Smoke Signals.....

The movie Smoke Signal was a very good film. The two main characters in the film Victor and Thomas had a interesting relationship. At first I thought that Victor was very mean to Thomas. As I watched the film more I realized that Victor was kind of a nerdy type of guy and I think that is why he was so harsh towards Thomas. Thomas really looked up to and admired Victor’s dad especially since he saved his life. Also Thomas had never really seen the other side of Arnold like Victor had lived with. Once Thomas saw the other side of Arnold, he and Victor were able to connect in a way that they never were able to .
Victor was very jealous of the relationship that Thomas had with his father. This jealousy was very straining and hard on their relationship all through their childhood. The one thing that helped them rekindle their relationship was the trip to Phoenix, Arizona. They realized that although they were very different in their beliefs that their friendship was worth savoring. Victor was a very traditional person who lived the way a “real” Indian should live. On the other hand Thomas just lived to live and never really slowed down to think about it too much.
This was an interesting movie. I had a little bit of a hard time following everything that was going on. I did learn a good lesson though. You sometimes don’t know what you really have until it is gone. Don’t take your loved ones or friendships for granted. Here today and gone tomorrow.

Rules for Writers Chapter 48.....

Chapter 48 in Rules for Writers is about evaluating arguments and how to distinguish between them and emotional appeals. The first thing when evaluating an argument is to be able to tell the difference between reasonable and fallacious tactics. Fallacious tactics are used to be misguiding and/or dishonest. Secondly, you need to do some inductive reasoning by drawing a conclusion from numerous facts. Next is evaluating the conclusion is very important. In order for a conclusion to successful it must be based on factual information that is relevant to the topic. A conclusion that is based on irrelevant and false information is known as a hasty generalization. Drawing an analogy is a way to use two opposing pieces of information that are so different, but are both relevant to making a point. Lastly, it is always a good idea to be able to distinguish between unfair and fair emotional appeals.
This chapter was very informative about evaluating arguments. I have to say that I haven’t had much experience with argumentative writing, but this information will be very helpful when the time comes. I probably wouldn’t have been able to distinguish between an emotional appeal or a legitimate argument without reading this chapter. I intend on applying all these learned skills when I am evaluating an argument. I really enjoyed reading this chapter

"Happy Endings, "Obituary," and "Oompah Loompah" Dialogue

While reading this story I couldn't help but notice how cranky and mean Mr.Harvey was. He was very harsh towards his students and insulted them. He would tell his students that they were no good and couldn't speak right. I don't know if this was just a bad case of tough love or what. I think that he was so hard on his students because of his childhood and how it was a battle for him to get to where he is now.
I can strongly relate to this type of behavior. My fiance's father treats him so bad. He takes out on him the fact that he never got a childhood. He insults my fiance about spending money on fun trips for our family and for doing fun things. He always says, "Why go out and waste your money and time on playing around with your family, when you should be working and saving your money. Family is nothing but a burden and a huge price tag." This just breaks my heart to hear him say these types of things. I know that he is just looking out for our best interest, but doesn't know how to verbalize that in a decent manor.
This was an interesting story to read. I would have to say that I think that Mr.Harvey has the children's best interest at heart, but struggles with channeling those concerns in a constructive fashion. Giving advice and constructive critisism would go a lot farther with his students then degrating them.

Rules for Writers chapter 47......

Rules for Writers chapter 47 talked about how to construct a reasonable argument. While trying to construct your argument you need to keep in mind that the goal is not just to win, but to show your passionate side about a specific topic. In your arguments about the topic you need to explain what your understanding is about the topic and share you knowledge about the topic as well. Making sure that you fully understand the social and intellectual issues and contexts of the subject is very important to show your competency to your readers, not putting yourself at any disadvantage. In the beginning of your argument you need to establish your stance on the topic and also establishing your credibility on the topic is extremely important. Lastly, gathering supportive evidence to support your argument is the key to developing a legitimate and successful argument.
I really learned a lot from reading this chapter. I never really looked at constructing an argument just for the sake of proving a point, and not to win or have the last word. I always perceived an argument to be just for argument sake, not to present your case to numerous people as if they were like a jury. I intend on using the tips that I have learned in this chapter to help me better my skills at argumentative topics.

Essay #2 rough draft....

While reading the story "Shooting Dad", I realized that this story was similar to my father and sister's relationship. My father and sister have never seen eye to eye when it comes to hunting or politics. Both my father and sister are very well educated people who are too hard headed for their own good. I was reminded of what living with the two of them was like when I was reading "Shooting Dad."

My father and I are both avid hunters. It is a passion that we share and love to do together. Now as for my sister she thinks we are terrible people who she refers to as murderers. She thinks that us killing the animals is so cruel and inhumane. My father and I have tried to explain to her that what we do is more humane than what they do to the slaughter house raised animals. We have asked her numerous times to accompany us on a hunt so she can see that there is so much more to it than just shooting and killing animals. Similar to Vowell in "Shooting Dad", my sister refuses to try to accept that one person's hobby isn't wrong just because she chooses not to participate in it herself. Oh my goodness, lets not even mention politics around the two of them.

I am not a political person at all, but my dad and sister are political enough for the three of us. My father and sister are not able to hold a conversation about politics without it turning into a huge argument. The two of them aren't able to be civil towards each other. They are so hard headed that they actually will become enemies and not talk for weeks following a political debate amongst the two of them. It is really heart breaking for me sometimes to see how much they argue over something so silly. I have realized over the years that they will never be able to have a conversation about politics without fighting, so my mom and I avoid the subject at all costs.

Now one thing that my sister and father do have in common is love for the arts. They are both very artistic individuals who love to share their passion for the arts with each other. I am glad that they have at least this in common. I watch them draw together and paint together and it is so amazing. They have spend endless nights studying and reading about artists and pieces of art. It makes me so happy to see that they can appreciate each other when it comes to art.

"Shooting Dad" is a perfect example of life being too short to build barriers between family members. My family is similar to Vowell and her father in the respect that they have had a hard time excepting each other for their differences throughout their lives, but in the end when it mattered the most to her dad she was able to put all her feelings aside and honor his last wish. I hope that one day my father and sister can let their guards down about politics and hunting and respect each others opinions on the subjects. I think it would be neat if they just saw the debates as a form of furthering their educations on other's opinions and not as a negative thing. They really should be praising each other on how well educated they each are instead of bashing each other down. Just like Vowell and her dad, I hope my dad and sister can let down their guards and learn to love one another for their differences.

Rules for Writers Chapter 4....

Chapter 4 in Rules for Writers is about writing effective paragraphs. The first part of developing your paragraphs is to establish your main points. Next is choosing a pattern of organization. While organizing you need to make sure that your paragraph lengths are appropriate. Paragraphs are a bunch of sentences clustered together that support your main idea.
To make your main point effective it needs to be stated in the topic sentence. You also need to make sure that you are contentious about sticking to your main points and not diverting from them. It is easy to get lost and sway from your main points. There are multiple ways to choose a suitable pattern of organization. A few examples are description, process, compare and contrast, illustrations, narration, analogy, cause and effect, classification and division, and definition. Any of these organization patterns can occur alone, in combination and many of times throughout your paper. Next you need to make sure that your paragraphs are clear and easy to read. The way to make sure that this happens is to maintain consistency and to have effective transition sentences that guide your reader from one idea to the next.
I have to say that this was a very informative chapter. I really found that I have learned how to better organize my paragraphs. I have always felt that I have been good at transition sentences, but my organization leaves a lot to be desired. I think that the direction that this chapter has given me will help improve my paper writing skills. I plan on using all the strategies I have read about in this chapter to become a better writer.

Shooting Dad....

The significance of the title, “Shooting Dad,” is a daughter honoring her father’s last wish. Sarah and her father never really were able to get along as they didn’t see eye to eye on politics or their hobbies. Sarah really enjoyed the arts while her father was a gunsmith. I had a similar situation in my household growing up.

My sister and father would hardly ever see eye to eye on anything. My sister saw my father and I as murders since we both love to hunt. My sister is also very anti guns and violence. My father owns numerous guns and feels as though war is sometimes necessary. My sister and father have argued countless times about politics. To this day I refuse to ask any questions about politics as I am afraid to stir up an argument. Living with my dad and sister was like living with Sarah and her father I am sure. I found it wonderful that Sarah was able to put all her own feelings aside and honor her fathers final wish.

Sarah’s father’s final wish was to have his ashes shot out of his home made cannon on opening day of hunting season. This was not the easiest thing for Sarah to do, but being it was to honor her father she was able to shoot the cannon. Sarah had also realized that her father and her were similar creatures which made it easier for her to shoot the cannon too. "Oh. My. God. My dad and I are the same person. We’re both smart-alecky loners with goofy projects and weird equipment.” This gave Sarah peace of mind knowing that her and her father were actually closer than she had ever realized.

This was a very powerful story. I really enjoyed reading about the differences between a father and his daughter that ended up not be all that different. As I stated before this reminded me so much of my dad and my sister. I just hope that they can realize their similarities opposed to only seeing one another for their differences. Life is too short to not appreciate each other for our differences.

Rule for Writers Chapter 3......

In Chapter 3 of Rules for Writers the main focus was global revisions. The important aspects of a successful revision are focus, purpose, content, organization and your strategy. Writing what you want to write and then stepping away from it for a while is important. After you have cleared your head and are ready to come back to read it, you have to come back as a member of the audience, not as the writer. This is an effective way to be able to evaluate the writing from another point of view. Next you need to revise your sentences for any grammatical errors and their effectiveness on your topic. Your last task is to proof read your paper. Effective proof reading is done out loud and slowly, checking for any errors that may still be left. Reading out loud helps you say and hear what you wrote opposed to what you thought you wrote.
I have never gone this in depth with my editing of my papers. I think that this will help me become a much better writer. I plan on applying these editing tools to my next paper. I have never felt confident in the papers I turn in, but I think that this will help my confidence in my papers. I found this Chapter to be very informative and I look forward to exercising these editing tools.

Coming Home Again

Coming Home Again, by Chang-rae Lee, was about the importance of the food preparation in a Korean family‘s life. This story was about a young boy who loved to spend time in the kitchen with his mother. Many of their memories were made in their kitchen. The little boy would rather spend time watching and helping his mother cook rather than going out and playing like children his age normally would. The food also helped the little boy and his mother reunite after he came back from boarding school. The two of them had a hard time communicating, so his mother would make him his favorite meal to help break the ice. Food was a way that this family shared and showed their love for each other.
The little boy was sent off to boarding school for about ten years before he came home for good. He decided to come to stay once he found out that his mother was very sick. His mother had Cancer. He decided to put all his years of observation in the kitchen to use and started cooking for his family. He had high hopes that his mother would like his cooking, but it was difficult since she wasn’t able to eat. Like many great chef’s, when his mother passed away all her recipes were gone too. Some of the greatest cooks only made mental notes of how to prepare their meals, they never made it to paper. The little boy decided to stay home for good and continue cooking for his family to honor his mother’s memory.
This was a touching story. I think that it is so sad that many traditions are nonexistent anymore these days. My mother and father would tell us stories of their big family meals and how breaking the bread with your close family and friends is all about. I was brought up in a similar setting. I hope that I can carry the tradition onto my family so they know what the best memories are really all about. I really enjoyed reading this story.

Chapter 2....

Reading chapter 2 I learned a few very important tools to help improve my writing skills. First tool that I learned was that there are a couple of important steps to starting a great paper. Having a strong thesis is one of the important steps and secondly to introduce your topic with a catchy statement or sentence. You want to grasp the readers attention and then following that sentence would be a supporting sentence to your thesis . You will then nee to draft the body of your essay. Drafting the body of the essay is basically the paragraphs that support and explain your thesis. At the end of your paper comes your conclusion. The conclusion wraps of what you have said in the body of your paper and ends it with your final thoughts.
I found that reading this chapter has helped me better understand the dynamics of building a strong paper. I plan to exercise what I have learned to help build a stronger paper in the future. I will focus on developing a strong thesis and attention grabbing sentence in my introduction. I also will use these tools to leave my readers with a sentence or question that will keep them thinking about my topic long after they have finished reading it.

Rough Draft Essay #1....

Hunting is a sport that many people participate in all around the world. Many avid hunters say that it isn’t a passion, but its an obsession. There are many types of game that people hunt and many different reasons why they hunt. As you can see in my image I love to hunt. My favorite game to hunt are turkeys. I hunt because I love the outdoors, enjoy spending time with both my father Paul and my fiancé Doug and lastly, I love to eat wild game.

I am going to share with you a very memorable hunt that sticks out in my mind. It was a cold, foggy March morning. The sun was not up yet when Doug and I arrived to our hunting spot. We got out very quietly and geared up to hike in. My gear was a little awkward to put on because I was eight months pregnant with my daughter Stella Rose. We loaded our guns ever so quietly so we would not disturb the turkeys in the nearby trees. Once we were all geared up we headed off into the woods to find a good place to set up.

Doug and I hiked in approximately one mile until we found the perfect spot. We cautiously crawled out into the dew filled meadow to set up our decoys. We were racing against the sun that was starting to peak over the mountain ranges in the distance. We were successful in getting our decoys set up without being spotted by the turkeys, so now we had to find cover to sit in. I remember I had to find something quite large to hind my massive belly behind. I found a huge oak tree to set up against. Doug also found a tree right next to me to sit against. We pulled down our face masks to blend in with the colors of nature and to hide our light skin tones. Now the hunt was on. We sat for about twenty-five to thirty minutes before the turkeys woke up and started to gobble. When you hear that first gobble your adrenaline starts pumping uncontrollably. Once I was able to calm down and regain my composure it was time to start calling to the turkeys.

I began calling to the turkeys with soft yelps. Soon after I called I had a male turkey respond to my call by gobbling to me. For those who don’t hunt a male turkey is called a tom and a female is called a hen. I was pretending to be a hen trying to attract a tom. I responded back to the tom a little louder so he knew I really wanted him. We kept calling back and forth to each other until he was fairly close. I looked up from my hiding spot to see if I was able to see where he was. I saw him making his way around a large boulder as he was headed down the hillside right towards our decoys. My adrenaline started pumping uncontrollably again. I knew it was time to start raising my shotgun into shooting position. Once I had my gun up it was just a matter of time until he was mine.

The tom continued down the hill puffing out into full strut. All his fathers were fanned out displaying his beauty to me, “the hen.” He strutted and gobbled around our decoys ever so masculine like for about ten minutes. He put on quite a show for Doug and I. Once he was in shooting range, at about thirty yards from where I was sitting, I aimed at his bright blue and red head. Once my sights were set on his head I let out a loud put, which in turkey language means danger. This makes the turkeys tuck their feathers back in and extend their heads out to look for danger. Once he extended his out, making a great target, bang he was down. I had shot him square in the head. I was so excited. Doug and I were then able to come out from cover at that point and walk to where my kill was laying waiting to be claimed. The tom was laying in a beautiful patch of wild lavender and yellow flowers. It was a beautiful sight to see those flowers covered in a nice shade of red. I know this sounds terrible, but it is a hunters humor.

Doug helped me pick up the tom and drape it over my shoulder. When you’re pregnant you aren’t supposed to carry anything heavy, but I wasn’t going to let anyone else pack out my kill. It is the best part of the hunt to get your back covered in blood from a fresh kill. Again a sick hunters thing! Once we made our way back to the pickup it was photo shoot time. Doug took many pictures of the turkey and I, but out of all of them the one I chose to post captured the same smile I had on my face once I knew I had killed the tom.

I have to say that this was one of my most memorable hunts since I had the two loves of my life with me. Nothing beats sitting out in nature watching and incredible sunrise, hearing all of nature waking up around you. For the few hours we spend out in the woods hunting and killing turkeys we feel like god. We hold the turkeys fate in our hands. I have enjoyed hunting since I was three years old walking along my dad’s side deer hunting. Hunting is the way that we put one hundred percent organic food on our table and spend time with the ones we love. I hope that you have enjoyed the story of the most memorable hunt I have ever had.

Rules for Writers Chapter 1

While reading chapter one I learned that writing a successful paper takes many steps and careful planning. Making sure that you are familiar with your topic and developing an outline are key components to writing successfully also. Outlining will help you divide your ideas up appropriately so your paper is well organized and flows. One of the tools they talked about in this chapter was annotating texts.


Annotating the text includes underlining, highlighting and taking notes. Once you have done all of these things than you should feel confident in developing your thesis. The thesis is what you plan on proving and convincing your readers to believe also. The thesis can always be revised once you get deeper into your writing of the paper, but having a launching point is important. Now onto the actual writing of your paper.

Taking into consideration who your audience will be is very important. Being creative in your writing is important and will help you be able to capture the attention of any audience. This is something that I know I really need to work on. I always write only to impress one audience member and that is my instructor. If I broaden my thoughts I may find that my writing skills will improve. I am going to take the things I have learned from this chapter and apply it to my next writing assignment.

The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me

d. How is education a means to save one’s life? How is Alexie attempting to save the life of the students he works with? How did Alexie save his own life?


 Alexie demostrated how important having an education can be, especially to children who grow up in poverty. Alexie grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in poverty. His father loved to read, therefore; Alexie began reading Superman comic books at age three. On the reservation that Alexie grew up on the children didn't really care about becoming educated as they were never expected to become anything great in their lifetime. As Alexie said many times in his story they were all just indian children expected to be stupid. Alexie beat all the odds and has grown up to become a great writer.

Alexie now spends time going around to the other reservations trying to teach young indian children about the importance of having an education. He explains to them how having an education saved his life. He was able to move from the poverty driven reservation and went on to become a great writer. By visiting the schools Alexie is helping the children become more interested in reading and writing. He is also talking to them about how there is more to life than being on the reservation forever. He has been a great inspiration to the childrren as well as he has inspired me to want to become better at reading and writing.

Rules for Writers Chapter 46.....

As I read chapter 46 in Rules for Writers, I learned how to write about different pieces of writings. The main steps that I learned to follow were, first take notes as I am reading the text, second compile a quick outline to help myself understand the main points and the thesis of the paper, third develop my own summary about the paper using my notes and my outline.




I found this assignment to be very helpful. I think that as a fairly new writer I will benefit greatly from following her instructions on how to construct a summaries on different papers. I think that the hardest part for me is analyzing what the author is trying to say. You can either understand them easily, or you can be completely off. This is going to be the most challenging part of writing summaries for me.

Freewriting Exercises.....

   I really thought that this was a neat reading exercise. I learned that freewriting is a tool used to help improve a writers ability to write what is on their mind without any input or interruptions. As we write we automatically start editing ourseleves as we go along, but freewrite was developed to eliminate that editing portion.
 There are people who think that freewriting is pointless and doesn't make any sense. I think that it is a neat way to help you become more confident in your writing skills. It seems as though you also would be less worried about judgement so the writer won't be so self concious about what they are putting down on paper.
 I don't think anything suprised me about the reading, but it all made sense as to why we react the way we do when we are under the pressure of a critic. Freewriting is a great way to help us express ourselves and not to worry about what other people think.