Assignment #14

For my final portfolio I chose to revise my arguing a position essay.  The strengths of my arguing a position essay are its overall clarity and how it appeals to the intended audience- students. The weaknesses of my arguing a position essay are the thesis which could be more informative and I feel like my paper could be a little longer. To make effective changes to my essay, I am going to work on focusing the paper so it doesn’t stray from the main idea. It is going to improve the reading quality, and the essay is going to flow more easily. I could also focus on the audience, and instead of focusing mostly on students, I am going to add elements which appeal to teachers as well. Furthermore, I am going to make substantial corrections to the thesis of my argument. I am going to make them straight forward, and to the point.  I am aware that it is the quality and not quantity of my essay that makes it good. Still, I would like to take care of its appropriate length, perhaps by adding elements from my own experience, or bring more opposing ideas to the action.

Assignment #13

I analyzed the Free Speech off Campus Must be Protected essay. In my opinion, the author’s strongest points to support his claim were the examples he brought up. By providing the reader real life scenarios, the essay seemed more believable and easier to relate to as a student. The author also identified himself as a lawyer, and most importantly named the case in which he, personally, co-authored as a brief defense. By doing so, he ultimately gained trust and credibility. What also struck me as a reader was the way author went over both sides of an argument, giving it a fair stand and informative way letting the reader do the critical thinking and figuring which side is right. It made me realize that in my own paper it is crucial to include not only both sides’ opinions, but also my own reflection on the topic. 

Assignment #12

Is it fair to allow college students to grade their professors on-line?

My most compelling evidence is that asking for advice in picking classes is nothing new and very in fact very common. Students have always asked seniors questions on which courses to take and naturally which teachers or professors are good or bad. Shifting the system online does not make a special difference. It is best that students know what they are getting into before they make choices they suffer for.

My weakest evidence to support my claim is that the after high-school education is getting to be very expensive. And like any other commodity that cost the buyer, its quality must be carefully checked and tested. People, in this case student, should be given all the opportunity to make sure they are getting their money’s worth. Sizing up ,and evaluating professors is one very effective way to do so. 

Assignment #11

My writing process and its outcomes are far from being perfect. I am constantly making several, almost inevitable mistakes which have a negative effect on my grades. One of such is focusing on irrelevant ideas or topics which have nothing to do with the overall message I am trying to convey throughout the essay. I am being excessively wordy on facts and opinions which have nothing to do with the assigned topic. It makes my essay longer, but the quantity is never more important than the quality, and as a final result it hurts my grade. Another mistake I tend to make is the overall correctness in the word choice and sentence structure. Once more, the issue with the English as a second language is coming into play. I was never considering myself as a solid writer who could come up with complex sentence filled with top shelf, eye catching vocabularies. I was making simple grammar mistakes since the first grade, I am still making those right now, and I am certainly sure that I will be making those for a long, long time. The last problem, because I would not call it a mistake, in my writing is that I cannot develop my ideas to form an essay that would meet the standards in terms of length. I always feel that something is missing, I could develop one of the paragraphs some more, or even crop out some of the information that are not necessary in overall piece. I will be working on those issues until I master the art of writing.

Extra Credit Blog Post - Spring Break

I have been thinking about several potential topics for my extra credit blog post. After a while I came out with a conclusion that it is easier to have a specific topic assigned by the instructor than to write on our own. I would do really horribly as a blogger. Nevertheless, since the spring break is almost over, I have decided to write something about it. To begin with, and I know mostly everyone will agree with me on this one, it was way too short. I tried to rest as much as possible. I have not set up an alarm clock even once. I worked all week long. Friday was the only day I was off work. The weather was incredible, so I and my girlfriend decided to visit the Lincoln Zoo. Following, we also had a walk along the Fullerton beach shore. I am crazy about riding a bike. I love night trips to the lake. I did it twice this week, right after getting of work at 11pm. I live in the suburbs north/west of Chicago close to Chicago O’Hare international airport. Getting to the lake takes me around 40 minutes of civilized ridding during the day. I manage to do the same distance during the night significantly quicker. The bond between you, and the bicycle, and the completely empty road is beyond words. Out of all activities I have done during my spring break, I enjoyed riding a bike, and a visit to the zoo. Funny fact, it was the first time I saw a real camel in my life! Now, I am just (hopelessly) looking for Monday. Hail the school. 

Assignment #10- Thinking Critically About Peer Review

Personally, I think that the peer review we do in class is effective but only to some point. It is sure helpful when it comes to correcting the sentence structures, run on sentences, paragraph organization but some of the major issues are never to be resolved that way. I feel like even if my draft undergoes certain changes during the peer review, I do not learn from it in a larger scale. It is helpful for writing a paper, but not in improving our writing process in general, or for a future reference. Being honest I am not a good peer reviewer simply because English is my second language. The English and Polish writing styles are mostly similar, so I do not have a problem in paragraph organization. I can clearly explain what I feel does not belong, or I can give an advice of how to improve the overall piece by adding certain elements to it. When it comes to sentence structures, run on sentences, or spell checking, I am not a person to seek help from. I believe that the peer review system we operate in right now is all right. It is a wise idea to do a peer review for the very first draft we bring to class. Doing so, we get a better understanding of where do we go wrong, and we have enough time to correct ourselves. Also, we get a better picture of what our peer review partner is expecting for the ending and what is his image of further developing our piece. 

Free Topic - Assignment #9

Successfully managing your time is a crucial ability to perform well academically in College. While in my First Year Experience class, I have learned plenty of useful tips to always stay on task. Planning to study when I am most alert is one of them. It is beneficial to look for blocs of time that work naturally for me. It is helpful to test several times of a day and see which one works the best for you in terms of being ready, focused and concentrated on nothing but studying. Spending time every day on each course I am taking is another helpful tip to do well in College. Even if you do not have any assignment due, you should plan some time each day to read the text, review the notes, and prepare for the next class. Try to do examples of the problems that you do in class to have a better understanding of a subject. While making your weekly schedule, it is very helpful to prioritize the tasks that are to be done. You might want to label your assignments as “high”, “medium”, or “low” importance. In general, it is going to set apart tasks which have to be done as soon as possible, and other minor tasks. Make a “to do” list. While studying, you must not forget about other things you have to do beside school. Calling home, getting a haircut, canceling dental appointments are all examples of after school activities that are important as well. You should borrow time, instead of stealing it. If it happens that you decide to go out with friends instead of doing one task from a “to do list”, you need to make sure to make up that reading the next day, or just before going to sleep. 

Considering Rhetorical Situations - Assignment #6

The rhetorical situations in both the Literacy Narrative and the Advertisement Analysis are significantly different from one another. To begin with, the purpose of my Literacy Narrative was to introduce a story of me learning English. It described the process that brought me from zero to where I am now. When it comes to the Advertisement Analysis the main purpose is to analyze and explore the deeper meaning behind the advertisement I have selected. The audience for the Literacy Narrative was only the teacher and somehow the classmates while the audience for the second essay we wrote could even be everybody. I believe that, if posted, a good advertisement analysis could find a wide range of audience from all over the globe. The tone of both pieces was much different. While writing the Literacy Narrative I focused on telling a story and making it as clear as possible to the reader. My writing contained a lot of emotions, thoughts and action. The tone of my Literacy Narrative was also more personal. The tone of the Advertisement Analysis I have written is very formal and to the point. In my writing I am describing not a personal experience, but what I see while looking at the Advertisement. It does not only affect me, and is not based on my life, but on the observations which could possibly be the same for many of people. 

Analyzing an Advertisement - Assignment #5

Purpose: The purpose of the add I have selected is to persuade people to buy Rolex watches. The ad does a great job emphasizing the excellence, precision and the beauty of the particular Swiss watches. The ultimate point of the advertisement is the glorification of those who wear them.

Audience: The audience for that advertisement is mostly men; middle through semi-old ages, upper social class, plenty of income for toys various choice toys.

Tone: The add looks very formal, official, serious and there is a lot of sexual appeal implied in the advertisement as well. The ad is made black and white, and the situation that is being portrayed turns in our imagination.

Genere: The advertisement successfully fulfills audience expectations. There is few other ways to promote watches as expensive as cars. The advertisement must be serious, full of grace and desire for the product.

Revisions - Assignment #4

While comparing my rough draft with the final paper I have turned it, I see plenty of changes. First of all, my rough draft was short and messy, while the final paper was neat and organized in the means of sentence and paragraph structure. Also, I have replaced some of the words that were repeating or were not on the college writing level, which significantly improved the look and style of my final paper. I did plenty of revisions to the content and organization. I managed to shift and move some paragraphs to more acceptable place. I also decided to get rid of some that did not fit in overall composition. I improved the focus of the story by narrowing the topic, and leaving only the most credential and important thoughts selection. After revising my paper it was clear to me that I have a major issue with sentence structure and run on sentences. The peer review did a great job guiding me in the process of revising my paper. Jeremy M, my peer reviewer gave me clues to improve my essay and told me some of his ideas of how to make it flow nicer. He also instructed me not to focus on the story line, but on the literacy narrative portion of the essay. As a matter of fact, the peer review was extremely helpful in my writing process. I think the strongest aspect of my essay is the vocabulary and the humorous mood shifts. The weakest part of my essay is the sentence structure and grammar, which I have always have trouble with.

Three qualities of A grade paper

How many times have you been expecting a top shelf grade from a paper which actually turned out to be a disgrace in the eyes of the teacher? How many times you have put all your heart into writing, what you thought would be, a masterpiece and it turned out to be barely acceptable piece? To avoid frustration and disappointment in your future writing career, I would like to suggest a few helpful ideas that are going to greatly enrich any kind of writing. First, it is important for our paper to have gorgeous vocabulary selection. The best way to do so, is to acquire a thesaurus, any kind will do. It is smart to replace words that tend to repeat throughout the text. It doesn't look good, and results in your paper being messy and out of tune. It is also an excellent way to learn new, complex words! The second way to improve your writing is to create lengthy, but clear and narrowed to the point sentences. It is college, and simple structured sentences are not likely to create a paper on a college level. Remember, that for a sentence to look grammatically correct, you need to include all the punctuation. The third solution for your paper to appear with an A grade is to have all the paragraphs carefully organized. It is important that we follow some kind of a pattern. You cannot talk about the past, then about the future, then about the closer future, present times and past again. You are going to lose your reader, and your paper will look disorganized and messy. Follow my advice, and your writing as well as your grade is going to most certainly experience positive growth.

Literacy Narrative Essay

Narrative type of essay should include a powerful event, or a story that is written from our, the teller, point of view. We should approach the subject emotionally, and make it as descriptive as possible. The receiver is ought to picture the details and step deeper and deeper in our shoes as he or she proceeds in the writing. It took me quite a long time to figure the three possible topics of my piece. The first possible topic I could write about would be my first back-flip and all the steps along the way. The second topic that I am considering as a one worth writing about is my first relationship which as a result flipped my life upside down, but also helped to shape my personality the way I am now. The last, potential reason I can think of, is my-self immigrating to the United States and the process of adjusting the living conditions in the Land of a Lincoln. Each of the above listed topics is an example of extremely meaningful event taken out of my life. My very first back flip stands for stubbornness and perseveres. It shows that strong will is the remedy to success, and without it nothing can be achieved. It is significant to me because it was for me, and only me I was doing it, and nobody else could feel the satisfaction I felt. My first relationship that I have fully involved myself in was an amazing experience. It was like a course in college but instead of books, homework, and students, there were thoughts, conversations, and us two. The last reason to write about is me and my immigration to the United States. It was surely one of the most important moments of my life which flipped my life upside down, and then downside up again, and couple more times. Everything seemed new, somehow strange and just so unknown. Picking one specific topic is going to be hard for me, since every single one had a different type of influence on my life, yet every single one is very meaningful important at the same time.

Why English 101?

My name is Aleksander Szostak. This is my second semester attending Northeastern Illinois University.  Writing was never easy to me. That is, I am guessing, because English is my second language, or maybe just because not everyone is born with that particular skill. The placement test automatically assigned me to an English writing workshop class, which I greatly enjoyed. The class was designed to help us prepare to what English 101 is going to be. Right after the first semester I received a green light for what I have been aiming for. This being said, the primary reason of why I am taking English 101 is because it is a required course for the major I am going after. To make things clear, just because I have no taste for writing, does not mean I am going to disfavor this class. The process of writing is complex and lengthy, but I grew up in belief that results are only delightful if one puts all the heart into the game. Throughout the English 101 course I would like to learn sophisticated and elegant writing techniques. Enriching my vocabulary list to the level I put to shame my immemorial rival, my sister, is another goal I would like to accomplish.