Reading Response to Chapter 4

Minute Paper
After reading this Chapter, I have definately realized the amount of preparation and difficulty that is present in writing a true article, paper, etc. Writing about a topic of interest has always been fairly easy for me, but it is much more involved than I originally realized. It seems that the focus should be on organizing your thoughts. This organization brings out a better product.

This brings up a personal question for me. Am I going to be successful given this new challenge of writing? Perhaps, this is why I didn't pass the CLEP involved for this class!

Summary
The act of writing about an experience helps the writer because the act of writing requires reflection. This is a powerful tool for gaining insight and understanding about life.

Rhetorical Knowledge
You need to consider the following:

• Audience- Make your experience relevant to them. Ask yourself: Who is your primary audience? Who might be interested in the subject?
• Purpose- entertain the audience or inform/persuade them. You can have more than one purpose.
• Rhetorical situation- consider the factors affecting what you are writing. ie. the audience, yourself, the topic, your purpose.
• Writer's voice/tone- your attitude toward the topic. Examples include: amusing, sarcastic, neutral, regretful, etc. Depending on the assignment, you a may/may not be major character in your narrative. If you are a participant, you are the writer and also the major character. If you are not a participant, you might write in the 3rd person. Your attitude toward the characters will help determine your tone.
• Context, medium and genre- all affect your writing decisions. You need to understand the situation that creates the occasion to write. How will the writing be used? What is the most effective way to present your information?
• Consider what your audience may already know about the subject
• Significant point-fresh, usually unexpected. You can show significance by explaining in great detail; how the event you are telling about changed you, affected you or improved your life.

Critical thinking, reading and writing
Writing about experiences can have several qualities- a clear sense of purpose, a significant point, a narrative or an honest representation. You have to also respect the privacy of those that you are writing about.

• Learning- you need to learn in order to share experiences so that your writing is effective
• Responsibilities- you have the responsibility to write your experiences with accuracy and sensitivity towards others
• Reading and research- utilize your own memories or that of others, photos, documents and ideas from your reading
• Narrative writing- writing about experiences. Usually engages readers and keeps them interested. Incorporating diaglogue increases the engagement of the reader.
• Lively narrative- the foundation for writing about experiences. Answers the questions Who? What? Where? Why? How?
• Dialogue- what people have to say. Brings a narrative to life. Can also reveal something about the character of the people involved.
• Vivid description- detailed descriptions of the people/characters involved.
• Point of view- first person is the most often used (I, me). Third person may be a more interesting or effective way to tell a story. It could be the point of view of another participant at the event or an observer.
• Climax or crisis- an effective narrative that leads to something; usually makes a point or an idea that the writer wants to explain or a concept the writer wants the reader to understand.
• Honest representation- it is importnat to represent the characters as accurately as possible. Present the events without unnecessary embellishments.

Writing Processes

• Invention- choose the strategies that help you to recall the details of your experiences. Use the strategies on Pg. 98
• Research
• Organize your details and ideas- organize in a series of events. Who is your audience? Why might they be interested? or how can you make them interested? What is your main purpose of writing? Consider utilizing a "flashback". Something that happened in the past is shown "just the way it happened", then the narrator returns to the present to reflect on it's significance.
• Constructing a complete draft-Introduction- (start with a surprising event or dialogue, interesting details or a comment that might startle your readers), Body, Conclusion, Title.
• Revising- read your work with a critical eye.
• Work with peers- classmates offer you comments or questions about your work. You need to carefully consider what the reader has to say. Remember: YOU are the writer and are responsible for dealing with the responses to your work! Use ?? on Pg. 112.
• Editing- Make changes to the sentence structure and word choice to improve your style to make your writing clearer and more concise. Check your work for grammer, usage, punctuation, mechanics and spelling.
• Recursive- to revisit each stage numerous times as you work.

Steps that it includes:

• Topic
• Audience
• Develop the topic
• Figure out what you want to say
• Figure out the order to present your ideas
• Write a rough draft (often the most difficult) "Verbal constipation"
• Revision- multiple drafts/changes to check for the right tone. Also, include examples, evidence, etc.
• Edit- (proof read) check for grammer, usage and spelling
• Review- judge what you have done.

Conventions

• Editing- utilizing dialogue to share the experience
• Genres for sharing experiences- includes personal essay, autobiography, magazine or newspaper essay, blog, letters, accident reports, etc.
• Documentation- list sources that were utilized using the correct style

I especially enjoyed the writing of the Farm Girl. Reading the transitions that the paper took on was quite interesting. I really liked how she changed/modified the story after she obtained feedback from others.

Kristi Seay

English 111/DL02