This portfolio has all three final blogs and statement of the problem from research design.Final Blog
Unit 3: FINAL LEARNING BLOG
AHHH!! The final blog for ENG 101!! Fist, I will talk about my struggles through each unit, then discuss how I have turned those struggles into successes, and lastly, I will talk about how I will use this class as a reminder of how writing and language is not limited to these societal constraints.
For Unit 1, I faced the challenge of having an interview cancellation at the last minute for my article on nutrition. I had to find another person to interview, and find them FAST. I eventually found a person, and the interview, in my opinion, turned out to be more beneficial in providing me with useful information for my article. From this unit, I have learned that you always need back up plans when doing interviews. I also learned about the many types of genres there are and expanded my knowledge on the genre of newspaper style writing.
For Unit 2, I became a more hands on writer and created an experiment to test writing and language constraints. My group decided to take an academic paper that we tend to see on 8x11 paper and put it on 3x5 note cards. We did not change anything else about the paper, except the format. The results of our experiment supported our hypothesis that people would be alarmed by this. On a scale 1-10 (1 being not surprised, 10 being very surprised), our average level of surprise was about a 5.25, a little more than half. From this unit, I learned that our society has been conditioned (by who knows) into thinking writing should be a specific way, and anything that goes against those norms is not easily accepted. For example, which sentence looks “right” to you: (1) The cat was scared so it ran up the tree. OR (2) the CAT WAS scared So It ran UP the TREE. Both mean the same thing, society will only accept the first sentence as correct. The power of socialization is the main thing I have learned in Unit 2.
In Unit 3, I have learned that when constructing an article, you want to have visual aids for the reader. The visual aids will keep the attention of the readers…
So
They
Will
Not
Get
Bored
With
Reading.
After constructing my rough draft of my article, I revised my article to have:
Visual aids, and
Explicit details in my writing
From ENG 101, I have learned a great deal about writing in general and writing with specifics. From this class, I will now know how to properly give peer reviews in a constructive way, incorporate visual aids in my articles, take notice to constraints in our society, and expand my writing skills by considering other genres of writing before I stick with the norms.
Unit 2 Final Bloggg
Final Blog for Unit 2
In the beginning of this unit, I was unsure what to expect. As it appeared, we would be
challenging writing and language constraints. But how? That was my question, and this
question was soon answered. The idea of changing the way society has been conditioned to
think was something that interested me greatly. Doing research in an English class was
something that I had never done before. I was used to writing papers, practicing grammar,
studying vocabulary, etc., but the thought of doing a research project was a creative
approach to discovering our culture’s socialization. Our culture is so guided by constraints, that anything that strays away from those constraints is deemed incorrect, or wrong. For example, we are accustomed into thinking that academic papers MUST go on 8x11 printer paper, but why is it not accepted by teachers, peers, and society as being correct if given on a 3x5 note card? All of the writing content is good and all the other requirements are met, but why is this such a problem? Because of those constraints. The unspoken, unwritten constraints. This example is what my group was trying to discover. I think that our results will show how accustomed our society is and we want to attempt to get a better understanding of why? What rule says all academic papers must be on 8x11 paper? No rule states this, but the purpose of Unit 2, is to figure out how accustomed we’ve become to a particular genre- that when something is not how we think it “should” be, then we freak out, we think it’s bad writing, and we do not accept it. I liked Unit 2 because we got to work in groups, which I like doing, especially when the group members all are involved in the project. My group works well together and everyone is contributing to our project.
Final Blog for Unit 1:
During the process of researching information about nutrition, and developing my article, I had planned on interviewing Dianne Feasley, the assistant director of campus dining services, but she was not available. We had emailed about meeting up, but this meeting had never happened. I was STRESSED. She was my plan A, B, and C for my interview! But then, out of the blue, a girl that lives on my floor, came to visit me. She saw that I was stressing out about finding a person to interview about nutrition for a rough draft I needed completed in less than two days. Then, she spoke those harmonious words: “My mom is a clinical dietician, maybe she can help you.” I was ecstatic about this. It seemed as if my stress was over, and indeed it was. Later that afternoon, I was able to Skype with her mom and get the answers to my questions about nutrition. In the end, I think that the interview with her mom was more interesting and useful than the interview I could have had with Mrs. Feasley who could only tell me so much about nutrition; I needed the dietetics expert! I composed my article and was ready to present it to my peers. During the peer review, I received great feedback, except for a few common errors here and there. This second peer review was more beneficial to me because I was able to actually read the articles thoroughly and so were my peers, so the feedback was more valuable. At the end of this unit, I have learned how to properly critique my peers’ work. I have also learned how to write in different styles, I have learned about the large spectrum of genres that I have not even touched on, and I have also improved my knowledge in the area of newspaper style writing. Unit one and its material have definitely helped me already, I am looking forward to the next units!
Statement of the "Problem"
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM for research design
Imagine that you are a professor. What would you think if a student turned in an academic paper on a note card? Same writing requirements, correct font, everything was correct, except one thing. It's not on printer paper. If this would be surprising to you, then you have fallen victim to socialization. The "problem" that arises is that an academic paper is on a note card; writing requirements are met, but still, the medium that you are turning in your paper is not what we as a culture are accustomed to. "Standard" printer paper for academic assignments are what we have been socialized to think that that is what academic papers should go on. Printer paper is used for a variety of things such as: academic papers, memos, classroom worksheets, and notifications. Note cards are usually used for reminders, short sentences, flash cards, and study aids. By flipping the use of printer paper with a note card, this creates the problem that we are trying to solve. Why are people so socialized into thinking printer paper is the "correct" type of paper to turn in an academic paper
