The movie, Beautiful Girls, was on that I had never seen. I actually enjoyed the movie and would probably watch it again. When writing the critical analysis about this movie, I found it to be kind of hard. It was so easy to fall into summarizing the movie instead of analyzing it. I think that if I was to write my paper again, I would try even harder to not summarize. For some reason, while I was writing my paper I wanted to let people know about important parts of the movie before I analyzed them. I learned that I should assume that my "audience" has seen the movie and they do not want to be told what it was about again!
I also found that I did not cite enough throughout my paper. I did not realize that you have to cite so much, even when you use your own words!!! I missed a lot of places where I needed to cite, so that is something that I would fix as well.
I think that I would not change my stance on the movie and the flow that I used. I believe that my opinion is important and the way that I see the movie can be way different from the way someone else views it. This helps people see different perspectives and maybe even see or understand something in the movie that they did not notice before. Same with me, I would like to see other people's views on the movie just in case I missed something, or misinterpreted something to get a better understanding of how the movie was supposed to be displayed. I really liked the flow of my paper. I think that the way I wrote the paper flowed nicely. I started out by acknowledging the director and writer and the name of the movie. I then moved on to talk about the different characters and how I analyzed each of them. For my conclusion I summed up what I felt about the movie and what I thought the movie was portraying. I think this is a good flow because it is organized and written in a way that is easy for someone to follow and know where I am going.
All in all, I think that I wrote a good paper, but it could have been better. I think that if I correct my missed cites and take out some of the summaries that I had in there it would be a better paper. Oh, and I need to remember that "you" should not be used, especially in the title!!!!!! :)
Friday, October 29, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Blog #5
For my evaluative summary I decided to use the article, "Don't Blame the Eater" by David Zinczenko. I feel that I wrote a pretty decent paper. I believe that I did discuss in my paper that the article was not successful. I showed how the author said himself that he became educated on how to live a healthier lifestyle and changed his ways. This showed that it is up to the "eater" to decide how they live their lives and what they put into their bodies.
I did state my opinion a couple of times in the paper. I said things that I agree with and/or do not agree with and then gave my opinion as to why I did or did not agree.
I do not think that I completely summarized the entire article, but I did summarize key points to get the idea of the article across in my paper so that my readers would understand what I was talking about and agreeing or disagreeing with.
I did notice that I used the words "is" and "are" quite a few times and I will have to think really hard as to what words I can use in their place for future papers.
At this point I do not think that my paper has to be rewritten, but I normally try to not turn in a paper that I would consider one that needs to be revised. I am sure that my teacher may have a different opinion about my paper, but that is why she is the teacher! Hopefully I will get some good feedback and recommendations to make my papers even better in the future.
I did state my opinion a couple of times in the paper. I said things that I agree with and/or do not agree with and then gave my opinion as to why I did or did not agree.
I do not think that I completely summarized the entire article, but I did summarize key points to get the idea of the article across in my paper so that my readers would understand what I was talking about and agreeing or disagreeing with.
I did notice that I used the words "is" and "are" quite a few times and I will have to think really hard as to what words I can use in their place for future papers.
At this point I do not think that my paper has to be rewritten, but I normally try to not turn in a paper that I would consider one that needs to be revised. I am sure that my teacher may have a different opinion about my paper, but that is why she is the teacher! Hopefully I will get some good feedback and recommendations to make my papers even better in the future.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Research Paper Free Write
What are my interests? Well, I love to hang out with friends and family. I really enjoy just being home playing games, cards, or watching television. My family gets together several times a year, not just holidays, and we just hang out talking, playing cards, eating, and drinking wine. My family pretty much all gets along so it is always a good time. Many times my friends end up joining in the fun with us too.
I love to watch reality TV. I will pretty much watch any reality show whether it be some type of game show or a show following the life of someone. For example, I like to watch The Amazing Race, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Real World Road Rules Challenge, Teen Mom, and The Real Housewives. I do not exactly know why I enjoy these shows, but I guess it could be because I get to see inside the lives of other people and it is not scripted (for the most part). I like the excitement of the challenge or game shows. It is interesting to see how people interact and plot against or with one another to win something. Sometimes I feel like I want to try to be on one of those shows to see if I could actually win!
I also recently really got into a show on Showtime called Dexter. I am completely hooked. I actually went out and rented Seasons 1-3 and watched them all within a week and a half! I have another season to watch to be caught up, because season 5 is what is airing right now. Dexter is about a man that lives 2 separate lives. He is a Forensics blood splatter expert, has great rapport with his colleagues and sister, has a girlfriend and her 2 kids that love him, but he is also a serial killer. He kills people that murdered other people and got away with it. For example, someone that raped and killed little boys, but got away with it because there was not enough evidence to convict. Dexter feels as if he is helping out the world by getting rid of these bad people. He just has to try to avoid getting caught. It is very interesting!
Right now, I am also really into to Football. I like all sports, but I really enjoy watching NFL Football. Every Sunday football is on my TV all day. We make a bunch of food and sometimes have friends and family over to join us. I also joined my first fantasy football league this year, I am not doing so well, but it makes watching the games a lot more exciting because you want your players to do well. Picking the teams that you think are going to win and picking the players that you think are going to do the best that day for your team is both fun and exciting.
I love to watch reality TV. I will pretty much watch any reality show whether it be some type of game show or a show following the life of someone. For example, I like to watch The Amazing Race, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Real World Road Rules Challenge, Teen Mom, and The Real Housewives. I do not exactly know why I enjoy these shows, but I guess it could be because I get to see inside the lives of other people and it is not scripted (for the most part). I like the excitement of the challenge or game shows. It is interesting to see how people interact and plot against or with one another to win something. Sometimes I feel like I want to try to be on one of those shows to see if I could actually win!
I also recently really got into a show on Showtime called Dexter. I am completely hooked. I actually went out and rented Seasons 1-3 and watched them all within a week and a half! I have another season to watch to be caught up, because season 5 is what is airing right now. Dexter is about a man that lives 2 separate lives. He is a Forensics blood splatter expert, has great rapport with his colleagues and sister, has a girlfriend and her 2 kids that love him, but he is also a serial killer. He kills people that murdered other people and got away with it. For example, someone that raped and killed little boys, but got away with it because there was not enough evidence to convict. Dexter feels as if he is helping out the world by getting rid of these bad people. He just has to try to avoid getting caught. It is very interesting!
Right now, I am also really into to Football. I like all sports, but I really enjoy watching NFL Football. Every Sunday football is on my TV all day. We make a bunch of food and sometimes have friends and family over to join us. I also joined my first fantasy football league this year, I am not doing so well, but it makes watching the games a lot more exciting because you want your players to do well. Picking the teams that you think are going to win and picking the players that you think are going to do the best that day for your team is both fun and exciting.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Blog #3
Writing in a group was something new to me. I do not really remember writing a group paper before this. I was interested to see how writing in a group would work out due to the different personalities and writing styles that people have.
I actually ended up really enjoying working in a group, or with my partner, on the informative summary. I guess that it was the luck of the draw when choosing my partner, but we got along very well. We worked very well together and had very similar writing styles. I think that we both took the reins and ended up writing a great paper.
I liked that we were able to share our opinions about the article we chose, because I was able to see another person's views. Instead of being by myself with only my take on the article or something in the article, I was able to hear her take as well. There were things that she picked out that I would have never seen or thought of, and I did the same. It was nice to have someone there to immediately begin proofreading, saying that something was great, and/or saying that something did not make any sense at all. I would definitely do the group thing again, as long as I get a partner like I had for this one!
When writing my evaluative summary I did not have too much trouble deciding on whether or not the author proved and backed up their points. I knew the stance I wanted to take and my thoughts came pretty quickly to me. I was able to find things in the article that I wanted to talk about and that I had an opinion on. This was made easier for me because I was able to see another person's way of doing this on the previous article I used for my group essay. I was able to put the two techniques together for my personal use. I believe that I did a good job of organizing and getting the point across.
I actually ended up really enjoying working in a group, or with my partner, on the informative summary. I guess that it was the luck of the draw when choosing my partner, but we got along very well. We worked very well together and had very similar writing styles. I think that we both took the reins and ended up writing a great paper.
I liked that we were able to share our opinions about the article we chose, because I was able to see another person's views. Instead of being by myself with only my take on the article or something in the article, I was able to hear her take as well. There were things that she picked out that I would have never seen or thought of, and I did the same. It was nice to have someone there to immediately begin proofreading, saying that something was great, and/or saying that something did not make any sense at all. I would definitely do the group thing again, as long as I get a partner like I had for this one!
When writing my evaluative summary I did not have too much trouble deciding on whether or not the author proved and backed up their points. I knew the stance I wanted to take and my thoughts came pretty quickly to me. I was able to find things in the article that I wanted to talk about and that I had an opinion on. This was made easier for me because I was able to see another person's way of doing this on the previous article I used for my group essay. I was able to put the two techniques together for my personal use. I believe that I did a good job of organizing and getting the point across.
Blog #2
When I found out that I had to write an essay in class, on the first day of class, I was shocked! I was not prepared for it at all. It had been almost two years since I had written an essay. I was very nervous about writing the diagnostic essay because of the time constraints. If I had to do it again, I would try to be more relaxed and take more time to get my thoughts together and organized.
I enjoy writing when I am able to take my time to proofread and revise, revise, revise! I also like to get my ideas written down, kind of like an outline, and then begin writing my paper. Once I have my ideas I can write an organized paper. I do not think that my diagnostic paper was very well organized. It was just a lot of information thrown together to complete two pages! If I would have had more than 45 minutes to write it, I would have gone back to make several changes. I would have been scribbling out sentences, moving sentences around and choosing better words to use. Time is something that I need to make a paper a great paper.
My strengths have to be that I am an organized writer.(When I have time!) Once I have decided what I want to write about, I can get to work and I can keep my thoughts coming. The tough part, is deciding what I want to write about! I have many opinions and I like to express them. One of my weaknesses in writing has to be second guessing myself. It is hard for me to want to sit down and start a paper. I second guess myself on whether or not something is going to be good enough to write about. It drives me crazy because I can spend hours going back and forth with myself about whether or not I should use something in my papers.
I enjoy writing when I am able to take my time to proofread and revise, revise, revise! I also like to get my ideas written down, kind of like an outline, and then begin writing my paper. Once I have my ideas I can write an organized paper. I do not think that my diagnostic paper was very well organized. It was just a lot of information thrown together to complete two pages! If I would have had more than 45 minutes to write it, I would have gone back to make several changes. I would have been scribbling out sentences, moving sentences around and choosing better words to use. Time is something that I need to make a paper a great paper.
My strengths have to be that I am an organized writer.(When I have time!) Once I have decided what I want to write about, I can get to work and I can keep my thoughts coming. The tough part, is deciding what I want to write about! I have many opinions and I like to express them. One of my weaknesses in writing has to be second guessing myself. It is hard for me to want to sit down and start a paper. I second guess myself on whether or not something is going to be good enough to write about. It drives me crazy because I can spend hours going back and forth with myself about whether or not I should use something in my papers.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Blog #1
While reading the Introduction and Chapter 1 of the book "They Say I Say" I found a lot of very helpful information. In the Introduction the author brings up the traditional five paragraph essay. This is the type of essay that I remember writing and learning about all the way through High School. I do agree with the author that you do need more than just evidence that supports your thesis; you also need conversation to argue effectively. Being able to incorporate the he said she said and being able to argue or agree with those statements helps readers understand more of what you are arguing, as opposed to just showing your point of view and the facts as to why you chose that point of view.
One of the questions that is in the book is, "Do Templates Stifle Creativity?" Templates are a good source to use when writing a paper. Templates can help a person get their thoughts in order and can help sort out ideas to be put into a logical way that makes sense in a paper. Papers would not be robotic, because the words and information that are used in each paper would be unique and creative in their own way.
Quotations are very important in showing why you agree or disagree with something. Quotations can be under and over used in papers. I agree that you need to quote, but you also need to make sure that you are incorporating a lot of your own ideas into your paper to get your views across to the readers.
All in all, I agree with most of the information that is offered in the book "They Say I Say." I think that the information given will be very helpful to me while writing any paper that is required this semester and in the future.
One of the questions that is in the book is, "Do Templates Stifle Creativity?" Templates are a good source to use when writing a paper. Templates can help a person get their thoughts in order and can help sort out ideas to be put into a logical way that makes sense in a paper. Papers would not be robotic, because the words and information that are used in each paper would be unique and creative in their own way.
Quotations are very important in showing why you agree or disagree with something. Quotations can be under and over used in papers. I agree that you need to quote, but you also need to make sure that you are incorporating a lot of your own ideas into your paper to get your views across to the readers.
All in all, I agree with most of the information that is offered in the book "They Say I Say." I think that the information given will be very helpful to me while writing any paper that is required this semester and in the future.
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