Writing Construct: Rough Draft

Sean Demme

9.21.2012

English 1510

Writing Constructs: punctuation

Punctuation isnt important at all its something that people made up way back in the day to make writing more difficult just another aspect to the writing process Isaac babel says no iron can pierce the heart with such force as a period put just at the right place basically he is proving how punctuation only hurts us and our writing

No.

Wrong.

                Clearly, after reading just that little section of puncuationlessness, one can see just how vital our commas and our semicolons are to our writing. Believe it or not punctuation started way back in ancient Greece and Rome when people needed to show where to pause and slowdown in writing speeches. But it wasn’t until the 15 century that we started to put punctuation into our writing. Without it our writing would still be the way it is at the top of this document – we’d all sort of sound like we need some Adderall before and after school. It’s childish sounding, really.

                Richard Nordquist, a retired English Professor of 35 years, writes on About.com of just how our English punctuation was started. Punctuation actually came about in English when we made the first printing press and relied on a single slash (/) as a pause and a double slash (//) as a longer pause. 200 some years later a man by the name of Ben Johnson (sounds like a foreigner…) wrote a book explaining the comma, period, parenthesis, colon, question mark, and the exclamation mark! Yay! Exclamations! These basic explanations helped us to shape our punctuation rules today.

 Another thing to take a gander at is my own experiences with puncuation. When I used to slave over the family computer back in my high school days, I would write and write and write and have my mother revise it. And some of the things she would do would be outdated. The double space after a period, she would do that. And throughout my writings I have developed this outlandish love for dashes – my writing has evolved from my mother and from school. Writing will always be the same grueling process, not bad, just tedious – but one things for sure and that’s that punctuation and grammar are ALWAYS changing and reshaping the form of the writing we have today and in the future.               

A writer from Buzzfeed.com, a social news website, showed fourteen of the punctuation marks in today’s English that I had never seen before – basically, were not known to the average college student. This brings up two questions – why and where. Why do we have extra punctuation marks? Is there a vital mark that we aren’t using? That could drastically change our writing? Why is it that some just aren’t taught? Also, where is it that our writing is headed? It could be that these punctuation marks are outdated, or maybe that our current marks are outdated. It’s imperative that we look back on how our grammar and punctuation have changed and will change more in the future.

It’s quite simple to see just how imperative grammar is to the English language. Try writing a paragraph without any punctuation – it’s like organizing an oversized intersection without stop signs or any stop lights. One can imagine it’s pretty challenging. Not challenging, though, compared to trying to predict where it is our English grammar is headed next. Always evolving and never staying put, our language continues to try to convey what us English (ab)users want to say. The fact of the matter is, punctuation is one of the most important constructs that we have, but just like everything else in the writing field, it is constantly changing.

                

Intro and Synthesis: Writing Construct

Sean Demme

9.21.2012

English 1510

Writing Constructs: punctuation

Punctuation isnt important at all its something that people made up way back in the day to make writing more difficult just another aspect to the writing process Isaac babel says no iron can pierce the heart with such force as a period put just at the right place basically he is proving how punctuation only hurts us and our writing

No.

Wrong.

                Clearly, after reading just that little section of puncuationlessness, one can see just how vital our commas and our semicolons are to our writing. Believe it or not punctuation started way back in ancient Greece and Rome when people needed to show where to pause and slowdown in writing speeches. But it wasn’t until the 15 century that we started to put punctuation into our writing. Without it our writing would still be the way it is at the top of this document – we’d all sort of sound like we need some Adderall before and after school. It’s childish sounding really.

                Richard Nordquist, a retired English Professor of 35 years, writes on About.com of just how our English punctuation was started. Punctuation actually came about in English when we made the first printing press and relied on a single slash (/) as a pause and a double slash (//) as a longer pause. 200 some years later a man by the name of Ben Johnson (sounds like a foreigner…) wrote a book explaining the comma, period, parenthesis, colon, question mark, and the exclamation mark! Yay! Exclamations! These basic explanations helped us to shape our punctuation rules today.

                Another source I found showed fourteen of the punctuation marks that I had never seen before – basically, were not known to the average college student. This brings up two questions – why and where. Why do we have extra punctuation marks? Is there a vital mark that we aren’t using? That could drastically change our writing? Why is it that some just aren’t taught? Also, where is it that our writing is headed? It could be that these punctuation marks are outdated, or maybe that our current marks are outdated. It’s imperative that we look back on how our grammar and punctuation have changed and will change more in the future.

                My last source is myself. When I used to slave over the family computer back in my high school days I would write and write and write and have my mom revise it. And some of the things she would do would be outdated. The double space after a period, she would do that. And throughout my writings I have developed this outlandish love for dashes – my writing have evolved from hers and from school. Writing will always be the same grueling process, not bad, just tedious – but one things for sure and that’s that punctuation and grammar are ALWAYS changing and reshaping the form of the writing we have today and in the future.

Response #8

Sean Demme

9.19.2012

English 1510

IWA:    In Bernhardt’s Seeing Texts Bernhardt brings up the argument of visual apprehension. Bernhardt says that, at a younger level of schooling we should be taught how to write with more logical textual organization; not just paragraphs and comma and so on. The use of tables and headings and much more is the type of thing that Bernhardt is trying to stand up for. An example is in advertising, the way marketers use text to make you look at certain things in certain ways.

               This is related to other readings because this, as well, is a skill that my generation of writing doesn’t just have. We weren’t schooled on it like a few other topics and it is something we’ll have to learn to do. It’s almost exiting – the way that new things continue to come up in writing and to think younger generations will be tough differently. This makes one wonder if all of this change is good nor not.

               I don’t really know how to respond to this article as much as I did with others. I know that writing structure is also important – but to what extent? Do we really NEED a different structure of writing, or do word just stand on their own. Novels have been fine for the last 100 years I’d say. I don’t really know – maybe I’m just stubborn – but that’s how I feel.

 QDJ:

               #4 I think that we are supposed to write in a certain format because the only time a college student writes is for a grade. Other than notes – I am NEVER writing for myself. And if you’ve ever seen my notes you’d know that the structure is nonexistent. Writing structure is there, simply, to keep the papers in line.

AEI:
               #3 Gestalt is the part of the text that you don’t get from reading the text but from it’s structure. This is important to this text because it’s basically the whole text in one word. Knowing this term helps.

               

Favorite Article

Sean Demme

9.14.2012

English 1510

Favorite Article:

Stephen King’s article was my favorite. He is so talented and has a sense of confidence in what he is trying to convey. Also I love the way that he talks about how after he dies - when a reader reads his writings there will still be a connection – and that’s what makes writing magical.

Response #7

Sean Demme

9.14.2012

English 1510

Peter Elbow

IWA: Peter Elbows Voice in Writing Again: Embracing Contraries was about the battle between voice and argument in today’s writing world. He argues that voice is present everywhere and is hard to ignore but also that argument is equally important. This pieces contradictorily points out the contradiction between the importance of voice and argument in a piece of writing.

               Elbow’s writing, like I mentioned earlier is contradicting in nature. He is basically trying to play both sides of the field; no, perhaps three sides of a two-sided field. First he says voice is most important. Next he says that argument is important. Then, LATER, goes on to say that you can’t meet somewhere in the middle because it’s like giving up in the answer. He confuses me.

                Lastly I responded poorly to this article by Elbow. It was dry, and I didn’t know quite what he was trying to get at the whole time. Even worse – it sounded like Peter Elbow did really know what he was trying to get at. As the reader, when I read something where a writer says one thing and does another it makes me feel almost cheated; like the way Peter goes on and on about voice – and manages to write a piece so dry. This was not my favorite by any means.

GRR:

#1  On Social media sites, I think, is when the individual’s voice comes out the most. At least, for me when I use Facebook or Twitter I have no thoughts about voice – it just comes out as my voice. It’s the tone rather that changes in a Facebook status or Tweet. Say I win the lottery, I’d tweet, “Hells yes. Just won the lottery. #ImTheGreatestEver.” But say I was to lose my grandma to cancer the tone would change to much more serious. I think in a world so surrounded by technology – the one thing that makes us different is ourselves – and we can emphasize that with voice.

QDJ

                #1 I would define voice as the way you take information and present it in the way that you would say it to your audience if you were to give a presentation of it. I think Peter Elbow has the right idea of WHAT voice is and I agree with him. Elbow doesn’t quite know WHERE voice belongs, though.

                #2 Infographics online are voiceless – there is no need for voice there. The agenda of the Inforgraphic is to inform   - that is ALL – there is no need for voice. It’s like printing with a colored printer to a group of people who are colorblind. Also, I think Peter Elbow is wrong in saying that we should ignore voice when learning to write - that is so wrong. Voice, when writing for academic reasons must be there.  It’s what makes Jimmy’s report different from James’. There are simply too many writers to not have our own voices.

AEI

                #1 Sincerity is what you use to apologize to somebody – it means meaning what you are saying or doing. Resonance is something that I had to look up – I don’t know what that means. If I had to guess I would say it means, “The quality in a sound of being deep, full, and reverberating.” (Webster’s), or something like that. I think That Peter Elbow is making it way to complicated.

Connecting: I don’t think Allen fights with voice at all. Allen, clearly, knows how to use her own voice – in fact, she could probably teach Elbow a few things. After Reading Elbows argument I would say he know close to nothing about voice and how to use it.

Response #6

Sean Demme

9.12.2012

English 1510

Berkenkotter and Murray

QDJ

#1 Murrays writing process I think is very effective –he is organized and it works for him. My writing process on the other hand isn’t really one at all. My process consists of not planning until the last minute and then vigorously typing something, sitting though my brainstorming and typing at the same time. This worked actually very well for me in high school and I can’t say that it will be the same in college. Bottom line is – I don’t know my writing process.

#3 He found that different things work for different people in different situations. It’s different for most people –you sort of have to find out what works for you. Berkenkotter took away from his studies just that – the process of developing one’s own writing process is a process within itself …process …process. blah.

AEI

#1 I tend to find myself revising all of the time – I like to go back and change the way I say certain things. To me, some parts of what I have to say are very important and I’d like for it to sound like, when I say these things, that I know how to say them.  I like to know that even if somebody else finds a writing that I do horrific I can still find it a good piece. I take pride in my writings and self-revision takes a decent spot on my priority level when I write. Reread and rethink – I guess that’s kind of my own writing process.

META MOMENT!

One thing that I learned from these readings is that you need to A) keep your audience entertained and B) trust yourself in your writing. A boring paper is like onion flavored starbursts – NOBODY wants it, there’s no point. Trusting myself is something I often forget to do when I am writing. These two authors reminded me that a great paper is inside of me – I just have to struggle to get it out and on my paper. Writing doesn’t suck, the writing process does.

Response #5

Sean Demme

9.12.2012

English 1510

Sarah Allen ‘Inspired Writer’

Summary: In Sarah Allen’s The Inspired Writer vs. The Real Writer Allen goes into depth describing the struggles of (basically) every writer. Sarah depicts one of her student admitting that they hate writing – her student was worried about admitting this. Allen reassures her student that this is okay – it’s once we’ve admitted that writing is a rough process we can put the fact aside and write at our best. She does this in this passage; she admits that writing is hard for herself, a college professor. And later goes on to explain that she puts that aside – trudges through and produces her best work.

Synthesis: Sarah Allen is right in what she is saying. It’s true that most people have trouble writing it comes down to your determination. If everybody hated writing and just gave up then we would have no great writers – not Shakespeare, no Peter Elbow. It’s ones will to push through the writer’s block and the mislead thesis’ that makes one a good writer.

Personal Reflection: I personally really liked this piece. It was very relatable to me. I like to write a lot (kinda) but I don’t find myself to be the best writer – I can’t lead people to do things with my writing or really even get a great reaction from it. This inspired writer has inspired me to write to my best – she genuinely made me want to be a writer after I read this piece. The way that somebody’s words, just squiggles on a page, can change people is nothing short of incredible.

Response #4

Sean Demme

9.19.12

English 1510

McCloud Questions

Before You Read:

Try to recall what your favorite cartoon was or still is. Do you relate to a character and find yourself connecting? What features do you think help you connect?

-        I’d say the cartoon character I relate to is SpongeBob. SpongeBob was one of my cartoons I watched when I was younger since episode one. I can relate to him in the sense that, often time, I take things too far. In an episode of SpongeBob, titled “ripped pants”, SpongeBob rips his pants, gets embarrassed, and makes a joke out if. Then takes the joke too far and everybody in his down gets upset. That is the story of my life. I make people laugh, and then take it too far and upset people. Also, SpongeBob laughs a lot – and so do I.

QDJ:

(NOOOOO, I DIDN’T HAVE TO DO #1) (Oh well)

#1 Humans can relate to cartoon characters so much because of their simplicity. With another human – they have a family, a job, a mole above their lip and their favorite sport is golf. In the case of Cartoons so much is left up to the viewer. So I say that, no, there is no age where cartoons and comics becomes inappropriate, they will always have that sort of special part inside our hearts. My guess is that McCloud would likely agree with me in that there is no age to stop caring for your favorites. I will show my kids SpongeBob even if he’s way outdated and boring because, to me, it’s just like sitting on the carpet watching cartoons with a Capri Sun and a box of Cheez-its.

#2 McCloud chose the use of a comic book in order to show his audience a ‘character’. He wanted us (the readers) to personify the man in the comics, give his a voice, and bring him to life. If McCloud had not used the comic book layout the reader wouldn’t have read it in a different voice. He’s like a con artist in the way he has us going the whole time with the question, ‘What is real?’ just to, in the end, remind us that the whole situation isn’t real – we are merely just reading out of a book.

#3 I agree with McCloud in saying that if the comic book creation he gave birth to was very specific looking it would give us no room to create our characteristics for him. I disagree, though, in that we aren’t filling in the blanks with our own characteristics – but with our own imagination. We are putting in what we want to see come out of said character.

AEI

#4 The concept of the map deeply confuses me. If a person’s body, including their face, is not considered “them” then what is. You’re not you without that mask, that mask is what makes you, you. I think we would not be aware of others if it wasn’t for that mask because like I said, the mask is what makes you, you. And if you are not you, then others can’t be aware of you. Woah, that was confusing.

Summary:

McClouds Vocabulary of Comics is an article written like a comic strip where Scott McCloud explains the difference between what is real, and what is …well, not. He goes into depth about how our minds tend to forget the fact that symbols and cartoons aren’t actually part of the real world – they just symbolize it. Lastly it brings it to a personal level and introduces us to our own mask, that our face is just something we use to communicate and to look though.

Synthesis:

I like what McCloud has to say about this topic but at the same time I don’t like the way that he introduces it. The fact that the picture of a pipe is not an actual pipe does not fully relate. McCloud says that we relate to cartoon characters so much because of the basic characteristics that they have – after reading the whole thing I wondered what his point had to do with the beginning.

Reflection:

Personally, I did like what McCloud had to say; I think it was interesting. McCloud brought in light a point that I had never even though about before. It’s never crossed my mind that I see myself in simpler, cartoon characters. I like that I can relate to characters in this way – I feel like I can more closely understand a main character in a plot more now. Also, I am more conscious about my mask. 

Homework

I'M
NOT
GOING
TO
GET
MY
HOMEWORK
DONE
AT 
5:00!

SORRY!

(I'll have it done a little later, sorry. I am the worst I know)

This is how hard I will be working until then!

Library Video Response

Sean Demme

9.6.2012

English

               After hearing that I had to watch informational videos about our schools library I was a little bummed to be honest. Now that I have watched all of them I can honestly say they were mildly entertaining which, coming from an informational video about a library, seemed almost impossible. The videos did well to convey where and when I can find the resources I need, I think I have to check out the place myself to get the full understanding of the place though. Also, those videos were a lot of information crammed into a 10 minute total presentation – I didn’t have time to get bored. It was much better than the average ‘Library Infomercial’ and it had good information – I’d recommend it to any other freshmen who haven’t been to the library yet.

Response #3

Sean Demme

9.5.2012

English 1510

Margaret Kantz

QDJ

#1 Kantz is giving a simple definition of facts, opinion, and argument. By that I mean this is what we learned at a younger writing level of what these things are. First she says facts are what we learn from texts books – like Shirley said, she got different numbers from different text books and she did not take into consideration the bias from both viewpoints. “Opinions are what we have about clothes…” she says this because, again, this is what we were thought. An opinion though can be any personal belief or judgment on any grounds. Lastly, arguments “are what you have with your mother when you want to stay out late at night” which is again a misconception. Arguments are often found in writings and can be more subtle than we know. In general, Kantz was trying to display the things some freshman writers tend to misunderstand.

#2 Some things that Kantz explains that younger writers misunderstand include: Bias, ‘fact and claims’, research, and research writings. She is right in all of these except one. I think that writers, since about senior year of high school, have known that research papers we write are monotonous; we’ve just never really known how to get to the bottom of our papers and change them. One thing I still don’t understand is just that, how do I make a research paper more interesting than an encyclopedia does?

AEI

#2 I agree with Kantz. Like I said, I can honestly say I don’t know how to write a research paper other that regurgitating facts to my professor or teacher. I think that is a hard concept to grasp, it’s like having to explain a super complicated math equation – but having to do it in a different language. The thing is I know I am capable of both writing creatively and writing a research paper, it’s just that I need to figure out the hybrid of the two. Lastly I think Kantz’ influence is a solid one and I think her thoughts will help me turn my research ‘Kantz’ into research ‘Kanz”.