Blog 10: Thinking about Peer Review.

Thinking about Peer Review.

The peer review that we do in class is effective in many ways. For starters, the questions on the peer review sheet are great. Having us underline the thesis and identifying the counterargument against it is a great tactic. It asks us to identify purpose and audience as well, which is great because sometimes when we write we don’t notice what we’re doing ineffectively, so getting someone else’s point of view is good. I am probably going to hate myself for this, but the fact that we can choose who peer reviews our sheet doesn’t help. I say this because I know I’m going to choose someone who I speak with a lot in class. Maybe pairing people up from across the room would help because you never talk to them so you don’t really know if they have another point of view to throw in!

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For my strengths as a peer reviewer, I would say that I’m good at reading a paper without being bias on it. Like for example, if I’m reading someone’s paper but I don’t agree with the point that they’re making, I won’t let that affect me when I’m reviewing their paper. I will not look at it as being wrong, but rather, did they argue their argument in a good way? But then again, it’s always good to play devil’s advocate! Sometimes it’s good to find a counterargument so that they can knock it down. I’m honest too. I don’t think it would hurt someone’s feelings if you say that a specific part of their paper was weak. It’s just writing, and there is always a nice way to say something. For my weaknesses, I would say that sometimes I don’t write enough feedback for their papers. I also tend to focus TOO much on the grammatical side of papers.

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My ideal peer review process does not include reading my paper out loud, to be honest. I don’t mind reading it out loud but I feel this does nothing to help my paper and no one really pays attention. It’s awkward too. It also makes you think too critically of your own paper. That’s not a bad thing, but the point is to get others to think critically of your paper. My ideal peer review would be in groups of 3, so that I can get two opinions at once! As for time, I feel one class period is plenty of time for peer reviewing.

Blog 9: Patterns of Error.

Everyone makes mistakes, yea, everyone has those days.

Mistakes, errors, slip-ups, call it what you please, as long as you correct yourself. Yes writing is difficult and through all the papers I’ve written I’ve always struggled with some things. When I was younger I thought, the longer the essay, the higher the grade! Haha thank goodness that is not true, because I find it difficult enough writing 4 pages!

·         One of the things that I tend to mess up on is repetition. When writing a long paper, I find it very difficult to add lots of depth to it. It’s like every time I sit down to write, I cannot come up with enough good points for my argument or thesis, which is very frustrating because when I see my classmates writing the same kind of paper, and they come up with very good points, it’s like darn why couldn’t I come up with that? So there I sit, trying to convey the same message from a different point of view, or restating it in different words. Yawn. Boring! When an essay discusses the same idea in every single paragraph, it borders on boredom and repetition. However, we recently did something in class that helped me fix this… It’s to make sure each paragraph has a different focus. So now I just number my paragraphs when I’m done with my first draft to make sure each paragraph has a main point or idea to it, and not the same thing as the last paragraph! It really works!

·         Another thing that I have noticed that I struggle with is transitions. I sometimes find it difficult to tie in one paragraph to the next. Especially when they have two different ideas. However I have learned that since all paragraphs should revolve somewhat around the main topic, or thesis, they can and most definitely should have transitions. When new paragraphs begin, they always need a transition, or a sentence ending the previous idea and leading into the next. So now, I go through my essays and look at the beginning of each paragraph. I read the paragraphs as independent mini-essays. If they make sense alone, they have a transition. If not, I just add a simple sentence introducing the idea.

·         Lastly, I struggle with conclusions. And how ironic that this is my last point! HA! But anyways, conclusions…  All throughout grammar school and high school, I was used to the 5 paragraph structure and concluding my essays by saying: “IN CONCLUSION….etc.” Then I learned that we’re actually not supposed to do this, and was stumped. You would think that the conclusion would be the easiest part of an essay, but for me it’s quite difficult to wrap things up. I feel like I either leave stuff out and the conclusion is not good enough, or on the flipside I restate TOO MUCH… Now I see that the conclusion should be a summary and definitely wrap up your paper. Re-stating the thesis and the framework for it. It’s essentially the main paragraph, but more complex! Now let’s see if I can take my own advice!

-Make it or Break it-

     Although everyone has their own unique writing style, there are always some general things that can and will make or break your paper... Whether it be a research paper, a scientific paper, a comparative analysis or what have you, there are always some key ideas and things that can make your paper a decent paper or a great paper! These, in my opinion, are what will help a paper...


Number One: The Sexy Start- A Good Intro and/or Thesis.
-This should tell the reader why they should read your paper. You really want to sell your paper to the reader! Perhaps starting off with a punch line! A paper with a good thesis can grab the reader's attention. It should be argumentative, controversial and specific. Now, when I say "controversial", I don't necessarily mean that it has to be something so hot and cold, I mean that it should be possible for an intelligent person to disagree with your thesis. If everyone agrees with you right away, then it's possible that your thesis is too obvious and plain, and probably not a good topic for an interesting paper.  It can be something that you can reasonably argue about and if it isn't then you should take a second glance at your intro and thesis.. I think this makes a huge impact on whether your paper is "A" material or just decent "C" material...


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Secondly: Good style and grammar.


-I honestly cannot tell you how MUCH it bothers me when I read someone's paper and it is FILLED with grammatical and spelling mistakes and misuse of verbs... This throws my focus off of the paper, and just makes me look for more mistakes. Now, I'm definitely not a "neat-freak", but when it comes to my English and grammar, I want it to be the best it possibly can be! C'mon people, just use the spell-check and read through your paper at least once, and it will be so much better! There should also be use of strong verbs, to paint a picture in the reader's mind. Also, avoiding useless acronyms can help a lot. Short sentences help, because I find that when reading a really long sentence it irritates me. I'm not sure why but it just does, haha... Besides the grammar, I believe when you put your only personality and style into your paper, it becomes a much better read, and seems more "alive". 


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Lastly: Details and Transitions..


You want to make sure that your paper flows freely from one idea to the next. Try not to be all over the place. I personally don't like when I am reading a paper, and they just jump from one idea in one paragraph, to another in the next one. In an "A" paper, there are bountiful details and imagery, not just listing one fact after another like one might do in a "C" paper... There is also great introspection in an "A" paper, where you can tell the author really took the time and effort in their paper. Although this was supposed to be my last idea, I also would like to share proofreading is a major part in whether you will get an A or a C! When you proofread you can catch very simple mistakes that the spell check will not find. For example if you write "If was a very bad day", when you meant to say "IT was a very bad day", then spell check will not catch this. To the reader this makes no sense. This is why you should always read through your paper at the very least ONCE... But I digress..


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The easiest one for me: Grammar.. I am a neat-freak when it comes to grammar and spelling. I have always been this way. I find this is one of the easiest parts of a paper, and also a big contribution to the grade you receive on your paper. I am probably better at grammar because I am more of a "technical" person rather than an artistic person who can paint a picture in the reader's mind...which leads me to my next point:


The hardest part for me: The Hook and Details! It has always been difficult for me to hook the reader right off the bat! I often times write many intros before I can find one that I feel decent about! This is something that I have tried many times to improve but for some reason it just doesn't work out for me! I am hoping to improve this throughout my future English classes. Details- I often times add irrelevant details to the story or paper. Then I have a hard time figuring out what to remove and what to keep in the paper! Gahhh, the sense of frustration! However, I do find myself at getting better at creating imagery and vivid details... 

-Generating Ideas- My Literacy Narrative.

                             Potential topics for my literacy narrative:

First Idea:

 One topic I may write about is how my uncle and I grew a close bond together through reading and writing. How he always wrote me letters and taught me life lessons even though he lived so far away. He would even send me math problems to do, and I’d send them back, he’d grade it and call me on the phone and discuss what I didn’t understand… Haha.. Funny isn’t it? But this definitely got me into the habit of writing letters and reading as well. I think this would be an easy topic to write about, and could probably write 3-4 pages about it. The only problem is that there is no real conflict. It would be more narration than anything else, but I could find a way to make it interesting using some details and create an image in the readers head.

                                                                                                                                                  

Second Idea:

Another potential topic for my paper is to write about my experiences with my grandma. How I would spend many summer nights with her at a young age, and how we’d always go to bookstores and find books to read together. Talk about how my love for reading was inspired by her reading me stories at a young age. Talk about how she was always the reader of the family , and she showed me that reading could indeed be fun… Although I don’t think I could really write 3 or 4 pages about this topic! I would have to drag it out a bit.

                                                                                                                                                  

Last, but not least:

My last idea for my paper, is to write about one of my most favorite English teachers ever! When I attended Lane Tech, I had this teacher whose name was Mr. Palmer. I had him freshman year for Survey of Literature, and then again my junior year for my British Literature class. He was my most inspiring teacher! He taught me a lot about writing, and not just writing for class or writing boring essays. I remember this one exercise he had the class do, which was particularly interesting… We would start off by writing one paragraph as an intro to a story, and then pass it on to the person behind us, who would then continue our story… At the end, our stories turned out to be hilarious! For some reason this writing experience always stayed in my head… However I’m not sure if I should write about this, because when I think of literacy narratives, I think of people talking about when they were young and learning to read or write… 

--Well I guess we shall see what topic I end up writing about! 

English 101

      Being a freshman at any college can mean many things--one of them being the gen-eds that we all have to take. This being my freshman year at Northeastern, it's very exciting for me! Would we all take these gen-eds if we didn't have to? The answer is probably not... However, when it comes to my English skills, I would like to be able to take pride in the fact that I can speak and write at a college level, so I would definitely take an English class or two even if it wasn't a requirement.

      With this class, I hope to become a better writer because I know that you have to do a lot of writing in college and it's a great skill to have and also be able to apply those skills to my Business degree. Also, no matter how much we learn in our lifetimes, we will never truly be masters of any one language! That's why I think it's very important to always continue expanding your knowledge in English, or whatever language it may be... I really do enjoy writing, but sometimes I do struggle with becoming repetitive. I would like to be able to sit down and right a paper easily without being very repetitive, because that has happened to me many times before! 

    One of my goals is to think more analytically and critically. I've always been good at comparing and contrasting things, but when it came to analyzing things....forget about it! English 101 is definitely a fair and useful requirement, and even if you don't think so, you'll probably still benefit from taking it no matter what. We all should be open minded and open to receiving new knowledge, even if we believe we're masters at something!