THE GRAND FINALE

      Looking back at my first blog post, I notice I didn't have many goals for the semester. I can't tell you if that was a lack of interest or even low expectations. All I really wanted to accomplish at that time was learning how to write. Becoming a better writer in general, not looking at writing as so much of a chore, and how to avoid writers block was all I wanted to accomplish this semester.
      By the 7th blog post, I didn't feel I really accomplished too much. It was early to make an evaluation and I didn't feel I improved much as a writer. What I did notice by that time however, was that writing in general was coming a little easier. I noticed it was a lot easier for me to write essays of some length, unlike my times in high school. Through the first couple papers, I didn't experience much writers block like usual. Which was one of my first goals for this semester.
      Overall, there is always room for improvement. I can improve in my writing skills, better understanding writing, and most importantly improving my grammatical errors. As a writer I felt I improved greatly on my organizational skills. However, I felt I could still improve on my introduction paragraphs. I can get better at tying in what I'm going to cover in the paper and my thesis all in one flowing paragraph. I still feel that I'm weak in making grammatical errors, that can always improve.
I STRENGTHENED IN
- LEARNING ABOUT RHETORICAL WRITING
   - WRITER, AUDIENCE RELATIONSHIP
- IMPORTANCE OF PEER REVIEW
  - HOW TO APPROACH PEER REVIEW AND WHAT TO ACTUALLY LOOK FOR IN THE PROCESS
- HOW TO APPROACH DIFFERENT STYLES OF PAPERS.
  - ARGUMENTATIVE 
  - ANALYSIS
  - FIRST PERSON 
ITS BEEN FUN ADIOS

My Portfoliolioliolio

For my portfolio I plan to revise my arguing a position essay. I felt the most confident when first writing this paper so I feel this one had the most potential.


Some strengths
- well organized
- good supporting detail
- do a good job in considering counter-arguments


Weaknesses 
- some grammar mistakes
- using second person "you"
- maybe lacks a little in depth


     My paper already has a strong core. It has a decent introduction and conclusion, and also has good body paragraphs. More then just supporting details, it also includes good counter argument details that I take into consideration. My paper lacks in some areas such as grammar, awkward wording, and could improve on length and maybe more details.
      I plan on  improving my paper by first tightening up all the grammar errors and misspellings. Then I plan on rewording the sentences in my paper that can be better said to let the paper flow better. Specifically I have to try and take out all the "you" in my paper. Also I will consider any counter argument one might have with the points I am making. This way I'll to my best at stumping any skeptical readers. Ill also look to see if I can think of any better points I might have not included in my original essay. After doing all of this, taking out unnecessary words, and improving the spelling..... I hope to have an A+++++ paper.

BLOGGING HAS BEEN FUN. SORTA.
SORRY FOR THE LAST FEW LATE BLOGS.

MY FAV PAPER

      My favorite paper written so far has been the arguing a side paper. Im usually good at arguing my opinion and working at what I want. It was the easiest to write because I had a lot of points to argue with. I argued that taking a gap year after high school is more beneficial then jumping right into college. I had tons of reasons why I felt this way which made it the easiest paper to write.
      Being this is my first year of college, It was fairly easy to relate to my topic. Having first hand experience makes writing the paper flow and feel natural. Also, being someone who jumped right into college after high school, I was able to understand both sides of the argument and see first hand how it can be beneficial. Overall, this was my favorite because it was my easiest paper to write with all the first hand experience and so much supporting details.

EVIDENCE!!!!!!!!

The thesis I argued was, " I believe its more beneficial to take an extra  year off after high school to help financially, in planning a future, and receiving time to catch up on life."

• My think my most compelling evidence is when I bring up how even well respected schools such as Princeton provide a program named, "bridge year" encouraging a gap year after high school. This is strong evidence because my argument is being backed up by a much respected ivy league college who is actually encouraging the same thing I'm arguing. If you're a parent and you see this evidence, what more do you need to see to change your mind? I use this evidence when presenting the counter argument that you might fall behind if you take a gap year. I would include this towards the end of the paper to leave the reader with that thought.

• My weakest evidence is when I argue working a hard labor job provides the experience most students should go through to realize how important a college degree is. Im trying to say that by having the experience of a manuel labor job will teach kids to not want to do that for the rest of their life. But not all jobs are hard labor. And what if the job they find ends up being a good job?  To strengthen my argument I might add that MOST jobs would be hard labor to let the audience know I consider all sides of the argument.

Analyzing Arguments

- Consider the side of the opposing argument
When analyzing "The $78 Million Bag" the writers did a good job in taking into consideration the opposing argument. Showing that you've given both sides thought gives you more of a respectable look. The author took into consideration that maybe marijuana should not be legalized because it would give people the idea that many other things can be legalized as well. This made the article more respectable. This taught be to do the same to use the same method to not seem closed minded to the readers.
- Relate to your intended audience with tone
In reading this article, I noticed the writers tried to use a more relaxed tone to try and relate with the readers. It was a good idea but ultimately I think it hurt the authors in the way they used it. They said something along the lines of, "besides we shouldn't be waisting money on prosecuting people on something, admit it, most of you did last night." In this case I don't think it helped because most the people they should be trying to argue against probably aren't smoking joints every night, which means they might have been offended. I would use the same idea, but instead relate my tone to the audience that I'm trying to argue against.
- Have hard facts to back up your argument 
When analyzing the "$78 Million Bag" the writers used many hard facts to support their argument. They used statistics and even quotes from well respected people. This definitely helped in their article to make the paper a lot more resectable. Having statistics and insight from high end people help the reader to agree with you. I would make sure to do the same in my writing, including many facts and quotes from people that the readers would respect.

Thinking about Peer Review

• The peer review we do in class is effective in that we get both thoughts and opinions from other class mates. It gives us a chance to get other points of view and ideas from other minds. This peer review was even more helpful because we got a chance to get ideas from other people and get peer reviewed. The only way I think it can be improved is by either getting more time or getting a peer review from the head hancho aka ms spencer.
• I think my strengths at being a peer reviewer is that I always make sure the intro paragraph is never to long and properly sums it up. This way whoever papers I'm reviewing at least always has a good intro. Im also good at helping to reword someones sentence that might sound a little confusing to make it flow better. My weakness on the other hand is that I am too nice to have too much criticism for their paper. Even is the paper is HORRIBLE ill find something to compliment it on.
• My ideal peer review process would be something like this

1. Have two students review and mark on the paper different error such as grammar, wordy-ness, weak points, etc and then add their thoughts.

2. After taking it home and correcting your paper based off your peers corrections, have the teacher peer review it.

3. Finally, take it home, make all the final corrections, and turn it in.

Doing peer review in earlier stages of the writing process would not help me. It would make it more confusing.

Smaller groups are always more helpful because there is more focus on your paper specifically.

Finally, I believe we should have 2 days for peer review. Enough for both students and teacher to review it.

patterns of error

- I tend to be to wordy when unneeded
I find that in a lot of my writing, I seem to use a lot of unneeded words to create more emphasis. Instead of creating more emphasis it usually just makes it too wordy and unclear. I need to work on being more concise to make the writing more cut and clear to the writer. It really isn't that hard i just have to work on breaking the habit of using extra words. For example, "somewhat down to earth" could be shortened to, down to earth."
- I tend to be a little sloppy with organization
A lot of my writing could definitely use better organization. When my papers don't go in chronological order it makes the writing confusing and hard to read. I have already begun to improve in this area and I can continue to improve by doing an outline of each paper before i begin to write. This way I already have my ideas down on paper and it'll be clearly organized.  
- I tend to use "you" and "I" in my writing a lot when not appropriate 
I find myself using second person "you" when I should not be. I also use "I" when I shouldn't be. When using "you" durning an inappropriate time it makes my writing look less intelligent. It's just natural to me and is another habit I have to work on breaking. Instead of saying, "a gap year has more positives then YOU may thing." I can say, " a gap year has more positives then the average person may think."