midterm assignment engl-1101

7/27/2019 Midterm Assignment ENGL-1101

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Sargent 1

Daniel Sargent

Professor Suzanne Ingram

English 1101

3 October 2013

Midterm Assignment

1. While most of the questions on my first blog post were rhetorical and weresomething to ponder about, one of them particularly stood out to me as a very direct,

sincere question. Is a high level of diction always appropriate? Based off of my

feedback on my personal narrative, while diction is advantageous when it comes to detail,

it doesn't fill in the gap for the personal account. Any type of writing does not, and

should not comprise of mainly detail as making that connection with the reader is much

more important. It is more sensible to ease the reader into your writing which is in fact

one of main points of a blog post. While blogging doesn't always correlate to narrative

writing, there is a personal factor that transcends appropriateness and should

generously be implemented. My experience so far with dealing with my copious amounts

flowery diction have been fairly helpful. While I'm an advanced writer, I only see that

in one sense of the phrase since everyone has their own approach when it comes to

writing. If writing is to compel to the reader, I have to write with an open mind and be

willing to get my points across to the target audience.

2. The second of the central questions which poses, What are the differencesbetween high school competency and college success?, is now a fairly easy question to


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answer even though I've only been in college for a little over a month and a half. College

success is entirely dependent upon personal effort unlike the osmosis that was my high

school learning experience. Nothing is ever spoon-fed in college, and spending days in

class just to review a subject is non-existent. Success is dependent on your own

methodology and how often it's used. It is like having a mental agenda of topics that need

to be covered. The order in which they need to be approached doesn't matter, but in one

way or another you need to have a solid understanding of what you're dealing with. While

in high school it was imperative to complete assignments for a grade, in college it

expands tenfold. The skills and knowledge we attain from this environment will be

implemented heavily in the future since it serves as the base of information we need for a

job. Everything from the holistic concept to the small details are necessary to understand

because of its direct applicability on our careers.

3. To a current high school senior, college preparation is definitely not astraightforward process. Dependent on the courses he or she is taking, the first year could

be fairly strenuous or very manageable. Unlike grade levels that stack upon one another

in primary and secondary school in terms of difficulty, college is a variable experience for

every student. Major choice and scheduling can greatly effect academic performance, and

the amount of effort that needs to be put in is unpredictable. The best way to actually

prepare for college is to work on skills like time management and active learning. One of

the worst misconceptions in college preparation is to study ahead on material for a future

class because plain and simple, they haven't been in the class yet. While it's redundant to

say that, there is no formula to predict the type of material that is going to be covered and

the professors teaching method. While Advanced Placement courses are helpful when it


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5. A key concept that I feel I am struggling with is mainly curiosity. While it isn't adifficult concept to understand, I feel as if I haven't taken full advantage of it. Curiosity,

unlike risk-taking, is the motivation that fuels different styles ofwriting. The

willingness I have to explore different approaches is somewhat set to a minimal because I

feel content with my writing. I'm used to taking risks when it comes to papers, which is

why I've developed such a distinct style in my writing. The only problem is, that my

constant style of reflection and elaboration could send veteran readers of mine into a

frankly, mind-numbing sleep. One of the goals I have for the second-half of the

semester is to explore different types of papers and try different structures. One of the big

things that I didn't have on my literacy narrative was dialogue, which should make sense

to include for the type of writing that it is. I don't usually work with dialogue and haven't

really take the initiative to find how to make it flow in my papers. So this is one of the

techniques that I intend to improve upon. I need to expand and explore more creative

methods with my writing, which will hopefully turn my papers from decent to amazing.

6. The most apparent connection amongst the first five questions in this midtermassignment is my urge to go beyond what I'm used to. The greatest question that I'm

posed with is, What can I do to advance myself?. I often look at professional articles

and notice how articulate they are with their wording and structure so I've always tried to

emulate that process, and yet for some reason I feel like I haven't gotten to that stage. I

can use rhetorical questions and inquire about a topic for pages, but none of my papers

could amount to the charisma that makes up a true, professional article. I want to convey

a sense of relatability in my writing along with a sense of professionalism. While I have

the professional part covered to a good extent, I have a tendency to delve off into a


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philosophic rant instead of appeal to the audience. When I actually try and appeal to an

audience I then seem to awkwardly try to re-configure and re-word it, like pouring more

water into a cup of already good coffee. While I am rapidly progressing as a technical

writer, I can't ignore some of the basic concepts that exist in simple, plain writing. At

some point I need to take a step back and evaluate what I am doing, and change it up a

little bit.

7. While I don't have any direct queries about this course, I am curious about the waythis class and my future English classes are going to follow suit. I understand that this

class is about the advancement of our writing through literary examples, techniques,

references, and so forth. What I want to know is what type of writing exercises will we be

covering that will really take us out of our comfort zone. I'm not trying to imply that I'm

not being challenged, but I want to figure out what types of writing that I need to work

on. My goal in this class is to try and figure out my weaknesses as a writer and where I

can improve. Since writing is applicable to just about every class I want to take, making

sure I have good grasp on all the techniques available to me will be advantageous in my

pursuit for a career. If I can, I also want to help other individuals in the class if they need

help with anything pertaining to word usage and diction. It is a common problem that

individuals have a hard time finding a word that fits, I have the exact opposite problem.

As a whole, I think that each individual in the class has something to put on the table in

terms of writing techniques. Outlets to solve these issues like class discussions and group

sessions prove beneficial to everyone so it would be great to experience more of that.

midterm assignment engl-1101

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