Final Reflection

At the beginning of the quarter, I really did not know what to expect from this class. When I thought about improving my writing, I thought of somewhat minor aspects, such as grammar. I did not think the very foundation of my expression of ideas would change. I did not realize the overhaul that my writing would need in order to succeed at the college level. I had never heard of “academic writing” before. Like I wrote in my first blog entry, I still think I am a work in progress. Although now the way I am trying to improve myself is completely different from the past. Going forward, one of them main aspects of my writing I still think I need to improve is my academic tone. This includes refraining from using empty adjectives. I need to come off as more professional and less sensationalistic. If nothing else, this course has pointed me in the right direction towards whom I wish to become as a writer.

SLO Reflection Part 2

This quarter, much has changed about my writing. I’m not just talking about grammar and superficial sentence structure. The very foundation of my expression of ideas has shifted significantly. I’ve changed my writing into a more academic style. A major part of this is critical thinking. I am much more proficient analyzing a source, recognizing significant points, and being able to integrate it into an overall argument. This course has taught me how to better apply knowledge into broader ideas. My ability to apply knowledge has also led to better reasoned paper. It has allowed me to better apply evidence in papers. Overall, I would say my writing has come a long way during the quarter.

SLO Reflection Part 1

In a mere quarter, I have vastly improved myself as not only a writer, but also as a researcher, and a reader of academic text. In my first quarter of college, I have learned to read in a way that benefits me as a scholar. I have obtained the ability to establish relevancy of a text to my topic of research without reading every single word. I can use a scholarly source without being caught in the black hole of dense academic text. However, if I did not know how to find these sources, being able to use them would be useless. This class has also presented me with essential research skills for college life. Not only do I now know what scholarly sources are, I have the ability to find them. I now know how to sift through the proper databases to find the most reliable sources for my research. I am not saying that I am the perfect reader and researcher, but now I at least have my foot in the door.

What Revision Means to Me

To me, revision simply means changing a work, hopefully for the better. The idea behind revision is the more one does it the better one’s work should be. No matter how strong one’s paper is, it can always use more revision, especially as time goes on and different ideas emerge. The man from the video didn’t really define revision, he just described a general writing process and compared it to evolution.

Feedback on my second essay

Essay 2 has definitely been an adventure. It has been a learning experience but I feel I may have fallen into many of the pitfalls that plagued me in essay 1. Obviously this time I play to change these shortcomings later, it is only my first draft. That being said, I need my readers to focus in on a couple aspects of my paper. The first area is conciseness. Is what I am saying really relevant to my overall work? The second aspect I need my readers to watch are empty adjectives. Am I using useless superlatives like: “astronomically” or “amazingly”. Definitely feel free to write about whatever area you wish to in my paper. Just make sure you put some focus on those two areas. Thank you in advance for your feedback.

Essay 2 Plan

I feel like choosing the third option for my second essay really created a lot of freedom in my writing. I’m much more able to discuss other significant aspects of blogging, besides strictly expression of identity. I’m going to argue that blogging can significantly enhance learning in academic environment. I think it’s a nice argument to shoehorn my way into the “conversation”. I still haven’t found my other sources but I haven’t spent much time seeking them out so I don’t anticipate any major problems with that. I feel like I have a strong sense of direction for my paper. All I have to do now is finalize my sources and start writing my essay.

Source for essay 2

I have decided to use the article “E-Learning” 2.0 by Stephen Downes as a source to support my paper. Throughout the article Downes discusses how online tools such as blogging are evolving into powerful learning tools as the world wide web expands. He argues that online learning tools are evolving as rapidly as the internet itself. In order to support his argument, Downes begins his article by giving a brief history of the evolution of various learning tools that utilize the world wide web such as blogs, blackboard, and a tool called McMaster. Downes then goes on to present an argument for the future of online learning. His article seems like a great tool for the angle I’m taking with my paper.