I scaled the steps up the R building and headed toward my classroom on Monday, September 19th. I was a little early so I sat outside room R306 and mentally prepared myself for 2 daydream-tastic hours of English class. My previous English class had been taken online in an effort to evade the lectures on how to write a paper. I already knew how to write a paper. Give me a topic and a word requirement, and I will give you a paper. But when looking through class options, English 271 with David Kopp is what fit my schedule. So I decided to bite the bullet and take an on-campus English course. I walked into the classroom and snagged a seat in the front row-my territory. I waited for class to start, my eyes peeled for whoever was going to be teaching me until December.
Eventually a man with a name tag reading "David Kopp" walked in. He looked like a nice guy and I was already prepared to like him-he hadn't assigned a text book. He introduced himself and asked for our names. He confirmed that there was no textbook-yay!- and then told us our topic for the quarter. The online writing genre. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Blogs- we were going to write about all of these. I cringed a little internally. Anti-technology, hippie, and hater--in short--a Luddite, are words frequently used by my friends to describe my opinion of the Internet and social networking sites in particular. I wasn't sure I could sit through a class centered around social networking.
We spent the remainder of the class talking about Facebook as a class as well as in groups. It was nearly 2:40 and Mr. Kopp assigned our homework. We were supposed to review our Facebook accounts or Google ourselves. My first thought was "You've got to be kidding me. The homework for a college class is to go on Facebook?! If there is anywhere I can go and not have to hear about that stupid website, shouldn't it be the classroom?" With these and other negative thoughts in mind I walked up to the teacher expecting him to tell me what I already thought-this isn't the class for me. He surprised me though. He said if he didn't have a student with the anti-social networking voice, he would be that voice. With me in the class he would choose a different voice. He wanted every voice to be present, every stone to be over turned, to help his students open their minds and think critically. So there was a place for me in David Kopp's English 271 class after all, and I'm glad there was. Participating in that class allowed me to fully complete the learning outcomes prepared for me.
Identify implicitly and/or explicitly one's intentions as a writer: I met this learning outcome by writing the "Critical Review Questions for Expository Writing" and by tearing apart previously written essays in class. Writing the critical review questions forced you to think critically. Why am I writing this? What is my purpose? Would it be more effective to have an implicit or explicit thesis for this piece of writing? Reading and critiquing other essays built upon this even further. Discussing as a class strengths and weaknesses of writing allowed me to apply them to my own work. Most importantly, I learned to pay keen attention to the context of my writing. To not type up a bunch of trite nonsense just to fill a word requirement, but to really focus on my intention as a writer.
Define implicitly and /or explicitly the audience for a particular piece of writing: This learning outcome was met by in class discussions as well as writing the Wikipedia Article. There were a few things to take in to consideration when writing my first post. Firstly, although the majority of people that were going to read it were in my class, my blog was public so any one could read it. I wanted my audience of strangers and classmates to understand why I was writing what I was writing. I wanted them to understand that I was presenting information about the Empire State building in an expository/wikipedia-esque style. Through my writing I wanted them to know that I was writing with an intended audience, that I had purpose in my writing, and that I was taking their needs into consideration. Writing the Process Analysis Essay especially helped me with this objective. To write as though the audience does not all understand the topic. Writing about the accounting cycle made me fully aware of their concerns.
Apply appropriate style, tone, and format to the writer's purpose and audience: I achieved this learning outcome by listening to Mr. Kopp's lectures and through in class small groups. Some of our assignments were supposed to be expository, but some were not. By hearing the teacher's explanation of how we should go about adding tone to our writing helped me to apply it in my coursework. When pondering my purpose for writing and who my audience was going to be, I learned to employ the correct style and tone for a college paper. Occasionally we were even given the opportunity to share a paper we had written with a small group in the class. We got together, read each other's essays, and critiqued. Having a portion of my audience read a rough draft of my paper helped guide me to the correct way of formatting the paper. It helped remind me to be specific and to keep my purpose in mind, for my audience may not be as educated on a certain topic. Therefore, having my papers reviewed before a final draft was posted taught me to keep my audience's requirements in mind.
Use rhetorical formats conventional to expository writing: Rewriting the news helped me master the ability to write in an expository form. In writing my essay "Selling Pianos in a Recession," I not only wrote in an expository form, but I took a piece of expository writing and warped it into a more effective piece of writing. What also helped me reach this learning outcome was the essay I wrote on Integrating Voice in Expository Writing. Writing this essay helped me because in order to fully understand what something is, you must understand what it is not. Expository writing does not have voice in it. It is hard to write a non-biased paper, so the capacity to write in an expository form is quite the accomplishment. It is an accomplishment that I am proud of.
Demonstrate objectivity toward one's own writing: What I believe assisted me the most in achieving this learning outcome was the small group critiques. I took a step back and objectively read my papers. By doing so, I was able to put myself in my audience's shoes; understanding what I needed to add to my writing to supplement it, and perhaps some sentences that I needed to take away. Also, by reading other student's papers and the essays Mr. Kopp brought in to class, I was able to vicariously understand how to be unbiased towards my own writings by ignoring my personal opinions while reading theirs. Being able to be objective helped while I was revising my Extended Definition Essay. It wasn't quite expository at first, but with objectivity and some help from Mr. Kopp, I wrote in an expository form.
Demonstrate practical uses/applications for expository writing beyond the college classroom: When I graduate from Northern Arizona University, I plan to become a Certified Public Accountant. In accounting, there are many circumstances in which a CPA must write, and those writings must often be in an expository form. This is why I chose to take Expository Writing as my second English requirement. This class has taught me to understand what expository writing is, and what it is not. I have been taught to explore every option, provide a purpose for every sentence I write, to face obstacles head on, and to think progressively. Writing is necessary regardless of what career is chosen, but to write well is a skill. I was provided with an effective teacher, who in turn provided an effective atmosphere to learn. He was passionate about what he taught, and that passion was truly infectious. I am grateful for the skills I learned in English 271; objectivity, practicality, and purpose. Most importantly, I am grateful for the furthering of my capacity to think critically. 