Blog #12

Part 1:
For the writing center, one person came in asking for assistance on their lab report, asking for corrections on grammar and other such things. There were only a few very minor problems, that only took 2-3 minutes to cover everything she asked for. We learned the reason this girl came in for help was more to get the extra credit her class was offering her to come in for help. Although, I did learn about lab report layouts a bit, I had never done one before so it was different to see.

From working in the writing center, I really learned a lot about organization and dealing with fluff in papers. A lot of what the writing center does is help people create clear and concise papers, which, I can tell from reading older papers of mine, is something I had trouble with. I am making all sorts of edits on my Junior Writing Portfolio paper using things I learned from in class and the writing center. I would definitely say this class has improved my writing skills in ways I didn't think needed assistance.

Part 2:
I have worked on a fixing a few writing issues I had with the help of this class. Sentence Level revision is something I have begun to use on papers for other classes now; I was writing those papers to fill up space before, but now I am expressing myself in a well done and concise way. This also ties in with my issues with fluff, and I have begun reducing it in my papers. My sentences were unnecessarily long because I was using words that sounded nicer and better. Finally, I made changes to my revision process, which now includes using post-it notes to represent my main paragraphs, and I would be able to move those around in order to fix my paper's structure. In my opinion, there has been a lot of improvements to my writing with help from this class.

Blog #11

Part 1:
This week in the writing center there was another person asking for help on their paper for their class. It was for history, and they were trying to explain Mongolians and their influence in Asia. There wasn't many issues with their paper, they were more just looking for last minute changes to make to it before he needed to turn it in the next day. While he covered most of the needs of the assignment, his paper was lacking grammatically. When the paper was read aloud to him, he caught onto all the problems his paper had. Reading the paper out loud does seem to be very helpful in catching things that are missing or wrong with your paper.

Part 2:
I will be talking about the contents of the brochure and why it was important to make the way it is. The brochure is meant to be handed out to all people who are unaware of what the SCA is or does. It will educate people about what SCA does, as well as what readers can do to help and donate to SCA. This is necassary and goes with what Georgia asked from us.

About Us

Second Chance Animal, Inc. is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit committed to promoting the humane treatment of animals, preventing animal cruelty, and ending domestic pet over-population. We’re striving to reach this goal by educating the public on the importance of responsible pet ownership and preventing the next generation of homeless pets.

EVERY animal deserves a good life and a loving home. With the support of the community, we have already been able to help thousands of pets in our local area. We hope with continued support, we will be able to grow and fight for a better world for all animals

Our mission is to improve the lives of all animals and end domestic over-population, an aggressive spay/neuter program, and compassionate stewardship of resources.

We depend on volunteers and donations to maintain our funding and help us end animal suffering 

Our History

Georgia Martinell moved to a rural Northern Idaho town in 2006, and realized the extreme need for action.  With no other animal rescue groups in the immediate area, the stray population was large and people had nowhere to go for low-cost spaying and neutering services.

Georgia started holding yard sales to earn extra money so she could help out.  As people heard about these new animal programs and services, more and more families started providing assistance. A Board of Directors was formed and Second Chance Animal, Inc. was made into a legitimate 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization. To date we have helped more than 560 animals, supplied over 55 dog houses to those with no shelter, given away thousands of pounds of kibble to hungry pets.  This was all done in the last 3 years with less than 20 volunteers.

Blog #10

Part 1:
In the writing center this week, I helped an older individual returning to college with his paper. Since it has been a long time since he has needed to write any informative papers, so he needed a lot of help with correct use of commas, grammar, and citations. I noticed that reading the paper aloud to him allowed him to understand what things were wrong with his paper, and he was able to pick up more on problems with his paper. I feel I will be able to tutor people who come in to the writing center on my own soon.
Part 2:

I was working on the brochure some more recently. I am a lot happier with the new formatting I am changing on the front page. I am really just trying to make it more interesting to the reader who picks up the brochure. My next step will probably be picking fonts that will work well when it is printed out, as well as including some of the last info I will be putting into the brochure, such as how to donate and where readers can volunteer. After the conference, I also feel I will need to add more explanation as to the necessity of SCA to the community, as well as how I can rearrange the topics to be more appealing and interestingly placed to the reader

Blog #9

Part 1:
This week, I spent a large portion of time helping an Asian student with their paper. He had problems with their citations and needed assistance correcting them. He was asked to complete his paper using Turbian citation, a way that I had not heard of before. I had to look online and learn a whole new citation method in order to help him correct his paper. Most of the difficulty with helping him out is he wasn't great at English yet, so it took a while for me to explain the changes he needed to make to be correct in a way he could understand.
Part 2:
So far, for Second Chance Animal, we have created the foundation for the brochure. Once we get access to a previous copy of the brochure, we can get a better understanding on what is wanted on the final. Also, we have created a list of changes that we think should be applied to the website to make it look nicer. We only need to figure out from Georgia what to put on the brochure and the changes she would like to see, as well as apply the final formatting changes and pictures and it will be about ready. 

Blog #8

Part 1:
This week, I did not take part in the volunteer program. Instead, I was a part of the volunteer training program for becoming a tutor at the writing center next semester. During the training I was taught about Facilitative and  Directive tutoring procedures. I should try to be supportive while asking questions to the writer to make them think about what exactly they have written down and to convince them to think about revision on their own. Should they not understand that, I can be a bit more directive to noticing what is wrong with their paper, and get them to understand the changes that could be made. There was also role playing situations to test these strategies we learned, and I learned a lot about what we need to do.
Part 2:
For this project, I will work a lot on the revision of the old tri-fold and make it appear nicer. There are several potential formats that I believe will work well for the group. However, it is hard to be certain exactly the changes I will be making until I get access to the old tri-fold. I also have ideas about how to produce them as well, but again, I won't exactly know what I will be doing until I get access to the old tri-fold and see what second chance would like us to do.

Blog 7

Sorry for the delay in the post, I thought I had posted it last week but it only saved, never posted. My apologies.
Part 1:
This week in the writing center, I have only assisted one  person again. This time they were requesting grammar and proof reading on their cover letter. They had already turned the assignment in, just gotten it back, and was going to turn it in with corrections for bonus points. They had us look at all the red marks on their paper, and ask for assistance on which parts to change and which to keep. After fixing a bunch of commas and word choice, they seemed fine with the work they had accomplished, and left rather quickly. I learned that tutors at the writing center are not always viewed as the most helpful person to progress writing, rather as someone to make a few quick corrections.
Part 2:
Brainstorming
  Needs to post things only relevant to the
  More professional work needed.
 Less inappropriate memes.
Want people who look at work to be proud of your work. Link them to website or twitter that you won’t be embarrassed about
   How easy for you to alter website? Change to similar layout.
  Make website more informative and updated than facebook or twitter.
  I have several ideas to updates to website to make it more interesting. TONS of changes could be made just to the website.
  Daily and relevant updates to facebook/twitter.
  Provide followers updates about what progress is being made/events planning.
Part 3:
For one, she had several issues with grammar, mainly because English isn't her first language. 
She had issues with grammar because English isn't her first language. 

Blog #6

Part 1:
This week in the writing center, I worked with only one student again. They were foreign, and were looking for assistance on a response paper to a video they say in their anthropology class. She included lots of information about the video in her paper. She also sorted a few outside sources for the paper as well to connect the information in it to other subjects. However, she had a few issues that needed fixing. For one, she had several issues with grammar, mainly because English isn't her first language. Also, she had issues tying all the information back together into one final conclusion, and didn't seem to tie the video as much into her paper as she should have. By assisting her in tying her paragraphs together with important information, He paper could become much better after another few minor revisions. I feel like I am getting more comfortable with tutorials, so much so that I signed up for the training.
Part 2:

Video games have matured greatly evolved within over the past few decades. From basic side-scrolling 2-dimensional games to full 3-dimensional open world games, and even into completely interactive games systems without the use of controllers, video games have changed greatly in how they are played. Unfortunately, video games are rarely viewed(seen)seen by others as a form of art and rather as a toy for young kids. Video game companies and developers will need to to try and either do something new(innovate?)innovate or change something that is already(previously)previously implemented mechanics(mechanics) within(in) their games if they want to be recognized as artists rather than toy makers. A system that has been implemented into many games that not only became a very popular system, but also helped bring the image to video games that they can be considered artistic is the Morality System (helped videogames be perceived as artistic is the Morality System). Before the Morality System, the player could follow(followed)followed one linear path way needed to to reach the goal in the game, with the illusion of possibilities and an open world with the use of side-quests. The Morality System was implemented into games in order to bring instead tries to immerse the player into the game world  and haveby making the players individual decisions haveing a major effect on what happens in it based upon their decisions in the game. The player’s actions upon the game world would have a significant impact on how the non-playable characters would react, much like in a real world situation. In a game world situation, Players couldone could save save the world from tyranny or take its place as its ruler, each choice leading up to this final conclusion with their own effects on the story. However, this system is not fully fleshed out and is still young. With the some innovative ideas new ideas combined with the help of the video game companies that support them, developers could change and adapt change the way the Morality System works in order to create a better system.  Morality systems in video games can develop, mature, and change to help video games be viewed as an art form rather than as toys.

            It is important to understand what art is when discussing what can and cannot be art.For this discussion, defining what art is and isn’t in necessary. There has been lots of debate regarding what art really is, and very few have come to agreement.  The most basic definition of what art is, which people such as Roger Ebert, a renowned movie critic, and Kellee Santiago, a producer and developer of games use, can be found on Wikipedia. They use thise definition, "Art is the process of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions" in order to help explain what art is (Ebert, Roger). By this definition, one might think that video games are already art. There areis lots of elements that are within video games, which can appeal to people’s senses and emotions.

Part 3:

So far, I have been editing as much stuff as possible while considering all the things we learned in class. Since this paper is two years old, I am making a number of changes just based on my own development in writing since then. I've re-read these 2 paragraphs a number of times to try and spot and implement the things we learned for when it can make a sentence better. I have noticed so many issues with overstating and extra words within my writing that clutter the work. I believe that I have no issue tying my paragraphs together like what the chapter displays. Looking at these two paragraphs, I didn't have to make any corrections regarding it. I have always been taught to only talk about relevant subjects to the paragraph, so I have experience with doing this kind of stuff to my writing already. 

blog #5

Part 1:
This week, I had one person come in at my hour looking for help on her paper. She was writing a summary for an article from English 101. She was pretty much finished with it, and was only asking for assistance in review to make sure she covered anything. After reading her paper, both me and the tutor mentioned that outside a few tiny grammatical errors, her paper was very well done. She covered all the necessary points, gave her opinion after the facts, and kept very focused on the assignment. Her topics were ordered well, and she provided extra information at key points of interest regarding the topic. Reading her work taught me that specific ordering and discussion while being focused on the work can make a paper very good on its own. She discussed and highlighted the main points of the article in her writing, and wrote around those ideas. Overall, the only ways that the main tutor and myself assisted her is with citation help and grammatical errors.  I feel I am getting progressively better with understanding what should be happening in these writings, and how to progressively make them better.
Part 2:
Original:One might argue that Morality Systems are not what makes video games good, and that it in fact detracts from the gaming experience. Many people would agree with the statement that they could play video games in order to avoid issues in real life situations. As Andrew Kauz, a blogger who has an issue with how Morality Systems are cliché and unnecessary, “we don't want to fraternize with people who are constantly judging us in real life, but we want to spend twenty hours with a game that does the same thing?” (Kauz, Andrew). It isn’t the uncommon for one to be directly affected by some of the stories in games. Being banned from being on an entire planet because of a bad choice the player made, much like which happens on one planet in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, can’t be emotionally uplifting to some players. While not necessarily emotionally uplifting, it’s also common in novels and movies for one to feel emotion for a character who received injustice. Video games are a fairly new art form, and it will take time for writers to develop ways to tell a story in a unique way, but also gets the point across while in the game. Art is supposed to spark emotions to those that are enjoying it, and video games do this in a way that no other art forms can do, with direct interaction with the viewer. Editted:One might argue that Morality Systems detract from the gaming experience. Many people would say they play video games in order to avoid issues in real life situations. As Andrew Kauz, a blogger who has an issue with how Morality Systems are cliché and unnecessary; says “we don't want to fraternize with people who are constantly judging us in real life, but we want to spend twenty hours with a game that does the same thing?” (Kauz, Andrew). It is common to be directly affected by some of the stories in games. Being banned from going to a planet because of a bad choice the player made, much like which happens on one planet in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, can’t be emotionally uplifting to some players. While not emotionally uplifting, it’s also common in novels and movies for one to feel emotion for a character who received injustice. Video games are a fairly new art form; it will take time for writers to develop ways to tell a story in a unique way, but also gets the point across while in the game. Art is supposed to spark emotions to those that are enjoying it, and video games do this in a way that no other art forms can do, with direct interaction with the viewer.The chapter helped me understand how to clean up my writing in a way that can help make my papers better. I can get my point across much quicker and more directly if I remove clutter and words that don't need to be there. Clutter just adds unnecessary words to the paper that can cause issue. I feel like this is something I should do more, even more so for when I am writing to not fill a page requirement. I do feel I write more nonsense if there is a page requirement, after I rough draft the important topics, I write more about things that don't matter too much. 
Part 3:
After explaining more of this information and what I learned from class, as well as my own cover letter and resume, the student understood more of what needed to occur and expressed she would make changes.
After explaining what I learned from class, as well as from my own experiences,  the student understood what needed to occur and expressed she would make changes.
I am starting to feel more comfortable with these tutorials, they are interesting to sit in on and also just express and exchange ideas.
I am feeling more comfortable with the tutorials, they are interesting to sit in on and exchange ideas. 

Blog #4

Part 1: This week, I only had a tutorial session with one student. She was a foreign student looking for help on her cover letter and resume. She was applying for an internship at a medical center and needed help with her papers. From what I saw, she wasn't sure exactly should be present in either of them, and was getting them confused with each other. She was placing personal experience, education, and work experience within  her cover letter while putting why she wants to apply for the position in a resume format. Her writing style wasn't very well defined or made much sense, probably due to English not being her first language. Looking at her work allowed me to understand more about what specifically should be included in each paper without crossing over too much. The cover letter needs more focus as a letter to the employer, and how to express how one personally would help the place you are applying for. The resume is much less specific to the the job one is applying for, and instead explains more personal information and experience. After explaining more of this information and what I learned from class, as well as my own cover letter and resume, the student understood more of what needed to occur and expressed she would make changes. I am starting to feel more comfortable with these tutorials, they are interesting to sit in on and also just express and exchange ideas.

Part 2:
Some video game companies and developers have taken risks to express their art, and have received several slaps on the wrists for having controversial content, which deteriorates other’s visions about how mature video games are, and thus making the art within the game unnoticed. Other forms of art depict violent scenes, sexual situations, and sometimes inappropriate material for some people, however they are rarely yelled at or considered as controversial as video games.  There are several video games, even some which are widely popular among gamers today, and are considered extremely violent, include sexual content, racist remarks, or even go as far as “‘glamorizing’ or ‘glossing over’ the real-life massacre at Fallujah” (Vega, Nora). Since these video game developers come under such pressure from the news, government, and people alike, it makes it difficult for the developers to defend their work without help or assistance from others. “Six Days in Fallujah” was one video game that never even made it to store shelves due to the controversy it kicked up, and without the defense of a video game company behind the developers, merely folded under pressure and stopped the production of the game. This game was meant to depict a real life event in Fallujah, Iraq where many Iraqi and American Soldiers fought and died. It allowed the players to experience the actual battle without ever actually being there, similar to what other art medians do. While it was meant to be somewhat of a memorial/documentary by the developers “Atomic Games,” it received lots of criticism for being too realistic, too soon and “in bad taste,” and would “disrespect those that died there” (Floyd, Daniel. “Video Games and Facing Controversy”). While movies and other media may depict similar circumstances and controversies like those presented in “Six Days in Fallujah” and many other games, one might wonder why video games like this are given lots of criticism. 

For this paragraph, I ended up using lots of active verbs and had an active voice. The active voice fits for this paragraph in my opinion because it expresses many details in a strong way. Being assertive with this idea helps the reader to understand what is so wrong about the situation I am discussing. It also tries to explain the positive nature of the game and what it was trying to do without lessening or demeaning the events that occurred in Fallujah. I feel that this paragraph needs to active verbs to get the point across more directly. I do feel that a passive voice doesn't work well for this assignment in general; much of what is important is the actions that video games face as well as the impacts they have. However, I feel passive verb usage would be good when discussing specific games more in-depth for this assignment, which I do later on. I do not have many passive verbs in this assignment, adding a few may be beneficial to express other points. Where exactly I may use passive verbs over active verbs, I am not sure quite yet. It might be better to include passive verbs in sections where I discuss a games review from other sources. 

Part 3:

Placing verbs early on within my sentences helps to express my points clearly and with more enthusiasm than placing them later on in sentences.

Sentences with verbs placed early on can express my points clearly and with more enthusiasm. 

Modifiers allow me to give more in-depth detail within my writing.

I can go in-depth in my writing using Modifiers. 

Blog #3

Part 1: Going to the writing center on Wednesday was very enlightening. I learned about the processes the writing consultants go through to try and provide help. The consultants don't edit other students work at all, only make comments about what should be changed and why. Proof-reading was the last thing people would get help with. Instead, focusing on the assignment was top priority, followed by things like organization and support. While there, I helped and sat in with 2 different students and consultant sessions. Both knew English as a second language, so mistakes  in grammar and wording was common in their work. Much of what needed to be worked on outside of the English was the assortment of the information in a way that made more sense. I feel I did learn a little bit more about what I should do to help my writing; I need to focus on my organizational skills, rather than just blurting out random information throughout my paper. This is what the writing consultants attempt to help student with regarding their writing anyways. If I apply what the writing consultants try to teach for my own writing, my writing could get better. 

Part 2: This chapter provided some useful tips which could easily apply to the development of my cover letter. A good tip I got was verb usage. Placing verbs early on within my sentences helps to express my points clearly and with more enthusiasm than placing them later on in sentences. My sentences and points will be laid out stronger and with more meaning, hopefully peaking the interests of the reader more. Complements allow me to give more description to things I am discussing in my paper, and are fairly necessary. Modifiers are more important in my opinion than many of the things discussed in this chapter. Modifiers allow me to give more in-depth detail within my writing. This could potentially provide more hooks  as well as description of things the reader wants to know. I often use modifiers within my writing to try and hook the reader. 

Part 3: 

 There was good advise on staying on topic with my writing, and not straying far from what needs to be said. 

The chapter provided advise about staying on topic in my writing; I shouldn't stray too far from the main points of interest. 

Allowing verbs to appear earlier in sentences may also make my writing appear much stronger.

I could strengthen my writing by placing verbs earlier in each sentence. 

Blog #2

Part 1:
Please consider my application for the lifeguarding position at the University Recreational Center. I have completed and been certified in Lifeguarding, First-Aid/CPR/AED training, and Blood-borne Pathogen. I am studying for my major in Sociology and understand the importance of rules, legal issues, punctuality, and conflict resolution. In my previous work environments, I have been a strong leader and example for others, on time, trustworthy, helpful, productive, and generally a good employee as well as a kind person. 

I perform well in stressful and professional environments, and understand the importance of providing services to customers while performing my duties in a responsible manner. If there is a problem or issue while working, whether it is customer or duty related, I am very good at problem solving or troubleshooting. Depending on the situation at hand, I always act accordingly to provide the best service possible. I am a quick learner, able to adapt to difficult situations which need my attention. With an opportunity like this one to apply my skills, I am sure I will be a successful candidate for this position. 

Part 2:
These first few chapters provided interesting information and provided good guidelines to help my writing. There was good advise on staying on topic with my writing, and not straying far from what needs to be said. It would be much better for me to continue writing only about myself and what I do as to not bore the reader of my cover letter. Allowing verbs to appear earlier in sentences may also make my writing appear much stronger. It would allow me to express my strengths better in my cover letter to express their importance.

Part 3:
 The quality of my writing is very important to me; I feel inadequate about my work when I don't finish or do well to focus on my writing.

My strength is discovering and displaying information relevant to my paper, and coming up with intriguing ideas and opinions.

Reading Response

In "What a Peer Consultant Is and Isn't" it was discussed that Consultants are better than tutors in that they provide more meaningful and helpful support for people in developing their writing. There are many differences between tutors and consultants, and a consultant provides assistance in a meaningful and honest way. I would agree that a consultant is a better person to seek assistance from rather than a tutor. This article also shows that consultants aren't just helpful at creating good writing, they can help develop better writers as well, teaching the necessary skills to those who want to learn them.

Assessment 1.0

Developing my writing skills is something I am focusing on in hopes that it will benefit my future in several ways. I often am writing research and analytically papers for classes, looking and reviewing articles and data as well as learning and researching new topics or ideas. The quality of my writing is very important to me, I feel inadequate about my work when I don't finish or do well to focus on my writing. I strive to do well and make my writing appear well done and thought out every time. Unfortunately, I have issues during the drafting and revision process, where I don't catch mistakes in my writing during revision or I leave things that I feel make sense but shouldn't be there. When I draft, I often just write ideas out in paragraph form while separating main ideas between paragraphs, and fill in the blanks as I think of them. I flesh out sentences more once I feel I covered my bases. Revision for me constitutes reading aloud what I wrote to see if it makes sense. My strength I feel is coming up with things to discuss during papers that are relevant, and coming up with ideas and opinions that are intriguing to read. However, I feel that sometimes I fall short in the editing and structure department. I also feel like I have problems transitioning between topics. Hopefully, I would like to get my sentence and paragraph structure up to par with how I feel my writing should be at.