writing for this class and beyond

Even though all of the English classes that I've taken have been writing intensive, I feel that the writing I have done for this class has prepared me the best for any writing I will have to do in the future.

This class has taught me how to make important decisions as a writer. We had to choose our own communities, which was an important decision because the remaining of the writing we were assigned to do had to be related to our community. After making that first decision, I also had to make decisions regarding different genres I would write my assignments in, especially for the initiating action assignment. I had to figure out what genre would be the most effective for the argument I was trying to prove (how the most publicized animal rights groups are also the most extreme). I also had to figure out the most effective presentation to convey information to the class.

Being able to effectively make these decisions will help me in future writing because decisions like choosing a genre will always have to be made, no matter what type of writing I will have to do. I feel that becoming better at making these kind of basic "writerly" choices will lead to better writing.

final portfolio

The rough copy of my final portfolio is finished, and even thought it took some time I am actually pretty happy with how it is shaping up. None of my three writing assignments needed too many major revisions, so the bulk of my time was spent on writing the three essays included in the portfolio.

For my introduction to the writer essay, I spent some time reflecting on how my writing has stayed the same and changed between now and high school. I focused on how my writing in high school was mainly fact-based and how the writing I did for this course was more open to creativity and opinion.

For my reflection on the writings essay, I mainly quoted myself, noting the changes I made to the various assignments. I also included why I made those changes and how I felt my writing would improve after making those revisions.

My concluding essay was the most difficult for me to write. I struggled with the question we were supposed to address, which was: "What do I need to know in order to evaluate learnings/progress/effort this semester that this portfolio does not demonstrate?" I think I've decided that for my final portfolio, I would answer that question by talking about how much my time management skills have improved and how I have become better towards making effective writing decisions (like choosing a topic to write about, genre to write it in, etc).

Don't you just love Pittsburgh??

I've been doing some thinking about what newspaper I would like to write my editorial for, and I think I've narrowed it down to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Not only is it a popular publication that is read by a wide range of people, it also publishes a variety of articles. In addition, I am familiar with the layout since I read it often, which is a plus.

I was originally thinking about writing my editorial for an animal rights publication, but I now realize that wouldn't make much sense because my audience isn't necessarily aimed towards staunch animal rights supporters.

research for my genre

For my initiating action project on animal rights, my genre is going to be an editorial. I did a bit of research and found out some interesting information that I never knew about editorials.

Basically, editorials are a person's views on current events. They aren't news, but rather opinions based on facts. The main reason why an editorial writer writes one in the first place is to express his or her opinions on a fact or hotly debated issue. Generally, editorial writers have a lot of freedom in what they say in their writing, but their finished pieces have to be based on facts, not solely opinions. Also, editorial page editors under each newspaper have the final say before the editorials are published. This is to maintain the newspaper's credibility. Some issues most frequently chosen by editorial writers are concerning politics and elected officials in towns, the environment, and the economy. The editorials I found on the NY Times website weren't any longer or shorter than the average newspaper article.

I think the great thing about editorials is that their writers have freedom to express their opinions. They are not just spitting out facts like regular newspaper articles. Editorial writers are able to interject their ideas in with the facts, making for interesting and thought-provoking reading. Editorials enable their readers to consider both sides of an issue and either disagree or agree with the author.

I think editorials are a refreshing break from the very cut-and-dry world of regular newspaper reporting. They are a great thing to read if you are on the fence about a certain issue.

http://people.howstuffworks.com/newspaper3.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/

initiating action

In the animal rights community, I feel that a major problem is how animal activists are viewed by the public. A lot of times the public hears the words "animal rights," they think about the extreme fringe of the animal welfare movement. They think of the PETA extremists and the Animal Liberation Front, people that blow up animal research labs, threaten animal researchers, and ask Ben and Jerry's to use human breast milk instead of cow's milk in their ice cream (see one of my old posts!). I believe that this turns the public away from believing in and learning about animal rights.

What I want to prove is that a lot of animal rights organizations are not the fringe extremists that people believe them to be. I feel that writing an editorial is the best way to accomplish this. I plan on using my past research with the an animal rights group here at VT (For the Sake of Animals) to strengthen my argument with their comments on how extreme they think PETA and the Animal Liberation Front really are. My audience will be primarily geared toward people who think that animal activists are extreme, crazy, unjustified, ridiculous, etc. I think writing an editorial will be the most effective way to prove my point by, in a sense, "exposing" the less extreme side of the animal welfare movement.

What many people don't realize is that the majority if animal rights supporters are not crazy and do not condone such violent behavior. It is my hope that people will be able to see this truth through my editorial.

Professor Scott's Feedback

I just got Professor Scott's feedback concerning my essay.

I really liked how the feedback started out positive and then transitioned into what I need to work on during the revision process. She positively commented on my introduction, which I really tried to make personal but also informative in this essay. Her positive feedback encouraged me to try that strategy again in future essays.

I thought the criticism was fair and constructive. In high school, my English teachers would write all over my essays, telling me that this and that was written poorly and needed to be changed. Their comments would leave me confused as to why those problem areas needed to be changed and how I could go about doing it. I thought it was very helpful that Professor Scott included suggestions to help me revise areas that could use some improvement. She also noted how those problem areas left her feeling as a reader, whether it be confused, deceived, etc. I'm glad I have her feedback and after re-reading those problem sections, I can now see why she feels that way. I'll definitely be using her revision suggestions.

In future writing, I'll be sure to try and avoid doing what I did wrong in this essay. I'll try to keep each body paragraph balanced and make an effort to keep including transitions that aren't too blunt but keep the writing organized. ( I was really conscious of that in this essay).

Essay Feedback

This is just in response to the essay classmate feedback assignment (the letter). I'd just like to say how helpful I thought it was! (Thanks for your feedback Angie!)

Normally the only person that revises my essays is myself, and sometimes that isn't the most effective revision process. Sometimes I miss things, don't realize I'm making a confusing point, etc etc. Having another classmate review what I had written was a huge help, it gave me another perspective and new ideas to consider. It was also a confidence boost to see that another person thought I did a few things well. I also liked the letter format. The letter made everything seem more personal. I also think revising other student's work was a helpful exercise. It taught me what to look for in strong essays, and how important a clear purpose is throughout the essay. It also was great practice in giving constructive criticism.

I think my final essay is a lot better now after receiving the feedback than it would have been without doing this assignment.