Discussion & Reflection

Generally, my journals have been short and straight to the point, which is how I usually write. I do not see any change in my writing style, and the only difference I can see between my journals and my essays is the level of formality. My journals are less formal but are still structured similarly. Most of them are two paragraphs, unless the prompt covers multiple topics. My summaries have also been concise, but rather jumbled and unorganized.

I like my writing style, but it is difficult to write extended entries. The entry I like the most is the one about the American Dream in Bread Givers. It is the most structured journal with three paragraphs for each person mentioned. Each paragraph has a topic sentence and presents evidence to support the weak thesis.

Personally, I like note taking for more factual information like dates and events. Journal prompts focus the reading on a specific aspect for a more guided reading, which is good, but can be limiting. When given the prompts, one may only focus on answering the question instead of paying attention to the bigger picture of the whole chapter or book assigned. I like that journals add a more analytical take on readings, which helps in discussion.

Writing journal entries has been a lot like the way it is described in the syllabus: sometimes it is a pain to get through, and other times it is a great way to flush out my ideas into writing after reading an essay or watching a movie. I have the hardest time on the summaries. I feel like they always take me way longer than they should. I think that I should try to take more notes about the reading as I read so I don’t have to go back and read too much of the lengthy text, but even after note taking I could do a better job of deciding what to include in the summary and what to leave out. I generally end up including way too much in my summaries and I would like to try to edit my ideas more as I read and after I read so that I only include what’s really necessary.

On the other hand, I usually enjoy the regular journal entries. They allow me to think critically and a bit more analytically than I usually would about the text that I read or the movie that I watch. However, I think that I could probably do a better job of analyzing the text or movie that I have to write about. To do this, I think that I should read over the question or questions before reading or watching so that I have an idea in mind of what to look for as I read or watch.

In comparison to note taking, journaling is a bit more fun and free. I don’t feel so pressured to discuss everything or take note of everything. And I’m usually still able to remember the overall meaning and summary of the text or movie because the journal entry requires me to think critically about important parts of the text or movie.

Journal for Mon 4/4

-Read over entries thus far and reflect on the entries themselves and on process of reading/writing journals.

• What do you like/ dislike about your own entries?
• Compare journaling to note-taking.
• Do you like the writing journal? Dislike? Why

Reading over my journal entries, I noticed some patterns and growth. I like the way I use language and vocabulary to express my meaning. In addition, I am able to toe the line between formality and informality: I answer the questions but can also go off on my own tangent asking my own questions. After journaling every week, I can see that I have gotten better at creating a “flow” when I’m writing these journals, and I can now transition more cohesively from thought to thought. One thing I dislike about my own writing is sometimes it appears stiff, and journals are supposed to be fluid and not strict in its syntax and structure.

As for the journals themselves, my favorite ones are the ones where we answer questions about a text. I loved writing about BreadGivers and The Arrival because I truly enjoy analyzing texts and finding new meanings.

Journaling is a little bit like note-taking. Both of them require the writing down of thoughts and ideas inspired by the class, or a text. However, note-taking is for recording important information that one needs to remember, as well as storing questions and thoughts to answer and reflect on at a later time. Journaling, on the other hand, is where you get to expand on those thoughts and questions. It is simply the communication of ideas about something.

I like the writing journal. It allows me space to creatively express my thoughts about the things we learn in the class. By doing the journals, we record some of the most important details and are free to explore tangents of ideas and get deeper into the texts.

 

Henry Burby

MHC 10201

4/4/16

I have never been any kind of reliable or structured diarist. In addition to giving future biographers something to use for voiceover montages in their documentaries, (Heh) keeping a journal in this class has showed me some benefits of journaling, which I had never really been aware of before.

For a start, it forces us to self refine and reflect on our ideas. Whenever I consume a form of media, I naturally form ideas about it. Watching the godfather two would have stimulated my thoughts, whether it was assigned or not. However, by being forced to develop those ideas, they reach a higher level. Not only are they condensed into a form which is easier to share with others, but I get a better idea of what I personally believe on the subject. Being forced to consider a small aspect of a paper, book, or film has also shown me that first, there is enough material in any section of work to write a paper about, and second, that I am actually capable of finding it. This was especially effective when I was assigned a specific topic, rather then choosing my own. Putting me in a box, and forcing me to turn out an imperfect discussion of a topic has made me grow as a writer, and a thinker.

Another element was simply procedural, again, being forced to write a short, fairly unrefined piece every week. When I first learned that I would be doing this, I was slightly intimidated by the prospect. However, early on, my workload was so light that I could afford to spend far more then the suggested time of 30 to 60 minutes per entry. I spent a large section of a day on the Gangs of New York essay. However, soon my ability to spent all the time I wanted was lost in a tide of other, more high stakes work. I never thought I would be able to turn out anything half decent in so short a time, but I am beginning to develop that skill (I hope. I suppose it is for the reader to judge…).

My favorite assignments were the film analysis papers. I have recently become very interested in film reviewers and analyzers, in various forms (The video on Shot/Reverse shot is from every frame a painting, one of my favorite Youtube channels.). however, if I had not been assigned to actually do what they do, and dig a little deeper into film techniques, I would probably never have tried to do so. Now that I have, I am considering taking a film class, or at least analyzing more in the future.

The assignments I enjoyed the least were defiantly the summaries, which I found far more challenging then I anticipated that I would. Simply reproducing a condensed version of someone else’s’ writing presented no opportunity for creativity. Trying to decide which facts and details to leave out, simply to fit into a page limit annoyed me, because I think that the details are the most important thing about history, and the most interesting. I know that a total inclusion of all details related to an event is impossible and excessive, but cutting history down to “This thing happened on this day” misses the point somewhat. That said, this feeling may have come from the fact that I am still not very skilled at summarizing. There, are no doubt, people who can leave just the right details, and allow the piece to be interesting. However, currently I need a very long time to properly process the information, and figure out how to present it, and until I am able to really increase my productivity speed, I will probably continue to dislike summarizing.

I would say that my experience with journaling in this class has been mostly positive. Whether I could do it daily is doubtful, but even weekly journaling, about assigned subjects, has helped me in many areas, and I value the experience.

Writing a journal entry every week has been a new experience. This seminar is the first class in which I’ve written at a consistent rate, and looking back at my entries, I’ve realized certain patterns in my journals. Rereading my own writing was a bit painful, but it has allowed me to reflect on my writing process, improvement, and style. I’ve noticed that I use quotes less often and summarize instead, which has improved the overall quality and flow of my writing. My thoughts still tend to be a little scattered, though maintaining some form of structure relevant to the question posed. My journal entry paragraphs start out with a topic sentence, followed by details from the text, which is impacted by the note-taking I do while reading.

Note-taking is extremely useful to me. The act of physically writing something down helps me better understand what I am reading and how I interpret it. When assigned our readings, I usually fill up 3-4 pages full of notes, which I read over later and use to help me write my journal entry. Note-taking and journaling are very different but both aide in my understanding of whatever text I am reading. While note-taking can seemingly draw out and I find myself writing too many notes, length is not an issue when journaling. My completed journal entry is a compilation of my most important notes, and I can usually find a clear start and end point in my opinion piece or informative summary. I enjoy doing both note-taking and journaling, but journaling can be more time consuming because I am conscious that others may read it and that these entries will eventually be graded. For this reason, journaling somewhat feels like a less organic way of writing simply because I am not fully used to it, and because I am probably overthinking it a little. Like how I have developed techniques for note-taking, I know I will continue to improve on my journaling and I am excited to see how my style changes by the end of this semester.

I’ve never been much of a “free-writer” and the truth is, I’m still not. I find it difficult to let my thoughts flow and then arrange those thoughts in a smooth and concise manner. When I note all my thoughts and all the potential ways my writing can go, I find it hard to pick just one and get rid of the rest. That’s why I always try to pick a direction I want my writing to go and then to come up with the ideas afterward. It’s sort of like making the mold and then pouring the mix. I’m not sure if this process is effective and haven’t even thought about it, until now.

After reading my blogs, I see that I have different patterns for different types of writing. My prompt pieces follow a short formal essay structure. It introduces, develops and then concludes on an idea. My summary pieces are more random and are ordered according to the text being summarized. These pieces lack my voice and passive writing style. My film response pieces are sort of formal but are much more descriptive and analytical than my other pieces. They also include images from the film. All of my pieces stick to the third person (with the exception of this one). I find that these patterns help with flow and organization.

Out of all of my pieces, the summary pieces are my least favorite. Not only are they longer than the others, they allow the least freedom. Although I generally dislike writing the summary pieces, they are beneficial in helping me find information because they are a simplified and more concise version of the original text. I also didn’t really like my blog on “Bread Givers.” The reason for this is that I wanted to write about the author’s simple language and how it is sort of imagist. Maybe I should’ve chosen a different prompt so that I could’ve incorporated that thought.

My favorite pieces are my film pieces on Gangs of New York and Godfather:Part II. These pieces were descriptive and analytical. They also show my growth as a film watcher. They share my new-found knowledge about film techniques and symbolism. Looking back, maybe I could’ve let my thoughts flow more freely for pieces besides my film ones. This would’ve made my other blogs more personal, enlightening and creative.

After looking at my blogs, I realize that I could’ve gone a different direction, and I actually wish I had gone a different direction, for some pieces. Still, as I see them now, I am proud. I always feel like my blogs are terrible as soon as I submit them but for some reason, I am proud of them now. They are concise and to the point, yet deep and thought invoking. I think that my blogs developed to that level because of my note-taking.
I think of note-taking as a step toward writing about a piece. Whereas note-taking records the explicit details of a work, journaling provides a platform for analyzing and presenting the implicit meanings. Journaling is more effective at allowing you to take ideas, add your thoughts and make them your own. In other words, journaling is the big picture that you put together after gathering the little pieces using note-taking. The process of note-taking also tends to be much more tedious. In the end, note-taking, especially for longer texts, helps me successfully decide which direction to take my blogs.

When I look back at the journal entries I have done thus far, I reflect on the writing process I went through for each of them. They each required different forms, styles, and diction. One thing I kept throughout was my voice, however, between summarizing and using my opinion, it is hard to see where my voice comes to light. I like the fact that I conveyed the ideas that I wanted to get across. When I would read the prompt, I would focus in on one specific point and then elaborate. However, the downside to this is how I worded some of my sentencing. I felt not only could I have been more informal, but the choice of words I used could be misinterpreted sometimes. This may make it difficult to understand wholly what I am trying to say sometimes.

The main difference between journaling and note-taking is that journaling requires more internal thought while note-taking usually follows ideas that are voiced in class or created during the reading/watching of a piece. They both are structural and both seek to build on a topic within a writing or media work.

I enjoy creating these journal entries, however, I wish there was more of a clear understanding of how much I should write. Although I reflected mostly on my own entries, I couldn’t help but to compare them to that of others. I find that I write less content than others do. It makes me question whether or not I am doing enough or not enough at all. Otherwise, I am very pleased with the work I have put out and look forward to doing more.

Over the course of the semester, my process of writing journal entries has become a type of ritual. I will sit down at my desk with my notebook open, the book (or film or document) we are discussing on my desk, and my laptop showing a word document with the week’s prompt typed on it. Then after thinking about the prompt for the entry, while I read or watch the subject assigned I will jot down some notes, highlight quotes, write down my reactions, and include any thoughts I have that might help me answer the prompt in my notebook. It is not until after the chapter/book is read or the film is watched that I will begin to write my journal entry. While I understand that they are different, I tend to look at journal entries as little essay- responses or extremely polished notes. This might be because I’ve had little experience writing journal entries for class except in my AP Literature class where we would post our essay assignments on a class webpage.

I believe that note taking is similar to the foundation for a journal entry. When you write a journal entry you need to be clear, organized, and know what you want to say. Notes provide the basis for your thoughts without having the added requirement of staying centered around one topic. Notes can include all of the ideas and things that you think of, not just what you will use to answer your prompt like a journal would. This freedom, I’ve found, helps you eventually center on a claim because you can look back at all of your ideas and see if there is any overlap, relation, or similarity. I’ve noticed that when I’m watching a film, my notes will focus on my reactions, filming techniques, and the things that I find particularly poignant at the time. Sometimes my film notes will include the time or scene at which something occurs. When I’m summarizing, my notes will often look like a brief outline of the chapter, similar to a table of contents. If I’m reading a book/novel, my notes will be jotted down on sticky notes or pieces of paper that I can slip into the pages.

While I feel that note taking itself is an action that has benefits, I believe writing a journal entry magnifies those benefits. Writing a journal entry forces us to really understand the content of the media were focusing on. You cannot write a journal entry based off of something that you skimmed… you really need to know the material that you discussing. Although journal entries are more work, I’m glad we are doing them. Looking back on my entries, I’ve noticed that I’m discussing and analyzing techniques (whether they be artistic, literary, or film) and aspects that I most likely wouldn’t have noticed had I been just asked to watch the movie or read the book. I find myself questioning authors’ intentions more, rather than just accepting them as fact and moving on. For example, when writing about The Arrival, I hypothesize on Tan’s reasoning for weathering the pages instead of just noting that he did so. Journal entries don’t only force one to understand the topic, they also make one look for deeper meanings.

The process of writing will always be tough regardless of whether I am free-writing or writing an essay. However, writing, especially journaling, is crucial to becoming a better writer but also a better thinker. Journaling allows me to write out my thoughts towards anything without worrying about punctuation or flow. They are my words but without an enforced structure.

My last reading intensive English class was AP English Literature and Composition. Surviving that class itself was a journey since there was a large workload and our class discussions were one-dimensional. I also noticed that the same people would participate, causing the discussion to always steer in one direction, and when someone tried to mention something else, that person was ignored. As soon as I became aware of this, I stopped participated and enjoying the class. The reason I disliked that class was because of how limited we were in our views and opinions, which could have easily been solved if we were asked to share some of our opinions through journaling.

This mindset of not enjoying English classes continued along as I went to college. However, the second MHC seminar changed my view of English classes due to journaling. Yes, writing them is a pain and can sometimes take more time than I would like, but I enjoy elaborating about aspects of a reading we might not have discussed in class. I also enjoy being able to sometimes incorporate parts of my journals when I participate in class discussions.

I also enjoy journaling because I can fully explain my idea without worrying about whether I am taking up too much class time or whether I am elaborating enough. Sometimes, I refrain from participating in class because I do not like when everyone fixates their eyes on me when I want to say something. Due to this, I occasionally question why I participated and try to draw back to my bubble. Fortunately, when I journal, I never truly have to worry about how people react physically to my words. I do not have a person glancing at me as I write. Instead, I feel free because I can look more thoroughly at what I read and pick out what I saw that others may have missed.

Overall, journaling is tedious, tough, and time-consuming. Aside from those setbacks, it is incredibly rewarding; not only can I describe my perspective, but I can also see how my thoughts change towards each piece. Here, I can write independently with no worries and no interruptions.

Writing journals is an extremely different process than note-taking, in many ways. Note-taking is simpler in that it requires less thinking. While not-taking, you write things just the way they are. They are often short sentences written to trigger memories when they are re-read. On the other hand, journaling requires more thinking, analyzing, and processing different types of information. A journal can introduce an opinion, argument, detailed analysis, questioning, and so much more. I feel that when one writes a journal, one is required to think deeply about a certain thing and express their own feelings or their own interpretations about the data. Therefore, I think note-taking and journaling require completely different processes to achieve completely different outcomes.

The journal entries that are done for this class are never quite the same. Every assignment has a different prompt relating to the reading/film. The only journals that are similar are the summaries and these actually remind me the most of note-taking. However, note-taking is less crafted and organized than an informative summary. Other journal entries (non-summaries) usually require us to analyze a certain scene, certain relationships in a reading, or camera techniques in a film. These prompts usually require one to go back to the reading/movie to recall what happened. The journals often make me see something clearer than I had seen the first time around. When rewetting a movie scene, there is more clarity and awareness of what is going on and this enables the viewer to deeply scrutinize something. The same thing goes for re-reading a scene in a novel/article.

Journals, for me, are a great way to express myself. The thing I like most about my journals is the way I am able to express my opinion on a certain topic. The one thing I do not like about my journaling is that I often put too much thought into it that I feel it becomes too formal for journal writing. I feel that journals should just flow more naturally but this does not make writing them less enjoyable.