Blog #3

The following piece of writing is from one of my Daily Critical Responses for my Young Adult Literature Class (English 325). This is where we critically analyze one of the young adult novels we are reading in class that week. I have to write two of these a week and it gets pretty repetitive, so I want to try and spice it up by using Pattern #1: setting aside a word or phrase by using either the dash or parentheses. I chose to use this pattern because compared to the other patterns I feel that I will actually use this in my everyday writing - as well as academic writing. I have tried using the dash before in some of my recent pieces of writing, but I still feel that I need more practice with it. I rarely, if ever, use parenthesis unless it is for a formal citation or something. I am excited to experiment with using these two grammatical concepts in the following exert.

           " First off, Charlie would not have made it through his freshman year of high school if it were not for his dear friends -- Patrick and Sam. (Dash indicates there is additional info being presented. In this case, it is their names.) Whether or not they know it, they saved him. They took him under their wing and gave him something he has always longed for -- friends. (Separating "friends" from the sentence gives it much more emphasis.) They gave him something to love and believe in and that is what true friends are for. He is such a genuine and kindhearted character that it is hard for me to believe that people were put off by him (even his siblings seemed this way). (By adding parenthesis here it also emphasizes the ending portion of this sentence). One could describe Charlie as lost. He really didn’t know where he was going or doing with his life – he was just kind of going through the motions. (This dash sets aside the last part making the reader pay attention to it) Many things upset Charlie and make him cry. The audience got the feeling that Charlie was constantly overwhelmed. He definitely struggles with his anxieties on a daily basis.  More than anything, I think Charlie just wants to love (and more importantly, have that love returned). (This is an example of when using parenthesis adds additional information to the sentence) He gives so much of his love away to people whom in a way brush him off. For example, his family. Deep down, we know that his family truly cares about him but so often when he talks about his dad, mom, sister, or brother, it seems as though they are always saying things like shut up, go away, go read your book, or be quiet. And as a reader it was hard to read those chapters, or letters, because his pain was tangible."

I know that this is a lot of dashes and parenthesis all in one paragraph. Normally, I would not use this many dashes or parenthesis in so close together. So please keep that in mind when you are reading my blog! I think I did a good job of being creative and placing them in sentences where I would never originally think to place this type of grammar.

Blog #2

In the next paragraph I will experiment with Pattern 1: Long sentence followed by a short one and Pattern 3: two closely related sentences joined by a semicolon. I think that both of these patterns are important, useful, and even interchangeable. I really like semicolons but sometimes I forget that they exist and that I can use them. I want to make semicolons and varying sentence structures part of my everyday writing.

"Summer is in the air. The warm wind brushing my skin as I walk to class on a bright morning. My mind wanders to the weeks after finals when I can relax and not have a care in the world; it seems like a century away. [Two closely related sentences joined by a semicolon]. Time will pass - something my mother always told me when times were tough. You'll get through it. [Long sentence followed by a short one]. That is my motivation for the last few weeks of school, to keep going. Summer has always been my favorite time of year and when finals and huge projects are what stand between me and that warm sunshine, it's hard to stay focused. I want this summer to be one for the books - getting that nice tan, drinking ice cold lemonade, and just enjoy not doing anything. It's hard not to love that time of year. How people don't like summer is beyond me; there is so much to love about it! [Two closely related sentences joined by a semicolon]. Three whole months of no school. Nothing wrong with that. I wonder if this summer I will get a job, I am one of those people that just wants one to fall into my lap and not have to look very hard for one. That's not how it works though. [Long sentence followed by a short one]. I can hear my dad now saying how college doesn't pay for itself and that I need to get a move on; I have to agree with him. [Two closely related sentences joined by a semicolon]. College is the stepping stone to the real world, if I want to make it I must start taking initiative in my finances now. However, getting a job isn't the ideal situation for a carefree summer vacation. Who knows maybe this summer will take me by surprise; I might actually enjoy having a job. [Two closely related sentences joined by a semicolon]."

This was just a passage that I randomly made up while experimenting with semicolons and sentence lengths. I thought I did a good job of using these two patterns within this passage - there are a few parts where I probably could have used a different grammar pattern, but for the sake of this assignment I went a little overboard on the semicolons! Looking forward to reading your responses.

Blog #1: Self Assessment Blog

When I think about grammar, I think about the importance of the small details in a paper or piece of writing that make all the words come together and flow. I place a lot of value on grammatical conventions and the proper use of words such as "to, too, and two" or "they're, their, and there". I must admit that I have got the proper use of those words down! One reason I think grammar is important is because it is a reflection of your intelligence -  whether we want to admit it or not. This, however, does in no way shape or form mean that I am a perfect writer. I have my flaws too.

One thing that I cannot understand is the proper use of "affect" and "effect". I know for a fact that I learned this rule somewhere along in my academic career, but obviously did not have a lasting...effect? So Beth, I beg of you to please, please, please, teach us the proper use! It would greatly benefit me as well as my writing and make me look a whole lot smarter!

Commas. This is another area in writing and composing where I struggle. I am what one might call and "over-comma-er". In other words, I use them way to much. You might not notice it now but in some of my essays I use the comma a LOT. And I think my problem is I don't know the right place to put one...before or after a complete thought...when there is a natural pause in the sentence? For example, the sentence:

"I went to the store and bought some bananas, they looked really fresh and ripe."

Is that the right placement for the comma? Or is that considered a "comma splice"? Again, I know for a fact that I learned this probably in middle school, but I just do not remember the rule.

Relating back to how our writing and grammar is a reflection of our intelligence, I write a lot of emails, blogs, and postings for my collegiate classes. And through these postings or emails, I want to show and prove to my professors that I take my work seriously and care about my education. Grammar - and proper use of it is one of the best ways to show that via these mediums. One pet peeve of mine is when people do not use the proper punctuation to translate their tone in their texts, emails, or social media postings. One missed "!" or "?" can make a statement come off as completely rude. A perfect example of this is the love letter or break up letter activity we did in class on Tuesday. It perfectly demonstrates how big of a role punctuation plays in the written word.

So my two biggest problems in grammar are "affect" and "effect" and commas. I am really hoping that after this semester I will have mastered these rules and will finally know the proper uses of them both! I know that I cannot be the only one who struggles with them, and in a way that is comforting.