half-way blog revised

Like I mentioned before, this class is very different from my high school English classes. It is not what I expected it to be, and I’m happy for that. It is not focused on writing a bunch of essays, but analyzing various genres that we come in contact with daily. Analyzing is something we all “know” how to do, but don’t do correctly. What I mean by this is that we are always peer-editing, but very poorly (I am speaking for myself). After we talked about editing that is effective, I realized I did a mediocre job in the past because I would be overly harsh or lazy. Luckily this class gave me the opportunity to do a better job. I have learned how to analyze my sources effectively by looking at credibility and content, give worthy feedback to other’s writing, and how to write something (a Facebook status, cover letter or business memo) based on its genre. If I know what each genre’s content standards are, I can become a better writer. Before the peer review session I had some questions about what the rubric needed to look like, but my questions were answered and I think I have a solid list of criteria. The peer review session was really helpful. Each member of my group included something different in their rubric, so I was able to expand mine. We also set our criteria up in different ways, and then picked the one that was most effective. I thought having a blog would be hard to manage, but I’m doing a good job of keeping up with my work and postings. Sometimes it’s overwhelming to have another internet account to keep track of. It seems like all of my classes require me to start a new account outside of Blackboard. Having a blog allows me to see how my fellow classmates are doing and I can keep track of assignments better when I have a hard copy and the blog to look back on. The written article isn’t due for a few more weeks, and I’m really excited to start writing it. I’m not scared to write this article because I think I will be graded on content and effort, not so much grammar and punctuation (though important).Right now I feel I have a good grasp on where I want to go with it, and I look forward to seeing it all come together. So far I have interviewed two girls on my floor who will be participating in the Polar Plunge in February, worked on my rubric, and analyzed my sources. Interviewing went surprisingly well. I asked them a few starter questions, and the interview took off. It was nice to sit back and listen to them talk about how they are preparing and why they are participating instead of asking them generic questions.I have some questions about the final draft of the article. I’m sure I can find the answers to my questions easily. I don’t know if I need pictures/visuals of those I am interviewing, and what the article needs to look like.