What have I learned and need to improve on in writing?

I feel I have learned many things in this writing course.  I've learned more about how to compose different essays, grammar, punctuation, APA formatting, sentence structures and how to do more intense research for any subject I want to write about.  I still have much more to learn and can see that being a writer of any kind is never ending. There will always be more to learn about how to become better at it. I've enjoyed the experience and the knowledge from this class and thankful I was able to take it!  :)

How do I feel about my paper almost done?

I feel pretty good about being almost done with my paper. I feel I have learned enough from this class to write the paper that is required and I look forward to it. I like the step by step instructions from each unit that builds up to the final project instead of being taught all at once. I feel thankful, excited, and relieved that the project is finished! I'm grateful for all I have learned from this class and my professor did a great job! She taught the subject in an understanding and easy-to-learn way.
I enjoyed my classmates and like to see everybody with their own personalities.
It was a great class! Thanks everybody!  :)

Will I Continue Blogging?

I'm not sure if I will continue blogging. I think if I strike up a dialogue with people and they want to continue blogging then I will. I will just have to see what happens after this term. I've found it to be interesting! :)

Near and Far Away: Discussing Issues of Blogging

Near and Far Away: Discussing Issues of Blogging: "Though, this is my first time officially blogging, I am liking it more than I thought I would..... once I started blogging. I have not gotte..."

Discussing Issues of Blogging

Though, this is my first time officially blogging, I am liking it more than I thought I would..... once I started blogging. I have not gotten that many comments but that's because I haven't been writing regularly. I would consider myself to be a friendly person and would like to invite anybody to blog with me! I think some students have never blogged before and talking to some they don't know the mechanics of how to work the site. Some may not be motivated to write or do not know what to say. I think those who may feel writer-illiterate because that may not be their talent or ability may shy away from blogging. Perhaps they excel more in Math or Science than writing. But, still I believe it is a good experience because we use writing in every subject and regularly in our lives.  I am looking forward to hearing from my classmates to talk to me about anything they desire!  :)  OR.....what we are required to talk about!  :)

What Have I Dealt With For Past Six Weeks?

What have I dealt with for the past six weeks?  There has been a few things on my mind which I try not to let affect my school work. I think missing some blogging time has been affected by it, which does not make me too happy about grades going down. :(........which is why I'm trying to catch up! I heard from one of my daughters that she has cancer cells on her cervix and she told me that but will not talk to me about it at all. So, knowing nothing or what is going on has been pretty hard to deal with.

Also, my mom has been having some health issues and calls me almost every day asking me to pray for her which I am very glad to do. It makes me feel sad to see my parents growing older and seeing the changes in them. I went to Colorado to visit them a couple of weeks ago and that is where my sister lives, too.

My sister who is two years younger than me is on a liver transplant list. Several years ago she took these diet herbs that had warnings about how it could damage the liver if you take too much and I don't know what all caused the damage to her liver....I only know that she has this liver that does not function anymore and she is so skinny that she gets weak and sometimes falls down or ends up in the hospital because of symptoms of liver failure. My older sister passed away so this one is the only one I have left. I'm praying for her, too.

Going back to my school work.....my topic for my paper is on texting while driving. I was not that opinionated on it until my nephew was killed while riding his bicycle when a young girl was distracted while she was texting and did not see him. While doing more research on the subject I think this topic has been  quite influential later in my research. It's amazing how much more I learn about ANYTHING while researching it out!

Peer Reviews

I have a pretty positive outlook on peer reviews. I had another writing class and learned to send my paper into the writing center. I find their comments to be polite, to the point, and very helpful. However, I do not feel that confident in reviewing other papers, yet. I wonder if any of you out there feel the same way?
I feel as I learn more that I will grow to like it.


Although, doing research can be time consuming I am starting to enjoy it. I love learning new things. What is surprising to me is even when I am researching a subject that I may not be interested in I find something of interest in the research I do. Sometimes it takes a while but inevitably it seems to happen every time I research. Has anybody else had that experience?

What is Your Writing Style?

School has influenced me in some positive ways. I would say that I have become more disciplined since starting school, in the way that I take time out of my life to focus totally on school. I have become somewhat more organized and I love learning new things. I like being in an atmosphere with others and learning and discussing together. Since I travel sometimes then it is a challenge to finding places that have Wifi and hotels that have Wifi so I can go anywhere and still keep up with school. My school is highest priority for me right now, so I do take the time for it above other things. I am determining what kind of writing style I use. I know there are different reasons for writing such as....sharing my experiences, telling a story, teaching something, or trying to change others thinking. There are three distinct writing styles:

1. Narrative - which tells us about a person or fictional experience or it may tell a story based on an imaginary or real event.
2. Expository is used to convey information or try to write something so the reader could understand something that may be difficult to understand.
3.Expository writing tries to help the reader understand a difficult thing. I think I am "The Activist" type of writer because I like to present some kind of news and knowledge to people to persuade them to take action on a certain subject. I, also have something of a "Teacher" in me, though, I would not be a teacher in the sense of standing in front of a classroom. I like to teach in my writing and talk about things that I have knowledge about and I like to research new things that I can tell others about. I like to learn new things.(MagicStarER,2011).

Reference:

MagicStarER,"What is Your Writing Style?",(2011),HubPages,Retrieved 1/13/2011,Kaplan Library

Plagiarism

It's important to cite our own sources because if we don't then we are actually stealing another person's ideas, thoughts, and writings. It is not only unethical but it is against the law. So, I think it's important to remember to always put a name to something we write that originated from somebody else.

If somebody used something of mine that I created without giving me credit I'm not sure exactly what I would do. In different situations in my life I think this has happened in small ways, but it did not bother me so much that it would make me want to pursue them or pursue them legally. Plagiarism is kind of new to me. I may feel differently if a person stole my idea if I was writing a book or something that I made money with. But, if somebody uses my idea on things I've written and not posted my name I would not be that offended by it right now. But, I would not do that to anybody else. I see the importance of giving others credit for the things they have done.

I have not learned of any plagiarism issues that I have heard about with professionals. In the case of plagiarism  happening to professionals, however, I think I might pursue it even in a legal way.

I think the internet may blur the lines a bit for example in cites such as You Tube or Wikipedia or other sites where so many people post video's and articles about so many things that they have gotten from other people and do not give credit to those where it originated from. I think the media and these sites and others could easily blur this line just to get people to get on their sites. They may not uphold it like they should in an ethical or legal way because their bottom line may be more important to them than doing what is right.