Composition's e journal

My E-journal Composition II Prof. Gina Gatgens Marin.

Geanina Ester Chacรณn Rojas.

April 2017

My expectations for this course is to get the strategies to improve my knowledge and then strengthen my writing skills to know how to produce well done and amazing written compositions. I am sure that this course will help me to expand my lexicon, and develop my critical thinking by analyzing topics and also my confidence. I know that I will learn as much as I want! Throughout this process, I will be able learn the bases of a nice and well done written work so my confidence while writing will improve too. So striving to become a better citizen, parent, employee, or whatever role I play in the greater society. But that is not all. As a college student, I enjoy the privilege of having an expert teaching me how to teach myself. Once I achieved this ability, I will be able to establish credibility as an educated individual. I will become more curious about the world that surrounds me, and maybe the world become more curious about me! The environment seems to be nice, I found my teacher a very interesting woman, and some of my peers are familiar to me. So, I am so excited to know the ones who I haven’t met before. I can’t

wait until know how they are and think. In every course, I like to meet and interact with new people because I firmly thing that we learn from each other, so I can improve myself while

interacting with others; and my peers can take in count my experience too.

The Mechanics of Style.

In this week, we are learning about punctuation rules. Punctuation is the system of signs or symbols given to a reader to show how a sentence is constructed and how it should be read.

This basic, but not less important, knowledge that I, as a future teacher, must have perfectly know. Besides, it is a tool to feel secure when I write because without it, the comprehension for the reader may not be clear.

Also, it is the base to form and understand the different kinds of sentences. So, it provides the structure of a well-done essay. I know that some people hate punctuation. They have said things like “ I don't know why we

should use it and don't really understand the purpose of it”. Once, I was one of these people too. What about you?

I have really worked hard to understand it. And one thing I have learnt is that you need to see punctuation as a friend. A friend that helps you get your point across by making your writing, spelling and meaning clear to the reader.

According to The Penguin Guide to Punctuation, "The problem with poor punctuation is that it makes life difficult for the reader who needs to read and understand what you have written.“ So without punctuation writing becomes hard to read!

It was nice that in groups, we could

explore one topic in specific, so then be able to expose it to our teacher and peers. As a result, we

got an activity that allowed us to interact while learning. This was an amazing way to explore many skills at the same time. For example, getting in front of other students in terms of explaining an specific topic gave me the opportunity to project myself in the future. As preparing the practice from them.

When I will have the joy of teaching my students in my classroom. Definitely, to improve my punctuation skill I had better pay more attention to it. While I am writing is a great way to practice it and keep fresh the rules, so I will be sure that people have understood what I meant.

Different types of Sentences (simple, compound, complex, compound complex).

We use the terms “sentence”, “statement” and “proposition” interchangeably but for some

purposes we will want to distinguish between them. In particular, when it comes to deciding when people are “saying the same thing” we will distinguish between the question of whether they are uttering the same

sentence, making the same statement or expressing the same proposition. There is no mystery about what sentences are. A sentence is a physical object, made of sounds, quantities of ink or pixels, which is used to

do a linguistic job. A sentence consists of words of a language arranged according to the grammatical conventions of that language. People use sentences to do a variety of jobs. For instance, to ask questions, make promises, give orders, and make statements. Sentences that make statements, typically declarative sentences, have truth value, that is truth, or false, in virtue of the truth value of the statements they make.

Not all meaningful sentences have truth value however. Questions, for example, may have “yes” or “no” answers, but they aren't, strictly speaking, true of false; orders may be obeyed or disobeyed, but they aren't, literally, true or false. It allows us to express ourselves in the way we mean.

In order to be a complete sentence, a group of words need to contain a subject and a verb,

and it needs to express a complete though. If a group of words is missing any of that information, it is probably a sentence fragment.

If you have a group of words containing two or more independent clauses that are not properly punctuated, it is probably a run-on sentence.

Studying the different kinds of clauses has been very difficult for me because they have lots of details and just two ours at class, so I had better study it at home! While I was studying it I found out many things. For instance, conjunctions have one job, to connect. They join words, phrases, or clauses together to clarify what the writer is saying. Their presence provides smooth transitions from one idea to another.

When the job of an adverb is to connect ideas, we call it a conjunctive adverb.

As I was going forward into the topic, everything was having sense. Learning compound sentences with conjunctive adverbs was very excited for me. It is very important to use the structures perfectly well in order to express what we mean. In fact, this topic fascinated me, it gave me the chance to get every thing joined together. Also my writing is looking more mature since I have been studying them.

Outlining, selecting and narrowing down a topic, and writing a thesis statement.

The next step is to put all the previous knowledge together. The thesis statement is that sentence or two in your text that contains the focus of your essay and tells your reader what the

essay is going to be about. It is very important to have a strong thesis statement because the lack of it may well be a symptom of an essay beset by a lack of focus. Many writers think of a thesis statement as an umbrella: everything that you carry along in your essay has to fit under this umbrella, and if you try to take on packages that don’t fit, you will either have to get a bigger umbrella or something is going to get wet.

All thesis statements are not created equal, nor are they interchangeable. The different kinds of thesis statements correspond to the different kinds of essays. Each type of thesis statement works to reinforce the purpose of the specific type of essay. Knowing what type of essay you have been assigned is very important in order to create an appropriate thesis statement.

Different kind of purposes.

Analytical Thesis Statement

An analytical essay analyzes an issue. As the writer of this type of paper, you are expected to define the topic and then break down and evaluate some aspect of that topic. An analytical thesis statement states the subject to be analyzed and shows how it will be broken down.

Expository Thesis Statement

In an expository essay, you explain a topic to the audience. You must decide the most important or meaningful aspects of your topic and explain those in the body of the paper. The expository thesis statement lists the aspects of the topic that will be developed in the order in which they will be discussed.

Argumentative Thesis Statement

Just as its title implies, an argumentative essay creates an argument by taking a stand on a subject.

That "stand" you take is referred to as a claim. The body of the paper defends your claim. An argumentative thesis statement states your claim and how your paper will support this claim.

References Purdue OWL Engagement: Developing a Thesis Purdue OWL: Creating a Thesis Statement Writing a Thesis Statement Essay: Invention: The Expository Thesis Statement

It helps to drastically reduce writer’s block that will almost always find its way into your brain. Everyone has moments where they write a paragraph or two and then…nothing. What do I say next? If you outline before you start writing, you will be less likely to get stuck in the middle with nothing to say. In addition, outlines help you avoid getting lost because they are like a map or GPS for your writing. There is nothing worse than setting out on a road trip to the

beach or the mountains and getting lost along the way. This is why a good map or GPS system are really important for getting where you need to go. An outline serves a very similar purpose when writing a paper. Without an outline, it

is very easy to get lost (even in your own brain!!!!) in the writing process, even if you have several good ideas.

Therefore, outlines allow you to see the light at the end of the tunnel, even before you type or write your first

sentence. When you create an outline, you get to see your whole paper laid out in front of you, which will provide the motivation you need to push through to the end. So, being able to see the finish line throughout your writing process

will help to keep away that “this is never going to end” feeling. That is why taking the time to develop an outline is one of the most important elements in the writing process. In fact, according to the article from US News and World

Report, outlining is the “single best means for ensuring your final paper is well reasoned.”

In brief, it keeps you focused, motivated, and above all else; it saves a lot of time!

Finding a good topic related with education for my essay’s development.

Finally the great moment of putting all the knowledge acquired and passion together, in a blank page, has arrived! I am so exciting about doing this, I have waited for this moment since I enrolled the course. Nowadays, my back ground and confidence has increased, so I have been searching for a good topic which I will be satisfied with the result. So, I decided to write about the importance of the education in our lives. It is very motivating for me to do an introspection on this topic because this is my field. I started with my brain storming and I realized that the topic is too broad, so I decided to do an expository essay in which I can write about specific points. Then, it was time to do the respective research in terms of

informed my self about what I wanted to write. With all the information ready, I decided to talk about things that are relevant for me. As a result, I got a good thesis statement, which allowed me to do my outline as a

guide. Hopefully, it will be a nice job.

In class writing Developing the previous ideas already written in the outline is the climax of the process, here is where you can realize if you have improve your skills. So, the feedback from others is a very important tool to encourage you to do better, also you can check if people understand what you mean. Now I know what to do in order to enhance my essay, so it get more sophisticated by the contribution of my teacher and peers.

Term and Research Paper A term paper is a written academic paper that needs to demonstrate the acquired essential skills and knowledge in the subject matter. The length of a term paper may vary but it is usually between three to five thousand words. It can be a critical essay on a popular or current topic requiring author’s personal point of view of the issue and demonstration of good and accurate understanding of the subject. The author needs to establish compelling arguments accompanied by facts or other evidence supporting his/her point of view.

The topic of a term paper might be chosen by the student or sometimes it might be a prompt given by the professor of the subject. It can also be a research paper on a topic chosen by the student or the professor, so it is very probable that you need to select a topic or subject that had been discussed in the class or in a relevant text book. In this case the requirements are basically the same as of a research paper, starting with choosing a feasible topic which interests and/or challenges you and that has a sufficient range of references available. The materials that are being used and cited in the term paper should be versatile. For instance, encyclopedias, text books, journal articles, and other documents relevant in the chosen topic.

A research paper should contain a central statement that the research seeks to defend or support or discuss. It may be stated in the form of a question that needs to be discussed or even answered or in a form of a claim that needs to be defended. In any way it cannot be longer than one sentence and needs to be formed with clarity. As I mentioned before, creating a good outline is the key to a successful essay, term or research paper. In conclusion a term paper can have the same features as a research paper, but with certain limitation in its subject and purpose.

During the class we studied about research and documentation of sources. So now we have the structures that must be presented in the bibliography of the paper. The class was divided in groups , so the content. Every

group analyzed a subtopic and then we exposed about that.

Crediting sources and in class writing (Term paper) When to Cite, Quoting and Paraphrasing.

Today’s class, we got this topic’s power point presentation and explanation from our teacher.

What are the differences among quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing? These three ways of

incorporating other writers' work into your own writing differ according to the closeness of your writing to the source writing.

Quotations must be identical to the original, using a narrow segment of the source. They must match the source document word for word and must be attributed to the original author.

Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from source material into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the

original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly.

Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s). Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter

than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.

Why use quotations, paraphrases, and summaries?

Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries serve many purposes. You might use them to:

• Provide support for claims or add credibility to your writing.

• Refer to work that leads up to the work you are now doing.

• Give examples of several points of view on a subject.

• Call attention to a position that you wish to agree or disagree with.

• Highlight a particularly striking phrase, sentence, or passage by quoting the original.

• Distance yourself from the original by quoting it in order to cue readers that the words are not your own.

• Expand the breadth or depth of your writing.

Definitely they are an useful tool to improve and support my writing.

Writing my term paper.

In today’s class we discussed about the reading “When to cite sources” which describes the

different disciplines that I can apply like gadgets in my writings. Also it is very important to remind that the consulted source must be reliable. Besides this, we work on discussing the characteristics of an

effective annotated bibliography, which is going to be part of my research paper. We got the explanation from our teacher, so know I am able to start working on it.

Since I have a list of topics to choose for my term paper, the one who catches my attention was the one related with the application of technology in the classroom. I chose it because I firmly thing that the use of technology must be applied in every school and college, so every students can have access to it. We have to take advantage of its existence and improve students and our skills, specialty people who has disabilities can be benefit a lot. This revolutionary tool is making big and amazing things. So it helps to do our lives more productive and also it is part of human evolution, we just can’t stay behind.

Writing my research paper The topic that we have to write about for this paper is “Neuroeducation”. I think it is an amazing opportunity to explore this nowadays’ important advance in education. This is a topic which every future teacher should be interested.

While I was doing my research, many things have catched my attention, I really wanted to write about everything because I was amazed with the topic. I spent a lot of time reading and searching for more information. Finally, I decided to include in my thesis statement the relevant things for me, the clues that have made me understand the topic. So I can transmit this knowledge to others in a easier way. Making the

outline, this time, was definitely easier than before because of the practice that I have got from other tasks. I feel like anxious for the result because this is the first time that I am doing this. I know that writing is a process

that can not be done in just one quarter, but I really want to do a good job. I am so concerned about it because I know we must know how to write this kind of papers, it is a basic knowledge that as a human being

provides me of the joy of knowing how to express myself in a concrete way. I really want to improve every time. One thing that I enjoyed the most was to realize how the topics that I write about are interconnecting, so

nowadays I have a nice and interesting background, so can’t wait until share with all of you.

In this class I am still writing my research. I am sure that I will need to proofread it, so I have next week to do that and also the annotated bibliography. I feel, so far , so good with my performance during this course! I have enjoyed all the process and of course, taking advantage of all the knowledge acquired is my nowadays specialty because I found out the I am capable of doing great things. By putting in practice all what I learn, I can keep achieving my goals. This course is a key for many reasons, one of them, is that I am going to occupy this knowledge very often in future courses. For instance, when I have to write my thesis and prepare myself to defend this. It will be so helpful to have this background because without this, a good performance can’t be possible. . It was my objective to prepare myself as much as I could, so the better exploitation of all my resources. The environment was always nice and respectful. Although learning some of

those things was difficult, I am very satisfied with this experience. Thanks to all the people who have encourage me to do a better job and made myself improved.