SLO: 3

Looking back to my first post ever generated I can identify that personality was hidden. Fior quite a while I would stick to answering the criteria or subject without including inferences or opinions that I possessed. Until recently discovering my identity in my essay, I was completely unaware of this. However, since that point on, I began to really introduce my concept of how I view things. It began to generate a more personal feel and in my opinion better and more easily related with people viewing my blog. The progression I have made in this class is tremendous in my ability to think logically and academically investigate. I would just like to say thank you to Professor Thompson and the invested interest she has shown.

SLO #2

Critical Thinking: This is something I would say that I struggle in. It is the ability to stay within a topic consistently throughout a paper. Also, points must be relevant and supportive of the main idea. Many times I find that I add a lot of un-essential pieces to my paper that appear as filler. They just are there but remain unconnected from my topic and the argument that I present. This is an area I have been working on.

Writing: This is also a difficulty I have. For me it is hard to stay within the page limit for essays and research papers. I usually exceed the amount due to either being too wordy or adding a lot of extra parts. What I try and do, and what is appreciated by teachers, is to cover the topic and stay within the amount of pages. Still, I haven't been within a page limit in my last ten essays I would say. Something has gotta give!

SLO: Close reading and research

Close reading: Close reading is something that takes a lot of practice before it is mastered. I compare it with note-taking because you have to pick out the important parts of a literary text as you do when you take notes. I learned to read in an academic manner while in my college prepatory class in high school. The whole semester was geared toward that type of reading as it prepared me for college. I usually read important parts of a text and try to get the main points. I don't want to say I skim but I suppose it is correlated with that.

Research: Research is something I do all the time and am familiar with. Especially in regards to essays, I research thoroughly. Not just for sources to use, but for pertaining information on my topic or its evolution. Research provides you with the opportunity to not make an inference, but to make an argument that is well thought out, backed, and methodical. It is just as important as revising because without the necessarry research to create a context or position, there really is no point to whatever it is you are involving yourself in.

Both close reading and research are something I emphasize. I apply them to many things I involve myself in rather than just academics. In my opinion, close reading is a characteristic of research. It allows you to find and document crucial segments of text that add to the paper or assignment. In itself, that is a form of research. It is giving you a better understanding, and preparing you for the task ahead.

Revision and its legitimacy

Many people don't understand this but revision is an imperative part of growing as an individual whether that be related to studies, sports, or any aspect of life. We are constantly evolving and as we evolve we change. Sometimes for the worst but we generally adapt and modify for the better. There is always something you can improve on and when you revise yourself or are revised by a pier, you are given the chance to make an impact. In regards to wrtiting and the writing process, revision is criticial. Not only do I revise myself, but I have my piers and superiors (teachers) revise me as well. There are certain flawed aspects of my writing that I won't be able to pick out. Or it may sound good to me, but improper to those reviewing it. Reasons like that entail necessarry review by others. But looking at the big picture, I associate revision with all areas of my life. Looking to become always, and more wise, revision is the tool I use to go about that task. Revision is something everybody should be comfortable doing....after all, everone can improve....no one person is better than another. I was watching a television seminar that really impacted me. It demonstrated how people are afraid to be crtiticized or revise themselves. They become intimidated. And it was told to all that we are all equal. Nobody is better than another; we are all the sons and daughters of god.