ENGL 1302 Odessa College Strategies for Reading and Writing Questions

Discussion Board Prompts – Module One

Please read through the prompts & plan your responses; you want to be thorough & explain your answers, referencing the texts for support. 

When you are finished, come back to the discussion board & engage your peers (you must respond to at least 2 other students) on the discussion board about their responses. Remember, this is meant to be a discussion, not simply a “post & I’m done” assignment.

By the time you’re done, you should have answered TWELVE  total prompts and responded to two other classmates. I expect your responses to each prompt question to be from 2-4 sentences apiece. 

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“Introduction to Writing” & “Reading to Write Effectively” – Please answer any TWO of the following four prompts:

Several of the readings for this module focus on the concept of strategies for reading & writing. Please talk about what your most effective strategies are for reading comprehension &/or writing. You don’t have to list fancy names or titles – just tell us what works best for you. 

The “Introduction to Writing” offers readings & writing strategies focusing on the nature of “actively” being involved in reading & writing. What is the importance of “active reading” vs just reading material?

How does the idea of reading &/or writing “with a purpose” affect the way you engage with the material?

What is the difference between “writing” and “Writing effectively”? Explain your answer.

Allen – The Inspired Writer vs the Real Writer – Please answer any TWO of the following four prompts:

• Part of the Diagnostic Essay is to identify strengths & weaknesses in your writing. For most of us, as Allen explains, picking out the “problem” areas of our writing is probably easier than identifying the things we do well. Why is that? 
• Allen describes her version of “the Inspired Writer” as someone “for whom writing comes easily.” This is a “distortion” of the “Real Writer” who, of course, struggles to write just like the rest of us (2). My own version of the Inspired Writer knows exactly how to introduce an essay & uses seamless transition phrases while always having just the right words to create an engaging thesis statement. What does your Inspired Writer (that perfect vision of a “good writer”) look like? What does this tell us about what we feel is lacking in our own writing?
• Allen offers the idea of imitation or mimicry of successful writers as a strategy to get better at writing (4). This doesn’t mean copy/paste or plagiarizing sentences, but looking at how the authors use language & trying to follow their lead. As you read, how can you start to pay attention to the writing of the piece as opposed to simply reading for information/facts/plot? 
• In “Defining the Writing Process,” writing is explained as a series of steps to achieve a goal – a process. But in Allen’s text, she says writing is a PRACTICE. What is the difference between the idea of process & practice? What does thinking of writing as “practice” imply? 

Everyone, please answer the following TWO prompts:

What topic have you chosen for your Proposal & why?

Based on your interest in this topic & the Research Question Starters assignment from last week, what are you most looking forward to researching/learning about your topic & why?

• OER – Constructing a Working Thesis – please answer ALL of the following four prompts:
• What’s the point of having a “working thesis” if you know it’s going to change or be adjusted later on?
• What is the function of a thesis statement?
• Look at the list of five possible ways to approach a topic for an “arguable thesis” on page 4. Based on your topic & current thinking, which approach do you think will fit best for your current thesis/argument & why?

OER – Audience – please answer ALL of the following three prompts:

What is meant by the idea of “audience” for a written paper & why does it matter?

Why shouldn’t you automatically consider me, your instructor, as your audience? I am a reader, yes, but I may not be your audience. What are some of the reasons why it can negatively impact your work to think of me as your ONLY audience?

• Think about the topic you have selected to write about – as of right now, whom do you think is the audience for your argument? Whom are you writing to/for & why?
• ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As the final part of this discussion board, I want you to respond to two classmates with responses of 75 words or more.  Your responses should use at least one of the following patterns:

Affirmations (i.e. “I really like that,” “I wouldn’t have thought of that,” “That helps me see the text in a new way,” etc.)

Elaborations (i.e. “You know what that makes me think of is . . .” “Another thing that goes along with that is . . .” “This additional passage also ties into that . . .” etc.)

• Connections (i.e. “We noticed that too,” “That connects to something our group was asking,” “We came at something similar from a little different angle,” etc.)
• Questions (i.e. “Why do you think ___?” “Can you say more about ___?” “How is that related to ___?” “Did your group consider ___?” etc.)
• Divergences (“I see your point, but . . .” “A different perspective on that is . . .” “A passage in the text that might contradict that is . . .” etc.)

classmate to respond to, the response should be in 75 words

DARIEN

an hour ago, at 8:46 PM

• When you actively read you are engaged in the book and know what’s going on in the story. If you’re just reading the material, you aren’t really focused your just reading the words on the page and not comprehending it.
• The difference from writing and writing effectively you are writing clear details and statements in your writing. You aren’t just writing just to write your making clear details and points to get something across to the reader.
• An Inspired Writer to me is a writer who can grab the reader’s attention in the thesis statement and keep it through the writing. It tells me that I need to work on my thesis statement and get the writers attention first, and make clear details throughout the essay to make my point come across to the reader.
• The difference from process and practice is that when your going through a process while writing that means your going through it once to make the complete essay you want. When if you practice on the essay writing your doing it over and over again you will get better and find better ways to write essays that are more clear and flows well.
• How does the idea of reading &/or writing “with a purpose” affect the way you engage with the material?
• How when you actually focus on the reading or focus on your writing you can improve a lot.
• You want to have a working thesis because you want to catch your readers attention and tell them what your essays about.
• The function is to catch the reader’s attention.
• I can bring up what my argument is in my thesis statement and list some reasons why
• Audience is talking about the reader or whoever is reading the essay it matters because your trying to catch their attention.
• Its bad to think as your instructor as your only audience because you may be less eager to write freely because your scared to get critiqued.

SECOND CLASSMATE TO RESPOND TO

FRANCESCA

6 hours ago, at 4:26 PM

NEW

“Introduction to Writing” & “Reading to Write Effectively”

1- For me the best way to read is to get an idea of what treats the text, then

move on to the actual reading. Having read the entire text once, allows

me to get a better idea on what I’m reading and what are the

fundamental aspects. After the first reading I move on to the second reading,

which is usually slower and more attentive to details, in which I underline the

main concepts, and then schematize them. Outlining the concepts is the most

important aspect for me, as it helps me to memorize what has been read and

organize thoughts and ideas.

3- Writing and reading with a purpose help me to focus on what I am

reading and understanding this. Indeed reading without a purpose there

makes you vulnerable to distractions and above all, it makes us easy to

face reading superficially. Surely if the reading or the

writing in question deals with something that interests us

particularly, it will be much easier to find a purpose and delve into it

reading.

Allen – The Inspired Writer vs the Real Writer

2- For me, the “inspired Writer” look-alike the image that Allen has

given in the text. In fact when I think of the features that

distinguish the latter, in the first place there is the ease of developing

ideas and concepts, managing to express them clearly, grammatically

correct, and innovative, which therefore manages to impress the reader. I

think about these writers as very self-confident people who can see the

way with a different eye, more attentive and sometimes critical, making sure

that always have something to talk about. In addition, another feature

fundamental is the safety of themselves and their work. The vision that we

have in our Inspired Writer, tells us what our fears are related to writing, such

as having to spend a lot of time writing and revisions, such as the fear of

failure after all the hard work involved to finish the job. The insipid writers’

vision is something idealized, which however does not exist in reality the

writers are subjected to the stress and pressure of having to deliver their jobs

by the date established, to present a work that appeals to critics and that

therefore may be published or the fear that their work will not be understood e

therefore mocked. In the end, I feel like saying that our Inspired Writer points

out those who are our main fears and shortcomings.

3- To imitate successful writers, I have to make one

letter as aware and thorough as possible. It is important that the

writer who tried to imitate someone we admire. It’s important

to try to understand the aspects of his writing that strike us

particularly, analyze his writing type, for example, if he uses one

common scheme in all his works. Once this is done, one must try to

adapt what you have learned to your type of writing and your work.

Topic selection

The benefits and importance of physical activity in adolescents

I chose this topic because I was able to come to America

to learn how important it is for American culture to have children

exercise. In Italy, the phenomenon of sport is not so strong and they are

more children who do not do the physical activity than those who do.

OER – Constructing a Working Thesis

The purpose of having a “working thesis” is to start organizing

the main ideas, even in an imprecise way, as they will be modified. The

purpose is to start organizing your ideas, your arguments, and the structure of

our work. To guide us in those that will be the research needed to complete

our essay. Once our research, we will modify the “working thesis” with the

new skills and knowledge acquired.

The function of the thesis statement is to express the main concepts

underlying our essay, or to explain the purpose of the essay itself.

Looking at the five ways to approach a topic, I think the one I would adopt

I would be the fifth, or “If your assignment asks you to do research, bring in a

new lens for investigating your case study or problem “. I scent this is

because it is more suited to my needs personal in learning. That is what I said

earlier for learning I always resort to the use of schemes that allow me to

learn a concept more easily. In this case, it is a question of expressing

what is the problematic and consequently the thesis developed, in a way

schematic and clear, following a pre-established scheme.

OER – Audience

By Audience, we refer to the readers our work is aimed at. It can vary

depending on the topic dealt with. Intact we sometimes find ourselves writing

something for ourselves, thus being our audience. Other times instead we

write for someone and therefore it is important to understand what is your

audience also to adapt the sculpture to it. For example, you write something

aimed at children it is important to use simple language.

We should never consider the professor as our audience, too if he will

probably be the only one to read our work. This is because thinking that the

professor is our audience, we tend to give discounts on some concepts, as

we know that the professor knows them. Leaving so some parts incomplete in

our work. These missing parts can be interpreted by the teacher as

shortcomings or not having learned the concept in question.

The audience to which my argument is addressed is very large. In fact, it is

aimed at young adolescents, but also to parents and institutions. This

because I think the sport has great benefits but how the system works. In

Italian school, for example, it is important that somechanges regarding the

school organization, to allow children to attend physical activit