Tuesday, October 27, 2009
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"Life without knowledge is death in disguise." -Talib Kweli
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2009
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October
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- A.L.: Emerson's Aphorisms
- Free-For-All: Grammar Girl and Comma Splices
- CPW: Grammar Grater Episode 71: What's Your Functi...
- CPW: Grammar Grater Episode 20: Unfinished Business
- CPW: Grammar Grater Episode 19: Passive Aggressive
- CPW: I Wonder as I Wander
- AL: "Rip Van Winkle" and Battle of the Sexes
- AL: "Rip Van Winkle"- Comic Tale?
- AL:"Rip Van Winkle" Behavior
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October
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About Me
I have improved greatly on word choice. Especially with our last narritive essay. I focused heavily on using colorful language and I believe I now have the hang of it. However, I still strugle with organization within my papers. To improve this, I need to stick to my outlines. This is something I tend to stray away from as I get started writing my papers.
ReplyDeleteI feel I have mastered revising and editing my papers during these past ten weeks. Though, I need to improve on sentence fluency and, maybe, transitions between body paragraphs.
ReplyDelete-Sophie L.
I think that I have become better at not using "to be" verbs. I've noticed that instead of using a "to be" verb I use more colorful words in my essays. This has also helped me with detail and not being very wordy. I think I still need to work a little bit on my commas because I'm not very good at knowing when i should use them. I also believe I have become better at using an active voice instead of a passive voice.
ReplyDeleteSam U.
I feel as though I have became very good at recognizing comma errors and sentence fluency. I am a very hard editor and take pride in my ability to catch many errors in my fellow students papers. One thing I feel I am weaker in is the ability to show my personality more in my own papers. I tend to write very standard and for being the lover of desription I tend to take out more words than increase.
ReplyDeleteI believe I have improved on decreasing the amount of "to be" verbs I use in essays. By useing a more descriptive vocabulary I have increased the detail in my essay. I am still having some trouble with commas, this is because I tend to write how i descuss with my peers.
ReplyDeleteI use to have a big problem with replacing my poor word choice, so I'd just leave it as is. But now I have had a better understanding and use of word choices. In example instead of using "Said". I could use "Exclaimed", "Shrieked", "whispered", and etc.
ReplyDeleteI am still so confused with commas. Ha I either want to put them everywhere or nowhere, no inbetween. I still need help to work on that.
I feel as though I have became very good at recognizing comma errors and sentence fluency. I am a very hard editor and take pride in my ability to catch many errors in my fellow students papers. One thing I feel I am weaker in is the ability to show my personality more in my own papers. I tend to write very standard and for being the lover of desription I tend to take out more words than increase.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I can say I have mastered since starting this class is how to revise and edit other peoples papers along with my own. Also, I have learned that the more rough drafts and editing I do, the better my papers get. I, however,still have trouble with punctuation, which has always been my weakness in english classes.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I feel that I can do very well with my papers is not using "to be" verbs.I am good with substiuting better words to make my paper sound more interesting. I still need help with transitions to other paragraphs.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that everyone is having issues with commas. I also could use some more work with this
ReplyDeleteOut of all the material we have covered in the past ten weeks i feel like i have mastered the balancing of sentences and the pronouns activity we just completed today. What I do not understand is the passive and active voice, and I am horrible at commas. I'm not sure when to use passive or active voices and I don't know how to use them. Commas just confuse me completely, and i want to add them in everywhere! I think that is what I need to work on most.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kole H., I also used to have trouble with my word choice after dialogue. After considering the type of dialogue I now use words such as growled, barked, and muttered
ReplyDeleteSamantha and Brice-
ReplyDeleteI forgot to add in my previous that I, as well, have improved on not using "to be" verbs. This resulted with an essay with less wordy sentences and more details.
I agree with Dakota B. I feel I have been able to substitute out a majority of my "to be" verbs. It also makes me feel that my paper sound more ineresting.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that I have mastered anything yet this past ten weeks. However, I have most definitely improved on a few things. For example I have decreased my usage of "to be" verbs. Another thing I have improved is the amount of wordiness in my essays. I used to think that being wordy was a good thing, but I found out that saying more in a fewer amount of words demonstrates the size of your lexicon. One thing that I am still having trouble with is knowing when to start a new paragraph for dialogue.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kole H as well, also I think everyone needs to work on being harsher editors
ReplyDeleteI agree Alison E. I too have also become better at balancing sentences. I also feel that this is something i have mastered.
ReplyDeleteI meant Blaze W sorry
ReplyDeleteI think I am very proficient in word choice and descriptive words. The verb improvement exercises and the "parallel" sentence assignments helped me consruct better and more "to the point" sentences. I'm still working on revising and feel that we have not gone over how to be more aggressive in revising other essays.
ReplyDeleteBrice-
ReplyDeleteI know that it may be hard to write with out talking like you would in person. But try and be more aware of how you sound throughout your paper, and make it sound like your telling a story to someone that you do not know. This can help you in your papers, and also the reader will read it as if you were describing something a story to them.
Dakota B. and Sam U.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to know others are feeling confident in the lowing of "to be" verbs.
Blaze w.
Yes it does seem as though the majority is having comma troubles
Alison-
ReplyDeleteSometimes when it comes to a passive and active voice it is helpful to read the sentence out loud. Many times you can tell whether the voice is active or not just by how the tone might sound. Hope the advice helps. :-)
@ Blaze I too am having troubles with how to struture my essays in a way that flows. I can do it, but it just does not come easily to me.
ReplyDelete@ Most Everyone I too have troubles with when and when not to use commas.
I agree with Allison E. the whole passive and active voice thing confuses me. And geez Ashley D. I could use alot more help with being an harsher editor, I tend to want to be easy on their papers. Mainly because I feel if I'm harsh I may offend someone.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to writing, I am not the best. Often, I have trouble with replacing non-descriptive verbs; however, since I joined this class, I have improved my ability to replace non-descriptive verbs with descriptive verbs. Now, I am confident when editing my work and I know that this skill will significantly help me when I attend college.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Gage S on excessive sentence length. I realized with Gunter's lesson that being less wordy shows the writer's wide vocabulary.
ReplyDeleteI think that the uses of the five comma types had a lot of people stumped before taking this class. Even being in your american literature class last year we went over the five main comma types a lot and for me taking college prep writing I have such a better understanding of how to use them in my papers.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sophie L. above. She says that she feels she has mastered editing and revising her papers while being in this class. I feel that I have not only mastered editing and revising my papers, but my peers as well. I love reading and tearing apart papers to help the writer. I love giving back input.
ReplyDeleteAshley D.-
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about people being harsher editors and revisors. We want the help! Don't be mean, be assertive. It helps the writers so much when they are finishing up the final touches on the drafts.
I believe that I have improved greatly on my essay voice. Throughout my high school years it has been extremely hard for me to write essays due to a bland voice. Now, I feel like I can write on any subject and be confident that I will write a kickin' essay.
ReplyDeleteI have gotten better at commas, but I still have much to learn. Why you chose to make a blog instead of a forum is the only thing I can think of that perplexes me. Forums are both easier to navigate and to organize.
ReplyDeleteMy word chioce has always been good but it has become great over the past ten weeks. I know that I need alot of work on my commas, and hope to improve in leaps and bounds by the time this class is over.
ReplyDeleteDuring the last ten weeks of this terrific class, I have wondered into the relam of unbelivable word choice. I find it a competition between Nick, Michael, and myself to see who can use the most description in our essays. Nick of course, has taken an early lead. Now, I feel as if my writing has gotten even better, and I am ready to take on this next big step in life called college.
ReplyDeleteComing into this school year, I for one did not use good detail as I shoudl have. But after a few weeks in college prep writing I feel like I can use much detail. I am still having trouble with the "to be" verbs.
ReplyDeleteI would say my greatest area of improvement has been on including a lot of detail within my essays. I feel like my writing use to not be very clear but the past couple essays have helped me pack in more detail and less "fluff".
ReplyDeleteBlaze W.-
ReplyDeleteI feel that I have improved alot on word choice as well. My last essay I did alot better on this than before. Organization is still one of my struggles becasue I really do not like using outlines. I write the best when I just sit down and write whatever comes to my head because I never follow my outline anyways.
Sophie L:
ReplyDeleteI too have improved on editing and revising papers. Just recently I edited a students paper and she cried! Of course, I felt horrible. I think everybody needs to learn to give AND recieve critism, because we're only here to HELP you, not tear you down!
I COMPLETELY agree with you on working with transitions. I can never make them sound exciting, always boring. I'll learn eventually. Keep up the good work!
--Mackenzie B.
I think that I have improved greatly on being more desciptive with my essay's. Before this class I wrote pretty bland stories. now there getting better. One thing I am having problems with is those pesky "to be" verbs.
ReplyDeleteShawn M. above, I also have a hard time with writing engaging essays. I feel like I have improved a great deal while writing essays after being in this class.
ReplyDeleteI have used to have a really hard time being descriptive. i like things short and consice. Bullet points are my favorite, but i feel as though my papers have been much more descriptive and help people really understand what i'm writing about.
ReplyDeleteOh and I forgot to say that I need to improve on my editing skills. I have a tendency to just read over my paper really fast after I'm done with it and not really edit it very well.
ReplyDeleteI have improved on revising and editing my papers to eliminate "to-be" verbs. It sounds better and is less wordy. I think I still need to improve on commas because in some situations I am unsure if one is needed or should be eliminated.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the school year I have improved my writing skills, particularly in the use of word choice. Ridding my papers of dead words and exchanging them for more descrpitive, original words is fun and has spiced up my papers. Something I could still improve on is using "be" verbs. I still catch myself including them in my writing.
ReplyDeleteI have mastered word choice and organization in my essays. I have learned to pick words that will paint a picture for my readers.Getting rid of "to be" verbs help. I need more help on commas. I feel if we work on commas more i could get better at them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Shawn M. i Have never been that great writer in terms of conventions, but this class is helping me improve. I know that it is going to be a tremendous help in college and in life it's self when it comes to articulating myself right.
ReplyDeleteIn the past ten weeks of class, I feel that I have gotten better at revising and editing papers. I now know what to look for, and what makes for a better paper.
ReplyDeleteMichael T,
ReplyDeleteI completly agree with you. If this is the Michael I think it is, last year in Gloden's class was vastly different. Papers were always easy for both of us. This year however, they have gotten a lot harder. I also find myself struggling with the to be verbs at some points. Also I have trouble with second person. Glad to see that I am not the only one.
I am still having alot of problems with commas and using the correct punctuation. I think as a class we could all improve on this. Overall my writing has improved greatly, before this class most of my essays were really boring and bland. Now I use more descriptive and colorful language all the time
ReplyDeleteBlaze W, I agree with Blaze and commas. I think more work on commas is needed. When we took a vote in the class on who needs more help most of the class raised their hands.
ReplyDeleteJust like most of my peers have already stated, i think i have improved in my editing/revising skills. I can clearly see the changes i have made through my first and final drafts of the papers we have written in class.
ReplyDeleteHillary P...
ReplyDeleteI also need to learn how to edit my own papers better. The editing sheets we use to edit others papers help alot, and I am good at catching errors on their papers. I need to practice reviewing my own essays and not rely on other people's editing.
I think that I have improved alot on my word choice. In my narrative essay, I payed special attention to the words I was using so I would do a good job with imagery. One thing I should work on is the transitions between my paragraphs. I think that this will make my papers flow more smoothly.
ReplyDeleteChristian J., I totally agree with you on the whole forum thing! Forums are much simpler and easier to see who is talking to whom and what they said. It makes everything less confusing because it shows what you're responding to.
ReplyDeleteHillary P.-
ReplyDeleteI agree that alot of peoples editing skills need to improve. Alot of the time I just read the essay and say its good instead of looking over every detail. I am not very good at "tearing apart" others and my own essays.
I agree with Zachary D, glodens class was a big piece of cake last year. I had fun. However this year, we actually have to think. Zachary D that is a good thing.
ReplyDeletei have noticed that i have improved aloton peer editting and revising. i use to be horrible at it, i could barely even fix two things on papers. Now i have marks and scratch outs all over papers.
ReplyDeleteI have improved greatly on to-be verbs. During the narrative essay I learned how to replace the to-be verbs in my writing so that my writing sounds more intelligent. I also have worked hard to improve my word choice. After writing a couple essays, it is so much easier. The comma stuff is still hard for me. Everytime I write a paper I have comma errors, and I can never tell which comma is wrong.
ReplyDeleteDakota B. above, I completely agree with you on this subject. I am more comfortable with changing all "to be" verbs in my sentences. At first, this was difficult for me to do. The more I practice, the better I get at changing the verbs to become more interesting.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that I really "mastered" anything. I am a little better at some things, but I do not think I have mastered anything. Some things I could work on though would be my outlines, I tend to just write down a couple words and then I allow the words to come to me while I am writing. I think that you do not like that Mrs. Gunter. Am I wrong?
ReplyDeleteI also have a hard time editing/revising other people's papers. It's hard for me to tear apart their papers and find things wrong with them.
ReplyDeleteEvery english class up until this one I have always just done the bare minumum to get by, especially in my essays. I dont think the teachers cared very much about commas and correcting the essays becasue I could write an essay in an hour and still get an A on the assignment. But with this class I actually have to work at it and it takes me some time and effort.
ReplyDeleteI agree Cera. I used to be horrible at edditing and revising, but i feel i have become much better at it. I have marks all over papers. I used to hate it when there were marks all over because i felt i did it wrong, but now i like it because i know what i need to fix to make it better.
ReplyDeleteTo say that I have mastered anything is a paradox. I have mastered nothing. Yet I perceive myself to have mastered something and that is where I realize this. What is the mastery of a task but years of hard work, dedication, and sacrifice? For me to master anything is for me to be arrogant enough to believe I can so intamintely know any subject enough to master it in ten short weeks.
ReplyDeleteMichael T, you're a stud. Everything you have said has been quite thorough.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to pick one thing that has troubled me in this class it would be tearing apart my peer's essays. I believe that everyone writes differently. I think it is cool seeing people's personalities come out in their writing even if it is technically "wrong." Why should we conform and all write the same? I believe that is why people have trouble "expressing" themselves in their writing. They try to please the teacher.
I think that I have ceased my troubles with replacing weak words with stronger words; I can replace "to be" verbs and "said" with stroger more vivid words which adds to my voice. I have also inproved greatly on sentence structure, making my sentences parellel and making them active. I do struggle with having my sentences be awkward. I still need to practice rewording sentences.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Shelby M and Dakota B. I find it alot easier to take out to be verbs from my essays. I also seem to be using less of them in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand you Kelsey. I don't like to write, so i always write the bare minimum, but I found that when i try to write my best I generally like writing better.
ReplyDeleteShelby M., I agree with you that I also struggled with writing engaging essays but I am improving. My essays are not perfect, or even close, but they are better than they were before.
ReplyDeleteBrian H,
ReplyDeleteIntamintely? That isn't a word.
"TO BE" verbs are a pain. Re-writing sentences in my papers without using the to be verbs has been hard. For me, it is hard to get across the same message using a different sentence. I have improved some but to be verbs are still a challenge for me, as a writer. I will continue to work on to be verbs.
ReplyDeleteNick R,
ReplyDeleteYou raise a valid point. However, sometimes a paper just needs to be torn apart to have it make sense. Having everyone "conform" to a certain way of writing will keep a everyone trying to reach the same goal with their writing.
Brian H,
I read your post, it honestly did not make sense to me. I agree that not anyone in this class has "mastered" anything, however there has been vast strides in people's writing abilities.
I have a problem with using punctuation correctly. Commas are especially difficult for me. Lately, I have improved, but punctuation is still not my strongest subject. Hopefully, I will master the correct use of punctuation.
ReplyDeleteI think I've improved on not using to be verbs and editting and revising papers. I used to think that when editting other people's papers it was rude to point out stuff that was wrong. I now know that the whole point of editting and revising is to make changes for the better.
ReplyDeleteLike everybody else, I still need to improve on using commas.
I disagree with myself (I can do it because I am my own peer). Natural talent allows you to master something faster than others. I obviously don't have that talent, and neither with spelling because I spelt intimantely wrong. I think I have mastered MLA.
ReplyDeleteI think that i have learned a lot more about commas and where to place them these last couple weeks. Although when I go to revise my own paper I don't seem to want to take the time to look at EACH sentence and decide if I need to place a comma in it or not. I am also getting a lot better a tearing apart my partners paper each time we do peer editing and revising. I'm not just being easy on them because I'm friends with them or what not.
ReplyDeleteI think ive improved greatlly on my punctuality and word choice. And i think the only thing that ive been having even semi problems with would be understanding this old english text. I just cant grasp what there talking about most of the time.
ReplyDeleteNick R.
ReplyDeleteEarlier you said that you have trouble tearing apart other peoples papers because you feal like eventhough the papers are technically wrong, they show voice through the person's personality. That we conform to try to please the teacher and because of this people have a hard time expressing themselves.
Well, eventhough I understand were your coming from, I have to strongly disagree with you. I believe that a person's personality comes through in there writing because of their opinion on the topic, and how the topic relates to their life. Voice does not lie on sentence sructure and punctuation, It lies on word choice and content. Then this takes us to the point on "to be" verbs, "that", "it", and "said". We are told to not use these words not because they do not make sense; we are told to take them out and use other words to add to the personality of our paper. Taking out one of those words does not necessarily change the meaning of our sentence; it makes the point we are trying to get across more real.
People dont know what exactely they want to say so they have difficulty expressing themselves in writing. I know that there are times that I try to get many points across and then my writing becomes weak. I think that to solve the problem of not being able to express outselves properly in our writing, we have to chose one narrow point and add onto that point and make sure we get it across.
I hope my advice helps you next time you sit down to edit someone's paper. Just remember that changing technical things do not take away from the writing, it just adds to it. How bad would it be for someone to have a really good opinion and when someone else reads there paper the other person thinks, 'Wow, this person is stupid they do not even know how to use commas correctly.' I know your thinking, 'what if the changes I make change what they are saying?' Well then they wont change it because what ever that change is not needed because it changes the meaning.
Michael T.,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Using detail in my papers is hard but since being in college prep writing I have improved. "To be" verbs are still a problem for me. Need lots of help with those.
In the past ten weeks we ave covered a lot. I think that I have gotten so much better with my word choice. I always try to use words that are not boring and engage the reader. I also have inproved on using less to be words. I have not mastered it, but I have improved. Something I need to work on is commas. I find it ironic, that in four years of high school, we just now learned the rules about commas. I need to continue to work on them and become better.
ReplyDeleteIn the past ten weeks we have cover very usefull material. But theirs some things i could work on and that could be with my commas. They have become hard to work with especially when you learn new ones. But the material im good in my papers would be editing my paper. I been getting most of my errors when i re-read my papers.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of the students. We all have got beter in writing are papers. But we all have things to work on.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Erica when it comes to word choice. I have always struggled with word choice. I think since we have so many peer editing session, and other peoples input into out paper, it had helped me to become a better writer. I have not yet mastered anything in this class, but the activities, comma practices have helped me to become better.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rachelle and Ashley. I think that people need to be harsh when they edit and revise peoples papers. Personally, I do not get any better when people write that my paper is good, when it is the worst paper they have ever read. I think that most people would agree the criticism is good when it comes to editing papers.
ReplyDeleteI feel I have vastly improved on incorporating detail into my writing. So far during this course I can tell my writing is beginning to include more detail. I continue to struggle with commas, but I know that with practice I will start to improve on this area as well. Along with the improvement on detail my word choice has gotten a lot better as well. We have covered a lot of material but those two areas I feel I have made the most improvement.
ReplyDeleteI think that I've been doing better on cutting out "to be" verbs. In the beginning, it was sometimes difficult to find other words to replace them, but then I realized that it wasn't as hard as I was making it out to be. Cutting out "to be" verbs has probably made my papers a little bit more interesting than they were before.
ReplyDeleteIn the past ten weeks I feel that I have not mastered anything in the class, but I have greatly improved on my word choice. I can think of two things that I am having problems with. One of them is commas, I still need more work on using them correctly. The other is editing and revising my clasmates papers.
ReplyDelete2:10
ReplyDeleteI agree with Erica and Sean. I have also become better at not using so many "to be" verbs. I check my papers for them and rearrange my sentences in ways that allow me to not have so many. Also I have tried to improve my word choice. My papers tend to be boring. I have worked harder to spice them up and make them more interesting.
ReplyDeleteI have improved on peer editing/revising and comma errors, but I still have troubles with sentence fluency and word choice. I think it would be more helpful when people put their suggestions while editing and revising, because sometimes I know that there's something wrong with it, but I just don't know how to fix it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Erica, but I think criticism can hurt people's feeling when it's said inappropriately.
ReplyDeleteI have taken more time to go back and re-read my final paper. I use to take a quick scan through my paper hoping the spell check caught all my mistakes, but when Mrs. Gunter told us one of college professors biggest pet peeves is students not re-reading their final papers. I nkow now to take the time to re-read my whole paper and it has paid off.
ReplyDeleteDuring this time period, I have improved greatly on editing and revising. I can now proudly say I can tear apart any paper and make it closer to perfect.
ReplyDeleteAnd I also agree with you Kelsey M. I used to just do what I had to to get by and never really put my full effort into papers. With these essays though, I really get into them and want to make them as good as I can.
ReplyDeleteIn these past weeks I'm not sure I have "mastered" anything, but I think I've improved in revising and editing my papers. I still need help with commas though.
ReplyDeleteI firmly believe that i have improved on word choice. I believe that my essays are improving very much, and i am becoming more and more creative. I still have a lot of improvement to make when it comes to grammer and punctuation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Janet when she said she improved on editing and revising. i also think i have improved on editing and revising.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Bronson J. I struggle with editing and revising other people's or my own papers. I have a hard time getting rid of to-be verbs and having my new sentences sound better than the ones that I changed.
ReplyDeleteI have gotten better at editing and revising this year but have not quite mastered the skills yet. My writing and my essays have been getting better as well. However, I still need to improve on my self editing and a few things in my writing. My biggest problem has been getting my assignments in on time because I don't even have a computer at my house and I am always busy. It has been stressful so far. Josh H.
ReplyDeleteLately, we have have been working non-stop on writing essays. I do pretty well writing the body paragraphs and wrapping up the paper with the conclusion, but it is espcially difficult to write an introduction. Mostly, my intros are not very engaging for the reader. Hopefully, I will get better at writing them. I'm sure the more essays I write, the better my intros will be.
ReplyDelete