Chapter 6 Narration

Chapter 6 of Patterns for College Writing discusses narration which they define as, "tell[ing] a story by presenting events in an orderly, logical sequence." Although narration can be used as a structural pattern for essays which are not primarily narrative, this chapter focuses on how narration can structure narrative writings such as biographies, personal letters, and even social networking sites. Narration can be used universally throughout all writing as it simply tells what is happening through chronological events. Additionally, not only does narrative writing help in personal narratives, it also helps to develop techniques of other forms of writing such as process essays or cause and effect essays. When planning a narrative essay, it is important to develop a thesis statement as well as pay attention to various factors such as sentence structure, details, and the chronological order of the events talked about in the essay. Details play a large role in the communicating narrative writing to readers because they help provide background and context of the events and allow the readers to observe the writing through the author's eyes. Furthermore, verb tenses are important because they show the sequence of the events and if they are used improperly can fail to indicate time shifts within the writing, which is why it is important that they are consistent. As stated in the previous chapters, narrative essays ares structured as follows: introduction including the thesis statement, followed by body paragraphs, and ending with the conclusion. When the narrative essay is completed, the writing must be both revised and edited for run on sentences, chronological order, significance, details, transitions, and various other aspects.

After reading this chapter, it definitely made me reflect on my narrative writing as well as self-analyze how these factors applied to my writing skills. For one, I think I could use some work on keeping my verb tenses consistent because although I am well aware of proper verb tenses when I write for long periods of time I have been known to be inconsistent without realizing it due to the lack of breaks. Also, the varied sentence structure portion of the chapter caused me to look back on my previous writings and see that I often use the same sentence structure or transitions.One part which stood out to me in this chapter was the peer editing worksheet regarding narration because I made a mental note to refer back to this in case my peers do not know what to look for when asked to revise my writing.

Chapter 4 Drafting and Revising

In Chapter 4 Drafting and Revising, the process of composing various drafts as well as the steps of revising along with tools and checklists are discussed. When writing a first draft, it is important to get ideas down without worrying too much about grammar or word choice, similar to when one is freewriting, as this is only the first step to writing and these primary thoughts can be improved throughout the revision process. In addition, the chapter includes many tips for a first draft such as taking small breaks and leaving time to revise the writing. One significant thing to remember is that revision will take place throughout the writing as it is not an ending point but rather a process which can always help writing improve. Revisions can be made to almost all aspects of writing such as word choice, sentence structure, organization, and even ideas. For example, ideas may later be viewed to not fully support the thesis and can be removed or later in the revision process better ideas can be thought up and added into the essay. Furthermore, several instances of advice as well as options of revision such as through peers, instructors, or self-critique are provided throughout this chapter to ensure the best process of revision is achieved. The chapter utilizes student Laura Bobnak's essay to walk readers through the drafting and revising stages and exemplify how the process should go.

I found this chapter to be particularly helpful as I observed many new tips and methods of drafting and revising my essays. Additionally, I found Laura Bobnak's first, second, and final draft to be useful because it helped walk through both the revision and draft process step-by-step. For one, the idea that students should revise on hard copy rather than computer is a new one to me. I never realized that where you revise your work could greatly affect how well your paper is revised. Also, the revision advice stood out to me because it reminded me how important it is to reread through the essay several times as in previous essays I have been known to sometimes lose focus within the essay or repeat phrases too often. I also believe looking at an essay with fresh eyes is extremely constructive because rereading can become tedious and writing can start to look the same causing students to lose their focus. In terms of different revision strategies, I believe talking with the instructor is the most beneficial for me because instructors have practice with revisions and they can objectively provide feedback which I think allows me to grow most as a writer.

Chapter 3 Arrangement

Prior to writing an essay, it is essential to arrange your ideas to ensure proper organization of your composition. When given an assignment, it's important to assess the prompt or carefully listen to the instructions provided by the teacher as this often hints to how the essay should be structured such as whether it is a cause-and-effect essay or a compare-and-contrast essay. Through asking specific questions and analyzing the answers to these questions regarding the topic, one can narrow down the overall structure of the essay. Essentially, an essay should have three parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Though there are several ways to form an introduction such as defining an important term or asking a question, primarily all introductions should introduce the topic as well as grab the readers' attention. The main purpose of the body paragraphs of an essay is to justify your thesis by providing information and valid points. All body paragraphs should be properly organized, flow smoothly, and offer well developed support of the thesis. Types of support include examples, reasons, facts, statistics, details, expert opinions, personal experiences, and visuals and should be chosen based on their relevance to the topic and their ability to best justify the thesis. Transitions can be utilized throughout the body paragraphs to help move the essay along and provide insight of time or sequence. The conclusion is very important due to the fact that it plays a significant role in what the readers take away from the writing. The conclusion should function as a way to emphasize the thesis as well as the purpose of the essay. Rather than state new points, the conclusion should summarize both essay's main idea and the tone of the essay. In addition, the conclusion should guide the reader to keep thinking about the topic of the essay and form their own thoughts and opinions.

After reading Chapter 3 Arrangement, I do feel that I have a better grasp on how to organize my essay and how to determine what structure and pattern to use. Although I already did know the basic composure of an essay in terms of an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, this chapter offered a lot of tools and methods which I can refer back to when writing my essays. Parts in particular which caught my attention were the different ways to form an introduction as well as the list of transitions. I often have a fairly difficult time starting my essays so having several different examples to look back at will help guide me when beginning my essays. Also, I found the tip of writing your entire essay and then going back to write the introduction to be very helpful because I've never really thought about it in that way. While writing my introductions, I have a hard time finding ways to introduce the topic without putting specific details which I'm saving for my body paragraphs. Overall, this chapter showed me errors in my writing and helped provide me with reference points that I can come back to.

New Beginnings

Hi,
Greetings loved ones, welcome to my blog! I'll start off by telling you a little bit about myself. My name is Shabnam Behin and if you're wondering about the name, as everyone I first meet does, it comes from my roots as I am half Persian and half Filipino and in the Farsi language it means morning dew which I have really come to love, as it in my perspective represents new beginnings such as the morning dew on the grass every day when walking outside in the morning. Things I'm most passionate about include music, specifically going to concerts, ballet, trying new foods, taking my dog for walks and spending quality time with family.

I have three older sisters as well as loving parents and a dog who I consider to be my only brother. Speaking of family, the topic is one that has always played a large role in my life from having a stable support system to even shaping who I've become as a person. Growing up with three older sisters who have always pushed themselves academically, I learned from a young age the importance of always being the best version of yourself and continuing to challenge oneself both through education as well as individual growth. With both of my older sisters having graduated with their masters as speech therapists and a third sister who is currently achieving her masters in physical therapy, the standards have always been set high for me. Though when I was younger I saw this as a burden placed upon me, I came to realize as I got older how important it was for me to have these ideals embedded within me at such a young age. It made we work harder not only for my parents and my sisters but also for myself, as I look up to my sisters as role models and would not have it any other way.

Based on previous experiences and classes, I've found myself to work best by means of visuals and hands-on participation as I often need to observe important concepts in action or through example in order to fully understand them. I also believe that class discussions and group efforts help me grow as a thinker because I enjoy feeding off others' ideas and seeing their perspectives on various topics. I've found that this aids in my growth as an individual because it opens my mind to differing opinions and ways of thinking I do not normally engage in. My blog title reflects me as an individual as it is a lyric from a favorite song of mine which talks about putting the distractions of the world away and focusing on the little things which life has to offer. My blog background represents my love for concerts as my favorite feeling occurs at concerts when everyone is singing the lyrics and you know that everyone there in the room is passionate about the same artist and music. It's through these moments that you can feel the sense of love and community and all other matters and differences get put aside for a few hours.Through this class I hope to challenge myself as a writer and individual as well as gain my own voice. My main goal in taking this class is to develop a writing style specific to me which others can identify and can distinctly represent me as an individual.