Rules for Writers: Chapter 3

     This chapter is about revising your work. Revise means to alter something already written or printed, in order to make  corrections, improve, or update. Every writer does this to make more of sense to their writing. Global matter is a first step for revising. This is when you are going over the purpose, organization, focus, and overall work. In this process you kind of have to look and read it as an audience’s perspective. Continue to check if you’ve accomplishing the purpose in which you want to persuade, inform, or entertain the readers. Focus on clearly stating the thesis; organize paragraphs so that your ideas are in order.

     Next is the editing process. This is when you look for mistakes; improve sentence structures, grammar, word choice, punctuations, and other obvious mistakes. You can make these corrections as you type. Some writers like to print out a hard copy, make corrections on it, and then go back to their computers and work on their editing. Sometimes I like to let someone else edit my work for me because the person may have better editing skills than I do. It’s also the closest thing to another audience’s point of view, and what makes sense to them will make sense to others.

     The final step is to proofread your work. This is the most important process of completing your final draft. Proofreading is a kind of reading where you must read slowly and carefully to look for misspelled words or typos. You would probably need to proofread your work several times to make sure it makes sense, and that the paragraphs are in proper order. This process is crucial because this is your overall work being reviewed.

     My favorite part about writing is proofreading. I catch many flaws when I’m rereading my writing. I try to make the most sense of my work as I can and editing it as well. Even when I completely submitted my work, I tend to proofread several times over and over again. And still I can catch some of my mistakes I didn’t notice before. This is why it is important to follow these steps when writing; revise, edit, and proofread.

Coming Home Again

Why does his mother regret allowing him to attend boarding school?

Lee's mother regretted letting him go to boarding school because she thought that they could have had more time to connect if he stayed close to home. She felt that it was a "big mistake". Lee asked her why she let him go, and she replied that she didn't know that she was going to die. She also felt that it was better for him that he wasn't around because he may not have liked being in her presence for all the time he could have been home. He suggested that he may have liked her even more, but she disagreed. The years he was away at boarding school was more precious to her as her illness progressed.

      If Lee stayed home instead of going to boarding school, I think he would have been able to bond with his sick mother. He could have been home to care for her, learn the things she wanted him to learn, like cooking the way she does. Most of the conversations happened in the kitchen and cooking was a big part of the narration, so cooking must have been a big thing for them.

     In my family, we cook a lot especially during gatherings. A lot of conversations happen during that time as well. I don’t know why when we’re cooking or eating we make most of our conversations, discussions, and decisions during the time we are in the kitchen or dining area. I guess it somehow brings us together and put aside unimportant things and discuss certain matters as a family.

Rules for Writers: Chapter 2

     To start out by rough drafting, you must focus your attention on the ideas and details your putting out and how it will be organized. Gather all your materials such as an outline of notes, diagrams, freewrites, or any other note taking materials you have created. Rough drafts are meant to be messy; not perfect. Ideas will gradually develop as you write.

     There are three main parts to a writing; the introduction, thesis, and conclusion. The most important part of the writing is the Introduction. In most types of writings, the thesis is introduced in the first paragraph; which is the main point you are writing about.

     As you begin your thesis, you must think about what your readers need to know In order to understand your thoughts in sequence as you create your paragraphs. Sentences should provide examples, facts, descriptions, or questions leading to the thesis. You must think of ways to keep your readers interested in reading about the topic by sparking curiosity or other reasons for the reader to continue reading. The body of the essay containing some main points or central ideas develops support for the thesis.

     Finally the conclusion will close the ending of the essay. Conclusions should have details and examples to support the introduction. It is also important to know how to well end the writing. It should have significance to the main ideas so the reader understands the whole general idea of the writing.

     Reading This chapter provides a brief description on how to summarize ideas and organize them in to a rough draft from start to finish. I tend to use the same ideas as the chapter describes, but normally I get stuck on the introduction. It’s hard to keep moving when I feel like I haven’t even accomplish my first paragraph. But I understand we develop more thoughts as we keep writing to have a better idea on how the introduction should be introduced.

Essay 1

                                                                   Fun in the Sun

This is a picture of my five year old son, Jayden, who's standing behind his six year old cousin, Brandon with the beach ball in front of him. They both are very active, intelligent children, full of energy, excitement, and are always finding ways to laugh and smile. They are the kind of little boys that can redefine boredom. There is nothing that you could do to keep them from exploring new adventure or find a mess to make even messier. These two are more like brothers than they are cousins. They are partners in crime.

This photo was taken last summer at Doran Beach, located south of Bodega Bay. The beach stretches out about two miles long, and is a great place to have a picnic, swim, fly kites, and simply just lie under the sun. My family and I decided to go to the beach that day because it was awfully scorching hot in Santa Rosa, and the air conditioner at home was broken.

I can recall the day vividly; it was a nice warm day, the sun was bright, the wind had blown lightly, the seagulls flew over our heads squawking, and we could see the ocean water waves hitting the shores. The sound of the ocean was relieving; it was the perfect day getaway from the busy noise of traffic.

Jayden and Brandon were so excited to be at the beach that day. To them it was better than Chuck E. Cheese, probably because there was more space to run around, and fewer kids to share with. The first thing they did was removed their beach shirts and ran to the shore with water guns shooting at each other, running from the waves, splashing water, chase and whack each other with seaweeds, and attempted to build sand castles before the waves took over. I remember being nervous about the boys going too far into the water and the waves would take them in. I made sure I stayed near and kept a good eye on them both. I couldn’t stop laughing when the two, buried my cousin’s pet dog, Honey, into the sand with only her head sticking out, barking, and helplessly trying to maneuver her way out.
          We spent hours at the beach, watching the children play, fight, and laugh at each other. Family time is important for children as young as Jayden and Brandon. They learn how to play, share, bond, and create memories. It’s hard to get family together when we all have busy lives, so days like these are rare. My older sister and I want to make family time available as often as possible. 
          This image is one that I want to keep forever; it portrays the closeness, and happiness the boys have. When they grow older, I want them both to be able to look back and know they were lucky to have the chance to take advantage of their childhood, what it felt like to be a kid, and how the love from family can provide a wonderful feeling. The memories that these boys can create together will help them grow stronger and learn. I believe that children who are raised from a good family make them who they are when they grow up. We come from a big family and together we all value the idea of to sticking together, trust each other, and to always remember that there is no one better to turn to than your own family.

"The Ways We Lie"

    Stephanie Ericsson portrayed the different types of lies we make. She provided great examples of these lies, some we probably didn’t even know were considered lies. No matter what kind of lies they are, they all had common meanings; false statement or action to deceive, or withholding truth.

    Omission is one of my most frequently used types of lie. This is when most truth is spoken but certain main facts are left out that can totally change the way we view or look at the story. Such facts can make a big difference in a situation and affect a person’s life or the way they live. Lies like these are to prevent hurt feelings; the way we like to look at it, “what they don’t know won’t hurt them”. It is true, “The cruelest lies are often told in silence”. Omission can be easily used in a combination of other lies all together.

  

  I can recall a time when my husband and I made some financial arrangements. As usual I’m the one who’s in charge of making sure all bills were taken care of. When he asked me if the bills were paid or any that remained unpaid, I assured him that it was ALL paid. I had failed to mention to him that there was also a major bill due on my behalf. I didn’t want him to know about it because it would be a great deal of stress on the both of us, and I thought I can take care of it without him knowing. It was important that this bill was to be paid immediately; I withdrew about nine hundred dollars out of our joint account. Hoping to replace the funds without my husband finding out failed. I procrastinated, and he had the time to check up on the balance. He was not happy at all and I do not blame him. The argument lasted all night, no sleep, just a stream of guilt. That was my consequence. I thought maybe if I told him everything before, he may have been more supportive about it.

    It can be difficult to get through a day without hiding some truths. We can ask ourselves, “Why do we lie?” Reasons behind this are usually because we don’t want to face consequences so we tend to avoid speaking the truth. We all lie in our own little ways to exaggerate, spare feelings, and avoid confrontations. This habit becomes so natural to us; we forget it’s even considered a lie and probably the reason why we still think ourselves as honest people. It’s like a disease and will always be a part of us no matter what shape, size, age, or gender. Lies are within us all. 

Chapter 1: The Writing Process

     This chapter explains about the writing process. It is broken down into steps on how to begin writing your first draft. Before you decide to start on your draft, you must plan ahead.  Generate, and jot down ideas and where you will get your sources of information. Ideas can start from personal experiences, interviews, informative reading sources, and observations. Ask questions; what will the subject be about? Or what do you want to know more about? This is a great way to conduct the purpose for your writing and how to catch the reader’s attention.  

     It is important to know what you’re writing about and why the audience should be interested. The purpose of the writing can either be to persuade, entertain, inform, argue, and so on. Only the audience themselves can find your writing either useful or pointless, and whether it affects them in a positive or a negative way.

     After collecting all your information, it is helpful to create and sketch an outline, which will organize your ideas and separate them in different paragraphs. After writing your draft, it is important to have your writing reviewed. Reviewers can help you edit your work and offer advice throughout your writing process. No writing is perfect the first time, which is why the editing process is critical prior to your final draft.

     These simple steps are how I usually form my writing. I like to find my information sources from readings, and also from my own personal experiences as well as others. I will continue to use these steps because it’s the only way I know how to write a paper. I had a great English class in high school and have acquired many writing skills from it. It’s been so long I have forgotten so much, but at least I haven’t forgotten how to begin a first paragraph. I hope that the further more I read through these chapters, it will refresh my memories, and be better at writing.

The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me

      In this modern day and age, having educations is truly a life saver and it is very important. It opens opportunities for careers, and to make better money. It is also a way to get by in life and to learn how to be and do things independtly. Without acquiring the knowledge and education, people will end up struggling, and life experiences would be their only teacher. People will always struggle in life and have many downfalls, but many who chooses the right path will least be the unfortunate. The educated ones are in their own “paragraph”, a fence that keeps them in a group, like how Alexie would probably describe this.

     Alexie grew up with books stashed all over his house. He learned how to read on his own just by looking at pictures on a Superman comic. The illustrations from the comic book helped him understand the plots of the story. His father loved books, so from then he had loved books also.

     Indian children were expected to be “stupid” or fail, but Alexie was very different from his classmates because he was smart and knew how to read. It was dangerous to be smart because it was feared and ridiculed by both Indians and non-indians. Indians who failed were more likely to be accepted by other Indians.

     Alexie visited schools as often as possible and taught the children creative writing. He became an influence on many Indian children he taught. They are now writing poems, short stories, and novels. They are saving their own lives. Alexie saved himself by being well educated and becoming a great writer. Growing up, he defended himself from being bullied by his other classmates. He wanted to achieve and be better than what was expected for young Indians.

     All my life I have always been taught about the benefits of getting an education and where it can take me. I use to think that there is always a way for people to get by, even if they didn’t finish or go to school. For some it may be true, but many people aren’t so lucky.

     I can almost relate to Alexie’s situation with his other Indian peers. As I was growing up, I have seen many young people of my ethincity who chose to be “street” smart rather than education smart. But in the end, they have ended up in the same place they started and no where to go because of the lack of knowledge and resource that could have been gained from simply just learning how to read and write. When your young, you don’t realize what is important nor understand what real responsibilties are and what is priority to upkeep the living responsibilty in a household. Many rely on their parents to pay bills and put food on the table and to only watch them struggle.  

     I believe knowledge is power, a ticket to a better life. It doesn’t take a genius to be a better person but only the time, energy, and motivation to thrive and succeed.