Eng. 5020

Dr. Zamora

Writing Theory & Practice

Blog 9

                                    

 

                                                    “Proof of Authentic”

         Does researching inspires the use of the library and encourage the reading of multiple books that students may not had read? If someone is being quoted of course the information has be cited. The authentic information must be presented and acknowledge the, but to what extent? Although the composition format may not be used after college it is hugely suggested when in College. I agree with Dan Berrett she write “There’s some value to reminding students about the authority on certain subjects that are not in a digital archive,” she said. “What we’ve forgotten is that libraries were the repositories where people made judicious claims about what sources are worth reading.” and quoting in class.

      Different processes and presentations will encourage more productivity. I am not an educator but I totally agree with Barbara Fister when he writes “If you want students to learn about a topic and be able to synthesize information effectively, fine – but don’t call it research. Turn it into a presentation, an informational brochure, or a Wikipedia article. If you want students to make an argument, start from something they know and care about, something that matters to them and about which they can hold an informed opinion. If you want them to read and understand scholarly material, focus on close reading and have the class jointly prepare an annotated edition. If you want them to write academic prose, wait until they know enough about the discipline to know what they’re talking about and how to ask a meaningful question about it” may increase the student’s engagement. Valid opinions verses silence and awkward questions in the classroom. She also shares “But if you want first year college students to understand what sources are for and why they matter, if you want them to develop curiosity and respect for evidence, your best bet is to start by tossing that generic research paper. As for those who will complain that students should have learned how to paraphrase and cite sources in their first semester – we’ve tried to do that for decades, and it hasn’t worked yet. Isn’t it time to try something else?” to encourage better writing skills.

       All formulas are beneficial for certain grade levels. I agree with Mark Wiley as he writes a response of a suborned teacher “Schaffer’s approach does remove the mystery for students about what their teachers expect in their essays. “ Unfortunately, she observed, the method also removes the need for these students to judge for themselves how to shape their essays. Although this teacher’s negative evaluation was in the minority, the majority of teachers did fear that their students might become too dependent on the format,” causing many writings to appear similar. Self-assessment and peer review is important when writing the first draft. A writer must be able to recognize some errors and except criticism. Mark argues “A familiar in of formulaic argument support writings that many struggling writers really need a simple format to follow so that they can achieve some immediate succession in their academic writing” there are some merits to this argument. Struggling writers need lots of carefully structured assignments, but repetitively following the same direction for writing every essay will not help these students advance beyond a kind of “successful” codependency on teachers who have agreed in advance that this sort of formulaic essay will be what they reward. These students are precisely the ones who most need to be challenge” to increase their writing skills.

Blog8

Eng. 5020

Dr. Zamora

Writing Theory & Practice

Four questions regarding WhyIWrite

 

1)    How is the length of my presentation? Is it too long or too short? Should I add more slides or take some away? Should I add more words on any slides? If so which ones?

2)    How is the design on my presentation? Is it too colorful or not colorful enough? Do I have too many designs on each slide and will it compliment the group’s selected application?

3)    Does my presentation needs some reorganization? Should my WhyIwrite story be presented first because it is the theme of the project? Where exactly should the answer to the life question be, at the end?

4)    My presentation is on power point. Was it the application to use? If not which one is? How do I transfer my presentation to the required application

Eng. 5020

Dr. Zamora

Writing Theory & Practice 

Blog 7

                                                   Who is the authority ? 

What is your definition of different?  Adults Bi, Butch, and Bar Dyke in the twentieth century have been telling their stories for years. One's mind set determines how " complicate the notion that identities can be performed in clean, organized, distinct ways by examining the theorizing our own experiences of class, gender, and sexual identity performance " when the stories are read. I think that all people from all walks of life have the same struggles with their identity personally and professionally. All educators have a degree of expectation of building relationships with their students. Some Bi, Butch, and Bar Dyke cannot be in the closet because of some accumulative stereotypical learned aspects some students bring to class. I personally agree with Bill Clinton when he suggested to the military personnel  "Don't ask don't tell" to avoid complications. I also agree with Michelle Gibson, Martha Marinara, and Deborah Meem when they wrote" The space created by opening up identity allows for a more open-ended model of collective identity and poses hard questions about the nature and definitions of political subject positions as one is both enlarged and oppressed by constantly shifting alliances" maintain the students engagement in the classroom and unwarranted questions in  their political environment. 

                                                Testing for entry?

Like with most processes  change comes with progress.  I agree with Yancy as she explains" A related approach constructs the history of writing assessment as the struggle between and among scholars and testing practitioners and faculty, those who speak the terms validity and reliability quite differently: the old expert; the new non expert, from this perspective, the last 50 years of writing assessment can be narrativized as the teacher-layperson ( often successfully) challenging the (psychometric ) expert, developing and then applying  both expertise and theory located not in psychometrics, but in rhetoric, in reading  and hermeneutics, and, increasingly, in writing practice " is part of our accumulative  process of writing assessment. We are now faced with a standing concern of " what (else) might we learn from writing assessment? And how would we learn? Underlying these concerns is a particular construct of writing assessment itself:" as we focus on identifying future placement processes. There are many concerns to factor when considering any aspects of educational processes.  Which might take us back to the first wave " What is the best or most valid measure of writing?"-but a tied to theory, to institutional need, to cost, and ultimately to efficiency [ Williamson)-"Which measure can do the best ad fairest job of prediction with the least amount of work and the lowest cost?" as testing is constantly being considered. 

Writing  should not be assessed by a timed test only. Students  accumulative writing exercises in the last class should also be considered. I agree with Yancy as she shares " we knows that for a valid test of writing performance, multiple writing sample written on different occasions and in various rhetorical modes are preferable to single samples drawn from an isolated writing instance" considering a more accurate assessment.

Eng. 5020

Dr. Zamora

Writing Theory & Practice 

Blog 6

                       " Let Your Fingers Do The Findings"

We now have the world at our finger tip. The Web provides a great change in how students " share content in new collaborate ways" as they learn and are taught differently from their parents. They were born into a technical world their patents may never fully comprehend. Their ability to technically multitask will alway supersede most of their parents.  I totally agree with Richardson when he wrote " No matter how you look at it, we are creating what author Douglas Rushkoff calls a 'Society of Authorship" where every teacher and every student, every person with access will have the ability to contribute ideas and experiences to the larger body of knowledge that is the Internet. And in doing so, Rushkoff says, we will be writing the human story, in real time, together, a vision that asks each of us to participate" as journey through life. 

As we progress through life our expectation of progress is enviable.  We have progressed into a digital world and I am not sure if it is beneficial or not. Have we given up our privacy to communicate from the comforts of our homes?  Have we jeopardized our children safety by introducing them to the " ne er- do wells of the world" who constantly prey on the weak and innocent? Or is it best that we now have faster access to the local authorities and applications for directions on our phones. Did we expect our children to become more sociable than us but less active?  Did we realized that children will have access to "obscene content on line" and because they are more technical sabby than their parents they can override any password they create? They were born into a technical world we may never fully comprehend. Their ability to technically multitask will alway supersede most of their parents. They have lost the reason to utilize the library, venture out to the mall, and play on the jungle gym.  Was we aware that once a child place their negative actions and comments on line it will be there forever for future employers to view? Before the Web, comments and actions may be forgotten or hard to prove. Was this our expectations of the Web, blog, wikis, and podcast?  I agree with Richard when he wrote" One of the most difficult roads to navigate in the world of the Read/Write is how to balance the safety of the child with the benefits that come with students taking ownership of the work they publish on line” considering the consequences.

           "Improving the Writings of  Second Language Writers"

I am impressed to learn that" Over the last two decades, however, the demographics of the U.S. higher education have changed drastically - especially in terms of students' ethnic, national, and linguistic backgrounds. Reflecting the rise of the multilingual student population educated in U.S. high  schools, many institutions-regardless of type-are beginning to enroll highly qualified resident students whose Language proficiency and literacy backgrounds do not fit the profile of traditional college students" which will encourage more student to attend college. Increasing the desire for people to increase their academic and personal growth is amazing. I totally agree with the CCCC that" writers are finding themselves in situations where they are being assessed not only for their knowledge and expertise in the disciplines but for they're writing and language proficiencies. For these reasons, second language writing cannot be considered a concern only for a handful of specialist; instead, it needs to be seen as an integral part of all areas of composition studies" to adjust the curriculum to  support everyones educational desires.