Monday, August 1, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Reflection on the Course
Let me start by saying this past course was very fun and taught me many new things about English literature. Even during a busy summer schedule, this class was still very fun to take and I was never bored throughout the course. I learned many skills during this class, but one that I really took into consideration was taking deeper thoughts and different perspectives about writings. I looked more into detail through symbols and hidden messages I thought the author was trying to get across. I can use this skill and apply them in any upcoming writing assignment I may have, to not just look at the obvious but to also look from a totally new perspective.
All I can say about the readings that were posted throughout this course is...wow! They were very intense and at times I thought were impossible to comprehend with. After reading through them a couple times, I finally got the jest of it and it started to all come together. The readings have affected me by making me an all over stronger reader and writer. My vocabulary grew and my imagination also went out it's box.
I believe I met all the learning outcomes for the class. Although I may not have perfected some, I learned how to work and get better at them. One that I need to work on a little more is selecting and applying voice.
I would say my writing process has changed quite a bit. Before, I would just be quick and get straight to the fact and my writing was left without any supporting details. Now that has changed and I like to elaborate my statements in more detail and before it was harder to write three pages and now my writing has become easier to get across.
The challenges for me was adapting to the type of learning and writing. We were ask to give more of our opinions on writings and I was used to just giving specific facts and trying to elaborate on that. Now that I have taken this course it has made me overcome these challenges and now I am ready for any writing to be read or to be given an analysis on! :)
http://2009dcpwianta.blogspot.com/2011/04/english-checkpoint-what-do-you-think.html
All I can say about the readings that were posted throughout this course is...wow! They were very intense and at times I thought were impossible to comprehend with. After reading through them a couple times, I finally got the jest of it and it started to all come together. The readings have affected me by making me an all over stronger reader and writer. My vocabulary grew and my imagination also went out it's box.
I believe I met all the learning outcomes for the class. Although I may not have perfected some, I learned how to work and get better at them. One that I need to work on a little more is selecting and applying voice.
I would say my writing process has changed quite a bit. Before, I would just be quick and get straight to the fact and my writing was left without any supporting details. Now that has changed and I like to elaborate my statements in more detail and before it was harder to write three pages and now my writing has become easier to get across.
The challenges for me was adapting to the type of learning and writing. We were ask to give more of our opinions on writings and I was used to just giving specific facts and trying to elaborate on that. Now that I have taken this course it has made me overcome these challenges and now I am ready for any writing to be read or to be given an analysis on! :)
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Sam Hamill and Carolyn Forch
Sam Hamill and Carolyn Forch were very interesting to read and both had unique views on poetry of witness. They shared some similarities as well as differences.After reading these two authors' ideas on poetry, it opened my eyes even more to the poetry that was read in last week's assignments. Hamill's idea of poetry is "Writing is a form of human communication expressing ideas regarding the human condition". (546) What this meant to me was, using words as a tool to express oneself through writing. One thing i agreed with Hamill, is the way he expressed poetry as teaching others life lessons that one may go through. He made it very interesting to read because he put himself in the situation where people were in the wrong and helps them.
On the other hand, Forch's view was a totally different direction. She used poetry towards political problems and social classes. Discussing political issues is very important to get out different opinions and to show the younger generation how crucial it can be to one's life. One thing it definitely shows is the history in poetry and how it became. It's not that I didn't agree with Forch's view on poetry, it just didn't catch my eye on the first glance.
Reading these two views really opened my eyes to new ways of viewing poetry and to stay open minded reading towards anything. Although, many people may not agree with these views, they bring new styles of interpreting poetry to the plate and shows the audience there are various ways of writing.
picture link: http://www.thedrunkenboat.com/hamillview.htm
picture link: http://poetrydispatch.wordpress.com/2009/09/27/carolyn-forche-the-colonel/
On the other hand, Forch's view was a totally different direction. She used poetry towards political problems and social classes. Discussing political issues is very important to get out different opinions and to show the younger generation how crucial it can be to one's life. One thing it definitely shows is the history in poetry and how it became. It's not that I didn't agree with Forch's view on poetry, it just didn't catch my eye on the first glance.
Reading these two views really opened my eyes to new ways of viewing poetry and to stay open minded reading towards anything. Although, many people may not agree with these views, they bring new styles of interpreting poetry to the plate and shows the audience there are various ways of writing.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Response to Poems
Let me start by saying that these poems that were to be read this week were a little difficult for me to read and interpret my own opinion on them. But, I toughened up, opened my mind a little and found ways to comprehend with them.
The first poem that caught my eye was, Immigrants in Our Own Land. This poem was a story of an individual (the immigrant) going from his "old world" to the "new world". When he previously though that the old world had no use for him and going to the new one would be full of opportunity. But, when he arrived to the new world he was in for a surprise, of disappointment. Finding out that his life was lost in the new world and his old world was everything. For once, it showed the audience a perspective from the "immigrants" side and showed that maybe what is thought to be can be the biggest disappointment in someone's life. I really enjoyed this poem because, I, being a Hispanic, I am really interested in the immigration laws and to see a poem that shows the actual feeling of coming to America was interesting to me.
The second poem that interested me was, Letter Composed During a Lull in the Fighting. This poem was very short and right to the point. It is repetitive throughout the entire poem starting each stanza with "I tell her...". From my perspective, I imagined a man telling a woman/something his experience during a war. Even though this poem is only three stanzas, it still shows a lot of detail and gives the reader an imagination to really feel what the writer is feeling. Sometimes poem don't have to be five pages to get a point across.
http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z145/PrincessPooky78/Books%20and%20Poetry/?action=view¤t=Poetry-5.jpg&sort=ascending
The first poem that caught my eye was, Immigrants in Our Own Land. This poem was a story of an individual (the immigrant) going from his "old world" to the "new world". When he previously though that the old world had no use for him and going to the new one would be full of opportunity. But, when he arrived to the new world he was in for a surprise, of disappointment. Finding out that his life was lost in the new world and his old world was everything. For once, it showed the audience a perspective from the "immigrants" side and showed that maybe what is thought to be can be the biggest disappointment in someone's life. I really enjoyed this poem because, I, being a Hispanic, I am really interested in the immigration laws and to see a poem that shows the actual feeling of coming to America was interesting to me.
The second poem that interested me was, Letter Composed During a Lull in the Fighting. This poem was very short and right to the point. It is repetitive throughout the entire poem starting each stanza with "I tell her...". From my perspective, I imagined a man telling a woman/something his experience during a war. Even though this poem is only three stanzas, it still shows a lot of detail and gives the reader an imagination to really feel what the writer is feeling. Sometimes poem don't have to be five pages to get a point across.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Summary vs. Analysis
Describing the difference between summary and analysis is a little easier to explain than to actually do when writing for an argumentative essay. it's easy to get them mixed up with each other and it's very difficult to write one type without using the other. There are reasons they're very distinct from each other; for example, the key points they make and what they present.
A summary is describing a topic with major details. I like to think of summary as RE-describing what the reader already knows, and highlighting main points for the subject. A summary is usually used for projects that points out information that the audience is unaware of. A summary usually consists of the five W’s; who, what, where, when, and why. Answering all of the W’s in a quick presentation will give you a complete summary of a topic.
On the other hand, an analysis essay is a sort of examination of a topic. Background information or a summary of the subject in order to analyze the subject into greater detail. After gathering information about the subject, the next step is to find the main points that make up the topic and come up with an argument. An example of this; The Cat in the Hat, is about two children that are in charge of keeping their home clean while their mother is away at work. The cat comes along and begins to ruin everything in the house, and it’s the children’s responsibility to get the house clean in time. An analysis of this story could be, young children are not responsible enough to be in charge of themselves without adult supervision.
It is very easy to get summary and analysis mixed up between each other; such as writing an analysis is hard to do without giving a summary about a subject. But once you figure out the difference between the two, they are very distinct from each other.
http://sixthings.net/2010/10/07/six-writing-analysis-tools/
A summary is describing a topic with major details. I like to think of summary as RE-describing what the reader already knows, and highlighting main points for the subject. A summary is usually used for projects that points out information that the audience is unaware of. A summary usually consists of the five W’s; who, what, where, when, and why. Answering all of the W’s in a quick presentation will give you a complete summary of a topic.
On the other hand, an analysis essay is a sort of examination of a topic. Background information or a summary of the subject in order to analyze the subject into greater detail. After gathering information about the subject, the next step is to find the main points that make up the topic and come up with an argument. An example of this; The Cat in the Hat, is about two children that are in charge of keeping their home clean while their mother is away at work. The cat comes along and begins to ruin everything in the house, and it’s the children’s responsibility to get the house clean in time. An analysis of this story could be, young children are not responsible enough to be in charge of themselves without adult supervision.
It is very easy to get summary and analysis mixed up between each other; such as writing an analysis is hard to do without giving a summary about a subject. But once you figure out the difference between the two, they are very distinct from each other.
http://sixthings.net/2010/10/07/six-writing-analysis-tools/
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Good Readers and Good Writers
Nabokov believe that a good reader is "someone that has imagination, memory, a dictionary and some artistic sense." (Good readers and Good writers, Vladimir Nabokov pg. 615) I would have to agree with Nabokov on this. Someone with all these characteristics, is able to fully understand readings. Being able to use your imagination with definitions of words and adding some personal artistic sense into the reading will broaden your knowledge and understanding of what the writer is trying to present. Another key point Nabokov made was that a good reader, is a re-reader. Rereading is a chance to really open the readers eyes and take out more information then they did reading it the first time. I can relate to this rereading idea, because there has been numerous times when i found more detailed answers to my questions in the text and even times when i found errors in my own writing.
I believe for someone to be a good reader, they must really get into the text and visualize every line. Having some type of background information on what you are reading helps better prepare your mind, of what it's about to read. Reading aloud is something i like to use when I'm reading more difficult text. i do believe i am a good reader, but they're times when i can get lost in my own imagination.
Vladimir Nabokov http://www.celsius1414.com/tag/vladimir-nabokov/
I believe for someone to be a good reader, they must really get into the text and visualize every line. Having some type of background information on what you are reading helps better prepare your mind, of what it's about to read. Reading aloud is something i like to use when I'm reading more difficult text. i do believe i am a good reader, but they're times when i can get lost in my own imagination.
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