Ellie Deifel

Jackie Burr

English 2010

Learning Log

Unit 1 Day 2 Learning Log:

2 Ah ha moments-” My faith is a source of strength and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are

to hundreds of millions of people around the world.” Meaning that his beliefs have given him

strength and comfort for the last six decades as mentioned later on. “So my decision to sever my

ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult.”

Something that would cause him to leave his faith after such a long time would have had to be

big to completely separate from it, something that he felt very strongly about.

Is grammar important today? Explain.- In certain aspects yes, grammar is important but in

other aspects it is not. For example, when writing a book it is crucial to have good grammar so

that the reader can understand and follow along smoothly. But, for instance if it is simply just

between text messages it is less important because this generation has broken down words into

abbreviations and given other words different meanings so that grammar doesn’t apply as much.

Blankenship and Jory state that “language is difficult, and it’s messy.” Explain.- Language

can be difficult because of the way that some words have different connotations that follow it

rather than others. And some have contrasting meaning or newer meanings assigned to it that

have developed over time with in this generation. There are now slang words or words that are

abbreviated that wouldn’t make any sense to someone who is unfamiliar with the background

knowledge of what gave that word its meaning.

Unit 1 Day 3 Learning Log:

2 Ah ha moments- First statement-“Genre is a word we use when we want to classify things, to

note the similarities and differences between kinds of writing.” Second Statement “In other

words, genres evolve and change over time, and each user taking up a genre takes it up just a

little bit differently.”

Respond to each statement in a few sentences- First statement- A genre is meant to categorize

books and different papers into easy to find groups. Similarities in different documents are

what’s used to make a genre. It is meant to make it easier to find a certain type of book or paper

out of the millions.

Second Statement - A genre is not meant to restrict righting into only a certain style. An author is

still able to portray his or hers unique story no matter the genre. Genres are changing all the time

and becoming something better.

Reflect on the many definitions of the word genre. Do you feel that genre makes your

writing robotic? Yes / No. Explain-

There are multiple ways the word genre can be interpreted. The general definition of a genre is

“a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in

form, style, or subject matter.” Simply meaning it is a way to categorize literature or other

compositions into easy to navigate classifications. I do not think that genres make me sound like

a robot because it is simply just a guideline, I can still make it my own no matter the genre.

Unit 1 Day 4 Learning Log:

2 Ah ha moments- “Still, research shows that what makes people truly happy tends to involve

working toward a cause outside of their own immediate needs and wants: in other words, service

to others actually improves your own well-being.”

“But let’s face it—being a good citizen doesn’t always help us make rent, or have enough money

to see a movie.”

If money and time wasn’t a factor what service opportunities would you be apart of?-

If money and time wasn’t a factor I would do as much as possible to help with the major problem

of homelessness. I want to be able to help them so that they can have a place to feel safe and live.

I hate knowing that they have to live outside in such terrible conditions and everyone else gets to

hide away from it in their homes. I would also help with any and all animal service projects, like

helping with homeless shelters end endangered species.

Unit 1 Day 5 Learning Log:

2 Golden Quotes - “Heroes in Smart’s parents, who were wealthy enough to stay in the public

eye, and eventually Smart herself, a victim straight from central casting: young, female, blonde,

attractive, wealthy, white.”

“In February of 2006, a bill passed the Utah legislature allowing for forcible medication of

defendants to ensure competence to face trial.”

What in your opinion makes the Elizabeth Smart story so universal and long-lasting? -

This story uses a lot of ethos within it because it stirs up emotions of sadness for what happened
to Elizabeth and makes people realise how big of an issue this is and how important it is to make

sure this doesn't happen to anyone else. It was so long lasting because Elizabeth's family kept

putting her story out into the public for people to keep looking for her. If they just gave up on

finding her then no one would have ever seen their story and been able to report seeing him,

Unit 1 Day 6 Learning Log:

2 Golden Quotes- “ In order to produce the best writing you can—and not be miserable while

you’re doing it—you’re going to want to pick a topic that really, truly interests you, with which

you are excited to engage, about which you have the resources to learn, and about which you can

envision having something to say.”

“By writing, you are entering into a conversation with your readers, with others who have

written about the topic, and others who know and/or care about it. Is that a community you want

to engage with?”

What are five strategic choices that you will make for your upcoming open letter? Use the

subtopics in the article to focus your ideas - I will use background information, form of

delivery, tone, organization, and word choice to structure my letter. These will help me to stay on

track and make my open letter appealing to the reader.

Unit 1 Day 7 Learing Log:

2 Ah ha moments - “ In a nutshell, although writing always ends with the creation of a

“product,” the process that leads to that product determines how effective the writing will be.”

Meaning that it is important to go through all of the steps of writing to get the best outcome.“In
modern English, recursion is used to describe a process that loops or “runs again” until a task is

complete.” Writing takes time and lots of revision, it can be changed as many times as you would

like until you are satisfied with the product.

What’s your weakness as far as the recursive process? How can you turn it into a strength?

My weakness when it comes to writing recursive would be procrastinating my writing

assignments giving me limited time to work on them. If I were to plan out more time to work on

my assignments then I would be able to spend more time thinking and planning out the paper. I

would also have more time to revise a few times afterwards. It would also help me to not be as

stressed and rushed when figuring out what to write.

Unit 1 Day 8 Learning Log:

2 Ah ha moments - “ Because that means I, sitting in front of a messy draft, can have some

hope...” It doesn't take skill to be a good writer it takes determination and patience rewriting until

you are satisfied with it all. “I list the ones below, in no particular order, as strategies that will

help you understand what’s already in your draft, identify what might be missing, find a stronger

through-line, and refine points of transition.” Going through this writing process is meant to help

improve your writing in these ways.

Short Reflective paragraphs reflective on rough draft -

Using the reverse outline strategy I can go through my rough draft and pick out

information that is not needed. A normal outline helps to guide the paper. It helps to keep your
thoughts organized and from going off topic. A reverse outline helps find the best way to get the

point across.

Sequencing is when the paper moves smoothly without abrupt transitions. Keeping the

information clear for the reader to understand. Background information and context is needed to

keep the paper moving smoothly. In the article it also includes that reverse outlining can show

when sequencing can be improved.

When going through my rough draft I am keeping in mind that the reader may not already

know about what is being discussed. I have to explain it thoroughly and be sure not to leave out

any key details. If any chunks are missing throughout the paper the reader will be confused on

what is going on.

Side writing is when there is a section in your paper that is not satisfactory. Starting that

section again but separately can help to differentiate what to keep and what to change between

the two. A few paragraphs in my rough draft can be altered so instead of deleting them

completely I will write another and compare the two.

It is important to review any quotes integrated into the paper. The introductions to the

quotes need to be smooth and clear. The outtros should explain the quotes blending them back

into the paper. These are important to keep quotes from being eruptions within the paper.

Step away and get feedback means to take a break from writing and comeback later to

keep writers block from happening. It also means to have someone else look at the paper and

have them give some criticism. I had someone check over mine and after they told me what I

could improve on I made some changes.

 Once all of the main points and ideas on in the paper then it is time to make it all look

good. Going back through and adding transition words and changing words to be more academic.

Making sure there aren't any unnecessary parts. I especially focused on what I know my

weaknesses are.

For my conclusion it should end strong going over what has already been said. A

conclusion is meant to summarize the body paragraphs giving closure to the reader. All of the

other strategies are needed to make this a good conclusion.