Journal 12

Over the semester i have learned alot about the analytical side of english. I pretty much never analyzed anything in high school. it was all pretty much short stories or very brief poetic analysis. Nothing too hard like this was. I think my writing has also changed in the way that i now have more than one voice. I have several now. I have actually had a chance to use some of the analytical skills i learned in your class on one of my middle eastern studies papers and it worked wonders

Journal 11

I knew my anti-ad idea from the very beginning. I thought that at first it would be hard, but it proved otherwise. It was actually really easy to make. It was time consuming, but nothing was actually hard about it. I think that the most fun part was making the ad. Just because i really love working on Photoshop and i'm pretty good with it, so its always a good time. As far as the group goes, putting our ads together was actually really easy. We just kinda put them in the magazine and that was that.

Journal 12

My writing has evolved since i began this class. I have learned to be more analytical and to think more in depth on topics. Also, i have learned how to vary sentence structures and to organize my papers better. I have also learned a great deal about media. How it has changed over the years with each and every technical advancement, and how it jumps mediums like Internet, TV, and billboards. MY writing has grown, and I also feel my writing voice has as well. I have increased my writing language, and I feel that is the greatest accomplishment I have made all year in this class.

Journal 12

I don't think that anything in my writing has changed too much. The one thing I've started to learn, but still need to develop, is writing longer essays. I've never had to write anything over three pages, so its still new for me to try and find seven or eight pages of material to write about. I've also learned that the end of the semester creeps up on you out of nowhere, so its best to work on your assignments early and get them out of the way so you don't have them all pile up from all of your classes. Revision is also becoming a more important part of my writing now. I used to just write up my first draft, revise it for grammar and spelling, then submit it. But with longer papers, you have to add and subtract entire paragraphs and ideas, sometimes even throw out things that you've been trying to develop for hours. All the stuff with the media was things I already knew, I just never took the time to analyze it. When i see commercials, I still just look at them for the entertainment value. Analysis just feels like trying to turn something fun into work

Journal 11

Honestly, I didn't know how to navigate the adbusters site or where I was supposed to be looking, so i was nervous when trying to figure out what an anti-ad was, much less how to do one. The two ads i decided to pick from were for McDonalds and the Acia berry diet. The McDonalds one just seemed easier to do, so i chose that one. I preferred thinking up the idea to creating the actual ad because I'm not that great at creating pictures, so no matter how good it seems in my head, i have a difficult time translating that to an actual physical product. Creating this ad wasn't harder than I expected, but the quality of some of the other ads makes me feel like i need to make it look more professionally done. My group members ads I haven't really seen yet, but everyone has good ideas for what to do and I think they'll turn out nicely. Putting them together in a magazine wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, we just didn't go about it the right way at first. We had to figure out the target audience for each ad, then come up with the average audience that all the ads would target. After that, we had to think of what type of magazine would appeal to that person and what magazines the ads would fit in. Analyzing the ads like that definately made it easier to come up with a magazine idea

Journal 12

I think the biggest change that i have developed throughout this semester that has affected my writing is my word choice. When i was in high school, i always tried to use words that would help me sound smarter. I know that i say dumb stuff sometimes but i always tried to make up for that in my writing. I now know that it is much easier to sound smart if you have a good argument and things to back up your claims. I would have to say that my favorite assignment throughout this semester was paper 3. I really had a lot of fun developing my anti-ad and i think i did a really good job at it. I like how all of our assignments were based on the media. It really made me think about how much the media really does try and target a certain audience. I feel like this is definately one of the most important things that i learned this semester. I am definitely going to use this tool in all of my writing in the future.

Journal 10

The characters in "Hills Like White Elephants" are a couple only referred to as "the American" and "the girl", and they're waiting for a train at some bar while having a discussion. The atmosphere is really tense, and emotions are running high. The conversation reveals that the American and the girl are trying to decide on something that seemed to be a pretty difficult, emotional decision. The American wanted the girl to do whatever it was, but not in the mindset she was in. She seemed to only agree to make him happy and didnt care about herself. I had no idea what this story could be about when i first read it, but after I looked at the other posts and found out that it was about abortion, it made alot more sense. I think the author chose to write this story without telling the reader exactly what the issue was to convey the attitude that it was a serious and taboo subject between the couple, and to help set the atmosphere of fear and uncertainty.

Journal 12

As I look back on how my writing throughout the semester, I wonder how my writing has changed. Sentence structure, my choice of words, and how I compile all my ideas has become tremendously different. I will continue to analyze as much as possible before I begin writing. I have learned that it is easier to gather all the information BEFORE I start writing. It makes things a lot harder when you just start writing and have nothing to base your first draft on. I have learned that Media can be a great way to influence or pass on ideas and that Media is a bigger part of my life than I originally thought. It was almost kind of scary how much present society is influenced by Media. I have found myself questioning more when it comes to analyzing the Media that I run into in my daily life.

Journal 12

Taking a look at my writing this semester, I think I've learned to be more critical of what I am writing about and also to not be afraid to step outside of the regularly accepted standards of writing. I've learned that it's okay sometimes to not always follow the rules and regulations that have been drilled into our heads since we picked up a pencil, and I've learned when those times are. 

In media, I've learned to make connections between the visual and textual aspects of all mediums. I feel like I understand better the reasons for why advertisers make certain decisions. I definitely analyze media more that I used to.

Journal 12

I think I've become more aware of my style of writing. I try to link each sentence together so it doesn't seem like I just through stuff together. I will try to take a time line into consideration, but I'm not sure if that will happen.

I've learned that taking a second look at media can be rewarding, and sometimes it's not worth it. As far as advertisements go, If I really think about one, I will start to analyze it more than I used to.

Journal 12

A lot has changed in my writing since this semester. I really think that I have improved a lot in my writing. Although it has not been easy the writing assignments in the class have been helpful and helped me a lot with my writing skills. I have learned to analyze things more closely and pay attention to some things that I wouldn't have before. At first I thought the assignments were difficult and I didn't think that I would be able to complete them, but when I took the time to think about the topic and come up with some ideas, it became easy. I will continue to look at things from a different perspective because that has been very useful in aiding me with writing the paper that were assigned. There were many things in class that helped me improve my writing. I think that work shopping the papers was very helpful and it helped improve them. I learned that media is not always what we think it is, and you have to learn how to look at the media from different perspectives besides your own. Now I analyze everything more than before, and it is very helpful not just with writing, but with everything. I am more aware of how the media appeals to different audiences, and how they get those particular audiences to become more interested in whatever it is that they're advertising. All of the class assignments have been both helpful and useful to me, and I think that the techniques I've learned will be used in many other classes and for many other assignments.

Journal 12

This semester has helped me focus more on analyzing the topic that I am writing about. Ive noticed that it is also alot easier to write once you have analyzed the prompt. I will make sure that I use this process in my continued writing. It has defineitly helped my with my progression in my writing process too. This class has also taught me about the media of today and analyzed it. I feel that focusing on the media has really given me examples of how other people use the media for the good and bad. I also analyze media different than i used too. When commercials come on or when I see and ad in a magazine I defintely look at them differently and analyze it. Its really cool to look at how people make the ads and the audience that they focus on.

Journal 12

Based on what you’ve learned so far this semester, what has changed in your writing? What will you continue to do that you’ve learned and what will you choose not to do? What have you learned about media? Do you analyze different types of media more than you used to?