Monday, May 5, 2008
Entry #18
Entry #20
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Entry #15
The first grammar error that I struggle with is comma usage. This is the comma splice or the comma fault, which is when you use a comma where a semicolon should be used instead. I struggle a lot with knowing when to include a comma or when not to include a comma. This caused me to fail the grammar portion of a paper in my AP English Literature class once. I plan to edit my papers for this problem by reading through and finding the independent clauses. Once I find them, I will see if any of them are joined using a comma. If they are, I know I need to change it. Another plan with this is to have someone else read my paper to look for the same thing.
The second grammar error I struggle with is unnecessary words. Unnecessary words are words that detract from the clarity of the writing and can be replaced with words that are more direct. An example of this is “due to the fact that,” which can be replaced with “because.” I tend to use this because I think that my writing sound more academic. However, sometimes I catch myself doing this and change it to a more direct form; other times I do not catch it. In order to edit my papers for this error, I plan to begin to learn what are unnecessary words and their replacements so I can change them when I find them. I plan to find them by rereading my papers and looking for the unnecessary words, which Word can help me find with the green squiggly line.
Entry #13
Entry #14
· 11:00 a.m. made a to-do list and updated my planner
· 12:00 p.m. wrote my annotated bibliography and edited the letter for Project 3
· 1:15 p.m. posted a comment on Facebook
· 2:30 p.m. edited my lab report draft
· 3:35 p.m. Instant messaged friends
· 5:30 p.m. wrote down directions to the Apple Store in
· 10:47 p.m. added some things to my to-do list
· 2:50 p.m. instant messaged friends
· 4:30 p.m. Wrote my blog entries for English 110
· 6:13 p.m. wrote more for my blog entries
Writing plays an important part in my life because a lot of my time is spent writing, either academically or socially. For the most part, I spend most my time writing on a computer by writing papers or other homework or writing instant messages to my friends or on Facebook. Also, the majority of my writing is informal as I am either updating my planner or other academic homework that does not require the formal tone. In contrast, a lot of my lengthy writing is for academic purposes because I do not find it enjoyable just to start writing a paper or a journal that is not for an assignment. However, since this time period was over the weekend, a good amount of my writing, even though it was on instant messenger, was for personal reasons as I needed to remember directions or things I needed to do.
Entry #12
- Academic inquiry—“the act of identifying shared questions and then seeking reasonable answers about subjects studied in a college or university” (Callaghan 4)
- Question at issue—“questions that have at least two possible, supportable answers” (Callaghan 12)
- Characteristics of inquiry papers—begins with question at issue, suggests several answers, gives supporting reasons for each answer, evaluates the strengths of the answers, ends with a summary of what the writer learned
- Rhetoric—“the art of inquiring about a question at issue, and planning and presenting a good answer to another person” (Callaghan 34)
- Rhetorical strategy—“any decision made by a writer to make a message more effective” (Callaghan 37) “artful, purposeful choices a writer makes in the process of achieving effective communication with an audience” (90).
- Purposes for writing—to raise questions, inform or report, criticize, entertain, share an experience or feeling, challenge, explore, present discoveries, understand, introduce, imagine, support, sell, teach, relate ideas, prove, and persuade (Callaghan 43).
- Characteristics of personal writing—“subjective prospective, an open, exploratory or flexible form, descriptive detail, reflection and interpretation” (Callaghan 50)
- Characteristics of public writing—“authoritative, informed stance, explicit purpose, predictable form, information selected and arranged to facilitate engagement or comprehension” (Callaghan 51)
- Characteristics of academic writing—“a focus on the subject, a general audience within the writer’s discipline, a purpose that involves answering a specific question at issue, a thesis that is the writer’s answer, the voices of other creditable writers, careful reasoning and relevant evidence” (Callaghan 52)
- Conciseness—“summaries are significantly shorter than the original work” (Callaghan 70)
- Rhetorical context—setting or set of circumstances in which communication occurs (Callaghan 98)
- Ethos—ethical appeal; “relies on character of the speaker and appeals to readers’ value systems” (Callaghan 100)
- Pathos—emotional appeal; “relies on the feelings of readers and appeals to their emotions” (Callaghan 100)
- Logos—logical appeal; “appeals to readers’ intellect” (Callaghan 100)