Category: Student Post (Page 1 of 8)

“You Mean I Can Just Say It That Way?” by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein

Read:  “You Mean I Can Just Say It That Way?: Academic Writing Doesn’t Mean Setting Aside Your Own Voice” by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein and write a response to the questions below! 

  1. What do you think of this article? What did you like or dislike about it? Do you agree or disagree with their argument? explain!
  2. The authors say, “The goal of this chapter is to counteract this common misconception: that relying in college on the straightforward, down-to-earth language you use every day will make you sound stupid; that to impress your teachers you need to set aside your everyday voice and write in a way that nobody can understand” ( Graff and Birkenstein 118). What does this mean? How do they want you to change your thinking?
  3. According to the author’s what does it mean to “master academic writing”? How should students go about it?
  4. On page 125, the authors write, “On the contrary, writing is more often a means of discovery in which we use the writing process to figure out what our idea is. This is why writers are often surprised to find that what they end up with on the page is quite different from what they thought it would be when they started. What we are trying to say here is that everydayspeak is often crucial for this discovery process, that translating your ideas into more common, simpler terms can help you figure out what your ideas really are, as opposed to what you initially imagined they were.” What are the authors trying to say? Do you agree or disagree? Have you ever had a similar experience?
  5. In the Code-Meshing section, the author’s discuss using slang, dialect and other components of “everydayspeak” in writing. What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with their position? Explain!
  6. Look over your writing from this semester and maybe from other classes, do you incorporate aspects of “everydayspeak” in your writing? Think about how or why you made the choices you did.

 

“Why I’m Behind the Athletes’ Bill of Rights” by Cory Booker

Please read “Why I’m Behind the Athletes’ Bill of Rights” by Cory Booker and write a response to the following questions. Please make sure to respond to AT LEAST one classmate! 

I prefer it if you respond to this post directly, but if you choose you may create a new post.

Link to Reading

DUE March, 18th

  • What did you think of the piece? Be honest! Did you find any parts interesting? Did you learn something new?
  • What is the piece MOSTLY about?
  • Who do you think is the intended audience of the piece? Who is meant to read this text?
  • What do you think is the purpose of this text? Why do you think the author wrote it?
  • Can you figure out the specific genre of article of this piece (opinion, scientific, feature, news, etc)?
  • What did you notice about how the author wrote this piece? Maybe the tone (formal, informal, humorous, casual, etc), or the use of ethos (statistics and facts) or the use of pathos (emotion) or the use of logos (logic)?
  • What stands out to you– what do you like/ dislike about this writer’s style?  What are you confused by? What do you want to know more about? Pay special attention to how this author uses research (outside facts, statistics, history, news, interviews) etc in their writing.
  • What did you learn from reading this article? How did this author use research? How do they use personal experience?

Free writing

My mother wanted to be a pediatric nurse, and she didn’t go through it, but instead became a preschool teacher, so growing up, I’ve always been exposed to children and prone to looking after children. Everyone always thought that if I wanted to, I would become a caring nurse. What made me go through this is when I watched a documentary on how black women were treated in the maternity aspects of health care .Nurses are an inspiration because they do it for the love of the profession. … I’m inspired to become a nurse because when I’m in the hospital, a caring, dedicated nurse will be there to help every step of the way. 

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