... Risks Worth Taking? A Reflection on the Effects of Memoirs The primary purpose of my research paper is to present a cross-section of the current conversations taking place around the way memoirs affect the writers who publish them. Based on my research, it appears that the effects tend to involve emotional and psychological consequences, as well as legal troubles in some instances. The discovery of this conversation helped me to refine my research topic into the question, “Do the benefits of publishing a memoir outweigh the risks of their effects for writers?” This research explores the positive and negative effects of memoirs on their writers to determine whether or not the risks are worth the rewards. Although writing a memoir can result in lawsuits and family discord, it more often proves to be therapeutic and can be the starting point of a nonfiction writer's career. What if I told you that memoirs are incredibly important to our society, because they document the human experience in such an honest way? Although they are valuable, they can also be risky. One key issue is that a memoir’s admissions risk causing major drama for writers, including legal trouble. In addition, they can be a catalyst for burning bridges with former employees. They can also potentially destroy long-term personal relationships. In this paper, I work to discover if it is worth all the drama to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. As I began my research, I initially uncovered...
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...Log Section 1 - Two reflective entries Reflective entry 1: New Beginnings Deciding to attend university as a mature age student was a decision I did not take lightly. I am working towards furthering my education in order to gain the necessary qualifications that will help me in my future business endeavour. I have found that after so long out of the education system it has been a difficult transition juggling study and work. The first units that were chosen for me in study period 2, I thought were difficult to understand having never written an essay before and without the knowledge or know how, I was not able to complete these units. SSK12 has given me a good understanding of what it takes at becoming a university student and in particular the skills on writing essays. As I have mentioned previously up until study period 2, I had never written an essay and did not fully comprehend how important the set out of a university essay was. Choosing an Essay Question was an important part of my learning in week 6 because this has now given me the beginning step in writing a university essay using the correct format. I am feeling a lot more confident when approaching the subject of essays as I now understand and have the knowledge on the procedure in completing an academic essay and what is required. I now know that by firstly choosing a question will then help you to with your thesis and this in turn will give you your main idea and sets the way in which to write...
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...and I had time in between the drafts to think about what I wanted to add. I enjoyed reading the short stories by King and Lamott at the start of the assignment because they opened my eyes to possible ways I could re-examine my writing experience and how I can learn from previous work. From this process, I learned how important reflection can be in improving my work. I believe asking myself reflective questions will add another dimension to my writing and enhance my development as a writer. If I am able to use reflection more often in my writing process, I will be able to clearly develop a sense of purpose, figure out who my readers are, determine what effect I want to have on the audience, establish revising goals, and polish my writing diction and style. Incorporating these aspects into my writing process for future assignments will allow me to become a stronger writer and independent learner. However, I did find it difficult to tackle the areas I need to improve upon because it was unfamiliar territory. I found writing about my emotions and opinions of my past composition very strange, which in the past is something I tend to from in my writing. Even though I was ambivalent about refining these areas, I understand that including more personal opinion is the key factor in further improving my writing...
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...Course Reflection Melissa D. McElhaney EH 245 Brenau University July 7, 2013 Carolyn Giddens Course Reflection The reading of the many texts has improved my reading skills. It has to an extent improved my writing skills too. As the authors took me to their worlds, I became so engrossed in their writing that I tried to imagine myself a writer. The books are spread across different timelines, so it was easy for me to reach into the social, political and economic conditions that existed during the writing of the books. Mary Wollstonecraft struck me as a very perceptive writer. Writing in an era that was male centered, she brings out some of the cultural politics that existed at the time. Her writing style, only rivaled by the stream of consciousness technique adopted by Virginia Woolf, is very clear and precise. From this, I gather that a writer should be clear in both prose and verse to communicate the message clearly to the audience. Other writers in the reading list also affected my writing and reading skills. For one, the numerous texts forced me to be keen and fast while reading the books. I think my skimming techniques have improved. I was quick to discern the central focus of the texts and go through the books as fast as I could. Reading all these literature enhanced my ability to understand different documents about women issues in society. They provided a multicultural approach to the study of critical feminine theory. The course content has proven very challenging...
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...Final Reflection “Has there ever been a time when we have not been awash in a remarkable torrent of symbols and opportunities for reading and writing them?” (William Kist, in the NCTE statement on multimodal literacies) There is an art of reading, an art of thinking, and an art of writing. To read is to fly: it is to soar beyond what it seen on the pages. We write to taste life, in the moment we live and in retrospect of the past. Reading helps develop thought, instead of having to think for yourself. Once you learn to read, you will be forever free. When reading this quote I believe that there is always something interesting being offered in which we can both read and write about. Everyday, there has to be a moment which is better than all the other moments, a moment that makes you smile or laugh, something memorable, something you can look back at and smile because that’s how memorable it was. These are moments in which we can write about to share, because someone out there must be able to connect with this moment and share that smile you had when you experienced it. As well as someone being willing to read it. There are tons of opportunities available for people. Moving on from first semester to second semester I can definitely see how my skills as a writer and a reader has improved. As I read text I can now understand deeper meanings and connect things to other sources or personal connections I’ve made. My work habits and ideas have grown to the point...
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...think” portrays him as an accomplished writer with a lot of experience and knowledge in his writings/work through the extensive research that he has invested in his work. Levy explores the vast impacts of technological advancement in our today’s society. In this article levy maintains that technological devices has affected our capacity to think intuitively, capacity to tap our vast realm of consciousness and reflections. The writer targets the entire society but mostly scholars, educator and students through his entire work. The abstract work clearly introduces the disadvantages of technological devices/advancement and how it has affected our thinking and reflections. Levy expects scholars, students and educators to take time and reflect on their use of technology and their effects. The world has arrived...to me it depicts the arrival of a new age, stage or cycle of life that incorporates and implements new technology and devices that would minimize the levels of thinking and work. The introduction of this article demonstrates how levy took a lot of time to think when doing research for this writing. This is clearly depicted by him mentioning great scholars and innovators such as Barbara Mcclintock as people who did not rely on the technological devices/advancements to accomplish their great research/work but took time to think, reflect and tap their vast realm of consciousness. The introduction briefly lays out his plan and purpose of writing this essay as it points out how technology...
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...Reflection Essay Student’s Name Institution Affiliation Date Reflection Essay Firstly, in the course of the semester, the discussions we had in class allowed us to talk about my thoughts and those of my cohorts. Simultaneously, the studies helped to shape my initial experiences into a more unpredictable comprehension of the content. As I added to my perusing attitudes and insight into what literature is about, I have developed the capacity to make necessary disclosures about anything that I write or even read. Secondly, the academic resources from my lecturers gave us the foundation information that we need to excel in writing, both on reading the class resource books, extensive lectures, and independent research. Likewise, they have assisted us to exhibit our thoughts in a contemplated and thoughtful analysis. On a frequent basis, they would instruct us on points that they have a particular enthusiasm for and have taken a shot at broadly. Their exploration and analysis can be considered as the foundation stage of our interest in writing. To start with, in the contemporary society, there is by all accounts a move towards auxiliary school subjects that have a solid connection to a tertiary course of study. Hence, a there are few parents and a few understudies who feel that the aspect of writing, particularly among high schools, college, and universities is of great importance. For instance, students who devote their time on just English Language alone, with its accentuation...
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...Final Reflection & Portfolio of Final Versions Aura Valdes ENG090 Prof. Rachel Hays December 15, 2012 Table of Contents * Assignment 4: Final Reflection – “My Journey as a Writer” * Assignment 3.3: Topic of Your Choice Essay “A Book With Nostalgic Flavor” – Final Version * Assignment 2.3: Changing Our Lives Essay “Changing Our Lives” – Final Version * Assignment 1.3: Experiences as a Writer Paragraphs “Conquering My Fear of Writing” – Final Version “My Journey as a Writer” Aura Valdes ENG090 Prof. Rachel Hays December 15, 2012 “My Journey as a Writer” I have accomplished a great deal in the past three months. As the semester ends I find myself reflecting not only on how I have survived the first semester but also what I have learned. Writing is hard work. There is so much more to it than just writing an interesting story. I also learned another important lesson; just because I worked hard on an essay before presenting it and reviewed the daylights out of it did not mean it was ready for submission. Every time I went back to read it I found new changes, typos and other mistakes I had missed before. Reviewing and revising an essay is an essential part of writing. Reviewing allows me to rewrite and make changes in the essay’s content, organization and sentence structures. It allows me to add, remove, move or substitute words to make sure it communicates effectively the purpose of the essay. The task of reviewing the essays...
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...study English Literature and Creative writing because I am passionate about and committed to reading and writing. I feel that a structured programme of study is imperative for me to achieve my long-term goal of establishing a successful and varied career as a writer. I know that the path I have chosen will often be difficult to walk but I have already taken a step toward its end by starting an Access course. Throughout my short time on the Access course I have gained confidence in my speaking skills. For example, during a recent discussion on gender and relationships in a graded English discussion I raised a point that the teacher had not thought of and was praised for doing so - this taught me that by pushing myself beyond my comfort zone by sharing my ideas and opinions I will be able to achieve my goals. I know that with the skills taught on the Access course I will be able to achieve my goal of studying and completing a degree in English Literature and Creative Writing. The Access course has taught me the importance of self-reflection and criticism through keeping a reflective log which documents my progress, obstacles and goals. I have learnt that I am able to be objective when analysing my own work and performance; this skill has helped me to realise that in order to improve my work I have to be critical of myself and be able to accept criticism from others, I feel that this skill will prepare me for the competitive world of writing. Another skill I have learnt is time...
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...CLRC Writing Center Structure of a Personal Narrative Essay “Narrative” is a term more commonly known as “story.” Narratives written for college or personal narratives, tell a story, usually to some point, to illustrate some truth or insight. Following are some tools to help you structure your personal narrative, breaking it down into parts. The “Hook” Start your paper with a statement about your story that catches the reader’s attention, for example: a relevant quotation, question, fact, or definition. Introduction Set the Scene Provide the information the reader will need to understand the story: Who are the major characters? When and where is it taking place? Is it a story about something that happened to you, the writer, or is it fiction? Thesis Statement The thesis of a narrative essay plays a slightly different role than that of an argument or expository essay. A narrative thesis can begin the events of the story: “It was sunny and warm out when I started down the path”; offer a moral or lesson learned: “I’ll never hike alone again”; or identify a theme that connects the story to a universal experience: “Journeys bring both joy and hardship.” “Show, Don’t Tell” Good story telling includes details and descriptions that help the reader understand what the writer experienced. Think about using all five senses—not just the sense of sight—to add details about what you heard, saw, and felt during the event. For example, “My heart jumped as the dark ...
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...CLRC Writing Center Structure of a Personal Narrative Essay “Narrative” is a term more commonly known as “story.” Narratives written for college or personal narratives, tell a story, usually to some point, to illustrate some truth or insight. Following are some tools to help you structure your personal narrative, breaking it down into parts. The “Hook” Start your paper with a statement about your story that catches the reader’s attention, for example: a relevant quotation, question, fact, or definition. Set the Scene Provide the information the reader will need to understand the story: Who are the major characters? When and where is it taking place? Is it a story about something that happened to you, the writer, or is it fiction? Thesis Statement The thesis of a narrative essay plays a slightly different role than that of an argument or expository essay. A narrative thesis can begin the events of the story: “It was sunny and warm out when I started down the path”; offer a moral or lesson learned: “I’ll never hike alone again”; or identify a theme that connects the story to a universal experience: “Journeys bring both joy and hardship.” “Show, Don’t Tell” Good story telling includes details and descriptions that help the reader understand what the writer experienced. Think about using all five senses—not just the sense of sight—to add details about what you heard, saw, and felt during the event. For example, “My heart jumped as the dark shape of the brown grizzly lurched...
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...Course Reflection Over the semester my writing has dramatically improved since my first day here at St. Edwards University. Throughout the semester I gained better writing habits and tactics, but I also obtained further knowledge on how to create well organized and formal academic papers. The main thing I've learned from this course is how to improve my writing process as a whole using correct grammar and punctuation, and creating better sentence transitions. My weakness as an incoming freshman was the ability to find my voice as a writer and develop a point of view so that I could expand on the things I wanted to say in my writing. I could create all these ideas for my paper, but as soon as I began to write, I would get stuck leading my paper into this big mess with no general direction. As a result, my paper would lose communication between the reader and myself. My paper would make sense to me, but as a reader, he/she might have misinterpreted the main point of my paper. On the other hand, my strengths in writing before August consisted of good organization skills to set up good ideas and thesis statements. I could create a good argumentative thesis statement to ensure some type of structure for my paper. During the first week of the semester, my goal was to see improvement with my skills as a writer and critical thinker. As the year progressed, getting my colleagues and professor’s advice about the mistakes I was making in my papers influenced me on how to improve...
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...literary worlds constructed from the writer George Orwell has allowed audiences to see glimpses of themselves among these worlds, as well as provoking acts of analysis and reflection within themselves, decades after these worlds and opinions were initially established. The ongoing relevance of Orwell is due to an inspiring recipe of writing greatness. Orwell’s authentic craftsmanship, directness of expression, straightforward-simple style, methodical structure, pure honesty and most importantly textual integrity, marries together with his abilities to use his context and experiences as evidence for his ideas and argument. Essentially, it is Orwell’s universal and highly relatable ideas that allow his audiences to reflect upon Orwell’s arguments, amongst their own personal contexts for decades upon decades. These ideas constructed from the literary, political and nationalistic worlds, are derived from Orwell’s famous essays, Writers and Leviathan (W&L), Why I Write (WIW), Politics and the English Language (PATEL), Notes on Nationalism (NoN) and Sporting Spirit (SS), which are still studies and read worldwide today. Through Orwell’s essays Writers and Leviathan, Why I Write, and Politics and the English Language, Orwell has been able to establish a literary world for his audience to reflect their literary views and opinions upon. Writers and Leviathan, was a response from Orwell’s political context in post WW2, Britain, concerned with writers integrity. He states, ‘This is a political...
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...Victoria Barkon December 15, 2014 ENG 890 Reflection Essay- final draft Reflection essay Writing has not always been my strongest subject in school; in fact it has always been my weakest just because I had always struggled with grammar, spelling, sentence structure, etc. I have always end up with bad grades in whatever writing classes I took. But as the semester is coming to an end I can honestly say I have learned and improved on a lot as both a writer and a student. One skill I believe I have improved on is the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and proofreading. Another skill I have improved on is sentence punctuation strategies: run-ons, comma splices, fragments and comma usage issues. Reading and study of professional essay was one of the skills I learned during the semester. Lastly I had learned how to demonstrate my abilities as a developing writer by: attending class regularly, prepared and on time, and participating actively. The first skill I learned and improved on a lot this semester was the writing process and what it came with such as prewriting, drafting, revising editing, and proofreading. I especially improved on this skill when I wrote my narrative essay. For example I had to write three drafts, first, second and then the finally draft. The first draft was me prewriting and getting all my ideals down. For my second draft I had to go for peer review and...
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...Honors 2211 Writing in Honors Fall 2013 ------------------------------------------------- Professor: Dr. Vicky Newman ------------------------------------------------- Email: vicky.newman@utah.edu ------------------------------------------------- Honors Center 140 ------------------------------------------------- Office hours: By appointment, Honors Center CLASS TEXTS Required: Ballenger, Bruce. The Curious Researcher (7th Edition) Williams, Joseph. Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace (9th Edition) A portfolio. This should be a notebook with rings and paper you can move work in and out. Additional required assigned readings (on line or on E-reserve) This class is designed to introduce you to and allow you to develop and practice techniques and skills of writing. You’ll learn to develop ideas and clarify ideas, formulate questions and research them rigorously, and draft and revise until your writing reflects university level work. You will be asked to write in several different genres and conduct research in order to provide evidence and support for your work. In addition, and not least, you will work to create an engaging and credible authorial voice. REQUIREMENTS Active Class Participation: Attendance is mandatory. A writing class is a class designed around participation. You need to be prepared, having read and written what is required for the day, and you need to be engaged in discussing, creating, and revising. If you are absent or...
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