Rhetoric and Composition: ENG 015 007: Blog Response #3

Writing a narrative is much harder than I expected. I am much more used to writing an analysis of a novel or a poem. Writing a narrative is unfamiliar territory for me as I have only done it once or twice in high school. The narrative is very different because I as the writer have complete control of the story. I am not reacting to a story; I am part of the story. It is difficult to determine what needs to be added and what can be left out. The use of I is not too hard to master. I use the first person as often as I would when verbally retelling a story. The trick is figuring out what style to use. How often do I address the audience? The use of "you" is a much more interesting idea to tackle. Also questions such as digressions and humor come into play. I want to stay true to how I would verbally tell a story, which would include mild humor and brief breaks from the story. It is hard to determine what is good for the flow of the story and what gets too far away from the point. It is also a challenge for me to work with dialogue. I find it is a challenge to the flow of the narrative uninterrupted when including speech from multiple characters, The use of characters is another problem. After reading my first draft, I could tell that I was too dominating in the story. My other characters did not appear enough in the story. It is a challenge to get all of my thoughts across while giving enough stage time for the other people in history. It is truly a daunting task to take every thought and emotion and action in a particular setting and put it on paper.

Rhetoric and Composition: ENG 015 007: Blog Response #2

Storytelling first became critically important to me in my high school English class in tenth grade. My assignment was to write a narrative about literally anything that I have done in my life that I would consider memorable and important to me. I chose to write about my experience working on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina in a Rita's Italian ice while living with my grandparents. That had to be one of the best summers of my life. Spending all day on the beach either selling ices, or relaxing in the sun, it did not get better than that. I would say that I was successful in getting my story out to my audience (each student had to read their memoir to the class). I do not say this just because I received a good grade for the assignment, but because I was confident that my classmates walked away with a good idea of what my summer in South Carolina was like. The most important part in getting my message across was my body language, my tone, and my overall oral delivery. It was important for me to show my audience through my voice as well as my writing what my experience was like. I was mobile, I did not just stand in front of the class like a statue. I paced back and forth, I used my hands, I fluctuated my voice, and I used pauses in my speech. As far as my writing went, I implemented voice into my paper as well. I wrote as if I was talking, it was not very formal but it was very effective. I removed myself from the narrative at certain parts to better explain a part of the story. For example I would introduce my boss, and then I would say out loud, "I have to stop the story here and tell you a little bit about my boss..." and then I would proceed to give a short profile of my boss and then go on with the story. Overall I think the approach I took, lead to a casual story that my classmates could connect to.

Rhetoric and Composition: ENG 015 007: Blog Response #1

My most interesting experience in writing came in my junior year of high school in my AP English Language and Composition class. Unlike any English class that I have been a part of in the past, one of the goals of the class and the teacher, Dr. Wilson, was teaching the genre of nonficiton prose. In previous classes I almost exclusively dealt with fictional works, whether it be novels, novellas, poems or anything else that never really happened. The assignment I found most interesting had each student read a Supreme Court decision. After reading the decision and its dissentions, each student would have to write a paper summarizing the reasoning of the justices and then explain our own opinions on the case. My court case was Plyler v. Doe. The case asked the question whether it was constitutional or not for the child of an illegal immigrants to attend public school. I had to read the briefs of each side of the argument and then the final decision. Reading the decision was unlike any reading I had ever done. The writer was not concerned with presenting a story, that was the job of the lawyers. The job of the justices was to take the stories presented and decide what was right and what was constitutional. What was written down was essentially the reaction of the justices to these stories, opinion rather than facts and observations. Of course there was plenty of legal jargon and references to precedents but at the paper's heart it was an opinion. Unfortunately my opinion is not as valued as the justices' opinions are but I was still excited to put down my reactions on paper. It was exciting to respond to something in the real world, something that people care about enough to go to court for, something that affects the lives of real people. It was a nice break from writing about fictional characters and what the theme of the novel was.

Rhetoric and Composition: ENG 015 007: Introduce Yourself

I'm Andrew Pugliese, a student in English 015-007. I an a freshman here at Penn State, entering my second semester on campus. I am in the College of Engineering and hope to be a civil engineering major by next year. My interests range from sports to movies and TV to anything else that could keep my entertained. I grew up in Suffern, NY, a short trip from New York City. I am a huge Jets fan and a Mets fan as well. Life is not easy when you those are the teams you follow as you get used to being disappointed but you never know when things can turn around. At home I live with my mother and my brother who are interesting cast of characters themselves. In my house everyone is free to speak their mind without hesitation or regret. Nothing is taken too seriously and nothing is off limits. I enjoy discussing any sort of topic with someone as long as their is a disagreement. I find when people all agree nothing is accomplished and the conversation is dull. Controversy makes things more fun and gets people thinking more.