"Shitty First Drafts" by Lamott

In "Shitty First Drafts", the author gives her own personal experiences to describe what it's like to write a first draft regardless of whether you are a recognized writer or not. She explains how people that aren't frequent writers get this idea that every day writers can just start writing a new essay or book and it will be a work of art. In fact, she says that is the complete opposite of what occurs to writers like herself. Recognized writers also have to endure things such as writer's block or terrible first rough drafts. However, the best thing to do is to just simply start writing because most likely it will be an awful or "shitty" first draft but when you finish and write your second draft you can select and edit what you want to keep for your next draft. Lamott says to write what's on your mind in your first draft because as long as nobody sees the initial draft than that's acceptable. Incorporating what's on your mind is essential because while the writing might be informal or awful when you edit you might see something that you admire and you may end up sampling from the first draft and building off of what you sampled from. Taking a break in between each draft is necessary so that you can reflect and think about what parts you don't like or find unnecessary.

SWA Genres Analysis Assignment

1.)    In Europe soccer is the most popular sport with players coming from many different countries and backgrounds. Despite the ethnic differences not all the athletes are treated with equality. This is an image of a fan in Europe holding out a banana to demonstrate his dislike for a player of African descent because the athlete is black. The banana in the image is shown to compare the black futbol player, Didier Drogba, to a monkey.

2.)    The video below was a soccer player celebrating after scoring a goal in the Greek futbol league. Typically celebrations are accepted and applauded but not in this case. Fans, other players, and the league’s representative were immediately furious because of his celebratory gestures. The gesture he made during his celebration was believed and known world-wide for the salute of the Nazis during World War II. The player claimed to ignorant about the salute’s meaning and stated that he was pointing to someone in the crowd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYIrYphja4s

3.)    "Goodbye to the Gangstas" : The NBA Dress Code, Ray Emery, and the Policing of Blackness in Basketball and Hockey

This is an article about athletes in professional sports leagues being restricted on their behaviors because of their cultural backgrounds. Athletes that are primarily targeted by the leagues are African Africans. The cultural differences from the black athletes and the non-black affiliates have created racial laws to dilute the differences.

Personal Literacy Narrative Draft 3

Francisco Reyes

21 February 2014

Professor Fleischer

English 1A

Draft 3

            My name is Francisco Reyes and I am a first year freshman at California State University, Sacramento. I come from an immediate family with two other siblings, an older brother and a twin brother. The three of us have lived in Sacramento our whole lives with the exception of when my older moved away for college. Our family has embedded my brothers and I with an academic and sports mentality in life. My acquisition of literacy has been sculpted from life experiences.

            I’m just a simple writer and speaker with skills that can’t be compared to a summer’s eve or an articulate author of high caliber literacy skills. My writing, speaking, and reading skills are possessed because of experiences, influential people, and other memorable influences. Of course some influences are more monumental to me than others. Without these experiences and influences my literacy composition wouldn’t be what it is today. The writing and speaking skills I possess can be attributed to the many years of soccer I played, the interaction with people online, and living in the same location since my existence.

            Soccer has been in my life for over 13 years. The many teams I have played on have brought new and different teammates. I had to form some type of relationship with every one of them but some were much closer friendships that lasted longer. The relationships were formed by communicating, speaking, and articulating amongst each other on similar levels. With that said, the way I spoke with my teammates varied dramatically from on and off the field. On the field we spoke with seriousness and a sense of professionalism because as athletes that completed at a competitive level throughout the country we felt we had job-like responsibilities. Off the field however we were at ease with each other and capable of being enthusiastic and comedic when we conversed. The tone and demeanor used when speaking on the field couldn’t be taken to heart because playing soccer was essentially our job so if one of us was slacking we had to let the other teammate know in an assertive yet respectful manner to pick up the quality of our performance. I thought we executed being assertive and respectful rather well because once we stepped off the field and entered a friendly state it was as if the on the field problems never existed but swiftly resumed once we went back to playing on the field.

            The soccer team I played for had many Hispanic players and most of which spoke both English and Spanish. I myself do not speak Spanish which made me hurdle and get around the language problem on the field. But thankfully off the field this problem didn’t occur. In time I learned what the other guys were saying in Spanish and I picked up the Spanish soccer terminology easily. Speaking in another language wasn’t a type of secret code to confuse the team but more of cultural norm Hispanic soccer players had. The players contributed and helped me learn the terms such as “pasala” meaning pass it or “cruzala” which translates to cross it; “It” being the soccer ball.

            Because my teammates and I were teenagers we tended to speak in what seemed normal to us but provocative to older people or adults. Sometimes the way we talked in public would come with consequences or learning experiences. For instance, once we traveled to southern California for a soccer tournament and we had to stay in a hotel because the tournament was multiple days. In between games we were in the lobby of the hotel and conversed amongst ourselves like we normally would but only this time there was older women not affiliated with us that stayed at the hotel and were also in the lobby. The women filed a formal complaint to the hotel and the hotel reacted immediately and nearly kicked us out. Unfortunately our parents found out the way we were speaking and monitored the way we spoke at the ensuing tournaments. It was a good lesson to take with us and move forward from as far as a speaking stand point.

            Social media has a significant in my life from a writing aspect. Identifying and being able to use the English language in social media and for academic purposes has proposed a hefty problem that has made me a conscious writer. Analyzing my own writing (or typing) formality is often accomplished when looking at my computer or cell phone. Because the use of informal social media and formal academic writings occur both on my phone and computer knowing when to type in certain manners becomes an issue. For example, I use email to get and respond to social media notifications. With that same email I may also have to respond to an email received from a professor or interviewer from a job. If I utilize the same speech patterns to a professor as I would to a friend I surely would find that it wouldn’t be in my best interest to use the same writing style for different stages of formality. My moderate distaste for academic reading and writing has made me resort to informal writing on social medias as a means to express myself with the way I want to write. However, Separating informal and formal writing is a developing trait I have yet to master which in time I hope to be able to know write in the appropriate setting without having to consciously think about what I am writing.

            Lastly I feel that the location I have lived in all my life has played a major role on the way I speak or converse with others. Being a northern California native from Sacramento has embedded the way I speak. The way I speak to individuals my age has always seemed normal and so right because until recently everyone I communicated and affiliated with was from Sacramento as well. Since I’ve attended Sacramento State University I’ve spoken with people from many different backgrounds and various regions in California. I’ve discovered that people from other places don’t necessarily admire or like my informal lingo and this too has made me a conscious speaker. Students that originate from Southern California greatly resent some terms I use in my speech. The most notable term that southern California students dislike is the slang term “hella”. I informally use the term to express a vast amount of something. I’ve been trying to eliminate the term from my language but as of lately I feel that I should utilize any word I desire as long as it doesn’t conflict with formal writings. Other examples of how living in Sacramento has influenced how I converse is the music I listen to. The Sacramento region is heavily influenced by bay area music and helps me acquire words from songs in my speech. At the same time, people from southern California don't typically listen to bay area music and  have no idea what I'm referring to when I use words like "hyphy", "thizz", or "turn up". I find it a near impossible task to even describe these common northern California words to Southern California kids because it's a natural slang. 

            My writing and speaking skills derive from my everyday experiences and previous encounters I’ve learned from. These experiences have been lessons that I have learned from in order to progress or become comfortable with. The literacy tendencies I've acquired will continue to grow in time as I endure new experiences throughout life. The people that I currently affiliate with now in college will have a subconscious affect on the way I communicate with people in the work field after college. Hopefully the literacy techniques acquired will better my chances of creating new opportunities in life beyond college.  While my articulation is not of a supreme quality it is distinct and unique to me.

Virtual Peer Review Scripts

Jose Ramirez
1.) The part that I like most about your essay are the parts about you accepting and being conscious of the fact that reading and writing will play an influential role despite the lack of desire to practice these things.
2.) From reading your essay the information I gathered and understood made me think that academics, reading, and writing are important in your life and will continue to be important because of the adverse background you derived from. I feel that the prompt was well addressed and stated throughout your essay because of your demonstration of how important a role reading and writing has played in your life.
3.) The part in the essay that I felt may have needed more detail was the third to last paragraph. How does this adversity pertain to the need to continue writing and reading more? I felt that it was a good example but needed just a little more detail for clarity.
4.) I feel that at times in the essay you changed your view on literature to opposite beliefs and it confused me. One paragraph you seemed to enjoy and appreciate literature and then in other paragraphs you had no interested in it but you did have accept the fact that it is necessary in your life.
5.) While your essay had a good intro and a hook I difficult to spot a definitive thesis statement. I felt that I was able to spot what you were getting at in the essay but I had to search for it rather than being informed in the early stages of your essay. The part that seemed to reappear throughout your essay was the acceptance of having to utilize literacy skills in your life. In my opinion I just found it a bit peculiar to read the last sentence of the second paragraph. It just seemed to contain unneeded information. Other than that it appeared to be well written and in depth with the examples.

Ivan Ramirez
1.) The part I like most in your paper are the clear and concrete examples that you use to demonstrate what experiences have helped shaped your literacy skills throughout your life.
2.)a.) After reading your essay I felt that it was about the way you learned from your experiences in life and moved forward as a writer and reader.
b.) While the examples used in the essay give a good understanding about what influenced you in your life I feel that after a little more detail of the second and third paragraphs that the essay will be much stronger.
c.) Your paper does address the prompt to a certain degree but may need a little more detail about the way it will influence you as a writer later in life.
3.) I feel that the first few sentences in the third paragraph need a little bit of revision or rewording to allow the reader a better understanding of your experiences.
4.) While your examples are good you seem to be missing a little bit of detail in the middle paragraphs of your essay to give solid evidence of your experiences and how they have helped you.
5.) Again, your essay contains very good examples and is easy for the reader to identify. However, at the same time I feel a few more examples that are maybe more in depth would be beneficial to your essay. For example, in the third paragraph you talk about many friends influencing you but don't go on to talk the other friends that played minor roles in your literacy experiences. If smaller experiences are discussed perhaps it will provide a bit more bulk to your essay and more evidence to support your claims about your friends helping you out.

Personal Literacy Narrative

Francisco Reyes

11 February 2014

Professor Fleischer

English 1A

Personal Literacy Narrative

            I’m just a simple writer and speaker with skills that can’t be compared to a summer’s eve or an articulate author of high caliber literacy skills. My writing, speaking, and reading skills are possessed because of experiences, influential people, and other memorable influences. Of course some influences are more monumental to me than others. Without these experiences and influences my literacy composition wouldn’t be what it is today. The writing and speaking skills I possess can be attributed to the many years of soccer I played, the interaction with people online, and living in the same location since my existence.

            Soccer has been in my life for over 13 years. The many teams I have played on have brought new and different teammates. I had to form some type of relationship with every one of them but some were much closer friendships that lasted longer. The relationships were formed by communicating, speaking, and articulating amongst each other on similar levels. With that said, the way I spoke with my teammates varied dramatically from on and off the field. On the field we spoke with seriousness and a sense of professionalism because as athletes that completed at a competitive level throughout the country we felt we had job-like responsibilities. Off the field however we were at ease with each other and capable of being enthusiastic and comedic when we conversed. The tone and demeanor used when speaking on the field couldn’t be taken to heart because playing soccer was essentially our job so if one of us was slacking we had to let the other teammate know in an assertive yet respectful manner to pick up the quality of our performance. I thought we executed being assertive and respectful rather well because once we stepped off the field and entered a friendly state it was as if the on the field problems never existed but swiftly resumed once we went back to playing on the field.

            The soccer team I played for had many Hispanic players and most of which spoke both English and Spanish. I myself do not speak Spanish which made me hurdle and get around the language problem on the field. But thankfully off the field this problem didn’t occur. In time I learned what the other guys were saying in Spanish and I picked up the Spanish soccer terminology easily. Speaking in another language wasn’t a type of secret code to confuse the team but more of cultural norm Hispanic soccer players had. The players contributed and helped me learn the terms such as “pasala” meaning pass it or “cruzala” which translates to cross it; “It” being the soccer ball.

            Because my teammates and I were teenagers we tended to speak in what seemed normal to us but provocative to older people or adults. Sometimes the way we talked in public would come with consequences or learning experiences. For instance, once we traveled to southern California for a soccer tournament and we had to stay in a hotel because the tournament was multiple days. In between games we were in the lobby of the hotel and conversed amongst ourselves like we normally we would but only this time there was older women not affiliated with us that stayed at the hotel and were also in the lobby. The women filed a formal complaint to the hotel and the hotel reacted immediately and nearly kicked us out. Unfortunately our parents found out and never let us forget that instance at all the tournaments that followed so our freedom was limited because of the way we spoke. It was a good lesson to take with us and move forward from as far as a speaking stand point.

            Social media has a significant in my life from a writing aspect. Identifying and being able to use the English language in social media and for academic purposes has proposed a hefty problem that has made me a conscious writer. Analyzing my own writing (or typing) formality is often accomplished when looking at my computer or cell phone. Because the use of informal social media and formal academic writings occur both on my phone and computer knowing when to type in certain manners becomes an issue. For example, I use email to get and respond to social media notifications. With that same email I may also have to respond to an email received from a professor or interviewer from a job. If I utilize the same speech patterns to a professor as I would to a friend I surely would find that it wouldn’t be in my best interest to use the same writing style for different stages of formality. Separating informal and formal writing is a developing trait I have yet to master which in time I hope to be able to know write in the appropriate setting without having to consciously think about what I am writing.

            Lastly I feel that the location I have lived in all my life has played a major role on the way I speak or converse with others. Being a northern California native from Sacramento has embedded the way I speak. The way I speak to individuals my age has always seemed normal and so right because until recently everyone I communicated and affiliated with was from Sacramento also. Since I’ve attended Sacramento State University I’ve spoken with people from many different backgrounds and various regions in California. I’ve discovered that people from other places don’t necessarily admire or like my informal lingo and this too has made me a conscious speaker. Students that originate from Southern California greatly resent some terms I use in my speech. The most notable term that southern California students dislike is the slang term “hella”. I use informally use the term to express a vast amount of something. I’ve been trying to eliminate the term from my language but as of lately I feel that I should utilize any word I desire as long as it doesn’t conflict with formal writings.

            My writing and speaking skills derive from my everyday experiences and previous encounters I’ve learned from. These experiences have been lessons that I have learned from in order to progress or become comfortable with. While my articulation is not of a supreme quality it is distinct and unique to me.

SWA "Responding" by Straub

In Richard Straub’s article, “Responding—Really Responding—to Other Student’s Writing,” he talks about how readers need to read and respond to an essay so that the writer can learn from and revise his or her essay. There needs to be a median for the reader. They must find a balance of criticism and neglecting the essay so that both the writer can benefit from the readers responses to better his or her essay. While the reader will provide constructive criticism, the reader must also give encouragement so that the writer can have the confidence to push themselves beyond their comfort level of writing. It is important that before the reader begins reading and analyzing a paper they must know what type of writing assignment has been assigned, the writers intended message, and how far along the drafting process the writer is in. The stage that the writer is in will reflect the style of feedback given. In the early stages of a paper the reader will look for a broader understanding of the paper itself but if the paper were to be in its near complete or latter stages then the reader will more likely look more for grammatical and punctuation errors. As a reader they must be aware of their status as a reader and not think too highly of themselves. For instance, the peers or equals of the writer shouldn’t be too hard on the writer but should rather be honest with the quality of the paper. For every part critiqued by the reader then the same amount of confident boosters or signs of encouragement should be given. Also the reader should be specific with their advice to truly allow the writer to make specific revisions for clarity.

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