"Writing to Connect" by Mary Pipher

Mary Pipher in her essay, describes the reason why people choose to write. SHe says that people write about thing because instead of the idea simply being important to them, it has become so important that they want the entire world and their audience to know about it. She mentions that there are many more ways than "writing" to write. 

That last part meant a lot to me. My previous major was video production and I absolutely love movies. They are such a great way to send messages to people now. I am glad that for once a writer recognizes film as just another pad of paper waiting to be written on.

"Writing to Connect" by Mary Pipher

Mary Pipher's "Writing to Connect" is basically about the reasons we write and that a lot of writing in the past has been able to make a big change in the world. She gives examples of people such as, Anne Frank and Upton Sinclair, who wrote about something to try to send an important message. Mary also explains how there are different ways of sending a message or a point through writing. Someone can make it very clear, express it through a fictional story, make it into a poem and much more. She describes the difference between an Expository writer, a Change writer and a Socially conscious writer. Mary then goes on to say that songs and films are also very good at making there point and changing the way people think.

Mary's essay truly spoke to me. there are many things in this world that people feel they have to need to say. Usually when they write about something, it means that they feel it is important enough to share with the world. This is why I hope to become a English teacher one day. I want more people to understand to effects of writing and how someone's point can get across even better with practice in it.

Five Paragraph Theme

I really enjoyed Sandra Boynton's essay.  Being a humorist, I found it easy and understandable to follow her drawing of the monster of sorts that was the "Five-Paragraph Theme".  I really thought it was kind of weird though to put the COLOR section at the bottom of the picture.  This kind of in a way threw me off coarse, because you are focusing on what the paper is supposed to be and then out of no where you are being told "glossy rose colored exterior"?

Brian's Sample Essay

I felt that in Brian's essay he did a really good job at setting up and creating each image and their own personal arguements for the alcohol companies.  Although he does seem to rant on and on about the alcohol and their problems, he does do a really good job at backing up his words with great resources.

Brian's Sample Essay

Brian's essay is about two alcoholic advertisements. Brian has a few errors. He goes on a rant about getting addicted to alcohol instead of really comparing the ads. He thinks companies show make bigger warning on the bottles.

"The Five-Paragraph Theme"

The five paragraph theme by Sandra Boynton is a dinosaur looking cartoon. Attributes on the monster relate to different parts of an essay. Such as it's horn being the thesis(then main point).

I have never thought of writing this way. I mean it makes sense now.

Five Paragraph Theme

Sandra Boynton points out a way to guide others when writing an essay. This is done by using a labeled monster picture which catches the eye. There are points shown, such as, the introduction with thesis on the end, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Having this visual picture I believe helps to guide in an essay set writing instead of just through a bland text outline.

standards...

Who's standard is it though, seriously? Who's to say that my grammar is any better or worse than yours. I mean as long as it makes sense right? And, even if it doesn't make perfect sense, as long as you get the picture right? I for one cannot say, I'm a mere peon in the world of English and writing, however I do believe I have style. I do believe that I have a voice. I think Linda makes some valid points about substituting words for more powerful, stronger words that carry more meaning. She even modestly states that she herself is still unsure of whether or not she uses all grammar the right way.

Linda goes onto state that the way we talk and write is normally due to the way we were raised and the things we were taught. If you grew up saying y'all you'll probably use it in your writing! If you grew up thinking that there is their and they're is actually just theyre then you've got a long road ahead of you. "Most kids like the sound of their home language better." The fact is, in English class that's irrelevant, the language is the modern grammatically correct English language. That's how it is and always will be... well, probably.

Brian

Advertisement is the root of all evil nowadays. You can apply it to anything. One could argue that the reason our country is struggling is because we as Americans have been worn out from advertisements. There's too many, they are everywhere and it's only getting bigger. The article gives a variety of reasons why the author Paul believes that alcohol is a "rising problem in the united states due to advertising." Paul does this by comparing and contrasting two alcohol advertisements. One being darker which gives it a more sophisticated feel and the other being lighter which gives the feelings of innocence.

The article goes onto state some facts about alcohol abuse and the percentage (5.6% of Americans) that have a problem with alcohol. I think alcohol is a problem in the eyes of the beholder. If you drink 10 shots every night to ease your mind and cope with your stress; and you don't think you have a problem, then more power to you! All I can say is I hope you have fun with your liver in the future. Anyway, if you have one drink a night and feel depressed and hungover every morning and you think that you have a problem; well, I think you need to have a word with the dude who thinks he's okay taking 10 shots a night.

Five Paragraph Theme

This picture describes the structure of an essay.  There is the introduction, 3 body paragraphs, and the conclusion.  The author explains the introductory paragraph as having "lots of teeth, no bite," the body paragraphs discussing minor points, and the conclusion as a recap of the previous 4 paragraphs.  She uses a picture of a monster with sharp teeth, horns, body armor, and a long tail to describe this.
This is a basic understanding of the structure of an essay.  Teachers tend to teach the structures in different ways so it becomes very informal.  I've had trouble with writing essays at times because I don't quite understand what is expected from each part of the essay. 

The Five-Paragraph Theme

Basically this was a short biography about Sandra Boynton, a humorist who began her career with a BA in English from Yale in 1974 and went on to further engage in a summer job in greeting cards transformed her path in the mid 1970's. She is an author and illustrator of dozens of books for discerning children and other books for peculiar adults.
She also publishes a book called "The five-paragraph theme," where she gives a visual representation of the five paragraph theme as a monster. I thought this was a really creative way to illustrate the theme of five paragraphs.

Sandra Boynton "The Five-Paragraph Theme"

"The Five-Paragraph Theme," by Sandra Boynton, is a small cartoon that portrays the ideal set up of an essay. Based on this graphic, she shows us where and how everything written in an essay should ideally be by drawing arrows to different parts of the body of a kind of monster like figure. For example, there is a tall horn on the head of the monster that stands out. Sandra has an arrow pointing to the horn and at the end of it she wrote, "THESIS STATEMENT (The main point of the theme.)" Here, Sandra explains what the thesis statement should be like and how it is something that clearly stands out.

What interested me the most about Sandra's drawing is that she decided that use a monster or reptilian looking creature as the base. She could have used something else, but she didn't. So why did she? I think that she was probably referring to the idea that no-one really likes writing essays. By using a scary looking creature for her drawing she shows that she understands this and that many of us who think about writing essays may feel as much displeasure as we would by seeing a scary monster.

Sandra Boynton's Five-Paragraph Theme

Sandra Boynton's five paragraph theme is a depiction of what a five paragraph block is kind of like. Each paragraph represented a different part of the monster. The teeth were the intro paragraph and so on.

I thought this was a humorous way to describe how a five paragraph block can be summed up. Although I don't necessarily believe it has too much educational value.

Sandra Boynton's Five-Paragraph Theme

Sandra Boynton was born in New Jersey and graduated with a BA in English and began making greeting cards. She also writes books and things and perhaps her most famous work has been her five paragraph theme. This is a picture representation of a five paragraph theme as a monster. The teeth of the monster being the introductory paragraph. The spike on his head is the thesis paragraph. The middle three subsections of the monster is regarded as the developement, which includes minor points. The tail of the monster is the conclusion paragraph. The last part of the five paragraph theme is the color. The color of the monster can represent a lot of things for the monster and can show how diverse it is.  This was a very creative way to describe the five paragraph theme by Sandra Boynton.

Brian's Sample Essay

In this essay Brian starts by writing about two alcohol advertisements that show alcohol in a good light and make it seem amazing. He then continues to mention a bunch of statistics that tell the negatives alcohol can have. The idea behind Brian's essay is that alcohol advertisements should tell more about the issues and dangers  of consuming too much alcohol. I understand Brian's point, but I feel most people who are drinking alcohol understand the consequences. Considering you have to be 21 years old to buy it I don't believe that the companies should have to mention its consequences in their advertisements.

"Whose Standard"

 "Teaching Standard English: Whose Standard" is an essay written by Linda Christensen about how kids should be taught to write. Christensen says that many children are cautious about incorporating their own thoughts and ideas in their writing, because they grow up being told they are wrong. Christensen continues to talk about her ninth grade writing class where the teacher had the students write about things in their lives and problems they were currently facing. This aloud the students to get their ideas out in writing without worrying about being told they're wrong. This exercise acted as a great confidence builder for the students. I personally don't have trouble expressing myself in writing, because my writing background is based in creative writing. This being said, I see myself as the exception. I have witnessed what Christensen is talking about plenty of times.

Teaching Standard English Response

Linda Christensen talks about how teachers don't take the time to make sure students don't feel left out and don't feel socially awkward. Students in today's world tend to hide their thoughts through writing things down. The catch is, they don't write all their thoughts down, they write what they think is good enough or just enough not to get criticized too much. Christensen expresses her own experiences growing up as a child while she suffered with not being able to pronounce the word lawyer.
I like the fact that Christensen can relate to what she is talking about, and it helps me believe in what she says because she shares a personal experience. I completely agree with her claims that she has made. I do believe that some teachers are too careless right now. They always try to correct you in a manner that isn't aware of your feelings. Although I have never experienced feeling left out because I couldn't say something right or know how to spell or write something wrong all the time, I can still see where she is coming from.

The article "so what, who cares?" Is a unique one. It begins by listing a few random people in our society, whether individuals or in general, the point is; why does any of this matter? Why does anything matter!? The article goes onto say that these are the questions that more often than not go unanswered in compositions. This is because it is our job as the readers to take it upon ourselves to "figure our the answers on their own." The article goes on to give us a variety of techniques to cope with the questions we have like "so what" and "who cares." The question I have always had is "why?" Why is the sky blue? Why is the grass green? Why do we have hands? Why do we wear clothes? Why do we make music? Why do we have ambition? Why do we ask "why"??? With this in mind I kept reading the article only to find a summary paragraph boldy stating "what about readers who already know why it matters." This took me back a little bit, because how could someone, anyone know why it matters? Unfortunately, contrary to my own belief this last little portion was not about the "why" and it was more about whether or not we need to ask "so what" and "who cares" every time, which it states as a general rule, we should.

Whose Standard

The essay "Teaching Standard English: Whose Stander" by Linda Christensen, is an essay about how students are told they are not correct in the way they speak or write. People are taught to only write about their problems and ideas in the way some particular people believe it to be true. This is not only wrong, but a hinderance on creativity.


I understood this essay a lot. I believe that I am a good writer when I am doing something I enjoy. Yet people have told me before to revise my writing style and to write more like them. I do not believe this to be true at all. My writing style is unique and should be appreciated.

"Teaching Standard English: Whose Standard?"

The essay "Teaching Standard English: Whose Stander" by Linda Christensen focuses on how children feel left out because they are told they are wrong when they write or speak. Linda explains her experience with a writing teacher she had in the ninth grade.  Linda explains that the teacher had them write about their lives and problems and asked them to share what they wrote. Each student then was able to gather new insights on their previous beliefs and were more willing to write. Linda says that teaching students to "correct" way of writing and speaking isn't enough and that the most important part is that students are able to question the people who make those claims that they are not good writers. What Linda says she wants to do is to make sure that her students end up making something of themselves, because all of those good job positions in the future truly are based around how well a person can present themselves through words.

I felt truly engaged in Linda's essay. I found the part when she describes her experience in her ninth grade class. I was shocked that the class was able to be so open about those problems and talk about them with peers. My peers have always made me the most nervous and to think that ninth graders were able to do that almost confounded me. However, after I thought about that, I realized that that is what writing does to a person. If a person feels confident enough to write about a problem then face, then they may already feel like that problem is out in the open because they put it down on paper. I know that when I write about something, I feel more relaxed about it and this is probably because I was already able to gather my thoughts and explain it rationally in words.

Sample student essay by Brian

This essay was about comparing and conrasting two ads triggered on Alcohol. He talks about how one brings in the audience by color and to attract women whereas the other was to have you picture yourself drinking the product. He makes a good opening points about addiction, which may lead to rehabilitation centers. This brings the reader in to focus on the ads and what he has to say about them. I like how he wrote the essay comparing/contrasting the two ads. I think he did a good job doing this in the essay showing evidence and personal thought based on the ads.

"Teaching Standard English: Who's Standard?" by Linda Christensen

Christensen is a teacher trying to help her students to write with their thoughts without hiding them on paper, which a lot of students do because of the criticism. Students may feel uncomfortable writing their English in writing depending on how it may be prenounced at home compared to the rules of writing. In this article Christensen talks about how her student will not feel this way, and will learn to write or write better without feedback of a paper being terrible, but motivation on how to do better. She also had a problem with writing as a student, for example prenouncing lawyer as layer. I like how she mentions that she won't let a student feel like an outsider or a foreigner in the world on how to write and the rules of writing as she did. With this said she shows that she cares what her students are learning, which is important as a student to know. I have had plenty of experiences where a teacher wouldn't care if you understood or knew how to do something in the class, which made me feel left out, and in a way not care. It's important for a teacher to care about what or how the students are learning on that subject, such as Christensen does in English.

Sample Essay by Brian

Brian's essay was focused on the effects of alcohol on people and the idea that advertisements for alcohol should present their warnings more clearer. Brian describes two advertisements that put alcohol in a good light and compares and contrasts them. He talks about how most advertisements for alcohol make it sound like the best thing in the world. Of course, that is only because they want to sell their product. Brian then goes on to provide statistical facts about the detrimental affects of alcohol and provides plenty of reasons why it should be drunk in moderation.

I really liked all of Brian's essay and I have no complaints. The reason for this is probably because I have not had good experiences with alcohol when people I knew drank it. Nevertheless, I like the way he described the pictures and how he provided good statistical information and sources. The best part about his essay was the clear set up and that he provided clear samples of his images in the essay. This helped me understand everything he wrote. Even people who love drinking might be able to relate to him, because he covers up his biased nature by declaring the words "drink in moderation" and "only in special occasions." However, Brian still does not include any statistical information that is good about alcohol and that might make people not want to read his essay. Of course, the idea that alcohol is good is not the point that Brian wanted to get across anyway.

Teaching Standard English

Linda Christensen points out the failure of teachers to help students find the creativity to write articles they would be proud of.  Also she shows her negativity towards how teachers pick on students because of how they pronounce words instead of listening to the message the student is trying to say.  She experienced the brutality of speaking the English language with an accent.  She claims that it took her years to get over the fear of speaking and that she would actually avoid saying some words because of people picking on the way she spoke.  She tries to teach her students in a different way in order to avoid passing on this trauma.
I agree with Linda.  I have personally experiened this at an early age in China.  The Chinese teachers pick on every wrong answer and they make fun of the student in front of the entire class.  Teachers are supposed to inspire their students towards the topic they teach, not punish them for being creative.  I agree with Linda when she points out that it matters what you say, not how you say it.

Brian's Essay

This is a draft of the second essay written by Brian.  He discusses the differences between the two different photographs and how they connect to alcoholism.  He points out that while these ads are different in how they advertise their products, they both fail to warn readers about the dangers of drinking. 
Alcoholism is an important problem to address.  I believe that people should know better then to drink irresponsibly.  It is the peoples' faults for making irresponsible choices, not the failure of the government to warn them.  The risks are discussed all over the internet.  If people wanted to know the dangers of drinking,  they should search for it instead of asking the government and companies to provide all the information.

Linda Christensen

Linda Christensen stresses in her lecture that grammar is an indication of your class and social background. She wants the audience to realize that what you say has a bigger impact than how you say it. It is just important to get the thought out. If you feel inferior when you write you shouldn't because everyone starts at the same place and it will always take a sufficient amount of time and effort to the revision process to make things look great. In more or less words I think she wanted the audience to understand that how you say it isn't nearly as important as what you say because that is what will stick in the readers mind and that is what they will be walking away thinking about

Brians Essay

In Brian's essay, he tries to argue about the problem of alcohol abuse in the United States due to advertising. In the beginning he only discusses the difference in the two advertisements that are present. He then describes how the ads portray their liquor and they are both in a very opposite light. One is dark in color and seen as dangerous and sexy, and the other is white and seen as innocent and calm. He continues to state that it attracts gender in different ways as well. After all of this chatter about the two advertisements, Brian tries to come back on track and say that these ads should have a bigger label that has government warning. This warning would say that alcohol may impair ability to drive, cause health problems, and cause risk to pregnant women's babies. This warning is on the label, but just is not big enough for brian i guess. I think that a bigger label would not show alcohol in a better light because i think it is all up to responsibility. A person should be responsible for everything they do and willing to pay the consequence. That is what life is.

"So What, Who Cares"

"So What, Who Cares," is a lecture written to encourage writers to answers these questions. Who cares? Answering this question can be easy by using people to refer to, to acknowledge that a larger conversation is present. To increase audience interest, writers then should show that others should care and do care about their claims. Good writers use skills to link their claim to something relevant to the audience and capturing their interest by doing so. By simply changing a single word or phrase will completely change the statement. It is thoroughly expressed that one's concerns are important, and no matter how much they may differ, the need to justify them all is common.

Response to Teaching Standard English

This essay starts out with a brief story from the author of how she was always getting corrected with her grammar in school. She continues to go through her trials and tribulations of what she had experienced coming from a house of broken English. She then continues to show she tries to help her students, especially a boy named Fred that wouldn't write for her. She says that when a teacher looks at how a student is saying something and not at what they are actually saying the student's words become devalued. she continues about how it is wrong to humiliate students if they don't know what they are saying but to attend to the problems in a more private time.
I agree with this essay because i am sure every student has gone through some type of humiliation, not just with English. But after this happens we want to just crawl into a corner and not do any work. It demotivates us as students to be thrown under a bus in front of our peers. It is more important to understand what is being said and not how it is being said. Take away the main ideas of what someone is trying to say.

Ophelia

This is about the character from Shakespeare's Hamlet, Ophelia. Ophelia was in love with Hamlet but her father forbid here pursuing it.  She died and Hamlet finally loved her. It was believed she died from stress.

I read Hamlet back in 10th grade but I couldn't remember a thing. This was a little bit of a refresher but still not connecting everything.

So What? Who Cares?

This is about the importance of reading and writing on the reader. It's important to interest the reader. It's important to have the readers attention so they can thoroughly read the article.

Response to Studnt Essay by Brian

This essay by Brian is about the addiction of alachol which is mainly caused by the advertising companies. He says that the color of the patron and belvedere ad had a major part in peoples alcoholism. He also goes into the mirror and window effect which was used in the belvedere. Then he also tells how the warning labels aren't shown enough and need to go into great detail of the use of alcohol.
I don't agree with much of anything that is said in this essay. Any ad that uses any color will be accused of using it to make a case for their product. The only thing he says with any validity is the use of the mirror and window effect. Other then that he says that these adds cause alcoholism. No! The people that see an alchol ad are effected in the choice of what drink they will purchase not the amount they want to drink. Going into what ever situation they are drinking they know how much or their body's will tell them when they have drank to much. An ad doesn't cause alcoholism it doesnt cause someone to drink. If they wanna drink they were already going to do it. The dilemma he has with the warning is also bullshit. The general public knows since fourth grade what happens when you drink and what happens when your an alcoholic. No ad causes alcoholism.

Ophelia

"Hamlet, nearby, then challenges Laertes and claims that he loved Ophelia more than "forty thousand" brothers could. This is probably the most meaningful line in the character description. In essence, it sums of Hamlet and his burning passion for Ophelia. I can honestly relate in this aspect; back in high school I fell for my best friends sister, and he made it clear that he wasn't cool with that happening. Little did he know, it turned into something I couldn't control. In the end the love was lost, but when I reminise on the past, let's just say I feel for Hamlet. Shakespeare is debatable the best romantic play writer of all time. His words flow at a pace only matched by a different piece that he has written. In this description, the author does a great job of summarizing the characters in the masterpiece of a composition; Hamlet. Hamlet can teach so many life lessons but it is probably the most difficult piece of writing I have ever read and attempted to interpret. Articles like this one should be a mandatory prerequisite before reading the real thing.

Synopsis of lady shallot

The synopsis of "lady of shallot" by Alfred Tennyson is a very meaningful deep composition. The quotes and stanzas selected each have many underlined meanings that can reflect general views of society, relationships and love. There's two types of people in this world, men and woman. The lady of shallot and Sir Lancelot are two of the most iconic lovers in history. "He said she has a lovely face; God in his mercy lend her grace, the lady of shallot." These are just a few of the beautiful words used in the writing. I think Alfred does an impressive job of interpreting some of the difficult vocabulary and sentences in the old english piece of writing.

The first line of Craig Vetter's article Bonhead writing states that "college students can't write a lick." Whether it's a term paper, or a suicide note; apperentely college students have no idea how to collaborate their thoughts into a solid piece of writing; a composition. Of course i'm going to have to completely disagree, being a freshman in college; however I do see where he is coming from. Some students and people just don't have it. Everyone has their struggles and common mistakes that they make while writing. Mine are normally the difference between the words their, there, they're and there usages! In fact I am not even completely confident that "there usages" was the correct "there." However, that does not mean I cannot write a lick... In fact, any author who thinks that another author can't "write a lick" shouldn't be allowed to voice their opinion. In my opinion, anything that isn't positive and helpful is completely irrelevant; therefore, when Craig admits that there a bonehead writers our there who can't even write a simple letter; it makes me cringe! I can't believe someone with so much experience and success in writing could state something so bias and arrogant. Honestly, I think writing is an art. It's an expression between oneself and their words, telling someone that the outcome of that phenomena is a "bonehead piece of writing," is blasphemy!

The Privacy

The first thing people in American and in our entire world need to understand is that privacy no longer exists. You don't have privacy, stop lying to yourself, and it's too late to fight for it, so deal with it. Paul Graul discusses this problem in his article The privacy dilemma; which talks about the popular site wikileaks, which is merely just another one of the 1000 infinite information blog/video sites. Someone was trying to give Wiki a hard time for leaking video of an attack in Iraq which depicted suspected civilians being murdered. Irrelevant to the fact that the concept of the video is a misconception; I think that it shouldn't matter because sites like Youtube, bing, google and more have an infinitive amount of "leaked" "illegal" and downright wrong information. Privacy in our media is something that is in the past, and we'll never have it back; if you're complaining you should've thought about that before you googled all of your life problems... yeah, believe it or not people have access to that information too.

shitty first drafts

Who hasn't written a shitty first draft? It's part of writing, and a part of life. In fact, before I edited and revised this very reflection it could've been considered a "shitty first draft." Anne Lamott goes on to say that "all good writers write them." It's how a good author is able to publish a fantastic final draft, by editing, reediting, revising, re-revising and so on! Without shitty first drafts there would be no such thing as a great final draft or a mediocre second draft, or an interesting third draft! ..."You can either type or kill yourself..." This is a very meaningful statement made by a fellow writer of Anne Lamotts. Writers are usually regarded as depressed, alcoholics who have relatively difficult and high stressful lives. Just like art, writing is all about how other people perceive your work. For example, you could spend 10 hours on a painting, or on a first draft; but someone could write off your work as rubbish just because they're opinion matters.

This article by Jon Carrol discusses a new depiction of the popular case regarding the suicide of Tyler Clementi and his suspected antagonist Dharum Ravi. The article states some popular facts, misconceptions and Jons opinion on the matter. He clearly states that Dharum was just a "jerky kid" who was faced with some tough decisions as a mere freshman in college. I think it can also be said that Jon thought it was a poor decision of Dharuns part to turn down the option of community service; rather than being charged for bias intimidation, which is a "charge found more serious than how it sounds on paper." Dharun faces up to 10 years in prison and a possible deportation to his native country of India where he left when he was a small child. Jon brings up some great points reminiscing on his experiences with social media referring to twitter as "cold and unforgiving as the rest of the world." I think one could learn a lot from this article.

Jon Carrol Real time

This article by Jon Carrol discusses a new depiction of the popular case regarding the suicide of Tyler Clementi and his suspected antagonist Dharum Ravi. The article states some popular facts, misconceptions and Jons opinion on the matter. He clearly states that Dharum was just a "jerky kid" who was faced with some tough decisions as a mere freshman in college. I think it can also be said that Jon thought it was a poor decision of Dharuns part to turn down the option of community service; rather than being charged for bias intimidation, which is a "charge found more serious than how it sounds on paper." Dharun faces up to 10 years in prison and a possible deportation to his native country of India where he left when he was a small child. Jon brings up some great points reminiscing on his experiences with social media referring to twitter as "cold and unforgiving as the rest of the world." I think one could learn a lot from this article.

Dharun Ravi NYT

This article discussed the aftereffects of the Tyler Clemnti case. It stated how Dharun Ravi, who had been on trial for committing to Tyler Clemntis suicide was after all, not guilty. He was however found guilty for bias intimidation as a hate crime and he was charged for tampering with evidence. The article goes into detail about the extensive, debatable trial. "The case became a symbol of the struggles facing gay, lesbian and bisexual teenagers and the problem of cyberbullying in an era when law's governing hate crimes have not kept up with the evolving technology." Basically the quote is admitting that out laws that were established before some of our current technology are difficult to apply to rare circumstances like this one.

So What? Who Cares?

This article is about how important it is to understand what we read and how we write it. We need to write in a way that will interest a reader enough to care about what we are writing. The "so what" section of the article is what we want the article to know and read. The "who cares" part is directed towards who the audience consists of.

Sample Student Essay

     This article was very informative for me and grabbed my attention really fast, even with just the title. Alcohol is a very big problem that is continuing to increase in the United States due to advertisements. This article compares and discusses how two different ads, one showing Belvedere and one showing Patron, influence people to drink in different ways. The belvedere ad is filled with majority black and uses that to portray romance and sexual and more dangerous, as opposed to the Patron ad that is majority white which implies that the drink is pure and innocent. The Belvedere ad makes people see themselves as sexier and more attractive and the Patron makes one feel cool, calm, relaxed, young and innocent.
      I really liked the way this essay has been written. The flow makes it easier to understand what is being written and makes it easy to follow. I think this essay gives a very good amount of information to compare and contrast the two different ads. It also provides textual support and includes a works cited page for people to refer to to determine how reliable the information is.

"So what? Who Cares?" Response

This article talks about how people need to write in a way that interests the reader. The author of this article also lists some examples of what to try to do or use in articles to make your writing appeal to the reader.
I think this is the the perfect title for this particular article. I say this because I relate to it so well. When I read an article I really have to be interested in it to read each and every word, if not, then I skim through it. I do believe that different ways to write or how the writing is portrayed plays a big role in a lot of the reasons people are attracted to a specific reading.

Ophelia Response

I have never read Hamlet so this story was pretty new to me. This was a synopsis about the character Ophelia from the Shakespearean play, Hamlet. I took this as a tragic love story honestly. I say this because Ophelia wanted to pursue in Hamlet, but her father had forbid it. It really didn't matter anyway because Hamlet did not declare love for Ophelia the first time around. He then later came back claiming how he had loved her so much when he returned because of her death. Ophelia's mother had assumed that Ophelia's death had to do with the stress from her father and the realization of Hamlet not loving her as she had loved him.

Lady of Shalott

Lady of Shallot is a poem about a woman who is cursed. Her curse restricts her from going out into the city of Camelot. The only way she can see Camelot is through a reflection of the city in a mirror, until one day she sees Sir Lancelot and is determined to go and find him amongst the city. On her journey in the river to find him she dies in the boat and as it reaches the city and the people do not recognize her, but Lancelot sees her whilst dead and thinks she is beautiful. This poem was a little hard to understand, although, that may be because I am not too fond of poems. Overall, the story within the poem was quite beautiful and sad at the same time.

So what who cares

This is an article that shows that even though an article can be related to the reader and the reader can like the subject, they need to relate to the subject otherwise it won't matter what they read. This article is more about the importance of the articles substance rather than the subject matter of the article.

This is very important to me. I can read the most interesting article in the world, but if it doesn't pertain to me, I will not care what the article is talking about. It needs to be important to me to matter and if it's not, I will tune it out.

So What, Who Cares Response

"So what who cares" is an article that talks about how even though a subject can be interesting to a reader, the reader needs to understand the meaning of the text and why its important. He also says that these questions often go unanswered. The article says that it obviously needs to change, and people should care, and want to care. The who cares section is short, and straight to the point. The end of the article left us with the question as to who will step up and the individuals who cares.

I really enjoyed this article because like I said above, it was short and to the point. Another reason I enjoyed this article is because it ended with a question. That to me is so captivating, its draws us in one final time and leaves us thinking. That is the way to really make an impression with writing, especially when the message of the article to make people care!

So what who cares

“So What? Who Cares” is an essay on the importance of completely and bluntly express the subject of what you are writing about. The author goes on to stress the reader needs to know what is at stake in the text, due to the usual assumptions of the writer. We then are told some of the best ways to include the reader is to actually ask their selves “So what?” and “Who cares?” The “so what” is the idea we want to be pushed onto the audience. Keeping this in mind the “Who Cares?” can describe who are audience is. Hopefully this helps us to truly involve our reader.

I thought this essay was easy to read and indomitable. Not to mention relatable. High school I would be peer editing a paper and through the whole thing I had no idea what the hell he was trying to tell me. As writers our reader should be number one in our mind. All too often we forget about this, and we lose the whole reason we are writing., which is to tell the writer something with no text lost in translation.

"So What? Who Cares?"

This article talks about writing articles in ways to appeal to the reader.  The writer should think about how to make the reader care.  The author uses Denise Grady's article as an example.  Her article appeals to the reader by incorporating real people into her article in order to relate to readers.  The author gives some examples of what writers could use in their writing to help make their article more appealing.
I agree with the author.  I'd like to be reminded of why I would read an article.  When I read books with intellectual values, I usually make up reasons why I read it in order propel me to learn. 

"So What? Who Cares" Saying Why It Matters

"So What? Who Cares" is an essay that tries to stress the importance of saying why the subject matters in your writing. The author says that way too often do writers forget about this idea and, in return, the readers are might feel left out. Then the author tells us two things we should keep in mind when writing. the "so what?" part and the "who cares?" part. "Who cares" is the part that explains who we want our audience to be, if we even have a specific audience in mind or if we are just writing generally. "So what" describes the idea that the subject the writer is writing about has anything to do with anything in the real world and if the readers can apply it to everyday life.

I really agree with the author of this essay. I definitely think that writers should be fully aware of their audience. Writers should make sure not to bore those who don't know much about the subject and excite those who really do. In the end, if no one would read your essay, then what is the point in writing it?

"So What? Who Cares?" Saying Why It Matters

This article is about the importance of understanding the material we read, and make since of it. There are exercises shown to help practice to find the so what, who cares in an article or essay. To many people leave a classroom without fully understanding what was discussed, and may feel like an outsider or confused. This problem can be addressed and help readers to understand what they read is important.

Bonehead Writing

Craig Vetter's article was rather pessimistic. It was geared towards college kids who couldn't write for shit, basically. It's pretty much teaching people who are inexperienced writers how to write and how to write well. Apparently, teachers affect the way we write because we didn't have good enough writing teachers as we grew up. He does also say that we all have our own styles and we are meant to be creative writers.

I agree with Vetter as some points because I think we do need to be creative, in that we like to write about things that interest us. When the topic interests us, we tend to write better because it's not something that is forced and being crammed down our throats.

Lady of Shalott

The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Tennyson is about a woman who is cursed and is not ever allowed to look or go into the city of Camelot. She spent her time weaving and looking at Camelot by using a mirror and only seeing the reflection. One day, she sees Sir Lancelot and she decides to go to Camelot and find him, unknowing of the consequences of her curse. She takes a boat and she dies on her way and then the boat floats into Camelot and Sir Lancelot sees her dead and thinks she is beautiful.

I was surprised that I liked this poem, because I am not a poetry fan.

Ophelia

This was a synopsis of Shakespeare's Hamlet character, Ophelia. Ophelia falls in love with Hamlet, who is unattainable because her father, Polonius tells her that she is not allowed to pursue Hamlet, who is in line for the throne of Denmark. Ophelia tells her love to Hamlet and he denies her, and then comes back and says how in love with her he is.

The description of Ophelia depicts her well for someone who has never read Hamlet before. I read it in high school, so I knew already who she was, but this clarified it a bit.

Lady of Shalott and Ophelia

Lady of Shalott was a poem by Alfred Tennyson. In the poem, he puts emphasis on how we understand the poem because he wants us to read it and try to understand it stanza by stanza. Lady of Shalott is cursed and so she can not look directly out the window and instead looking in a mirror that reflects the busy Camelot road. Sir Lancelot passes by and he is described as "bold."When the Lady of Shalott sees Lancelot she leaves her town on a boat in attempt to find him. Instead, she floats down the river to Camelot but dies before she gets there. Lancelot sees her and thinks she's lovely. Ophelia is a character in Shakespeare. Ophelia is described as a damsel in distress because she loves Hamlet, but he does not love her back. Hamlet ends up killing Ophelia's father, Polonius, and devastates Ophelia. Ophelia ends up climbing into a willow tree when the branch breaks and she falls into the brook and dies. Many think that this was an act of suicide. After Ophelia's funeral scene, she is not mentioned again in Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Lady Shalott

Lady Shalott by Alfred Tennyson is a poem about a woman who is cursed never to look at or go to Camelot. She spends her time weaving and looking at Camelot indirectly throught a mirror. After she sees Sir Lancelot though, she decides to go to despite her curse. She takes a boat but dies of the curse on the way. Once the boat floats into Camelot everybody is surprised by her and Lancelot says that she is lovely.

I really enjoyed reading this poem and the synopsis helped me fully grasp its full meaning. It served as a semit-translation and made the poem much easier to understand.

Lady Shalott

Lady Shalott is a three part poem by Alfred Tennison about a woman who is cursed to never look at or go to the city of Camelot. She doesn't know what the curse will do to her, but she doesn't want to risk it, so she weaves all day and looks at the city through a mirror. However, when she see's Sir Lancelot, she decides that she doesn't care about the curse anymore and leaves her tower and gets on a boat to Camelot. On the way she dies, and when her boat drifts into Camelot, Lancelot is the only one who doesn't shun her and instead says something along the lines of its a shame that such beauty has died. 

I like this poem a lot. Sometimes its hard for me to get the whole story behind a poem but this one really clicked for me. I definitely enjoyed reading this poem  

Ophelia synopsis

This synopsis is about the character Ophelia from the Shakespearean play, Hamlet. It talks about her reactions to the different things that Hamlet does throughout the play starting with Hamlets return to the kingdom to Ophelia's death. It also goes through the death of Ophelia's father, and how Ophelia's mother thinks that the death of her daughter is because of the stress of her father as well as the realization that Hamlet doesn't love her. 

This is a really accurate synopsis of Ophelia's character at least from my understanding from reading the play in high school. Ophelia is well portrayed in the synopsis. Its brief, but gives someone who might have never even heard of Hamlet a fairly descriptive account of Ophelia. I actually really love this play, and think that Ophelia is a complex and dense character. 

Lady of Shalott and Ophelia.

Alfred Tennyson starts off this work by breaking down the sets of stanzas in Lady of Shalott. He describes what happens, followed by the actual text. He then goes into to detail of Ophelia, and her story. His structure changes drastically from the choppy mini paragraphs, to full scale paragraphs. His work was in depth and thorough.

It was nice getting such a detailed description because shakespeare is very tough. Tennyson made it very easy to understand and appreciate. This to me is important because today shakespeare is not as appreciated or honored. Getting the full story in such a short page and a half description can only be done by the few who truly know his workings inside and out.

Synnopsis Response

Lady of Shalott by Alfred Tennyson is about a woman who is cursed for an unknown reason, who cannot look at the world. So she constantly weaves a magic web and looks through a mirror because she cannot look directly on the world. So while weaving she would look on the people walking and the other happenings in the reflection of the mirror out her window. One day Sir Lancelot rode by and she was memorized so she broke her curse looked out the window and left her tower. She took a boat down the river in search of Camelot. She never arrived but she had died.

This synopsis was great. I have never read this poem, and even when reading the actual text I could not bring about as much meaning that the author of the synopsis was. This creates a translation which is extremely easy to follow.

"Lady of Shalott"

Lady of Shalott is about a lady that was cursed by Sir Lancelot. The curse restricts here from looking at the world. She attempts to chase Lancelot back to Camelot but dies before she gets there.
The synopsis was super helpful because it made the poem easier to understand.

Response to Character Description of Ophelia

This article is a description of Ophelia from Shakespeare’s poem, Hamlet. Ophelia, who is the next in line for the throne for Denmark, is trying to pursue Hamlet but is warned by her brother not to because of Hamlets status with her father Polonius. Who seems to be sure that Hamlet is lovesick with Ophelia and thinks he will express his love, so Polonius and his brother, Claudius plan to eavesdrop on their conversation, in what is known as the “Nunnery Scene.” This is where Hamlet recites his famous “To be, or not to be” soliloquy and hamlet leaves angrily calling off any future feelings. Hamlet then kills Polonius and after that Ophelia has gone mad. She then climbs up a willow tree and falls in to a creek and drowns. The last time she is mentioned is at her funeral.

                Although I have never read or seen any type of depiction of this poem this description gives a great outline. Though there were not many explicit details of Ophelia it was easy to infer from action, and the descriptive words used in the description. It is unclear to me much of what she was thinking towards the end of this novel but I have never read this. But as Shakespeare always did with his poems, it was a tragedy.

"Character Description of Shakespeare's Ophelia", by Kristina D. M. Deonaldo

This article is about a play of love and death. Ophelia is in a play of Hamlet. Ophelia goes mad for her father, Polonius, who she loved, and was killed by Hamlet. As she climbs up a tree a branch breaks and she drowns in a brook. There she lies at her funeral, Hamlet challenges Ophelia's brother, Laertes, to claim who loved Ophelia more. I only know Hamlet was a play, and the interest of it never struck or sank in. This play seemed like there was a mixture of disaster.

"Character Description of Shakespeare's Ophelia"

The story by Kristina D. M. Deonaldo is a telling of the person Ophelia. She was in the play Hamlet. Her father was killed by Hamlet. (Who she loved) This causes her to be extremely depressed and she "kills herself" by falling out of a tree into a river.


We don't actually know if she actually killed herself. It could have been pure coincidence yet because she died we will never know. I personally believe she did not and that it was meant to be a tragic accident.

Synopsis of "Lady of Shalott" by Alfred Tennyson

"Lady of Shalott" is about a curse on the lady's life whom weaves a web to to look out to the world, because she can not look. Once the curse is upon her; she rides down the river to Camelot, but dies before she made it to the palace. I like how Alfred Tennyson writes in a way for others to understand what is being said before each poem(stanza). This helps from getting confused and instead guided with the information to help make since of it.

Character Description of Shakespeare's Ophelia

This article is a description of the character Ophelia from Shakespeare's Hamlet.  Ophelia is trying to pursue Hamlet, who is the heir to the throne of Denmark.  Her brother, Laertes, warns her of Hamlet's status and her father, Polonius, forbids her to pursue Hamlet.  Polonius soon realizes that Hamlet must be lovesick which is causing his madness.  He suggests to Claudius, Hamlet's uncle and stepfather, that they eavesdrop on Hamlet and Ophelia's conversation.  This then leads to the 'Nunnery Scene' which has Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" soliloquy.  Hamlet ends up leaving Ophelia heartbroken.  Hamlet then kills Polonius and Ophelia is thought to have gone mad after that.  Ophelia climbs up a willow tree, a branch breaks, and she falls into the brook where she drowns.  The last scene where Ophelia is mentioned is at her funeral.
I have never read Hamlet and have no idea what the plot is.  I believe the description of Ophelia is very clear.  I'm not sure why she went mad after her father's death or why she died.  I believe it has to do with Hamlet, whether it was him breaking her heart or killing her father.  Based on the description of Ophelia, I can tell that the book "Hamlet" has a similar plot to "Romeo and Juliet."

Synopsis of "Lady of Shalott" response

"Lady of Shalott" by Alfred Tennyson is about how the Lady of Shalott is cursed and cannot look directly at the world so she weaved a web to allow her to look at the world.  One day the bold and appealing Sir Lancelot rides down to Camelot.  She stops weaving and looks out her window towards Camelot which activates the curse.  She leaves her castle to pursue Lancelot and dies before arriving.  Her body arrives at Camelot.  Everyone is surprised, especially Lancelot, who says thinks she's lovely. 
The synopsis of this poem is incredibly helpful.  I would've missed some useful information because I didn't quite understand the fifth-eighth stanzas, which serve as important parts to the poem.  This poem is written beautifully and uses vivid working to portray vivid imagery.  

"Bonehead Writing" - Craig Vetter

This article talks about Vetter teaching a beginner course for writing.  The course is targeted towards college students that don't meet the normal standards for writing.  Vetter is incredibly negative throughout the entire article because he feels the money and time put into these kinds of courses are wasteful because writing can't be taught in a cheery way since it is such a dreadful task.  He makes the comparison between the administration that are desperate to teach the students how to write and Helen Keller at the pump.  He claims the administration sound like "Helen Keller at the pump, waiting for a miracle." (Vetter 2)
Vetter is absolutely right.  Loving to write cannot be taught in a classroom.  The passion to write comes from the writer.  Even great writers, stated in Anne Lamott's "Shitty First Drafts", have trouble finding the spark when writing. Vetter has a right to tell his students the truth and that is that writing is a dreadful task.  Even if you put in hundreds of hours of distressing work, people will still probably not appreciate your work as much as you'd like.

"Character Description of Shakespeare's Ophelia"

This essay by Kristina D. M. Deonaldo is a lengthy description of the character named Ophelia in the play "Hamlet." Ophelia is described as the daughter of Polonius and the sister of Laertes who are all very noble people in Denmark. Ophelia was hoping to marry Hamlet who is the heir to the throne of Denmark, however, Hamlet ends up killing Polonious which causes Ophelia to break down into a kind of depression that makes her look crazy towards people. Ophelia then dies by climbing up a tree and falling into a brook which drowns her. Hamlet then says that he truly loved her in the end.

I think the biggest question to ask about this essay is why did Ophelia die? Did she actually kill herself or was that not intended? I think since the tree limb was said to have broken, maybe Ophelia just went up their to collect her thoughts. However, because her father was killed by the person she once loved, she probably had no hope of happiness any longer. Also, did Hamlet truly love her as he challenged Laertes? I think that Hamlet could have just been trying to make himself feel better because, if Ophelia did kill herself, Hamlet could have been to blame for that.

Response to "Lady Of Shalott," by Alfred Tennyson

"Lady of Shalott," by Alfred Tennyson, is poem about the titular character who is "cursed" and is stuck in her tower. According to the poem (and the author of the synopsis) all it took was the sight of Lancelot for the Lady of Shalott's curse to break. The synopsis of this poem explains in good detail the events that are taking place. Later, the author of the synopsis explains that the Lady of Shalott leaves the tower and arrives at a nearby palace where she manages to make everyone stare. However, Lancelot see's her beauty.


I believe that this story is about a woman who was cursed or sick in some way probably because she was in love with Lancelot. She climbed up into the tower and waited for him and was in a daze for a very long time. When she saw Lancelot, she was broken from that daze and went to see him. While everyone around did not recognize here, because she probably looked malnourished, Lancelot recognized her. Lancelot knew that all she needed was time to heal and she would be back to her beautiful self again.

Craig Vetter "Bonehead Writing" Response

Craig Vetter describes a problem among students in college today. He writes as if lecturing to a class. He explains how colleges think that students are not getting the needed knowledge to be able to professionally write any important document. He also focuses on the thought of students not being able to teach themselves how to write, and no one else can either. 

I completely agree with Craig Vetter because I think writing is different for everyone.  No matter how much harder the universities get on people or how many groups they have or assignments to make students write better, I do believe that you can never teach someone how to write.

Bonehead Writing

Bonehead Writing talks about teaching first year students how to write. It says that it is something that is very often done wrong and that that is partially due to the fact that we often have bad writing teachers growing up. It also says, though, that we as students are meant to be creative and intelligent.

I think the author makes some good points that we often aren't taught how to be good writers and that, in the end, our personal style comes from us. I also think that he seems very angry towards the school system and this article therefore seemed rather biased

Bonehead Writing

This is a great essay. Craig Vetter hits the nail on the head the way that he talks about and approaches writing. He says that writing is a skill that people aren't learning anymore. More and more students are having problems with their writing and some believe it is because of the digital age. I can agree with this. As Vetter says, writing requires you to actually think and articulate those thoughts. Now with as easy as every thing is to do on an Ipad or a touch phone there is so little room for real thought. Personally I think that having Vetter as a professor would be kind of cool. He seems like that crotchety old guy that you just kinda learn to love.  :]

Response: Bone Head Writing

In Bone Head Writing by Craig Vetter, he discusses the lack effort students and teachers make at writing in schools and universities. He is a very up front kind of writer. He does not beat around the bush. Vetter gives a great comparisons and witty retorts to the excuses and reasonings why these students say they don't try or want to take the time to write. He explains that writing is not easy, it is a sport and that you have to put the time, effort, and energy into your writing like you would any sport. All in all I enjoyed Vetters writing style and unique use of phrasing and alliterations.

"Bonehead Writing"

Bonehead writing by Craig Vetter is about him teaching first year students about writing. Now-a-days in college it is important to know how to properly write but there is a lack of motivation from both the teacher and the student.


Writing is very important but I don't think it needs all this excitement. Math and science classes should be the main focus of most schools. 

Craig Vetter's "Bonehead Writing"

Craig Vetter's "Bonehead Writing", is about him teaching to first year students about writing. This has become such an issue in college's to learn writing to a point there has to be meetings to help improve this. Vetter mentions how it will be the worst class because no one knows how to write. With this said there is no motivation as the usual teacher would provide to help you through your work. In a way he has a point to open the students eyes to what needs to be focused on.

Response to Bonehead Writing

This article is about a man who is a profound writer who has done many great works and is a self-proclaimed good writer. He goes through a lecture he would give to his class and he is blunt to say the least. He insults everyone in there, tells them they are about to go through the worst class because none of them know how to write. He then continues to describe our past writing teachers are as bad as some Joe Shmo down the road.

I do not agree with this article at all. I don’t believe everyone is an awful writer and I also don’t believe you can only learn to write from yourself. Although he is a professional writer I believe he is angry and biased towards the school systems for some unknown reason.

Vetter's "Bonehead Writing"

Craig Vetter who has taught writing has an interesting way to describe how we are to write.  Writing is  learning which is something I never have thought of.  Because every time that you sit down to write we are thinking and "preceiving" writing in new information.  No one can teach you how to write the way that as individuals we do, this is all comes from us.

Vetter's "Bonehead Writing"

Vetter is a professor of a writing class that is fairly basic. He tells his students that writing is a difficult thing to get right. People do it wrong all the time. Yet in his class, the students are meant to be creative and use intelligence in their writing.

This is a good thing to recognize. Not everyone is on the same level when it comes to writing. Teachers could influence what you feel about writing and thus how you write. While others could have been inspired to greatness. Writing is difficult yet there is a reason we do it.

Response to Craig Vetter's "Bonehead Writing"

Craig Vetter's "Bonehead Writing" is portrayed as an introduction to a class of writing. Craig Vetter is the teacher and in the writing he greets the students and explains what the class that they are getting into is all about. He tells them that writing is not something that is easy and he doesn't blame them for being in such a basic writing level class. Vetter then goes on to explain that, in the class, they will be trained very hard in the way of writing and he highlights that it will be a very difficult thing to get used to. He explains that the hard part is being creative about your writing and thinking cleverly about everything. Lastly, Vetter ends the essay by asking why anyone would want to write in the first place if it is such a difficult thing to get right.

I like the tone that Vetter uses in his essay and how he makes us feel like we are in his class. He speaks about writing almost sarcastically as he explains how difficult it is and how challenging the class may turn out to be for them. I just wonder why Vetter doesn't seem to lighten up a little and re-assure the class that  even though it will be challenging, it will be worth it in the end and be helpful for the future? This is probably because he wants them to take it seriously. Even though he asks that question at the end, he wants his students to figure it out for themselves. I think the Vetter believes that he shouldn't allow his students to let their guard down.

Craig Vetter "Bonehead Writing"

Craig Vetter, Staff member of Playboy, Outside, and Sunset magazines, graduated from the University of San Francisco and wrote a lecture to first year writing students. Vetter describes a problem among universities that gesture that graduates, and students in general are not getting the proper knowledge and know-how to be able to professional be able to write essays, papers, applications, and many other important texts. He explains that the problem is so huge it would have to be held in a large lecture building. Students, as he stresses, cannot teach themselves to write, nor can anyone else. Writing is simply thinking. I agree with Vetter because I can honestly say that some things that I write are completely awful and then I have others that are beautiful. The audience that reads what you are writing can really see what you are trying to write, and in other words, what you write on paper, including the style and language and structure, will be how the audience will perceive what you are trying to write. Writing appears as it is seen on the paper, as obvious as it sounds, but the audience will always respond to that accordingly to their repertoire. I learned from this lecture to not hold back in your writing and professionally pick apart your ideas to creatively paint a picture about what your writing about, and the audience will react positively, which is the main goal of college writing, which so far, I have learned a lot about and improved immensely personally.

Response to The Privacy Dilemma

The Privacy Dilemma is an essay on privacy and how it is rapidly fleeting from everyday people. Since many people have Facebook, twitter and other means of communication that are public, a large number of people are able to view anything including private information. Therefore, there can be a lot of drama when people aren't thoughtful about what they want to say on the internet. The author blames the start of many problems as the fault of people not being smart about what they write or do on the the internet. The author explains that an organization named WikiLeaks is directly responsible for releasing private information and that could be a very serious problem to most people. 
I think the the author of this essay did a great job of setting up his paper. He makes everything flow very nicely and things are clear to understand. However, I believe that the author could have included better citation. The are parts where he mentions things, but they seems out of place and it would have been better if it was explained how well it fit into the essay.

Privacy Dilemma

Privacy Dilemma by Paul talks about how we are trading off our privacy with modern technology. Meaning that as the technology advances, our private lives becomes less and less private. And then, he talks about how people are killed in Kenya because Wikileaks leaked a confidential information.

I agree with what Paul said about social networks. I mean, sure we are trading off our private lives with the technology but its totally our choice. For example, I can deactivate my facebook account or I can just not activate it from the beginning. There is no hacker in the world who is smart enough to hack something  which doesn't exist.

Sample Student Essay Response

"The Privacy Dilemma", by Paul expresses his thoughts about technology and how it has made it easier for people to obtain information about almost anything. Paul specifically talks about an article written by Peter Singer titled, "Visible Man." The article focuses on the topic of people using social networks to relay information about their personal lives. Singer describes a non-profit organization, WikiLinks, that releases private media gathered from anonymous individuals, news links, and computer hackers. WikiLinks was founded by a man named Julian Assange. Julian Assange uses information that he finds and exposes it through this organization. Not only is this dangerous, but very careless. One dangerous outcome of his careless need to expose information was about the Kenyan government that led to an uprising causing 1,300 deaths and displaced 350,000. This proves that exposing private information is not always helpful to the public.
I completely agree with the thoughts that Paul states after reading the article. Although Singer makes some good points about people like Assange who do anything and everything to expose information that should be kept in private, I do not agree with his thoughts about social networking. His beliefs and opinions about social networking come off as biased in the article. He feels as if the world was a better place before technology. I do think that technology has caused some problems including privacy, but whose to say that the world was a safer place now or then. After all, if people didn't want anyone to know there business and life story, they could always just not get involved with social networks and technology of todays world.

Privacy Dilemma

This article talks about privacy issues with the online.  He discusses his opposition to the article "Visible Man" on its views on the controversy with WikiLeaks.  He sites quotes from the article and backs them up with other views by other people. 
The first paragraph does not cover what the rest of the article talks about.  The rest of the article talks about how the article "Visible Man" and Wikileaks while the first paragraph serves as a background leading up to the article.  It seems this isn't a professional essay or at least not yet.

Privacy Dilemma

The Privacy Dilemma is about how people don't have private information anymore due to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Everyone, or most people can see all of your private info that you wouldn't want others to see. The author also blames Wikileaks for most of the nations problems.

I can totally understand, a future employer could see everything bad you did in college and denie you the job. I try to edit myself on the internet.

The Privacy Dilemma

"The Privacy Dilemma," is an article discussing the privacy upon sites, such as, Facebook. I agree with Paul when he mentions privacy being difficult to attain. I think blogging on these sites can be risky and problematic, because the lack of privacy being recieved, but it's also others choice to do so. Such issues can be avoided by making careful decisions and being aware of posts on websites, such as, Facebook or Twitter.

Privacy Dilema

The Privacy Dilema is about how people are starting to lose privacy in our regular lives. This is caused mostly by technology. The reason we are losing privacy is because we have chosen (or not) to divulge information onto sites like Facebook and twitter.

Paul mentions a site like wikileaks. Wikileaks is a horrible website dedicated to releasing our nations secrets. There is no excuse to endangering the lives of our troops in a needless way. This company should be shut down and the people sent to jail.

Privacy Dilema

The Privacy Dilemma is an essay on the privacy and how it is rapidly fleeting from everyday people. Paul blames most of the problems on technology, With everyone having Facebook, twitter and other means of communication that are public, all of our information we input into these sights is that more accessible by anyone with internet access. Be it companies, your mother, or the government. He suggests that with all this new technology we our secrets that we keep deep down inside might soon be available over the internet. WikiLeaks, an organization directly responsible for releasing information on anything and could cause death like it has before in Kenya. I agree with Paul who comes from a neutral perspective that notices the bias in the the founder of WikiLeaks. Who only tells his side of the story and only wants to gain from the possible awful things he is releasing into the world. No one should ever have the ability to release such information into the public.

The Privacy Dilemma

The Privacy Dilemma is one in which Paul Graul discusses how important privacy is and how it effects people and the government. Paul tends to blame a lot of this problem on the technology now a days. With everyone having facebooks and twitters and such, information is spreading quicker than ever and it seems that people's secrets and other privacies are in danger of coming out. WikiLeaks is an organization that releases private information, news leaks, and computer hackers. This organization is exposing everyone to private information about almost anything and is in fact causing death and displacement in Kenya. The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, is responsible for this and he is even making very biased remarks that only show his side of the story and I do not agree with the way he went about writing this. This single man should not have the power to decide if private information should be leaked or not because he is just one person. Assange seems to be in this business mainly for the fame and he only wants people to know what he thinks, which is a very biased answer because, coming from a neutral perspective, Paul can even notice that Assange did not tell the full story. No one person should be able to make such rash decisions, and working together is the only way for governmental advancement.

New York Times Response

This article briefly talks about the case of Tyler Clementi and the charges and accusations against Dharun Ravi. This article focuses more on the charges of Dharun Ravi and the trial, including the people who testified against Ravi and also the male M.B. who was viewed on the web cam with Tyler Clementi. This article was very straight to the point and layed out all the information in a clear and concise way. Overall, Ravi was charged on two counts. I do agree that Ravi should have been charged with something, but I am relieved and glad to see that he was not charged with the count of murder. Since no one can prove the real reason of Clementi's suicide I don't think it would be fair to hold anyone fully accountable for his suicide.

Shitty First Drafts

This essay was about writing shitty first drafts. Anne Lamott expresses how even she, a successful writer, has a shitty first draft. She explains that the first draft is important because you can express your ideas and basically write anything that comes to your mind without letting anyone see it or judge it. It's a messy draft that you go back to and take the things you wrote down and decide what you keep and what you don't. The importance of getting all your thoughts down, no matter how crazy or unorganized they may seem, there may be something amazing that you find in all the clutter of words.
I actually enjoyed reading this exert. I could completely relate to everything that Lamott stated about not stressing too much about making your first draft perfect. I also feel like people who love to write would look at Lamott as a role model and this idea of it being ok to have a shitty first draft would help them be more confident when starting an essay.

"Shitty First Drafts" by Anne Lamott

"Shitty First Drafts" by Anne Lamott is an article discussing first drafts, which I don't look forward to and is no fun. First drafts are basically all your ideas thrown together, which may or may not make since on paper. Once you revise, and reread your work you find the crappy, unorganized first draft is a little better. I like how Lamott gives ideas about how she writes her drafts, how she gives ideas to organize and how to take on your draft to make it better. Fresh eyes can always make a difference when writing a paper.

Shitty First Drafts

Anne Laymott's article about shitty first draft talks about how every writer has to set their mind to start writing an article or anything, and that even the professional writers have to face the fear of first drafts and how much they hate it.

I would say the article is an extremely interesting article, because it talks about how authors deal with the first drafts. I like the article not only because I'm able to relate my fear of writing with theirs and also because the advices he is giving. I like the one particular advice where he said "First draft is the down draft-you just get it dow. The second draft is the up draft- you fix it up. You try to say what you have to say more accurately. And the third draft is the dental draft, where you check every tooth, to see if it's loose or cramped or decayed, or even, God help us, healthy" (Lammot 72)

Shitty First Drafts

The article "Shitty First Drafts" by Anne Lamott describes how crucial it is for a writer to make a first draft before trying to complete their work. A first draft is a place to messily lay down all of your ideas where nobody can see them before refining it into something great. She says that you often end up coming up with things you never would have if you had tried to write by "rational adult means".

I think that it is important to lay out all of your ideas before the final draft so that you can properly pick a direction. We are often blinded by thinking of one thing we need to write about rather than all of the directions our writing could take. In the future I think that I will definitely make more first drafts than I previously have.

"Shitty First Drafts" Response

"Shitty First Drafts" is an essay written by Anne Lammot, a food review writer. This essay is about exactly what its name would suggest, bad first drafts. Lammot begins by comforting the reader, letting them know that it's okay to write a shitty first draft. In fact she goes on to say that it's essential to writing a successful paper, and that most professional writers start with a shitty first draft. Lammot explains the process of turning a first draft into a final paper. The first draft should be somewhat of an idea jumble. Then you read over your first draft, and can decide what's worth keeping and what isn't necessary.

Through Anne Lammot's process of writing a shitty first draft one gains ideas they otherwise wouldn't have. Writing a bad first draft also helps clean your paper up, by allowing the writer to decide first hand what they need in their paper and what can be cut. This essay appealed to me personally. Being the procrastinator I am, I often wait until the night before a paper is due and write just one first and final draft. Lammot has helped me realize exactly how destructive this procrastinating can be to my papers. For now on I plan to work ahead of the deadline so I can write a shitty first draft, then have time to build a final draft from that.

Dharun Ravi NYT

This article was about the Tyler Clementi case and was a lot more matter-of-fact than Ian Parker's "The Story of a Suicide."It was a lot more about the case and the sentencing. I do agree that Ravi should not be charged for the death of Clementi, he didn't actually kill him. I feel like he was not smart in his decision to deny the plea bargain of the 600 community service hours and no jail time.

Shitty First Drafts

Anne Lamott's essay writes about how first drafts are usually messy and unorganized. She talks about how when someone starts an essay, it is probably going to be all over the place and a mess of ideas.

I really liked the way this essay was written. It was easy to read and I completely agreed with it. As a write, I am the least structured and I just pour everything out and then worry about structuring later. I find it a lot easier to just have a huge jumble of my thoughts and then go back and sort them and make it sound better.

"Shitty First Draft" Response

"Shitty First Draft" by Anne Lamott is a witty selection from her book Bird by Bird.  I personally loved this selection because there are many times that when you go to write a paper, you get so frusturated becasue you feel you will never get the perfect paper that you hoped for.  But Lamott explains that even the best authors, not even one of them, will sit down and write a perfect first draft.  She describes the first draft to be "the child's draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later."  I love this because it is so true, and something that should be applied to every paper.

"Shitty First Drafts"

"Shitty First Drafts" by Anne Lamott is a quirky essay about how the first draft is almost always going to suck. But it helps writers develop their ideas into more substantial final drafts. 

   I like the way this essay shows that even successful writers have a hard time sometimes creating a piece. I always thought that if I were a good writer, I would be able to sit at a computer and crank out a masterpiece with in an hour. Only after receiving some less than satisfactory grades did I realize that writing drafts is the best way for me to review my work and make the necessary changes for it to be the piece that I want it to be. I think that Anne Lamott is absolutely correct in her view that first drafts are going to be shitty, but they are a great way for writers to get their basic idea out. 

Shitty First Drafts

Anne Lamott says that the point of a rough draft is to be messy. You are not meant to make your rough drafts a final draft. You are meant to spill onto the page and just let the ideas flow.

I absolutely understand. That is exactly how i've felt forever. I never understood the point of a rough draft because I believed that I was supposed to make it final. Its good to know I'm not the only one who feels this way.

"Shitty First Drafts"

Anne Lamott says that a rough draft shouldn't be neat and structured. She says that a rough draft is where everything all flows out on to the paper. You can shape the draft after you regurgitate all the information. Anne is a professional writer for food reviews and she dreads starting a piece. She uses the phrase "shitty rough draft" to show that she doesn't try to hard on her drafts but structures everything later.

I relate to Anne because I hate starting a writing. I much rather do the structuring part then the actual draft. When I write I spill info out on the paper and I feel so stressed by the unorganized sentences. I'm glad someone acknowledged the "shitty rough draft".

"Shitty First Drafts" - Anne Lamott

Writer Ann Lamott claims that not one single writer sits down and feels like a million bucks.  The first draft is a "child's draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later." (Lamott 2)  She was a writer for food reviews and she would constantly dread writing reviews and would have to force herself to start writing.  She always starts off with shitty first drafts full of her random thoughts and improves them later.  She claims she has to constantly keep her imaginary ravenous dogs that keep her from writing contained so she could start writing.
Writing can be a pain.  I constantly struggle to find any words to put on paper.  My mind constantly runs in different directions and I would actually have to tell myself things that could be worse than writing.  I thought it was interesting when Lamott talked about her experience at the hypnotist.  I will consider trying the mouse in a jar technique before I begin writing. 

Shitty First Drafts

Anne Lammot, a food review writer, wrote an essay on shitty first drafts, which suggests that anybody can make their writing look very professional. When you are writing an essay, the first draft is the most important part. It lays down the blueprint from which you are going to work with, and allows you to take out or keep any parts that are either interesting or unimportant. Like all good writers, you must start with a shitty first draft because first off no one will see it but you, it is only a first draft and will be revised, and finally it could open up possibilities to certain aspects of the essay that you may have not seen at first. Writing a shitty first draft is essential to any good writers final copy. I think that if you would not do this first draft, then a lot of information that you could possibly get, might not be there because you did not open up the doors to creative possibilities by doing a shitty first draft. It can help anybody anytime.

Response to "Shitty First Drafts"

The essay named "Shitty First Drafts," by Anne Lamott, seems to persuade it's readers that it is okay to write really bad first drafts. Lamott even goes on to say that many great authors that we may look up also write terrible first drafts. Therefore, we cannot assume that we are all able to sit down at a computer and spontaneously start typing out genius material on the first go. Then Lamott explains what the first draft to many of us should look like, a messy collage of all of our thoughts written down on paper. There might be something amazing in that first draft or not. Then Lamott gives an example of a previous job she had.  he explains that she had trouble when she used to write reviews for a magazine and then realized that all she had to do was write that really bad first draft to gather ideas, and after, just look it over and re-write it
Lastly, she goes on to tell us how to relax ourselves while writing and make the most out of it.

I like the authors tone and how she tries to comfort us by saying that every good writer writes terrible first drafts and how she isn't any different. Lamott's tone sounds as if she knew that college students (or anyone who want to write well) would most likely be reading this. So, she tried to appeal to them by adding a tone with a sense of humor. I have one question: "Why does she sound so bossy?" The only thing I don't particularly like is that it seems almost as if she doesn't expect her readers to have any other way to go about writing drafts other than what she says near the end of the essay. Or perhaps, it feels like she is ordering her readers to use her suggestions.

Response to "Tyler Clementi's parents: Justice done in Ravi's conviction"

"Tyler Clementi's parents: Justice done in Ravi's conviction" is an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer written by George Anastasia.George seems to be simply stating the facts as they played out without having much of his own point of view on the subject. He explains that the what Ravi did made him the ideal example to the effects of bullying in the world. However, George also states Ravi's view of the subject when Ravi tries to re-assure everyone that he didn't act out of hate.

I like how George provides two different viewpoints of how the Clementi case is considered to be an example of the effects of bullying. He allows for Ravi to have his say at the end leaving the readers to judge what they think about the case.

New York TImes Response

I saw where the author was coming from with this article, however it felt very one sided and repepative. I understand the importance of efficiency and a sense of urgency which is what the article covered (the main points and ideas), yet the points that were made did nothing to attempt to defend Ravi at all. Not that I am saying he deserves it, but thats because I had another source to make that conclusion, where as a person who just reads this would be more prone to spite Ravi with almost no knowledge of the real situation. The article also seemed to lack "a point", which is ironic. It seemed more like the article drew attention to this incident for attentions sake, not genuine concern to the severity of the tragedy.

Dharun Ravi New York Times

Dharun Ravi was eventually convicted of two crimes according to the New York Times. Those two crimes were bias intimidation of a hate crime and evidence tampering. I agree with these charges because although it would be unethical to say that he caused the death of Tyler Clementi, I would also not count out the chance of Ravi playing a key role in Tyler Clementi's suicidal thoughts. A new figure played a significant role in this article and that was Tyler Clementi's friend who was the other an on the tape, named M.B. Statements in this article argue that the hidden camera was to protect if this man was going to steal anything of Ravi's, because Ravi was asked by Tyler Clementi to leave the dorm and not return until around midnight. This suggests that maybe Ravi was only trying to protect himself and his things, but moving on to the evidence tampering, there is nothing to defend Ravi for. Ravi clearly changed things he said on twitter that were things that would obviously upset someone so close to him, like his roommate Tyler. The end of this article enforces that Ravi might have to be deported back to his home country of India, but I don't think that justifies anything, and he should have to stay in America and live with what he did everyday. In the long run I think it will only make him a better person after going through all of this.

Response to "Real-life problems in real time" By Jon Carroll

"Real-life problems in real time" is an article in the San Francisco Chronicle that describes the Tyler Clementi case and Ravi's involvement. Jon mentions that Ravi was not accused of being the primary factor in Clementi's death, but goes on to speak about how jerky he was and how many of his decisions were not that smart or thoughtful. Jon center around the fact that Ravi posted about Clementi's private life on the internet for everyone to see and even though Clementi was not shy about his sexuality, Ravi did not ask permission or wonder what affect it would have on Clementi if he saw the posts. He also assumes that Ravi felt very confortable on the internet and that he was also posting about Clementi to ask for advice on the uncomfortable situation. Jon Carroll understand what it is like to type about problems and other things about your life on the internet because he said that he used to do it himself, but he also mentions that he does not talk about other peoples private lives.

I like that Jon sympathizes with Ravi for a few paragraphs about posting things he'd like to talk about on the internet. He suggests that it is a natural thing for people to do. Therefore, he puts himself into the shoes of Ravi and also helps his readers do this too. However, I also agree with Jon that he still thinks Ravi is a very jerky kid and shouldn't have done what he did. He mentions that jerks, internet and ignorance are a very bad combination that result in behavior that is often not taken seriously.

Her point is

Her point is, didn't have much of a point. The article seemed a bit repetitive, however did do a good job of explaining how to write a solid summary. A summary is a condensed version of a txt that extracts and presents main ideas in a way that does justice to the authors intentions. Basically to have a good summary is has to do justice! You have to keep in mind your own perspective while also putting yourself in the authors shoes; it's quite the dilemma. One tip to a great summary is trying to avoid he/she said, or sometimes refraining from using the first person I.e. (I, me, myself). Another suggestion would be to not say or discuss the article, but to argue it! Contradict yourself with your own contradiction! Lastly try to be objective, and most importantly walk a mile... No, make it 1000 miles in the authors shoes before even thinking about your own opinion.

The story of a suicide p.1

In the first part of Ian Parkers "The Story of a Suicide" it discusses the lives of Tyler Clementi and Dharun Ravi. We are told, nearly right off the bat, that Tyler and Dharun were Roomate's and that Dharun was being charged for Tyler Clementis suicide. It seems as if the public is uncertain how to charge Dharun because Tyler lived such a mysterious life. The article goes into more detail and we learn that Tyler was gay and Dharun made it public that he had an issue with it. Dharun is also quoted tweeting things along the lines of "fuck my life he's gay," and "he's poor;" foreshadowing a negative connotation. Dharun made these statements before even meeting Tyler.

Roy Peter Clark

Roy Peter Clark's "I won't use writing as punishment. I won't..." intrigued me. Ironically, most students will tell you that at some point in their lives, they've experienced a writing punishment. Writing to some is about creativity, to others it's about the aesthetics, to few it may be about the grammar! But to most, it is certainly not about punishment. You should not dread writing, you should cherish it. "Teachers try to modify the behavior of students by creating negative consequences for misbehavior." This is very relevant to our lives. If one cannot learn from their mistakes, the same mistakes may be repeated. However, writing should not be the form in which any punishment is given.

Academic discourse

Mike rose is a relatively well rounded english teacher. Not only does he teach, but Mike also analyzes the student teacher relationship. The interactions between the teacher and the student have always been subtle, but also very intense and enigmatic. For some students, learning specific subjects comes natural; where other students struggle with basic core concepts. For teachers, here lies the problem; teaching a subject to a broad range of students who each have their own way of learning. There are many problems, but when facing problems, solutions tend to surface.

Response to NYT

This articles starts off with a depiction of what had happened. This depictions states "Tyler Clementi jumped to his death from the George Washington bridge on Sept 22, 2010, after discovering that Mr. Ravi had secretly streamed his romantic interlude over the internet." He also goes into an explanation of what charges are brought upon Ravi and which were not able to be upheld by the court. The most important part of this piece is the that M.D. testified, who was with Tyler when the camera was turned on.

Though this article was up to date it does not hold a candle to the article in the New Yorker, by Ian Parker. Ian Parker appeared to be not biased at all and this article came off as completely negative towards Dharun Ravi which loses the credibility of the author. When he says that "Tyler Clementi jumped to his death from the George Washington bridge on Sept 22, 2010, after discovering that Mr. Ravi had secretly streamed his romantic interlude over the internet." The author is suggesting that the only reason he jumped was because of this. Which is unknown at this time. He also says the romantic moment was streamed, which from my definition it is far from streamed.