The semester has came to a close, and as I write this portfolio, I reflect on the topics, ideas, and questions that have arisen and been discussed throughout the duration of this course. I lift up a thick green folder, filled with paper clips, staples, and hundreds of words written in ink (and a few in pencil). I open it up and glance through a collection of focused thoughts that document a growing and stretching in my thoughts about the teaching of writing. I think back to the first time that I entered the doors of the classroom, and honestly, it doesn’t seem that I’ve changed that much. But, I can also glance through my writer’s notebook, along with this folder-full-of-thoughts, and see the long strides that I have taken towards a more complete …show more content…
Rainwater, I wanted to know more about the teaching of writing. I interviewed her for the next assignment, the interview, I wanted to learn a little bit more about how she facilitated her writing classroom. Because of the broad range of topics that we had discussed in the class, as well as the questions that I had thought about during the other days in my practicum experience, I asked questions that were somewhat general. Ms. Rainwater, because of answering me through email, did not elaborate as much as I hoped she would. Due to both of these things, I found it hard to really narrow the focus of the assignment and so I struggled with the first draft of paper. However, after a conference to discuss my revisions, I narrowed the focus to student engagement and interest and the ways that Ms. Rainwater achieved those two things in her classroom. I found that Ms. Rainwater answered in her email different ways that she kept students’ engaged in her classroom, and I found that the ways that I mentioned in my paper, namely creating the expectation for writing in the classroom, giving practical outlets and audiences for their writing, and allowing for student choice in assignments, really helped her students to push through writing assignments and provide thoughtful pieces. This revision process helped me to really hone in on a focus as well as reflect on practicum experience with Ms. Rainwater. I think, no matter what age or level of schooling, …show more content…
This report, titled “Journaling through Literature: Enhancing Reading Experience through Writing,” helped to dive deep into the research surrounding the teaching of writing and literature. One of the most iconic pieces of an English class (other than the argumentative essay) is the essay analyzing literature. In almost every high school English class today, there is at least one essay doing this. In fact, many believe that is of central importance to the English class and if you take that out, the whole experience of the class wouldn’t be the same! There are so many questions that I have about this process. For starters, is this essay really so important? Is it really the point of an English class to analyze “great” literature? What skills (other than recognizing symbols and other literary things like that) do you garner from doing these kinds of essays? I could go on, and hopefully, I will get some of these questions answered throughout the remainder of my time her at USC. My praxis report zeroed in on one question out of the many surrounding this topic: In what ways can writing (other than the analytical essay) help to enhance my students experiences with literature? One thing I learned in this project is that nobody is really talking about this right now. Maybe because the cannon of ‘great’ literature is a controversial topic for some people, maybe because people believe there is no such thing as the canon, or
During the transition from a high school writer to a collegiate writer, my strength at understanding the basic principles of good writing has remained consistent. I grasp the ...
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
The very first chapter we read of Mindful Writing changed my perspective to see that anyone and everyone can be a writer. Brian Jackson, the author of Mindful Writing, wrote, “In this book I want to convince you that anyone writing anything for any reason is a writer…Writing is not something we do just in school. It is a vital means of influence in all facets of life.” It was through that very first reading that I began to think about writing as more than just a dreaded part of school, and I began to think of myself as more than just a student forced to write. Our very first assignment, My Writing Story, helped me to reflect on my identity as a writer. I realized that I was a writer every time I wrote in my journal or captioned an Instagram post. Throughout the semester, as I came to love writing more with each paper I wrote, I was able to create my identity as a writer. I learned that I loved research and analyzing others’ thoughts and ideas, but that writing simply on my own opinions, wasn’t my favorite past time. Through the countless readings this semester, I saw which writing styles I loved and which didn’t speak to me. Each day of class, I chipped away at creating my identity as a writer, and I’m grateful for the lessons that helped me shape and realize that
Learning to read and write are both considered to be fundamental human skills, that we begin to learn from the day we start school. As time advances, as do our minds, and we are expected to evolve in our reading and writing skills. Finishing high school is a large milestone for the lives of young adults; however, there is so much to learn in order to reach the next big milestone. To be a writer in college can challenge our preconceived thoughts on how we write. Although some skills remain unchanged, high school graduates are faced with overcoming new ways of doing a skill that seems so simple that it is practically innate. The definition of writing skills for college students is much different than high school. However, considering we have come so far it is time to go over the information we already know and challenge ourselves with ideas that we are yet to learn more about.
My development as a writer has flourished throughout this semester. The first week of this fall semester started out with writing responses from our readings in the textbook. Looking back through and analyzing my reading responses at the semester to now; I noticed a substantial improvement in not only my grammar skills, but also my summarizing, and in-depth studying of writing adeptness. Another way I have progressed this semester is the vocabulary of my writing has significantly improved and become more scholarly. Another advancement I noticed was that the content of my work has matured, along with my organizational adeptness.
In preparation for the Advanced Placement Literature and Composition exam, high school students must read many kinds of literature during the year-long course to familiarize themselves with different time periods, movements, philosophies, and genres. Advanced Placement students must learn to think critically, and be ready to find, analyze, and express literary connections through written analysis. The biggest challenge of teaching and learning Advanced Placement English is the difficulty covering the entire scope of literature in two semesters. Twentieth century literature often gets neglected. The pace of the curriculum can also limit the creativity of lesson planning and evaluation. Many teachers rely heavily on lecture, discussion, and a traditional analysis paper.
A walk through demonstration and rationale discussion completed the WinMed experience. Learning about emergency lighting, testing of emergency lighting, fire extinguishers use/deployment/charge monitoring, sprinkler systems with backflow prevention valve, smoke detector yearly cleaning, cleaning of general areas including bathrooms, trash pickup and disposal, biohazard disposal, sharp containers, standard precautions, and biohazard facility pick up opened my eyes wide to a whole new world.
The first writing project I was assigned in this class was an analysis of the film, Gran Torino. During class, I learned there was so much more to the movie than what we see; there was a meaning behind every little thing from the clothes to the hair to even the cars on the side of the street. It all meant something. The key features of an literary analysis include “an arguable thesis, careful attention to the language, attention to patterns or themes, and a clear interpretation (Norton Field Guide 85-86).” Critical thinking is an important skill, not just behind a desk, but also in the real world. The second writing project was a workplace writi...
As the semester finally approaches the finish line, I revisit my past work to compare and contrast how this class has developed me into a successful writer at the college level. Throughout the year my writing style has developed and become broader as I have learned how to incorporate more of my personal views as well as reliable, unbiased information. This portfolio is a representation of how many things I have learned along the way while being an English 102 student.
Meyer, Michael, ed. Thinking and Writing About Literature. Second Edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001.
The first English course I took in college was a basic introduction to writing, during this course we learned how to write a good essay, we learned techniques to improve our writing and we learned how to organize our ideas and put them in a logical manner. We did a lot of discussions and during this class was the first time that I was involve in peer reviewing. My second course I took was with the same professor, Mr. Braun. I believe he was a great educator and he really showed interest in helping their students that’s why when I had the opportunity I choose him to be my professor
Over the course of the semester, I feel that I have grown as a writer in many ways. When I came into the class, there were skills I had that I already excelled at. During my time in class, I have come to improve on those skills even more. Before I took this class, I didn’t even realise what I was good at. This is the first class where I felt I received feedback on my writing that helped me to actually review my work to see what areas I lacked in and where I succeeded.
As a writer, I struggled my first semester, which took a huge toll on my excitement for both English and writing. Although, I came to realize that with a little help, proofreading, and editing (several times), I was able to generate a well-written essay or at best an average one. Regardless of my poor start, I continued to appreciate my love of English language arts courses. I was blown away by all the juicy classical literature and landmark poems I was able to read and comprehend. I loved all of my classes in college, and I honestly enjoyed the readings! There is so much that can be learned from examining literature and research. Without having read and wrote countless assignments about various topics, novels, poems, and more, I do not believe I would still be motivated to become a high school English teacher and literature professor. My love of reading is a love that I hope will be contagious enough for my future students to capture and spread. In the meanwhile, my continuous love of the Brothers Grimm Tales has inspired a concentration in Children’s literature for my second master’s degree, and I am almost positive that I have conjured a snippet of my future dissertation as well from observations in select
The ability to write well is not a naturally acquired skill; it is usually learned or culturally transmitted as a set of practices in formal instructional settings or other environments. Writing skills must be practiced and learned through experience. Writing also involves composing, which implies the ability either to tell or retell pieces of information in the form of narratives or description, or to transform information into new texts, as in expository or argumentative writing. Perhaps it is best viewed as a continuum of activities that range from the more mechanical or formal aspects of “writing down” on the one end, to the more complex act of composing on the other end (Omaggio Hadley, 1993). It is undoubtedly the act of
As I look back on my schooling I can’t believe how many papers I’ve written throughout my life. Naturally as I’ve grown up, my writing has developed from learning how to write sentences all the way up to the pages of essays that consist of deeper criteria. I know for a fact that I’m a better writer now than I was before. College writing is more challenging and I’ve had to learn how to adjust to it.