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Throughout this writing class I obtained and learned several concepts that will help my writing in the future. I learned how to form an argument that was logical, thought provoking, and also emotionally relatable. Without these essential components trying to argue anything would be impossible. This class also helped me with my personal writing process. It made me realize the true importance of rough drafts, which through free writing can bring out some of the best ideas. Also during the writing process I always struggle getting started. In order to overcome this I usually skip the introduction paragraph, where a paper usually starts, and begin with the body of the paper. I normally know where I generally want to go with my paper just not where to start. This is how I improved my writing process during this class. Another section of the class that I really enjoyed and got a lot out of was the primary research during the second unit. Since my major is biology I am sure I will have to conduct my own experiment of some sort in the future, so any exposure to this kind of writing helps tremendously. I had never done any of my own primary research previously so getting to do that was exciting and insightful. Also connecting primary research to previously conducted research is a critical skill to have in the science field. Almost every category of science must use experiments to back up their claims and use other experiments for further support them or show discrepancies. So once again in anything I do related to science I have a good foundation in scientific writing to work with.

"Laying Sod"- Poetry Analysis

First Reading: 3
Second Reading: 6

The poem “Laying Sod” is about creating art, and the fact that it is more prominent these days. The author writes that his father and especially his father’s father would never write poetry or produce any works of art. Instead they worked out in the field and made sure the conditions were suitable for crops to grow. Then the author compares this to his writing, and says that it is actually not that different. Just as the farmers keep away the snakes from the prosperous ground, the writer enlightens people and keeps them away from being ignorant. He says he is taking the “green patches”, or stories of the past, and laying them out so everyone can see them and read them.

After writing about the poem my understanding grew greatly to a 9 or even a 10. When you write about something you are forced to analyze the piece and make connections about what is going on. Rereading the poem is also really beneficial to understanding it. On the first read your brain is trying mainly to identify what is going on at the surface level. On a second read you can start to fully what is happening and then start to look deeper. Then after reading it again and writing about it, a deep understanding of where the author is coming from and the purpose of the poem or short story can be identified. Going through all these steps is really key to analyzing any piece of writing that you might read.

What is Art?

Art and the humanities are vital to human existence because they teach us feelings that we ourselves have not yet experienced. They teach us about humanity and make us see the world as a vulnerable place. Also they connect us to other human beings. They show us that we are not alone in the world and that everyone goes through rough patches, depression, anxiety, or even happy times. Without the humanities we might feel lost and disconnected in this huge world. They also give us a sense of self, because we identify with the different sensations that are presented in the humanities and art. It gives a greater meaning to life, in that it conveys feelings without using words. This in itself is a difficult task to achieve.
The products of the humanities are truer than the products of science because they go beyond the surface and into the meaning of what it is to be human. It seems as though any animal could experiment, observe, and discover their surroundings. It is only humans; however, that can evoke emotion that connects with other human beings through works of art. We as humans are more aware of the sense of past present and future and can therefore recognize feelings of remorse and despair over past events as well as excitement and apprehension for future ones. It is through art that we produce these distinctly human characteristics and feelings that make us who we are. Science gives us insight to the world around us, but art gives us insight to our souls.

Shitty Rough Drafts

The article, “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott opened my eyes about the writing process. What she talks about is really true; I feel thst it is important to write a perfect paper on my first try. The most difficult part of writing a paper is always developing and idea of what to write and realizing that you can always change what you write down if you don’t like it. It is hard to imagine professional writers going through this process, but it seems plausible considering everyone has to start somewhere. I always assumed it was rare that I had trouble with writing, but this article obviously proved me wrong. It made me realize that rough drafts are an essential part of the writing process. Without rough drafts, finding a thesis and a direction for a paper is extremely difficult. It might be hard to get used to the free-flow writing style at first because of the way we have been taught to write in school all these years. Most of my high school career writing classes consisted of short in class writing in response to an article or story. This kind of writing forced me to have to write as close to perfect as possible on the first try. This training has transferred into my writing that I do at home as well, making rough drafts is a foreign idea. Now, after reading this article, I feel more confident that I can write a rough draft without worrying about it being flawless.

Chaotic draft

Questions for thought in response to The Eye of the Beholder:
-Would this study differ if the parents were having their second or third child?
-Does this sex-typing occur in other cultures and countries?
-Would the answers differ if they were asked sometime after 24 hours within postpartum?
-Would the answers differ if the fathers were allowed to hold their child before answering the questions?
-How would the answers differ if the subject of the questions were more focused on internal characteristics than physical ones?
-How much do parental expectations affect the development and personal growth of their children?
- Why were the answers between mothers and fathers so similar when the mother was allowed to hold the baby and the fathers were not?
-Why are mothers less likely to sex-type their children than fathers?
-Does age have anything to do with sex-typing?
-What were the responses when the parents were asked to describe their babies they would to family or friends?
-Would the trend continue if the researchers asked the questions in different ways?
-Are these characteristics that the parents project upon their new born babies how they want their children to be as they grow older?
-Why does the sex of the parent not contribute to the amount or degree of sex-typing?
-Would the answers differ if the parents did not know the gender of the baby and were judging solely on physical characteristics?
-What in our society causes parents to sex-type their baby even before it is born when they know hardly any characteristics of the baby?

Scientific Aritcle

My article, “Screening for Antimicrobial Activity of Weeds”, discusses and explores the use of plants and their extracts to treat infections. This article is a scientific article in that it pertains to a specific medicinal experiment. It is set up in a scientific way with and introduction, an explanation of materials, a review of the experiment, and a results and discussion section. In the article, the author is trying to convey his opinion that natural drugs are more efficient and less harmful than synthetic drugs. In order to get the point across the author uses a very scientific approach by presenting a problem and a solution through facts, data, and experimental evidence. Unlike other types of writing, scientific writing does not try to appeal to its audiences’ emotions, or pathos. Instead it focuses on logic, logos, and credibility, ethos. Scientific writing is very straight forward in the way it tries to persuade its audience by giving information and facts that clearly support the thesis of the article. Another extremely important aspect of scientific writing is its credibility, ethos. Credibility is significant because society tends to feel more confident in a person with more experience in his or her discipline. A key example of this is the extensive training and years of experience needed to be a doctor in our society. The article I chose has a lot of credibility because the institution it was published through is very distinguished and the doctors involved are distinguished as well.