Chapter 3

Chapter 3 discusses revising and editing your draft. First you must use a checklist for doing a revision. First ask yourself if the purpose of your draft is projected to the right audience. Then make sure the focus of the paper is clear and concise. Ask yourself if the thesis is clear, if there is no thesis make sure your clear if there is a reason for omitting one, and finally if any of your ideas are off point. Organization and paragraphing is also very important because you need to make sure your ideas are presented in logical order and your topic sentences and headings are present. You also need to make sure your paragraphs are not too short or not too long. Ask yourself if your ideas are logical and presented in order. After you have checked everything above it is important to make sure the body and content of your paper is relevant and persuasive. Do any ideas need further development or material deleted?  Is there anywhere where material needs to be deleted?

I am going to use this by revising my papers better and using these tools to further better my papers. I need to focus more on revising my papers better because sometimes I get so excited that my paper is finally done that I do not go back and revise. I am sure that I would get a better grade if I focused more on revising the draft and adding and subtracting bits and pieces from my paper. Proofreading my paper over will not only make it sound better but will also be a relief to me because then I know that I did the best paper to my ability.

Coming Home Again

What is the importance of food in this essay?

The importance of food in this essay is everywhere. The writer finds relief with in food. Although is Mom was unable to cook he cooked for his family. It was a sense of comfort. When the Mom became extremely ill the entire family came together to be by her side. Her family was there for her like they should be. Food was seen as a way of life with in there family. It was a time when everyone could come together and sit around the table and unwind. It was a time to enjoy your family's company and spend time together. I remember when I was younger and with my family at dinnertime my Mother always use to say that we have to sit around the table because it's our bonding time. Although I don't have much time anymore we still try and at least once a week sit down for dinner. When we do have dinner with one another I can feel us all coming together as a family and its really enjoyable. 

All the vivid detail shows that the family not only came together as one when it was dinner time but they also praised her cooking. It's something that they all wanted in there day to day lives. When New Years Eve came in 1990 it was there final holiday together. They new that this might be the last time they spent a holiday together so the family came together and wanted to prepare some of her favorite foods. Although the mom could not eat she wanted the children to understand she appreciated the food so she told them it tasted good. She didn't want the children to see there mother, the person they praised and loved in pain. She wanted it to be hidden from reality. 

Chapter 2!

In chapter two we learn that in order to have a well constructed paper we must rough out an initial draft. Focusing on ideas and organization is very important. Before you learn to write it is important to use all prewriting materials such as outlines, diagrams, lists, notes and freewriting. Drafting a introduction with a thesis is step one. It should introduce the main points of your paper, your thesis, and be between fifty to one hundred and fifty words. To hook the reader the thesis may use a question, a startling statistic, a vivid example, a description, a paradoxical statement, a quotation, an analogy, or a anecdote. The hook should cater to your audience. An effective thesis is the central idea that can be supported by not just one fact but a number of them. It should be able to be supported with enough evidence to get your point across. When done with the introduction and thesis you must draft the body. The body supports the thesis with evidence. Then comes the conclusion. The conclusion should remind the reader the main idea of the essay but not repeat it dully. It should be short and the readers should by now understand your point. The conclusion can include a detail or example from the introduction.

I feel like I already knew most of this but it certainly helped refresh my memory. Sometimes I tend to mess up my conclusion by going on and on and now that I have read this I have a clearer understanding of how to do it properly. I also feel like the section on the introduction helped me by understanding how to make a proper thesis. It can be rough making the write thesis for an essay and supporting it with enough evidence. Now I see that it should be clear, concise, and focus on your main idea of your paper. I will use this format for future papers by drafting ahead of time and using an outline.

Theater

The reason I chose the theater masks is because growing up theater was a huge part of my life. Ever since I was little I was in ballet class, dance class, Broadway Bound Kids, which is a local theater group where I live, or doing auditions. I can still remember the way the lights dimmed as the curtains closed, I could still feel my heart beating like a racehorse, faster, faster, faster. I ran off stage into the dressing room full of poufy dresses that had large petty coats.  It was hard to catch a breath in such a small space. When changing into my costume I could barely move without hitting someone’s side with my elbow. As I got into my next outfit I ran to side stage filled with backstage helpers and the directors assistant. She was reading gracefully over the pages of the script skimming to make sure everything was on cue. The cast was quietly awaiting the next scene and watching our Julie Andrews wannabe skip across the stage singing to the sound of music.

The lights on stage were hot, melting my makeup off like fire penetrating a cigarette, the floors were dirty and had scuff marks from previous plays that took place years before.  I smiled as my heart started to race again. It wasn’t the bad kind of racing either. It was the kind where you feel the crowds clapping. Louder, louder, louder, the claps were full of excitement. The lights dimmed again and I took my place on stage along with the rest of the Von Trap Family. Once the curtains opened I could see the audience’s smiling faces, they became wider as the lights started to slowly turn on. The music started and we began singing around the stage dancing in unison and saying lines. I made sure to nail every line I had and felt a sense of achievement. It felt good to impact the audience with our performance. The final scene was done and we were singing the big finale. Are faces were smiling big like we just won the Nobel Prize.  As we finished off So Long Farwell with the entire cast, fireworks shot out like canon balls. We started moving back into the stage as the curtains started closing and were ecstatic we accomplished our first show. When I got back stage I was greeted by my parents who were smiling ear to ear. They handed me roses and chocolate and congratulated me. I was so proud that I got to be Martha in the Sound of Music and its still a memory that carries with me today. Theater has and always will be a part of my life. Although I am no longer participating in theater I still like to go to the Broadway shows in San Francisco. I think that the whole idea of performing a play that is overly dramatic is intriguing to me.

Participating in theater not only helped me become less shy but also gave me good morals. Instead of going out and doing destructive things I went to in rehearsal, which helped me have structure in my life. 

Omission

Ericsson's definition of Omission says that the person telling the lie tells most of the truth with some points left out. I agree with this because a lot of people do this. I remember countless times that when I found out my friend or person I was acquainted with was lying and usually they used omission where they would tell me most of the truth but with some of the key points left out. I suppose people lie to make sure the person on the other end doesn't get hurt but it's really something I try to avoid and not do because it can end up biting you in the butt later. It's just a matter of time before karma catches up to you. 

I feel like people lie in order to "lubricate the daily machinery of living" because they feel if like they will hurt the persons feelings if they tell the truth. People aren't able to face reality sometimes so they lubricate the truth. I think it's important to tell the truth no matter what the consequence is. I sure learned my lesson a few times the hard way. I don't think it's possible to be a complete honest person if you tell lies. That defeats the whole point of being honest. 

Rules for Writers: Chapter 1

The Writing Process in chapter 1 main focus was how to write a well written paper and the stages of writing a paper. The first thing to do when writing a paper is to "assess the writing situation." The key points when assessing the writing situation is to look at the subject, the sources of information available to you, the purpose, your audience in which you are trying to reach out to, length, document format, review sessions, formulating a tentative thesis, and the deadline. First the subject, usually the subject will be given to you but sometimes you can be free to choose your subject. When this happens you must be aware of the expectations of the assignment. When looking at the sources of information you must be aware of the facts, details, and examples and where they come from. you can use personal experience, readings or text, observations, and interviews and questionnaires.

The purpose of the assignment is important. You don't want to confuse the writer. Asking yourself why the reader will care about what your writing is something to think about when writing the paper. There are many purposes some of which are to inform, to persuade, to entertain, to analyze, to argue, to evaluate, to summarize, to express feeling, to provoke thought, and to change attitudes. Questioning what you are trying to persuade can lead to asking yourself what audience you are trying to aim at. This can lead to strategy for entertaining your readers or reaching them. The length and document format is another thing to consider when writing a paper. If there is a strict guideline on what the length or document design should be you should probably research what the audience expects.

Formulating a tentative thesis means to explore your topic and identify questions you are interested in. When writing a thesis consider the following: Can you support your thesis with evidence available? Can you explain to readers why they will want to read an essay with the given thesis? Will you be able to include all your support? Will your evidence and points run out too quickly? If writing a thesis seems to hard you can simply sketch a plan by using a formal outline. Writing a paper may seem complicated at first but with much practice it is quite simple.

I can use this information in so many ways! The next time i write an essay I will diffidently read this chapter and use it as a guideline. I feel like if you just use these points you will have the perfect essay. Sometimes when I write essays I have troubles writing and figuring out my thesis. This cleared up most of my questions. Usually I run out of support and evidence when writing a paper and now that I understand to take things so and make an outline I feel like I will do much better. It's really important to assess the writing situation and use all elements of writing a paper. I sometimes just start a paper the night before and don't asses the entire situation. I think if i were to make a outline, annotate, pay more attention to the purpose and audience I will have far better writing and not have a bunch of thoughts bunched together that don't make sense.

"The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me"

    What does it mean to be smart in contemporary U.S. society? What do people need to know and/or be able to do, and where is all of this learned? 


Sherman Alexie was a Spokane Indian boy living on a reservation in Washington State. He was expected to be "stupid" by his Indian peers. This may seem crazy to some but in his culture it was a bad thing. He refused to fail and taught himself how to read the hundreds of books his dad owned. This lead to him becoming a writer and influencing many Indian children today.


In contemporary U.S. society knowledge is power. Without knowledge or education it is almost impossible to gain a high paying job, or even support a family comfortably. I don't mean to sound ignorant because there are some people that have made millions without going on to a higher education but that is a very low statistic. You are more likely to get a job that pays high with a college diploma than if you were to apply without one. It's hard in this economy we are in because it is even more important to gain an education since everyone is looking for work. I feel like I have some sense of safety in going to school. In U.S. society you are seen as smart if you get good grades and stay in school. You are seen as smart if you got a education. If you have a minimum wage job and your trying to support your family U.S. society may see you as ignorant or you didn't try enough hard in school. It's tough living in U.S society. 


The work force doesn't look at what skills you may have to offer. It sees intelligence as where you went to school, how long you went to school, and if you recieved a diploma. There are many people that are brillient and haven't gone on to college. People need to know the basics to survive in the U.S. From kindergarden to about Eighth grade we are taught how to read, write, add, subtract and multiply. All these subjects teach us how to get by in life. The U.S. has high standards but I think that they help us as a nation if you engage in them.