In grade ten I took a writing course in which we had to do an entry in a journal pretty much everyday for the entire year. I was never a big fan of journaling so I hated going to the class, despite the fact that I really liked my teacher. Everyday felt like I was doing the same thing, writing the same exact things, trying to come up with scenarios, some of which never even happened to put in the journal to make it even a little interesting for our teacher to read through. So flash-forward to this year in CM 1145, I was expecting that we would need to do another blog like we did last year, but I was really disappointed to find out that the blog entries would need to be in the form of journal entries.
However I was pleasantly surprised with the way the blogs are currently going. I get to write about different things everyday, and put in as much effort as I can to do well on them, I don't feel like I'm just writing about my day-to-day life all the time, which in reality is pretty boring. I especially like that the blog serve as writing practice, if they turn out to be good entries then that's great, but even if they turn out to be not so great entries, then they are still valuable and allow me to learn from my mistakes. That's pretty much all I have to write about that pertains to the blog right now, though even as I write this I still feel that it is a really bad entry, and I think that it would be pretty ironic for the one entry in which I talk about learning from mistakes to be the one where I make all of the errors possible.
Sunday, 19 February 2012
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
CM 1145 Collaborative Essay
So in class this week, we basically finished our collaborative writing assignments. We were put into groups and were tasked with writing the separate paragraphs of an essay while also trying to make it as coherent and unified as possible. I believe that our group achieved this, or at the very least I think that we did a good job. It was a very interesting experience and I did enjoy writing in this way as it requires a lot of communication and cooperation with your group members. Normally I despise group projects since I am just naturally shy and also socially awkward.
However, this was one of the rare cases where my shyness didn't get the better of me and I was able to work well with a group. Now, on to the actual essay. Our group decided to do an essay on the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles. We each wrote a support paragraph on our differing opinions of the novel and paired it with a matching thesis, intro and conclusion. My paragraph was on my neutral view of the novel, I didn't strongly like or dislike the book. I like the plot of the novel and I even liked the protagonist, Gene Forrester, the way the novel was written made me want to believe that he did not cause Finny to fall out of the tree. On the other hand, I did not like that the story is written entirely as a flashback, that all the events that take place in the novel are simply memories irritates me for some reason. My neutrality on the novel is derived from the small likes and dislikes that I have toward different parts of the novel.
Overall I think we did a pretty good job in writing about our topic, despite using the same examples in our separate paragraphs and I really did enjoy the process of collaborative writing. The assignment has opened me up to other styles of writing as well, the knowledge that there are many ways to write an essay may influence me to write in more creative ways. Should I try a different style for my next essay? I think it could be a good idea.
However, this was one of the rare cases where my shyness didn't get the better of me and I was able to work well with a group. Now, on to the actual essay. Our group decided to do an essay on the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles. We each wrote a support paragraph on our differing opinions of the novel and paired it with a matching thesis, intro and conclusion. My paragraph was on my neutral view of the novel, I didn't strongly like or dislike the book. I like the plot of the novel and I even liked the protagonist, Gene Forrester, the way the novel was written made me want to believe that he did not cause Finny to fall out of the tree. On the other hand, I did not like that the story is written entirely as a flashback, that all the events that take place in the novel are simply memories irritates me for some reason. My neutrality on the novel is derived from the small likes and dislikes that I have toward different parts of the novel.
Overall I think we did a pretty good job in writing about our topic, despite using the same examples in our separate paragraphs and I really did enjoy the process of collaborative writing. The assignment has opened me up to other styles of writing as well, the knowledge that there are many ways to write an essay may influence me to write in more creative ways. Should I try a different style for my next essay? I think it could be a good idea.
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Journal Entry#1 /CM1145/Book Review
We were told that we would have to do a book review this semester, I am actually really happy, as with all assignments I am nervous that I may not do very well. But at the same time I am excited that I get to review one of my favorite books from high school, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger. I really enjoyed this book and the sarcastic tone of it's protagonist, Holden Caulfield. I have also really loved the theme of this novel and it has always resonated with me, the theme of not wanting to grow up is one that constantly reminds me of my own life, and how easy it is to be reminded of your childhood, and to miss the simplicity of life back then. Especially when you're up to your eyeballs in schoolwork. This should be a pretty enjoyable assignment since I get to write on the book of my choice, now I just need to go over all the chapter summaries I received from my teacher last year. Sounds like fun right?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)