Journal 2

I never really liked the idea of revising and responding to other peoples papers. Whenever I would do it I would always make it short and sweet, never really took the time to write out complete sentences with comments or anything like that. I would certainly never compliment anything they wrote, at least not with notes. Mostly I would be looking for grammatically incorrect things and sentences that just didn't make sense. Now I feel like I can apply some of the things talked about on Straub's essay. I'll take more time to really try give useful suggestions, instead of just pointing out what is wrong, and also comments on things that were done well on the paper. I learned that you really have to be careful and thoughtful when you edit other peoples papers. You don't want to be too harsh and just frustrate them because changes are they won't listen to your suggestions again. You have to try to blend good comments and bad comments and ways to fix them.

Journal 2

Before I had read what Richard Straub had to say, I was actually somewhat worried about our workshop on Thursday. For some reason, I'm not fond of having to critique other people's writing. During high school, I did not put much effort into trying to help someone else improve their paper. I just edited a few grammatical or punctuation errors and told them they had a great paper. Now that I have read this article, I feel the need to help my fellow classmate as much as I can to make his or her paper better. As the article said, I am not the writer, but I am the reader and I won't try to change the writing itself. If anything, I will make a few suggestions if necessary to be used as guidelines or models. With this in mind, I'm quite interested not only read other peoples' papers, but to see what they have to say about my own.

Journal 2

After reading the excerpt by Richard Straub from the On Writing text, I now have a better understanding of revision. Honestly in high school, I never took revising someone else's paper seriously. I would read the paper, make a few minor corrections, and just hand it back. Now that I have read this entry, I guess its made me realize that I should really focus on revision. Time and thought should be put into the revision of a writers work to help improve their paper as a whole. As for the workshop Thursday, I feel that I have become well informed on not only how I should revise, but why to revise as well. As a reader, it is my responsibility to give my honest opinion on the paper and motivate the writer to create a better piece of work.

Journal #2

Before i read this article, the only mistakes i change would only be grammar related. I never really focused on what the writer was trying to say throughout the paper. After reading this article i agree with Straub. If you focus on what the writer is trying to say, you will get a better understanding of how to make the paper better. When i would revise other peoples paper i would try and sound like the teacher. I never knew this was a bad thing. After reading Straubs article i am going to sound like a friend when revising their paper, not like a teacher. During the next workshop, i am going to have an open mind when grading other peoples work. Instead of just saying their paper sucks, Im going to write a little more so they understand what i am trying to say to them.

journal 2

When i started reading Responding -Really Responding- to Other Students' Writing what was written was exactly what i was planning on doing in class thursday while reading papers. More or less i was going to be more like an editor than a reader and act more as a teacher than a peer. After reading, i have a new perspective on how i should feel while reading the papers. I know know that i have to read the paper with the thought of the "big picture" instead of finding grammar or spelling mistakes. I was concerned about coming off as too harsh, or overly confident, but know i understand that comments to the writing are meant to be helpful and supportive. Overall it is important to act as a friend and make sure comments are thoroughly explained to insure that the writer knows why i would have made the comments, and to maintain a supportive and encouraging attitude. 

Journal 2

My ideas and attitude towards responding and revising before reading Straub’s essay were different from what was mentioned in the essay. I never really had to respond to or revise another person’s writing. The few times that I have had to, I never really gave criticism, just compliments. I was more looking towards getting it done and over with like Straub had mentioned in the beginning of his essay. My thoughts and attitude completely changed after reading Straub’s writing because he explained how to give responses both good and bad and why it is important to give both compliments and criticism. I can definitely apply what Straub was talking about to my first workshop because I know what kind of responses to give, what to look at in different papers, and how to let the writer know what you think. I learned that by responding to your peers you might be able to give them the response they need to write an even better paper.

Before reading Straub's essay I thought most revising and responding dealt with little things like grammar and punctuation. After reading it I realized that revising and responding really depends on the situation- what kind of paper it is and what stage that paper is in. During my first workshop, knowing that I'll be reading first drafts, I know realize that I'll be responding to the bigger picture and the ideas in that paper rather than small errors. 

Journal 2

In highschool my teachers would hand out random students essays to revise. Usually I would just look for simple things to edit, for instance leaving out a comma, forgetting a period, things like that. It was kind of boring to me because I was never sure of what to actually say and where to say it. I never wanted to hurt my classmates feelings so I would just correct a few grammatical errors and i'd leave it at that. After reading Straub's essay I now know where to comment, how long my comments should be, and to be specific. I know that myrevising could really help out my classmates. I shouldn't worry about hurting their feelings. I should just be honest and say what i think. My comments and suggestions could really improve my classmates overall paper so I know now to just be myself and say what I believe.

Journal 2

My ideas and attitudes towards revising and responding to other classmates' writing was that it not only helped my classmate but I also benefited from it. After reading Straub's essay he affirmed my belief. After reading what Straub wrote, it will benefit me in my first workshop because now I know to evaluate a paper as a friend or colleague instead of a harsh critic. I learned I should have a friendly but honest tone.

Read and respond to Richard Straub’s “Responding—Really Responding—to Other Students’ Writing.” What were you ideas and attitudes toward revising and responding before reading Straub's essay? Have your opinions changed? How? How can you apply what Straub said to your first workshop? What did you learn about responding to your peers?

Before i read Richard Straub's essay i thought of revising and responding to a paper as a job. When the teacher would tell me to proof read and correct some one's paper i would sit down and circle everything i could find that was not correct. After Reading i now realize the difference between being helpful and being hurtful all through using Straub's ideas and approaching the owner of the paper. For instance if a person thinks highly of themselves and is confident find something that will challenge them or give them more suggestions. If someone is making a bad grade in the class try to use positive criticism and use words of encouragement to help them out. Therefore my feelings have changed. I now know how to critique some one's paper as well as encourage them in a more positive way. I can apply what Straub's said in my first work-shop by being more supportive, encouraging, and worrying more about changing the content rather than the grammar. I can't wait for the workship we as students can help each other by using encouraging criticism to make each one of us better writers. :)

Journal 2

Before reading this piece I always just did the simple revising of my peers work, whether it is telling them to add a coma, correct their spelling or more content issued suggestions.  I would simply read through their writing (very carefully and attentively) and point out by writing short, mostly one or two word, suggestions.  I would usually use a red pen just as a teacher would and i would try to sound as professional  as possible even if i couldn't really explain what i meant i would try my best. After reading Straub's essay i now have a lot of helpful tips that will hopefully help me in the future.  I now know not to try to sound like a teacher (note to self: change pen color), not to sound like an editor or a know it all but rather to sound like a friend just trying to help another friend out.  At the same time though i know not to try to just write as little as possible and try to get it over with by generalizing things but instead elaborate and give reasons why i think what i think and details on how they can change it around.  I hope to use all these new tools in my writing workshop to try to proofread and help out a friend as best i can.

Journal 2

I never use to take revising and responding seriously. I always thought I wasn't very intelligent and couldn't actually assist the writer with my ideas and suggestions. Straub's essay really changed my mind about revising and the workshop process. I am not an editor or have a degree of any sort in editing papers, so I know now that I shouldn't revise like that. Other people's papers are their papers and I'm not going to alter what they have to say to make it my own words. I'm excited as a writer to have my other fellow classmates and peers to critic my work because I always think my work is almost flawless, but to get constructive criticism from people close to me can really help. I hope my suggestions will do the same to others. I understand now that just because were friends I should give them real advice that I truly believe because only that will help them in the end.

Before I read Straub's essay I thought of proofreading in a very basic sense. I thought of it as just sitting down and glancing over someone's paper and writing a few words or circling a missed comma. I didn't think about all of the work that should go into revising someone else's work. I thought about it in the way it is described in the introduction. Now I understand how much my comments could help someone's paper or help them improve as a writer. Revising a paper isn't just circling missed punctuation marks. It is a much more involved process. I will use what Straub has said to improve my proofreading skills and hopefully help other people improve their papers. I learned that I shouldn't try to sound professional or anything. I just need to be myself while I am editing their paper. I shouldn't minimalize my comments but rather expand on them.

Journal 2

Like the majority of students, I wasn't planning on revising anyone's paper beyond the simple punctuation mistakes and awkward sentences. Time is short and you want to get in what you can in the alotted time frame. Also, I used to get a lot of slack back in high school for being too nitpicky when I'd review the work of my peers. But having read Straub's article, I realize that I'd be doing my fellow student a favor rather than a disservice by giving my best advice and response to his or her paper. I sometimes forget that this isn't high school anymore and that the grades we get here are much more important. I hope to bring all that I can to the upcoming reader response workshop now that I've read what Straub had to say.

the way i would respond to other people's essay's is that i would be straight forward with them in telling them what i think. I wasnt goin to sugar coat it for them. the reading has changed my opinion somewhat because know i see that i shouldnt just criticize the paper but also show support and good parts of the essay as well so i do not put my fellow students down. i can apply what Straub said to my first class by writing what i want to say in the margins of people's papers but to much because i dont want to overwhelm them.. i learned that i should ask questions to find out what the writer was feeling or how she was trying to use a specific word or phrase to better understand where the writer is coming from.
-Corey Bandremer

Journal two

Before reading this particular article I had always revised an essay by working on grammar rather than the actual content. I had never really tried to fix someones paper by telling them how to improve on it and make it better. Now after reading this section I understand what proof reading is all about and has changed my attitude towards peer editing. At my first workshop I will be honest and criticized when needed before I would never even think about telling someone who asked for help, that their paper sucks.

Before reading Straub's essay I was just planning on correcting the papers like i did in high school. Looking for basic errors in spelling and punctuation. I don't like revising my papers but i know that it has to be done. Its' just somewhat of a hassle to me. Now that i read Straub's essay i realized that i also shouldn't be sounding like the teacher. I should be sounding like myself and that isn't something that i normally did. My opinion has changed a little about revising because i was always so focused on making sure my comments sounded like the teacher and at times harsh, that i realized i can just say things the way i normally would. During my first workshop i now plan to go into detail when writing commenting on someones work instead of just giving them one or two word answers. I am also going to consider what i read and try to think of how they could possibly expand on the subject in order to make their paper better. What i learned about my peers, which in my opinion was important to learn was, that i should take into consideration the actual person whose paper i am revising. I should pay attention to their personality and this i think will also help me learn more about my peers as the course progresses. 

Journal 2

I had planned to basically correct any simple errors (commas, periods, wrong words, etc..) that I saw. I wasn't planning on writing much that would actually help improve how the paper came off to others. I planned on helping it, but I didn't know how much I would really be able to help it without sounding extremely judgemental and harsh. My opinions have changed somewhat after reading Richard Straub's advice about correcting a paper. I now know that my tone should sound more like a friend rather than a teacher. I also learned that I could still praise a paper while also criticizing it, rather than just criticize it. I will definitely use these techniques, also not writing too much, when correcting my peers papers on thursday.

Journal 2: Due Wednesday, July 1

Read and respond to Richard Straub’s “Responding—Really Responding—to Other Students’ Writing.” What were you ideas and attitudes toward revising and responding before reading Straub's essay? Have your opinions changed? How? How can you apply what Straub said to your first workshop? What did you learn about responding to your peers?

Journal 1

I do not consider myself a writer because I simply do not write enough. Although I text and communicate with friends through Facebook, I do not get enough practice writing what would be considered legitimate material. I feel over the years I have written specifically for school and for my grades. Now that I have begun college I feel like I will be writing for myself which motivates me to write better every time I put a pen to paper (or my fingers to the keyboard). I hope my rhetorical skills progress consistently throughout the course so I become a better writer than I was when I first stepped into class.

I don't really know what a "writer" is. I do write a lot, mostly just communicating with friends and family, but I do not consider myself a writer. I write to keep in touch. When I was younger I was actually a pretty good writer, I kept a journal and wrote in it on a regular basis. At one point I even considered becoming a journalist. Somewhere along the way I lost my passion for writing.  During this class I hope I can find that passion again. I would like to be able to enjoy writing, and not think of it as a dreaded school assignment.

Journal 1

I am quite confused by this question, am I a writer? Well, I basically never write unless I am sending an email or on facebook, etc. But whenever a writing assignment was given to me in high school I generally ended up enjoying myself and really getting into the prompt, unless the promt was totally ridiculous (which there were plenty of). I've always felt a since of honor when writing a really well written paper, so if that counts for anything then yeah, sure, I am a writer. I just have never been able, or felt the urge, to just sit down and write. I hope this class lets me find things that I like writing about and hopefully I won't be as confused by this question by the end of the summer.

Journal 1

Honestly I am not that big of a writer, math is more my thing. But this past year I wrote sports articles for the school newspaper. The only reason why I don't consider myself a writer is because I don't really enjoy it. A writer in my opinion is someone who is passionate about writing. Usually I write just for grades in school, but recently after graduating high school, I wrote a lot of letters to various relatives. In this class I hope to acquire good writing habits and maybe even enjoy writing in general, wish me luck!

Do you consider yourself a writer? Why or why not? In addition, why do you write- is it for a grade, leisure, communication, work, etc.? What are you hoping to accomplish in this class?

Hey Everyone!
I do consider my self a writer if texting, writing on facebook, and sending cards count?...lol. Other than that the only time i write is when i have class assignments, essays/homework, or when i need to go grocery shopping..honestly i never write. Within this class i am hoping to further my knowledge of writing through grammar and have fun along the way! :)

Journal 1

Umm I dont really consider myself a writer because most times when you refer to someone as a writer it means its their profession or most of their activities revolves around writing. I write informally on facebook and in text messages and what not but I dont consider that being worthy of being called a writer. A writer should accomplish something meaningful to be labeled as such. I write for leisure and for academic grades when forced to by teachers in english classes. Honestly english and/or writing is not my best subject although i try to excell in all subjects i just dont seem to get it that easily. In this class i hope to accomplish getting a good grade and further bettering myself on writing. Thanks for reading youve been wonderful.
Jason Norman

Journal 1

I guess I would consider myself a writer because I find myself writing a big portion of my day. I'm constantly texting, emailing, "facebooking", and doing homework that writing actually is a big part of my life. I actually like writing, not only to get a good grade, but it's a huge source of communication and it can just be fun. If I wasn't to write, then I have no clue how I would talk to any of my old friends.
In this class im hoping I can learn how to actually write. Like I've said before, I write all the time, but I would like to know the rights and wrongs to writing. I want to be able to love doing it at the same time. A lot of people write as a source of getting away and I would really like it if i could do that too.

Journal 1

No, I do not consider myself a good writer. I've been told so in the past, but have had the exact opposite told to me as well. I feel that the ideas are all there but for some reason I have a hard time expressing them on paper. I write mostly for school, but also spend a lot of time texting and chatting on facebook. During the next six weeks, I plan to excel where I probably lack the most, which put simply is writing a good paper. By the end of the semester, I would like to actually impress my teacher with an essay of mine, rather than having her point out the flaws for me to correct. Lastly, I want to master the MLA and APA formats so I don't have any trouble writing papers in the future.

Journal 1

To be honest I really don't know completely, it"s sort of sporadic for me. I guess it just depends on the subject at hand, or for that matter why I am writing. There are some times when I feel that I can express my feelings better on paper than in words, especially with things that I truly care about. Such as: a thank you card, a letter to a missed family member, or even a poem to a girlfriend. When there's something that has that much meaning to me, I find it easy to get a point across or express how I feel. With that being said, I believe I am a passionate writer when it comes to a subject matter that intrigues me. Now on the other hand, if there is a long research paper due, I might not be as apt to spice it up and put all I have into it. There are those special occasions though where maybe I want to impress a teacher. In those instances I really put all my effort into it, but for the most part I just get the assignment done. Reflecting back on that, I probably just need to be more open minded to writing assignments and put as much effort into them as I do the subjects that, in essence, drive me to open up and write to my maximum level. So like I stated earlier, I don't honestly know if I am a good writer or not. Maybe I'm being modest, but i believe thats for other people to decide.

Journal 1

Do I consider myself a writer? That's a loaded question. Isn't everybody a writer on one level or another? I mean everybody has facebook or myspace or is a member on some type of social networking site where they talk to friends or family. So in essence, we are all writers. When I think of my writing habits on one hand, I do consider myself a writer because I write a lot of thank you notes and emails and I enjoy writing for the most part; but on the other hand, could you find my name on a library shelf? Not exactly. When it comes to writing, most people our age are in the same boat and don't exactly consider themselves "writers". Whats funny is if you were to ask this same group of people the same question 20 years from now, you would probably find the majority of answers to be different. It's a matter of opinion and self-confidence in what you are writing. So if you really think about it, we are all writers. We all just feel differently on the definition of what writing really is. Throughout this class I hope to gain more confidence and strategy in my writing while also learning how to express my ideas and topics creatively.

Journal 1

Personally, I do not consider myself a writer. Although definitions of a "writer," can vary, my definition of a writer is not necessarily someone who is an excellent writer. A writer to me is rather someone who enjoys writing, for the sake of writing. Not someone who only does it in and for school. When I write it is usually for school and for a grade. But I do use writing for text messaging and Facebook. 

I'm hoping to accomplish a few things in this class. Some being: sharpening my punctuation skills, being able to use higher level words to describe longer thoughts, and simply begin to enjoy writing instead of cringing at the idea of three papers in six weeks.

journal 1

It would not be fair to say that I am an avid writer, i am not even sure if it is possible to call myself a writer. I dabble from time to time on personal reflections, notes or online foolishness with friends. However, the most writing I have done is from school. Whether it be a research paper or journal entries discussing a days work from my senior internship. I hope by the end of this session I will have a new appreciation for writing because I will be more confident in the way i write from everything I will learn over the next six weeks. 

Journal 1

I’m not going to lie I do not consider myself to be a writer. I’m a very creative person but I have never wanted to express that through writing. I don’t consider myself a writer because in my eyes a writer is someone that wants to pursue a career in journalism. When I write I do not do it for a grade unless it is for a stupid high school prompt. When I write on my free time its for either communicating with friends or if I need to brainstorm an idea. What I plan to learn from this class is a little more about myself and also people around me. By expressing my ideas I hope this experience makes me overall a better writer to enhance my future.

Journal 1 "To Write or Not to Write"

Do I consider myself a writer?  No, i do not, but at the same time when I put effort into my writing I can not help but say it is pretty good.  I myself am more of a technical person whether its doing calculus problems, building something, or just simple problem solving.  Seldom do I write for leisure, most of my writing is for a class of some sort, on the computer, or on my phone (its a terrible thing).  But if I had to chose a sort of writing I like it would probably be a narrative, I consider myself rather creative and some of the pieces I have written in the past have been really quite good.  I hope to take from this class a wide variety of writing skills, and hope to be able to write not only a well thought out and well put together narrative but other types of writing as well.

I don't consider myself a writer but i have always done well in it. I always made good grades in writing and i scored really well on the sat and act on the writing section. I guess the main reason that i don't consider myself to be a writer is because sometimes even though the grade on my paper may be good i don't think my work is good. For some people it comes so easily and it can take me a long time to really develop my ideas or to think of everything i want to say to someone if i am writing them a letter. For example before i left home i was writing my 2 best friends letters and it took me so long to figure out what i wanted to say and how i wanted to say it. When i write its' usually for school or in a text or email. I used to write in a journal when I was younger but then my dad decided to be nosy and he FOUND it so i stopped writing in that because i didn't want him to see. Recently though i found my journal from the 5th grade and it was so funny t read because i wrote about the funniest things and they mattered so much then and now they are things i look back and laugh at. When you think about it though without writing wouldn't it somewhat difficult to communicate? i didn't think about that until today when we talked about how many different types of writing there are. I just always thought of papers for school. In this class i really would like to become more confident in my work and learn to expand on my writing by making it EYE CATCHING. When people read their writing today in class they were so funny and all really different, and i want to be able to learn things from those other people because it was a lot of fun to listen to them. 

Journal One

As of now I do no consider myself a writer, I am more of the hands-on type I would rather be taking apart my television or doing hours worth of math than writing a literary analysis on Hamlet. Outside of school I rarely pick-up a pen and paper unless it is to write a loving message on a birthday card. I hope that this class will change my dislike for English and surprise myself with newly found forte in writing.

Journal 1

I don't really consider myself a writer. I write occasionally when I'm texting friends or writing a note to someone. I don't sit down and write just to write. I don't consider myself a writer because when I think of a writer, I think of an author or someone who writes all the time. When I write long papers it is for a grade. I will write notes to people or type addendums at work but that is basically all. I don't write for leisure. I never have that I can remember. During this class, I hope to improve my writing skills. Right now, I don't think that I am a very strong writer and I would like to fix that.

Journal 1

Not yet. I know how to write well when it comes to cards or letters expressing my feelings, but when it comes to long papers that have specific topics, I could use some more experience and work with those. Although, I do think I have very good potential to be a great writer. I write for two reasons: schoolwork and socially. I write papers for school and i'll write letters and cards to friends and family expressing my feelings or simply just to say hello and chat. I definitely hope to learn from this class how to become a much better writer when it comes to writing about specifics more than just my emotions and how I feel.

Journal 1: Due Tuesday, June 30

Do you consider yourself a writer? Why or why not? In addition, why do you write- is it for a grade, leisure, communication, work, etc.? What are you hoping to accomplish in this class?

Welcome!

This is our class blog, where I hope you'll enjoy reflecting on issues that matter to you and our class. I look forward to reading what you have to share.

Leigh