Date:8/25/22

Reflection Journal

My current reading habits are not so good. This is because I do not like to read books. If I were to read a book as a kid, I would look for books with pictures and less reading. To me reading always was seen as boring. My reading is not frequent at all. I only read if I am assigned to read. I have never read because I have never felt like it. However, I know many may look at me and question me. I am planning to change these habits. This is because I’ve heard that reading is seen as being essential. Not only does it keep the brain active it also prevents many health problems as you get older. I want to motivate myself to read even if it’s only for ten minutes. I want to find a genre that is interesting and intriguing to read. My reading habits are not the best, but my writing habits are average. I can write a lot, I know how to explain myself through writing as in high school I had to write essays for many of my classes. It was seen as being a bit easier to write because I would always write on a daily basis. This allowed great amounts of feedback on how to improve.

Date: 8/26/22

Reading: NFG Reading

Writing for inquiry can be seen as a way to write about your thoughts on a topic. As said in the reading, writing as inquiry is seen as approaching writing projects with curiosity. This basically tells us to come up with questions and introduce discussions. The reading provided vital information to make a person write more sophisticatedly. When writing, you are told to write about something you don’t know first rather than something you do know. This is because writing about something you don’t know allows for the person to have key questions that will better his/her understanding of the topic. When writing as inquiry, you are focusing on types of questions such as, how can it be defined, how can it be described and etc. These are one of the many questions that you can use to write about. These questions are seen as being basic starters to your writing. They are seen as being the passage to discussions and introducing questions. This is because there can be more than one definition or description. Journalist questions such as Who, What, Where, When, Why and How; can be used for inquiry. Because these questions are seen as contributing to a better understanding of the topic because you are looking at multiple angles.

Date:8/27/22

Reading: Why I Write by Joan Didion 

The reading Why I Write by Joan Didion has to be a very confusing read to me. This is because the writer was seen as just talking about different topics and having different thoughts while writing. The reading was seen as being if someone were to write about the voice in their head talking to them. “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means.” Didion is seen as writing what comes to her head and just going with the flow. Didion writes about her thoughts on what is going on around her. Throughout the reading, Joan Didion is trying to explain her way or perspective of writing and also answer the question of why she writes. “The arrangement of the words matters, and the arrangement you want can be found in the picture in your mind.” This can be seen as an example of Didion explaining her perspective on writing. This is because she talks about picturing a sentence in your head as this allows for an understanding of how to arrange the sentence. The use of imagery was also seen as being important to Didion, as she read novels she would visualize what she read and would then go more into depth about the surroundings of the visual in her head.

Date: 9/6/22

Reading: Fairy Tale to Explore

The best story that I have read at this moment has to be Sleeping Beauty. This is because I was never a fan of fairy tales like I have never really watched any Disney movies and if I have ever had I cannot remember. Sleeping Beauty has to be one of the best fairy tales to have really made me question and become intrigued by the different versions. I had only known about the Disney version of sleeping beauty. I really didn’t know about the original versions of Sleeping Beauty. However, after being introduced to these new versions, I was intrigued. I would like to explore sleeping beauty because the original versions have such a twist to it. The versions of Sun, Moon, and Talia really make me question the consent of sleeping beauty. Sleeping beauty was meant to sleep for 100 years, she was assaulted by the prince. The prince never asked Sleeping Beauty to have children. The prince just became erotic by seeing the body of sleeping beauty. The Anne Sexton version of SLeeping Beauty also has sexual tensions between the princess and king. 

Date: 9/8/22

Reading: Shitty First Drafts (Anne Lamott)

In Shitty First Drafts, Anne Lamott describes her take on writing, she believes what makes writers good is by writing shitty first drafts. Lamott talks about how you may have to rewrite at least a second or third time to become a better writer. She also uses the examples of her friends and how it is not what may be depicted. Just because you have a best-selling book, doesn’t mean the writing just came to you. It took many revisions to make it better and better. I personally agree with Anne Lamott’s ideologies. This is because I do not consider myself to be a very good writer. However, I have a different writing style. As Lamott tells us to write first drafts, I usually tend to make my first draft my final. I treat the first draft as it is the one I have to submit. So instead of having to write multiple revisions, I take more time to think about what I will write, allowing me to not make as many revisions. Although I have a different take on shitty first drafts. Lamott’s thinking is also a good idea. Because she talks about writing extremely bad first drafts. However, these are the drafts where “The first draft is the child’s draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later.” After analyzing the reading, my thoughts on writing have changed.

Date: 9/13/22

Reading: NFG Considering the Rhetorical Situation

The NFG reading basically talks about the “Rhetorical Questions’ ‘ that are asked to yourself in order to identify what a reading is about. Some of the parts talked about in the reading were of purpose. As you are reading, you have to identify what the reading or article is talking about. For example, what is the writer’s purpose in writing what he wrote? Is it to entertain, to inform or to take action. “As a reader, you need to think about the message that the writer wants to articulate” In writing, the narrator also has an audience that he specifically talks to. “Who is the intended audience? Are you a member of that group? If not, should you expect that you’ll need to look up unfamiliar terms or concepts” Writing has many key points which are used in order to interpret what is being said. Readers are told to find the genre of the reading. Is it seen as being an analysis? Or is it a report? Finding the genre of the story allows for a better understanding of what the story may be about. Another point that was new to me was media/design. With this analysis, you are basically looking into the publisher of the story. Basically saying why was this story published and for what reasons. 

Date: 9/13/22

Reading: MLA Purdue OWL Readings

MLA is seen to be a way of writing, specifically when you are citing research. This is because, MLA format provides writers with a system for referencing their sources through parenthetical citation. MLA format is seen as being a benefit for writers because it prevents accusations of plagiarism, this is because with MLA format you are citing your sources from which you have gotten your information. There are also specific guidelines that are needed to be followed when asked to submit in MLA format. For example, there is a font that needs to be used, preferably times new roman as well as the size of the font. The fonts have to be 12pt and your page has to be double spaced. These are the specifications that help the person reading what you have written. In my opinion, I believe MLA format is really good. As a freshman college student, I am not used to writing in such formats of writing. However, this new introduction has allowed for a better formatting of writing. The MLA format has allowed me to make sure that I am talking about key points and stating my sources. The MLA format cited page has helped me a lot. This is because it shows me how to create citations of my sources used. There are specific specifications on how to cite your work including a specific font and size. Over all the font sizing and format gives the reader a clearer understanding of what the writer has written.

Date: 9/20/22

Reading: NFG Ch.3 Summarizing and Responding

What the chapter introduces us, is to the concepts of how to summarize a reading. It starts off by talking about places that you would be asked to summarize what someone has said or written. Preferably college being a place where you would be asked to do this. According to the reading, it is shown that there are 4 specific points you need to keep in mind when writing the summary. One of the first points mentioned is to read the text carefully. It is important as a reader to catch the key ideas that the writer has talked about. You want to first start skimming the paper in order to get an understanding of the paper. After that you will reread the text but this time highlight and annotate. A second point is to state the main points accurately. The general limit of summaries is from 100-200 words. By keeping this in mind, as a reader you want to make sure that you are not going off topic and keeping the main points only. A third point is to describe the text accurately. What this is ultimately telling you is to not be biased against what is said. Yes you may not agree with the ideas but when summarizing you have to rephrase what is being pointed out by the writer. The fourth and essential point is to use signal phrases to distinguish what the author says from what you say. At the end of the day, you want to make sure your point is different from what was summarized by the writer. So for this, it is important for the reader when summarizing the text, to use words such as he says or the essay says. These are important to identify and distinguish the readers and writers points. 

Date: 9/20/22

Reading: Irene Morstan Essay

In the NFG Irene Morstan, the main concept of the text is about the writings of Langston Hughes and his depiction of culture in his writings. According to PoetryFoundation.org, Langston Hughes was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance, the flowering of black intellectual, literary, and artistic life. Hughes was known for his novels, short stories and much more. Langston Highes was seen as using his cultural background as being what he wrote about in his poems. What many others believe is that the reason he talked about himself being African American, was in order to depict the current times during his life. The times were seen as being the time of segregation. Irene can be seen talking about one of Hughes poems called “I too”. This was a poem which mentioned the factors of segregation. Hughes talks about his dislike of segregation and also highlights that he is an American and his skin color doesn’t defy who he is. Irene explains the poem in such detail and analyzes the poem in order for the reader to have a greater understanding of the poem. I have never heard or read any works by Irene Morstan. However, Irene has a good writing style in which the reader is informed about what the author talks about as well as being informative. 

Date:10/6/22

Reading: NFG Ch.30

The NGF chapter 30 is seen as primarily talking about how a reader can revise and rewrite his writing. It also talks about how there are key factors and questions that need to be highlighted. One factor is the titles. As a reader you need to think about the title, was it interesting, what does it depict on how further reading would be. Revision is also a main part, as it talks about your writing of the first draft. Your first draft is seen as being the raw document that you have written. This draft can be revised as you may need to add new information. The first draft allows for the understanding of what you may be missing and that you may have to rewrite in order to interpret the writing clearer. A great tip talked about when revising your writing is to give yourself time. This is because, when you are writing, it is hard for the writer to understand what parts are missing. A tip given is to give yourself a break and come back to the writing. By giving yourself a break, you are able to grasp more ideas on what to perfect about your writing. I myself don’t revise my writings after I complete them. This reading really made me think twice about how I submit my writings and to revise my writings to make sure I have a clear thesis and not missing any information.

Date: 10/18/22

Reading: NFG Ch.17 Literary Analysis

The reading primarily talked about what a literary analysis is and what key features are presented in writing in which it is a literary analysis. According to the reading, a literary analysis is defined as being an essay which closely focuses on the reading as it identifies the messages or to interpret meanings. One key feature of a literary analysis is the thesis. This is because, the thesis is basically your arguing statement, what are you basically arguing about. The reading also tells us about writing a literary analysis of your own and what you should be focusing on. When writing a literary analysis, it is important that the reader look at specific words and sentences or uses of metaphors in order to analyze what the writer is basically trying to interpret. This is important because the analysis of the word choice is basically your evidence to the thesis that you are arguing. Another key factor to writing a literary analysis is to have a clear interpretation. This is because, when you are arguing your thesis, you want to make sure that the sources you are using are basically a combination and supportive of what you are trying to state. It is important to be straightforward and keep what you are arguing about evident. 

Date:10/20/22

Reading: Gossip In Middlemarch

The reading, “Gossip of Middlemarch ” is the representation as well as an example of a literary analysis. This is because the writer has talked about a specific reading and has basically given an argument towards the reading. The arguing thesis written by the writer is that in the story, “gossip is a flawed yet effective tool for supplying the individual citizens of the community with the opportunity to extend their own consciousness and actualize the human need of corporate knowing”. This can be identified as the thesis because it was found in the last sentence of the introduction, the writer is identifying his argument that will be presented in the essay. In order to argue the thesis, the writer also uses critical information from the reading, which greatly allows for not only a better understanding but also a stronger support of the thesis. Throughout the essay, the writer uses the correct key points when writing a literary analysis as discussed in chapter 17 of NFG. What I liked about how the writer wrote was that in each paragraph, the writer gave not only a citation from the text but also analyzed the citation and explained what his evidence means. This is a good point because the reader should understand the statement you are trying to argue clearly. 

Date:10/18/25

Reading: Post Essay Reflection

The exploratory essay was an essay in which we chose our own topics based on the readings that we read. After reading the fairy tales , we thought of questions which we found quite interesting to talk about. My main question is the absence of consent in “Sleeping Beauty”. The genre of my essay was primarily informative, because I was finding articles and journals in which supported my thesis. The purpose of this essay was to simplify and address a failure in many fairy tales specifically being “Sleeping Beauty”. It was also to support my opinion that I believed and this was done by finding supporting documents. The audience was not only professor Kylee, however it was also subjected to other students and readers of all kinds. The audience can be anyone who reads the essay.  One of the course learning outcomes that helped me with the outcome was developing strategies for reading, drafting, revising, and editing. This learning outcome was very critical because it shaped the way I am able to write. This is because I was able to collaborate with my peers and fix the mistakes that have been made in my essay as well as look at other essays and identify mistakes or things that I acknowledged. I was able to achieve a better understanding of what I am supposed to write about. The multiple revisions of the essay basically allowed me to stick to a specific topic and maintain the thesis that I chose. I greatly improved my reading skills as well. This is because, for the essay I had to choose multiple sources and read the sources to make sure it relates to my thesis. The achievement in reading allowed me to basically be able to interpret the text that I am going to be using as well as what information would be most vital.  Another course learning outcome that I was able to achieve was locating research sources in the library databases. My thesis was a bit more complicated because it did not have lots of valuable articles dedicated to the topic. This was seen as being a difficult point in the process of my essay writing. However, I was able to think of a much broader idea which also related to the topic that I was discussing. The database was difficult at first however, the increased thirst for information helped me understand the database much easier, allowing for a quicker search of articles and journals. The cuny database has a large amount of journals and articles and it may seem intimidating to be able to find a supporting article. But, besides being intimidating, the advanced search options allowed for a much easier access and a much more concentrated search for the topic you may need to support.

Date: 10/22/22

Reading: NFG Ch.11 Analyzing Texts

The reading of chapter 11 is primarily the use of analyzing texts. In the reading we are introduced to an article essay. In this essay it talks about “Anderson describes Tetris and other games clearly and outlines their relation-ship to older “stupid games.”  Anderson basically is describing different games invented which had a relation or older games before games like tetris were invented. The NFG reading also talks about the key features of analyzing texts. One of the key features when it comes to analyzing texts is to provide a summary or description of a text. When a person writes, the reader may not know what text has been analyzed. This results in providing basically a summary or even background information on the text. This gives the reader a better understanding of what basically the text is about. Another important factor is to interpret the text properly. When you first look at a document of any sorts, you initially want to first start reading the text in order to get a general gist of the text. It’s recommended to first just basically skim the reading and then later on continue on to annotate the reading as you try to identify the main idea or even the some questions that you might have about the text. 

Date:11/1/22

Reading: NFG Chapter 36 “Arguing”

NFG Chapter 36 is to identify how to argue about a specific topic. For example, a person says that constant phone usage results in kids who are spoiled. Well, I don’t agree with this point. This chapter tells you how to create your argument and how to support your argument using literary analysis and supporting evidence. The first step into having an argument is to first qualify your claim. What I believe it means to qualify a claim is to make sure that what you are arguing for is logical and has a straight point. You need to make sure that your claim is not all over the place, rather it is a central point. This NFG chapter was very influential to my central point being made in my RCA paper. This is because my argument was that a controlling stepmother affects children. However, by following the outline presented in chapter 36, my claim became, “In many cases, fairy tales such as Cinderella have influenced the reader’s perspective on a controlling stepmother”. The chapter made me realize that people are affected by what is represented in fairy tales. This later on helped me isolate specific evidence that would be needed to support my claim of the affects a fairy tale can have on the relationship of stepmothers. 

Date:11/22/22

Reading: RCA Post-essay reflection

The RCA was a research critical analysis essay. This is an essay in which we were required to research a selected fairy tale reading, in which we analyzed the readings and presented a claim to argue. My main claim made was how fairy tales such as Cinderella affect children psychologically. The genre of my essay was descriptive and informative. This is because research was done prior to writing the claim. This research allowed not only a clearer understanding of the text. It also presented a clear pathway to making a central claim. The purpose of the essay was to persuade as well as inform the reader of the effects that fairy tales have on the minds of children.  The audience was not only professors Kylee and Voisard, but however it was also subjected to other students and readers of all kinds. The audience is basically anyone who has access to this essay and a person who may be researching topics on Cinderella. One of the learning outcomes this essay helped me achieve was Locate research sources (including academic journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles) in the library’s databases or archives and on the internet and evaluate them for credibility, accuracy, timeliness, and bias. This is because, prior to even writing the essay or thinking of a claim. We were required to choose one fairy tale or even more than one and to analyze the readings and summarize the readings. This analysis of the readings before writing the essay helped in formulating a straight path in what my point was and how to use each evidence to support my claim. The CUNY Libraries website was a major contributor to this essay. This is because the database provided accurate and supportive evidence which influenced the structure of my essay. My thesis was quite broad and all over the place, however the clear analysis of research provided a much more centered claim. Developing reading, drafting, revising, and editing skills was one of the course learning objectives that I found helpful. This learning objective was crucial because it influenced the way I can write. This is because I worked with my peers to correct the errors in my essay and because I looked at other writings to find errors or things that I acknowledged on my own. I now have a clearer comprehension of the subject matter for my writing. In essence, the numerous modifications of the essay allowed me to stay on subject and continue with my chosen thesis. My reading comprehension also increased. Having the concept of writing a first draft was essential for me. This is because as you write you are not worried about grammar mistakes or not providing enough information. This is since it is a first draft, the first draft allowed me to basically write as much as I could, this helped me because i presented all perspectives and all my evidence. This allows my peers to edit my writing and have a choice of what should be kept and what is not rhetorical.