Limit Out on Crappie!

My buddy and I limit out on Crappie. It was a good day, we started fishing around 6am but had to drive to the place at 4am. On top of that, I had to drive to my friend's house at 3am. Long but successful day.

mc. 4/8/16.

New Ideas of Research Topics

A research topic is tricky to find and write about. There are many general topics that have been done countless times before like abortion. Finding a specific topic, that I like and there is an abundant amount of information, to me is a bit hard. I was thinking about Salmon migratory process and the future of the population. The population is decreasing year over year.

I would like to do something with YouTube videos too but it seems hard to find sources and information that really helps. I do know there are subscriber tracker websites, and money earning websites. That could be helpful to me. We will see.

mc. 4/8/16.

Writing the Analytical Essay

This essay was a bit interesting to me. Analyzing something is always difficult and on top of that, writers must academically reiterate what they are analyzing. This could range from the tone, literary devices, persuasive arguments, this could go on forever. Picking my topic was pretty cool, in my opinion. Last month it was Black History Month and I was reading about things and I came across the Assassinations of Dr King. I read up on both the assassination and the speech done by Robert F. Kennedy, Remarks on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. At that time I didn't thought about using it for this essay, I was thinking about a video I saw and I liked. I'll link it here. Anyway, it didn't struck me to use Kennedy's speech until I REALLY starting thinking about a good topic that had depth and many things to talk about. Also, I thought that using a video would be a little more difficult to analyze, unless it was some informative and persuasive video.

Writing was extremely difficult. I had to look deep into the speech and information from other articles, formulate three major things I wanted to talk about that in the speech. One was definitely Kennedy's use of poem by Aeschylus. What's interesting about Kennedy's use of this was that during the speech, he remembered it off the top of his head, so the poem is not accurate but nonetheless carries the same meaning that the original poem carried. Finding literary devices was hard as well, because I am NOT good at any of that stuff. I'm just not good at it. I'm sure there were plenty more in the speech but I just didn't have enough space to write about it.

Overall, this essay was a success to me. I got a 89% grade on it. I think it should have been a little bit higher. Like 90% but oh well. I worked hard but I can't go back and change it to make it better for a grade I already received. I'm proud of this essay though. I think I deserved every single ounce of the grade.

mc. 3/28/16.

Know The Needs of Your Reader (Cross post via SacCT)

Knowing the needs of the reader is an important factor when it comes to writing. In the article by Linda Flower, she discusses some main points of the needs of readers but the core idea is that writer’s goal should be to “create a momentary ground between the reader and writer.” The three main points she brings up is knowledge, attitude, and needs. With knowledge the writer should know what the reader's’ idea of what a topic is about. For example, if a writer talks about a wolf, the writer assumes the reader knows what a wolf looks and acts like; if not, instead, the writer must or should describe what a wolf is. With attitude, the writer should expect what the readers feel about or overall perception of a topic. So with the wolf example, is the reader scared, afraid, or grateful for wolfs. Last Flower discusses needs, which is information the reader should get and their interests of your discussion of writing. In conclusion, Flower’s main points of needs of readers is correct and knowing the audience of your writer is an important part of writing effectively.

mc. 3/9/16.

Wintergatan - Marble Machine (music instrument using 2000 marbles)

A very interesting video about a master work of art.

Using Peer Edit Paper to Help Revise My Persuasive Essay

In class we had a workshop day. The workshop day was to peer edit someone's essay. My peer editor was Terrance, if I recall correctly. He did an okay job at peer editing my essay. He did not add much to the grammar or anything but gave one very big helpful tip. He said my thesis was unclear or needed more elaboration. So I added a bit to my thesis which was along the lines of, "We should elect (or vote) Donald John Trump, for President." I had a shorter sentence that implied it but after he said that, I really solidified my thesis, I hope. At the end of my essay I also did a call to action, for readers to go out and vote from Trump. His tip from the thesis help me remember to mention a call to action. But to be honest, I was a little tired by the end of my essay and I felt that it got weaker as readers kept reading. I can revise it and make it even more better but it might have been way to long. I am proud of my essay. I liked what I wrote. Which is what all writers should feel about their finished product.

-mc. 3/2/16.

Stop With The Five Paragraph Format! (Cross post via SacCT)

As someone else mentioned in the class, I too have read this article somewhere else. I do not recall but I think it was in my last English class I had. Personally, I think that the "five paragraph" format is a good starting point for beginner writers and how to teach them a basic way to write an essay. Once these students get to highschool, I think they should be weaned off this style of writing and into more appropriate ways of writing. The problem in my opinion is that in some AP classes, they require the student to write a DBQ or three short essays within a short amount of time. This encourages teachers to enforce the "five paragraph" format because it is the easiest and probably the best way to help the students pass the AP test. This is also another problem, since the teachers are teaching the "five paragraph" format in an AP class, in which it is suppose to be a college level class, students are getting the wrong idea of what might be expected at the real college level. 

Maybe some students just break off from the typical "five paragraph" format themselves and begin to add more and more paragraphs but still maintaining the integrity of their essay. I know for myself that the "five paragraph" format is very restricting and it confines writers into the basic: Introduction, three main points, and conclusion. I still use the "five paragraph" format as a backbone to my essay but not with just five paragraphs but still and introduction, main points, and a conclusion. 

The "five paragraph" format is not bad, it is a good starting point for beginners but should be less emphasized as writers mature and continue on with their education.