can get on top of it all. My plan is to work on all of my essays over the break so I can hopefully come back and have my portfolio relatively done. I have every intention of making the most out of this break and getting a lot of my work done... hopefully I can actually stick with it!

The Value of the Re-Genre Project/Ted-X

Somehow I was fortunate enough to be able to do a Ted-X talk for my Re-Genre project. This works pretty well for me because I applied to speak at Ted X in January. Although I'm not sure if I will be selected yet, I feel very grateful that I had the opportunity to try to take a practice shot at it. I watched several videos on how to give a ted-x speech and I feel that I will take skills out of this project that improve my speaking skills either way. I've learned about different inflection/ ways to project your voice intentionally to add emotion to your speech. I was always naturally good at it, but I learned how to take it to the next level. Furthermore, I've always struggled with hand motions. I've often had a habit of "throwing my hands" like a rapper, where almost every word I am speaking with my hands. (I am of course Italian, it isn't my fault, it's in my culture) However, after watching some of these videos I learned how to use your hands at impactful moments so as to help use body language emphasize your point. Body language makes up somewhere between 80-93% of communication. That means words are only a lousy 7%. People decide what they think of you from how you present yourself, how you make them feel. It is often said that an audience will not remember what you said, but rather, the way you make them feel.
The Ted-X talks also do an incredible job of utilizing all 3 types of appeal (Ethos, Pathos, Logos)
The most impressive part of this though is that Ted-X is a master of focusing on the Pathos. it has taught me how to shape my Ethos and Logos in a manner that best appeals to someones Pathos. Again, the Pathos is the most important because a speech is really about how people feel afterwards. One must use their Ethos to build credibility and Logos to deliver a powerful message. The Ted-X guides teach you how to use the boring parts of Logos, like statistics, and make sense of them in a way that not only makes it easy to understand, but also easy to visualize and internalize. The Greeks felt that the ability to be a good speaker was one of the greatest God-Given abilities one could be given. If you look at who society values most highly today, this seems to have remained true through the years. However, Ted-X and the other top speakers of the world know that the ability to be a talented public speaker comes from practice, just like an instrument, you must be honed and constantly considering your every movement and projection.

Editing :(

I have to be honest, editing is my least favorite part of any project. I'm glad I presented before the break, because the feedback I received was very valuable, and will make editing easier. I am one of those people that has so much confidence in my creations, that I tend to not take criticism well, even when it's helpful and well-put. Luckily, I definitely see how I can make my project better by being mindful of what you all said.

So, thanks to everyone who gave me good advice today. I may or may not work on it over break. We shall see!

Re-Genre Project

   Yas! The semester is coming to it's end which means that we all have hundreds of assignments and projects due and we just keep saying to ourselves, "I'll get it done during the break." I feel like this is one of those projects. I feel like the amount of time that I had to work on was so little which just lets to me beleiving that I probably did a terrible work and ruin the message that I wanted to send through my infographic. Hopefully, I will get to work more in detail with in during the break and achieve my final draft while hopefully I'll enjoy much more than this one.

Secret

Guys, I'm about to let you all in on a little secret.

I am absolutely terrified to present my poetry slam today.
I had to video tape my performance (making it easier for Dr. Ballenger to review) and I feel that making this video will take away from the message, away from the effect I was going for.

I am afraid that my poem will make no sense, that the video will look horrible, and that I will horribly embarrassed in the process. However, that is one of the defining characteristics of the genre I am working in. It's full of vulnerability and there really isn't a way to escape that.

Also, I hate watching myself on video tape. If I don't have to sit through it, then it might be better.

Well, enough worrying. It will be over soon enough.

Counting Down the Weeks

Getting closer and closer to the end of semester and I just can't believe how fast it all went! Maybe this is just because this is my first semester in college and I really enjoyed my classes but I feel like this has gone so fast, in high school semesters went so slowly! And in a lot of ways a semester didn't matter in high school because you took mostly the same classes the next semester so may that has a hand in it but I'm so excited for next semester. Just thinking about the semesters to come is exciting but knowing the amount of credits I have to take constantly so I can graduate early is overwhelming sometimes. However, I need to take things one day at a time and I think that's something important to keep in mind, don't think too far in the future focus on now and work your way into the future.

Repurposing Essay

I'm really excited at how my video turned out! I'm not completely satisfied but it's a draft and I think it's pretty good for what it is. My only concern is that I have some blank places (visually) that while I was editing I had an idea to fill them, but since it was late I couldn't get what I wanted so they are still blank. Also I'm not completely sure I'm satisfied with the ending because it may seem slightly cliched but I had people watch it and they said it was fine. However, I'm happy with how it turned out otherwise, I feel like I worked with what I had pretty well. I just hope it's not disappointing when I see it today after the euphoria of finishing has worn off!

The Ongoing Struggle

I've finished the first draft of my radio essay, and I think I'm happy with it.

My radio essay is on my research paper, as I discussed in a previous blogpost. In a nutshell, I'm discussing how I've lived in the Netherlands for the past eight years, now I live in America and not only is the transition between cultures hard, it leaves me asking the question, "Where do I call home? Where can I say I am from?"

Through my research paper I decided that it is ok to have a national identity comprised of both cultures, however this personal struggle of national identity is ongoing. I don't know where I belong--the Netherlands, or America? When people ask me "Where are you from?" it's not as simple as "Oh I'm from Nampa," or, "Oh, I'm from Colorado." I have actually been asked this enough to have it memorized: "I'm American, but I've lived the past eight years overseas in the Netherlands. Why Boise? My grandparents live here, and I have residency in Idaho. Boise is my 'home' in the States."

Personally, I find that my personal national identity is made up of both American culture and European culture, and that is ok. But as I write this radio essay, I feel like it deserves a solid, concrete ending saying "Yes! I am American!" or "Yes! I am European!" that I cannot give it.

Time for a Break

Although the title of my blog my hint that I am more than ready for Thanksgiving break (as I am sure many of you are feeling at this point too) I also meant for my re-genre project. This week has been incredibly busy for me, three quizzes and two tests. And of course, I have been having trouble concentrating because of the thought that almost down to the hour in three days I will be boarding an airplane. But along with my studying, I have also had this project, which has been fun to create. I used it as a break from my others studies. Whenever I felt like I was getting nothing done or found myself on Instagram again, I would start to work on this project. It was much more fun than my other classes and gave me a chance to use my more creative side. This also gave my brain a (small) break. I also believe that not working on my project all at once helped to make it more appealing for my audience because as I got new ideas for it, I would incorpoate them into the project. Although I would not say that I am one hundred percent satisfied with it quite yet, I think it is a very good start and I am happy with how the first "draft" came out. But with that being said, these three days need to hurry up, so we can all go on (real) break!

Finishing Touches

I am finally getting to the point where I am quite satisfied with the outcome of my website. Of course, its not perfect, but I think it is a good website (considering it was the first website I have ever created). Using the research I found on "how to make a good website" I tried to make my website as easy to read as possible, interesting, informative and fun. I have sent the link to my website to some members of my family and they all say they like it. However, they could just be saying this because they are family and want to be nice haha. My uncle is a professor at Northern Arizona University and he is a guide for explorations in the Grand Canyon and on the Colorado River. My grandma gave me the idea to ask my uncle about his experience on the Colorado River since he goes on rafting expeditions on a regular basis. During Thanksgiving break I will talk to my uncle about his first hand experience of the decreased water levels. I could possibly put my talk with him as an interview on my website. I have also added some of my own personal pictures onto my website to show my experience with the Colorado River. My pictures don't really support my claim but I think they are fun and they make the website more personalized. Viewers want to feel a personal connection to the actual website creator. I am going to finish up some more little fixes on my website and get ready to turn it in and present it on Wednesday.

My issues with this project

I spent the weekend debating elitism in education; especially the presence of institutional barriers that prevent impoverished individuals or minorities from accessing education. Thus, I have been contemplating these ideas a lot the past few days.

I arrived home Monday afternoon and was discussing the re-genre project with my roommates. I learned that numerous other classes are requiring something similar. Several of my friends are working on videos, prezis, etc. As we sat there we began to discuss how difficult it was for all of us to work with this technology that we had no understanding us. It then occurred to me that I had experienced this elitism in education at BSU.

Most of the re-genre projects require some sort of sophisticated, expensive technology. Many of them require things like printing or recording equipment that is hard to come by. I am not indicting Ballenger but the university itself. We create this expectation of a certain level of accessibility that may not necessarily be a part of several people's lives. I personally have access to the resources I need for this project but we cannot assume that all are like ourselves. By doing so, we have created a sense of elitism in education that has made education exclusionary.

Just something to consider.

The Struggle for Balance

For the past four days I have been working relentlessly on the script for my poetry slam.
I've twisted my concept to fit so many different angles, trying to capture this idea that I have. I thought I had one today, but that was before talking to Dr. Ballenger.

What is most ironic in this situation is the fact that the poetry slam leaves the narrator vulnerable, something that I am wholly against. I hate being vulnerable, being open to rejection or judgement. In an effort to skirt around this I tried to use sarcasm and bitterness to skirt around my true feelings for the subject. After having Dr. Ballenger read my draft, I realized that there wasn't a way for me to skirt around the vulnerability aspect of this assignment.

I have tried to find a good balance between research and personal feelings/experience and have tried extremely hard to write my poem in such a way as to not offend anyone. If anything, I would like you all to know that I am very conscious of what a touchy subject and I have done my best to not be offending.

Since class time today I have re-written my script, again. I feel that this version not only contains the research I want to present, but does a better job at illustrating my emotions towards the issue. There is some symbolism in my poem that I hope people will understand.

And despite the fact that I think I will have to end up revising it again, I am hopeful that this version will portray exactly what I want.

I guess I'll just have to wait and see what you guys think.

Formatting

 I have enjoyed this re-genre project.  It helps that my project requires me to look through old family vacation photos, but I have also enjoyed learning about everyone else’s re-genres. I think the radio essays and the poetry slam will be especially interesting.  I love podcasts myself and find them very interesting so I’m excited to see what my classmates will come up with.  With my project I am now deciding how exactly I should format my photo essay.  The photo essay Braving Ebola that I discussed in class is currently my favorite format.  I liked how it was in a slideshow format with a white background and minimal distractions.  I think I will probably try to set mine up like that.  But I’m still playing around with a few other ideas so we’ll see what I end up with.

Poetry Slams? Yes, yes it does.

Maybe I am just over thinking this, but this script is much harder to write than I originally thought it would be.
I suppose that is because I am trying to find a good balance between statistics and feminist attitude. I am not one of those "man-hating" feminists, and I don't want my project to portray that either. However, as I read what I have written, I feel that all people would take away is the bitter sarcasm in it. I don't want people to just write this off as some 'speech' by just another feminist. I would like people to simply think about how religion might be influencing this issue.

I feel like this is a really big deal that no one seems to know or even consider. It absolutely blows my mind that the general population has not been introduced to this idea. Who would have thought that the gender we consider God to be could be having a profound affect on our thoughts towards feminism and gender equality? And to me, it makes perfect sense, but maybe I'm the only one who sees this connection as significant.

I want to portray just how significant this idea is while not overloading on the attitude.

And besides all of this, the Christmas music on the radio is rather distracting.

When I originally started to think about what to do for me re-genre assignment, I was a little nervous. I didn't know what previous assignment to do and what genre to pick. I finally decided on my personal essay and to do a podcast. Once I started working on my script for the podcast, it came so easily! I was quite surprised how quickly my ideas flowed. I'm approaching the podcast as if I was just talking to a group of people, like any other conversation I might have about the topic to my friends. I think that the podcast genre is much less formal than the regular writing I originally did and that made it easier to write. I'm actually excited about doing this project (probably because I feel like it's easy). My plan is to finish my portfolio during Thanksgiving break so that when I come back I have at least one less thing to worry about.

Okay, I'm sticking to my idea this time!

 So I started this project with a vision in my head of how my research paper would translate into a video. I was all ready to find the proper footage, and put it together and add narration. I knew I could do it, and I was actually prepared. Then, I saw the PowerPoints about the infographic, and I knew that was the genre for me!

After class on Monday, my mind was whirling with all of the new ideas and the new plan of action. I figure I can do a video, which I know from personal experience would take a long time, and make something that's, eh, passable.  Or I can do the infographic in a new format (an idea courtesy of my engineer's brain) that will be much more effective, because I already have a good image that will show what I'm trying to get across. The old, "a pictures worth a thousand words", definitely applies in my case.

I'm excited for my new project! I just hope I can execute the picture I have in my head. If I can do that, I'll be golden!

My Website

I have started to create my website and have actually become quite pleased with my progress. I thought creating a website would be more difficult than it actually was. However, even though it is easy to make a website, doesn't mean that you have created a good website. I want my website to be easy to maneuver through and actually fun to read. I have decided that I am going to add in a survey on my website to keep the website interactive and keep my viewers engaged. I am trying to cut down some of the information on my website so its not too wordy. Obviously, if a website gets too wordy you get overwhelmed and bored with the site. Plus, although the purpose to my website is to inform readers about the crisis of the Colorado River, it is mostly to gain followers for the cause. I want to get the problem noticed. I want everyone to want to join in conserving water. After reviewing my website mock up today I have decided that I want to add in somewhere on my website the actual water levels of the Colorado River. I could probably update the water levels weekly or monthly. I could attach a link to my website that actually brings viewers to another website that updates the water levels at a more frequent rate. I don't want to do this though because I want all of my information on my website. I don't want to make viewers click on many different links and leave my site to go to another website. It is fun to add in different features to my website that I think the viewers will enjoy and appreciate. I have kept the color pallet natural and stayed away from abrasive colors. My background is a faded picture of the Colorado River. Then I have light gray text boxes and white text. All of my headers are a light yellow. I have started adding more pictures to my website and explained the importance of them.

Now what?

I was really worried about my Re-Genre Project (like most of us, I'd imagine).

All I had was a personal essay which was too personal, and a Research Essay that had researchable qualities but was mostly personal.

As much as I want to talk about Third Culture Kids and their struggle in finding a country they belong to, the only audience I can present to that would find this topic immensely interesting would be other Third Culture Kids.

Even my mother was having trouble with how to re-do an essay into a new genre which didn't have much information that you all would be interested in.

Finally, I talked to Dr. Ballenger and he made me realize that I had to attempt this project as if Im delivering it to an audience made up entirely of Third Culture Kids.

Once that was out of the way, the question remained: How do I re-do my research essay about what makes up one's personal national identity into a new form? What form would it be?

Dr. Ballenger informed me that the most obvious form my essay could take would be a radio essay.

Ok.

Now what do I write about?

"Your story."

Ok.

Now what do I write about?

I have so many stories related to me being a Third Culture Kid. Do I talk about when we moved to the NL? Do I talk about living in the NL? Do I talk about moving back to the States? How the transition between Europe and America was? Take directly from my research essay and how I struggled with being both European and American?

I have the beginning of the essay- starting with explaining the situation and when we got the call to move overseas, but I don't have anything after that.

What do I write about?

What experience do I have that is interesting to listen to, moving, and still connected to my research essay?

Re-Genre Project

       For this Re-genre project I have decided to go with an infographic, since my research paper is about the side effects of beauty pageants in young and grown-up participants. It seems like a great way to quickly inform the audience about what might be found appealing to the reader in short pieces of information with a wide range of statistics. I am actually excited about it, I never been too good when it comes to thinking about a really creative or unique way of how to come up with designing a concept for projects like this, but I think that teaming up with others and letting them present your idea about how you are planning to come up with this and letting them share their own, helped me get on a path of what I wanted to add or include on it, maybe even have an idea of how to get it started, etc. I already know what I want to include in my infographic due and thanks to the help of the small groups from last week, however, since we have a limited amount of this to do this project I feel like I may not achieve the outcome that I really am looking forward to.

Re-Genre

I have chosen to create a brochure for my project because I am using my research paper on gluten, and a brochure is a great way to inform a large audience very quickly. I also feel that I have the right information to make my brochure visually appealing but also informative. But it was interesting to see all the other ideas that people came up with their projects. I have never been the most creative person, so I liked listening to others ideas and what they plan to do for their project. I also thought it was very cool how some people want to include their own personal talents into theirs. For example Luke is going to do a podcast for his project, and when we were talking in small groups last week, he said that he wanted to be able to play music in his. This was because not only did he think it would add to his piece, but he loves to play music. Since we have a limited amount of time to do this project, some of the final projects may not be very "final" but I still think it will be very interesting to see the variety of things that everyone will come up.

Re-Genre to Re-Nightmare?

So I've gotten it into my head that I am going to do a poetry slam.

Don't ask me where the idea came from. If I had to guess, it probably came from the part of my brain that is a little out-of-touch with reality. I only know the tiniest bit about poetry slams, and I really have no desire to preform my assignment in front of the class. However, every time I try to start a different genre my brain shuts down and refuses to cooperate.

So, a poetry slam it is.

I am a bit nervous to start this project, but I hope to have quite a bit of fun with it as well. Maybe I would be less anxious if I could just pause time and dedicate myself to this project.
But don't we all wish we could do that?

So, I am going to watch a bunch of poetry slams, write a passionate and angry poem, revise, trash it, write one again, and repeat the process until I think I can maybe, kind of do this thing. I look forward to sharing with all of you, and I cannot wait to see other projects as well. I think we are all going to have a bit of fun with this new assignment.

Re-genre

I have to admit that I am a bit terrified of this project. I am doing a video and I have actually never used a video software. In fact, I literally just downloaded a video editing software. I am quite worried that it will be an absolute mess.

However, one of the parts of my project I needed was a video of a debate. I got these by starting to take videos of practice rounds. It was incredibly interesting. I have never watched myself debate so that was a very self-actualizing experience for me. Further, it was very interesting to watch myself interact with my teammates between speeches and before the start of the round.

I would encourage you to record yourself doing something. Anything. I learned a lot about myself doing so and I imagine most people would. The way we perceive our actions is quite different from the actual actions we take.

Re-genre project

I’m a little tentative to start the re-genre project. It’ll be the first time I've truly used Photoshop in over a year, so I’m worried my skills are a bit out of practice. Though at the same time, I’m happy that I get to try again.

For so long in High school the only design experience I had was putting together text and pictures to create a newspaper layout. Even though I loved doing it, it had started to get a little tedious. It was simple and not a lot of design strategy went into it. I miss putting in the effort to make something look interesting, finding colors that work well together, and choosing the perfect font.

It’s a little strange that the first opportunity to do something like this would be for an English class.
As I was researching an infographic in class on Wednesday words like juxtaposition and typography came up and it reminded me of my freshman graphic design class. I had forgotten how much I liked designing things, and this project will hopefully bring back the motivation to start designing again.

I've never done an infographic before though, so it will be a new experience for me. I don’t even know where to start, but hopefully the ideas will come to be easily like they have done in the past.

Communication-it's what we need to be successful

As I spoke with professor Ballenger at our last conference, something came up that seems to be the great force driving this class to its greatest potential--communication. Ballenger stated that, never before, had he seen so many of us going up to professors and important people to ask for help in our research papers, personal essays, and other scholarly things. This, I must agree, has been what has made this class so special.

I never realized how important this really was until I decided to ask around about my research topic. Being an athletic training major with a research topic of concussions, I had many people to speak to, I just hadn't taken the time to actually talk to them. In one of my huge lecture classes, I have a professor named Dr. Koob. She is an amazing teacher and, honestly, a bit of a unapproachable god in my eyes. I finally pushed past the fear of saying something stupid in front of her (again) and asked her about concussions. Immediately, her face lit up and she went on about how that was exactly the type of thing we were talking about in the next unit and that it was even in the book. That moment when I finally stepped up to talk to her is when I truly realized the importance of communication. I can now talk to her about grades and I also know she is there for me if I need help improving my essay or info-graphic. This moment when I realized how important communication is, has helped me approach so many people and ask the questions I need to ask to put me in the right position to drive my future and make me the best person and athletic trainer I can be.

Personal Essay Photos

I'm hoping to re-genre my personal essay. My personal essay was about traveling and the impact it has on me. Specifically, the impact seeing the Normandy D-Day beaches had on me. My plan is to dramatize that essay using a photographic essay. I have lots of photos from my trip there. I'm hoping to display some of my photos next to old photos of the beaches. Maybe displayed next to photos on the actual day of the invasion and photos of the aftermath of the invasion. I plan on including a few quotes from maybe my actual essay but also a variety of other quotes.  I'm going to try and find quotes from the days leading up to D-Day and the days right after, maybe some Churchill and Eisenhower quotes.   We'll see how this goes. I love photography so I'm excited to work with some older photos. But, most importantly, I will try my best to be respectful of this topic and all it means. Visiting the beaches impacted me deeply and I want to highlight that while giving honor where it is due. Hopefully I can compile a photographic essay that accomplishes these goals. I'm excited to get to work. 

What I'm Thinking

     Though this is not directly related to the re-genre project, I feel the need to blog about my thoughts recently. Though they may be relevant only to me, I feel as though many other students may be going through the same thought process that I am.
     Perhaps it's the intellectual environment of a college campus, or perhaps it's simply the current stage of life I'm in, but recently I've been struggling to find meaning and a greater purpose in my existence. I've been thinking about the way that I live and what I believe, and how they change the world around me. I wonder - if I don't know myself and what I stand for, how can I possibly have a positive impact on the world around me? Why am I here? Why am I a computer scientist? How important is my faith to me? Do I think in a way that is conducive to my faith? Is my faith curtailing my intellectual development or exploration? Am I preparing myself to lead a life that matters? These are the questions that I'm currently seeking the answers to.
     A college education is definitely not essential to change the world. Countless professionals and leaders have made huge positive contributions to society without a degree. However, I feel that at this stage in my life, I'm meant to be here at Boise State, learning, honing leadership skills, making friends, etc. I've learned as much outside the classroom as I have inside, chiefly by interacting with my peers and my professors. It's amazing how much one can learn through simple conversations, if you pay close enough attention.
     Why do I post about such things? Well, I've noticed how the process of academic inquiry and critical thinking are essential when seeking the answers to these questions. Though I haven't found what I seek yet, I've been able to focus my questions and introspection by using the aforementioned techniques.
     I also just watched a thought-provoking and inspirational documentary on a San Diego legend, Slomo, a man who had it all and gave it up to rollerskate down the Pacific Beach Boardwalk every day. The link can be found here, and I highly reccommend you take the 15 minutes to watch it:

http://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000002796999/slomo.html

Slomo's inherited motto, "do what you want to", gave me a new outlook on the possible answers to my questions. Perhaps I am here, learning and honing my skills, simply to do what I want to do. Perhaps a life of significance can only be measured by oneself, not by others? Maybe the ultimate acheivement is to be able to lie on one's deathbed, look back on life, and be satisfied and happy with how you spent your time?
     I hope this post isn't too long - it definitely strayed into the territory of my personal essay. I think I may explore some of these thoughts with my radio essay re-genre.

Re-Genre Project

I have been trying to come up with some ideas for my website. I thought that I would pick a layout that I liked and just put my information wherever I thought it would look good. However, when Dr. Ballenger had us research our media genre I learned that there was much more behind the scenes thought into creating a website. Even if I want to make my website cute and glitzy I realized that having a busy website is the exact opposite of what viewers want. A website needs to be simple, clean, and easy to read. I also learned through my research that the content needs to be short and concise but also needs to hook your reader within ten seconds. This made me rethink how much information I would be able to put into my website. Nobody is going to want to read all of the facts I want to display. So, I will need to choose the most important facts that will have the biggest impact. My website needs to be functional and correct. I can't have any misspellings! I also need to remember who my audience is. I am making this website for the viewers not me. I need to try to make my website original. I have to come up with some clever things that will make my website stand out from everybody else's website. The website has to be fun and engaging. The most important aspect to making a good website is having a purpose. I can't get distracted with saying too much stuff on my website. I have to SOFT!

Stoked to Re-Genre

I have been waiting this entire semester to have an assignment that is more than just a paper. I love using Photoshop and Adobe Elements to create cool things. My mom is a graphic designer, and my dad is a scientist, and I inherited both sides. I am going into Material Science, but there's that part of me that would love to just major in art. Doing projects like this are essential for me to unleash my creativity. I am so excited for my project, especially since I already have a vision. I'm looking forward all the more to Thanksgiving break because that's when I will have access to the programs I need to complete my vision. I have a feeling I might run into problems once I get started, but for now I am extremely hopeful and stoked to see what I will create!

Re-Genre

This re-genre project sounds like a challenge to me. Part of me is really excited for what is coming up, but at the same time I feel like it is going to take a lot of time and patience, which is something that I really don't have, to succeed in it. I am still not so sure as to what media I wanted to use for my project maybe, a sort of photographic essay or a slide show not, so sure yet there are so many ways I can go with on this one. I have decided, however, to do it based on my personal essay which is why it may come as a challenge in some point. It would be fun though, getting out of the usual type of thing that we do in english class and focus into something else while still keeping up wiith what you are meant to do in an english class.

This week I totally scrapped my research paper and started over, approaching it a new way. Along with way, I found that free writing and talking to the author can really help. I took an article and copied it into word then read it while keeping my fingers at the ready to type a response or an idea or a solution or question or…well, you get the idea—I was on a roll. Never before did I realize the potential for these articles to be, not only regurgitated, but also manipulated. It is like having a conversation within the text, there just isn't a response. Going through this article and responding to it before I took it apart really gave me a reason to read it and a direction to go when it came to placing the facts in the paper. I am so thankful this has finally clicked and I am actually excited to research now! Let the conversing begin!

Re-Genre Value

I have to say that, although it's early, I think this may turn out to be one of the most valuable assignments that we do. This is because it has application to more than just writing. One of the flaws of many general education classes is their lack of interconnectivity among other courses. English is JUST about writing, Biology ONLY about science etc. Teaching this way is fundamentally flawed and lacks real world application. In the real world we often have to combine multiple different knowledge bases and skill sets in order to produce the kinds of works that employers search for.
Right now my topic and the way I plan to re-genre it is of particular interest to me. As many of you know I've been working on the militarization of law enforcement. Basically, this is the policy of old military equipment being given to police units across the nation. This ultimately creates a lot of otherization and is not conducive to the goals of the justice system, in particular serve and protect. While an essay can articulate the links that exist here and begin to make someone understand, they ultimately fail to capture the big picture alone.
That's why it's important to repurpose this essay into a powerpoint presentation with a speech. The powerpoint allows an audience to see the full image of destruction that militarization creates which one can also couple with statistics and stories in a speech to create a powerful multi appeal presentation.
Actually, as I type this I am about to go work on an application to speak at Ted-X. Ted-X has a huge emphasis on the ability to combine these skills to articulate some point. This assignment comes at just the right time to get some practice in for this.

Re-Genre

I am excited to start this re-genre project. It is nice to do something in an English class that isn't just the traditional essay. I am going to use my research essay for my project. My research essay was about the crisis of the Colorado River Basin drying up. The Colorado River provides water for human consumption for all people in the South West region of the United States. The purpose of my project is definitely supposed to inform people but it is also to persuade people. I want to inform people about the crisis of the Colorado River drying up. They need to know what would happen to the region and the people/animals living in it if the man water source that they depend on dried up. Most people don't even know what is happening to the river. A lot of people probably don't even know exactly where the Colorado River runs or what lakes are connected to it. So, I want to inform people on this topic. However, I also want to persuade people to make a change. They need to learn to conserve water and save the river. I want to persuade people to realize that their efforts could make a difference in the survival of the river, whether it be big or small, anything could help.
         The media I wanted to use for my project is to make a website. I think a website would be a perfect way to inform people about what is going on and persuade them to make a difference. There could be a mix of pictures and important information. I think it would be fun to make a website! I've never made a website before so if anyone has any ideas for doing this or any precautions let me know!

Re-Genre Assignment

Although this assignment sounds very interesting and will be a nice break from writing essays, I think mine will be very relevant and useful. I wrote my research essay on the diseases and disorders that go along with gluten, and also the why "gluten free" has become the new fad and how a gluten free diet is not as beneficial for those without some type of sensitivity to gluten, as the current media is portraying it to be. Because this is such a new and current topic, I believe that creating a brochure with some easy to read facts and information could be very helpful. Since most will not do the necessary research about gluten before they choose to change their diet. But since a brochure is short and visually appealing, many would be much more inclined to read about the topic. This way they can be educated on the topic and be able to make informed decisions.
And even though most of you reading this are not considering changing your diet to gluten free (although there could be some because it is growing in popularity so quickly), it is still important to know about since it is growing so quickly, and is changing the type of food choices they have avialable at the grocery store and at restaurants. And although I was never considering changing my own diet to gluten free, I have known so many people with celiac disease, or gluten sensitivities, or just gluten free and I was so curious about all of this. So I am glad I choose this as my topic for the essay because I feel like I know so much about the topic now. And if anyone reading this is interested too, you can read my brochure just in case you do not want to read twelve pages on gluten.