Final Farewell

This has been a pretty good term, but I can honestly say that I am glad it is over just in time for Christmas and New Years!  If I had to offer any advice for a person doing their first paper, I think it would be just to relax, have fun, and try to work when you have a clear mind.  One thing that I still continue to struggle with is my transitions.  I fell like there are some ways that I could make smoother transitions in my paper.  One thing that I feel that I have gotten better at is doing research.  I used to try to find the one source that gave me the perfect amount of information I needed.  I have found now, that I can find small pieces of information in different sources and use them to add better information to my paper. Only final thought is, whew, I am tired! I am ready to spend some much needed time with my family for the holidays

Unit 9- almost done!!

So, as far as my paper goes, I acutally am a little dissappointed about the length of my paper, and I feel like ther have been a few things that have added to the dissappointment as well.  I wish this paper was the one I could be really proud of, but I feel that the lack of attention that I was able to pay to this project really shows.  I was really excited about this paper because it was a topic I cared about, but life became a little more crazy than anticipated. 
I can honestly say that I am just plain tired!  I am glad that I have made it though this term with decent grades, but I wish I could have spent more time focusing on my work.  I guess there is always next term though!
I still feel the same about writing.  I enjoy it when the topic interests me, but I could never be a writer or journalist.  I will be glad to take a break from writing classes!  Once I get a break from writing, maybe it will become more enjoyable!
There currently zero topics I want to research right now...I just want a break from writing!!

Unit 8*

So far in this course, I can honestly say that it is about what I expected.  Good comments from people and honest critiques.  I really enjoy getting feed back from people and taking their advice on ways to improve my paper. The only issues that I have ever had to deal with this current project is trying to figure out the best order and which words to use to make a better transition.

You know, I can honnestly say that I have never been into the blog thing and after doing one I don't really see my self ever doing one for much longer after this class.  If I ever have anyting to say, I generally just say it, I have never been a person to write in a journal or diary.  I just don't have the patience for it.  Anyway, doing this blog has been fun for the time being, but it just really isn't my thing!

Unit 7- Ah-Ha!!

     When it comes to peer reviews, I love them.  I love any feed back that I get.  From a teacher, friend, classmate, or even my husband.  I think that it is easier to see what needs work when you have fresh eyes and different people reading my paper. The feedback that I recieved was very helpful.
      You know, I really haven't had too many ah-ha moments when it comes to the writing process.  When it comes to this actual paper, one sort of Ah-ha moment was when I was trying to figure out what my order should be.  What I should start with first and what I should end with.  I chose to go with a natural order.  Surprisingly, that was my ah-ha moment. I thin it made things easier to go with a natural process instead of going with a different one. 
     From classes I have taken before, I had a pretty good idea about my topic.  I think the only thing that was a little shocking for me was that there were as many women who use drugs while pregnant.  The idea of intentionally harming a child in any other aspect of life is considered to be a crime, but for some reason a woman can polute her body with drugs and damage or harm her baby and it is ok.  So un fair!
     I know life can be unfair, and sometimes quite honestly down right crappy!  Sometimes I think there should be new regulations about stuff like this, but people in charge think there are way too many things that are more important.  Anyway, life is unfair, but you need to make it as good as you can with what you have!
    

Unit 6- Trials and Tribulations...but, Life Still Goes On.

Where to begin, where to begin...In the past six weeks there have been so many thing that could have easily detered me from working on school. Just the fact that I am away from my family and friends, living in a foreign country is enough to make me want to attempt to take away any other stress in my life. My family and I have been in South Korea for almost a year now, and the longer we are here the harder it is to stay positive and focused on school.  Don't get me wrong, the chance to see another country is a wonderful experience, but since my husband and I got married, we have always been close to family, and this is the first real time that we have been more than a state away.  I feel guilty for taking our daughter away from the one thing she has ever known and all of the family she was used to seeing on a daily basis.  Other than that, I really haven't had to deal with a whole lot.  Surprisingly, a foreign country is rather stressful.

For this second part, I am a little fuzzy about what to say.  I think that my strong feelings and ideas about this topic will help me to find the reasearch that best conveys how I feel.  When I have a topic that I truely care about, I tend to reasearch more and find the most accurate information I can find. 

Unit 5- My prewriting styles

My personal prewriting style is relatively versatile.  Depending on what I am writing about and whether I was able to choose the topic play a huge part in the style I use.  For example, last term in CM109 we had a list of topics that we were able to choose from for our final paper, and none of them were really my cup of tea so I used very structured prewriting. Outlining and bubbling were the two types I used.  When I do not really care for the topic, it takes a little more effort to come up with strong supporting ideas. After I have come up with the supporting ideas, I typically write a very rough draft, print it out and chicken scratch all over it with corrections and new ideas.  This is actually a process I do with every draft all the way up until my final paper. 

One of my biggest academic challenges is anxiety.  Being something that I have delt with my whole life, I have found ways to combat it, but it can still cause some problems during school.  Anxiety seems to pop up in the most random places for me.  I can generally take a test with little anxiety, but when it comes to learning new material and actually using it in a daily setting, I tend to second guess my self and become very anxious.  It is something that I am continuiously working on, and hope to have under controll by the time I am finished with my degree.

The biggest way that school has influenced my life is by giving me something to work towards.  I have always wanted to go to school and continue my education, but life always got in the way.  I have a 2 year old daughter and she is my world, and when I made the decision to go back to school she was a large part of my motivation. I want her to grow up knowing the importance of education and wanting to further hers as well.  I wanted to make a concious decision to not let life get in the way of my goals.  I could have easily taken the easy route and said I am moving to South Korea, so school will have to wait, but I chose to use the time while are here to work on school.

Unit 4- Plagiarism

Aside from having a well written paper, citing sources is the next most important thing in my book.  When people have to use some type of reference or source to add information to their paper, it is super important to cite the source they used.  One of the biggest reasons why citing is important is becuse credit needs to be given when it is due.  I am sure that anyone who came up with an idea or work of art would want credit for their own work.  If I take a photograph of something, I do not want people taking my work and passing it off for their own. 

I actually have had someone take some of my work.  I am passionate about photography, I do not consider my self a photographer, and I am a little posessive of my work.  I have had family members who have done everything but disown my husband and I, but still copy and paste my photos to their social network profiles and take the credit for the pictures.  It is a very angering thing.  I have not done much about it because I don't like to step on anyones toes, but I am constantly getting mine stepped on. 

Real world and professional issues with plagairism should all be delt with in some way, but not necessairly in the same way.  No one should be able to get away with plagiarism, but there are differnet degrees of it. If a person were working in a group and took total and full credit for the work, that would not be delt with as harshly as if someone blatently stole an entire idea or project from someone and passed it off as their own.  Plagiarism is serious and should be delt with accordingly.

I do think that the internet can sometimes blur the lines of what is plagiarised and what is not.  There are some websites and pages on the internet who may get their information from sources and cite them, but there are others where no credit is given.  I also do think that when people go online it is hard to monitor and control the sources and whether they are cited or not. The internet makes things complicated, but using credited sources when looking for resources is very important.