Blog 13A: Outline

Title: Learning to Write

1.   Introduction: Writing is a developmental process.

a.   Thesis: Through education, people are taught the five fundamental steps in the writing process and rhetorical tools one can use to create a well-rounded paper that reaches an audience.

2.   Body: 5 steps of writing and tools

a.   Prewriting- brainstorming

b.   Drafting- writing

c.   Revising-rearrange, remove or add parts, replace overused or unclear words, and read it aloud to chaeck for other mistakes such as flow

d.   Proofreading- correct grammatical errors

e.   Publishing- finalize the paper (turn it in)

f.     Classification/ Division- organizational tool where you take a whole, divide it into parts, and arrange in an order of importance

g.   Definitions- explanations, two types (formal-general, extended- detailed)

h.   Description- subjective /objective detail, compare/ contrast, visual aid added

i.     Cause/ effect- reveals a continuous pattern, used to organize events

3.   Conclusion: Making a story last such as Romeo and Juliet.

a.   Mutability/ Plasticity- the quality of being capable of change to coincide with a generation

b.   Piecemeal- short scenes

c.   Windows of Opportunity- new perspectives perceived by an audience from the original version

d.   Open- ended closures- author tells audience there is more to the story, but they must go find it on their own

e.   Last Sentence: Even though one learns he five stages of the writing process as a child, throughout time and more education an author learns more and more techniques and tools that create a well-written paper, or even book that may become as famous as the Harry Potter or Twilight series.

Blog 11B

Blog 11B

            English 1010 has been beneficial to me and my writing. I have found that the most helpful elements of writing that I have learned over the semester are learning the different types of rhetoric and the tools I can use to improve each essay. I especially thought that the articles, even the ones that made my eyes bleed, were helpful in understanding each type of rhetoric and its importance.

            The types of rhetoric that I have learned are narratives, descriptions, and definitions. Narratives include story grammars. That means characters, a plot, a theme, setting, and resolution. Narratives are very different for each person because we each have a different imagination and our own personal stories. Descriptions help the audience to visualize something. As if they can really see it. Descriptions can be aided by the use of an actual visual, or picture, to help the audience fully grasp the concept. Definition rhetoric usually focuses on explaining or describing a certain subject to inform the audience completely. This type usually does include descriptions and can be broken down into many parts such as formal (short definition), extended (complex definition), and process (how something is done).

            With each rhetoric an author can include compare and contrast or cause and effect in each easy. This is when the author describes something to the audience by showing the similarities and differences; or with cause and effect, shows how a sequence of events were each sparked by its prior event. An author can include many of each type of rhetoric or tool in a single essay. The purpose behind these tools is to help the audience understand and grasp the meaning of the paper, and to being fully informed.

Blog 11A

We have been taught for many years that any essay should be based around the 3 elements (introduction, body, and conclusion).  But, is this enough information to form a fully informative essay? I think not. I do agree that the these three elements are the basic foundation for all essays, but in order to establish a higher order thinking for the audience, there should be more information.

To start an essay, the writer should know and find out a few things such as: what they are writing about, establish what the audience knows, needs to know, and decide what tools they are going to use in order to reach a desired audience. After gathering the needed information, it is essential to discover the thesis behind the paper. In my opinion, it is the most important aspect in any paper. The thesis decodes the purpose of the writing and informs the audience of the information they will find in the paper.  

The most common methodology used to write my blogs is first a rough draft. It mainly includes the body of the essay and the most information. It is important to get the information you already know out. Second, add a conclusion. This is when you summarize the body of the paper and normally includes a call to action and a restatement of the thesis. After adding an introduction, revisions are the next step. Draft after draft help to improve the essay. Also, peer reviews are important to any paper. Critiques help make any paper better.