Thlog #9 - Omg End of Quarter Feels ):

Weeeeeek. Nine. Crazy shit man.
Well this week we only had one class so it didn't really feel like "Week 9." I liked this weeks class though. Our presentations were actually helpful. I liked the one about hedged language because I feel like that can be really beneficial to me later on (I'm a pre-chem major) when I'm working on higher degrees. I didn't know how much a difference those simple words made either, you can change an entire sentence's meaning with one word. I enjoyed doing my presentation as well because I'm a huge fan of semi colons and they're super efficient if you use really long sentences a lot which I happen to do. I also think the presentation that discussed brackets (pretty sure it was citations) was informative, I tried using brackets in one of my WP's and failed miserably. That being said, I'm super glad someone covered proper ways to use them. 

In regards to the portfolio...I'm having mixed feelings about it. I don't think I'll struggle with the reflection part or the matrix parts. I think the hardest part for me will be adjusting the actual WP's and trying to make them better. I really struggled with WP2 and I don't want to rewrite it and it still be a total disaster. 

Thlog #8 - ITS WEEK 8?!?

Holy shit this quarter is flying by. I remember thinking at the beginning "A portfolio? That sounds awful and like a ton of work," and now I'm like "Well I should probably start analyzing my WP's." Time has escaped us. 

This week in class it was mainly about WP3 and our Portfolio. With WP3 I think I finally broke down to my own personal understanding what genre'

s and conventions are really about and how they work. Beyond this class I'd never given much thought to genres nor have I ever heard the word convention, now I can't stop looking at things and thinking "hm what makes that, that thing? what genre does it belong to?" It drives me bananas lol. However, I really liked WP3. I struggled at first trying to think outside the box for my adult genre, but once I picked something I breezed through it. The whole project was really fun to put together and create, seeing your two new genres in their final form was a great feeling. I struggled a bit with the Self-Analysis, I didn't know where to start or if the direction I was taking it was the right one. I'm kind of nervous to see me score honestly. In regards to the portfolio, I'm WAY TO EXCITED to have a chance to re-do WP2. I powered through that one and it turned out to be crummy af (which was devastating I actually cried lmao), so the fact I get to do it again makes me happy. I want to finish this class knowing I thoroughly did well on all of our assignments. I think this is gonna be the true test of how this course has impacted each of us individually as writers. I believe we'll all find the root of what writing is really about and what we can take from this with us beyond Writing 2. I'm nervous to write the metacognitive essay, but either way I have high hopes for the end of this course and my portfolio. 

Thlog #7 - Veterans Day

This week we only had one day of class, because of Veterans Day. It feels kind of weird only going to Writing one day out of the week. Class this week was mainly geared towards WP3 and ways to work with it. I really thought the PB (even though we technically didn't do it IN class) was the best part of W2 this week. It allowed everyone to see how their classmates minds really work and kind of let us in on each others writing process. I noticed a lot of creativity from people and it made me want to think bigger and bolder. Aside from that though it almost made us outline our projects and I learned from a previous paper that outlines are there to help you not hurt you. I didn't think the comic book reading really had any relevance to WP3 or writing in general until we started talking about WP3 in class. The concepts presented in that reading correlate to WP3 because how the author told readers to write comics is how we should be thinking when we write our two genres. How can we format this, and come at it from different angles while using certain words and even images to get our reader to better understand what we're doing. It was a lengthy reading though nonetheless. I also think it was beneficial and important for Zack to show us examples he liked of previous student work. I think most of us (including myself) were a tad bit confused on WHAT exactly we were supposed to be producing for this assignment but that cleared it up. When I'm given projects I like seeing previous examples that way I have an idea of what criteria is expected of me. Sometimes prompts or explanations on paper are just not enough. 

PB3A - Teen Magazine Surveys or Parenting Articles ?

At first WP3 intimidated me. I was incredibly nervous for this writing project because I wasn’t sure what we were essentially being asked to do. After two classes and numerous questions, I’m not nervous about it anymore (this happens whenever we are given an assignment). I’m actually really excited to write this WP, I think it’ll be fun.

For the WP3 I chose Option 1. The scholarly article that I chose for my WP3 was on Preliminary Effectiveness of Surviving the Teens Suicide Prevention and Depression Awareness Program on Adolescents’ Suicidality and Self-Efficacy in Performing Help-Seeking Behaviors. Essentially what that means is, a group of people researched how effective this program was for teens. They performed this study through a survey they had teens in the program take right before they entered it, right after they finished it, and three months after they finished it.

The pieces I plan on taking from my article to create new genre’s with are the actual experiment--so the survey part--as well as the topic of the article. I think the survey portion of the article is the most important because it’s sort of the whole reason the writers wrote the article. They conducted an experiment and had to write this research paper on what they did, why they did it, and the results of it. I also think the actual topic is important because it shows what the writers are interested in or care about.

For my first genre, I’m going to create a young adult magazine survey. Usually you find these in teen magazines about silly topics like “What ice cream flavor are you” or “Are you Justin Bieber’s biggest fan?” I was thinking for my survey to do it on something teens could relate too. I’m going to make a survey on “Should you ask your crush to the dance?” This will have girly colors, and pictures that correlate to the topic. It’ll range from 8-12 questions, and there will be results at the end depending on the answers chosen by the reader. The questions will be simple with three choices for answers, that way I can range it from “He’s totally feelings you, go for it” to “Red light. He may be into someone else. Maybe a group thing for the dance?” Usually these surveys are fun and whimsical, so I’m going to try to make it as Tiger-Beat-esque and girly-ish as possible. I want it to be something a 13 year old girl would actually do to see if she should ask the cute guy from English class to the dance.

For my second genre, I’m going to create a magazine article you’d find in a magazine for parents. This will be not so colorful and childish. It’ll have more calm, pastel or neutral colors and not as many pictures and graphics. My article will be called “10 Signs of Depression to Look for in Your Teen” (I might change the number of signs). It’ll start off with a subheading of the sign, and then below it’ll have some details about the sign and what it means. Typically, these articles would contain resources for where to get help and support group info for parents dealing with the same issue as well. It’ll also include references from the information, so the readers don’t think some lunatic made it all up. I’m going to try to get as close to the full layout of a magazine article as possible. I might do this as an online article or one in an actual magazine but I’m not entirely sure yet.

Thlog #6 - Glasses & WP2 Papers (Late asf Sorryyyyyyy)

Sooooo. This week I found out I need glasses or I am incapable of doing schoolwork without acquiring a migraine (which means my motor skills are no bueno), and that outlines really help the writing process. When I wrote my WP2 paper, I did it differently than when I wrote my first WP. I started with an outline for each scholarly article and the non-academic article. This made writing my actual paper soooooo much easier. With writing my W2 I realized how much the conventions, rhetoric, data, and "moves" actually make a difference in the articles. The overall reaction someone gets from a piece of writing is derived from all the small things that make up the piece. I think the whole purpose of WP2 was to help us realize this, which will get us ready for WP3. So about class Wednesday (cue awkward laughter). I liked it, I thought it was kinda cool and I loved the idea of class from the comfort of my bed. I also liked...no LOVED, that we got our question's answered in those tables because it makes it easier to go back and look when you get confused. I always use the lesson plans as a reference when I need them. However, I am still a fan of being in class with a professor in front of us. I just wish I could be snuggled in my quilt while that is occurring. For PB3A, I'm not that worried about writing it. I just have no idea which option I'm gonna choose to plan out, I think all of them are pretty do-able but I don't know if it's better to step outside of my comfort zone, do the one I wouldn't normally choose and risk it sucking. Or if I should do the one I know I could write and do well with. *big sigh* we'll see.

Bob Ross < Disney Artists (6.2)

Bob Ross: 

talks about what he's painting, describes it like its in real life, describes supplies with detail, describes what he’s doing movement by movement and how the finished product should end up, focuses on movement with media they’re using and how they’re using it, focuses on what it should look like, also focuses in on color(s) he uses,

Disney: 

sort of focuses on what they’re doing but not in detail, talks about the technique and process, talks about why they’re painting/what they see, what media they use and why, they talk about how they are creating their art work (brush strokes, details they include or focus on), talks about the art in different types of ways (architectural way, spiritual way, life like way)

Bob Ross paints and discusses what he's painting and all the while telling his viewers how it'll end up. He refers to real life nature, all the while directing our attention towards WHAT he's actually doing. The Disney artists got into WHAT they were painting and WHY. They don't direct your attention toward any one thing more than something else. 

Bob Ross's moves would be how he talks about the trees/mountains. He talks about them as if they were real, commenting on how you need branches for the birds to sit on and so forth. He breathes kind of heavy and talks really soft. Also that he focuses in on his hand and what he's doing while he's painting. I'd say his style is more soothing and relaxed. His painting are real life images, and they kind of make me think of grandmas. 

Disney artists moves would be that they see the tree as something and describe how that'll reflect in their art. They also describe the utensils/media they use to create their art and why they use those in particular. They use a real tree instead of their memory. Their style is more personal and cartoon based. They make me think of story books and movies (Disney duh.) 

I'd think both types of artists are trying to reflect their work in a mature way. They'd want someone older and interested in that kind of art to be interested in their work.