Blogging is not such a bad thing after all!

I too would like to close out the blog for the semester by sharing my thoughts on blogging and how my thoughts have changed from the first class period until now. When I learned that this class was going to center around a blog that we were required to contribute to as members of smaller cohorts, my first thought was to drop the class. I did not feel comfortable sharing my thoughts with potentially anyone who had access to the Internet, which is a much larger audience than I was hoping to have. I was especially nervous that I didn’t know exactly what we would be asked to write about and post to our blogs. I was nervous that we would be asked to write about politics or other topics that fall under the arena of things that I like to keep to myself. I didn’t want people that I did not know reading and judging the work that I posted. I had also never followed any blogs or much less read any posts to blogs. I assumed blogs were just a fad that would pass, just like networking sites seem to do in their time. I was not interested in either reading others’ blogs or creating a blog of my own. However, the class time fit so nicely into my school and work schedule and I needed the communication credits, so ultimately I decided to stick with what I had signed up for. I decided that stepping out of my comfort zone would likely be a valuable exercise that I would learn from. I also realized that if I was to truly become a professional I would need to learn to be comfortable with others reading my writing. And I also realized that I should be comfortable with others reading my work as long as I posted quality work to the blog. And in the end, for those reasons, I decided that this would be a worthwhile exercise and I would give it a chance.

Now, at the end of the semester, I can look back and say that I was glad that I made the decision to stick with the class. I learned to be more comfortable sharing my writing with others. One place where I saw this positive change was during a writing workshop that we had just a week or two ago. In the past I also dreaded having writing workshops, in the same way that I dreaded posting to a blog at the beginning of this class. I always preferred that the professor was the only person to read my papers. Writing workshops meant that my peers also had to read my papers. Although I oftentimes receive valuable feedback through writing workshops, I was just uncomfortable participating in them. However, in my most recent writing workshop I was more than happy to read my paper aloud to my group and ask for any feedback that I could get, and I truly appreciated the feedback. This class, in a big part through blogging, has helped me to realize that engaging in public argument doesn’t have to be a scary thing, and the experience that I had with the blog was extremely positive.

-Jaclyn E

So Long and Adios!!

I am extremely thrilled that summer is finally here! I finished my last exam this morning, and work starts tomorrow. Despite my excitement, graduation looms at the end of next year, and there is so much I still have to do. I have to decide what I want to do after graduation, find another summer job, and finally close this blog. In the first week of this class, I would have been able to do this with no reservations. I was worried about having my opinions out there for everyone, and wanted to delete the blog upon completion. However, through the course of the semester, this has changed, and I now have a new appreciation for blogging. Overall, my experiences have varied, but I would like to take this time to share with you my likes/dislikes from this blog, and what I have taken away from this experience.

I might as well start off with the positives, since it is a beautiful day outside, and I am finally free from school for the summer. So, the aspect I liked the most is being able to read other people’s work. Class time is very limited, and it is nice to see the opinions of other classmates on the topics discussed. On top of that, I feel that some students are afraid to speak up in class, but when they write in their blogs, it is a whole different arena. The small sense of anonymity, allows students to open up and share their opinions. Also, it is nice that I know all of the people writing these blogs due to the small class size. It is more interesting to read when I am at least somewhat familiar with the person writing, which helps to gain a deeper understanding of where he/she is coming from. At the same time, the blogs allow us to become more aware of their experiences. Another aspect that I really liked is that it is a shared blog. In the beginning, it seemed like all of us just had really random experiences and there would be no way to create one blog to encompass all of our personalities. However, it is interesting that within the first few prompts, it was easy to see that we really are four college girls with a unique view of the world. Aside from these positives there are some negative aspects of my blogging experience.

The first thing I dislike is extremely hypocritical. I really hate having other people read my work. I rarely feel truly confident in my work, and the prospect of having people read and judge my statements kind of freaks me out. It is funny that my favorite part is to read other people’s blogs, but I do not want them to read mine. I know that this is a silly fear, and that I should have more confidence in myself, but it is not something that I am used to. Although I have adjusted through the semester this part of blogging is still not my favorite. I also dislike the requirements and deadlines for the blog. Although my group did a good job organizing who was going to write and who was going to respond, there were many times where I wouldn’t realize it was my week. In this case, I had to quickly scrounge together an outline and write a coherent blog/response. I guess this mainly bothers me because blogs are kind of like an opinionated journal, and there should just be a general requirement for how many times in the semester a student has to blog. I understand that in a structured class it is difficult to accommodate this style of writing, but I think it would create a more established ethos.

Aside from the bad aspects of this project, I would say that overall it was a good experience. I was not familiar with the many facets of blogging, and I now have a new sense of the public argument it can create. Although the writer may not know who is reading the blog, it can be assumed that someone, somewhere will read it, and possibly be affected by it. Also, it has helped me be able to share my writing with other people, and through the process I think I have become a better writer. I am able to formulate my thoughts more coherently, and I do not spend as much time looking at a blank screen. Even though I had a good experience with this project, I am happy and relieved to close this blog. Who knows maybe there will be a future blog by MS. (Time pending). But for now, so long and adios.

What I've taken from this...

It took me a little while to decide how I would close out this blog. I came up with random ideas of writing about the class, or that our cohort could pick one theme and write about it with four different perspectives, but it was too challenging to come up with one idea, so I finally settled on what blogging did for me.

I was a little apprehensive to the idea because I had no prior experience and I did not know how it would turn out. I had not really followed many blogs on the web except one, Nicholas Kristof’s “On the Ground”, so I was unaware of the rules of blogging, how to format it, how detailed it should be, among other concerns. After blogging for the first time, I started to realize that there are no set rules for a blog. It truly is your own creation and you can make of it what you want. Aside from the weekly topics to blog about, I was in control of the direction my post should go. After the first couple of blogs, I realized the most efficient way to blog is to chose one theme and stick with it. It makes the post more coherent, but I feel it is distracting to try to make too many points about multiple issues rather than looking at one.

By sticking to one theme for a post, it was a way for me to reflect and connect the theme to other issues and random little tidbits. Not only was a reflective blog nice, but it really helped me to practice formulating my ideas and keeping theme compact between 500 and 700 words. Someone once mentioned in class that it was almost as if we had an essay due weekly because of the amount and frequency of our writing. I am almost thankful we had to blog weekly, because on top of all of the other writing assignments I have had this semester for my other classes, writing consistently improves your writing. I noticed a change in my writing and saw that it improved.

Blogging seems to be everywhere these days, and I am pleased I have been able to participate in it. Even this semester I was applying for something and it asked if I had relevant experience blogging. I have not decided if I want to create my own blog or if I did what the overall general theme would be. But I am intrigued by the experience and what it has done for me. The medium itself is advancing our society in so many ways, with knowledgeable people putting up their ideas on life left and right, that it has been a way to stay informed on anything you could think of, including current events. It is something that I can certainly put on my resume and tell people I have had experience blogging, because you never know when it will come in handy.

I must conclude with a thanks to all of you who have participated in the blog process of a Girl’s Eye View, whether posting yourself or responding, and to the people who just read it. I hope it did a little something for you as it did for me.

LG signing out. Summer is around the corner. 

I have quirky little things about writing… I can only use certain black pens, occasionally something else if I cannot find my pens, I write in all caps (like my mom and Obama!), and I am particular about the type of paper I write on. I know, I know, it sounds like I have OCD when it comes to writing…well I do a little bit. Writing is something I have always enjoyed, for pleasure or for school. I originally was going to school for journalism and Spanish and I worked at the Star Tribune newspaper for 2 years realizing that was not the field I wanted to go into. I’ve started to second-guess myself because it is something I have a passion for and would love to go abroad and write columns, but that is just not the case. Instead, for the time being, I am enjoying writing, writing, writing my last final assignments for my undergraduate college career. (It feels strange to actually acknowledge that publicly.)

 Depending on what I am writing, whether a take-home exam, blog, or email, I like to get a feel of what it is I am being asked to write about or respond to, and then I have to sit and ponder it for a little while. I will come up with ideas and I need to write them down the second I think of them to prevent them from escaping. I do this with simple to do lists too; I have lists about everything. I formulate and gather my ideas for the assignment and then, strangely I like to handwrite papers or at least handwrite a detailed outline before I sit down and type away. I have been doing this for a long time and have been criticized many times for being inefficient. I can see more clearly the content I am working with more easily than if it were on a computer screen. It helps me to get a better feel of what is there and it is easier for me to move paragraphs or edit. Speaking of editing…I have always enjoyed editing. I feel that I have an eye for it, not only when I am looking at my own work, but I am constantly editing other forms of people expressing their words, whether a friend says something grammatically incorrect, or I am looking at a friends paper. I get it from my mom. I grew up with her constantly looking over my shoulder and correcting my speech and papers. She worked at the Star Tribune newspaper for 30 years and has that “Editorial Eye”. She is a rather harsh critic, but I could not ask for anything less. Her high standards have passed on to me.

 When I sit down to actually type my paper, I am continuously editing. I will type a sentence realizing I do not like it and press the delete key until it has disappeared. I am constantly typing and erasing my thoughts until something that is somewhat decent appears in front of me. When I have finished typing up a paper, I generally send it to my mom to be edited. I think it is one of the best things, if not the best, to improve your writing, by having another person take a look at it. Editing as I go has become my natural way of writing. When it is all said and done, I take a last glance at it to see if it actually makes sense. 

Write First, Revise Later

There are two rules that guide my writing, and I utilize these rules whether I am writing a paragraph or writing a twenty page research paper. My first rule is to open a Word document and make a listing of all the major points that I want to touch on throughout my writing. As I am drafting my paper and touch on one of these points I erase that point from my list. I do this until my entire list of bullet points is gone and I am left with nothing but paragraphs. Depending on the length of the paper, oftentimes I try to complete my first draft in one sitting. This way I don’t have to come back to a half-completed paper and refresh my mind on the bullet points that I have already written about and the bullet points that I have yet to write about. Of course, as students we have other classes that demand our time, and it is not always possible to complete a piece of writing during one sitting. When this is the case it is very helpful to have that listing of the bullet points that you wanted to touch on. You will still need to refresh yourself on where you left off at with your paper, but it will be easier to jump back into your paper if you have that list of “to dos” or “to writes.”
My second rule is to always write first and revise second. When I start out, my goal is to get all of my ideas down on the paper, keeping in mind that I will go back and revise it later. This can lead to a bit of mess. Oftentimes I find myself repeating my main points and writing run on sentences. Once I get all of my ideas down on paper I usually end up with a product that is twice as long as I would desire. But, I believe that it is easier to cut things out of a paper than to add things to a paper. When I go back to revise I make sure that everything is written in a logical order and that I have transitions between ideas. The corrections that I make most often include deleting entire sentences, splitting run-ons into multiple sentences, and correcting basic grammatical errors. I cut out all of the extra wording that I don’t need in order to effectively make the point that I am trying to make. There are many people that use this strategy and others who insist upon correcting as they go. I have always had trouble with writer’s block and have found that this is the best way to combat my writer’s block. Part of writer’s block is constantly being unhappy with the words that you are putting on the page. When this happens it makes it very difficult to get past the first sentence if you don’t feel like it is perfect. Once you get past the first sentence you will usually have the same problems with the second sentence, and so on throughout your paper.
I have found that it is easier to implement this second strategy when I am typing on the computer instead of writing it on paper with a pen or pencil. My brain moves much more quickly than my hand is able to write. It is much easier to keep up with my thoughts while I type on the computer. Also, as a busy student, this cuts out one step in the drafting process. Instead of writing by hand and then having to transfer the paper to a word processor, it starts out on the word processor.
However, there is one thing that I like to see on paper. When I have the paper corrected and almost ready to turn in, I print it out for one last correction. Oftentimes I am able to pick up on formatting errors or other simple errors when I see it on paper. The last thing that I do before handing in an assignment is to read it out loud to myself. Sometimes I skip this step if I am drafting in the library because there are several other students around. However, if I am by myself I consider this a must do.

-Jaclyn E.

Writer's Block

Oh no!! This is a terrible question! What do I do, what do I specifically do? First answer, I have no clue at all! Then again, I am writing this essay, and I have been thinking about it for a few minutes I must have some kind of process. So in the end, there are a few things, depending on the type of paper, that I like to do before starting, while writing and finally while revising a paper.
First off, in preparation I like to read something that has the same feel for what I am going to be writing about. For example, if I am trying to write something witty, I will read something brilliantly droll. If I want to write something serious, I will read something that is more academic or possibly sad. Just reading the different types of writing gets me in the right mood. Although reading always helps me before writing a paper it is not always feasible due to time constraints or honestly…laziness. If this is the case, I like to start by making an outline for my paper. I never used to do this; I used to think that it was tedious and unnecessary. However, my outlines help me get the paper started. I have a better focus for my paper, and my outline will usually just write itself, because as I am writing, I tend to just make sentences, which leads to a written out paper. This start makes it easier to sit down at a computer and start to do the work for writing.
When I have reached this stage of writing, I already feel a little relieved. I first put on a little background noise that matches the paper’s subject. For example, if it something I feel adamantly about and it is supposed to be serious I’ll listen to something like Rage Against the Machine, but if I am about to start a more relaxed paper I’ll turn on something more mellow. Next, I give myself a target hour and just combine all of the points I started on my outline. By giving myself a deadline, I am able to push through instead of just watching the minutes go by in the corner of my screen. Now at this point, my paper does not have to be that good, and it usually isn’t. However, it starts my next process: revision.
This stage of writing is by far my least favorite. My main problem is that I cannot just read the paper off the screen, so I have to keep printing the paper over and over. Despite this, I know it will be worth it in the long run. So, I print my paper and just start by reading it. During this first revision, I have to mark down whether or not I have transitions in my paper. This has always been my biggest problem with writing. Transitions never come easy, so I usually have to talk it over with a friend. Although I do not take exactly what he/she says it is helpful to get my mind started in the right direction. After my transitions and basic sentence structures are fixed, I have to go make the changes and start the next stage of revision; backward reading. I print the paper again, and read it sentence by sentence backwards. I have found this to be the most helpful part of the paper writing process. When I continuously have to read the same paper I just get bored. By reading it backwards I am able to catch small things that I would normally ignore. Again I go back on the computer and make the changes. This is usually my last step before I am about to turn it in. Then again, I will usually read it just before turning it in and it never fails that there will be some kind of mistake that I want to change. Unfortunately, at that point I can’t do anything about it. So I have to turn it in, and hope the teacher doesn’t find the same mistake.
Thus even though I did not think I have a process; I do. I am now over the limit for words required for this post, and I started this not thinking I had anything to say. Although these are not tips per say, these are the different steps I have to take in order to write a good paper. This does vary based on the type of paper I am writing but this general format can be followed for most papers, except papers about myself, which I hate writing. After all that being said I would say the most important tip for writing is not to wait until the last moment. All of these processes take time and patience, and a person can’t wait until the last second.

Badger Sports Access

We began as a group of students who were upset with the athletic ticketing policies at the University of Wisconsin. A couple of us were unsure as to whether or not we would be able to get football student tickets as seniors. This emotion towards the issue is what fueled our project. However, throughout the course of our research our position focus began to shift. In comparing the University of Wisconsin’s policies to those of other schools in the Big Ten Conference we have found that UW’s policies are fairly comparable. Neither ticket prices nor the size of the student sections appear to be out of line. We also conducted a survey and found that in general students are unhappy with the ticketing process and size of the student section at UW athletic events. Our purpose is to make sure that students are informed when seeking change in UW’s policies. In this project we are also exploring other options that students have for access to Badger athletics if they are not able to attend games, such as the Big Ten Network. We invite and appreciate your feedback. Our project can be viewed at http://badgersportsaccess.wetpaint.com/

Jaclyn E