Marusak Journal Entries

Iveta Marusak Course Journal

Journal Entry One: Me a Writer?

I guess everyone is required to take at least one composition course, so it doesn't bother me to have to take this class. In some ways I am actually excited about taking the class. I am not a great writer, and I hope that this class will give me some tools that will make me more successful in other college classes that require writing. I know that most classes have at least some writing. Also, I think since I have a good attitude about the course, I will be able to write well during it.

I learned that I could get better when it comes to writing different kinds of essays. There is also a lot about writing that I don't know, and this course will help me. One of the ways that the course can help me is that I can learn to write what I think better. It seems hard to put what you think on paper. Also, I am a terrible speller and do not have a very good vocabulary. Maybe this course will help with this also.

Journal Entry Two: Brainstorming and Thesis

Brainstorming List of the impact computers have had on my life.

1. They make it easier to write because I am a bad speller.

2. I do not like to use paper and pencil because it takes too much time.

3. I have a computer in my car which helps it run better.

4. I can go on Facebook because there are computers.

5. I can take some classes online which gets my course work done faster.

6. Having a laptop means that I can go anywhere and have a computer.

7. I am able to have all of the music I want.

8. I can use email or tweet to talk to anyone.

9. I can make free phone calls from the internet.

10. It is easier to complete assignments because of the computer.

11. It seems to cause people to be lazier than they used to be.

12. It sometimes messes up and then can cause a lot of problems.

14. It makes it so everyone can have a whole bunch of TV channels.

15. Gaming is good and bad. Fun, but it makes a lot of people zone out.

Thesis: The computer has made it easier to communicate and work, but it does have its downside too.

Journal Entry Three: Brainstorming and Organization

I would probably focus more on the positive aspects of the computer than the negative ones because it seems that computers are more positive overall than negative. To develop the thesis, I would talk about my eighth and ninth entries (communication), the sixth entry (about mobility with a laptop), and then I would talk about how computer glitches can have widespread negative effects.

Outline

I. Introduction and thesis.

II. Communication.

III. Work Applications

IV. Computer Glitches

V. Conclusion.

Journal Entry Four: Revising

Purpose and Audience: The main audience for the paper is anyone young person who has a grandparent. It is meant to help the person slow down and realize that everyone is not computer savvy. The purpose of the essay is to help these grandchildren with ways that they can actually communicate with their grandparent that will have more meaning to them. Several times it talks about the smell and feel. This shows the reader that some people, especially those that do not use a computer, would like to get a letter than an email.

Thesis Statement, Topic Sentences and Paragraphs: It seems that the thesis statement for this essay is the first sentence "Instead of using emails, mail a letter to your grandparents." From this statement, the writer goes in to build the entire essay. This statement is also the first topic sentence and it describes the paragraph about writing instead of sending electronic mail. The second topic sentence is much like the first and does not seem to go with the following paragraph as well as the first one. The last paragraph starts with "The convenience and efficiency of computers can't be matched by regular postal service," which helps conclude the essay.

Evidence: The author talks about what an email is, and that it is impersonal. A letter is tactile, and it is easier for someone to be reminded of the person who wrote it. The author also talks about the fact that computers have only been around for a short period of time. This means that some people are not used to emails, but they have gotten used to receiving...

Another piece of evidence is that a letter is permanent, while an email is not.
Organization: The essay is organized in three different parts. First, it talks about why grandparents may enjoy letters more than emails. The second paragraph talks about how letters are more real than emails. The third paragraph wraps the whole thing up. The essay has the same thread throughout the article about sending letters instead of letters.

Journal Entry Five: Public Space

Part One: As far as changing the way I act to satisfy someone else, I thought about having a job. It seems like especially in a job where you have to deal with the public a person is going to have adjust their way of doing things. If a person works in a fast food place, then they have to be able to put the other person's interests ahead of their own. This means that if the customer is belligerent, then the worker will have to try and calm them down. Even if that is not what the worker would normally do.

Another time that public space may be altered is when an adult is around children. The child may be more selfish than the adult and not willing to alter their way of doing things. Also, the adult has enough experience that they are better able to alter the way that they do things. A child may also make demands that are against what an adult may normally do, but they alter that to please the child. It seems that there are a lot of situations like this.

Part Two: If a person is a poor speller, or does not pay attention to grammar, they make it harder to read what they have written. The reader is expecting something smooth. So, if the writer makes it to where they have to start and stop a lot, it can make it difficult for the reader. Bad grammar just sounds bad to the ear, so a reader will probably not understand what they are saying. Bad spelling may make it hard for the reader to understand the word that is being written.

Journal Entry Six: Narration

Scene: Going through my finals last year caused me to have stress about the tests themselves, and to worry about the grades I was going to make. Also, I was pressured by my friends to spend time with them instead if studying.

Key Actions: I realized that if I was going to make college work, I was going to have buckle down and study. I had to ignore my friends, which was not a popular decision sometimes, and it was hard for me to do.

Key Participants: Mostly the friends that I have.

Key Lines of Dialogue: I can't remember anything specifically, but most of the conversations were about going to a club or a restaurant. I was not able most of the time.

Feelings: I felt like my friends were not supporting me which made the experience even harder.

Journal Entry Seven: Description

Sensory Details: I am going to use the situation that I used in the last journal entry for this one also. In my mind's eye I could see what my friends were doing, and I could see the pages in front of me. The smell of the library was stale, but the smell of a restaurant is pleasing. When I was studying, I could hear all of the sights and sounds around me and they were distracting, but if I had went with my friends all of the sounds would have enhanced the experience. At a restaurant you can enjoy the taste of food with friends, but stale pizza while studying does not taste good. Finally, I could touch the books and the papers, and they were cold; the main touch when I am with friends is them. A friend feels better than a book.

Comparison: Flipping pages in a book when your friends a partying without you is like standing in line at the DMV.

Evaluation: The easiest one to write about was sight. I guess that is because I use it more often than all of the other senses. It just seems that people are adjusted to sight better than all of the other senses. The hardest for this exercise was taste. It was difficult to equate taste to having difficulty with finals studying.

Journal Entry Eight: Illustration

List

1. Tired

2. Frustration

3. Anger

4. Peace

5. Overwhelmed

6. Distraught

7. Uncomplaining

8. Help

9. Irritated

10. Grateful

Some of the words that I used could be morphed into one. I thought about specific situations when I was going through difficulties because of the balancing act and that led to some of the…