Week 15

I think that I've improved my writing process because drafts were required.  Looking at drafts in conferences and discussing them really helped me see what could be improved.  I feel as though I'm still struggling as a researcher to put my subjective position aside so I can write neutrally, not as an insider or an outsider, just as an observer of the subculture.  Surprisingly, I think that all of the assignments were well organized and do not need to be reworked.  While working on them I thought they were difficult but looking back, I've come to the conclusion that they were definitely beneficial for my future in college.  I won't be taking another English course because after this semester I will be finished with the English requirements for BSU's Core Curriculum.  In saying that, I believe I received well rounded instruction from the English department and thoroughly benefited from the two courses I took my freshman year.

Week 14

I believe the best piece I've written is the Research Proposal with Literature Review.  I believe it is the best because I really felt like I knew what I was doing even though I had never written a literature review before.  It was fairly easy to elaborate the subtitles you gave us.  I had already done research to write the Exploring Subcultures paper and Annotated Bibliography therefore, I didn't need to conduct additional research to write this paper.  I only had to review your outline for the literature review to make sure I understood what it was.  I felt like the knowledge I've acquired from research made it extremely easy to write and it simply flowed; I didn't have writers block like I usually have when writing other papers.

Week 13

As I entered the building, I walked into a sea of chattering people.  Smiles, laughter, hand shakes and hugs were seen everywhere.  There was a rope separating the entrance to the auditorium and the lobby.  Once it was pulled back for everyone to enter, the crowd migrated. We were all squeezed tightly together and kept pressing on till we got into the auditorium.  I smiled when I heard the speakers blaring a song of praise.  My friends and I scanned the rows of seats to find enough chairs for several of us.  After we made our way up the stairs and into our seats, I examined the open stage set up with guitars, a drum set, mikes, amps and cords tangled every which way.  I glanced at the large screen above the stage and found that we only had a couple minutes till the meeting began.  My friend turned to me and quickly told me about the great time she had with her discipler sharing the Gospel.  She smiled, as if she won a million dollar jackpot and talked with her hands as if conducting an orchestra.  Even though the girl she talked to wasn't a believer in Jesus Christ she still had hope in sharing the Gospel again.

Week 12

When I hear the word "rhetoric" I think about the word "persuasive" because of my English 103 class.  We learned the elements of rhetoric: ethos, logos, and pathos.  Still after having one semester of English under my belt and soon to have another one, I find the term "rhetoric" confusing.  My definition of rhetoric would be: acknolwedging ethos, logos, and pathos while writing.  In other words, while writing, acknowledge my voice, the reason why I'm writing, and my audience.  I definitely think that the things we say make up a part of rhetoric.  Also, how we say things, for example, sarcastically, as-a-matter-of-factly, sincerely, critically, etc., make up rhetoric.  I don't really think I've heard the term "rhetoric" in American society.  Other than my English classes, I've never heard it.  I do think I've found rhetoric in my subculture.  When I think about the audience Ball State Cru reaches out to, I think of a specific audience, college students.  When I think about voice, not necessarily my voice but the voice of Cru, I recall certain words and "methods" Cru uses to reach out to insiders and outsiders.  Going off of something you said at the beginning of the semester, I'm sure I will use rhetoric in my min-ethnorgraphy without really thinking about it, like it will come naturally.  I won't have to sit down and think, okay this is how I am going to utilize ethos, this is how I'm going to utilize pathos and so on.  I'm sure while writing I will realize that I am incorporating rhetoric into my mini-ethnography.

My Writing Quote

Writing is personal. It's my language, my voice, and my thoughts, just on paper or on a computer. 

Week 11

I think my writing process has improved tremendously.  I continue to revise and edit while I write the paper instead of  just writing a "shitty first draft" but having a draft due and then a final draft due has helped me a lot.  As I begin to revise and edit my final draft I consider all the mistakes, errors, and things that just plain didn't look or sound right in the first draft.  I definitely like the requirement of having two drafts due because it made me change my writing process.  The annotated bib gave me the most trouble because of the need to find relevant sources and having difficulty finding them as well as the citations.  Citations are so confusing!  I liked the Research Proposal and Literature Review a lot more that expected.  It was extremely easy to write because of all the research we've already done.  We just had to put it in different words!  I write because it gives me more knowledge of a certain topic, in the instance of our class, Cru; in the instance of my Eng 103 class, global warming.  Writing is personal. It's my language and my voice just on paper or on a computer.  Writing has already played a role in my future, for example I had to write a support letter asking people to support me with monetary or prayerful gifts so that I would be able to go on a mission trip this summer.  I think writing will continue to play a role in my life if I want to pursue mission trips, as well as my career in Social Work.