As one stares through a window, one can see what is before him and what is ahead of him. Here I am sitting in front of the window, but I’m doing things a little differently. As I stare at this window I am holding up my project 1. In result, I see three things. I see myself as a writer today, a reflection who I was as a writer 4 months ago, and past the window I see the writer I can become. Altogether, this is imagery paints into perspective my most recent task, my project 5.

For project one I was asked to define myself as a writer using three previous assignments and the frameworks to success criteria. Now, In terms of literature one can see his writing through three windows; one can see his writing through a reading window, writing window, and research window. The catch is, sometimes those windows can be foggy. That was the case for my project one. I wasn’t able to really analyze my strategies of writing, because I didn’t have a strategy to begin with. With this in mind, the first reason I chose project one for my major revision was for redemption. A second chance to look at my writing from high school with more open eyes. The second reason I chose project one, was because of the depth it gave this assignment. In project one I also reflected on my past work. Now I have the chance to reflect on how my reflection process used to be. I can now analyze what things I saw important, what things I didn’t see important, and what habits lead me to this new process of reflection that I use on my current work. Lastly I chose project one because of the large learning curve that has developed from when wrote it 4 months ago till today. A lot has changed about me as a writer, but I haven’t quite put my finger on were exactly the growth has happened. No it’s time to shed some light on that growth.

The first window I looked through for project one was my window of writing. I saw that my project one as a whole had a sense of structure, but what it lacked was delivery. When reading it, I felt like I was observing a suffocated writer, trying to erupt with ideas, but too scared to ruin his paper. Especially in my final paragraph, when trying to talk about “euthanasia”. My writing shows that I had a lot to say, but didn’t know how to say it. In results, my works began to seem elementary. The reason for all this, was lack of “objective”. What I mean by “objective”, is lack of a goal in my paper. I wasn’t conscious of the final point I was attempting to make, the conscious who I’m making this point too, and the criteria I was presented to make this point with. Now looking back at previous assignments, one things they all had in common was an objective. Whether it was project 3 were we just wanted to raise awareness about an issue to and average American, or project 2 were we just wanted to bring a curious reader into our journey of research. As progressed through these assignments over the course of the semester, my sense of objective grew stronger. When writing my papers, more and more, my writing began to align with the final point I was trying to make. In results my writing became more clear and concise. Also this practice helped avoid error in my writing. Writing with a final objective and consciousness of a certain audience gave my writing direction, and less “where did that come from moments”. Using this new and improved writing habit, I was able to improve my 4^th paragraph. Rather than sounding like someone trying to bring sympathy to my situation of writing about euthanasia, I portrayed a writer who was using his creative writing habit to make best to such a difficult topic to write about. In results not only did my point become clearer, but my claim for me as a “creative” writer became more evident.

Out of all three windows of reflection, I’d say my reading window was the largest without doubt. Through this window I found the most improvement for my project one. Around the first quarter of the semester, Dr. Jankens assignment to me a reading titled “revising by reading aloud”. This paper talked about the clash between written and spoken English, and went into detail on how things usually sound much better in our head. I recall when reading this article, thinking to myself: “where was this during project one”. Through my project one, it was evident that my use of voice was taking from the credibility of my paper. It was my first college paper, and I wanted to impress. I tried very hard to indulge the reader that I began to disturb them. Too many times throughout the paper a point could have been made, but I wasted word count and time trying to sound exciting or humorous. This was an issue throughout the whole paper. Tying this to my window of writing, it was also clear that my lack of consciousness of an audience didn’t make things any easier. When writing, the only voice I heard was mine and the only ears listening were mine. But after applying what I learned from “revising by reading aloud”, I was able to hear my paper from the ears of a professor, visitor of my sight, and me as a writer 4 months later. In result, there was a bit of omission and rewriting throughout my paper. Nonetheless, my writing became more clear and reader friendly.

Lastly I decided to take a look through my window of research.  My window of research is very much like the side window of a home that reveals only the brick wall of a next door neighbor. A window I never looked through very much. It wasn’t until I began this course that I realized the importance of this window, and as I look though it now I see a beautiful horizon. But it wasn’t until I looked through my windows of writing and reading, that I saw the significance of my window of research. Once I became conscious of being objective with my writing and picking the correct context to present that objective in, I learned my knowledge isn’t the only knowledge my audiences want to hear about. Readers want opinions and information other than yours. But this outside information can’t from anywhere, it must come credible sources. All I knew coming into this course was the google search bar, but that changed quickly. Particularly thanks to the workshop I participated in at the Wayne state library. At this workshop I learned to utilize a handful of article databases and alternative search engines. As a result of my growth in research, my writing grew as well. There were instances where I found sources that changed my topic, or broadened my view on a certain point I was trying to make. For example for my project 3, I just wanted to write about how aspartame affects one mentally. As my research progressed, I learned a lot of other effects of aspartame and my paper continued to grow as my research continued. Connect my research window to this project, it was clear to me that not much research was done for this project (other than searching through past flash drives for old assignments). Which is fine, considering that no research was required for project 1. Yet, the research process still contributed to my revision of project 1. The research process itself is very similar like thinking of what to write for a paper based on your own thoughts. Many thoughts come to my mind when writing, just like the endless amount of sources that appear when I search for a certain topic. But not all thoughts are best fit, there is “cream of the crop” thoughts that one must identify. For example, when choosing the three assignments to discuss for project one, I chose the three most current assignments that best reflected who I was currently as writer. Similar to research, when looking for sources, when must find the most current sources that best reflect the situation of the current time.  The research process taught me that sources and thoughts alike, are accountable for things such as relatability, reliability, currency, and many other important factors.

Looking back at project one, I realize it was not too long ago I wrote that paper, but from writers perspective there is a much larger time gap in terms of my growth as a writer. During project one, I was beginning to scratch the surface of my reflective process as a writer. Aside from the lack of grammar and mediocre structure of that paper, my issue was that I wanted to force a certain writing into a assignment it wasn’t fit for. My voice was taking away from my reflection. I was trying to heard to entertain the reader rather than guide them into my reflection. Nonetheless, one thing I did take pride in was my effort into that assignment. It was the first time I ever review a paper more than six times. My failure to improperly reflect on past assignments in project one drives me to improvise it, as redemption. This reflection of my last attempted reflection will be my most successful reflection.

I volunteered at a sports medicine orthopedic clinic for some time, and that language was very unique. When ever the physician assistant was done with a room and the patient was ready for the doctor, the PA would just shout out the number of the room. In any other place shouting out a number would confuse everyone. Also they had a color code to indicate the status of the room. Red meant the room hasn’t been visited by any one, blue meant only the PA head went it, green meant they await a doctor, and lastly yellow meant the check-up is complete. The doctors also had weird names for injuries , names that I can’t even remember. What we might class a fractured ankle, the doctors would a call a twisty. I’m sure the reason they made up these words and codes is for efficiency. Instead of taking time to ask the condition of a room, its status is always clear thanks to the language. With so many patients and so much work to do, time is of the essence. So these formed words are crucial. So for my group, this language meant efficiency.

Since high school, I always struggled with writing. When It comes to speaking, I do a great job of articulating myself. Writing on the other hand, gives me a hard time. Components such as grammar and structure hold me back from focusing on clearly stating my point. I’ll have the perfect thing to say in my head, but when putting into paper it would be run-on sentence or sound unprofessional. In result, I have to tweak it around and it sounds much more stale than it originated in my head. For this course I had to really focus on this issue for my first two assignment, and it wasn’t easy. One thing I never utilized was teacher feedback, but I have for this class and it’s helped a lot. When My sentences didn’t make sense, Dr. Jankens would point that out to me without telling what to do. That allowed me to question my writing, fix the mistake, and avoid redoing for the next time. Also the extensive revising we do has helped me very much. I realized that it takes more than one revision to realize some mistakes, and that has helped a lot. For example, I revised project 2 more than 6 + times, and each time around I fixed something. During some revision, I even added to the paper and came up with a lot more to say. Another huge issue was my grammar, which high school teacher let slide, Dr. Jankens has been hard on more grammar. In result, I have realized the importance of grammar. Sometimes one comma or period could change thee whole meaning of a sentence. I now appreciate the flow grammar gives my papers. Project 1 was he first time I had a paper with less than 5 grammar mistakes.

In terms of research, I still have a lot of work to do. I mastered that steps to utilizing the new research methods, but I never seem to find anything. For project two I was able to use the research methods to find a book which turned out to be very useful, but I wasn’t able to utilize the article data base. All the articles I found were not relevant, and I don’t blame the data base. My topic was a tough one, and not many articles had anything to say about the concept of right and wrong. My project 3 on the other hand, will be a great opportunity to use the new research methods. I have to be honest though, I find the research aspect of a paper more stressful then the writing itself. There are so many requirements to have a strong source, and I dread the requirements as much as I appreciate them. Nonetheless, I realize its importance.

My goal for the rest of the semester is to grow as a writer. I want to do this by mastering grammar skills, continuous revision of my work, and taking advantage of Dr. Jankens feedback. With so many revisions, I am constantly having practice with grammar. Therefore, it’s important I keep improving with my grammar. Since this class started I got into the habit of using a thesaurus, and I plan to use it even more for that next few projects. Expanding my vocabulary is crucial, if I plan on becoming a better writer. Also with the support of my class mates, I get a lot of other perspective on writing. That will help open my eyes to different writing styles.

I have never worked so hard in a English class before in my life ( not even AP Literature). I hope this hard work pays off and I get an A. Even though my goal is to one day become a physician, I still find English a very important subject. Therefore, I want to take as much as I can from this class. In the future I will be writing medical school application essays, patient statements, and I even plan on writing research journals. with all that in mind, I consider this class as important as any biology class. I look forward for the rest of the semester, and have high expectation for what’s to come

Issue: ( I haven’t exactly figured out how to put my issue in thee right context, so this is a rough idea) The issue I will discuss is Michigan’s inability to have all schools on an even ground. Schools in areas with higher income families are providing more for their students and setting them up better for success, That isn’t fair because all of Michigan is paying taxes, but that tax money doesn’t seem to be evenly disturbed among schools.

Why is this important to me? I consider a good education such an important part of an individuals life. The right education can open a child’s eyes and bring light into their life, and that child brings that positive energy into his home and can affect everyone around him. Also a good education can play a huge role in a child’s future, and it’s important to put every chid in the best possible circumstances to succeed. I have a younger brother who is lucky enough to be receiving a great education, and I see how positive of an affect it has on him and I want that for all children.

What my peers need to know is that not all kids in Michigan will have the opportunity to be where we are right now, and that’s not fair. They need to know that the finding of schools is based of our governments treasury and our taxes.

A lot is at stake. The future of our siblings and many who are dear to us. Also the future of Michigan as a whole. And if this continues, our future children we’ll suffer even worse.

I just want to start by saying I personally love this activity, because the clash between spoken English and written English has been my main issue in all my writing. I tend to write the way I speak, and that makes it difficult for my readers to understand my writing. This issue tends to happen to me the most when I’m dealing with professional writing such as research papers or thesis papers. For this project, I don’t believe this will be that much of a issue because I’m dealing with a narrative type paper.

– What I felt sounded brilliant was when I made the connection between Adam and eve’s story and my topic. The phrase: “and now we’re here eating apples too” seemed pretty clever to me. Although it is a bit sarcastic and slang, I’m sure my readers will find it humerus. It’s something a picky reader would tolerate.

– My whole first source paragraph sounded strange. Although to me it makes perfect sense , to my readers it might seem foreign. I read the pages in the book and have a much better understanding of the word “drifting” than my readers do. Also even I got mixed up a bit with my constant repentance of the clause ” accurate thought”.

– When reading my draft out loud I was caught off guard. My introduction was smooth sailing, but my first source paragraph felt all over the place. When reading out loud I felt like the whole paragraph lacked structure and direction. I was  on to something big, but I just need to rewind and have a plan in order to hit it out of the park.

– I’m going to print out that source paragraph to keep as a sloppy outline, and then completely take it out of my paper. I’m going to restart from scratch and read every sentence out loud as I recreate this paragraph.

– When reading the article, I kept responding ” story of my life”. I definitely learned a lot from the article as well. Just being aware of the two types of Englishes is helpful. I think what I will try to do is translate my spoken English to written English. When ever a sentence sounds iffy to me, I will write on my paper and rewrite it.

My question: Why do we make wrong choices, when we know the right thing to do?

I am aware that the research for this question could go on for years, and I’m sure that there is no definite answer. Therefore, it is my goal to get as close to a conclusion as possible. To do this In such a short amount of time, I need to stick to on area of sources and milk out as much information as possible. I will use philosophers’ work and research as my source. I will mostly concentrate on their writings.

Here are some philosophers:

– Napolean Hill

-Aristotle

-Socrates

-Plato

– Jim Rohn

– Immanuel Kant

– Confucius

– and many others

I will concentrate on any kind of sources from these philosophers whether it be a scholarly article, or even a book.  When it comes to using their books, I won’t read the whole book. I’ll be looking to narrow down the information I need, wherever it may be located in the book. Thanks to today’s presentation, I found a good place to find some possible articles. I’m not really sure about using articles, but they could be useful, Nonetheless, now I know any easier way to find the books I need. I’m looking for any books by any philosopher.

In these books I’m looking for anything about the motivation behind people’s decision making. Also I want insight on these philosophers’s idea of right and wrong is. Also, anything about the concept behind deviation and leading to making the wrong decision. I believe when I’m trying to narrow down my search in these books , I have to look for chapters or sections about morality and ethics.

By Saturday I hope to accumulate a stack of books and begin my search by Sunday. My end goal is 3 main sources from 3 different philosophers.

If knowing right from wrong is such a simple concept , why is the one we struggle with the most?

What’s worth knowing summary

After reading ” what’s worth Knowing” , I can’t say that I will ever answer a question with confidence ever again. I think these two authors we’re on to a bigger picture. I believe what they’re trying to portray is that School’s these days shove an agenda down students’ minds rather then give them opportunity to inquire more out of an education. They stress on this idea of Q&A because there is no better way to inquire knowledge than through seeking an answer to pondering questions. If you were to give a child a list of facts, it wont mean much to him. If a Students is seeking an answer to a question, the knowledge will stick with him. The reason answer to questions stick with us is because they are keys to things we wanted to unlock about life, and everyone hangs on to their keys. Also Neil and Charles are exploring this idea that there is much more to a question to an answer. Every word in a question  has context, and the answer is usually much more than we think it is. For instance when the teacher asked students ”  Will it rain tomorrow?” and ” what information will allow you to answer this question with certainty?” You’d think it’s as simple as , ” the weather report says it will rain tomorrow.” Well, how did the weather report conclude this? At what time did they conclude this? How much has the weather changed since the last time they checked? To sum it all up, these authors make it clear that the higher education is in the question and in the process to obtaining the answers.

Project two brain storm

Where do I start? Wow there is a good question already.

Some questions that ponder my mind:

– If right from wrong is so simple, why is it that we humans struggle with this concept the most?

– Where does every bad decision stem from?

– Why is that some people are the way that they are?

– Have our ethics digressed over time?

In order to have a good paper, the question I choose must be able to root out like a tree. There has to be many views for me to look at from. Also he topic I choose must strongly connect to me personally. This question must be based on something that I ponder consistently. This is going to be a tough one.

I am a creative writer, when writing I hold back no thought and restrain no expression. I allow my thoughts to splash on the paper, and have my pen reiterate my ever thought. Once my paper is done, I begin to clean the debris of my explosion of thoughts and keep what I like and delete what I believe is best stored in my mind. Do not be fooled, there is organization in all this chaos. My sentences begin to form the pillars needed to hold the palace firmly, and my main point is my roof.

Some writing styles begin with a strong thesis, and the issue I have with that is: it doesn’t catch the reader’s attention like it’s intended to. Once a reader has an idea of a thesis, his cognition kicks in and he might begin to only hear his thoughts. The readers thoughts will begin to clash with yours and you writing won’t be read clearly. I prefer to faintly explore the topic in my introduction with no clear opinion and then hook the reader with a trail of thoughts that lead him to my final stand on a topic. Having the reader hear your writing before his own thoughts will allow for him to not be so aggressive with his thoughts, and give room for food for thought.

Nonetheless, structure isn’t enough to allow your writing to speak to the reader. Even the greatest of thoughts can be strapped down if there is a lack of articulacy, every entity needs a voice. My structure is backed my voice. As if the paper is a recorder, my words are meant to scream to the reader as if I sit right there before them as they read my words. I recall an instance where I turned in my paper for my honors English class with no header. When it came time for the teacher to turn the papers back to us, my paper found its way back to me with no hassle. My teacher told me, “your name wasn’t written, but your voice was defiantly heard in this paper.”

When given a topic, my first goal is to keep my distance with the topic. My view is one of 7 billion people, so when exploring a topic I try to obtain a variety of views and then lastly hold them together with my personal view. You might think that the recklessness in my writing is in the drafting, but you are sadly mistaken. My recklessness is in my final draft. My writing takes account of the sensitivity of the truth and nothing or anyone else. Only three things can hold our minds prisoner: laziness, lies, and fear.