jwalskiifinalportflio-blog

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Strategy Project

Draft 1:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h-TbRkxn98i7kDpthAJyT1Q8Bn73lmcahWwJk6uDQyk/edit?usp=sharing

Draft 2:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17Pjc-KmXHCsU4xtcwHAapmlkdGpuND7M2sStdB8ufwc/edit?usp=sharing

Draft 3:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dlqWDejMup2l5Kxu3ea6mMNRIeApdbs0rzYBiW0j3KI/edit?usp=sharing

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Research Project

Draft 1:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hnq6_e6B5cMFecsoIGjIASSJCh9KLTHrvpb4icuAdI0/edit?usp=sharing

Draft 2: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QbPIrCTtF1Eq6lIWg3DcxWTP4OYzO4kaToogrkcnyaI/edit?usp=sharing

Draft 3:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TUxPVkmN1fL0yiOuYUw1VLc2pbHtoTfnYB_U5clPPug/edit?usp=sharing

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Rhetorical Analysis

Draft 1:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N3UXkojpz4oCoDopxrfj9FZKkzE1qOeHno5qrKGg5Z0/edit?usp=sharing

Draft 2:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xuwJUYuPABDEA6UflswlH2t8HrSvN9asOH9a9MVOZSU/edit?usp=sharing

Draft 3:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xij9VkAe4FybuLKAzj6QH-jrmCq-ond0W03jZ_HQ4B8/edit?usp=sharing

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Personal Narrative

Draft 1: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Yrso6xZovHoYLuzZhA5hGvdC6_wtbmStWeh7plyzsLM/edit?usp=sharing

Draft 2:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gGM2GGqT_B64QcK7cbu-ke5qvVAwaqDSMnkvBGhIxWc/edit?usp=sharing

Draft 3:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1--eegiAL4YUwdSv4rZj3QnZGvfWF0NpnXPYd-jO07_8/edit?usp=sharing

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Strategy Project

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Week Twelve

While revising my work I always like to get feed-back/advice on my work and see how I can improve my writing in a different perspective. Just like in issue 7, they go over how asking for advice is needed to improve. I also always repeatedly revise my work like issue 7 brings up. In order to improve and get the most out of your writing you need to keep on changing it to make it into a piece you will be proud of in the end. Hard work pays off eventually. Another thing I do is eliminate from my writing, sometimes things that aren’t need can be in my writing so I will take it out or sentences that don’t sound right. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve been given is to not worry about your first draft being perfect and ironically one of the worst is that first drafts need to be almost perfect (high school teacher’s kind of sucked sometimes). Using a first draft as a started or game plan just to jot down what I intend on writing on is essential for me now in order to write a good paper or compose. In the past, I was taught that first drafts need to be almost perfect or perfect. First drafts only were allowed to have minor errors and writing wasn’t so enjoyable for me then cause of all the pressure. I think everyone shouldn’t stress over first drafts as much as they are in high school. Revising is important and there should be multiple drafts until the final finished product is completed and handed in when required.

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Week Eleven Blog Post

In this collection, the authors do not argue that digital technologies (such as audio and visual composing) and an emphasis on multimodal composition are going to be a catalyst in revolutionizing writing instruction. Instead, we argue that opportunities to think and compose multimodally can help us develop an increasingly complex and accurate understanding of writing, composition instruction, and text. It is only teachers’ learning about new approaches to composing and creating meaning through texts that will catalyze changes in composition classrooms. (Takayoshi and Selfe, 2007, p. 6)

           In this week’s assigned reading, Takayoshi and Selfe discuss multimodal composition and its prevalence in today’s writing. As time goes on and the web/internet becomes more and more important, the more students/writers will use digital technologies to compose. I have used technology for all my writing throughout my life, I never really had to use just text for a writing assignment. In all the assignments, I have been assigned I would use the internet for more evidence or more content to add to my composition, most times I got all my information from the internet. Teacher in my old high school always recommended using technology and adding pictures, links or videos to the writing assignment because it makes the assignment more interesting or entertaining. Today’s society seeks for entertainment in all we do, no one wants to be bored.  I think using digital technologies helps advance our writing and make an argument or the piece you are writing a lot more complex. If teachers don’t “believe” in multimodal composition then they will be left behind with the last generation. Multimodal composition is the future and we all should learn to develop our writing.

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Week 7 Blog Post

           Throughout Chapter 5 in “Understanding Rhetoric” the characters in the book interact with different social media platforms to collaborate and build knowledge. Personally, I have developed insights and ideas via social media platforms that I otherwise might not have had or known about. For example, on Twitter and Instagram I see a lot of different insights on global warming. Learning all that I have learned from other people on these social media platforms I try to make a difference myself with these other people. I help spread awareness about global warming to others and try to give people the same insight that I have been given. My life style has been changed, I eat a lot less meat because eating a lot of meat increases human carbon emissions. Changing your diet makes an impact on this world. I have reduced how much I have driven, I carpool as much as possible, I use public transportation, and if I can walk, I walk. I have planted trees and donated money to different organizations. I use energy saving light bulbs and waste less water while brushing my teeth, showering etc. If I hadn’t been on social media sharing insights with other people my life would be completely different and I would be a less conscious person of what is going on with the world.

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Week Six-  Personal Narrative Reflection

For a while I had no idea what to write about since I don’t really consider myself to be part of any collective activities such as sports or clubs. I was asking everyone around me for advice on what to write about and every response that I got back was on how I blog. I never thought of blogging as a community thing until I really paused and thought about it. When I started writing I realized that there are many problems with in that community but one of the biggest problems is based on authentic content and personalities. Over time bloggers tend to lack it or lose it. Till the very end I figured out what experience I wanted to write about, what I wanted my whole narrative to be about. I think I saved the main idea till the very end because it took me awhile to even think of what specific story I wanted to focus on. I was anxious the whole time because I didn’t know if others would see blogging as a community and whether blog and personality authenticity was even that big of a deal, I didn’t want to seem shallow while talking about shallow people. While I was in journalism in high school I always wanted to write about fashion and not many people cared for it where I went. I also didn’t want to sound shallow when there were other more pressing current events going on in the world. For my first article, I wrote about a Supreme X Louis Vuitton drop and how it was a big deal for the high-end fashion and street style enthusiasts. My editor loved it and I was surprised how much of a positive response it got. From then on, I wrote for the Arts & Entertainment section and I also wrote for my school’s current events. In my essay, I am very proud of how my personality shows through my writing and how much I genuinely care about blogging. It may seem shallow to others but it’s a part of my life and I’m proud that I was myself

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Rough Trade, Williamsburg Brooklyn.

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Washington Square Park, Greenwich Village NYC.

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Two Hands, Mott St.

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Prompt Uno

When it comes to writing, being creative, or trying to get any work done for any class, I believe that your geographical location, environment, time of day, company, and the state of mind you are in is very important.  

One of my favorite spaces to compose my work is in WSP (Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village). The environment there and the energy I get from being there is so relaxing yet exhilarating at the same time. I love being around NYU students and all different types of people whether they are tourists or locals. Whenever I go to WSP, I meet up with my friends from Jersey and Brooklyn and we just all share ideas, talk about what it is we are composing or working on, and listen to our favorite music while sitting or lying on the grass.

Another location I love is Two Hands Cafe in Little Italy. It’s my favorite australian restaurant in the city. The interior design is simplistic and a modern rustic vibe. The food there is delicious and in order for me to really compose something good (to my standards) I need to have a full stomach, being hangry (anger or frustration from hunger) is not a pleasant state to be in. The music they play is calming and inspiring. The waiters and waitresses are very friendly and mindful when I work while in their presence. I tend to go alone to Two Hands so that I can really concentrate.

If I want to be in a really creative atmosphere and need to dig deep or search for inspiration I go to Rough Trade in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I meet up with my friends in Brooklyn and we just chill upstairs by the venue spots or downstairs on the couches. We discuss what it is we are doing with our lives and all that’s going on around us, take breaks to play table tennis, and listen to all the different genres of music they play in Rough Trade. The environment is dark, rustic, and grunge but cozy. Being surrounded by all different people is inspiring and comforting. Also when you walk out of rough trade, there is a spectacular view of Manhattan from Williamsburg Park. It’s very comforting to be surrounded by those two places that I love.

One location that I can always go to if New York is not possible to get to, is my room. Being somewhere familiar and cozy really eases me into the process of composing quite quickly. I compose the best at night in my room because it’s quiet and calm. No one is talking, texting me late in the night, or nagging me to help them with something. I enjoy streaming music to help inspire me with words and thoughts, music sets the vibe. I usually sit at my desk/vanity and lay out all my essentials: laptop, phone (to stream music), vanilla candle, earl grey tea (my favorite beverage in the whole world), and a pen & paper just incase I want to sketch something or write down some ideas.

Everything that surrounds us impacts our writing. Noise, sounds, aromas, location, time of day, etc. It’s all that inspires us and helps us move along with our composing. If you’re in the ���perfect” location then writing or working won’t be as hard to do/accomplish. It won’t be as much of a hassle for you.

The most comfortable space for me to compose is most definitely WSP when the weather is agreeable. I always meet new people there and I feel like I am at home. I also love being outdoors to compose, I feel more free and relaxed. When I take breaks from my work I watch other students work, play their instruments for practice, or people skate around the fountain. There is a lot of places near to pick up some food and eat at the park while working…just in case I start to become hangry. I always feel I do my best while being surrounded by all that comforts and inspires me.

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Reflective Narrative

So, over the semester I’ve become more sophisticated as a writer and started taking writing more seriously as well. I’ve become more familiar with writing drafts and not relying so heavily on the first one to be perfect. Some struggles I did have that repeated for a while was writing rhetorically. I still have that struggle. I am not used to writing in this format and it’s very different from what I was taught over the last 18 years of my life.

Starting off with my first piece, my personal narrative. It was so simple yet hard at the same time. I was never asked to write about my life and something in my life that mattered a lot to me. I didn’t realize for a while what “community” I was a part of until my second draft. In my first draft, I just wrote about my life and how I’ve always been about having everything being aesthetically pleasing, like my blog feed or others. After I got feed-back from my peers and how they were interested in the community I was a part of in social media, I realized what my second draft would be about.

My second draft was more focused on the community I was a part of, lengthier, and was changed drastically. While writing my second draft it was much easier and I already had a better idea on what to write though it was hard to just write about the one incident that started my worry about blogger authenticity.

           In my third draft of my narrative, I focused more on my main story and also wrote about other bloggers that have lost authenticity over time such as Alexis Ren. Though I did not spend enough time on my main story, the paper got longer and had a lot of evidence to back up all that I was stating in my paper. The third draft was completely different than my first, even my second and as I did each draft, I got more sophisticated with my writing and definitely did better than I ever have.

           The next assignment I’m choosing to add to my portfolio is my first prompt on my blog. The prompt asked where I like to compose and why. I wrote about the restaurants I love to write in that are in NYC and the parks in NYC that help me with being creative and coming up with more to compose about such as Washington Square Park, and the coziest of all places, my room. I added pictures that I have taken and described all the locations that I hold close to my heart in great detail, trying to make you feel like you are there with me and are feeling all that I felt. I was very proud of this prompt and how I laid out my whole Tumblr blog with this prompt. This prompt was my favorite thing that I composed this semester.

           In my week six blog post I confessed that my personal narrative was a difficult assignment and how I’ve never composed a piece like that. I was very honest and wrote about my concerns of choosing social media as my topic. In this post, I gave a summary on my personal narrative and how blogging is really a community that I have been a part of without realizing it.  I went over my difficulties and jumped into more concerns I have about social media. In this piece, I lost structure a little and kind of just wrote all that was on my mind.

The next paper I chose was my first draft to my rhetorical analysis. This paper was also very difficult for me since I had trouble over the whole semester with writing rhetorically. It’s something that I’ve always heard of but never truly understood. My first draft was more like a summary than anything and needed a lot of revision. In my second draft, I still didn’t really understand the concept still and once I got to my third draft, I really started catching on. After meeting with my professor and asking how I can improve my paper, things changed. In my final draft for my rhetorical analysis, I started writing more about WHY I liked Arthur Chu’s article as opposed the WHAT it was about, which is what I did wrong in both my first and second draft of my rhetorical analysis. I was proud of my final draft because I actually started to understand what I was writing about and why I had to write it the way it was to be written. I chose these three assignments because you can see the evolution of my writing and how it was all composed.

In my week eleven blog post, I was asked to compose a blog post on multimodal writing and projects. I wrote about how over the years, I’ve always done assignments where it was more than just text. I’ve done PowerPoints, videos, websites, etc. that went along with my composition. In this generation, it’s becoming more important and almost necessary since this generation is also about entertainment and not “just text”. I chose this piece because I really have a firsthand experience with all of this.

The next assignment was my research assignment. This assignment was the most time consuming but easiest for myself. In my first draft, I only understood how to do the literature review on my topic of body image issues due to social media. The hardest part about this assignment was finding articles for my specific and rare topic. Social media is still very new and there isn’t much research on its effects on people. I felt like I could do a proper literature review when I only had such a little number of scholarly sources.

My second draft has such a drastic improvement compared to my first draft. I had gotten help on searching for scholarly sources and once I had the sources I needed, my literature review had made an appearance. Writing about each of my sources significance and tying them all together was much easier. I wrote how all my sources came to the same conclusion, there isn’t hardcore evidence but social media causing body image concerns is obvious especially among young females.

In my last draft, I was left very satisfied. I had made minor revisions to my second draft and added more of my thoughts on body image concerns. I also tied in some current events in social media and major, positive and famous women that promote body positivity such as Jennifer Lawrence and Beyoncé.  

For my strategy project, I had made a Tumblr account for body positivity.  I wrote a paper to go with my account to introduce the purpose of my Tumblr and to give my credibility on the topic of social media’s effects on body image concerns for females. I wrote about some research I found and my opinion on the research. I wrote about current events and other topics that are very relevant social media and body shame. On my Tumblr, I re-blogged posts from other accounts that support my paper and re-blogged from accounts that are very positive and are a good platform for people that struggle with body dissatisfaction. I am proud with how my strategy project turned out and it’s one of the projects that went by pretty easy and I didn’t struggle so much with.

One of my last assignments that I want to include is my week seven blog post. This blog post was fun to write because I wrote about how social media can be very informative and has taught me more about global warming better than school has. My writing process was just writing all my thoughts on global warming and how social media teaching me has changed my lifestyle. As I was writing I thought how it changed my life and why, such as me eating less m eating to reduce human carbon emissions and saving water. I really enjoyed writing about something that matters to me that has to do with social media.

My last assignment, I chose to include my week twelve blog post. With this last post, I wrote about how I revise my work and how it relates to Issue seven in “Understanding Rhetoric”. In the process of writing this piece, I looked at the notes I’ve taken throughout reading the issue and wrote about how it related to my revision process and opinions on revising. It was an easy piece to write, after finishing this piece I realized how easy responding to questions and writing them down got. I noticed how my writing changed and how I doubted my writing and opinion less.

Over the course of this semester, I have changed so much especially in my writing and college has changed me for the better. Even though it was difficult in the beginning to write and really write passionately about a community I care about and am a part in. I’m surprised by how much my writing has changed and sophisticated.