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Writing Lessons by Stanley Fish was a reading I found myself dreading to start. Before actually beginning, my thoughts were that this reading would be extremely mundane. I then realized that it needed to be done and that the sooner I begun, the sooner I would finish. After finishing the first paragraph, I then found myself grasped and fully engaged in the reading - not just because I was interested in the content and story but because I actually was able to sit back and learn from it. Writing is something I feel comfortable and capable of doing, but this reading gave me a better grip on the actual structure of sentences.
I did not read this short narrative just to read it. What I began to do was put myself in the shoes of the student whom
Stanley Fish was teaching. Fish would ask the student a ton of questions to help him get a better grasp on the structure of writing. Before reading on to find out the answers of those questions, I would ask myself the exact same thing. There were certain instances where I knew the answer right away and other times where I had to think really hard and still could not come up with the answer, but came up with some of the same answers as the student. Overall, I enjoyed this writing tremendously, even though I didnt have the right mindset before reading it. I guess I should take everyone's advice and not judge a book (writing) by its cover..
One reading that spoke to me in many different levels was Jane Gallop’s: The ethics of reading: Close Encounters. This reading was my favorite when it came to reading complex and sophisticated text during my time in the writing arts program. Prior to reading this article I would always jump to conclusions about a piece of text without fulling understanding all its main ideas and hidden messages. I would simply just highlight the main ideas that stand out to me pushing forward to the next idea without fulling
Mike Rose met many struggling students at UCLA’s Tutorial Center, the Writing Research Project, and the school’s Summer program. He first describes the loneliness students feel upon arriving at college, and that as they try to find themselves, they all to often lose themselves because they are bombarded with ideas that are so foreign to them. He introduces his audiences to Andrea, a bright young girl out of high school who, despite hours of memorizing in her textbook, could not obtain a passing grade on her Chemistry mid-term. How is this possible if she spent so much time studding? Rose explains that she failed because in college, and in this course in particular, it is not enough for a student to know the material, but rather, to be able to apply it in a various amount of problems. Yet the problem Andrea faces is that she was never taught this in high school.
Many people think that reading more can help them to think and develop before writing something. Others might think that they don’t need to read and or write that it can really help them to brainstorm things a lot quicker and to develop their own ideas immediately (right away). The author’s purpose of Stephen King’s essay, Reading to Write, is to understand the concepts, strategies and understandings of how to always read first and then start something. The importance of this essay is to understand and comprehend our reading and writing skills by brainstorming our ideas and thoughts a lot quicker. In other words, we must always try to read first before we can brainstorm some ideas and to think before we write something. There are many reasons why I chose Stephen King’s essay, Reading to Write, by many ways that reading can help you to comprehend, writing, can help you to evaluate and summarize things after reading a passage, if you read, it can help you to write things better and as you read, it can help you to think and evaluate of what to write about.
Reading No more “I’m done!” was not a difficult task. If anything, this book was a joy to read. A part that I felt was a pleasure to read would be chapter 5, A Year of mini-lessons for growing writers. Especially the pages that included mini-lessons about poetry and riddles. I feel like poetry can sometimes be thought of as a horrible thing, and I liked that there was more than one poetry lesson in the book. I think riddles are a fun activity and can be a good way to get student’s minds thinking about writing. This chapter has plenty of useful mini-lessons (Jacobson,
According to the reading, Writing as a Mode of Learning by Janet Emig, knowledge is described as “an act of knowing that enters as a passionate contribution of the person to know what is being known, which is a coefficient that is no mere imperfection but a vital component of a person’s knowledge.” Essentially, knowledge is composed of what a person, association or discourse community knows about what is already known in their area of expertise or fully know what could occur in a certain situation, similar to how a rhetor must prepare and know what rhetorical situations might occur at any moment during their speech or writing. Knowledge is created to prepare for various outcomes and situations as goals are being constructed in a discourse community.
Although the greater picture is that reading is fundamental, the two authors have a few different messages that they seek to communicate to their audiences. “The Joy of Reading and Writing” depicts how reading serves as a mechanism to escape the preconceived notions that constrain several groups of people from establishing themselves and achieving success in their lifetimes. “Reading to Write,” on the other hand, offers a valuable advice to aspiring writers. The author suggests that one has to read, read, and read before he or she can become a writer. Moreover, he holds an interesting opinion concerning mediocre writing. He says, “Every book you pick has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones” (p.221). Although these two essays differ in their contents and messages, the authors use the same rhetorical mode to write their essays. Both are process analyses, meaning that they develop their main argument and provide justification for it step by step. By employing this technique, the two authors create essays that are thoughtful, well supported, and easy to understand. In addition, Alexie and King both add a little personal touch to their writings as they include personal anecdotes. This has the effect of providing support for their arguments. Although the two essays have fairly different messages, the authors make use of anecdotes and structure their writing in a somewhat similar
I found that learning by example helped my writing greatly. One of the books we read, “The Sixth Extinction” by Elizabeth Kolbert, influenced my writing. The book is well written in an academic style that engages the reader. Her writing also flows nicely throughout every passage. I tried to
While there are people who love to read and write, there are others that do not. When a student is required to read a book for a class and that student does not enjoy reading, there are very few things they would rather do less. And when that book’s topic is about learning how to write that is the worst of it. When I was assigned to read Writing with Style by John R. Trimble, my immediate thought was that this book and assignment was going to be a struggle to get through. To my pleasant surprise, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Writing with Style provides the reader with a wide range of writing tips while being written in a fun, conversational style. This book provides easy to find writing tools that can be understood by people of varying
I would like to start off with thanking you for having the time to review the work and effort that I have put into my English 101 Final Portfolio. In the time in class that I have had this quarter I have learned new techniques that I had not known before in writing, for example I have learned about how to build paragraphs in a correct formal way. In my work in the portfolio I hope to show how my skills as a writer have improved from the work I have done before. I plan to take the experience that I have had in this class and take it with me to help me improve as a student on other class topics. In the time that I have been in class I believe that it has helped me in a positive way to help me manage my time, along with building my confidence in writing. In this beginning of the quarter I had many challenges when it came to writing a paper and I feel that I have improved my skills when it came to writing an essay.
During adolescence, I began reading and writing through a fundamental learning program called, "Hooked on Phonics." This program consisted of long hours spent reading short novels and writing elementary phrases which were commonly taught in the second and third grade. With the motto, "Improve your child's reading and writing skills in just four weeks!" I was bound to become the next Mark Twain. The method of this course specialized in the improvements of word acquisition rates as well as reading speed; however, it lacked in the area of teaching comprehension. At a young age, I was instilled with the dire need to be highly educated and although I was unable to experience a fun and adventurous childhood like many other children, I am grateful for being raised with a greater knowledge and wisdom than that ingrained in many.
After reading the essay On Writing by Stephen King, it was apparent that improving writing skills is important. The beginning to forming a better career is to first read because “one learns most clearly what not to do by reading bad prose”. (King) Improving writing skills can further improve verbal communication skills and help to advance in life. When someone improves their writing skills, they can then improve their verbal communication skills. Improving both verbal and written communication skills will lead to a better career path.
I have always known that writing was not my strong point. Entering writing 101 in September I was very much afraid. I knew that the expectations would be very high for this course; thus it would be more difficult than any other writing class I had previously taken. At first writing was a nightmare for me, but thanks to the assistance from professor Smart and my tutors, I have improved drastically in my writing skills and, as a result I am now a better writer. During the course of four months, I have learned so much. There were a few bumps in the way throughout the semester, but I managed to overcome them. It is hard to believe that my journey in writing 101 is coming to an end. Through my hard work and dedication, this class has helped me to build confidence in my writing that will help me throughout my college life.
Reading, Thinking, Writing: Resources for Teaching. By Michael Meyer. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. 15-16. Print.
Writing is an important part of everyone’s life, whether we use it in school, in the workplace, as a hobby or in personal communication. It is important to have this skill because it helps us as writers to express feelings and thoughts to other people in a reasonably permanent form. Formal writing forms like essays, research papers, and articles stimulates critically thinking. This helps the writer to learn how to interpret the world around him/her in a meaningful way. In college, professors motivate students to write in a formal, coherent manner, without losing their own voice in the process. Improving your writing skills is important, in every English class that’s the main teaching point; to help students improve their writing skills. Throughout my college experience I have acknowledge that
I have gained some insight from certain readings. "Who Shall I Be" really struck me in a good way. It talks about the reality of positive and negative consequences resulting from some sort of change. Changes can be dangerous at times. Not physically, but mentally. I guess it could be physical in some situations. I feel I have become a more mature reader since high school. Reading experience leads to reading success. That’s my opinion. I used to not be able to focus when I read, but you just have to stick it out and read and read and read. I feel I am a focused reader now, I try hard. I have also gained mental reading confidence. You break that down.