Allen:

Before you read: When I think of a professional writer, or scholar. I think that their writing process is smooth and easy. I think that they know how they are suppose to write a paper, where to start, what to research, and how to organize and finalize their paper. I think their writing experience would be easy because they have done it so many times before that they would have a system for writing.

Summary: Allen's article The Inspired writer vs. The Real Writer is about the struggle writers have within themselves when writing.  Even the most experienced of writers have struggles. They in counter days where no words want to come out on a page called writers block. Another point in her article is that just because some one is a scholarly writer doesn't mean they always like writing and or are good at it. Her audience in this article are for students who feel their writing is not good enough or feel that good writing is hard to achieve. lastly she makes the point that weather a scholar or not everyone writes weather it be memos and emails and resumes and reports and thank you notes...etc.

Synthesis: This article ties into kleine because it talks about scholarly writers that struggle with their own writing. The difference is Kleines focus is on his colleagues, and their research methods. Allen's focus I think is more on a college student learning to get past the writers block that may occur and understanding that good writing doesn't come easy and the feeling that their writing isn't good enough is common among many others.

Questions for discussion.

#2. Allen says that one one will feel the "inspired writer" if they do not believe their writing to be good.  she says, " we often assume that if writing does not come easily, then our writing is not good and in turn we cannot be good writers" she also sys that   to find the "inspired writer" you have to work hard, and with practice in writing you may come to find it. 

#3. In the passed I have colluded when I have found piece of writing that I liked the organization or the idea behind it. I dont think it is plagiarism to take the structure of a piece of writing and use your own information in the structure. There are only so many ways to write papers as long as none of the information is copied I think it isn't plagiarism.

AE#2  Its important for writers to have a connection with what they are writing and to believe in their writing. Many writers feel that their writing is not very good, or that others writing is way better. when really the audience could be thinking that the writing is good. Also if the writer has a good connection with what they are writing, the piece of writing may come off as more confinent leading the reader to be more interested as well.

Thoughts: I thought that Allen's article was the better of the two for tonight. Hers was more engaging. I liked that she included personal stories that I could connect with. Also her article was more student appealing because im sure many of us feel that our writing isn't good enough or we have all been though writers block at one point or another in our school careers.

McCloud video response

After watching McClouds video I see comics in a different way. Before I saw them as something silly to read in the sunday newspaper. And now I see them as more complex way of telling a story. In the video McCloud talks about the 3 visions, Vision based on what one cannot see, Vision of something that is known or already proven, and third the Vision of something that can be based on knowledge but not yet proven. One of the interesting parts of the video is the online comic that starts as one story and branches out in to many stories depending which way you read it. He says that media gives us a way back into the world that we live in. And that its a way to escape in the story.

Berger, "ways of seeing"

Summary:

Ways of Seeing article is about how women and men are perceived differently. A mans presence is based on his ability to be useful, according to Berger if a man doesn't show a since of power then his presence is lost. A woman's presence is suppose to express her own attitude about her self. Her presence is seen through her expressions, voice , and opinions.  The article then goes on to explain the difference between naked and nude. A naked women is more personal with herself. where as a nude won is being seen by others.

Synthesis:  I think that Bergers article and McClouds article connect because McCloud's explains how we can only imagine what we look like around others but we never actually really know. and Bergers argument is that we can be certain of how we look and feel but have others see us a different way than we feel. 

#2:  We see posed women in the media everywhere. Advertisements, Magazines, movies, music videos, Advertisements today are generally not to show sexuality, however they do still promote the idea that women have high standards to live up to like the women in the Berger article. In the media we do have the nude women posing, such as play boy, sports illustrated swim suit addition,etc. these are similar in that most include showing some skin but covered in some areas. They are different in the way that in todays era they are ment to be more sexually provocative.

#3 I think the way Berger talks about a persons presence is the same now as it was in the 1970s, when you look at a guy you wonder if hes good a certain things, sports, handy work etc and you look at a girl as how she presents herself, the way she dresses , talks, and her actions if she dresses in a maner you dont particularly like then you most likely wouldn't talk to her. I think it is even worse in todays era than it was when the article was published in the 70's

AE #3 I would say the way a woman is positioned does effect the way the painting or photo is to be viewed. I think if she is looking out of the photo she is suppose to be showing desire and making the person viewing her to want her. I think that the amount of covering also says something about the way the photo should be perceived. If she is less clothed maybe its saying she trying to be more in touch with herself as a person. more comfortable in her own skin.

Meta moment:  I think the concept of nakedness and nude relates to writing because if you write a paper,consider it naked in your own mind and let every thing out in it, not hiding anything then it can be perceived as nude by other. like the painting, the woman in the painting feels naked in her own mind, but others would call her nude when they look at her. I think it is important to read something like this in order to understand the difference between what you are thinking in your head verus what others see or read.

Thoughts: at first I didn't understand what the point of reading that article was until I really thought about it.  It seemed a little weird to me, it wasn't a concept I had thought of before. Berger does a good job of making his points understandable.

Before you read: I have picked a picture of Channing Tatum and of Michelle Williams, In these photos Channing would be depicted as rugged, a good guy to have around. Michelle would be depicted as a delicate woman whom is very poised. The two pictures would be seen differently based on the viewer, girls are going to be drawn to the picture on the left, and guys the one on the right. Michelle picture shows skin but in a tamed way and is still showing sex appeal like the women in berger paintings.

McCloud Reading Response.

Before you read : I have always been a cinderella fan. I connect with her because she is a hopeless romantic, she is a hard worker and true to herself.  She also is a normal girl waiting to find happiness, I know that is probably every girls dream but I can relate to it.  Lastly she talks to the mice like her friends, growing up i had a stuffed mouse that I carried everywhere.

Summary: In McClouds article Vocabulary of Comics, he uses the comic character to make points about images, icons, symbols, ideas of reality and cartoon fiction. On page 4 he has many images that when we look at them we think of that is ... a person, a leaf, a cow, a sound, a planet, but really they are just images of these things. He also talks about how humans see pattens of faces every where and how we try to make the world see us the way we see us. When really we never see our face at all. we can only think of what our face looks like.

Synthesis: McClouds article/ comic is very different in style when compared to Kantz, at the same time I feel you could connect the two, Kantz talks about what is really fact and what is opinion, and McCloud talks about how we see our selves and how others see us. They both walk a fine line between  reality and fiction.


#2 McCloud expresses his thoughts using the comic as a visual tool, Its much easier to understand his ideas with pictures. for instance when he is talking about how cartoons are a simplified version of human realistic images, it made more since to see the break down of specific details in the picture versus just reading about them.  Also I think that if this article was just in words it would loose its humours effect. The cartoon narrative has a funny persona that keeps the reader engaged and interested in the subject.

AE#1 I think teaching strategies should include visuals, personally I am a visual learner, If I a concept drawn out or an example of what im suppose to be learning and doing myself it helps a lot. The benefits would understanding the material more clearly, resulting in higher quality work or paper instead of something that sounds confusing.

AE#2 McCloud says that as humans we are more likely to see our selves as cartoon figures rather than resemble real humans because we think we look a certain way which is different from the way other people perceive us.  I have looked at a photograph, or a painting and identified with the subjects in the image because of the activities they were participating in or the feelings they were depicting that I could relate to.

AE#4 McClouds concept of the mask makes since, because you dont see you face when you are out with friends, you can only imagine what it looks like based on what you know about the features on your face and what you tell it to do, whether that be to smile or wink or raise your eyebrows.  I think it could change my perception of me, I think sometimes you feel like your making a funny face when your really not. and vise versa so maybe not being as conscious of that. I don't think it will change my perceptions of others. lastly the question would you be able to be aware of others without your mask. Im not sure what exactly that means so I dont know. my guess would be no because if your mask included your eyes,nose, and ears, you would never be able to since other people.

Thoughts: I liked the way McCloud used the comics I was able to understand his points clearer with reference to the pictures. also i thought the comic narrator used humor, I actually caught myself laughing a little. I liked McCloud because he brought an interesting idea about how we as humans perceive ourselves differently than others do. Also he makes a point that humans try to find faces in inanimate objects. This was interesting because it is true, I always see faces in objects that aren't faces.

Topic 1 proposal.

For my questioning a writing construct paper I would like to discus the topic of beginning a sentence with the word because. Growing up we were always taught that in was improper grammar to start a sentence with the word because, however last year my english teacher said that in certain circumstances you could start a sentence with because. I would like to explore those circumstances. As well as research through my peers what they know about the topic from past education.  Also explore the reasons we were taught not to use because at the beginning of a sentence. In doing so I think I can combine the hunter and gather strategy that Kleine illustrates in his article, as well as use some of concepts from Kantz's article in knowing when to use information as fact, and how to form original ideas about a topic.

Library Tutorials

Summary on Finding Scholarly Articles.

#1
First you must understand what a scholarly article is. Things that make scholarly articles different than any other article is the title, the authors, the abstract, the introduction, article texts, conclusion, and references.  To find a scholarly article you can use Articles plus located on the library website. In articles plus type the topic you are looking for, this will give you general overview of your topic. You then have the option to refine your search and choose between full texts and scholarly peer reviewed journals. Some articles that are found can be directly downloaded and other are viewable via a link. If you have questions about something in particular you may always contact the library in their just ask link.


#2 Looking for a book? Well now it is quick and easy to find using the ALICE catalog.  The ALICE online catalog is located on the library's website. look for the tab labeled ALICE catalog, Then type in the subject  you are looking for, you may need to narrow it down by using several keywords instead of just one. Once you have found the book you are looking for write down the call number.  or you can even send the call number to yourself in a text message.  Be sure to look what floor of Alden your book is located. on the appropriate floor locate the correct range of call numbers. You may even want to look the other books in the isle as there could be other books related to your topic. Lastly you can check out your books on the 2nd or 4th floor of Alden library with your student ID.


#3 Is the book you want checked out? or not in the Alden Library? with ohio link you can borrow books from a number of universities in the state of ohio. some examples are Malone university, Miami U, and Ohio Northern.  Use the ohio link Icon, and request the book you would like to check out. you may wait 3 business days to receive the book in Athens, but this is a great resource if you are looking for more information about a specific topic.

Kantz. Helping Students Use Textual Sources Persuasively

Before you read: I would define an argument as conversation between two people who may not see eye to eye on a subject. I feel the word argument when used in an everyday setting has a negative connotation, and sometimes is viewed as a "fight" when it is probably just a miss understanding between people. It may also be thought of as a debate between people.

In an academic setting I think the word argument is ment more to be persuasive. For example after doing research on a topic you would present and argument about your particular side of the "argument" . When your paper or presentation is more based on research and it is information in the form of a persuasive argument.

The difference is that in everyday life people make arguments just by disagreeing with one another with out being informed of two sides to an argument. where as in an academic setting the argument is based more on fact and reason and usually presented with both.

recently an argument I had with someone was about weather or not Ohio state football should be the number one team in the nation, the are 12-0. we solved the dispute by each giving our sides of the argument and we agreed that each person had valid points. We each still stuck to our own beliefs but we at least tried to understand the other side of the argument.

Summary:

In the her article Helping Students use Textual Sources Persuasively, Margaret Kantz explores the idea that texts dont't always mean the same things to every reader. She goes through the article discussing how the writer needs to interact with the text sources they read, and putting a part of ourselves into each source we read and in the way we use the source in our writing. She relays these ideas through her characters of Shirley and Alice. Shirley represents half of the audience, the students that struggle with forming original ideas in their writing and rely on the sources the read to be fact base. Alice represents the other half of the audience, the students who grasp the concept of using sources to form a new argument. Both characters could have the same assignment but have two totally different views.

Synthesis:

After reading Kantz's article Helping students... I think it compares similarly to Klein's article What is it we do...  Because both articles emphasize the importance of teachers teaching their students the proper way to research for a paper. Also how to use the source information after the research process.

Questions for Discussion:

1.) I think what Kantz is trying to explain about facts is that they are only facts if you believe them to be facts as a decoder.  Otherwise facts are no different than an opinion,  both facts and opinions are claims, once read or heard about people then make the decision whether or  not to believe them to be facts or leave them as an opinion until seeking further proof.    

2.) In paragraph 17 Kantz lists what many students like Shirley misunderstand.  

1. Misunderstanding sources because they read them as stories.  

2. Expecting their sources to tell the truth. 

3. Not understanding that facts are a kind of claim.

She says that students need to read source texts as an argument. I think she is correct based on my own writing experiences I think I tend to read sources like a story to make them seem more interesting but in turn miss out on the point of the source itself.  I think I understand the things on this list a lot better now I feel that going in to this writing assignment I will not expect all of my sources to be true but rather use the differences between source to form a better paper.

Applying and Exploring  ideas.

Previously Ive been taught that creativity and research shouldn't really mix. Ive been taught that research should be about the facts and that there isn't room for creativity in a research paper. However after reading Kantz article I come to learn that you can include creativity in a research paper by developing your own original argument and ideas about a topic. For me personally I think they could be a struggle because it is a completely new way of writing, but at the same time I think it will make writing much more interesting and more enjoyable.

MM:

I think the construct that Kantz is overviewing is that facts and opinions are the same thing, they are both claims. Its how the claims are used that can define a good paper from a bad paper. If you only use facts as "facts" that you believe are true than you will never fully look at the range of specific topics or questions that could be formed from a general topic. Rather if you use a balance of what you may think of as facts and opinions your more likely to form new original ideas for an argument. An example is between Shirley and Alice. Shirley looks at her sources as facts that are true, and doesn't want to question them because they are "true" on the other hand Alice opens up the topic when questioning the facts, in paragraph 10 she tell Shirley " you could have thought about why a book entitled a history of France might present a different view of the battle than a book subtitled a history of british progress." This is the difference between an original creative good paper, and a paper that is repeating what the text book says.

Thoughts:

I thought this article was interesting in some places when Kantz was comparing Shirley to Alice, and showing the difference between the two's thought process toward the same assignment. However I also thought that the article was really long and drawn out for what seemed like three fairly simple concepts to understand. I think the article was helpful in the sense that I would want my papers to be more like the Alice than the Shirley character. and I think some of the key points in the article will be something to return to in the future.