Week 7: Prompt 1: Summarizing to the Point...

Prompt – Why is it important to be direct, objective, and use your own words when summarizing?

When summarizing, you must tell only the essential information needed to understand the message of the writing.  You have to be direct, objective, and use your own words when summarizing.

You have to be direct because it helps you get to the point without adding unnecessary information that is not needed.

You must be objective when summarizing because you can’t add your opinion to the summary.  When summarizing, you are telling what the writer wrote, not how you feel about the writing itself, so objectivity is a must.

You must use your own words because you are telling the “story” in your own words.  You won’t be believable if you try to summarize using language that isn’t your own.  In academic writing, you must use academic language, but it should be in a way that is reflective of your voice.

Summarizing isn’t always easy, but if you strive to be direct, objective, and use your own voice, you can do a good job of sharing information that you’ve learned to others.

Week 6: Prompt 2: Don't Embarrass the Family...

Prompt – Title your Blog Entry: Don’t Embarrass the Family.  Think about your family name (your last name).  Write your blog prompt over the following questions:  What does it mean to you?  What does it mean to your family?  Have you done anything that would embarrass your family?  How did it make you feel?  Why is it important to honor your family name?  (Be sure to answer all these questions).

The Madkins’ family name means a lot.  It means so much that I wrote a whole essay over it. LOL!

Visit… https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/93c377_3362a5862ba54fc48b75a3657fbd3609.pdf  to View  (in PDF format) “Don’t Embarrass the Family.”

It means quite a bit to me, so much so that I decided that everything I write will have the name Madkins in it.  The Madkins’ family name is a proud name filled with people who have done some great things, made some mistakes, but overall, we are some good people.  My father often reminds us that we are Madkins, and that we must succeed, so it means a lot to him, and therefore, it means a lot to me.  I’m glad my father taught us how important it was to be an upstanding member of the family because it made us (at least me) strive to always be the best and to live up to a standard of excellence that my father began.

I’ve done plenty to embarrass the Madkins’ name.  Most of the time it wasn’t on purpose, but it happened.  I often think… “What is my father going to say?” But in the end, I remember, I can make a mistake, but always own up to, and fix the issue so that it doesn’t happen again.

It’s important to honor my family’s name because it’s part of who I am, it’s what made me who I am.  I have to honor it to know who and where I came from.

Week 6: Prompt 1: It's on the Internet... So, It Must Be True...

Blog Prompt - Why is it important to cite your sources?  How does citing your sources help you avoid plagiarism?

As an English professor, I constantly tell my students to cite their sources.  But, when you go on Facebook, Twitter, SnapChat, people just post things without a source.  That irritates me to no end.  Most people don’t realize that you must check your source because if your source is wrong, then you are wrong and unreliable as a writer, but you are also a thief and a liar or a plagiarizer!

Plagiarism is a big issue in college.  But, I don’t think it’s the students fault, totally.  The internet has made “cheating” easier, but it has also made it harder.  Redundant thinking, right?  Yes!

Here are some reasons you should cite your source…

1.       If your source is wrong, then you are wrong.  If you don’t have the original wrong source listed then you are the one who is wrong and will bear the consequences.

2.       Secondly, you need to give credit to the person who said what you are saying.  If you use what someone else created, came up with, or wrote, you need to give them credit.  It’s a sign of respect.

3.       You avoid plagiarism.  You don’t want to be accused of stealing.

4.       Citing your sources can give people other things to read.  If you use a source that seems interesting to another person, they can go find that source because you cited.

Back to plagiarism…

It is stealing someone’s work, and then lying about it.  Remember, you aren’t supposed to steal… (Commandment #8), and God hates a lying tongue (Biblical Proverb).  So, save yourself some stress, and cite your sources!

Week 5: Prompt 2: You Saw A Murder… Well, No, But I Saw Something Worth Telling

Blog Prompt – Read “Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police” by Martin Gansberg.  Answer this question: In a similar situation, would you have called the police?  Would you have gone outside to help? What factors do you think might have influenced your decision?

“38 Who Saw Murder and Didn’t Call the Police” is an article written about the tragic death of Kitty Genovese.  This particular incident has been discussed, researched, pondered, written about, and retold for years.  It is a powerful thing to think about… Someone was in trouble, and in essence… No one bothered to help until it was too late!

A guy stabbed a woman as a whole neighborhood “witnessed” it, and no one bothered to call the police until the lady was finally dead.  The guy had three chances to stab her.  With each stabbing, people heard Kitty’s screams, but no one rushed to react.  The person who finally called the police went from his house to another person’s house and used that person’s phone.  Overall, he wasted 20-30 minutes, when he could have used his own phone.

Here is the question… given the same situation, would you call the police?

I can honestly say, if it were a child who was in danger, I would call the police without hesitation.  I do not like seeing children hurt, so I would call the police.  When we have this lecture in class, I often think about the Jerry Sandusky case at Penn State, where a grad assistant walked into a locker room as a child was being hurt, then walked out, called his father, and left the scene, leaving the child in danger.  This makes me angry.  The grad assistant could have done something to help the child.  He could have kicked a bench to make some noise.  He could have slammed some locker doors.  And, in my opinion, he should have called the police.  Am I saying that he should have attacked the man hurting the child, no, but the grad assistant should have had some compassion on a child, and helped him.

As I stated earlier, I would definitely call the police if it were a child in danger.  I do not know if I would step in to help; it would depend on the situation.  Now, I ask myself, would I do the same thing for an adult?  In my heart, I believe I would call the police.  This does make me pause and think because, as an African-American, we do not call the police as a general rule, for so many different reasons.  As a woman, will I be putting myself in danger? I do not want to get hurt trying to help someone.  But in reality, will I get hurt by calling the police?

It takes courage to overcome the bystander effect (standing by and waiting for others to help), which occurred in the Kitty Genovese murder.  It takes courage to say, I will help someone in need.  Remember, as a functioning human being, we are our brother’s keeper, act like it.

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Works Cited:

Gansberg, Martin. “Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police.” Patterns for College Writing, edited by Laurie G. Kirsznek & Stephen R. Mandell, 9th edition, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004, 101-105, e-file.

Week 5: Prompt 1: Helen Makes Me Smile…

Prompt – Why is it important to develop your own voice when writing?

This week we are talking about honesty and openness when writing.  When I give this lecture, I like to have a student that I can talk about specifically.  Every year, I manage to have that one student.  This year, it is a student named Helen.  She is a good writer, and she has developed her voice.  It is a sweet, cute, funny voice that makes me smile every time I read her work.

This is amazing because when my students leave my class, I want them to have a voice, one that has grown over the time they have spent with me.  I enjoy hearing my students’ voice as I read their work. 

Developing one’s voice is important because writers have to be true to themselves, and learn how they write.  They need to know how they sound as they put words together to make sense.  They need to have the freedom to be creative in whatever manner that inspires them.  They need to be uninhibited as they share their hearts with the world (or their teacher).

Most students do not know how to do this because they are not really given the chance to use their voice when writing in high school.  In general, they have to write about what they are told, in a way that they are asked to write.  I think this hampers creativity, and limits their voice.

I enjoy this conversation…

A student asks… “What do we have to write about?”

I respond… “You can write about whatever you want.”

They respond… “Whatever we want?”

“Yes, whatever you want!”

Then there is a discussion about them being able to freely express their thoughts.  The students are always happy about this, but at the same time scared.  I gently reassure them that I want to hear what they have to say.

That’s why it is important to have your own voice… you have something to say, and I want to hear it, but I want to hear you… not someone else.

I look forward to reading students’ essays because, perhaps, like Helen, one of them will make me smile, make me think, make me cry, or challenge my thoughts on a subject, but they can’t do that if they have not developed their voice.

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Works Cited:

Russo, Nat.  "Honesty In Writing - A Writer's Journey." A Writer’s Journey, “Honesty & Openness in Writing,” PowerPoint, Freshmen Composition II: ENGL1302, (Professor Deartra D. Boone,) Richland College, Feb. 2017, PPT.

Week 4: Prompt 2: I Can Go to Havard… No You Can’t… But Really, Yes, You Can

Prompt: Read " 5 Myths about Who Gets into College"

Answer the question - Is this information convincing? Why or why not?

Be sure to use quotations from the article.

Richard D. Kahlenburg writes an article entitled “5 Myths About Who Gets into College.”  The title itself does not clearly describe what the article is about.  At first glance, one might think it is about getting into any college, but, he is writing about getting to a selective college.

The first question is: What is a selective college?  Kahlenburg does not clearly define what this is.  He gives you suggestions about what it is, but he does not state it plainly.  After reading the article, it can be determined that a selective college is a top college, such as Harvard, Caltech, Texas A&M, and University of Georgia, all of which he mentions in the article.

So, Kahlenburg needs to rename his article in my opinion to make it clearer.  The article is about the myths about who gets into selective colleges.  He makes his point, but he often seems to contradict himself, which is the point I think.

He states that there are perceived impediments for low-income students to get into selective colleges, which is true, but it is not as hard to get into these colleges as it once was.  While going about it in a round about way, Kahlenburg gets his point across.  If your desire is to go to a top tier school, do your best, make good grades, learn all that you can, and make sure you know what you need to do to get into college.

He says, “With more students going to college, we're closer to the goal of equal opportunity.” (448).

So, now, you can go to Harvard, but you just have to know how to maneuver through the system.

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Works Cited

Kahlenberg, Richard D. "5 Myths about Who Gets into College." Read, Write, Reason, Edited by Dorothy U. Selyler, McGraw-Hill Education, 2015. 446-448. e-file.

Week 4: Prompt 1: Writing Effectively Using Effective Writing

Prompt: Think back to the Effective Writing Guidelines we discussed.  Which two do you struggle with most and why?

The title is an oxymoron, or an example of redundancy, but it bears discussing.  As a writer, you must write effectively.  You must use the appropriate words, sentences, paragraphs, and structure to write in an effective manner.  Another way to say it is, to write successfully, you have to use high-quality writing.

Skip Downing, author of On Course, a book that helps high school students venture into college, writes a section on “Effective Writing.”  In it, he lists a number of guidelines that will help you be an excellent writer.  Some of them include, “Start immediately,” “Brainstorm,” “Cite your sources,” “Edit carefully,” and “Learn from Errors.”  All of these are excellent guidelines that would produce superior work.  But, some of these guidelines are problematic, specifically for a college student, who may not have time to do all of them because of their busy schedule.

Downing suggests that students should let their ideas and writing incubate, or let their brain rest after they brainstorming, and then again after they finish writing.  Both are good ideas, but when you are a student writing papers for three classes in one week, it may not be feasible to let your brain rest.

I’m a firm believer in incubating (resting your brain) during writing.  I tell my students that this gives their brains time to breath and to stop writing on their topic.  This is vitally important after writing.  You need to revise and edit, and not write during this time.  I think a writer should incubate for at least a day.  But, I generally suggest that my students incubate for an hour.

Again, incubating can be problematic for a college student.  But, it is vital to being an effective writer.

Another idea Downing mentions is to “read backwards when editing.”  This one is challenging for me.  I tried it once, but it bothered me so because you are not supposed to read backwards.  This is a good thing to do because while you are editing, you only need to focus on the errors you have in your sentences.  If you are reading your work in the proper order as you are editing, you may notice a revising issue, and forget to edit.  But if you are reading it backwards, the order will not be recognizable, errors in writing is the only thing you will be able to focus on.

Using Downing effective writing guidelines will help you be a better writer.  Some of them, you may already do, some of them, you may need to learn to do, some of them, you may never use, but, it is well worth learning these guidelines to write effectively.

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Works Cited

Down, Skip.  “On Course.” On Course, “Effective Writing,” PowerPoint, Freshmen Composition II: ENGL1302, (Professor Deartra D. Boone,) Richland College, Feb. 2017, PPT.

Gotta Be A Leader

In Alex Knapp’s essay, “Five Leadership Lessons from James T. Kirk,” he gives five valuable lessons to business people that he feels will make them better leaders.  This article appears in Read, Write, Reason, the textbook I use for ENGL1302.  When I first saw the essay, I thought it was weird to have it in a Freshmen Composition textbook, but after reading it, I discovered that the lessons were applicable to college students.

The advice he gives will help college students do better in college and will prepare them for life after college.

Lesson 1: Never Stop Learning.  This is and always will be an important key to being successful in life.  If we are always learning, it will help our brains continue to grow and flourish.

Lesson 2: Have Advisors with Different Worldviews.  This is one is a good lesson for college students.  I encourage my students to be open to meeting new people, especially ones who don not look like them.  Developing Interpersonal Relationships is key in college.  He is right when he says, “We all need a McCoy and a Spock in our lives and organizations” (30).

Lesson 3: Be a Part of the Away Team.  This one is interesting for college students.  In the essay, Knapp refers to leaders not always sitting in their office and watching their staff.  But, it can apply to college students as well.  It reminds then to be a part of what is going on at their college.  I encourage my students to be active in the college activities.  That is important to making new friends.

Lesson 4: Play Poker, Not Chess.  I do like this lesson.  As Knapp says, “Life is a game of probabilities, not defined rules. And often understanding your opponent is a much greater advantage than the cards you have in your hand” (31).  Remember, people do not always follow the rules, so knowing how to read people will help you a lot in life.

Lesson 5: Blow Up the Enterprise.  This one can be hard because Knapp reminders readers that things change, and that you need to be okay with change.  And as we know, most of us struggle with change.  Knapp says it like this, “change what isn’t working and embark on a new path, even if that means having to live in a Klingon ship for a while” (32).

All these lessons are certainly familiar to my students because they learn them in the first week of the semester when I lecture on “Growth Mindset” (the belief that intelligence is pliable and can be developed with effort and hard work) and “Creating Success in College” (focusing on you being the creator and controller of your success in college).  Both lectures teach students the same lessons that Knapp discusses in his essay, but in a different way.

As I told my students last week when discussing reading… “I taught you something that you needed to learn, but I gave you three ways to look it.”

Works Cited

“Developing a Growth Mindset.”  Handout, Freshmen Composition II: ENGL1302, (Professor Deartra D. Boone,) Richland College, Jan. 2018, e-file.

Down, Skip.  “On Course.” On Course, “Creating Success in College - On Course,” Handout, Freshmen Composition II: ENGL1302, (Professor Deartra D. Boone,) Richland College, Jan. 2018, e-file.

Knapp, Alex. "Five Leadership Lessons from James T. Kirk." Read, Write, Reason, Edited by Dorothy U. Selyler, McGraw-Hill Education, 2015. 28-32. e-file.

REPOST: Week 3: Prompt 2: I Gotta Wear Dresses, All the Time?

Prompt: Read "The Wife-Beater"

Answer the question… Do members of your religious or ethnic group wear an item of clothing that is not well known to others? Define the article of clothing, and explain its significance and its history in terms that outsiders can understand.

What I posted last semester still rings true for me...

“The Wife-Beater” is an exceptionally well-written essay by Gayle Rosenwald Smith about A-Shirts, also known as Wife-Beaters.  She breaks down the definition of the article of clothing in terms that everyone will understand and react to.  This essay sparks thoughts on articles of clothing that can be misunderstood.

Growing up, I was a member of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), a Pentecostal organization that, at the time, places strict regulations on what the women of the religion could not wear.  One such item was pants.  This directive resulted in the interpretation of Deuteronomy 22:5 (ERV) which states, “A woman must not wear men’s clothes, and a man must not wear women’s clothes. That is disgusting to the Lord your God.”  This rule caused me complications as girl who was a total and complete tomboy.

I had to wear dresses no matter what I was doing.  I wore them 24-7, even in gym class at school, which was bothersome at times.  There was one time when we were learning about gymnastics.  We had to flip, tumble, jump, and the like to receive a grade.  I could not even wear shorts under my skirts, against the rule.

In one class, we were on the parallel bar, doing exercises, and it was my turn.  I got up on the bar, and did the required exercise.  I could not refuse to do it, I would have received a failing grade, and in my family, failing grades are not a good thing.  Thankfully, the young lady who was spotting me, thought to hold my skirt in a way that my undergarments could not be seen by everyone in class.

You would think the coach would have let me get an excused “absence” for this lesson because my mother wrote him a note explaining my religious beliefs, but he did not.  I had to participate.  I tried to talk to him, but he said that my excuse note was not sufficient to get me excused from the assignment.  So, there I was trying to flip on a parallel bar without showing all my glory.  I got a “C” on the assignment because I could not fully do the exercise without showing my glory, so I did a modified version.

As a child, I did not understand the rule, but as an adult, I realized why the church had this rule.  They wanted the saints to look a certain way, in order to portray what holiness looked like.  I have often heard people say that the forefathers of the church were ignorant, but I do not feel that way.  I think they were simply trying to help the congregants live a holy lifestyle.

The rules on dress has modify some, which is good, but I would not change my experience for anything.  It made me who I am.

Works Cited

Smith, Gayle Rosenwald. “The Wife-Beater.” Patterns for College Writing, edited by Laurie G. Kirsznek & Stephen R. Mandell, 9th edition, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004, 521-524, e-file.

My Life Today...

I feel like this is my theme song for today...

I know I have said several things in classes today 50-eleven times.  Yes, 50-eleven.

Sang Beyonce...