Is That How You Say It?

People use diction in every day situations, and many don’t even notice the slight change. When we talk to our friends the informality we use give the conversation its comfort level, showing you both as equals and that your conversation may be very relaxed. As a person moves through their day, a conversation with authoritative figure might happen, compelling that person to use formal language. Diction can also be different for different classes of people, as with any country or community there are all walks of life involved. Listening to a person who is in a position of power like the prim mister of Canada, and comparing that to a random person on the street will show how diction can vary from not only place to place but also from class to class. A person who is in drama might have to study many different diction types for a specific role. For example, if a person where playing Edgar Allen Poe in a dramatization of his life, one might need to know where he was living and who his friends were in order to get the right diction. Also I have found this change to happen when switching from topic to topic amongst friends. If we ran across a very political or high profile issues, the language used became very formal and the use of topic specific language was used. So the next time you go through you day just take a second to listen to all the different diction types going on all around you.

Previewing...

Previewing, I always thought you just previewed movies, I by no means even considered books. Honestly, I never used to think that much about a book or essay’s appearance before. I would read the first sentence or two and if it hooked me then yes, I would read it. Today I learned that sometimes judging a piece of writing on its appearance can be very true. We found that most of the time, you don’t even need to read the essay to get the general overview of what it will be talking about. Also, it is amazing how many different things are found out about a book or an essay without going into much detail. The year it was published for example, can make a book controversial or political. The way the pages are setup might discourage the average reader making the audience for this particular piece very small. Furthermore, the writing style can sway your audience some may find it too scientific, while a scholar may find the writing interesting and insightful. Yes, I now know there is a lot for me to look at before I even begin to read.

The Dying Family...A Group Of Strangers

J.H. Plumb’s writing style happens to interest me very much. I love how he uses a variety of descriptive words to pull the reader into the essay, and he tries to create images of what is going on. I enjoyed his use of one modern day family as his observations of the weakened family unit in today’s culture. He views them playing and laughing so obliviously happy, not knowing that they represent the end of the tight, loving family unit that once existed. He then proceeds to takes us on a tour through history, and the evolution of family and its values. Plumb talks about how the government has taken a piece of the responsibility on families away, and instead of parents passing on their knowledge and trades, there are strangers teaching their children. This essay made me realize these strangers spend more time with the children of today’s culture than the parents themselves. How is it possible we are all so pleasantly unaware of our lack of communication between generations? The "family" has become a very lost word, as the greed for material possessions has taken parents away from home to work longer days leaving the children in the hands of strangers.

Are you following me?

People look for very different things when they read someone else’s work. With this in mind, one should always write fair-minded and confident in one's topic. Additionally, when you have an audience reading your work, they are constantly critiquing and passing judgment on the way you write. As a result, don’t try to impress anyone because this only further annoy the reader, just be yourself and write within your capabilities. A writer must learn how to help their audience read and follow pieces of writing. The flow should roll easily though the mind of the reader. There should be no jarring sentences, which take away form what point the writer is trying to get across. Furthermore, the very process of reading should amuse and bring thought provoking questions to the reader’s attention. A person should always start out with a very wide topic, and slowly over time, narrow their field of view to one specific example to give a personal touch to a paper. For your audience to grasp what you’re saying better and to help make mental pictures, you should give examples. Thus, you have helped them navigate though what could have possibly been a disaster, by simply laying all the information out in a very reader friendly way.

No easy answer

Problems are often everyday occurrences we simply learn to cope, dealing with them is independently up to each of us. However there are many problems in the world today that no matter how long ago they happened, are still effecting our society today. In Biology class we are learning about the cell, the "basic" unit of life. Until the advancement of science made it possible to see such microscopic cells, man never knew the cell existed at all. Before this information, people were convinced by their religious views that we were all indeed "formed by the hand of god" in the seven days he created earth. Once it was known that there were in fact organisms small enough to exist and survive when the planet was still very young, scientists started to explore other ideas. They pondered the thought of a gigantic "mistake" called the Big Bang theory and how it might have created all life as we know it. This theory is now the best scientific answer for our existence and as such is being taught in public school to all children . Unfortunately, those who have children belonging to religious backgrounds now have many question to answer. As what they are being taught in school is contradicting everything they have been taught by their families and churches. It appears once more we have a situation where it is the church vs. the scientific community, and sadly there is no cut and dry answer to the issue.

Paragraphs, pharagraphs, paragraphs!

My experience revising the paragraphs in our university writing class is interesting. If people just assume these are wastes of our time, they are not looking closely enough at the logic behind these exercises. It seems to me that the goal of re-writing and editing these is to see the common mistakes and to learn how to quickly catch and revise work. However tedious this seems at times I’m sure in the long term we will all be better for it. On a side note, I have also found this very amusing, as the writing may make for a more entertaining game of deciphering words than the actual assignment at hand. But, which every way you approach these assignments one thing is for sure. Working in a group setting allows us to get to know each other better, along with seeing how different people put their thoughts into order. It gives a little summery and practical use of the basic things we have just learned in class. So let’s enjoy these easy assignments while we can, because we could be doing essays every class instead.

The universal problem

First year students at college face many issues that are very similar to that of grade one students. One of these issues that may often be overlooked is the concept of friendship, and its importance in one’s education. We can all see the long term outcome but getting there can seem impossible at times. As human beings, by nature we are social creatures, thriving on the interactions between one another. When life starts to feel overwhelming having people around you, who are going though the same things and have the same interests, creates a bond much needed. Being thrown into a situation where a student may not have any friends to spend the long times between classes with, makes the experience less suitable. Consequently, the student starts to feel alienated and unwanted, creating issues with schooling. Personally, I haven’t felt this vulnerable since the first day of grade one. It feels like I have been thrown into a sea of unfamiliar faces, among people who judge me on first glance and do not get the chance to know me. The reaction of being back on the “playground” at lunchtime and having to find some common thread between me and another person makes a terrified knot tighten in my stomach. Yet, I continue to seek out people who will hopefully become my friends and not just classmates. Similarly to those early days in elementary school, praying I find people on the playground who are willing to share their lunches and swing on the swings with me.

My expectations for the semester

It is easy to assume that for anyone taking university writing their main goal is to become a better writer. Of course, in the back of their minds, everyone is thinking that taking this course means in the future knowing "how to write" is one less thing to worry about. I however, see this course as a way to sharpen my writing skills and attended to what may be lacking in my writing process. My love of the English language goes back as long as I can remember; scribbling stories and poems down on pieces of paper was a great escape to me. Although, that was when I was younger and creative freedom was welcome with open arms. Now it seems everyone gets caught in the pitfalls of mechanics and editing ability. So knowing these processes will never go away, I have come to the conclusion of making them second nature. My expectation is that this semester will teach me how to not only write for the critical eye that all teachers seem to be born with. But also, to give me the ability to take one idea and expand upon it in such a way that the reader will not only be able to follow, but enjoy the journey of my thought process. This course will be the backbone of writing for the rest of my college and university years, so I am going to put great effort into picking up all the information I can.