Writing Style

I believe my writing has changed a little bit since the start of the semester.  I definitely reread what I write over and over again and I usually get a third party to read it and see if it sounds good.  I learned that reading a paper out load really works to see if what you wrote makes sense or not.  I enjoy writing about topics that I'm interested in and sometimes when I have to write about something I don't know about it's not all that bad. 

My Reaction to Online Programs

I think with today's technology less paper should be used and everything should be done electronically.  Using turnitin.com is quite easy to use, except I wish we could view the entire paper instead of just the first page.  I don't know if the paper is exactly uploaded from the original.  That's the only bad part about turnitin.com that I have seen.  I have uploaded a lot of documents and papers online and some of the programs you’re able to view the paper and others you’re not.  Just my thought on this subject.

Reading and Writing a MUST!

Reading and writing are very important in my family, especially with my two boys.  I worked as a land surveyor for ten years and it was very important that I could not only write, but write well, so other's could read what I wrote.  My six year old son is reading now and it's exciting listening to him read.  He reads two books every night and he's getting pretty good at it.  I always stress to him that reading and writing are two of the most important things he can learn.

Have a Good Thanksgiving Everyone!

Introducing the Conclusion

When I'm writing a paper, I try to write the introduction first and that usually helps me write the rest of the paper. I think if you write everything you want to discuss briefly in the introduction, it makes writing the remainder of the paper easier.  The conclusion is the part of the paper that I sometimes struggle with.  I have been known to take my conclusion and put it somewhere else in the paper.  I don't mind writing papers; I'm not a big fan of doing the research.  I think by doing research for a paper, it stops being your own thoughts.

Paper after Paper B-10

I have never used APA style writing before and I found it not to difficult to work with.  I chose a topic that I was really involved with, so that kind of made it easy.  It seems like I'm always looking to add more data when writing these papers. I don't know if APA is my favorite writing style. 

Boating, Trailer or Slip

The APA style paper I'm writing is about the question whether or not it's better to trailer a boat or keep a boat in a slip during the summer.  I used knowledge and a questionnaire to complete my research.  This paper has quite a few guidelines that I have not seen before, but after reading and studying about it, I think I understand it.  Definitely when there are examples of papers in out textbooks, it makes it easy to understand.  After completing my paper, I have learned that my thought about this particular topic may have changed. 

APA Style B-9

A specific detail that I'm struggling with is trying to determine whether to use both a detailed graph and a table.  In the A&B book they show using both in the APA style and I'm not sure if I need both.  I think I have some more to learn about APA style.

Primary Research B8

I was a board member of The Northern Chapter of professional Surveyors for four years and one of things I had to research was the trends on how many out of town people came to the Surveyors convention, that only happened once a year.  We were trying to get the number of people up and we accomplished this by having the convention in a city that was centrally located. 

Changing a Kids game

I am currently writing a response letter to a published magazine regarding youth hockey.  This person whom I'm responding to is trying to change the way that 8 year kids play hockey.  The game itself is hundreds of years old and all of a sudden they want to change it.  I don't want to get into the details but, I hope my response letter will be read and taken into consideration.  Along with myself I have numerous people in my letter that have given me permission to use their name to go against what there trying to do.  I am not afraid of change, but some things are better off left alone.

Draft Revisions

What’s working well in my draft is that I can type one thing and mean another and go back and change it.  I’ve changed my draft around four times and I’m pretty sure it’s a good read now.  Another thing that is working well, I’ve been calling some friends and family and asking questions about the particular topic I’m writing on and I’m getting good feedback.  It’s helping tremendously.

My strengths and weaknesses of writing summaries

What I have found most difficult about responding to the article that I have chosen is, trying to put all my thoughts and ideas into sentences that make sense. One thing that I’m finding difficult is coming up with words or phrases right before I quote the author.  I’ve been reading quite a few summaries and response papers online and I think I’m starting to get the gist of it. The good thing about the article I chose is that it deals with something that I have been doing a greater part of my life.  If you have suggestions or ideas regarding how to transition into a quote, please respond.

Easy Writing

I think some writing is easy for me because I can use my own experiences or experiences of friends.  I've lived in five different cities and have met a lot of people with each one of them having a unique story.  I also have been playing hockey for twenty-seven years and that in it self is a story.  Some of the troubles I have with writing is thinking of new ideas, I think most people that read something funny are much more apt to continue reading.  Would you rather be laughing, questioning, or to be challenged after you read an article?

Changes in Structure

The most significant change in my draft after peer review was taking out quite of bit of information about a specific topic and focused more on a detail that was stated in my draft.  I think it may of taken the "so what" out of my paper, always keeping in mind the genre.

One of the things that I had tried for the first time was cutting and pasting a portion of my conclusion and inserting it into the introduction.  I'm pretty sure it's better read because of it.  My introduction starts right into a story rather than dragging on about the topic itself.  In a short paper, I think jumping right into a story is a way to catch the readers attention rather than dragging on about what your going to write about.

I think the aspect of this essay that makes me proud is that all the events and statements that I wrote about are fact.  It is much easier writing about facts and details when you have lived and experienced it.  I've also learned  that it takes more than just a pen and pad of paper to create a final draft.  For this paper, I have changed the context about ten times and I'm still contemplating whether I'm finished yet. 

Coaching Philosophy

I had to write my coaching philosophy to the hockey board of directors so they could vote on allowing me to coach a travel hockey team.  A quick hockey background:  I've been playing for 27 years, coaching for 7, and reffing for 2.  I knew in the back of my head exactly what to write, but it seemed like I was missing something after I read it.  I handed a copy to each of my assistant coaches and asked them for their opinion.  Please note that when you're dealing with any board of directors, politics is key. (I was once a board member for three years, so I kind of know the system)  The three assistant coaches actually had written down quite a bit of information that I either added or deleted to my document. Some of the information was just a few stories or incidents that they had dealt with in their own lives.  By incorporating their input, I was able to fill the gap that I was missing. The verdict in the end, I was successful.

Old Books

After my first son was born, my mother had brought me the books that she had read to me
when I was younger and learning how to read.  It brought back old memories when I saw those books.  As I read them to my son, I remembered every little detail in those books.  It's pretty amazing that you remember such detail 30 years later.  I hope someday when my son grows up and has a family of his own, he will read to his children and remember the books that were read to him.  Reading books to children is the first step in getting them interested in reading on their own.