Final Portfolio
Introduction:
Why are these your best journal entries?
These blogs are the best because they show my understanding of the material that we were working with. In the first blog depicted, my response to the Ferguson incident, I feel like I portray my opinion of the occurrences without shoving my opinion down people's throat (something that a lot of people can't seem to do). In this, I acknowledge that everyone has a right to their own opinion. In my second post depicted here, the Book Club Final, I cover the aspects of what the book club group's presentation will possibly include. At this point in time, the blog post was a rough draft on where I stood with the information that was given and the important aspects that I, as well as my group, felt that needed to be shared with the class.
Why are these you best in class writings?
These in class writings I picked because I felt that they portrayed how I was analyzing and working with the text. They highlight my understanding of major themes, opinions of the book, and how I think the style works in ways of developing the story. I feel that these writings show my progression while reading the book, moving away from the main story and focusing more on what really matters when it comes to the non-fiction prose.
What revision did you do in your formal writing?
In the formal writings given below, I revised several times. The first one shown, the Newspaper Feature "Now What," I revised several times before I passed it in the first time. The revisions for this included adding length and a deeper understanding of Tim's story as well as where he fell compared to other students around campus. I also added advice on how other students can avoid this dilemma. In the second writing shown, the Magazine Feature "Fathers in the Media," I revised a lot of the information about television shows that this stigma can be seen in. By adding the television shows I feel the audience can relate more to the article. Also, I included how it may effect society if nothing is done to fix the way that fathers are being portrayed.
How has it improved or not improved your writing?
This semester has improved my writing by showing me that it's okay to take risks and write about something that isn't necessarily crossing people's mind. It also showed me how to interview and depict people in articles in a way that stays true to the person. Writing is not just a critical being, it's emotional, and it's controversial.
What have you learned about your reading and writing skills this semester?
I realized that my reading and writing skills were based on the critical analysis of what was in front of me. However, this class has helped me realize that in order to understand a work you must dig deeper into the meaning, the author, the story.
What do you still need to work on in future writing assignments?
I really need to work on adding more emotion and sentiment into my pieces. For being trained to write in a critical way, I haven't been able to successfully incorporate a lot of emotion, and that's what this writing needs in order to keep the reader's attention.
These blogs are the best because they show my understanding of the material that we were working with. In the first blog depicted, my response to the Ferguson incident, I feel like I portray my opinion of the occurrences without shoving my opinion down people's throat (something that a lot of people can't seem to do). In this, I acknowledge that everyone has a right to their own opinion. In my second post depicted here, the Book Club Final, I cover the aspects of what the book club group's presentation will possibly include. At this point in time, the blog post was a rough draft on where I stood with the information that was given and the important aspects that I, as well as my group, felt that needed to be shared with the class.
Why are these you best in class writings?
These in class writings I picked because I felt that they portrayed how I was analyzing and working with the text. They highlight my understanding of major themes, opinions of the book, and how I think the style works in ways of developing the story. I feel that these writings show my progression while reading the book, moving away from the main story and focusing more on what really matters when it comes to the non-fiction prose.
What revision did you do in your formal writing?
In the formal writings given below, I revised several times. The first one shown, the Newspaper Feature "Now What," I revised several times before I passed it in the first time. The revisions for this included adding length and a deeper understanding of Tim's story as well as where he fell compared to other students around campus. I also added advice on how other students can avoid this dilemma. In the second writing shown, the Magazine Feature "Fathers in the Media," I revised a lot of the information about television shows that this stigma can be seen in. By adding the television shows I feel the audience can relate more to the article. Also, I included how it may effect society if nothing is done to fix the way that fathers are being portrayed.
How has it improved or not improved your writing?
This semester has improved my writing by showing me that it's okay to take risks and write about something that isn't necessarily crossing people's mind. It also showed me how to interview and depict people in articles in a way that stays true to the person. Writing is not just a critical being, it's emotional, and it's controversial.
What have you learned about your reading and writing skills this semester?
I realized that my reading and writing skills were based on the critical analysis of what was in front of me. However, this class has helped me realize that in order to understand a work you must dig deeper into the meaning, the author, the story.
What do you still need to work on in future writing assignments?
I really need to work on adding more emotion and sentiment into my pieces. For being trained to write in a critical way, I haven't been able to successfully incorporate a lot of emotion, and that's what this writing needs in order to keep the reader's attention.
Blogs:
Blog #1: Ferguson
Ferguson
I have tried to keep my opinions of this situation to myself, seeming that everyone in the world has found their own opinion and a way to announce to the world that it is, in fact, the correct point of view. However, like everyone else, I also have an opinion. What happened in Ferguson is another unfortunate incident of a white male shooting a black male. This just seems all familiar to me. While many people take this as an act of racism, there is much more under lying here. What the cop felt when he pulled that trigger could have been fear, not hatred. He could fear black men for the stigma that society places on them. Now that the verdict is set for Officer Wilson, people feel as though he is not being tried equally because of the races of the Jury, leaning in Wilson's favor. However, I don't think that this is the case. I think that Wilson didn't go after Brown thinking I'm going to kill this Black man because I can get away with it. While people may feel that the judicial system is being played, I think it's important to also realize that this isn't a clear cut case. There is a lot of ambiguity that comes along with the actual events that happened in Ferguson and unfortunately we may never know the entire truth.
http://bhorton-engl280.blogspot.com/2014/11/ferguson.html
Blog #2
Book Club Final
As I ended the book, I was left with a lot of knowledge and interest in the Saudi Arabian women. We have discussed many things in the book club meetings, however, the main thing that we found important to convey is the severity of women's mistreatment and lack of rights in Saudi Arabia. This is something that the entire groups feels need to be conveyed to the class for maximum understanding of the book. Thus, in our final project, a lot of time is going to be used to cover the dress and the stories of these mistreated women. This will cover the themes of the book as well as the writing style.We also want to focus on how the Author developed the writing style of the book, and where the writing style portrays to the reader. Mainly, How does the first person approach that Sasson takes on change the original stories that were told? Where does the book lie between truth and Fiction?
http://bhorton-engl280.blogspot.com/2014/11/book-club-final.html
Ferguson
I have tried to keep my opinions of this situation to myself, seeming that everyone in the world has found their own opinion and a way to announce to the world that it is, in fact, the correct point of view. However, like everyone else, I also have an opinion. What happened in Ferguson is another unfortunate incident of a white male shooting a black male. This just seems all familiar to me. While many people take this as an act of racism, there is much more under lying here. What the cop felt when he pulled that trigger could have been fear, not hatred. He could fear black men for the stigma that society places on them. Now that the verdict is set for Officer Wilson, people feel as though he is not being tried equally because of the races of the Jury, leaning in Wilson's favor. However, I don't think that this is the case. I think that Wilson didn't go after Brown thinking I'm going to kill this Black man because I can get away with it. While people may feel that the judicial system is being played, I think it's important to also realize that this isn't a clear cut case. There is a lot of ambiguity that comes along with the actual events that happened in Ferguson and unfortunately we may never know the entire truth.
http://bhorton-engl280.blogspot.com/2014/11/ferguson.html
Blog #2
Book Club Final
As I ended the book, I was left with a lot of knowledge and interest in the Saudi Arabian women. We have discussed many things in the book club meetings, however, the main thing that we found important to convey is the severity of women's mistreatment and lack of rights in Saudi Arabia. This is something that the entire groups feels need to be conveyed to the class for maximum understanding of the book. Thus, in our final project, a lot of time is going to be used to cover the dress and the stories of these mistreated women. This will cover the themes of the book as well as the writing style.We also want to focus on how the Author developed the writing style of the book, and where the writing style portrays to the reader. Mainly, How does the first person approach that Sasson takes on change the original stories that were told? Where does the book lie between truth and Fiction?
http://bhorton-engl280.blogspot.com/2014/11/book-club-final.html