Ex. Credit!

I really enjoyed the College Writing II class. I feel like it has improved my writing and got me to explore a different direction of writing. Before I thought of writing as research on a topic or something boring like that. By taking this course I learned that writing is also a way of exploring and discovering who you are. I really liked exploring our identities and giving us a better look of who we are. I also liked that we got to use modern sources of media such as facebook to see what we are letting others think about us. I haven’t really thought of facebook to be that impressionable but I learned that it is.

I also had a good time listening to others and seeing their points of view on topics. I am very stubborn and don’t usually see the way others do but by listening to them and seeing different ways that people think let me be more open minded. Another part of the class that I liked is that it wasn’t your typical college writing class. I enjoyed the bloging, watching movies and clips from the Simpson’s and the Colbert Report. I feel like it takes more than a professor standing in front of a room talking to make students learn. By adding these sources of media, it helped me understand and help me to learn. I really enjoyed the class and I feel like I am walking away with a lot from the class.

Extra Credit Blog

I would say that this class was a pretty enlightening experience for me. It was definitely one of the more discussion-based classes I've taken since I've been at Kent, and I really enjoyed that aspect. In most classes, you don't get a chance to really debate topics and get inside other people's heads to see how they feel and think about things, and I think that related a lot to the "identity" theme of the course. We all look and act differently, but it's surprising to see how similarly people think, who otherwise might appear much differently from a physical point of view. I liked pretty much all of the things we watched and read. I think it's important to look at everyday things like the clothes we wear or who we socialize with, etc. and see how that portrays us. A lot of life is so routine, and if you keep trudging through without taking a look around or analyzing your surroundings and doing some critical thinking, you won't learn nearly as much about the world as you might be able to. Unknown White Male was probably the most interesting thing we watched in my opinion. I thought it was such a crazy story and I've really never heard of anything like it before, but it really made me think about how much of ourselves is created by our environment and the people in our environment. I can't even begin to imagine waking up one day and having no idea who you are. I'm still not sure if I believe it, but the idea of the film made me contemplate how I would be had I been brought up in a different place with different friends and family, and I definitely think I'd be a much different person than I am today. I did thoroughly enjoy this class, though, and I'm glad the course was designed the way it was, because I thought it was a better learning experience than most college writing classes.

Extra Credit Blog

Around Christmas time, I found a book on sale for four bucks at Borders. It was called "American Nerd: The Story of My People." With a title like that, how could I not buy it? I've been reading it off and on this semester, mostly during my hour long break before this class, and I've found it very interesting. The book is broken into three parts: "a history of the nerd," "among the nerds," and "my credentials." The first section, of course, looks at where the word came from. It also gives a brief explanation of how the United States grew to be so infatuated with sports and manliness. In the chapter "the rise of phys ed," it's interesting to me that our own state, Ohio, was the first to establish phys ed requirements in public schools, in 1892. Part two of the book, "among the nerds," provides glimpses into different groups of people that might be considered nerdy, from debate club to D&D. There is also an interesting chapter on Asperger's syndrome. The final section is the author Benjamin Nugent's "credentials," extending upon the few chapters through out the book where he discussed his own experiences with D&D and bullying. This book relates very much so to what we've discussed throughout this semester about identity. Even the title: "The Story of My People." It's about HIS people and understanding why they are the way they are and how they identify with one another.

extra credit blog

I feel that overall I had a very good experience in this class. And im not just saying that, I actually mean it. I really enjoyed showing up to this class everyday. I loved being able to listen to what every had to say about the many different topics that we discussed during class. It was nice being able to get other peoples view points on certain things and then being able to compare it with my own thoughts and ideas. I thought it was a very good idea to have discussion as a part of the class. it allows students to interact with others and show ideas. Along with the class discussion I also enjoyed the blogs. This was another way for everyone to express their own opinion on a reading. I feel that this was so effective becuase I feel that everyone no matter who they are likes being able to voice their opinions on something and having their voices heard. My favorite paper was the Facebook one. I found this one to be the most enjoyable mainly becuase it was a new way to view and look at my facebook which I never would have done before. I was able to learn alot about myself and I thought it was a very great idea for a paper. Also being able to revise the paper after we got our first grade was also a great idea. It allowed students to improve on the things that they had written, which normally a student never would have gone back and fixed it unless it was so you could boost your grade. Overall I thought the theme for this class was a great one, and it was a very enjoyable second semester for me. It made writing a lot more enjoyable to me since before this class writing was not one of my favorite things to do.

Extra credit

I really enjoyed this class. Unlike College Writing I, I had the chance to express myself in my writing. In this class I especially liked the focus of the course. Identity has always interested me and getting to discover more about myself in this class was great. In College Writing I all we did was write speech like papers in character of a moderate, patriot or loyalist. Then we would have to read them out loud to the class and debate. It was not what I expected of College writing what so ever. This year when I received the syllabus and read the main theme of the course was identity, I couldn’t have been happier. Being one who loves writing the assignments were right down my ally. I also liked the feeling that I actually learned something, compared to College writing I. Aside from the theme of this course, I also liked the blogging. It gave me a chance to say what I thought about the readings and read what others thought. It also helped me better understand the readings. I also liked the in class discussions, even though not everyone would participate all the time. Most of all what I enjoyed about this class was how it opened my mind. The topics really forced me to dig deep and really think about things. I not only learned about identity but my identity. I also really enjoyed the first movie we watched on identity. I found it extremely interesting and it was something I would have never watched myself.

Extra Credit Blog

I think that I learned a lot about my writing skills in this class. I did expect to do a lot of work but it want that hard. I thought I did a great job writing for the most part. In my college writing I class my professor critiqued us maybe a sentence here or there on a finished essay and that was it. Whenever she gave us our papers back you got a grade and a few sentences on why we she gave it to us. I was a little skeptical about my first paper because I thought it was fine but I got a full page on the things that I did wrong or could have done better, which now I am very grateful for and a lot of professors don't do that. This class has definitely made me a much better writer than what I was before. This was also my first experience ever blogging. I thought that was pretty interesting too. To have someone you don't know or probably will never meet read your opinions about things is cool. Overall I am really glad I took this class if it was with some one else I probably would've missed out on a great learning experience.

Extra Credit

I have to admit that coming into this class I did not have very high expectations. My college writing I experience was not a very good one. We wrote paper after paper on one topic, the shootings at Kent State in 1970. It was a very boring class that I had trouble going to and had difficulty getting the assignments done. Fortunately, I think this class was much more interesting. I liked the topics on the paper with identity and even some of the blogs were interesting. I was able to blog every week and the papers came pretty easily for me to write. Overall I had a good experience in the class and it definitely changed my opinion that not all writing courses are bad.

Extra Credit! :D

We have discussed a lot of different things concerning identity this semester, and it has really made me think about whether people really know who they are or not. People go about their day to day lives without much thought - it's just what they do. Do people realize the incredible power they possess in that they can make their own choices? They can decide who they are by the decisions they make.
This led me to think about how things that I say and do dictate who I am. Am I a friendly person? I don't like taking to strangers. I sit in classrooms for 16 weeks with people and never talk to them. Or, if I do, it happens to be right when the semester is about to end and I will most likely never see them again. So.. I'm not friendly - right? Some people think I am, though. Maybe they are wrong. Or maybe I am friendly only to those who were outgoing and talked to me first. I am a different version of myself for every person.
I think every person has countless layers. Not to pull a "Shrek," or anything, but people are like onions. Onions are comprised of several layers, but as a whole, they are still an onion. Just as someone can have different parts of themselves, but they can still be themselves no matter what.
Is that really true, though? If I'm outgoing and obnoxious amongst my friends but quiet and drawn in during class, am I really being myself?
Identity is just one of those topics that is really difficult to discuss thoroughly and come to a conclusion. I think it's impossible to know everything about someone, or even ourselves. There are too many "what ifs" and "if onlys"; too many hypothetical situations being blended with reality to really know how we would react to something. If I don't feel like I truly know myself, how can I expect to know someone else?
Identity is complicated and compelling. There are no right or wrong solutions or ways to find who we really are.

extra blog

I cannot remember what our extra credit blog could be about or when it was due so hope this is suffice.

I enjoyed the this class, it was a nice change from all of my very structured science classes! As much as I love concrete answers, I have always enjoyed classes and material that make one think in abstract ways. I feel that this class pushed us in that direction and I am grateful. The concept of identity is so abstract in my mind that it is almost not worth talking about. People could talk and talk in circles about identity and authenticity but that is the point of circles, they never end. We are all too inclined to believe that we are a product of ourselves and nothing and no one else. Many of us believe that we do what we want because we want to when we want to... but frankly I think this is bullshit. Stereotypes wouldn't exist if people didn't constantly fit the bill. I am not saying that I agree with the notion or that people cannot stray from the beaten path but when people are brave enough to be different, they are inevitably following a path that other brave souls have undoubtedly walked before. I think the concept of identity is very tricky and I think trying to establish one is even more and daunting.I often struggle with finding my "self." Of course I want to be distinct I want to be someone who is different from the rest admirable even but I am not sure if that makes me entirely uniquely or merely someone who isn't content being easily labeled. Nonetheless, people will find a way to label me because that is partially what identity is, a label that other people can attach to you. And labels suck...unless you like your label.

extra credit blog

I really enjoyed our topic for the class. Everyone can relate to identity in some way. I never got tired of writing or researching identity. The videos that we watched such as "Unknown White Male" was really interesting and has made me think a lot about my own identity. My favorite part of the class is the final project that I'm working on now. I really like how we could chose our media instead of writing another paper. I've written so many papers for my other classes so I'm really happy that I was given the opportunity to make a film involving identity. Some of my friends have complained about their topic for college writing 2 for being dry, boring and uninteresting to college-age students. I'm really glad I wasn't in their classes! Identity is something you can always find information about and affects us all.

Final Project

I feel that the biggest obstacle for this final project is going to be setting up my interviews, especially since some of the people I want to interview are not living close enough for me to physically meet with them.  What makes this really difficult is that the musicians are really busy at the moment.  One of the vocalists I might be able to interview is on a tour in Sweden, and another is getting ready to record a new album.  I've proposed to do video chats with them, or even phone interviews, but I haven't had any solid confirmation yet.  One vocalist welcomed me interviewing him, but is very pressed for time.  I might have to consider a new proposal, seeing that the project is due pretty soon.

I enjoy putting together videos, and getting sound clips or actual video footage is very important in this project.  I am somewhat not in complete control in terms of what I get back from these musicians, for reasons stated above.  If these issues with obtaining interviews is taken care of, I'm sure I'll be able to turn in something of value for the final project.

final project - in class

The only obstacle I can see right now is putting everything together. I don’t see it as a big obstacle, I’ve written papers before based on information gathered from interviews, so I don’t see it being that difficult. My only personal issue maybe maintaining the focus of identity for my topic I chose. Everything seems very clear with this assignment so I don’t have any questions. I can’t wait to do my interviews and hear what my interviewees have to say. I am very interested to see the outcome of my own paper.

Final Project

In my final project everything should go pretty smooth. I have a good outline of how I want to get my information and do my interviews along with how I want to present my assignment. I feel like by interviewing my roommates it will help for me to understand more about them along with how they interpret what is cool. I am going to make one thing very clear when I am interviewing them, and that is not to talk to my other friends that will also be interviewed about what they think is cool. This will help so that they do not all give me the same answers, as I want to understand what everyone thinks is cool. Also, I have one question is part 3 now due on the same day that part 2 is due?

My Biggest obstacles for the final project

I think that one of the problems that i might have would be time and organization. I have decided to try and interview each person twice maybe one in person and once have them answer some questions down on paper just in case i think of something new or i forget to ask them a question that may be important for my argument.I have a good idea as to what I want to argue about I'm just afraid that i might go off topic a bit and start to turn the paper around and write it all about me and what i think. Sometimes I forget to include sources or cite quotes from people. Another huge thing would be organization, when i write i write down exactly what I'm thinking and i don't put my thoughts into certain categories. I could be talking about my thesis in the first paragraph and decide to add more to it in another paragraph on another page that has nothing to do with what i was talking about in the beginning.

Blog- First 15

I would have to say that I see my interviews being the longest part of my process and probably the most difficult. So far I only have two and am looking to get 5. The problem being that the first two I had became more of debates and discussions than interviews. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, but when I talk to my frineds about things of this nature that is what tends to happen. Clarification was actually pretty clear, although I'm not sure on a required length/ optimum one. My main concern is just getting it done, but I think in the end it will turn out well and hopefully Prof. Sloan thinks so as well.

Concerns for Our Final Project

While I'm mostly confident that my interviewees are conversational young people who will give me a fair amount to work off of, I'm concerned about the need for academic resources for this paper. This isn't the first time I've tried to address online media like blogs in a paper, and I'm not sure there is a lot of serious information to be found. When I think "academic" resources, I think statistics or other research. I was wondering if an essay, similar to the one's we've read in class, or even one of the ones we have read in class, count for this requirement? I was also wondering if we had to cite our interviewees on our work cited page. Seeing how some of my interviewees are people I met online, I wouldn't be sure how to do that - some don't provide full names on their profiles and I'm communicating through online messages. Also, would you like to have a physical copy of my paper and work cited page, or will grading off the web page suffice?

Final Fails?

I feel like the topic i picked is pretty developed but I know that will only make it more of a challenge. The biggest obstacles I foresee in creating my final paper will be being unable to interview the span of people I would like to in order to get the full scope that I have intended to cover in my paper. I do have a question though. If I wanted to interview someone I won't be able to see to interview can I pose my questions through a facebook message? In this way, I thought it would be easier than trying to call them and record over the phone because it will be saved on my message to refer to.

Biggest obstacle for final project

The biggest obstable I see myself having with the final project is that I decided on using a pictorial essay as my medium to present my argument. I forsee that I may run into some issue's as I form the pictorial essay because I may find that it is not be the best way to present my arguement. I guess my biggest concern for the assignment is just maybe a little more clarification on what makes a good pictorial essay or some main points to follow as guidelines, just so I can make sure that I can present my arguement using this medium or if another would be a better choice.

final project-questions

I think the biggest obstacle for me is going to be coming up with a specific research question. I tend to get off topic pretty easily so I am worried that once I settle on a question, that I will inevitably stray away from it. I am also worried that I won't ask good insightful questions and that I won't be able to take the answers and use them properly throughout my paper. Speaking of paper, I don't feel entirely confident in writing a paper because I feel that you are really encouraging us to try a different medium but I am not a very creative person and I really do not think that I could pull off a video; nor do I know how I would even formulate an argument through a video.

You said that I can use the Merchants of Cool documentary...do I still need all my other scholarly sources or can that count as one of them?

Am I allowed, seeing that I already mentioned my tendency to get off topic and because I feel I am being a little too ambitious with the whole thing, allowed to examine "cool" from a broader perspective and address more narrow points throughout my paper?

The final paper

What I see as being my biggest obstacle for this essay is conducting the actual interviews. I've never interviewed anybody before so I think it should be challenging if not interesting. Other than that the essay as a whole seems straight forward for what I plan to do. I think I have good understanding of what is expected. I don't know what the interview questions will show or won't so I think some of it will have to be trial and error.

Project Plans

The thing I'm most concerned about involving the final project is probably just finding the right candidate for an interview. I'm not sure if we are expected to find candidates with a higher level of credibility regarding what is "cool" or if we can just ask any random student. I think the assignment is pretty clear for the most part. I was also a little unsure on when part 3 of the assignment is due. Othern than that, I think I have a good idea of what's expected and I don't have too many concerns.

final project questions/concerns

I'm actually pretty excited for this final project. I'm taking advantage of making this a film because frankly, I'm sick of writing. I plan to film my project with my Mac using a program called iMovie. I'm a little nervous about using this because I've only used this program a handful of times. However, I'm sure I can find someone within my dorm building if I run into any questions/problems. As far as if I need any clarification, I'm just wondering how I can send you my film once it's complete. I have used iMovie and converted a project into an mp3 and e-mailed and/or uploaded it online but I'm unaware of how to burn it on a disk. So please let me know which way you prefer to get this project. Other than that, I'm good to go!

Final Project

I think the biggest obstacle for my final project will be getting the brothers in my fraternity house I live with to answer the questions I ask on time seeing as they are very busy as well. The hardest part of this project will be getting all the results and organizing it to get a just answer based off an average. For now I completely understand what is asked of me for this assignment and what needs to be completed.

Final Project

I feel like my biggest obstacle of my final project is going to be the flow of my paper, and not to give in my own opinion. I seem to always want to throw in my thoughts and opinions and what I think, and not focus on just the interviewees. Im sensing it may be kind of difficult to make a paper flow with so many questions that I have chosen to ask. Im almost positive that I understand every aspect of the project. Something I may need guided on is the flow of my paper, i always seem to have difficultly with transitioning and with a thesis and having the paper itself string together. I feel like my subject of the final is going to be interesting and is going to help me stay focused on the topic. A question I do have is how do we do in text citation for interviwees and how to do the works cited page. But other than those things I think I should do fine! :)

Final Project

I think the biggest obstacle during my final project will be compiling all the information I receive from the interviews into a concise and understandable paper. I’m sure I will have more information than will be used in the paper so that is also a challenge to pick and choose what I want to use.

I have a pretty good understanding of what needs to be done for the essay, so I really don’t have any questions. The only thing I was worried about was my topic because I didn’t know if that’s what you were looking for but after receiving the first part of the project, I’m not worried about that anymore.