Assignment #11- Patterns of Error

• I tend to write run-on sentences in my writing. I have always had a problem mastering the proper punctuation to avoid run-on sentences. This causes my writing to seem infective and it tends to confuse the reader and at times lose their interest. In order to avoid writing run-on sentences I will read them out loud to myself in order to figure out if a comma or a period is necessary.

•  In my writing I often repeat what I have mentioned  in a previous paragraph. I am not a redundant writer;however, I am a repetitive writer. This becomes a problem because it makes my writing much longer than it has to be and re-states information that I have already stated. I can only make an attempt to catch these mistakes myself or rely on my peer reviewers to catch them in my early drafts. 

•  I don't always specify who or what I am talking about, for example:'' The Advertisement is appalling to the public.'' I did not mention which advertisement or specify who the public was. This causes readers to become confused do to lack of information. In order to avoid this mistake, I need to keep my audience in mind and assume they don't have much knowledge about the subject at hand. Lastly I think this issue can be avoided if I spend more time considering rhetorical devices when I jot down ideas for my rough draft.

Thinking Critically About Peer Review

The  peer review we do in class is effective in the sense that we get input in our writing from more than one person before getting a chance to look it over ourselves.  One way I think peer review can be improved is by having three separate one on one  sessions with a peer reviewer instead of having one session with three or four, it would just help keep ideas organized.  My strengths in peer review is my ability to communicate ideas, as well as my ability to help people expand on their own ideas.  I would say that my weakness in peer review is my ability to catch grammatical errors.  I would enjoy peer review if we get the chance to our writing review by someone else, before we turn in our final.  I find that for me peer review is more effective when I am working in smaller groups. I do feel like the time we spend on peer review is fine; however, I feel like the process would be more effective if  we had feed back on different occasions at different times.

Free Write

Coming into NEIU I wasn't sure if I was going to like it; but, now after a semester and a half I wouldn't have it any other way. The thing that I find the most intriguing about being in NEIU is the fact that you can find diverse people from all parts of the world, I have enjoyed watching the skating crew hang out in front of the Student Union performing tricks. The campus itself is an awesome hangout place, especially in the early beginning of the fall semester. When the weather is good, it is great seeing everyone hang out around campus just waiting for their next class to come around.  College though awesome it is not perfect, I wish the university provided housing for students who have to commute. I hear so many complaints from students who commute and it takes them over two hours to arrive at the campus. I was honestly thinking about transferring after I completed my general ed. requirements but know, I kind of don’t want to leave.

             I always say that “I didn’t choose to attend NEIU, NEIU chose me.” Originally I was planning to attend the University of Cincinnati; however, I didn’t receive the necessary amount of financial aid to attend. The cheapest alternative I could think of was Northeastern, it was convenient. I didn’t like the idea, far less the university itself. After settling down, meeting some people and taking some classes, I decided I wanted to stay. Now all I want is to find a cheap apartment in Albany Park to be part of the community.

Thinking About Arguments

In Should The Obama Generation Drop Out Charles Murray talks about the flaws found in the Obama education plan . He brings to the attention of the public the fact that many student in America graduate lacking the skills necessary for the proper college education. Murray goes on to argue that in today's society students who graduate from High-school go on to technical college to pursue a vocational education in their field of study; whereas, older generations have pursued an all around education, enrolling in classes that were irrelevant to the career they were pursuing. Murray claims that if you test  the vast majority of Americans (including himself) in the more rigorous subjects, they would most likely fail.  Murray mentions that he does not have a problem with liberal education; however, Murray does not believe that the only qualification for the Obama generation to get a well to do job  should be just a degree, and students should strive for more.

I chose to write about this article because I believe the American Education is not doing its job when it comes to preparing today's generation. I believe there is an issue growing especially in elementary and high schools that Americans are refusing to acknowledge. Education is a topic that I have a personal interest in because I want to be a teacher, which is another reason why I decided that I should write my argument analysis on this article.