GSW 1110-162L Awesome Course Blog

I believe that I understood what to do in Essay 4. The content in my essay was on topic and to the point. The things that I needed to work on were using transitions and my counterargument. I fixed those problems in the end though. My plan for the next essay is to come up with a topic that I can relate to more because even though I enjoyed my topic, I didn’t really have much interest in it and with my other essays, I did.

For my essay, I will talk about how the images and the words tie together a good message. I agree with the message and the way that it’s presented, so that will be my argument. I will try to look more into project safe which is the organization that put out the ad, so I can learn a little more about it. I will analyze the people in the ad being the adult and 2 children who are at a police line up. I will analyze their expressions and the props they were holding up. The words make people think more about the issue than just hurting others but other that we care about. This ad and issue is important to me because my cousin was recently killed due to gun violence.

1) I believe that I had a good argument. The content in my essay was well. I also believe that I have improved in my thesis statements. I also worked on having a better works cited page.

2) I need to work on staying on topic and having my ideas flow together and go along with my thesis. I also need to work on my writer based pros.

3) I plan on going over my essay a lot after I’ve finished, I usually don’t do this too often. But, I believe it will help. I am also going to work on my essay sooner so if I run into problems I can get help.

In Essay #3, I am going to work on the development of  essay. I need to give more details in my claims. I also want to work on who the best person should be for my audience. I am most likely going to revise Essay #2, because I really enjoyed the topic and want that paper to be as great as it can be. I also need to work on refuting the counterargument with an even better reason.I believe that my next paper will show lots of improvement, as well as my revision for essay #2.

A thesis statement is a sentence or two that explains what you’re going to talk about in your essay. It usually is in the beginning of the essay. Either the last sentence of the introductory paragraph, or sometimes in the second paragraph. Without the thesis statement, a paper may be unclear or the argument may seem  unclear. The thesis statement should get right to the point and not be vague.

My issues or research question: Does MTV’s Teen Mom promote pregnancy among teenage girls?

My audience: I would like to address the teen girls who do not watch the show Teen Mom.

My purpose: I would like to persuade people to believe that Teen Mom does not glamorize or promote teen pregnancy, but actually shows girls the struggle of having a child at a young age.

Sources I plan to use:

Alligator.org- An article about Teen Pregnancy rates dropping after shows like Teen Mom debuted. This information supports my thesis.

The National Campaign t0 Prevent Teen Pregnancy- Statistics and research from girls who watch Teen Mom that show that these shows actually are making teens rethink their decisions and realize the consequence to having a baby young. I will use the statistics as solid proof in my essay.

ThePushback.org- This website expresses that Teen Mom should be off the air and no longer viewed. This will make a good counterargument for my essay.

My preliminary thesis: MTV’s Teen Mom shows teenagers the hardships and struggles of raising a child young without promoting or glamorizing teen pregnancy.

My opponents will most likely say this: My opponents will most likely argue that girls believe that if they were to become pregnant, they can be on the tv show so that raises the chance of girls getting pregnant.

My partner did not have much to say about my essay. So, I’m mostly likely going to read through it again and re-word some things and check for grammar and spelling errors. I usually don’t re-read my paper once I’m done reading it and miss small things like that.

I remember my teacher in high school persuading me to go to community college for the first 2 years and then going to a university. I could understand why she would suggest that because it was the cheaper way to go, but at the same time I believed that going to a University was better. The dorm experience is very special and exciting. It’s having a chance to live on your own and meet lots of new people. It’s a chance to learn a lot about yourself and new people. That experience is not as possible at a community college.

I am from Euclid, Ohio. It is very close to Cleveland. I personally, don’t really enjoy living there. Mostly because my friends live in other towns. It’s not a bad town there just isn’t much going on there. There aren’t many restaurants in Euclid. When we want to go out to eat, we usually go to neighboring towns. Euclid High School is a pretty big school. There were about 400 students in my graduating class. Many people talk about the sports in their hometown, but I have no idea what goes on with the sports teams in Euclid. I’m not much of a sports fanatic.

Although, it is not my favorite city, I do enjoy working at a daycare called Kiddie City. I’ve worked there for 2 years and I go back and work during breaks. I love working there and the people I work with are great. The kids are really fun and make my day!

Since, its so close to Cleveland, there are more things to do. I like going Downtown to concerts and clubs. There is also a zoo and a new aquarium in Cleveland. I’ve been to the zoo many times, and want to visit the Aquarium one day. There is also a new casino in Cleveland. I haven’t been there but I hope to one day. Downtown is probably my favorite part of Cleveland, but I’m not there as much as I want to be because of work.

I think the best way to become a better writer is to practice. This class has helped me to practice writing a variety of papers and improve my writing. One of the best parts of the class is having feedback on my writing whether it is from Mrs.Schaffer or a peer. Hearing someone’s opinion is beneficial to me greatly.

From taking this class the thing I appreciate learning about the most is creating a counter argument. In high school I understood the structure of a basic paper but somehow my teachers left out the part about a counter argument. So I am very glad that I learned this. I noticed that my introductions improved a lot as the class went on. I also really enjoyed the different subjects that we wrote about it was very nice for a change!

When I first started this class I did not think I was a very good writer. Although I haven’t passed many papers, I truly believe I have made a great improvement since I started this class. I can now write a paper pretty much arguing anything and I know how to address a counterargument. Not to mention, my organizational skills have improved tremendously as well. I really hope that I get the opportunity to move on in this class and go to the next GSW.

Well, it all started when I was a kid. I always used to get A’s in english class. Someone told me an A in english was for girls, and now I can barely pass a paper. I learned a lot from this semester because I could not pass a paper. After awhile I started to get used to how college papers were written. After awhile I stood up and realized if I do not pass a paper I will have to retake the course. I learned that when writing a paper you have to address it to an audience. It is not a personal journal that no one wants to read. You have to address a person to prove a point about something. You just cannot have your opinions you have to back it up with facts and citations. Overall I still have not learned what to do with commas and semi colons, but I am getting better with them.

I learned a lot about writing while in this class. I learned that it is very important to address a specific audience that you are writing to. Also before this class i did not know how different argument papers were from other papers i have done. I did not know anything about a counter argument let alone a refute. I also learned that is important to lay out what you are going to say in the intro and then do what you say in the body paragraphs. Also good transition sentences to each paragraph are essential.

When I first started this class I focused mostly on the restrictions of writing and the rules of essays. Now I understand that there is more leniency and options, as well as different ways to organize and write papers. I have learned how to write better thesis statements and use facts and examples to support my thesis. I have learned to focus more on the content of the paper rather than stressing about the layout and format of the paper. I have also learned how to effectively create a counterargument and refute it back to my points. I have developed in forming successful and logical papers, and now able to create a well reasoned argument, counterargument, and rebuttal, as well as introductions, facts and examples, and conclusions.

I have learned that doing a paper the night before is never good for my writing. I have the feeling of being rushed, and I do not do as well as I should. I do believe that my writing has improved over the time of the course, but I know I am not a scholar writer. I am going into Art Education, and I believe i’ve learned what I needed to learn throughout the course to help me with this career. I am still struggling with my thesis statements, but I have improved on them on the fourth and fifth essay.  I know my writing may not be perfect, but I feel like it will get much in time.

After going through this class I definitely believe that I have become a better writer, but still have room for improvement. I am more comfortable with the use of commas and semicolons, and feel that I am now able to distinguish the difference. I have also learned how to organize my papers in a more effective manner, and have a much better grasp on how to place a counter argument in my papers.

When I first began GSW, I thought that I was a good writer. I believed that I could write almost anything and that I knew what I was doing. I wouldn’t say I was over-confident, but I was really thought I knew what I was doing. Little did I know that my wit and what I call “sassy-ness” wouldn’t get me far. I was writing academically, but not to any audience. Only to myself to get an A. I now see that I have to think about my audience the entire time. I can still use my humor, but I have to bend to the academic style. Essay three really started this thought process and it wasn’t until essay four that I really got the idea. Now, I write to my audience, I express my ideas and try not to leave holes(though that’s still a work in progress) and I carry my writing a lot stronger then I did before.

When I first started this class I used to just write essays in about 3 hours to get them over with last minute. I also thought I was a pretty decent writer since I had such an amazing teacher in high school but I have had to change a lot of my writing skills for this class to make my essays passable, which I still need to work on. I’ve realized that my better essays were ones that I took the time to write out in layers and follow a certain guide line before turning them in. I hope that I can revise the other ones that are almost passing and get them to be passing soon enough.

learning how to use effective counter arguments and how they strengthen your paper and your support.
I am much better at developing a thesis and using that thesis to guide myself through my paper.