Annotation

 

What is annotation?

                Annotation is a fancy word for taking notes, commenting or explaining.

Introduction to annotation by Leah Wade.



 

 

For more information:

Purdue OWL: Close Reading a Text and Avoiding Pitfalls

 

The Little, Brown Handbook: Page 146 of the Twelfth Edition

 

 

 



 

 



The Last English 102 Blog

The Last English 102 Blog

          Wow! I can’t believe this semester is over. This semester was quite a challenge for me, in and out of class. I think balancing my classes, my work as elementary librarian as well as my extra duties this year, and my very busy family has been my biggest challenge this year. I have to say, it was all worth it. I enjoyed reading my class mates blogs. My only regret is that I didn’t have the time to read them all. Sorry classmates. I have learned a lot and strengthened what I already knew. English 102 is a great course to prepare you for a professional career.

By Werner100359 (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rodrick Rules By Jeff Kinney is one of the most popular books for young readers.

          Laura Cline has introduced me to writing techniques, technology, and taught me to analyze my reading. The handouts and power points provided throughout the class has helped strengthen the lessons in writing technique, such as; annotating and high lighting, plotting, creating a thesis, writing, and revising. Technology skills, like power points and blogging, were new to me, but I feel comfortable using them now. I love to read, but I didn’t always take the time to analyze what I read. It was like consuming a pizza without savoring the taste. Laura Cline is a fantastic and enthusiastic professor, teaching her students to be creative and professional.

          My goal towards being a teacher weighs heavily on how well I write and communicate. I may one day have to teach the writing process to my own students. The lessons I learned in English 102 were clear and easy to follow. I enjoyed reading and analyzing Bartleby, The Scrivener and White Noise. The stories were thought provoking, as well as, entertaining. I seriously hated reading A Modest Proposal. I didn’t have a stomach for it, even if it was satirical. I had difficulty finding a thesis, then writing to prove it. The best part of A Modest Proposal was the research I did on Ireland. I want to say that my writing has improved, but I am still making a lot of writing errors. Hopefully, with more practice, I will become a better writer.

        The most challenging aspect of English 102 is the video blogging. Our first assignment, our introduction, terrified me. Retake, after retake, and the perfectionist in me was still not satisfied. My fear of our last assignment, the final presentation, is gnawing at me. I am close to chickening out and doing a power point. A power point could be more creative and I wouldn’t have to worry about stumbling over words. I feel I must end the class the way I began it, by facing my fears. We grow exponentially, as person, when you challenge yourself. After all, I want to be a teacher, I have to get over my fear of public speaking.

Modern Technology In English 102

Modern Technology in English 102

     Modern technology is an unfathomable force that is quickly sweeping the nation. During the 39 years of my life, I have seen advancements in telephones, televisions, and computers. I love telling my children the story of how we had to use pay phones, or use rotary dialing on a phone. Watching Dukes of Hazard on a black and white 32 inch television is nothing compared to watching Fast and The Furious on a 46 inch HD flat screen. My first computer was a Tandy 64, I had calculators that were smarter, what a disappointment. Kids today do not appreciate the advancement technology has to offer, because they never knew life without it.

By Thomas R Machnitzki (thomas@machnitzki.com) (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

By Stefan-Xp (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

 

     Going back to college was a dream for me for the last 20 years. With technology, online colleges were introduced, giving stay at home moms, or full time workers a chance to higher our education. Computers classes lets students work at their pace, as long as they’re dedicated and stay on task. After waiting so long to go back, I thought I would be way behind in education and technology advancements. I am happy to say I am not too far behind the times, and I am convinced going back to college was the best decision I have ever made.

     Online college does lack the sense of camaraderie that a classroom has with its students. Although I do enjoy the blogs I share with my fellow classmates, I don’t get a chance to know them socially. I like watching or interacting with people to get to know them better. The more I know my fellow classmates or teachers, the more I know what they expect from me, or I from them.

     Learning different technology techniques this year in English 102 will be very beneficial in my future classes as well as my current occupation as my schools elementary librarian. I really enjoy blogging, even if that was very new and strange to me at first. Creating a slide -show is easy for students in my school, but it was difficult when it is your first time and the program doesn’t want to cooperate. The assignment I disliked the most was video blogging. I am working on my shyness, but it’s still very hard to put myself out there in a video. The more you use technology the more familiar you will become with it. I plan on using this summer to practice video blogging and slide- shows, to make myself more comfortable with the technology.

     My goal is to become a great teach and to do that I need to expand my education to add technology into it. Children who use technology in their education learn faster and have more fun while doing it. When I was teaching my kids during the summer I would set them on the computer for 30 minutes to play educational games, such as Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, or Freddie Fish. So many great fun educational games to play, and kids don’t realize they are learning. With the advancement in technology our schools are challenged to teach students to meet the needs technology has created.

Revise and Rewrite

Revise and Rewrite

 

 

         I love to write, it isn't always easy, but the finished product makes me feel proud of what I have accomplished. When writing my papers, I go over every sentence multiple times and I reread what I wrote aloud to make sure that the words flow. When I am completely done I torture my family to catch the mistakes that I have missed. They are good at finding my grammatical errors. I hope one day that I can write a paper without silly tense mistakes or possessive blunders. I also used the Purdue Owl Writing Lab  to help me my revisions. The insight from this website is easy to understand and use. Another one of my favorite writing tools is The Little, Brown Handbook.  This was the first time I used the online tutor. It was really very easy to use, as well as, quick in responding. The tutor helped me make changes that my family and I missed.  Revising helps to eliminate the errors that you make now as well as teach you how to avoid them in other papers. I know the more I write and revise the better writer I will become. I am really hoping my paper receives a good grade. 

 

Albert Anker [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons





Losing Religion

Losing Religion

By Skin - ubx from Glasgow (Blairs 42  Uploaded by Princess Mérida) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons



 

“One nation under God” was added to The Pledge Of The United States to symbolize unity in faith as well as loyalty to our nation. The government uses “under God” to represent that the President was the highest power in office but it was nothing compared that of God, or Gods depending on what religion you practice. Faith and religion has been slowly fazed out of our government, schools and our American society. White Noise is a satirical novel about Jack Gladney, a Hitler studies professor, and his blended families experience during an “airborne toxic event”.  Don DeLillo uses Jack as the stories narrator as well as an example of the typical American families’ father trying to do his best raising his children with his fifth wife Babette. Jack’s omnipresent fear of death rules his life endeavors as well as his emotions. Don DeLillo uses satire in White Noise to show how absence of religion can create loneliness, a longing for acceptance, fear, hatred, ruthlessness, diminished morality, as well as Jack’s ultimate fear of dying.

By Ratomir Wilkowski, www.RKP.org.pl (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

 

Shop 'Till You Drop

      When reading White Noise by Don DeLillo you can easily recognize the main concepts of the story. Fear of death, Consumerism, and trust (family, as well as, governmental) have been the most profound examples of motifs. The story is as true to American life style then, as it is now, if not more.
      The critical essay, "The (Super)Marketplace Of Images: Television as Unmediated Mediation In DeLillos's White Noise" written by John N. Duvall, in the 1990's, gave evidence supporting that commercialism and consumerism are two ways people indulge themselves in hopes of striving off their fear of death. The more we purchase and eat, the more powerful and bigger we feel we are. If we are this high on life, nothing can harm us.
      The article also emphasized the power media has over Jack Gladney and his family, not to mention the rest of the world. "The awe and terror of this man-made disaster can only be validated through the electrical media" (Duvall, 436) News doesn't just relate what happens around the world, but gives a guide on what is normal and how we should react in situations. Unfortunately, with competition for ratings, Duvall believes the "network and cable news programs operate under capitalism's demand to make it a newer form of entertainment"(Duvall,436). This modern form of news begins to desensitize the public, leaving the viewers wanting more, but not teaching us to handle our own catastrophes.
     John N. Duvall likened DeLillo's White Noise as a predecessor toward fascism. "Each element of Jack's life world mirrors back to him a postmodern, centralized totalitarianism that this professional student of Hitler in unable to read"(Duvall, 433). Jack and his family are so absorbed in television and marketing that their free will is spent in feeding the need to feel apart of America. Everyone wants to be apart of something that is bigger than themselves, it makes them feel like they are not alone.
     I was surprised that Duvall considered Murray Siskind "the true villain of White Noise"(Duvall 443). I admit, while reading White Noise, I would wonder how Jack's only friend and confidant could be so blatantly flirting with Babette, then give him such really bad advise as to go kill somebody. Murray says, "think what it's like to be a killer. think how exciting it is, in theory, to kill a person in direct confrontation. If he dies, you cannot."(DeLillo, 290)
     I think this is a good source for my third essay, because it helped me think beyond what I read in White Noise. The article helped me understand some of the symbolisms that I didn't pick up on at first. Know I have a better understanding of what I need to look for and hopefully will be able to put into coherent words. The main concept I can take away from this article is that we all watch, or listen to, too much television. I made it a point to turn the television off while writing this blog. I will confess I miss my white noise.


DeLillo, Don  White Noise, The Viking Critical Library, 1998

Duvall, John N. "The (Super)Marketplace Of Images: Television as Unmediated Mediation In                         DeLillos's White Noise" The Viking Critical Library, 1998

 

White noise from Leah Wade