Murray-2

1. What was your impression of Murray's writing processes as they're described here? How do they compare to yours? What do you do the same of differently?
3. How did this study change Berkentrotter's understanding of writing processes, particularly planning and revision?
4. What problems with existing methods for studying writing process does Berkentrotter identify? If you read Pearl, did you notice any of these problems in her methods? What do you think they might mean for Pearl's findings? In what ways is Berkentrotter's newer approach to studying writing processes able to solve the weaknesses in other's names, since the audience knows them anyway?

1.I really thought his process was too much. He takes a lot of notes and does too much editing and revising his work.  I don't do a lot of editing. I usually just reread my paper and fix mistakes and add stuff as I go. I do make some revising changes, I'm not as thorough as Murray though.

3. Berkenkotter's study showed that you needed more time to do the planning and revisions than really necessary to complete those tasks. Revisions may take as long as possible to create a paper.

4. The time management with the revising and editing process. Berkenkotter addressed the problems people have with editing. He says that you should do more editing than actually writing the paper. Weaknesses still do remain because not everyone is going to take the approach. 

Decisions and Revisions: The Planning Strategies of a Publishing Writer and Response of a Laboratory Rat or Being Protocoled QDJ 1,2,3, and 4

1.What was your impression of Murray's writing processes as they're described here? How do they compare to yours? What do you do the same or differently?
3. How did this study change Berkenkotter's understanding of writing processes, particularity planning and revision?
4.What problems with existing methods for studying writing process does Berkenkotter identify? If you read Perl, did you notice any of these problems in her methods? What do you think they might mean for Perl's findings? In what ways is Berkenkotter's newer approach to studying writing processes able to solve the weaknesses in other methods? Do any weaknesses remain?

1.I really thought his process was too much. He takes a lot of notes and does too much editing and revising his work.  I don't do a lot of editing. I usually just reread my paper and fix mistakes and add stuff as I go. I do make some revising changes, I'm not as thorough as Murray though.

3. Berkenkotter's study showed that you needed more time to do the planning and revisions than really necessary to complete those tasks. Revisions may take as long as possible to create a paper.

4. The time management with the revising and editing process. Berkenkotter addressed the problems people have with editing. He says that you should do more editing than actually writing the paper. Weaknesses still do remain because not everyone is going to take the approach. 

My Specific Writing Process

My writing process is actually very simple. Most people have a very complex writing style, but I write what I feel. I start off by finding a nice comfortable place to plan out everything. I usually write at Starbucks here on campus. I love the atmosphere and having people around me while I write. I start of by making an outline. In my outline I write the topic at the very top of the paper so I don’t get confused or forget what my point is. After writing down the topic I proceed to outline my paper in chronological order. I do it in order so that if I want to start on a different section first I’ll know where it goes. It usually takes me 30 minutes to an hour to write my outline. I don't write my outline and then write my paper. I write start on my paper the day after I write my outline. On the dirty draft I just free write. I really don't go back and correct mistake after I finish. I write the dirty draft just to see how my paper will look like. I don't change things because I’ll do all the in the first draft. When I write the first draft I try not to make a lot of mistakes so I won't have to do a lot in my second. In my second draft is where I usually add my new ideas in. I do a lot of corrections and change some things. By the second draft my paper is usually completely different. After I’m done with the second draft I’m happy with my paper and ready to turn in the final product. When I’m writing my final paper I like to proofread after every paragraph, this cuts down editing time. Sometimes while I’m doing my final editing I do tend to add new stuff. I don’t do this too much because I don’t want to take the attention off the main topic of that paragraph. I takes me about a week to write my whole paper, sometimes longer. It depends on the length of the paper to determine how long it will take me to write it. That’s pretty much it, like I said my process is very simple.

Writing Process of Famous Author

OF COURSE I have to write about R.L Stine. He is my favorite author and his writing process is quite simple. He says most of his stories are completely from his imagination. Of course none were inspired from real events. He likes to sit and think about the plot of the story first then go from there. All of his “Fear Street” books are written around this one town called Shadyside or a street called Fear Street and its terrifying history. He says that sometimes he does run out of ideas or his ideas are similar to another book. He said when he thinks he has an idea that is similar to one of his other books he tries to think of a really good plot twist. I've noticed this in a few of his books. I’ll be reading one and think that its the same as one I've read before, but a few chapters in I realize that its even better. He outlines everything first. Most of his characters have really basic names like Lee, Ali, or John. He says its easier to have basic names than to have big names. He can give them a better personality that way. When he outlines he writes the plot down first. After he writes the plot he names all the characters. Once he names everyone he writes down their role in the story. By roles I mean the main character telling the story or the main one being effected. He writes down the murderer or whoever did what in the story. He says this way he doesn't get any characters mixed up. He then proceeds to write out the rest of the story. He said it doesn't take him long to write one “Fear Street” book, but it takes long enough. He wants his readers to have something different every time in a “Fear Street” or “Goosebumps” novel. I really like his writing style and I can relate to some of the things he does.

Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers

1. Sommers says that the language students use to describe revision is about vocabulary, suggesting that they "understand the revision process as a rewording activity" How is it different from the way she argues that revision should be understood?
3. In her introduction and in analyzing students' descriptions of revision, Sommers focuses quite a lot on the difference between speech and writing. In your own words what is she saying that difference is between the two, and why is this difference relevant to how we understand revision?
5. What do you think Sommers means when she says that for experienced writers, revision is based on a non-linear theory in which a sense of the whole writing both precedes and grows out of an examination of the parts? What does she mean by "the whole writing"? What does it mean for writing processes to be non-linear (not a straight line of progress from beginning to end)? And why do you think that experienced writers see writing as non-linear but student writers tend to see writing as linear?
7. Does this match what you have been taught about writing and revising?

1. Sommers says that the students tend to revise by asking themselves can they find a better word or phrase, a more impressive, and are they repeating the same word or phrases too often. She also says students should use a thesaurus.

3. To me you write the way you speak. If you speak a certain way you're going to write a certain way. I think that the more you write the better your vocabulary gets.

5. Because sometimes when people write they just put down the first thing that comes to mind. They start getting off topic and lose the reader. People get so lost in their writing that they are just all over the place with the topic.

7. I think revising is the most important part of writing. If you don't revise your paper then there really was no reason to write it in the first place.

Would I change my literacy narrative?

I really do not think I would change much about my paper. My paper explained pretty much all I could remember about my reading and writing journey. The only thing I would change is me being able to remember more stuff. I know a lot of people influenced me to read and write. I thought my paper was well thought out and organized. I tried to keep everything in chronological order. I started off with my earliest memory and ended with my most recent one. After reading it over a few times I saw that I could have used a little more detail. I tried to use as much as possible. I really wanted the reader to smell the smells and feel the textures like I did. I don't know why, but I wish we could have used pictures. To me pictures really get the point across. I would have used pictures of R.L Stine’s books because a lot of people don't know what they look like. I don't think I would've changed my writing process. I outlined everything first and then I let that be the foundation to my paper. In my outline I put everything in order and made sure it was where I wanted. My paper followed my outline very well. I did change a few things. I took out some things that I thought weren't as relevant as others. I tried to name all my main literacy sponsors. By main I mean the ones that had the most impact. I really hope who ever reads my paper enjoys it. It really does show my literary journey. Of course I kept my own personal copy. I think this paper will be useful in the near future. It will always be here to remind me of how I started. I might have to write a paper similar to that, but more in depth. My next paper will be even better than my last. I figured out the type of writing style that I like. I will use the methods I used on this paper on my

Writing What Matters: A Student's Struggle to Bridge the Academic/Personal Divide QDJ 1,2,3

1. Strasser writes that "The devices of grammar and rhetoric remain superficial skills until a writer employs them to express important and powerful feelings, thoughts, and ideas" Why? And do you agree?
2. What seems to be at issue for Strasser is creating "personally meaningful writing"  in response to school assignments. Is there actually anything in Stanley Fish's advocacy of a writing course that teaches reasoning which would seem to rule out such personally meaningful writing? In other words is Strasser right to assume the Fish's insistence on writing in order to exercise one's grammar will actually lead to meaningless writing?
3. In your experience, does school create a separation of mind, body, and spirit that Strasser quotes bell hooks as identifying?

1. I agree with Strasser about what she says because without grammar it would be confusing and you wouldn't understand what the writer was trying to say. If we didn't have sentence structure wouldn't understand what people were saying.
2.  To mean meaningful writing is different from something assigned.  You can't really be meaningful to something you didnt think of yourself.  I think that in Stanley Fish’s advocacy of a writing course that teaches reasoning there is a lot things that don't say anything about meaningful writing. 
3. Yes it does. In certain subjects you use more of the other.

All Writing is Autobiography QDJ 2, 5, and 6

2. In what ways, according to Murray, is writing autobiography? Can you categorize the ways that Murray believes writing is autobiography?
5. Consider the implications of Murray's arguments: If he's right, how do his ideas change the way you think about writing? Would they encourage you to write any differently than you currently do?
6. Consider the last few texts that you have written, whether for school, work, or personal reasons. Consider the ways the these texts are or are not autobiography in the sense that Murray describes.

2 .Writing is autobiography because it almost always shows your experiences and always shows your voice. Writing is personal and its an expression of yourself.

5.  I agree with Murray’s arguments. I think of writing kinda like him. I have a few different opinions but they're still similar.

6. The last one I wrote was somewhat a autobiography. I wrote about my favorite books when I was little and I had to do it in chronological order so that's somewhat like his method. 

What was my fav book as a child?

I actually have two favorite books. The first is a fairy tale book and the second is Miss Nelson is Missing. My mom read the fairy tale book almost every night when I was little. It’s very weird that I can’t remember the name of it. I guess you could say that this is one of the books that taught me how to read. My favorite fairy tale was Rapunzel. I liked it because it was the most interesting to me. As a child I thought if I tied a sheet around my head I could be Rapunzel. I tied the sheet around my head and threw it out the window. My mom didn't like that very much and she stopped reading the stories out of the book. I really wanted to hear the story so I learned how to pronounce the words on my own. The story didn't have many big because it was designed for kids just learning how to read. It took me a while to fully understand what I was reading, but I got it eventually. One night I read the story to my Mom and she was so shocked that a 1st grader could read the way I did. My second favorite book is Miss Nelson is Missing! I really don’t know why but I still love that book to this day. I love all the sequels to it too. The book reminded me so much of my 1st grade class. We were so bad and are teacher was so nice. We were 1st graders so we really weren't use to being disciplined at school. My teacher read us the book one day during story time. The book is about a class that just doesn't listen to their teacher. They threw spit balls, talked during the lesson, and didn't do their work. One day Ms. Nelson just got fed up and left. When Ms.Nelson left the class got a new teacher, Ms. Viola Swamp. Ms.Swap was mean and meant business. She gave the class tons of work and didn't allow anyone to misbehave. One day the kids decided to go look for Ms.Nelson. They couldn't find her so they went to the police. The detective was a joke so he wasn't any help. The kids gave up and just decided they weren't ever going to see Ms.Nelson again. At the end of the book Ms.Nelson comes back to find the kids were so well behaved and respectful. She also tells them she has a secret she will never tell. This book taught me to always appreciate your teacher and what she does for you.

QDJ "Excerpt from Bootstraps: From an Academic of Color"

1. This account shifts back and forth between the first person "I" and the third person "Victor" "he". What effects does that shifting create? Does it break any rules you've been thought?
2. How does Villanueva define rhetoric? What else does he say that studying rhetoric helps you study?
3. Have you ever tried observing and imitating the writing moves that other writers make, as Villanueva describes doing this his English teachers ("Professional Discourse Analysis") If so, what was your experience doing so? If not, what would you need to look for in order to do the kind of imitation Villanueva describes?
4. In paragraph 6, Villanueva describes his college writing process as, "The night before a paper was due, he'd gather pen and pad , and stare. Clean the dishes. Stare. Watch an 'I Love Lucy' rerun. Stare. Then sometime in the night the words would come" (A few more sentences finish description.) What elements of this process resemble your own? How is yours different?

1. Its makes it confusing for the reader to know who the writer is talking about. I was always taught not to switch back and forth, to always stay with the person you began with. I was also taught to not switch between past a present.

2.The text is the world in which we find ourselves, Composition and racism.

3.  I have done this. When I was in middle school my friend had beautiful handwriting and a vivid imagination. She would write fictional stories in her daily journal instead of the usual "well I ate mac and cheese" yesterday. I started reading her stories and getting ideas of my own. As I got older I am a great fictional writer and its actually something I do in my spare time.

4. All of them. I call it procrastination. I can't just sit down and do my work all at one time. I plan it out at night and then say I'll finish it in the morning. It is true that ideas come to you at night. When I don't finish my paper that night I have more ideas and revisions in the morning.