Level 2

I feel like this class has helped me sharpen my knowledge of different styles, and develop my grammar skills. While I prefer writing creative fiction, my career will involve properly citing sources and researching extensively, and this class has helped me prepare for the next level in my education. I learned how to stick with a draft and really see it through till the end, and made me want to start writing more regularly.

The Final Draft

After finishing my last draft of the letter to the Imam in Florida, I feel happy with the finished product. I put in a lot of time and consideration in each draft, and have worked on at least eight over the past semester. I hope my grade reflects what I feel I should get, considering how much encouragement and positive feedback I have gotten.

I really got into structure of sentances with my last draft, to ensure that it flowed well and was easy to read. I mixed around my first paragraph, and I think the introduction is easier to follow, and connects my topic with why I am writing to him. As it took the form of a letter, I tried to keep my tone casual and light, but also somewhat professional, because of the Imam's position. I am still nervous about sending it to him, but that is more due to whether or not he will read it. I hope he does finish my letter, and truly takes my words to heart, because it was written with good intentions.

Revising my Letter

While rereading my letter, I realized that six pages could easily be cut down. My first important revision was editing out excess information, that was created for my other audiences, and draw more of a focus to the issue of prejudice against Muslims.

I also decided to include more of a casual and informal tone. I included some traditional Islamic languages, so the Imam will take me somewhat seriously... I feel like my letter will be more impressive in the end, more direct and hopefully will convince the Imam of my point.

How I Became Me

I have always loved reading since I was a little girl, as long as I can remember. My mom would always read to my older sister, who was entering elementary school, and when she fell asleep, I would stay up and listen to my mom with undivided attention. Ever since I could read, I have carried a book with me wherever I go.

My parents are both literature lovers, so I feel they have been a good influence on me as a writer. I grew up reading material way beyond my years, but it made me comprehend faster, increase my speed of reading, and my skills as a writer. I will always love reading, because to this day my family still encourages me, calling me "the bookworm". I like that nickname though, how can that be a negative thing when I find so much joy in escaping through books?

Short Projects Suck

Well, my original plan for my public service announcment was cancelled because of videography problems. I decided to do a powerpoint presentation instead, since it was the only way I could present my information that I had collected and still make my point. The angle I am going for is a informational program about Muslims in America, and the prejudice they have faced since 9/11. I am aiming this program at high school and college age students, who can connect to my different points and have a better chance to connecting with others of different ethnicities

My powerpoint is going to include images to support my research, and I plan on aiming it at around 3 minutes long, to explain all of the slides adequately. I am a bit nervous, and dissapointed I couldn't make the video, but it has been a crazy week and this was all I could take on at the moment. I still hope people enjoy it and learn something new, and maybe open their minds a little.

Short Project Ideas

As my research paper argued that Islam and Muslims face a lot of prejudice, my first idea, while looking over the guidelines, was a public service announcement. This provides a way for me to reach my audience (American public, in particular those who do not know much about Islam), while sending a clear message about how Muslims should be treated. I will use some of the statistics I have found while researching this topic, and have already asked a friend for help with the video.

I have not decided whether to do a narrative, with images to back it up, or to include a small skit or a Man on the Street section. I don't want actors, and would prefer this to be natural and more informative than catchy. I figured by cutting out actual scenes, I can provide more information about the religion which the public doesnt know about, and connect Islam back to popular culture (famous Muslims, population statistics, what Islam has done to help humanity). I have a few good ideas on how I want this to look, and as soon as I finish my script I will begin filming.

Unless I get other ideas. I could do a magazine article, or an informational flyer, or something like that, but I think a PSA would make more sense. Since my paper called for change in how we treat this group, I might as well provide examples and how to avoid bias.

Research Weary

A lot of things have changed in my paper, but I feel I am comfortable turning it in (with maybe a bit more editing if I can squeeze it in). I decided not to do the survey, simply because I had enough research and was a bit puzzled on what to ask and how to measure my data. I also feel like so much of public opinion of religion is subjective, and my data would have to be objective. I think I still need to work on my organization, making it clear, concise, and readable.

I have found that I like to do research, but you have to break up periods of studying, and usually I like to finish something in one sitting. You really build your paper by spending time away from it, coming back, and focusing on how to improve it, rather than how good you think it is. Always room for improvement, right?

Revising and Appraising

I have decided to try t ocreate a mini survey to hand out to a select group of the population, most likely a certain age bracket from 19-25. This will be a group that was old enough to understand the seriousness of 9/11 and could comprehend the events and new sources since that time. Since I believe after 9/11, bias against Muslims have increased, I hope that my survey presents my information accurately, but I am up for surprises. Although this is Midland, a conservative bubble, we will have some independent thinkers and a lot of foreigners drawn to this town. I hope this survey will interest my readers and hopefully motivate me to continue revising my draft, it needs a lot of help!

After seeing my argument essay grade, I have to agree with my teacher about my organization. The thing is, I was being encouraged to add more information and although it didnt feel right, I did it so that my audience or anyone reading it would be well informed. However, it just made my letter longer and obviously went over information my real audience (Imam) already knew. I don't believe I will send it in now, not because I didnt get a perfect grade, but because I dont think my letter would really make a difference.  Maybe if my research paper is very strong, I could send them both together, after clearing up my letter.

Less Creativity

I feel like I might not be as interested in this piece, as I was in our argumentative letter. I am still somewhat pursuing the same subject, and while it is still intriguing, I feel like I would have had more concentration with a new direction. I am more of a creative writer, and research essays are typically easy but boring for me.

I do not mind writing in a certain format, but I like to use more opinion than sources and it is hard finding credible sources on my topic. Research is relatively easy, and I have done these types of papers before in high school. My English 111 class did many different types of papers, mostly all creative, with the students being able to choose our subject. Is English 112 more focused on formats and structural papers? If so, I might be even more disengaged after this paper. I would like to write something that I can let just flow out of me, and not have to check every minute to make sure I cite something.

Research and Me

I usually enjoy research papers, because I like looking at a certain issue or topic and discovering key points about it and I also like trying to make my paper as interesting as possible. If I was just curious about one thing, I would most likely enter it into Google, find out my answer, and really not even check my facts or sources. With a research paper though, I am careful about naming my sources, verifying them, and comparing and contrasting my information.

I would like to go into the field of journalism, which I think has helped me with being comfortable citing sources and helping me find legitimate sources. In journalism you have to be careful with information you present to the public, or else you could get sued for libel. The things I have trouble with writing research papers is presenting too much information (how much is enough for the reader?) and writing down sources correctly until I can put them in the proper format and create a bibliography. I try to look at a couple dozen sites for papers, to get as much of a stance on my topic as possible, and it is difficult to remember each website I have been to, what information I got from it, and whether I should cite it.

My Argument Analysis

I am proud of this piece because I know how many hours I spent reading and rereading and staring at the computer screen. I put a lot of time into it, and I think it paid off, even if it is not as polished as I would like. I could probably spend a couple more hours with my letter, because I feel that my audience is someone important who I would want to impress, and my tone and subject would have to interest him instantly and have an appropriate message.

I struggled the most with my use of commas and, as I like to put it, "extras". I can be a bit too descriptive sometimes, most likely because I like to write nonfiction in different genres, and sometimes professional pieces can be a bit too limiting for me. I feel like I did my best to make it a simple and direct letter, with an organized message. I am a bit anxious to hear my grade, I did spend so much time on this, and I have to wonder if it shows.

I am surprised with myself for really trying to get great information and different points of view in this paper, I researched everything to do with my subject, and it really helped me form my own opinion and create my paper. In the future, I plan on continuing with an outline and sticking to my organization.

Final Frustration

As I began to really edit and revise, I ended up cutting a lot of the adjectives out of my essay, as I felt they were unnecessary and just took up to much space. I went through a few different times to cite my sources, make sure they seemed truthful and realistic. I felt like my revising process for this class has been very motivated so far, I usually don't have too much to change for a final draft. I think I was more nervous about this letter, however, because I have been encouraged to send it in, and while it may be fine for class, I am still a bit nervous about sending it to the Imam, because he is an entirely new audience with a different perspective. I typically do not like revising, I am more of a freewriter, where I have a strong reaction to what I first write and rarely change it. But my goal in this class is to become more comfortable with editing and having people who probably dont care at all about my paper read it and try to utilize their feedback. I still feel that I am better off in the revising process myself, I am the best judge of how I want my letter to read and look, and what information to present.

Musicians think they know everything.

I have really enjoyed working on this paper so far, and have actually gone above and beyond, sharing it with friends and asking for "constructive criticism". It is a bit hard when I feel that most people are biased on my articles subject, but I have been trying to get neutral feedback and have been pleasantly surprised. A lot of people have told me that I have a strong first draft, and while I have not started editing it yet, once I get settled down to it, I am looking forward to improving it. I may even send it to the audience I chose, an Islamic figurehead in Florida. Maybe he would be interested in what I have to say!

I think that my audience would be impressed and interested in my letter, and I have been trying to strike a reasonable middle ground between professional and neutral. However, I still want to try to convince him, but I don't want to sound "preachy" or "boring". Maybe I should add some pizzazz to it? Or maybe less long words. I'm sure the Imam is smart, but he is probably way smarter than me. I'd just seem like a pompous...are we allowed to swear on here? I'll have to ask next class. I'm assuming not.

One of my friends was visiting this weekend and as soon as I mentioned my paper, he went off in a terribly, if not wholly unentertaining rant about Islam. While I will not share those views here, I think it made me more motivated to write this letter truly, convincingly. Out of respect for others, out of respect for ourselves, people should be allowed to think what they want, as long as they do it in peace. However, my friend did have a good point when contrasting major religious texts with the Constitution (thats right, our very own Constitution). He said "Nothing has ever been so beneficial to man that the rights that are laid out for us in the Bill of Rights. You can do whatever you want, until you infringe upon someone elses pursuit of happiness."

Thanks Joey, for inspiring me, with your music, views, long winded rants, and genuinely lovely company. Can't wait to hear back from him about my paper, so I will probably wait to see if he has anything nice to say. Probably not!

Hawks Fan

One time I wrote this short story based on a painting by Edward Hopper. You may have seen it before, its called Nighthawks, and its a painting looking from the street into a diner where a few people are talking, interacting, having a regular night. I wrote about 6 pages based on a conversation two of the characters in the painting could have had, and it was amazing. My family read it, my teacher read it and all of them thought so. It was the first time I felt truly convinced I may have potential as a writer, and then I lost my only copy. If it ever surfaces, and has someone else's name on it I am going to be heartbroken. It was genius. Or maybe thats my ego speaking.

My Dreams

My dreams for myself are something I see as very correlated to my grades. Success in school is important to acheiving a scholarship, attending a prestigious school, finding professional work experience, and learning how to acheive and evolve your goals. To earn the life i have dreamed of, I must first meet my challenge of attending Delta College and starting to earn credits, and try my hardest to do my best so I can feel justified.