Writing Topic Summary- CH 46

Rules for Writers Ch 46 by Diana Hacker is inteded for students in English class. She is really getting across step by step how to write about a piece of writing. The first thing you should do is annotate the text; underlining, writing on the side, giving yourself notes, reading the text over and over. Then, you should quickly write an outline of the text to get all the main ideas in place, and to understand the thesis in your own words.  Then, use the outline to write your summary of the text. The summary should consist of all the main ideas briefly and make sure you name the text your writing about and the author.  In a summary you should be concise and objective. The next thing Hacker mentions is how to anlayze a text, which is to look at how the text makes it's points, how it makes it's argument. The last thing she says is to understand the different texts you will be analyzing in different disciplines.

I will be using this information in all my writing at different times. It's one thing to read a text but it's another thing to annotate it, summarize it and analyze it. My favorite thing to do is to analyze it. To use my critical thinking and question the text to better understand exactly what the author's intentions are. Analyzing might also be the hardest way to write about a text. You have to really think, and you can be way off.  I need practice with all of these types of writing but I feel like it will make me a better reader and writer.

Freewriting Excercises Dialogue

A freewrite is when you write for atleast ten minutes straight without stopping. There are no rules in a freewrite, you can write whatever you want and if you don't know what to write you can write I do not know what to write and then go on. You can write that over and over until you figure it out, the key is to never stop writing. It is helpful because you can pull out some brilliant work out of all the garbage that you write. Sometimes there will be a little bit of writing that will be great from freewriting and it will be a lot better than if you were to sit there and think of what to write.  I felt like the reading had a lot of personality to it, like someone was actually talking to me rather than plain factual information, it kept me more interested.

Introductions Dialogue

My name is Brittany, I have been a student at the J.C. for a year now and I am majoring in social and behavioral sciences. I plan to get my AA and Transfer to Sonoma State. I grew up in Santa Rosa, and I hope to accomplish new learning skills in this class, along with the basic skills that may need work.  I have always enjoyed writing. I am very good at spelling, but I definitely have room for improvement in my grammar and punctuation.

I do things usually pretty last minute, but I try to pace myself. When I am actually doing my work,  I do like to take my time and make it perfect. I do not like being rushed at all because I feel that I can't do my best and put 100 percent into my work, at least if I have enough time I know that I can blame it all on myself and my lack of knowledge rather than the fact that I didn't have enough time to finish it.  The main reason I usually do things last minute is because I have an 8 month old baby and all I want to do is spend time with her! She is my whole life I love being a mom, and she is absolutely gorgeous. It's the most amazing experience.