Parker 1

Shed Parker
Ms. Ingram
UWRT 1101
01 October 2014
Midterm
A. Looking back at my first blog post, I can see that all, but one of my questions
have been answered so far. That one questions was Will music ever be incorporated into
this class in any way? I just recently realized that Ms. Ingram replied to my post with a
counter question: How would you like to incorporate music into this class? I have also
realized that I have the power to use music lyrics or titles into my assignments for class
when appropriate, but maybe they can be used in the in-class experience as well. What if
one of our group activities included each group choosing fifteen-second song snippets to
introduce whatever brainstorming or argument they came to for the day. The snippets
could relate to their brainstorming or argument and also be a way to keep everyone in
tune on days like the few we took to present each groups rhetorical analysis.

B. Out of the nine key concepts on the first page of the syllabus, I believe I am
doing my best with getting out of my comfort zone, curiosity, and providing and
receiving feedback. I usually like to be able to just sit back, chill, and take in
whatever the instructor sheds, but having a peer group has helped me with talking
to, working with, and getting to know others. Working with Bryce and Crystal ended
up being a great experience and I appreciate how much effort they put into helping
me to do my best possible work. I feel that I am doing my best with curiosity
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because that is what has pushed me to read and reread some of the essays from
The Subject is Writing by Wendy Bishop and James Strickland. This gave me better
understanding of each essay and made it easier to relate and connect previously
read essays. The peer grouping process has helped to do best with providing and
receiving feedback because we have had much practice with it. My Peer Review Dos
and Donts list was very helpful the first few times we had to take on the process,
but I eventually didnt need it anymore. For me, the initial writing process is the
most challenging. I tend to still have a hard time forming and sorting ideas for essays
and RRLs at times. I would like to know more techniques for idea development.
What is the best way to kick start this process?

C. I am a fan of the shift of focus I made from Draft 1 to Draft 2 of my Literacy
Narrative. Instead of discussing my literacy over the span of 15 years, I only wrote
about a special moment spent with my grandmother as a toddler and how it
contributed to those 15 years of development. My thoughts seem to flow much
better in my second draft than they did in my first one. I first introduced my
grandmother in Draft 1 by saying; I could never forget spending toddler morning
and afternoons with my maternal grandmother whom I affectionately called Nana.
In Draft 2, I made a change by beginning my narrative by saying, There is no other
place I wouldve rather spent weekday mornings than at Nanas house on that
quaint and quiet North Carolina street. This was one of my favorite changes
because it added a new element of mystery to my narrative while still revealing
imagery. I was able to speak about Nana and how she made me feel, but I held off
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on exactly who she was for a few sentences. It was brought to my attention during
the review of my third draft that I overused Nana in my essay. Crystal gave me the
tip to go through my entire paper and circle every time I used Nana. I had never
thought to do that before, but it actually help me realized that the amount of times I
used that term needed to be revised.

D. For my rhetorical analysis, I chose Sample 7 by Lindsey Woodruff. All four
pieces of the rhetorical triad really work together to build a trail for Lindsey, Ms.
Ingram, and all other blog visitors took look back on as a testament for her English
1101 experience. The explicit messages in Lindseys e-Portfolio are that she is a
student in a first year writing course that will be virtually documenting her journey
through it. At the same time, the amount of effort she puts into it implies that there
is a lot you have to keep up with to end up with an exemplary result. Lindsey
beautifully utilizes linguistic, visual, gestural, and spacial modes in her e-Portfolio.
Her words and sentence structure are well thought out. She included calming blue
colors that are easy on the eyes, and added different photos and cartoons to help
evoke further thought of her portfolio. Lindseys blog also has a good amount of
white space, so the context does seem overwhelming. I consider the genre of this e-
Portfolio to be a website blog. Rules for creating blogs include:
Formatting every blog post
Using interesting headlines
Using generally short paragraphs
Having plenty of white space
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Using pictures and images
Telling a story
Being consistent
The blogging community made general rules of a blog, but an instructor made
specific rules for this type of blog. Based on my analysis, I do believe this e-Portfolio
is successful because the author was thorough and organized in focusing on its
purpose, how readers would receive it, and the personal value in its context.

E. As of the midterm, I believe I have earned between an 89 and a 92. I feel I am
setting myself up to compose an exemplary e-Portfolio because I have been as
detailed as possible in responses and writings. I have also gone back through my
blog posts for revision. I have given my personal best to this course in the midst of
all of the other work that I have to do and to me, that means my grade would fall in
the higher B or lower A range.