Writing Response #1

August 19, 2014

Eats, Shoots, and Leaves as well as Writing about Writing emphasize how truly
important correct punctuation and being able to communicate properly throughout your life truly
is. They both focus intently on helping the reader to better their commutation and writing
throughout their life. Eats, Shoots, and Leaves seems to criticize the ignorance of poor
punctuation and spelling more so than that of Writing about Writing, which seems to
encourage the reader to better themselves and learn rather than giving the reader a sense of appall
that Lynne Truss gave in Eats, Shoots, and Leaves when the teacher is asking to learn about
correct punctuation.
There are, in fact, many different viewpoints on writing. The traditional story is more of
correctness and not so much focusing on what the writer is, in fact, writing about. Writing is not
about only correctness though; writing is a form of art, a way for people to express themselves.
For someone to be a good writer they not only need to know how to write a correct paper but
they also need to put passion behind their writings. Throughout my school life I have kept
journals or notebooks in my English class with my daily writings in it; I realized that the sections
where I put more passion into my writings always were better, whether it be from correctness or
what I was writing about. Writing is so much more than making sure your commas and
parenthesis are in the right place but a way to tell your story the way you want. Writing is not
entirely about correctness but you also need it to make sure your viewpoint is being understood
so the readers are able to take in what you are writing the way you wish them to.

Writing Response #2
August 21, 2014
I was always very intrigued with reading. For me reading was a way to escape reality and
explore my imagination. Throughout school I was always a top reader, mostly because it was my
way to relax. I feel as though I grasp material better as long as I can relax while I am reading
rather than rush and just kind of be in a quiet room so I can focus. If I am reading books for
school that have a harder time grasping my attention I usually have to re-read sections over
before I can somewhat understand the material. I do feel as though I need to find a way for
myself to better understand books that are not leisure books but ones actually for class because
the words dont really seem to stick for me and it is easy for me to lose my focus. As a writer I
would not know how to describe myself. Writing something that I have an interest in or feel
passionate about make writing a breeze for me but, when it comes to writing about a topic I have
no interest in or have just learned about I have a hard time knowing where to start and how to
keep going. The hardest part for me about writing is starting it off and then ending it. I know you
go through your life being taught to plan before you write but in my experience I have done
better letting my ideas flow as I write and then going back to correct any flaws in the paper. This

strategy I know is not a good one, or an efficient one but as of right now it is the easiest way for
me to write.
Rhetorical reading strategies would be those where you use all of the knowledge to your
ability to understand what is happening in the passage. Along with doing that, you should
challenge yourself with the passage by conversing with the author, asking questions about why
the author may have chosen his viewpoint and thinking critically on it to help you better
understand the passage you are reading. To do this you may read aloud and ask yourself
questions while you are reading.

Writing Response #3
August 24, 2014
Literacy is a very important skill in our lives. To be literate is to be able to read and write
as well as to be able to understand different texts and be able to add your own thoughts and ideas
to the writings. Having a literary sponsor is also a big asset to being literate. A sponsor in life is
someone that aids you and helps you to accomplish things; a literary sponsor is a fitting term for
the figures who turned up most typically in peoples memories or literacy learning as stated by
Brandt (Page 47 of Writing about Writing). As a college student being literate and having
sponsors can change your life dramatically as a student. Without being literate or having
sponsors much like our English, or Rhetoric teachers, we would not be able to be where we are
in life today. Literacy is a major part of anyones life in todays society. If you were not literate
you would have not only a hard time finding a job but a hard time fitting into todays society as a
whole. In the book Writing about Writing, it talks about how a womans literacy helped her
cope after losing her husband. Brandt seemed to link literacy to helping people even with
everyday issues. People dont think of how important literacy is but it can change your life from
helping you overcome an obstacle to even getting a job you never thought you would have like
Dwayne Lowery. Literary sponsors are everywhere. Dora Lopez was even able to find enough
literary sponsors to change her life even though she may have been poor and the minority. The
only thing keeping you from becoming literate is yourself.

Writing Response #4
August 26, 2014
One of my grammar pet peeves is when you are trying to help someone and they feel as
though they are always right because they are writing exactly how they talk. Sentences do not
need to end just because they are long either people! One thing I have noticed people doing a lot
of that leaks into their papers is when they dont put the apostrophe or the e in youre. There is
a major difference between your and youre. Whether it be a text or an email do not use
shorthand; you never know if the person you are writing has any idea of what you are saying. If
you have a sentence that is not ended but you are coming at it from a different perspective you

do not need to put a period. The biggest pet peeve of all time for me though, is when people are
saying there is too much of something and they only put to. To me that is the most annoying
thing a person can do while writing. Apostrophes are a big problem too. Whether it be through a
text message or a sign on a wall no one seems to notice that CDs, DVDs, Videos, and
Books is wrong. Throughout the years people have gotten used to causal texting as well and in
that there seems to be no need to capitalize I. People also need to work on their spelling.
Everyone has gotten so used to auto-correct that if it were to disappear no one would know how
to spell. People need to quit relying on electronics to help them with their grammar and spelling!

Writing Response #7
September 4, 2014
Relating to Nicole Nathan was easy for me. Both of us can literally be "gone in a
second", we both use reading as a get-a-way from real world issues. For us reading is an escape
from reality and a place where we can venture into a world of imagination. As a child, I too
would read constantly. My parents and friends would always see me sitting outside or in my
room with my nose in a book and they would automatically know not to disturb me. For Nicole
Nathan reading was an escape as well and books were a shield from the reality of her parents and
world as a whole. Her favorite place was the library, much like myself as a child, and would
always have a book in her hand when she wasn't supposed to be doing anything else. Her father
didn't have much faith in her and would rather her have been outside playing then reading a
book. He also didn't feel as though her schooling would get her anywhere in life stating that she
would be working tables all her life. Though her father may have felt that way about her she still
went out of her way to spread his ashes throughout the world at places she felt as though he
would have liked to see. I really enjoyed this narrative because this girl seemed a lot like me; not
only a girl who loves to shove her nose in a book but, also one that did what she felt was right
even though it wasn't what was told of her to do

Writing Response #9
September 11, 2014
Ephemeral means something that only last for a very short time. When Truss states that
electronic media is ephemeral she is meaning that it will only be around for a short time which I
agree with completely. The word intrinsic means belonging naturally, or the essential nature of
something. In Truss's quote she is trying to say that electronic media is only going to last for a
short time because that is natural for it. Our society today cannot go two years without changing
some type of technology; whether it be a new type of iPhone or some laptop, people are always
looking for something more new and better. I agree with this completely. Many people (like
myself) grew up with the majority of media on paper, and very few of us watched TV as a passtime. Though media is very well TV as well I think of media as books and papers, something that
you would think of on a piece of paper not some kindle. As the generations are changing so are

the outlooks on the things we do in our pass-time. More children today pick up the remote as
oppose to a book and are too lazy to even watch commercials so they fast forward through them.
I do not believe that watch tv shows is a form of media therefore I agree completely when Truss
states that electronic media will only last for a short time, or, I hope for the sake of future
generations that it will only last a short time. People need to get off their laptops and away from
their TVs and learn to enjoy the little things in life like a paperback book.

Writing Response #11

September 30, 2014
WR #10: I was part of the Future Farmers of America group while I was in high school.
This group follows quite a few of Swales' 6 characteristics. Our common public goals were to
further the knowledge of the importance of agriculture in our society and to help our community
and students as much as possible. Communication between fellow FFA members was a big part
of our program. Our group leader strived to teach us the importance of communication and
helped us to better our communication skills not only face to face but also in front of large
crowds. The third of the 6 Swales' characteristics is to share information. With being part of the
FFA we were to learn about agriculture and spread our knowledge to all those that were willing
to listen. We had a rule book that we would go by and people who were in charge of enforcing
the rules. As New Years come we also had people either growing out of the group or coming in
because of their interest in agriculture; this follows the last of the 6 characteristics. The FFA
group followed the majority of Sawles' 6 characteristics.

After the discussion in class I had a better understanding of what was happening in the
text as well as a better understanding of what some of the vocabulary truly meant. My writing
response 10 still seems appropriate to the instructions and seem to cover a lot of the
qualifications for a discourse community. FFA did not seem to have little groups within and did
seem to have a common lexis which I now know is language. FFA also seemed to have a pretty
equal balance of old and new members which is vital for a discourse community to be
successful. All in all I feel as though using FFA as an example of a discourse community was a
good fit because it seems to follow Swales' 6 characteristics well.
Writing Response #20
November 6, 2014
College admission essays are not something to just throw on a piece of paper and hope
for the best; they show the college who you truly are. Within the admission essays you try your
hardest to use your writing to shape who you are and how you want the college to see you. I
remember writing my college admission essays was the most terrifying paper Ive ever wrote,
the amount of thought I put into them was almost horrifying and I experienced writers block at
least every five minutes. I feel as though the amount of thought people put into them, male

verses female, does vary. While males may not put as much passion into their papers I felt as
though I was pouring it into my admission essays hoping to get the reader to feel the same as I
felt towards the topic. Males usually, from my experience, do seem to deny relationships as
Magee stated so I feel as though that is correct in the writing as females tend to favor to use those
relations. In the last section she states that genre seemed to influence the females writing; I agree
with this statement as well. If you have an admission essay that you do not relate to as well either
emotionally or mentally your writing may tend to be more masculine. So even though males
write more masculine then females I feel as though it is mostly determined on the prompt as well
andhow it reacts with the writer
Writing Response #21
November 9, 2014
Everywhere you go you hear bits of information that stick, whether it be around your
friends and family or in class, the knowledge that you take in can all be formed together to create
new knowledge. As we have talked about in class rhetors write information but, new knowledge
is always created when you read or take in any form of text. Reading is not the only way you can
create new knowledge; you can create knowledge by having any conversation. When you take in
someone else's ideas you add your own knowledge to it, in turn, creating new knowledge. In the
article Sommer talks about the importance of using someone else's knowledge as your own, in
her case she said words. Though at some points this may be considered plagiarism but in the long
run, if you use it properly, it can help you out by making you more educated. Sommer states,
Never mind that I got only part of what Emerson was telling me. I got inspiration, I got insight,
and I began to care deeply about my work." Here Sommer is talking about even though she only
got part of what the author was talking about she got insight, this insight ended up giving her
inspiration and creating new knowledge. I feel as though this is what we do in class; though we
may not ever have direct answers for questions in class we are able to interpret what we get from
our readings and expand them with others as well as the teacher.

Writing Response # 22
November 12, 2014
Students improve their writing over time and they become more experienced as they go
throughout school. Little things can improve ones writing; anything from workshops like we
have in class, to free writing in your leisure time. Reading is also one way to improve writing.
Reading, and possibly correcting others writing, is a good way to expand you writing skills.
Having multiple people proof reading your papers and getting their feedback is how you can tell
you writing experience level. You may think that you have wrote a good paper, and you may
have, but getting others opinion that have a lot of experience in papers is a way to judge your
own experience. Writers go through various levels of writing starting from when they first begin
to scribble in school to when they are doing a research paper on their omega in college. There is
no after experienced writing though. Writers are always able to better themselves; they may not

be able to better themselves grammatically but there is always something you can do differently
to make your paper better.