Friday, August 30, 2013
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Blog Post #3: "If you were a fairy tale or mythological character or creature"/Group Skills
Most times in school, group projects are absolutely dreaded. Because of course, you are going to be paired with the kid who doesn't work, or that kid who's work is poor, or just a group chalked full of free-loaders and you are stuck doing everything. This is not how I see things, however; I thrive in a group atmosphere, being part of a unit, knowing your role, and executing it. Much like one of the Seven Dwarves, once I know my role, I'm at home. I like to think out loud, bounce ideas off of someone else, elaborate on the building blocks of my group members perceptions. I am not afraid to speak my opinion, but I make sure to ask everyone else if they agree-- because if they don't, then I can practice making my case stronger, on them. Continuing the Seven Dwarves analogy, I would be Doc, the leader, not because he chose to be, but because of his extensive use of logic, and willingness to voice his opinions, he just naturally manifested into the role, much like I hope to do.
I don't see collaborating with a group to be the harrowing part of the journey, but rather insuring that everyone is on the same page, so we all walk away with the information, and can then also feel confident going into a presentation. Sometimes the dragon guarding our castle to the good grade is the questions posed at the conclusion of the presentation, because if one group member is not as well read on that particular facet of the topic, or only skims the surface of the issue, then our entire group suffers because we were not explicit in our thoughts earlier. Clarity and communication should be always the primary focus; then the grade.
I don't see collaborating with a group to be the harrowing part of the journey, but rather insuring that everyone is on the same page, so we all walk away with the information, and can then also feel confident going into a presentation. Sometimes the dragon guarding our castle to the good grade is the questions posed at the conclusion of the presentation, because if one group member is not as well read on that particular facet of the topic, or only skims the surface of the issue, then our entire group suffers because we were not explicit in our thoughts earlier. Clarity and communication should be always the primary focus; then the grade.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Blog Post #2: Exam Reflection
My strengths in literary analysis lie mostly in the short story category. I know this from the practice test where I did alright on the poems and sonnets, getting about half to three-fourths correct, and then on the short stories maybe only missing one or two questions per passage. I think this struggle may come with my insecurity with poems, because I feel unfamiliar with their forms and get easily confused with the similar structures. I hope to make that one of my goals, being able to aptly identify the type of poem based on its structure.
Something else I had trouble with especially in this particular test, were identifying tones. This is usually, I would say, a strength of mine. Even on those standardized tests we have to take for college, I would never get tripped up with the trick questions, because of my expansive vocabulary, I would be able to label the tone, then match its true meaning with the deciphered choices. And in chapter 1, I will admit it, but I did not pay as much attention on that section, because I felt very comfortable with it. In some of the other sections I made sure to close read and take a few notes to really capture the lesson.
My main secret to success in these reading and analyzing is close reading, and absorbing the entire text in just one time through so I only have to look back at the cited lines, and not the whole-passage questions. And on this test I don't think I did that to the best of my ability, I found my mind wandering a time or two and I had to take deep breaths to refocus. So, getting more rest is less of a literary analysis goal, more of a Bettering-Becca goal.
Finally, I need some serious perspective on authors purpose. Most of the time I find myself getting a completely different idea of what the piece is about! I use the questions as a source for this a lot of the times more so than the passage. This then is where I hit a rough patch with the authors purpose, or for example, "what would be a good title for this piece?" and I end up randomly guessing, just going off which one sounds nice. I very much need to better my understanding of the topic of a poem, because I seem to come up with incorrect interpretations of a difficult text.
Something else I had trouble with especially in this particular test, were identifying tones. This is usually, I would say, a strength of mine. Even on those standardized tests we have to take for college, I would never get tripped up with the trick questions, because of my expansive vocabulary, I would be able to label the tone, then match its true meaning with the deciphered choices. And in chapter 1, I will admit it, but I did not pay as much attention on that section, because I felt very comfortable with it. In some of the other sections I made sure to close read and take a few notes to really capture the lesson.
My main secret to success in these reading and analyzing is close reading, and absorbing the entire text in just one time through so I only have to look back at the cited lines, and not the whole-passage questions. And on this test I don't think I did that to the best of my ability, I found my mind wandering a time or two and I had to take deep breaths to refocus. So, getting more rest is less of a literary analysis goal, more of a Bettering-Becca goal.
Finally, I need some serious perspective on authors purpose. Most of the time I find myself getting a completely different idea of what the piece is about! I use the questions as a source for this a lot of the times more so than the passage. This then is where I hit a rough patch with the authors purpose, or for example, "what would be a good title for this piece?" and I end up randomly guessing, just going off which one sounds nice. I very much need to better my understanding of the topic of a poem, because I seem to come up with incorrect interpretations of a difficult text.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Blog Post #1: Design
In order to convey a more casual tone, and make sure that the type would be readable, for my headers I chose a font with "average width stokes and lines". I wanted my blog to be easily read so I can better get my message across. I chose not to include an overbearing picture because my blog is about what I have to say, and that is where I wish to draw attention.
The font I chose to set the mood is blend of informal but yet still modern, as it has clean lines, but at the same time makes a bold statement, in a playful way. This choice always me to more easily set the mood of my blog, even before the reader absorbs a word! I chose a light blue hue to instigate a calming affect, because informality is best perceived in a relaxed setting. And, being that my house is currently not air-conditioned, it may have also been wishful thinking, since now its hot here! Even though the title brings to mind maybe stress, with the mention of the word "die", the contradiction very much carries my feeling through, because I at all times am stressed about the future, yet I am outwardly calm, for I know, everything is going to work out. This is not due to any other worldly being however, I know this only through my work ethic, I'll get it done, to the best of my ability.
The font I chose to set the mood is blend of informal but yet still modern, as it has clean lines, but at the same time makes a bold statement, in a playful way. This choice always me to more easily set the mood of my blog, even before the reader absorbs a word! I chose a light blue hue to instigate a calming affect, because informality is best perceived in a relaxed setting. And, being that my house is currently not air-conditioned, it may have also been wishful thinking, since now its hot here! Even though the title brings to mind maybe stress, with the mention of the word "die", the contradiction very much carries my feeling through, because I at all times am stressed about the future, yet I am outwardly calm, for I know, everything is going to work out. This is not due to any other worldly being however, I know this only through my work ethic, I'll get it done, to the best of my ability.
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