Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Freewrite Cyber-Assignment

1. Define the qualities of good writing. Use Writing about Literature as a reference.

The response should be at least 3 paragraphs. Use one direct quote, in one of the paragraphs. If you like, you can use one citation per paragraph. Very between short direct quotes, free paraphrases and block quotes.

Use this format for all cyber-assignments.

2. Peer-Reviews of the To Kill a Mockingbird Essay.

3. Assembly of essay portfolio. Demonstration.

4. Girl in Translation. Find a published book review from a credible source. Look at currency re: Democratic National Convention re: immigration.

5. Homework: Find a published book review from a credible source. Bring in a summary of the review long with a copy of the review.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Some of the good qualitites of writing is a "compelling plot or a look into an authors thoughts or emotions (1)." Without having this in our writing it would be hard for the readers to understand what is going on in the story. Readers like to be grabbed by the introduction and like to have their imaginations take off while reading a well written story or paper.
It is also important to write about something that you are interested in."A bored or uncertain writer usually writes a boring or unconvincing paper. On the other hand, if you care about your topic, your enthusiasm will show in the writing, and the paper will be far more successful (16)." If you write a paper or a story on something that you could really care less about, than the paper will be boring and nobody would like to read it.
Another good quality of writing would be using metaphors and similies in the writing. To compare a situation to something that people could easily understand is important for the readers. It is able to give the readers a complete understanding or an idea of what the scene or environment might look or feel like.

Professor Wanda's Posse said...

Great comments Jelisa.

Note: In your signal phrase you can give the name of the book and authors where it works. Where is doesn't work, like in your first and third citations, put the authors' names in the parenthetical(s).

Anonymous said...

John Sung
English 1B
Professor Sabir
September 4, 2012

Free Write

Writing is one of the greatest inventions that have been created by mankind. It allows the world to record history, to learn, and ignites our imaginary thoughts. There are many different kinds of good writing such as fiction, biographies, and inspirational texts. In my opinion, I believe good writing has the power to stir emotions whether they are sad, mad, happy, loving, and admiring. Through the qualities of good writing many individuals in the world have learned something totally new.
Fiction novels and stories give the reader the power of imagination. Each reader has the opportunity to imagine what they read in their own way. They can envision the characters and the environment in their own perception which usually brings much excitement to each reader. Biographies allow the reader to put themselves in other people’s shoes. I believe learning about others and putting one’s self into other people’s shoes truly teaches others to have respect for every individual. It allows us to learn about ourselves and to take the good qualities that we read about others.
The main topic is by far one of the greatest qualities of good writing. For something to be considered “good writing” it should focus on one specific topic followed by details supporting it. As stated in Writing about Literature by Janet E. Gardner “… if you care about your topic, your enthusiasm will show in the writing, and the paper will be far more successful” Most people do not enjoy reading something that does not have a focus point. Good writing should always allow the reader to follow what the writing is about without any confusion at all.

Matt Dillon-Guerrero said...

Matt Dillon-Guerrero
English 1B
Wanda Sabir
Septemer 4 2012
Good writing typically refers to writing with no bad mistakes, or no errors in grammar, punctuation, or spelling. However good writing is much more than just no errors. Writing that is well done has a clear focus. In other words it makes a definite point. It also supports this point with detailed information. This information is formatted and arranged in such a way to make it even clearer for the reader. The sentences are also terse, definite, and more importantly correct.
Good writing is typically with a focused and clear point that is easily followed throughout the piece. Any points that are made are followed by evidence given to the reader to prove the point. In order to assist the reader in arriving to the same conclusion as the author, the evidence must be given in a format that is organized in such a way to make it clear for the reader that there is no other interpretation.
The sentences are perhaps the key to good writing. But in order for a sentence to be of high quality it needs to be concise and immediately to the point, and it needs to be correct. It cannot be multiple words when one word would suffice. In other words it cannot be a waste of breath.

Anonymous said...

Dung Le
Professor Wanda
Eglish 1B
Sept. 4, 2012

For a writing to be good it must have a developing argument, such as a thesis (Gardner 17). The thesis should be cleared and specific. It should be relevant, debatable, original and appropriate to the assignment. Always state your thesis in a complete sentence (18).

A good writing requires more than just the thesis; it requires ideas that support the thesis. The obvious support will be from the text itself. Your own ideas is one of the most important, but other people’s ideas are a good source of support too (19).

The paper must be organized, meaning that when stating an idea the following the idea should be sufficient evidence that support the idea (20). Having a thesis with good support and organization is important in good writing, but these are just the initial steps. A good writing as we discuss in class requires more than just the technical steps, it requires an open mind that can create inspiring fantasy with developed characters and a story that’ll take you to another place.

Anonymous said...

Rosetta Egan
Professor Sabir
English 1B
4 September 2012
Choosing your topic is the first issue when writing a paper. Next is taking a position in your argument. We are not talking about disagreements nor physical confrontations. In Writing about Literature an argument in writing is described as “a writer’s or speaker’s attempt to establish the validity of a given position “ (Gardner 17). A thesis is a point about which you will argue and must be arguable, make sense and of course the writer must care about the thesis. The thesis must be precise and distinct and easily understood. Next your thesis needs support and research is the usual way to prove your thesis. An introductory paragraph will identify the topic of the paper and should have a topic sentence, generally the last sentence in this paragraph.
An organized paper makes it possible for your reader to understand the argument you present about your thesis. Gardner says:
The first stage of organizing the content of your essay is to cluster
together similar ideas in order to begin shaping the substance of
individual paragraphs (20).
Each paragraph should back up your thesis and the order of the paragraphs should make sense and transition from one paragraph to the next. There should be a transition sentence in each paragraph to assist the reader to follow your argument. The last paragraph is the conclusion and will bring the reader to the writer’s side as well as stimulate the reader to think anew about the thesis.
Once you have written your paper, read it and edit it and then put it down and go on to another task, maybe wait overnight. The next day re-read your paper to see what, if any, changes you might want to make. Perhaps you will modify your thesis or reorganize the arrangement of the paragraphs. Look at your concluding paragraph to see if it makes sense and brings the reader to the same conclusion as you. The final editing process is really important. You do not want the reader to be distracted by grammar or punctuation mistakes as s/he reads the paper.















Gardner, Janet E. (2009) Writing about Literature. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.



Anonymous said...

Lucille King
Professor Sabir
English 1B
5 September 2012

Writing is a form of art. People find many answers a day in writing. Writing is a fun and detailed process that can last as long as you make it. A very important quality of writing is creativity. Writing is better when personality is involved. Stick to the topic but have fun with the writing.
An important factor of writing is focus. When writing it is always good to know what your writing about. Stick to a topic and develop a thesis for that topic. “The purpose of a thesis is to serve as a guide to both the reader and the writer, so it needs to be understandable and to the point clearly to the specific aspects of the literature that you will discuss” (Gardner 16). When writing your thesis, it should be original, relevant, clear and specific.
It is important to have development and unity as a factor. Developing is important because each paragraph should support the central idea of the paper. As well as individual sentences should support the main point of the paragraph. Unity comes into play when every paragraph is related to the main idea. It makes the writing more understandable for the readers.