Malcolm and Alexie

Bell, Malcolm X, Alexie

Before you read

After doing research on Malcolm X and his biography, i learned he was born Malcolm Little in 1925.  He was a Muslim minister and a human rights activist.  He was married to a woman named Betty and they had 6 children together.  He was the ambassador of the Nation of Islam and traveled to many places.

 

 

Response	Quotation
All of the books he picked up just looked like they were all written in Chinese which was very frustrating to him.	“But every book I picked up had few sentences which didn’t contain anywhere from one to nearly all of the words that might as well have been in Chinese.” (354)
He ends up loving reading after he starts to understand what all the words mean.  He begins to read more serious text and can’t put it down.	“When I had progressed to really serious reading, every night at about ten P.M. I would be outraged with the “lights out”.  It always seemed to catch me right in the middle of something engrossing.” (356)
It made such an impact on him and couldn’t believe what a monstrous crime it was.	“I never will forget how shocked I was when I began reading about slavery’s total horror.” (357)
When picking up his fathers books before he could read he remembers looking at the paragraphs and thinking that they were there to explain a purpose.	“I still remember the exact moment when I first understood, with a sudden clarity, the purpose of a paragraph.  I didn’t have the vocabulary to say “paragraph,” but I realized that a paragraph was a fence that held words.” (363)
Talks about reading “The Grapes of Wrath” when all the other children are struggling to read much more simple books.  Just shows how advance he was.	“A little Indian boy teaches himself to read at an early age and advances quickly.” (364)
He had no intentions of becoming a writer.  It wasn’t the plan.  He was supposed to be a pediatrician and now all he does is write.	“Despite all the books I read, I am still surprised I became a writer.” (365)

Brandt P. 331

 

Before you Read

Some books and activities that my school encouraged me to read were our over the summer reading books to help our reading levels.  They encouraged us to find books that we were interested in to read just for easy practice with reading.  They also obviously wanted us to read our text books and any other novels that were assigned usually in our English or reading classes.  My school just never discouraged us from reading anything.  In school we had a reading club which encouraged reading for fun.

Summary

In "Sponsors of Literacy", Brandt  argues that sponsorship is important and that we need higher literacy in the nation.  She uses many examples to explain herself.  Many examples are about community and social groups.

 

Thoughts

This article explains many new concepts to me!  It was a little boring though.  Not too bad i guess.  pretty easy to understand.  I learned a lot from this article.  Some of the explains were confusing. 

 

Response	Quotation
It is kind of cool how you would be above everyone else if you were literate.	“Literacy looms as one of the great engines of profit and competitive advantage in the 20th century” (333).
I agree that that there is no success with out literacy.	"Literacy, like land, is a valued commodity in this economy, a key resource in gaining profit and edge." (336)
Everything you do now a days, you have to be able to read and write.  Its everywhere and much a part of society.	"As print and its spinoffs have entered virtually every sphere of life, people have grown increasingly dependent on their literacy skills for earning a living and exercising and protecting their civil rights." (340)
This quote shows the way people look at writing and how the view of writing is always changing.	“Many of the cultural formations we associate with writing development can be appreciated as make-do responses to the economics of literacy, past and present” (348).
Brings up the good question of who defines literacy.	"Neither rich nor powerful enough to sponsor literacy on our own terms, we serve instead as conflicted brokers between literacy's buyers and sellers." (348)

WAW p.139 Dawkins

ROW p.61 Bryson

Dawkins

Before you Read

I surveyed several of my friends that live in my dorm, and most of them said that most all grammar rules are bot bendable.  The grammar rules that most of my friends talked about were, proper punctuation, independent and dependent clauses, and using correct spelling for certain words such as "there" and "their".  None of those rules are very bendable.  They have to be used a certain way. 

Summary
In John Dawkins article, "Teaching Punctuation as a Rhetorical Tool", He attempts to explain how people have many issues with understanding punctuation rules.  Dawkin thinks of grammar as "rhetorical" and that grammar involves choices.  He gives many examples on how writers write makes handbook rules seem more like guidelines and less like laws. 

Synthesis
  I feel Porter and Dawkins pieces are very similar.  I also think that McCloud's article is similar to theirs too.  They are all for the student body and how writing can be difficult for all, even professionals.


Dialectical Notebook 

Response	Quotation
I don’t really like this quote.  It is the first sentence in the article and it is kind of makes me not want to read the article.  I don’t think it is setting the article up very well.  It is basically telling me that punctuation is not the first thing you would turn to which makes it seem like this article is going to be boring.	“Punctuation-just one of the “mechanics” of writing, after all-is perhaps not the first thing you turn to after checking the CCC table of contents, but you are here now, so let me try to keep you here by announcing, quickly, the not unimportant claims to be made.” (140)
After that quote, they give a quote from one of George Orwell’s books and the quote doesn’t follow proper punctuation which just shows that even great authors don’t follow the rules.	“And what do handbooks tell students about Orwell’s punctuation of the following sentences from “Marrakech”?” (141)
This quote is an example of raising.  Raising calls attention to itself which makes it gain emphasis.  Paring is thus a device for gaining rhetorical effort.	“I don’t think the Negro problem in America can be even discussed coherently without bearing in mind its context; its context being the history, traditions, customs, the moral assumptions and preoccupations of the country; in short, the general social fabric.” (145)
To be able to use punctuation properly, you don’t need to have as much knowledge and English teachers teach you to be able to do it.	“As should be clear by now, learning to punctuate effectively requires only a little knowledge of grammar, much less than most English teachers will grant.” (150)

Questions for Disscusion
5. In Dawkins article, he gives a lot of examples of the way punctuation should be and not be.  Some of the things I learned from this article would be, the concept of raising and lowering, more about sentences and independent clauses, and punctuating single independent clauses.

Meta Moment
By reading an article asserting that punctuation is rhetorical, I feel I gain a better understanding of all the different types of punctuation and how authors use punctuation in their writing.  

Thoughts
This article was very informative on punctuation and the ways authors use it in their writing.  It had a lot of examples.  It was a little hard to read all of them.  Hard to focus on every single example.  The examples made the article a little boring.  

Bryson


Dialectical Notebook

Response	Quotation
This quote is telling us that even the simplest rule in the English language can still be difficult to explain because the English language is complicated.	“We seldom stop to think about it, but some of the most basic concepts in English are naggingly difficult to define.” (61)
Even experts have a hard time figuring out the English language and forget to apply some concepts when writing.  In the examples that follow this quote, each sentence contained some sort of misusage that colleagues would consider to be wrong.	“The complexities of English are such that the authorities themselves often stumble.” (61)
I like this quote because of the simile that was used.  Comparing the English language to baseball is something that we relate to be makes it easier to understand the concept.	“Making English grammar conform to Latin is like asking people to play baseball using the rules of football” (62)
In the sentences before they talk about how President Carter used the word “flaunt” instead of “flout”.  Then, a day after that had happened bush told a TV reporter he couldn’t believe the “enormity” of what had happened.  This just goes to show how often terms are missed used.  Even by well known people.	“Had president-elected Bush known that the primary meaning of enormity is wickedness or evilness, he would doubtless have selected a more apt term.” (64)

 

Thoughts
I definitely enjoyed this article.  It gave a lot of things to think about when reading.  It showed a lot how even experts struggle with the English language.  It also gave a lot of history behind the English language to show where it has came from and how it has developed.  Very informative article.


   

Project #1 In Progress Report

So far in my project i have started to research the reasons why the five paragraph essay is taught in middle and high school and why they no longer use it when you reach the college level.  I am also looking at personal pronouns and why they say they are inappropriate to use in high and middle school but okay to use in college.  I have searched these topics on the internet trying to find articles about my topics.  I am also trying to find authors who have an interest in my topics so I can see if any of their books will be at the library.  I plan to keep looking for authors and articles on my topic.  I also plan to look up the SAT and ACT requirements and incorporate that into my paper because I feel that those standardized tests are part of the reason these concepts are taught to students.  

As for the workshop.  I think that went very well.  I got some great tips from my partner and good ways to help make my paper better.  I also did the same for her.  I think it was good to be able to go over our introduction and synthesis with a peer to get and give advice on a student level.  The only thing I would do to improve the workshop is I might have done it as we got a little farther into the paper so we had a little bit more to comment on.

"Seeing the Text" 

Stephen A. Bernhardt

Before you Read

When looking at a heavy text advertisement, I am most drawn to the pictures that describes the text.  The text emphasizes the images.  It helps to explain what the images are and why they were chosen for this advertisement.

Summary

In Bernhardt's article "Seeing the Text", he attempts to explain how visual communication and written communication work together.  He explains how formatting texts and visuals is important to the reader so they can interpret an article.  

Synthesis

Berhardt's article is all about images and understanding writing through images.  I would compare this article to McCloud's because he also thinks images are very important.  Bernhardt uses charts and graphs and McCloud uses comics to help readers understand writing.  Bernhardt article is also very different from Allen's article.  Allen explains how you should focus on just writing and not on outside sources, while Bernhardt is also about visuals and showing images to explain the text.

Response	Quotation
In this quote, he is trying to explain to teachers that if we get students to use visuals it will help people understand what they are writing about and help them to interpret it better.	“If we were to encourage students to experiment with visible features of written texts, we would increase their ability to understand and use hierarchical and classificatory arrangements.” (35)
This quote is saying that we need to start using more visuals when we write.  It is trying to tell us to get away from the regular essay organization that is taught in school.	“Through classroom teaching often assumes essay organization the norm, outside the classroom visually informative prose is persuasive, and not just scientific or technical fields.” (35)
We need to always think about our audience and who we are writing to.  Whatever you are writing need to be attractive to readers.	“These multiple considerations of audience and purpose functionally constrain the text, influencing its shape and structure” (39)
This quote is about how the pictures and texts are laid out on the page.  You want to focus on the visuals on the page to draw attention to the reader.	“Also important in the design of the fact sheet was the distribution of printed information on the page.” (39)

  

After You Read
Scott McCloud would have represented and supported Bernhardt's argument of the use of images.  McCloud believes visuals are very important.  McCloud thinks images help the reader see behind the text.  Berhardt also believes this.  He just thinks charts and graphs are better images to represent text rather than comics.

Thoughts

I really enjoy images when i read, so i found Berhardt's article to be interesting.  He explains how to put images into text to help readers understand the writing better.  It was very informative.

"Intertextuality and the Discourse Community"

James E. Porter

Summary

 In Porter's article, "Intertextuality and the Discourse Community", he attempts to discuss that writing must be original and that a writer must acknowledge another writer before "borrowing" their ideas.  If you don't, that's considered plagiarism.  Porter also explains that there is always traces of other text in something that someone is writing and that it can not be avoided.  His studies are important in how people understand themselves as writers and understand other peoples writing.

Synthesis
Both Porter and and Allen's articles are very similar.  They both explain how writing isn't easy and that even professionals have a hard time with it. Its more than just sitting down and writing.  There is more behind that process.

Dialectical Notebook

Response	Quotation
This quote shows that even legal documents such as The Declaration of Independence shows trace of other text.	"The Declaration contains many traces that can be found in other,earlier documents." (89)
I like this quotation because it shows that even Jefferson's work would show plagiarism in it because he used things from previous text.	"If Jefferson submitted the Declaration for a college writing class his own writing, he might well be charged with plagiarism." (90)
I find it interesting because it the wording seems odd to me.  It also seems odd to the author too.  It almost seems to be kind of sexist.	"From one perspective, the phrase,"two of them women" is a simple statement of fact; however, it presupposes a certain attitude-that's the event, horrible enough as it was, is more significant because two of the persons killed were women." (91)
In a few sentences before this quote, they are talking about John Kifner's New York Times headline article reporting on the Kent State incident of 1970.  I find this interesting because all of the words used in his article are very "American".  a lot of Kifner's wording in his article he borrowed from other articles.	"This pastiche of signs casts the text into a certain context, making it distinctively American." (91)
Those questions are really something to think about.  At least they make me think.  They make me think if anything can really be original and new.  Is that possible?	"Both examples point to the exclusionary power of discourse communities and raise serious questions about the freedom of the writer: chiefly, does the writer have any? Is any writer doomed to plagiarism? Can any text be said to be new? Are creativity and genius actually possible? Was Jefferson a creative genius or a blatant plagiarist?" (93)

Thoughts

I really enjoyed Porter's article.  I found it very interesting.  It really made me think about the way things are written and if all text is really original.  Even The Declaration of Independence is not considered original text.  

 Elbow, "Voice in Writing Again:  Embracing Convictions" (p. 46)

Before You Read

2. If teachers would let us use words like "I" and "me" when we write, the papers we write would be more personal.  It would be from our point of view and we would be able to tell our own personal stories about that topic when writing.

Summary

In Peter Elbow's article, "Voice in Writing Again: Embracing Contraries", Elbow goes back and forth on whether or not using voice in writing is useful.  Voice is Everywhere.  Voice helps not only writers, but readers as well.  Elbow goes on the argue whether it ruin the way we read text and teach writing.  

Synthesis

I don't think this article is very similar to any of the articles we have read so far.  Elbow argues the different sides on voice and whether or not it helps or hurts the way we interpret texts, write, and teach writing and texts.  I don't think any other text argues between two different sides in their writing.

Questions for Discussion

1. To Elbow, voice is the main source of power in your writing.  A strong voice will produce strong writing.  This voice is what makes readers want to listen to you.  I agree with Elbow.  Voice can help your writing be more powerful and want your readers to keep reading.

4. Elbow believes both sides of his argument.  The effect of giving a full airing to each side of the debate is so everyone gets to state their opinion on the subject.  It lets people see both sides of the debate without it being a battle between the two.  No one is right or wrong.  Both sides have to meet in the middle somewhere.  

Applying and Exploring Ideas
2. When I listen to a passage rather than actually reading it silently to myself, I feel I understand the content better.  I agree with Elbow that it does make reading less complicated.  "Ear Training", is listening for the voice in texts.  "Ear Training" has not really affected my comprehension of some reading in the past.  It is a tool that should be implemented when reading and text.




Meta Moment
Elbow doesn't believe in compromising, but he somehow manages for both of his perspectives to coexist for good writing.  I believe this definitely possible to do in my own writing, but it is difficult.  It is difficult to have two perspectives without managing to contradict them in your own work.

  Dialectical Notebook: Lamott, King, Diaz

Response	Quotation
To me, this quotation is telling us that writers are not always so enthused to go write and create.  That not all writing is going to be perfect the first time around and it takes time to perfect it.	"People tend to look at successful writers, writers who are getting their books published and maybe even doing well financially, and think that they sit down at their desks every morning feeling like a million dollars, feeling great about who they are and how much talent they have and what a great story they have to tell; that they take in a few deep breaths, push back their sleeves, roll their necks a few times to get all the cricks out, and dive in, typing fully formed passages as fast as a court reporter." (301)
This quote is telling us that no matter what you are thinking, it could be something great even if it sounds stupid to you.  Whatever you're thinking you should let it come through and on to the paper.	"Just get it down on paper, because there may be something great in those six crazy pages that would never have gotten to by more rational grown-up means." (302)
I love how Lamott tells us what is going on in her head and how she thinks the critics are sitting on her shoulders commenting like cartoon characters.	"They'd be pretending to snore, or rolling their eyes at my overwrought descriptions, no matter how hard I tried to tone those descriptions down, no matter how conscious I was of what a friend said to me gently in my early days of restaurant reviewing." (3020
King goes on and on about all the places he could have time to read a book.  Saying that you never know when you will have time or want to read a book.  I think that just shows how much King loves reading and writing.	"At such times I find a book vital." (306)
I love this quote because I think the same thing all the time.  Just like King thinks, depending on who you are depends on how you see things.	"Do we see the same thing?" (306)
In this quote, I think it shows just how much Diaz struggled as a writer and struggled to come up with something that he thought was good enough and was just as cool as his first 75 pages.	"I wrote and I wrote and I wrote, but nothing I produced was worth a damn." (319)
This quotation just shows that he has such dedication to writing and loves it that much that he didn't want to give it up and kept trying.	"In my view a writer is a writer because even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyways." (320)