Pinkney 1 Madison Pinkney Prof Suzanne Ingram English 1101-004 17 July 2013 1.

Throughout my first blog post I was curious about the editing process in writing. Ive always been okay with writing but revision is very hard for me. I dont think that pride is a huge issue for me personally, but I dont know anyone in this world that really enjoys being corrected; and before I started this class thats all that editing was to me. Learning more about the editing process in turn taught me more about myself than I thought I could learn from it. It taught me to be more okay with suggestions from others and that that is what editing truly should be. In high school I was made to believe that editing was to have your work corrected, but being in college for three weeks has already taught me differently. Reading about editing showed me that editing isnt all about suggesting changes, it can be about compliments to the author as well. I now see that writing in the margins when editing is important because if you write all over the paper it can make the paper seem cluttered and cause the author to feel embarrassed. I have always been told the importance of editing, but now that I understand it I feel I will be able to put it to better use. 2. There are many differences between high school and college and I believe the only way one can discover these is to experience both. As the question states high school focuses mainly on competency while college focuses on success. The main goal of high school seems to be passing students by from grade to grade even if their grades are only mediocre. High school tries to group students into categories that take away individuality and creativity, while college

Pinkney 2 wants to only strengthen these parts of self. I have been looking forward to college because I love open-minded thinking and group discussions; sadly those were not as common throughout high school. High school was a huge blur of constant redundancy that consisted of having material thrown at you, being expected to recite it back and then being tested on it. So far throughout my college experience I have realized the true importance of learning over memorization. Good grades are important, of course, but thats not the most important thing in life; learning lessons are much more valuable. I am excited about college because I think that I will be able to flourish in new and interesting ways of thinking. College will offer liberal, creative ways to think and I cant wait to challenge myself. 3. The fact that colleges and universities allow students to dress at their own discretion is something that I have been looking forward to for a long time. I wouldnt say that my attire throughout high school was risqu, but I would say that it didnt always fall within the restrictions. High school seemed to always focus on trivial things like the length of a girls shorts instead of her understanding of a concept in the classroom. I can completely see from the perspective from an administrator that the dress of high school girls can be distracting to other students, but at the same time students are responsible for their own educations. By the time students reach high school they should be mature enough to know whats appropriate to wear in the classroom, but by the same token they should be mature enough to be able to focus on achieving quality educations. I remember waking up after long nights of studying AP Statistics or reading for English 12 and wanting nothing more than to put on a pair of running shorts, but quickly remembering that they werent allowed. Having to change outfit after outfit was more of a distraction than my running shorts wouldve been and oftentimes caused me to be late for class.

Pinkney 3 College is the atmosphere where administration and students alike focus on more important things and that makes me even more excited for the next four years. 4. I agree with a lot of the points in the list that our class came up with in regards to the differences between high school and college, but I think there were a few things that shouldve overlapped. I think that students are responsible for their own learning in high school as well as in college. Hand holding throughout academia shouldve ended around middle school as this shouldve been the time when students started to mature. Im not saying that high school was easy, but I definitely think there was way more babying than there should have been. Im not completely looking forward to the harsh reality that college will bring, but I think it is necessary. I think that the vast majority of my high school classmates will be in for a rude awakening when they begin undergrad. Lots of students were allotted wiggle room to turn in assignments late or extra help on tests that they otherwise would not have received and some even believe that college will be just as easy. However I whole-heartedly agree that in general students thought processes will be more mature in college. I think people will think more open mindedly and accept new and different ideas more often than in high school. 5. It amazes me every time I reflect on what I have already learned though these few weeks. I feel that the open minded ways of thinking that Ive learned in this course have been more valuable than the majority of the things that I learned in high school. Intellectual growth and maturity are two key concepts that I have become very familiar with throughout this course. I can already tell that I have grown and been forced to think outside of my comfort zone which is exciting. I have grown so much with the concept of editing, which is something that I never thought I could do. I now see editing for what it really is instead of what I thought it was. At the beginning of this course I hated editing because I felt that it was nothing more than someone

Pinkney 4 ripping my writing apart. Now I see that editing is the process of someone adding suggestions to my writing to improve it and that writing should go through many editors before it is truly ever complete. I know that this is an important lesson to learn and Im glad that Ive realized it so that I can continue to progress as a writer. 6. I think that independent inquiry is the most challenging of all key concepts. I think sometimes its hard to go out and find information on your own because students are usually used to teachers giving the information to them. I understand that it is up to students to take responsibility for their own learning, but I think it is also the responsibility of the teacher to put the information out there for the students. I believe that through the progression of this class and my undergraduate work I find more sources to use to find outside information which will make the process of independent inquiry easier and more familiar. Independent inquiry is important because one cannot always rely on having lesson plans dropped in front of them. Sometimes teachers will not explain things as clearly as students would like and that cannot be taken for a final answer. Years ago I wouldve accepted the empty lesson and moved on, but now I see that this is not the way to progress as a student or a person. When things do not feel right or as full as they should it is the sole responsibility of that one person to figure things out on their own and Im proud that Im beginning to realize this. 7. One reoccurring theme Ive noticed throughout the course of completing this midterm and also living on my own in college is growth. I feel that Ive already grown so much as a writer, as a student and as a person. This excites me because I know there is still a lot of growing to do! My short essays all seem to focus on how happy I am that Im in college because the ways of thinking and work ethics are different from high school. Looking back, high school seems so trivial and so do all of the things that I used to worry about when I was a part of it. I no longer

Pinkney 5 have to worry about fitting all of my thoughts and ideas into five paragraphs or buying shorts that are long enough to satisfy administration. Now I have engaging discussions with classmates that are like-minded and have similar goals; Im surrounded by people that want to do more with a diploma than just hang it on a wall and watch it collect dust. I am unbelievably happy to wake up every day and know that my open-minded, abstract thinking can be appreciated and will be reciprocated by those around me. College seems to be all about growth and understanding and I love that. 8. I dont really have any questions at the present time about this course, because I honestly feel that Ive been given a lot already. I feel that the information has been sufficiently provided and it is really up to the student to take advantage of that. I think the information has been clearly explained and laid out and when the readings are done thoroughly they help readers understand lesson plans much better. Although I dont have many questions, I do think there are things I can stand to improve on. I think that I need to work on my sentence structures because I have noticed that sometimes my sentences can become repetitive and this can bore readers. Id like to know more about the writing process to continue to progress as a writer. I would also like to know more about genres in relation to real life.