Writing Topic: Rules for Writers Chapter 3

There are three main steps that are covered in chapter 3.The first step being global revisions. The second step being covered in chapter 3 is revising and editing sentence structure. The final step in chapter 3 is Proof reading. All these steps are important to the writer to have a well written paper. Each step may take many take several times before concluding so be sure to have ample time for each step before you finishing your paper.

In chapter 3 it covers revising your rough draft. When you first start this process you start at the global revision. First you look at the purpose of the paper and your audience. Does it inform your readers or is it appropriate for your readers. Then you look at the focus. Does it stay focused on the thesis and is it clear. You look at the organization and the paragraphing. Is it in chronological order? Are the paragraphs too long or too short? Look at content. Is the material supporting and are there any ideas that need to be developed. The final step in global revisions is the point of view.  Does your paper stay with the same point of view and not shifting back and further from I to you?

Revising and editing sentencing comes next. Revising deals with effectiveness of each sentence. When editing a sentence you must check for correctness and accuracy. Clean up any over worded sentences and typos. After you have done all this you must then proofread. Reading out loud can help you find mistakes, but having another person to proofread can aid you find mistakes that you may overlook. Sometimes it hard for an author to find mistakes in their own paper.

There are two things that I have learned is to focus on what the purpose. Even if I feel that there is something important to state if it doesn’t support the thesis it doesn’t belong. Another thing is that the overall flow of the paper. Does each paragraph seem to lead to the next paragraph? Sometimes it is important to remove or rearrange the structure of the paper to be clearer and the stay focused on the thesis.

“Coming Home Again”

In the story “Coming Home Again” I feel food plays an important role in the story because it is shows the author‘s belief that his mother was such an amazing cook. Her ability to take something and create such amazing things was what he cherished about his mother. He not only cherishes his mother’s cooking but was envious of it. The way that the mother kept all her recipes a secret kept the author like a student and her still like a teacher, someone to look up too and admire.   Has a child growing up he wanted nothing more than to be in the kitchen cooking with her, were she said he didn’t belong.  His mother was from Korea and living in a traditional home so she did all the raising of the children and caring for the home and family. The mother in the story did everything around the house and this caused problems for her to adapt to America living, but even though she didn’t have the knowledge and seemed meek in most circumstances she strived in the kitchen.

I feel that the story showed food as an important part because it brought everyone in the family together. The mother was able to strive in any situation and bring her and her son relationship closer. The writer thought it was kind of a bad joke that she had stomach cancer, but I feel that food to the mother was so much more than something that she ate. It played such important part in her relationship with her son that even if she couldn’t eat it, it was something that they could do together.

Writing Topic: Rules for Writers chapter 2

Writing a rough draft-

Before you begin to write a rough draft you must gather your prewriting materials. Prewriting materials are made of lists, diagrams, outlines, freewrites, and etc. Do not worry about sentence structure or word choice in your rough draft. First start with your introduction and include a thesis statement. Your thesis statement should hook your readers. To aid in this one may us a startling statistic or startling fact, vivid example, a quote, a question. You cannot assume the reader is interest in the topic that you’re writing about.

Your thesis statement should be supported with supporting facts within the body of the essay. If you have created an outline it will aid you in creating paragraphs for each supporting points of you thesis. If you haven’t you should do one it will keep you on track. Don’t worry if you weren’t able to create an introduction as long as you have a thesis you’ll be able to write the body.

After you have completed these steps you should attempt to do a conclusion. A conclusion paragraph will remind the reader of what you essay was about. You do not want to rewrite it word for word, but come up with a creative way to make your paper come full circle. The conclusion should be just a memorable as the opening.

One thing that I will take away from this chapter is not to get too hung up on what I’m writing about. I feel that have a thesis may aid me better if I start with the body. This may help me develop my thesis statement. I have to remember that it is a rough draft and not worry myself about something that can be added or changed later.

I will also create an outline. I feel that a freewrite or preliminary writing materials are key to a well written paper, but an outline will aid me on staying within the subject of my thesis. An outline will also give me supporting information that will aid me on every support paragraph of my essay’s body.

"The Ways We Lie" Dialogue

For me I wanted to write about the “little white lie”. Everyone as told one or another over time. Of course we all believe the “little white lie” does less harm than telling the truth. But I was shocked that the author stated this” Ultimately it is the vote of no confidence. It’s an act of arrogance for anyone to decide what is best for someone else.” If you really think about that statement it is really true. We don’t tell a truth because we want to we are afraid of the consequence if we don’t. We feel that the outcome of telling the truth is going to be worst for us, not necessarily of the receiver. Because if we tell someone something that they don’t want to hear we are going to pay for it not the person that we tell the truth to.

I might not believe that a “little white lie” is a statement made with intent to deceive. That just sounds too harsh of words. Deceive with intent doesn’t that just sound so harsh? It sounds as if a person went out of their way to tell something that is truly dishonest. But I do believe that is anything that gives or is meant to give a false impression.

Can a person tell a lie even “a white lie” and still be any honest person may not be something that I could say is true. I’m a person that tends to be more honest than I say most, but I believe that I tend to lose friends or come off to harsh because I’m a person that believes to tell it like it is. That isn’t something that wins a lot of people over. I have a lot of people that love this about me, but I have a few that they would say why you can’t just tell me what I wanted to hear. Not every person wants to hear the truth. Then again I tell them if you wanted a lie you wouldn’t have asked me.

Gabriel's First

As I look at this picture of my son and myself I think of all the many things that are to come, many firsts. This picture is of my 3 ½ year old son Gabriel and me, my husband Donavan is the camera man. We went up to Lake Tahoe for the day so Gabriel can see the snow, it was his first time.. Watch children having fun and seeing how they interact with everything is also amazing, but to see a child see something or do something for the first time is one of the best experiences a parent can have or anyone can have. I’m not sure if you have ever experienced that feeling of joy from watching a child see something or do something for the first time but if you have you know exactly what I’m talking about.

As I look at this picture I remember all of the things that he has accomplish, his first word, his first step, his first laugh. Boy oh what a great laugh he has, that deep down belly shaking on the verge of crying infectious laugh. Of course being his mother I want to do everything in my power to ensure that I will always hear it. This picture reminds me of how lucky I am to have Gabriel. The joy and a miracle it is to give life.

Gabriel is my miracle baby. You see I wasn’t able to have kids on my own. I went through a procedure called IVF which is short for In vitro fertilization. My husband and I had to have a doctor aid us to be able to conceive. I had everything to carry a healthy baby but could get the eggs to where they needed to become a baby. With the aid of my parents to help us finance the procedure we took a leap of faith that it would work and ten months later Gabriel a 7lb 7oz baby boy was born.

I look at this picture and see as simple as it was for Donavan, my husband to take the day off to drive to Lake Tahoe to play in the snow and for us to capture another first of many too come. You see when I look at this picture I not only see Gabriel firsts but I see mine as well, the first time someone called me mommy, the first time he held my hand, the first time we all had a family.

Writing Topic: Rules for Writers chapter 1

Chapter One “the Writing Process” it gives the reader basic steps to follow to aid them in writing. The first step it explains how to assess the writing situation. In this step it aids you to create a check list on the subject, source of the information, the purpose of the paper, the length and the deadlines. The next step it gives you ways to explore the subject and techniques to create a draft. I this step it covers listing, clustering, freewriting you ideas on the subject. It goes over the importance of keeping a journal and to ask questions. Formulating a tentative thesis is the next step. In this step you’ll the more information that is gathered you will be able to generate questions about your subject. Your thesis sentence will give boundaries to your paper. The final step is sketch a plan. Crate a formal or informal outline will aid in the structure of topic and help in generating a working order of your topic.
In my future writing I like the idea of freewriting and seeing were my mind leads me, but I also like the idea of clustering. The ability to take something that I’m going to write about and creating clusters of things that are related to that subject might give me enough thoughts to give me supporting subtopics.
I first would need to create a plan. I need to find out what is my purpose of writing about the subject,what I want the audience to know, what the length that it needs to be,and the source of the information. I would also need to have the ability to ask question and to have enough information to answer the questions that I come up with. I believe that I need to give myself enough time and opportunity to create a rough draft or outline of my topic. This outline will keep me focused on the subject and aid me in writing a well written paper.

“The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” Dialogue

I can understand the meaning that the author stated about a “smart Indian” is one to be feared or is thought of as dangerous. People that are smart are feared because with knowledge one is aware of the power they hold and the ability to change their fate. I’m glad that the author didn’t except his fate. With knowledge people are aware of the many injustices that are going on within their society and can do something about it. If he accepted his fate like all the other Indian boys there wouldn’t be any to aid his society and to push the boundaries that he did.
Not only “smart Indian” dangerous to Non-Indianans but to Indians too. That is because it would mean that they would have to change. If they had knowledge their safe average life would exist any longer. Some people become compliant because they don’t want the burden or the problem that might come from being noticed or different from the norm. Alexie stirred the pot he made people aware that Indians aren’t dumb and could make it in the outside world and that meant people were just choosing to be poor and obedient.
My best part of what Alexie wrote about Superman and how even before he knew how to read he’d imagine Superman busting down the door. He himself changed his life because he became educated and wasn’t afraid to bust through his own barriers and become something that would never be expected from him or any other person from the Indian Reservation.
Alexie continues to change lives because he goes back to the reservation to aid other children and change their life by giving them the knowledge and the ability to give them a dream so they can do something about their own fate. Being someone that they can admire and to aspire to be like when they grow up. Alexie has become a child advocate to aid others in Indian Reservations. He goes back and shows the children that someone just like them can succeed, which was something that he was lacking when he was boy.
I’m actually wondering a little more about Alexie father. He seemed not to accept his own fate, but did nothing with it. He was educated by Christian society and loved to read and owned a lot of books, but I was wondering what became of him or what he lacked to change his family’s fate.