Naomi Dawson
ENG 110 H2
Professor Miller
Journal 1
If I could invite Wallace into the discussion in my classroom, I would have a few specific questions to ask. First, I would have to ask him what originally sparked his interest in researching the Maine Lobster Festival in such detail? Could it be because he was born in Maine or was it just his fascination with lobster themselves? Also, I would ask if he thinks that if they stopped holding the annual MLF that it would be helpful in protecting the lobster? Lastly, I would like to know if he has changed the way he eats after learning about the probable suffering of the lobster when being cooked? I think Wallace and I would be able to relate on our confusion with the morality of this subject.
I don’t think that written discourse necessarily has any limits, I believe that Wallace was successfully combining discourse types. It was an expository essay in that he spent a lot of time giving us facts and explaining in detail about the issue, but also seemed to have persuasive and argumentative aspects to it as well.
I believe the best way to anticipate your audience’s questions when you write is to actually put yourself in your audience’s shoes. You have to first figure out who your writing is intended for, and then ask yourself if your connections are clear and what questions might come up.
Naomi Dawson
ENG 110 H2
Professor Miller
Journal 2
In my past English classes, I’ve had to draft and revise several writing projects. I feel as though I have developed certain a process and been taught the skills necessary over the years to create a proficient writing project. In most cases, I start a paper off by brainstorming. I either like to create a graphic organizer or just make a list of the main points I’d like to include. Next, I write my first draft, which usually tends to be a little jumbled and grammatically incorrect. After, I read it through a couple times to further organize it. At this point, my peers and/or teacher usually give it a read through and provide suggestions on to how I can improve the piece. The next step I take is revising and editing. I look deeper into my main idea and develop the topic, even more, adding and/or deleting information. Also, I look at my sentence structure and make sure it flows. I see if I can add transition words and switch paragraphs around to make more sense. I check the piece to make sure they have a clear voice, as well as adding verbs and phrases to expand the topic. I also look at my writing piece and edit it for any errors of grammar, spelling, punctuation, and writing mechanics. This is one of the most important and time-consuming stages in the writing process. Next, I rewrite the paper, making sure to include all of the edits and revisions. Lastly, I make sure to polish any remaining errors and format issues, to ensure my paper is ready to be handed in. These steps can be repeated again and again until success. This writing process is not always linear and sometimes I may move back and forth between steps as needed.
Naomi Dawson
Professor Miller
ENG 110 H2
Journal 3
When reading “The Art of Quoting,” I found that there was a lot of interesting and helpful points that the author made. Writing papers in the past, I knew that adding quotations would help support my point of view or provide examples to the readers about what I was trying to explain, but I could almost never figure out how to incorporate them into the text without it sounding awkward. I think it’s incredibly helpful that this book gives exact templates on how to properly frame your quotations in the text. Also, they give clear, easy to understand examples of what a bad quote looks like vs. a quote that has been properly integrated into the text. It was humorous that they were about to relate quoting without a frame to “hit-and-run” car accidents because of how the driver speeds away without taking responsibility like a writer drops a quote in and speeds away to the next topic.
Along with how to frame your quotations, I thought it was really interesting that they talked about how you can blend the author’s words with your own. I had never even thought about doing this before, but now that they draw it to my attention it’s something I’ve definitely seen before. Again, they showed a clear example that proved exactly what they were talking about and how to use it. Next time I add a quotation into a writing piece, I will have to try echoing the author to add a different spin to my paper, while still using my own words.
Naomi Dawson
ENG 110 H2
Professor Miller
Journal 4
In “The End of Food” by Lizzie Widdicombe, we are introduced to a man named Rob Rhinehart, a graduate of electrical engineering at Georgia Tech. He didn’t have a personal connection to food like some people do and considered it more of a nuisance than anything. After several attempts to replace meals to save himself time and money, he discovered and created a product called Soylent Green. It has every nutrient and protein needed for survival, but cut the time of cooking and eating completely in half. Rhinehart ends up dropping his old career and dedicating all of his time and money into the Soylent business instead. Rhinehart discovers that a lot of people feel passionate about this idea too, and are eager to try this out. He has sold over 30,000 units of Soylent for $65 to people desperate to try his product all over the globe. The transition to Soylent is very controversial but Rhinehart believes this really could be the end of food.
I am very torn on how I feel about this. Since I’ve gotten to college the importance of food has drastically gone down for me due to my lack of free time to sit down and actually enjoy what I’m putting in my mouth. I have to say I would greatly appreciate it if I could enjoy some of the health benefits to “eating” Soylent too, such as clear skin, an improved physique, whiter teeth, and thicker hair. Also, I haven’t been able to get a job here yet, so the cost efficiency also sounds very appealing to me. However, in all reality, I do love being with my family and friends and eating a nice meal with them every once and awhile, and I would miss that if it was really the end of food. Also, our economy would be completely destroyed if we didn’t need real food anymore. Millions and millions of people would lose their jobs and may not even be able to afford the Soylent at all. With that said, I can’t be on Rhinehart’s side completely, but I can’t say I wouldn’t try it if I wasn’t given the opportunity.
Naomi Dawson
ENG 110 H2
Jesse Miller
Journal 5
I feel that this was a very well-written introduction to this book that really encaptured my attention and made me want to read more and try out the techniques talked about in this chapter. In the first few pages of They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein I learned that the book is actually named after a formula for how we should be writing academically. Instead of just expressing our beliefs/ideas with our own voices, we need to add and summarize the voices of others in order to make an impact as a writer. The author tells us how we can’t have a writing piece with logical, well supported, and consistent statements if it doesn’t have the views of others somehow blended into it. This book made this concept very easily understandable and I like how they included cartoons to provide a visual. Also, I liked how the author brought Martin Luther King Jr. into the story, giving us a well-known example of the “they say; I say” formula in his letter. I found that the templates provided were really helpful as well. I liked how they offered a rebuttal to the argument that the templates may kill creativity or originality because that was one of the first concerns that came to mind when reading them. They wrote how using the templates would actually make your writing more creative, not less. When writing my papers in the future I will definitely want to open up this book and use the templates and tips, especially since it is not plagiarism to use them. Lastly, I thought it was interesting how they said the immediate goal of the book is to make you a better writer but also invites you to be a more critical thinker. I am excited to use this book as a tool to try and achieve both.
Naomi Dawson
Professor Miller
ENG 110 H2
Journal #7
Podcast:
Naomi Dawson
Professor Miller
ENG 110 H2
Journal #8
I definitely thought it was beneficial to read chapter 1, “They Say,” in Gerald Graff’s novel They Say, I Say for multiple reasons. First off, I found it really helpful that they started off the chapter with a real-life, easily understood, story about “Dr. X,” that gave me a clear example of why it was so important to bring the views of others into your writing. The two main lessons that they wanted readers to receive here are: that first, an author must clearly state his/her thesis, and second, they must indicate what larger conversation their thesis is responding too. I thought this was very important to read because I had never really thought about the significance of adding other people’s opinions, even if they contradict your own, into your writing. Now, I can see that without adding in the background of the larger conversation, your audience will be unsure as to why you’re even saying what you’re saying. As the chapter continued, they actually provided templates for all of the different possible conversations you could have. The templates I think I will use most often would be the templates for introducing an ongoing debate, but the templates for introducing what they say, standard views, something implied or assumes, and making what they say something you say will all be helpful tools to use as well. I thought these templates were extremely helpful and I plan to use them as I finish this final draft of my Project 1, Part 2 essay. Lastly, I thought that it was useful that they instructed us to keep what “they say” in mind throughout the entirety of your text. They also taught us how to use “return sentences” that are meant to bring back the larger conversation and remind your audience of your whole point. Overall, I thought chapter 1 was a quick, helpful, read.
Naomi Dawson
Professor Miller
ENG 110 H2
Journal #10
In the article “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch” by Micheal Pollen, we read about how America’s idea of cooking has changed greatly over the years. He writes about how Julia Child’s show “The French Chef” completely changed people’s view on cooking and encouraged a whole new wave of people who love and learn to cook. Starting on page 6, I really agree with his point he makes in the second passage, saying that cooking is not always an oppressive thing to women. Women and men can both use cooking as a hobby and form of art. I thought it was important how he brought up how Julia Child was courageous for going live on her show and showing her blood, sweat, and tears during the process of whatever she was making. She wasn’t afraid of failure and knew that it was okay to mess up and learn from your mistakes. She made cooking a fun thing for women and never referred to her audience as “housewives.”
I find myself agreeing with the author starting on page 12 as well. He explains in further detail how Americans have completely shifted their focus from making the food to just consuming it. This is because television ads today encourage people to go out to a certain restaurant or present ways to make eating a faster process. Many years ago, people cherished the art of cooking, now it is viewed as a nuisance to mostly everyone. People are choosing to neglect cooking so they can spend more time working and less time at home. It is very clear that the way people view cooking has changed greatly over the years.
The author made a lot of great points in the last passage as well, starting on page 16. I had never thought about cooking as they key to our humanity before, but I believe he makes a really good point. Cooking is another thing besides thumbs that puts us above other organisms and is just something that makes us human. I also agreed on how he touched on the importance of the occasion, not just the meal. It brought me back to “The End of Food” because I was reminded of why cooking and eating a meal together is so important. Eating meals together civilized us as humans. I thought the author made a lot of good points in this article.
Naomi Dawson
ENG 110 H2
Professor Miller
Journal #12
What issues or tensions are in play when considering cremation?
Caitlyn Doughty, a mortician, believes that families should have a larger role in the death rituals during cremation. Working there all these years has made her realize the families are hardly involved and believes that the families should be there to send their loved one off. She believes it is way more meaningful if the family where the ones doing the cremation, rather than just a worker who doesn’t even know the person being cremated. The issue this suggests is whether or not it is moral for cremation to occur. Doughty even mentions how she wishes to see another, new, method being used over cremation.
Describe Doughty’s Philosophy?
Doughty’s philosophy is based on the acceptance of death – because everyone is going to die one day. She talks about how people have avoided talking about death for many years, so death seems to be an uncomfortable topic for people. She believes there shouldn’t be anything wrong with openly talking about it and maybe people should even embrace it.
Naomi Dawson
ENG 110 H2
Professor Miller
Journal #13
Overall, I think I can reflect positively on my project #2, meal analysis essay. In the beginning, I struggled to figure out what “side” I was going to take so thinking of my thesis statement was hard at first. During my meeting with Jesse, he was able to give me some ideas as to where I should add more detail. He also helped me organize my thoughts more. He also reminded me that I needed to have quotes from a person’s favorite meal essay from last year’s class and that I couldn’t just have three people from this year’s class, so that took some editing. After the meeting, I decided it would be beneficial to reread “out of the kitchen, onto the couch,” to refresh my memory. It was really helpful because I was able to pick out evidence as I reread to add to my paper to support my thesis. I said that Pollan made the way cooking is changing out to be a bad thing, but that it actually isn’t a bad thing at all. I think I was successfully able to prove that idea with the quotes from the favorite meal essays and the Pollan article. The only problem I came across with this paper was completely forgetting the mandatory meeting with our writing fellow. I am definitely going to make sure when writing project #3 that I don’t miss this appointment. I wish I could’ve met with him for this paper because I know he would’ve been another helpful tool during the writing process. I also plan on making an outline for this next paper, because I feel like my thoughts in project 2 may have been a little unorganized. I feel like I didn’t spend enough time prewriting and I didn’t find the peer editing as useful because I didn’t have enough written for it to be helpful. I feel like I could have spent more time writing my conclusion. However, I think my efforts over the lifespan of this paper were good and where they needed to be in order to write a good paper.
Naomi Dawson
ENG 110 H2
Professor Miller
Journal #14
Reconsider the Lobster:
Looking back at my first journal post about Consider the Lobster and comparing what I thought about the subject then and what I think about it now, I feel almost the same as I did before. I recall relating to Wallace’s confusion with the morality of killing and eating lobsters the way we do. I am a person who loves seafood of all kinds and lobster is one of my favorite dishes in the world. However, I see now, after reading several other writing pieces, that you can relate this confusion to all animals in general, not just the issue lobster. I think Herzog’s idea of the “troubled middle” in his article “Animals Like Us” is the perfect example of where I and many other people stand on the human relationships with animals. There is a huge grey area of what is okay and what is not okay as far as our relationships with them. I think Wallace sees this as well in consider the lobster and now I can agree more clearly.
Naomi Dawson
ENG 110 H2
Professor Miller
Journal #15
Foer feels as though by not eating meat and letting all tastes of meat fade, that he experiences some kind of cultural loss or forgetting. He has had really nice childhood memories eating meat with his family and feels he can’t ever relive certain occasions without the foods that were there. However, he knows that in order to stick to his values he must stop eating meat, and knows there are other outlets to remembering his childhood besides the food he ate.
On page 5, Foer asks the question, “Why doesn’t a horny person have as strong a claim to raping an animal as a hungry one does to confining, killing, and eating it?” Although I can definitely understand where he is coming from with this, they are two completely different scenarios. The animal does not have a say in either situation, but raping an animal would be sick in the head and a matter of pleasure, people do not need to have sex in order to survive. On the other hand, a hungry person needs to eat because eating food is a matter of life and death for all creatures. Although the way we kill animals is sometimes inhumane, feeding ourselves is no way comparable to raping an animal.
Naomi Dawson
ENG 110 H2
Professor Miller
Journal #16
Overall, I found this chapter of They Say, I Say, “Planting a Naysayer in Your Text,” very interesting and helpful to read. It basically put an emphasis on the importance of including a counterclaim in your writing. They talked about how not including one may make you seem close-minded, and it’s important that your writing is part of a whole discussion, not just your side. I usually like to put counterclaims in my writing, as I think they can essentially back up my side of the argument even more. Planting a naysayer in the text is something I like to do because it gives me the opportunity to argue with someone and making their claim seem weak usually makes mine stronger. However, I found that the templates were really helpful because I sometimes have a hard time setting them up in my paragraphs. I will definitely go back to these templates as I finish my project #3 paper. I also found the last section of this chapter very interesting because it talks about changing your position. The authors write how if you don’t feel like you can make an argument to a counterclaim, then maybe you should just change your position in the discussion. I think this would be an extremely hard task, especially if the paper you were writing had a due date, but there have been several occasions where I was writing and ended up agreeing with the other side more than my own claim. I thought this chapter was a useful one and I will definitely use the info learned in my project 3 paper.
Naomi Dawson
Journal 17
Peer edits for Ruddy: Project 3
Peer edits for Cole: Project 3 Cole Benjamin
