Blog Post 8, What my next semester and summer will be like for me.

Engl 165-09 Fall '24, Freshman

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As I approach the end of my first semester, reading Sarah Mai’s “Freshman” gave me a moment to pause and consider how our college experiences align, and where they take different turns. Sarah completed her first full semester and faced some big decisions, like whether to transfer to art school. In the end, she chose to stay, while some of her friends’ changed majors. That’s life: adapt, adjust, and change plans as needed. For me, the path is already clear. I’ve committed to accounting and mapped out the classes I need from now through senior year.

Sarah’s spring break sounded refreshing, rainy, yes, but still a true break. I’m hoping mine will be just as restful. Fall break was anything but relaxing; I was buried in assignments. I’m grateful I got into the classes I needed for spring, but I do hope the homework load lightens up. This semester stretched me, it was intense.

Sarah also took a spontaneous trip to New York with friends, which I admire. That kind of spontaneity gave her the chance to explore the city and spend quality time with her besties. For me, spring break will (hopefully) be a break from school assignments, fingers crossed. I won’t be interning yet this summer since I need more coursework first, but I’ll be keeping my mind sharp with reading, helping manage our two LLCs, and continuing my roles as business administrator, CFO, domestic engineer, and drumroll please, private nurse to a Marine. Yes, I wear all the hats. No, I don’t get hazard pay. Sarah plans to work as a lifeguard over the summer, which sounds like a fun and active way to earn and unwind. My summer plan is to take one thing off my plate: schoolwork. I 

Sarah plans to work as a lifeguard over the summer, which sounds like a fun and active way to earn and unwind. My summer plan is to take one thing off my plate: schoolwork. I might take one class after junior year to stay on track for graduating in 2.5 years with a minor, which means stepping outside my comfort zone and taking six classes instead of five.

Sarah’s story reminded me that college is full of twists and turns. While her journey involves spontaneity and exploration, mine is about structure and steady progress. We’re both learning, growing, and adapting, and that’s what makes this experience so meaningful.

 

 

Blog 8

Engl 165-09 Fall '24

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     Throughout the year when we have been reading “Freshman Year” by Sarah Mai, it has really helped me to look back at my own first semester of college here at Longwood. I also have looked forward to how my future spring semester might go. Throughout the book as Sarah had her experiences of moving away from her home, managing the college life, and making new friends felt very relatable to my fall semester here at Longwood. Although I am not finished with my first semester, I connect with a lot of Sarah’s experiences in the book. Like Sarah, I have had many moments where I feel unsure about managing my work in school and my social life. Sometimes the school work becomes a lot but I know it is important because you are working towards a degree. Her experiences in the book helps to reflect that it is normal to feel that way. It also helps to show that it will take time to learn to balance everything.

     Along with that, I think that a lot of my personal experiences reflect Sarah’s experiences. A good example in the book would be when she continued to struggle with balancing her classes and the homework within them, along with her social life outside of school. This is definitely something I have noticed in my first semester so far. I have also had to figure out how to prioritize certain assignments over others and to know it is okay to take a small break in between. Sarah has also talked and met new people which connects with me because I have met many new friends here during my first semester which is exciting.

     Even though there are a lot of similarities between Sarah and I, there are also a lot of differences. In the book, Sarah talks about her feelings of being unsure and having anxiety. A lot of which I do not feel as strongly as her. I understand the struggles having almost been through a semester of college but I do not feel the same level of uncertainty as she does in the book. I currently do not have any plans for Spring Break but I would love to take a trip with my hometown friends somewhere. It was very fun before college when we went to Beach Week so I am sure it would be enjoyable to have another trip.

     I am going to be honest when I say Spring Break will most definitely be on my mind from the start of the semester. I love Longwood but it is always fun to go back home and see my friends. Although, maybe this will change with time when I learn to be more adapted to college life. I also need to make sure I stay on top of my work as well. Reading Sarah’s stories in the book reminds me that it is important to plan ahead and learn a good school and social balance. Looking forward, I hope that my spring semester goes well and I meet so many more great people.

 

 
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What will next semester look like? Blog post #8

Engl 165-09 Fall '24

As almost coming to an end of my first semester of college, I can say that I have been through a lot of ups and downs. I have learned a lot about stuff that I never though I would be capable of doing here at Longwood. Such as getting comfortable with my classes and schedules, I have come to enjoy my professors way to teach. Everything has gone by so quick, that I haven’t have time to process all of the big changes in my life. In each class I have given every percent of me, some were one hundredth percent and others less than that.

I am very nervous and excited for  my new classes for the upcoming spring semester, there’s new challenges that are waiting for me to  be accomplished, and the least I want to do is wasting time on things that don’t allow me to focus on what is more important. I do not have a plan for spring break; However, there is a chance that I  will be taking it as a break from all the tension I will go through from classes. But my main goal is making sure I do complete all of my credits that are required so that I can move on to sophomore year.

This summer I want to focus on doing something that is related to my major, weather is working, volunteering, traveling, etc. I want to put into work what I learn in school, to make a progress and keep me active throughout the day so that I can start new habits when it comes to learning and putting myself out there to try out new things in the real world. I will be 19 years old by then, and its crazy to think that I will be living my last year as a teen very soon. Because even though I don’t feel ready, I still manage to get through it one way or another.

 
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Blog 8: What Does the Next Semester Look Like for You?

Engl 165-09 Fall '24, Freshman

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We have now completed Freshman Year by Sarah Mai. Unlike you, she has completed her first full semester while you are quickly approaching completion of your first semester. As you look forward to spring semester, how do you see your experiences possibly lining up with Sarah’s? What challenges do you think you’ll face in the upcoming semester? Will spring break be on your radar from day one? Do you already have plans for spring break? Do you have plans for your summer already: traveling, working, internship, vegging?

Think through how you think your upcoming semester will reflect of differ from Sarah’s.

 
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Blog 7

Engl 165-09 Fall '24

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Dear Blog,

 

After reading AW chapter 7, I was able to pick up on a lot of the structure, language, and references in the humanities writing. AW:7 describes the humanities as being about exploring the “meaning and interpretation of something and how it reflects on the human experience.”

In terms of formatting and reference of the humanities, papers most often use the MLA format. This is typically used in the literature area of the humanities. Along with this, the Chicago Manual Style is also used mainly in the history area of the humanities. 

When it comes to structure, most papers are thesis-driven. This is when an author makes a direct claim and then defends it with sources. Developing a good and defendable thesis is key to a good humanities paper. Without it an author will struggle to write something argumentative and not be able to prove their “point.”

When it comes to language, authors use an active voice, meaning that the subject is the person doing the action. Along with this, writers use rhetorical devices and figurative language like similes and metaphors. AW:7 also mentions that writers also use language that is “creative and playful.” This is to keep readers engaged and interested in their argument. 

Within the sample writing included in AW:7, I noticed many of this structure, language, and reference. For example, the author of this paper has a clear and direct thesis: “Chopin explores marriage as the opposition of one’s true self and desires.” The author also uses an active voice. For example, “Louise is informed of Brentley’s death.” Along with this, at the end, we also see the author use the MLA format to cite her source. Although it is just one source, it is still important to use MLA as it allows us, as the readers, to easily find where the author got their information from. 

Overall, I think that it is helpful to analyze other people’s work in the humanities to improve our own. Picking up on different authors’ uses of structure, language, and reference helps us reinforce our knowledge of the discipline. I hope that you found my opinions and observations on AW:7’s teaching of the humanities helpful.

Happy writing,

Cullen



 
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Blog Post 7: How bout that Writing in the Humanities

Academic Writing, Engl 165-09 Fall '24

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So this week you read AW: Chapter 7, “Reading and Writing in the Humanities.” For this blog post, please discuss in detail as many of the common elements of structure, language, and reference in the humanities as you were able to identify and give examples from the text. After that, read the student sample paper near the end of the chapter and identify and give examples of as many of the elements of structure, language, and reference as you can find. BE SPECIFIC. What do you find lacking? This will get you in the habit of discussing these items in a piece of writing. Thus helping you to discuss these things in your own writing.

 

Blog Post #6

Engl 165-09 Fall '24

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As this fall semester comes to a close, I have been thinking about what I have learned so far in English 165 and how my knowledge of writing has changed. When I first began the class I believed that I knew how to write effectively however, as I went through classes I learned that there is so much more to writing than I thought.

However, after reading through the books “Understanding Rhetoric”, “They Say, I Say”, and Academic writing, I have been able to understand that writing is so much more than that. Now I understand that writing is a form of communication and it allows people to express ideas and thoughts.

One of my favorite chapters from the book, “Understanding Rhetoric”, is chapter 1. I really enjoyed coming back to the topic of ethos, pathos, and logos because I honestly forgot about these topics since we discussed them at the beginning of my high school career. I also found it interesting reading about all the historical figures like Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero and their personal opinions about the topic. Although I found this interesting, it was also pretty interesting to see how far back in time these rhetorical devices really go. 

However, one of my least favorite chapters would have to be Chapter 7 which focused on “Reading and Writing in the Humanities”. Even though I understand that this is important information to know, I found it very unconnected from my personal writing experience and major. For example, I found it interesting that the humanities use Chicago and MLA as their style guides but, I also found this unrelated to my major being business where we use APA. However, I know that being able to understand writing from other view points is important because I have learned that writing is a form of communication.

My current strengths are being able to organize ideas and be able to flow clearly between my paragraphs. However, I think I need to work on my ability to edit and proofread after I write. I plan to improve on being able to proofread more effectively and use the feedback from my professors and peers to better improve my writing.

Right now I have learned that being able to write across different majors and careers requires special kinds of styles, languages, and structures that better fit that particular field of work. Every career sees writing differently but they all share the same ideas of communicating clearly and efficiently. Being able to understand these differences has helped to expand my portfolio as a writer and be able to adjust my style to fit different academic classes and situations.

 

Blog Post #6

Engl 165-09 Fall '24

Throughout the semester I have had the opportunity to get to know myself through writing, especially in blog posts. So far, my favorite reading has been chapter 3 in Understanding Rhetoric. This chapter is about writing identity. I enjoyed reading chapter 3 because I learned how writers can change their identity based on the audience. I don’t have a specific reading I do not like but, most of the chapters in “They Say, I Say,” are a little more boring compared to “Understanding Rhetoric”. Overall, the readings from this semester are all very useful when it comes to improving writing skills. Although I thought some of the readings were boring, I have used lots of the information from each chapter within in my writing. I feel like over the span of this semester my writing has improved. I have learned how to use APA format along with in-text citations. I do still feel as though my writing could use some improvement. I tend to repeat the same idea just with different words, which isn’t engaging for the reader. I also have an issue of going into too much detail with certain topics and I end up rambling. On the other hand, I feel as though I am good at getting my point across and backing up my statements with research. I have also improved on citations. In order to overcome my weaknesses in writing I plan on continuing to practice and asking for help from my professors and even the writing center. As of right now, I know a quite a bit about structure, language, and references. I know with each of the four disciplines have different structures. With the humanities discipline writers use MLA or CMS when writing. Using language in a humanities paper would be more academic but still engaging. Lastly, references in a humanity-based writing is going to include citations in the format of MLA style.

 
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What I’ve Learned-blog post #6

Engl 165-09 Fall '24

Looking back on what I’ve learned thus far in English 165 I wouldn’t be able to fit it into this blog. I’ve loved reading books like the They Say, I Say as well as excerpts from Academic Writing. Honestly I have a love hate relationship with my writing. Some days I think im doing great cranking out at least 3 pages of writing, other days I can barely write a sentence. My writing though I would say has improved a lot, learning lots about research and how to find good credible sources. As well as learning how to right in a new format with APA when i was preciously used to MLA format. I see my strengths in writing being mainly having a distinctive voice in tone. When I look at my writing compared to others I can really see myself and distinctly recognize my writing. I’m good at taking my thoughts and putting it on the page even though sometimes it turns into a ramble. My weakness is definitely citing my sources, all though I have definitely gotten better over the first half of the semester it’s still a work in process. Overcoming this weakness of mine is going to be a long process I can already tell. I rarely have the patience to take the time and learn the formatting. But I believe switching over to the new formatting of APA I will eventually get used to citing my sources that way. I would say my knowledge of Structure Language, References in the four disciplines are very limited. I only know a few different things about the scientific view because most sources related to nursing fall within that. I definitely need to grow my knowledge before the final because I know that it mostly revolves around that and using your writing throughout the semester to back up your information.

 

What have I learned? Blog Post #6

Engl 165-09 Fall '24

This semester has been completely different for me, as I am no longer in high school anymore. I have definitely done a lot of writing not just in this class, but in general. For English 165, I learned a lot of material that I have never heard about in my entire life. My favorite chapters of Understanding Rhetoric are 3 and 7, because 3 talks about writing identities, and how the author writes to a specific audience in a way they can feel related. And 7, because revision is crucial for writing, it helps in becoming a better writer by identifying the errors made throughout the writing. my least favorite is issue 6, just cause it has a lot of research content.  It has a lot of steps to follow in order to do a good research. for TSIS, chapter 10 , It was more engaging, because it talked about informal writing, meaning, readers don’t always need to read a writing with a difficult language. that a writing can be clear and simple and still be a good writing. making it easy for writers like me that struggle with writing in a advanced mannered way. In my opinion, these books have helped me understand how a good writing works.  I am still struggling but I have seen the progress I have made since the beginning of the semester. Learning the importance of good formatting will help me succeed for future projects. As well as setting the tone and voice to acquire the reader’s attention. I still need to work on all of this, but I believe my strength is writing down the points I want the reader to focus on. Over all , I considered myself as someone who is still working on getting better, and I think a way to make more progress is doing more assignments like this. That way I can look back at the rules of writing, and then revise everything to make corrections, and then I can learn from it as I go.

 
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