The assessments

With the completion of yesterday’s quiz, I am one assessment away from finishing this unit. That final assessment being the essay will be the challenge and there would be a high expectation from our tutors to do this well considering the ground we have convered over the last 10 weeks.

The one peculiarity of this subject for me has always been the vast array of assessments. IT’s not so much the number of them that has concerned me, but the different and varied types. All up this has included two online quizes, an essay, blog posts, journal submission, online pearsons quiz and tutorial participation.

I understand that everyone learns differently. I can also acknowledge that this is one of the besy ways to service the huge number of students undertaking this unit. In regard to all this, it still seems a bit scattered to me.

Tutorial (week 9)

In a moment of reflection half way through this tutorial, I pondered whether this subject has made me a better writer and reader. Adminittedly, this was brought on by the fact that my blog posts are due next week. So has it?

Speaking from the tutorial side of the unit, it has exposed me to better ways of expressing views and arguements. But that has been more compliments to the tex book. However, I think Shane’s true ability and greatest contribution as my tutor is that reading and writing analytically isn’t that hard – it is a matter of getting your thoughts in the right place.

I’ve found it very liberating that throughout my tutorials I have found I don’t have to give up my personal writing style, I just need to mould it into a more disciplined style (the academic style). There are certainly rules to follow when writing like this (how to frame an argument, how to refer back to it, referencing, being clear, concise and coherent), but it makes me a better writier.

It is definitely a challange for me, as I would class myself as an unbridled, creative and emotive writer. But I am learning to sharpen these aspect to a point to make them more focused.

Lecture 6

Plagarism is a vital aspect of academic wiritng. It’s one of the few errors any student or academic can make which has far reaching implications. The biggest of those is explusion for a student. It is great that the university insist and then continue to follow up with student on the importance of referencing, to the point of placing the fear of God in them.

Since the time Turnitin was mentioned, I’ve had any number of conversations with friends and fellow students about referencing. All of those conversations have been based on fear and terror in plagarism. This is saomething I have grown accustomed to over my years at university.

However, it always strikes me that each different faculy and unit seem to adhere to different referencing styles. I understand choice is good in most cases, but it is also a curse.

When I first started in university I used the Harvard method. It was simple and provided everything I needed to do in-text referencing and so forth. Hoever, on my change to a Teaching degree, this particular style was not included in the recommended list of referencing styles. So as a result I’ve had to learn a whole new style.

As such, shouldn’t a university pick a minimal number of styles to use. Here at UWS I have counted approximately 7 different styles we can use. Each lecturer and tutor has a preference, and as a result some students have to conform to a style they are unfamiliar with.

As an example, Adrian made reference to the use of the Oxford style. From my readings, this is not included in the recommended styles for UWS.

This is all very confusing at time and I would hope for some future streamlining of these styles. For as much as a concern plagarism is, the very next one for students is which is the best (and easiest) style to use.

To podcast a reading and writing subject

Does it appear a bit absurd to podcast as lecture on analytical reading and writing? I am aware that different people learn in different ways including visually and auditory methods. But it just seems a bit of an oxymoron to be listening to a podcasat on reading and writing.

Nonetheless, it does help in my studies. But is the popularity of podcasts becoming a bit redundant? In the sense that nowadays it seems like everything is and everyone can podcast. So rather than being an option which people can vote on wheter to include it (like we did in the first lecture), shouldn’t this be standard?

This then lends to the question of analytical listening. Or can we mis this into the reading portion of our subject? Adrian has dealt with the use of conversational language from time to time, so it’s not that absurd.

Lecture 5 – Punctuation

The geek in me loves the historical and rhythmic component of punctuation. I have a collect work of speeches at home, including all the famous works by Martin LUther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, WInston Churchill and so forth. However the pure force of these sppeches are not truly felt until you hear it alound by the original speaker.

As an example, Martin Luther King’s, “I have a dream,” speech is a tour-de-force. However, the true passion and impact of these words are not felt when you read, but when you hear it spoken by King. The punctuation in this speech, as it is now written, tries to replicate the tone (falling and rising), rhythm and cadence of Kind’s voice. But it doesn’t truly capture it all.

As such, while punctuation is vital, I believe it is limited. However, in academic register it is certainly a useful tool. As thw world is getting more connected via the internet, there seems to be a move in blogs and popular media to create a more conversational tone in writing, and maybe there is a change in punctuation is occurring as a result.

While punctuation is remarkably useful, it tends, in my opinion, not to capture the heart of human speech (as opposed to academic sppech).

Lecture 4…

Adrain brought up the academic register and the need to discipline ourselves in this writing style. The question I would raise in response to this is what is the use of this in the future?

After univewrsity study and assuming I don’t go on to become an academic, is the skill of writing in the academic register of any use?

At this point I feel like I’m asking the question I asked mt Year 8 teacher – “When will I ever use algebra in my life?”

On a moment of reflection, the ability to writing concise, direct and well constructed arguments is always a beneift rather than a hinderance, no matter where life may point me.

Metacommentary – great concept / iffy example

This is always a task I have great difficulty in. I can write and write and write about any subject and make a good initial argument in an essay. What I fail to do the majority of the time is working those ideas that back up my argument.

So this helped me immensely.

So in brief, it basically is a matter of making an argument and working those ideas to back that argument up.  The best way I can think of it is that it is always a reminder to refer back to the argument, to make sure that it holds water and that you are not writing or writing sake.  It’s keep the purpose and aim of the writing squarely focused on your position.

So to work that out, I basically butchered the story of Little Red Riding Hood (so did everyone else in the tutorial).  I basically turned Littler Red Riding Hood into a murderer and Grandma Riding Hood as a major drug dealer.  As follows:

Little Red Riding Hood arrived at her grandmother’s house.

Ultimately, my goal is to demonstrate that she was in fact the killer of her Granny.  Don’t let her rosy cheeks, glossy lips or doe eyes fool you.  A cold-blooded murderer lurks underneath

This is not to say the wolf was an innocent party, but rather manipulated by the machinations of a twisted serial killer, we all know as Littler Red Riding Hood.

It was the accidental meeting of these two antagonists, in the early dewy morning, that sealed the fate of Grandmother Riding Hood.

In other words, while the conspiracy theorists would like to blame the hunter as the ruthless killing barbarian of the story, it was Little Red Riding Hood who must be made responsible for this reprehensible act.

Having just argued that Little Red Riding Hood was her Grandmother’s killer, I will now complicate the point by indicating that Granny was not as sweet as this fairytale may portray her.  Her affiliation with the drug Barons of Bogotá made her a marked target or most of her life.

Consider the allegations brought against Granny or the largest recorded marijuana crop, which was later dropped by the Federal police, for example.  This highly publicised affair exposed a number of mid-level distributors by her evidence

Incidentally, we will briefly note that Little Red Riding Hood’s red garment was in fact the senior masterminds tunic of the Bogotá Lil Rosa Drug Runners based in Columbia.  This organisation use of young girls with picnic baskets to transport cocaine is well documented.  The term, “Of to Grandma’s house,’ would be constantly recorded by drug enforcement agencies trying to stem the tide of drugs internationally.

Although some readers may object that this drug correlation to Little Red Riding Hood is weak, I would answer that Grandmother Riding Hood’s murder took place a week before she was due to give evidence and reveal the identity of the mastermind of the Lil Rosa Drug Runners.

My conclusion, then, is that due to Grandma Riding Hood’s connection to the Lil Rosa Drug Runners and her impending case where she was going to reveal the leader’s identity, led to her murder.  That murder which was perpetuated by the leader of this organisation, LIttle Red Riding Hood; who on that fateful day arrived at her grandmother’s house with murderous intent.

The items in bold are the templates of using metacommentary in analytical writing.  It’s an excellent guide, which I hope to use throughout my time at university.  However, the subject of Little Red Riding Hood may not have been the best for me.  My mind works in an intensely bizarre and creative way.

Well, hopefully that explains why I made Little Red Riding Hood to be a murdering drug baron.  I hope.

Lecture 3 – finally slowing down?

So I just went through lecture 3. It feels at long last that all this information on history, object, verb and object is sinking in. BUt i’m still struck by the fact that we are still going through a very old English, historical reference of reading and writing. I’m certain that the arguement is that in order to appreciate and use english in analytical reading and writing we must first understand the history of it. But since English is so dynamic, isn’t that a bit pointless?

If we really wanted to delve into the depths of english, shouldn’t we focus on the Latin or Greek development of words before hitting the ENglish part? Or even get a better foundation of linguistics?

While I’m making an arguement for arguements sake – and I freely admit that you can’t condense an language into a fourteen week semester – I’m still caught in the belief that these first couple of lecture have been purely an exercise in definitions.

Certainly, the most interesting part o the lecture was understanding that language is dynamic and how lexical shifts occur. But i’m really after the part where we get to apply more interesting concepts of the english language and writing.

I am a sucker for trying to figure out the origin of meaning of certain words. But that has been something that has always interested me. I don’t need a lecture to reinforce that, or, in the worst case scenario, ruin that.

I just can’t get excited about a lecture that I already know much about.

“You said what now to who??”

Chapter 7’s title of “Saying Why It Matters,” grabbed me more than any of the chapters.  It’s the sole reason I picked it.

Is it really about the writer here, or rather about the audience.  Sure as a writer, speaker or whomever, knowing your audience is where a writer will sink or swim.  But doesn’t this become a bit tricky with novels or works of fiction?  Surely the author doesn’t know the audience in these circumstances – so how do they frame their work.

But then again, this is about analytical reading and writing, so that’s a moot point.  That said, the chapter is a great guide for me starting my essay.  I need to be are I have my tutor looking at my essay.  With all of Shane’s qualifications and knowledge, I have to aware of what his idea of an acceptable essay is and what the essay question is actually asking.

But it’s only week 2, so I’ll see what else there is in store and will help.

Week 2 ramblings…

So I finally listened to the lecture.  Honestly, while I thought the lecture didn’t really relate to, in my opinion, the thrust of the actual unit, it did throw up some interesting background to language.

Okay, I admit, I’m a bit of a nerd.  Understanding the history and background of language helps to get a grounding on reading and writing.  But it didn’t seem to make sense in terms of what the unit aims to do.

Specifically, in the unit outline it indicates, “This unit aims to develop and refine students’ communication skills in analytical writing, critical reasoning and the analysis of argument.”  History is fine.  But the incessant need for the lecture to go through it all seems a tad bit unnecessary.

It served me best as a grammar, spelling and live thesaurus.  Other than that, I honestly zoned out a bit.  Oh well, onto next week.