Overall Opinion on Blogging

Blogging for me was a pain in the ass. As Daniel knows I rarely turned anything in on time, and I’m not sure if I ever saw any direct benefit in it for English 11. Having said that, I blame myself really, because I believe that had I stayed on top of my assignments blogging could become more of a pleasure than a chore. Blogging allows individuals to write whatever they want. In this class Daniel did not grade our blogs based on writing skill, so that afforded each of us to just write. Unfortunately I did not take advantage of that, simply because I am lazy and hassled by computers and technology when all of it is pretty simple once you take the time to sit down and learn it. Before this class I was pretty shy about my writing and how others viewed my writing skills. With blogging those fears have become obsolete. I really don’t care if others don’t like my writing. If they have constructive criticism or provide an insightful opposition to my argument I am all for it, other than that I really just don’t care. The individual exercises that Daniel had us post on our blogs helped as well. Either with re-writing a paragraph in a certain style, or by trying an editing exercise my writing improved. I believe that in the future, at least for someone like me, it would be better for each student to keep a journal. Have all of your writing exercises to be done in the journal, and at the beginning of class come around just to check if they are done. Then at the end of each unit collect the pages to read them. I feel this would be more effective, because I felt that the blogging assignments were not important due to the fact that we were doing them over the computer. I realize that this sounds weird, but I felt a disconnect between blogging and class. On the other hand, technology, computers, and blogging are the wave of the future, and increased computer education is a good thing. Students should know how to operate their own blogs, I just didn’t like how it was done for this class.

My Discipline

For Unit 3 I chose political science as my field of research. I do plan on majoring in this field for a number of reasons. After college I plan on attending law school, and I belive that a background in political science will be very beneficial for me in law school. Secondly, growing up in D.C. I have been afforded with many great opportunities including different internships at the White House and within the Republican Party. Politics is a passion of mine and I plan to pursue it once the time is right. I still believe that my mind can completely change, because I have no idea what will happen to me in the next four years. However, as of now I plan on doing something in politics or law, and I beleive that a political science major will benefit me the most in those two fields.

Unit 2 assessment

My Unit 2 project was strong. I beleive that it was better than Unit 1. For both Units I believe that I could have put in more effort, by preparing for class each day with solid drafts, and by going to office hours or the writing center. However, even without that I do believe that the work I put into this Unit is solid. The only thing I left out were the different drafts that I had written for this Unit; however, that is due to the fact that we changed our peer editing procedure so now members of my group have my different drafts that they brought home with them.

My profession

Through my research I was not able to get good idea about what Politicians do on a daily basis. However, through my past experiences I know what some politicians do regularly. The professor I researched mainly dealt with the ethics of our democracy and the actions of politicians. However over the past years I have spent time working for hte Republican party. Two summers ago I worked on the presidential re-election campaign, by working for Bush-Cheney '04. Last summer I had the privelage to work at the White House in Presidential Scheduling. By working for the Republican Party over the past two summers I have gained a lot of experience in the field that I choose to pursue. I was able to get a first hand look at what politicians and government officials do on a day to day basis. Researching and reading different works by Roderick Long did not give me a good idea of what politicians do on a day to day basis, because his writings delt more with the ethical and moral policies mandated by the government, and the philosophical teachings that influenced decisions.

Tom Kolarcyk's Unit 2 Feeder 2

Draft Workshop

1. He argues for the President very effectively on the issue of job creation. Tom presents many different statistics that re-inforce his side. In that sense his argument would be under the logos theme. Other parts of his paper fall under the ethos category, while talking about what is neglected under the Kerry plan.

2. He has a cohesive statement, but I would not say that it is powerful. In order for his satement to be more powerful, he should add more of a pathos argument to the thesis.

3. The author uses logos and ethos very well throughout the paper; however I felt no level of personal connection or experience with the argument. There was little to no emotional impact. While he does mention those people who benefit from the policy, he does not try to identify with the audience that he is writing to.

4. He does use authoritaive language and presents many stats as evidence on the progress that President Bush has achieved. The conclusion re-inforces his paper, without summarizing.

Tom's Unit 2 feeder 1

Draft Workshop on Tom Kolarzyck's paper (2nd draft):

1. The paper does fulfil the assignment. He objectively presents both candidates' views on the issue of job creation. He analyzes both rhetorics, stating that while Bush's rhetoric is reliant on numbers and the jobs he has created. Kerry rhetoric is more idealistic, and critical of what the President has done to the job market.

2. The paper does not seemed bias to me at all. He uses rhetorical technique to create an objective view on the different policies. There are no negative phrases, and he presents the information well.

3. He does introduce and conclude well, in his introduction he does not present or summarize the information, he sets the current political climate and stresses the importance of the upcoming election and the issue at hand. He does not summarize in the conclusion, all he states is that both policies are very similar.

Speaking

I have made a few speeches. When I was in 7th grade I made 5 minute a speech in front of an audience of about 200 at my best friends bar-mitzvah. After that I made some speeches in front of my classes, and to the entire school, while running for school office. If I prepare well for the speech than I can excel. When I rush my prepartion I get flusstered and nervous. I prefer debate public forums rather than just straight up speeches.

Self Review

I thought my writing this first half of the semester was strong; however it could have enn stronger. I had preparedfor each feeder than I would have had more time during the revision process. I felt that I rushed a couple of my papers. If I had organized myself better I beleive the quality of my papers would be better. I could also work on my rhteoric; however I beleive i can achieve better rhetoric through more organization. I am going to have an assignment book to stay better organized, and I'm going to budget my time better.

Draft Workshop

1. This paper does not fully go into each candidate's proposed policies. While it does do a very god job on analyzing the graphics of the website, and how that appeals to each candidates voting base, it does not clearly outline the candidate's policies on education. While she does also analyze some of the rhetoric on the websites, I believe that she should examine the actual wording of their respective policies rahter than just the titiles and boldened phrases.

2. This paper does feel biased to me. While she does mention that each website appeals to the candidate's voting base, I can clearly tell that she agrees with John Kerry's policy on education, and not because his website did a better job of presenting the material. Try to objectively state both policies in given paragraphs and then in another paragraph offer your opinion based on the website. If you want to include your preferences, try that in your conclusion.

3. The paper was well organized she has one paragraph for each candidate with, with opinion paragraphs in between. From the reader's perspective I could tell that she favored with John Kerry, but I don't believe she prioratized her paragraphs to show that.

Omish Visitor

I am an 18 year old omish young man. Until the age of 16 I was able to attend my local public high school, but after that age according to Omish customs I have to focus on one trade, and practice the daily Omish lifestyle. However, I am intrigued about what is out there. My favorite class back in highschool was my intro to government class. The teacher told each and every one of us to formulate opinions on our own, instead of just following the herd. Well after that class I go to the market for my parents each day to get little odds and ends that we need, but after that I go to the library where I have access to the internet. I have found this website politcs1.com where I can talk to others about different policies of government. It has opened up my world to a point where I have considered leaving the Omish lifestyle behind.

My Writing Area

My writing area is small, but but cozy. My laptop rests on one of the standard issued Granville Towers desk. I have a small stereo next to my computer so that I can listen to music whenever I have to write or do work on it. I believe that music can be a kind of muse, a tool for inspiration. My bed is no more than two fet away so that if I want to take a break I can lie down there. As I write this post now I am not stressed out at all, I am completely alone and my thoughts flow easily.

Revision

For Feeder 1, I was told that I had too much unesscessary information, especially in my intro paragraph. I led the reader to believe that my sentimental object would be derived from a certain place (my summer camp) when actually my object was a ticket stub from a concert. So I left some of the information about it in thier, and moved or deleted other segments of my story.

My Parents and Music

The very foundation for my music listening tastes, came from my father. He always had the radio on loud and was singing along. I grew up to motown, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Frank Sinatra. My dad was at Woodstock, and saw some of my favorite bands in concert. The first concert he ever took me to was an Eric Clapton concert, and that is where I first came to love the blues. At a certain point in his life I most certainly believe that my father, had he seen Pink Floyd's "Darkside of the Moon" lying around would have popped it in the player and listened to it; however, he is now 57 years old and I believe that Darkside might be a little too much for him. In the sense that to really appreciate Darkside the listener must make an attempt to listen to the entire album, for unlike many other compilations from other artists, it is just that a compilation of different songs. Darkside however is an album where every song ties into the one preceding and succeding.

A Little Something About Myself

Hey, as you all already know, or maybe you don't, my name is Addison Holladay. I'm from Washington, D.C., and I've never visited the Washington Monument, the Lincoln or Jefferson Memorial, the Capitol, or the White House. Some hobbies of mine are reading books, watching tv, and playing the guitar. I love music, and just about all forms of music except for pop culture trash. I'm a fan of good rap, but just about anything that's on MTV I will not listen to. Recently I've been listening to Jay-Z's Grey album, and lots of Phish. I just came back from Phish's farewell concert in Coventry Vermont, which was the experience of a lifetime.
I'm really glad to be here in Chapel Hill, my brother is a senior here, and this was the only place I wanted to be.