Before I started English 415, I had never written a blog post and the task seemed daunting. I asked myself, “How am I going to have enough ideas to write 600 words each week for ten weeks?” The answer was to write about what I knew, cared about, or felt strongly about. I chose three posts that reflect that answer.
- https://0ddsandendz.wordpress.com/2011/09/28/experiencing-a-different-culture/
- https://0ddsandendz.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/dark-shadows/
- https://0ddsandendz.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/kids-have-the-most-amazing-ideas-2/
When writing Experiencing a Different Culture I wanted readers to know what it was like traveling to Japan. It was an amazing experience and I wanted to share it. By relaying my story about the children, the sightseeing, and the food I was able to tell my readers how similar people/families are in different cultures.
Personal photos added emphasis to the subjects and lent more credibility by showing readers I had experienced what I was describing. Using word links allowed readers easy access to Japan’s historical information. I was hesitant to add the link to the population website, but it helped readers understand what a rural area most of us were from and helped readers better relate to our situation.
The purpose of the Dark Shadows post was to relate my excitement about the upcoming movie. I believed it was necessary to use a YouTube video of the original series with a summary to help readers understand the history behind the movie.
I knew the placement of the video was important to the posts success; therefore, I located it after the plot summary. To progress from past to present I placed the movie information, the cast photo, and the linked cast list later in the post. (Lists are popular and easy to read.)
The story of Kids Have the Most Amazing Ideas is easy for anyone with children to relate to. It shows the innocence and humor of childhood. After consideration, I felt the best way to convey emotional appeal was to simply tell the story the way it happened. The humorous tone of the quote from the Mom, “Ask your daughter” can be understood clearly by any Mother.
The photo of the little girl pink, glittery, and ruffled purses hanging from the door knobs shows a child’s ingenuity and is humorous for adults. Gramps leaving a dollar shows how much we love our children/grandchildren and want to help them succeed and encourage their ideas and imagination.
These posts show the progression of my writing. In Experiencing a Different Culture I struggled with how to present the different points. Dark Shadows was easier to present using a progression of old to new. Kids Have the Most Amazing Ideas was the easiest, because it was the story as it occurred. These helped me learn to organize and present my ideas.
I have writing weaknesses such as using useless adjectives and adverbs and using phrases that can be replaced with one word. I work hard to use active verbs, because I have a tendency to use weak ones. Each time I edit, I look for these weak tendencies and correct them. Here is just one example.
“A few months ago Kass she decided that she wanted an iPod. To teach her the value of money, her parents suggested that she save enough her money to and buy one. So Kass did. saved her money and a few weeks ago she bought an iPod.”
I am striving to spot my common writing errors and train myself to avoid them. When editing I look for unnecessary words, distractions at the beginning of sentences, and being more concise. By the end of the semester I hope to become a better writer.
0ddsandendz 