Reflective Dialogue
This I Believe: Writing Process
Sabatino: Can you describe the scene(s) where you wrote the This I Believe (TIB) essay. Be descriptive. Is this sustainable?
Ashley: It actually took me a lot of time to really decide on what I wanted to write my This I Believe Essay on. When I was at home, I did a little free write for most of my topics and chose the one I felt most connected too, I wanted one I felt the strongest about. I first started jotting notes down, where ever I was if there was something I noticed or remembered about that day. When it was time to get down to the nitty gritty, I knew my writing would be tragic, so I started by jotting down random sentences together in paragraph form on Word. When that was finished, I read through it and made the appropriate adjustments for my first draft. After my first draft was produced, I used methods and techniques taught in class to expand my writing and used them for my second draft which I wrote while sitting in my bedroom with country music coming through the headphones.
Sabatino: You wrote a blog post about six strategies to become a better writer. Have you used those strategies when blogging and writing the TIB essay? Please discuss which of these strategies helped you the most when you wrote your TIB essay?
Ashley: Yes, in my Do I Have What It Takes To Become A Better Writer? post I believe that I use most of those strategies to better improve my writing, especially through my This I Believe Essay but also through my blogging. I feel I use the first three (brainstorming, believing in my first shitty draft, and reread, delete, repeat) more than the last three (have someone look over your work, use the criticism and critique to your advantage and rewrite again, and publish your work) because I am still new to sharing my work and getting the opinions of others that I hesitate to ask my family or friends to take a look at my work, although I have started to come around to the idea of sharing my work and publishing my work on my website.
Sabatino: Describe your process for writing and revising the TIB essay (free-write, list, found poem, etc.). What helped you the most?
Ashley: I really enjoyed writing the lists. I wrote both the 10 Titles of My Life and 10 Things I Love and Hate. I think they really helped me to narrow down times in my life that have had a strong impact on my life or things that I truly do love and hate. I also highly enjoyed free-writing because it was very natural and comfortable but messy all at the same time.
Sabatino: How has the blog impacted your writing process?
Ashley: I think blogging has impacted my writing in a positive way. I used to keep a journal that I would write in, draw in, or even paste small little things in it, but I kind of just stopped one day and really haven't picked it back up. It's nice to have an outlet to write. Even though it isn't on a very personal level, it's still nice to see the progress of my work through the revisions and exercises between revisions.
Sabatino: Please share your thoughts about the revision techniques we've used in this course (peer review, show and tell, five senses, found poem, etc.)
Ashley: I honestly think that being able to sort my essay into a showing section and a telling section really helped me to break down my essay and give it a really good look through. I was able to see the contrasting I had going on in my essay and I feel that really helped me to put together a plan to revise for my draft 2. I also liked the found poem because it was an interested way to see the most important words throughout your essay into short sentences and phrases.
Sabatino: What specific revisions have you made to your TIB essay?
Ashley: I have added and deleted passages, sentences, and little things. Sure, those are the most common revisions made but I have also changed my surroundings when revising my essay. I thought that maybe a different genre of music will help me produce the right vibe I want to give off, or if I sit in my dining room I may be more productive and more focused versus being in my bedroom.
Sabatino: What is your plan for future revisions to your TIB essay?
Ashley: I'd really like to break it down even further and expand on not only what led up to my belief but also why my belief is very important to my heart and why I feel everyone deserves that chance.
Sabatino: We have used a farming metaphor to conceptualize a sustainable writing process. What metaphor would you use to illustrate your writing process thus far?
Ashley: I would compare my writing process to moving into a new house. It starts out with a plan of how to pack and a date to move. But once the packing gets started and boxes start moving from house to house, things get chaotic. Now once all of the boxes have been moved from one house to another, it's time to organize those boxes and put them in the right rooms. Once that is done, you must unpack them and find the right spot in that room to house that item. And it's not until the very last box is unpacked that you relieve yourself from that chaos. I think that relates a lot to my writing because it always starts out as a topic and a due date. Next comes the brainstorming and the jotting down. Next moving the ideas and thoughts you brainstormed into paragraphs. Once those paragraphs are formed, they are moved around and revised, added too and deleted from to get that perfect paragraph. And that's when you find the perfect places for that word or that quote and when it's all finished, you have a beautiful paper.
This I Believe: Writing Product
Sabatino: What is your belief statement (word-for-word)?
Ashley: My belief is that every person should have the blessing to experience the last words.
Sabatino: Do you think your belief statement grabs the audience’s attention? Why?
Ashley: Yes, because I think there are people that can relate to my experience and my thoughts and emotions because they share similar experiences with me.
Sabatino: What is your scene?
Ashley: My scene takes place on a warm spring day where I find out my mom-mom, who had passed 2 years previous, had written me a letter for when she was gone.
Sabatino: How does your scene illustrate your belief?
Ashley: My scene illustrates my belief because I first had experiences the last words.
Sabatino: What questions do you have for me about your TIB essay?
Ashley: Two questions I have: 1. What is an appropriate length for an essay of this topic? 2. How do we go about having our essays published once done with the finishing stages?
This I Wonder: Writing Process
Sabatino: Describe your process for writing and revising the This I Wonder (TIW) essay (free write, list, presentation, etc.). What helped you the most? What did you struggle with the most? What specific revisions have you made? Please include a discussion about assignment-related blog posts.
Ashley: For my This I Wonder Essay we presented our essays to the class and I really feel that helped me to see the problem sentences. This form of revision helped me to read my essay and see where words or sentences didn't quite make sense, or problem areas where I would trip over my words.
Sabatino: How has your process been similar to your This I Believe process? How has the process been different?
Ashley: My process differed in ways of where I wrote my essay. My This I Wonder Essay was mainly written in the library where I was able to concentrate all of my thoughts mainly on this topic.
Sabatino: In what ways have our course readings impacted the way you have written your TIW essay?
Ashley: I feel that our course readings didn't have much of an impact on my writing of my This I Wonder Essay because I feel that I couldn't relate to the readings with my situation.
Sabatino: What is your plan for future revisions to your TIW essay?
Ashley: I would like to continue to work on my writings and further revise them by reading aloud my essays and recording myself that way I can hear myself read them and can make additional notes as to what doesn't fit, or doesn't sound right throughout my essay.
This I Wonder: Writing Product
Sabatino: What is your understanding of showing and telling writing? How does your essay incorporate both?
Ashley: Showing and telling is taking your essay and deconstructing it into scenes where you are able to have your audience picture or imagine what you are trying to portray by showing and by having the audience understand your reasoning behind what you are showing through telling.
Sabatino: Can you describe (or copy and paste) your TIW opening scene? Why did you choose to open your essay with this scene?
Ashley: “10, 9, 8,” I heard Taylor start the countdown
"Am I really going to do this? Am I really about to jump?” I wondered as I stood 5 feet from the edge of a 60 foot cliff.
I chose to open with this statement because I felt that I could grab the readers attention without giving too much away about my essay off the bat.
Sabatino: What is the major decision you had to make in your TIW essay?
Ashley: The major decision I made in my This I Wonder Essay is the decision whether or not to jump from a 60 foot cliff.
Sabatino: Can you describe (or copy and paste) the scene where you put your decision into action?
Ashley: And as I heard the number four, my body took control and my mind went blank.'
“321” I heard Taylor scream them as fast as she could as I leaped and jumped off the edge.
The free fall was exhilarating. I couldn't scream, I couldn't breathe, I was just falling. And then you heard it, SMACK! During the free fall my legs had come out from under me and I had landed in the water as if I was going to sit down in a chair. As I pushed myself to the top, I could feel the pain in my legs, but that wasn't on my mind. I was so proud of myself, I did it, I jumped. I swam to the side of the quarry and when I climbed out of the water my legs instantly felt like Jell-O. Taylor had jumped in right after I did and was the first to see my legs.
Sabatino: Can you describe (or copy and paste) your "I wonder" moments in the essay? Which social systems influenced your decision?
Ashley: I took my shoes off and stepped back, my hands were shaking and my heart was beating faster than I have ever felt it beat before.
“10, 9, 8,” I heard Taylor start the countdown
“Am I really going to do this? Am I really about to jump? How could I have let those drunk idiots convince me to do this?” I wondered as I stood 5 feet from the edge of a 60 foot cliff.
“7, 6,”
My right foot stepped forward but my left foot didn't follow, I had frozen there. I was scared and petrified of what I was about to do.
“How could I have let those drunk idiots convince me to do this” I thought, but then I realized they didn't. I knew somewhere deep in my heart and my mind that I wanted to do this. I wasn't going to let fear stop me from doing this.
“5, 4,”
This I Argue: Writing Process
Sabatino: Please discuss your writing process, including generative techniques, research, and revision.
Ashley: The writing process for this essay was different, and personally not my favorite. I was not a fan of being told what to write about other than having the option to choose what to write like I was given with the first two. This essay was based off a hunger issue in America relating to a documentary we watched in class A Place at the Table.
Personal Website
Sabatino: Discuss your experiences with creating and maintaining a website for this course?
Ashley: I have had a great experience with my website. I love how independent it is and how you have many outlets to show your own creativity. It is a great tool to develop now because I think they will help in the future to have an online portfolio of my work to share with a future employer.
Sabatino: Do you think your site is organized and easy to navigate?
Ashley: Yes, I think my site is organized and also easy to navigate.
Sabatino: What type of identity have you constructed through your site?
Ashley: I want to construct an identity that informs people of the depth I can take my writing and that my writing comes from the soul, it's not a bunch of BS thrown together.
Personal Blog
Sabatino: What are your thoughts about creating and maintaining a blog? Is your blog organized and easy to navigate?
Ashley: At first, I was a little skeptical about blogging because I was not too familiar with it, but through our draft revisions and small exercises I have become comfortable with blogging and I think it has become much easier to navigate then when I first started!
Sabatino: What are your thoughts about blogging? Please consider the public, social network nature of a blog as well as your initial thoughts in the beginning of the semester as compared to now.
Ashley: At first, I was excited to share my thoughts with any and everyone in the world, but at this stage of my writing I feel there is more I can expand and improve on before I know that my writing is ready to be read by the world. I want to produce something good, and solid. Something that will keep my readers coming back to check my blog for new posts and I think that will take more time and experience and practice until I am there yet.
Questions for Final Conference
Sabatino: Parting comments? Questions for me?
Ashley: I would like to end this post with what grade I feel I deserve at the end of our time together. I do not feel that I deserve an A. I have not given A work and I have not put the effort into getting that A. But through my writing, I feel that I have earned a B. I feel I have earned this because I have taken the assignments with your expectations but also tried to make it my own. I wanted to make each of these assignments my own, because what is writing if it doesn't mean something to you in the end?
Sabatino: Can you describe the scene(s) where you wrote the This I Believe (TIB) essay. Be descriptive. Is this sustainable?
Ashley: It actually took me a lot of time to really decide on what I wanted to write my This I Believe Essay on. When I was at home, I did a little free write for most of my topics and chose the one I felt most connected too, I wanted one I felt the strongest about. I first started jotting notes down, where ever I was if there was something I noticed or remembered about that day. When it was time to get down to the nitty gritty, I knew my writing would be tragic, so I started by jotting down random sentences together in paragraph form on Word. When that was finished, I read through it and made the appropriate adjustments for my first draft. After my first draft was produced, I used methods and techniques taught in class to expand my writing and used them for my second draft which I wrote while sitting in my bedroom with country music coming through the headphones.
Sabatino: You wrote a blog post about six strategies to become a better writer. Have you used those strategies when blogging and writing the TIB essay? Please discuss which of these strategies helped you the most when you wrote your TIB essay?
Ashley: Yes, in my Do I Have What It Takes To Become A Better Writer? post I believe that I use most of those strategies to better improve my writing, especially through my This I Believe Essay but also through my blogging. I feel I use the first three (brainstorming, believing in my first shitty draft, and reread, delete, repeat) more than the last three (have someone look over your work, use the criticism and critique to your advantage and rewrite again, and publish your work) because I am still new to sharing my work and getting the opinions of others that I hesitate to ask my family or friends to take a look at my work, although I have started to come around to the idea of sharing my work and publishing my work on my website.
Sabatino: Describe your process for writing and revising the TIB essay (free-write, list, found poem, etc.). What helped you the most?
Ashley: I really enjoyed writing the lists. I wrote both the 10 Titles of My Life and 10 Things I Love and Hate. I think they really helped me to narrow down times in my life that have had a strong impact on my life or things that I truly do love and hate. I also highly enjoyed free-writing because it was very natural and comfortable but messy all at the same time.
Sabatino: How has the blog impacted your writing process?
Ashley: I think blogging has impacted my writing in a positive way. I used to keep a journal that I would write in, draw in, or even paste small little things in it, but I kind of just stopped one day and really haven't picked it back up. It's nice to have an outlet to write. Even though it isn't on a very personal level, it's still nice to see the progress of my work through the revisions and exercises between revisions.
Sabatino: Please share your thoughts about the revision techniques we've used in this course (peer review, show and tell, five senses, found poem, etc.)
Ashley: I honestly think that being able to sort my essay into a showing section and a telling section really helped me to break down my essay and give it a really good look through. I was able to see the contrasting I had going on in my essay and I feel that really helped me to put together a plan to revise for my draft 2. I also liked the found poem because it was an interested way to see the most important words throughout your essay into short sentences and phrases.
Sabatino: What specific revisions have you made to your TIB essay?
Ashley: I have added and deleted passages, sentences, and little things. Sure, those are the most common revisions made but I have also changed my surroundings when revising my essay. I thought that maybe a different genre of music will help me produce the right vibe I want to give off, or if I sit in my dining room I may be more productive and more focused versus being in my bedroom.
Sabatino: What is your plan for future revisions to your TIB essay?
Ashley: I'd really like to break it down even further and expand on not only what led up to my belief but also why my belief is very important to my heart and why I feel everyone deserves that chance.
Sabatino: We have used a farming metaphor to conceptualize a sustainable writing process. What metaphor would you use to illustrate your writing process thus far?
Ashley: I would compare my writing process to moving into a new house. It starts out with a plan of how to pack and a date to move. But once the packing gets started and boxes start moving from house to house, things get chaotic. Now once all of the boxes have been moved from one house to another, it's time to organize those boxes and put them in the right rooms. Once that is done, you must unpack them and find the right spot in that room to house that item. And it's not until the very last box is unpacked that you relieve yourself from that chaos. I think that relates a lot to my writing because it always starts out as a topic and a due date. Next comes the brainstorming and the jotting down. Next moving the ideas and thoughts you brainstormed into paragraphs. Once those paragraphs are formed, they are moved around and revised, added too and deleted from to get that perfect paragraph. And that's when you find the perfect places for that word or that quote and when it's all finished, you have a beautiful paper.
This I Believe: Writing Product
Sabatino: What is your belief statement (word-for-word)?
Ashley: My belief is that every person should have the blessing to experience the last words.
Sabatino: Do you think your belief statement grabs the audience’s attention? Why?
Ashley: Yes, because I think there are people that can relate to my experience and my thoughts and emotions because they share similar experiences with me.
Sabatino: What is your scene?
Ashley: My scene takes place on a warm spring day where I find out my mom-mom, who had passed 2 years previous, had written me a letter for when she was gone.
Sabatino: How does your scene illustrate your belief?
Ashley: My scene illustrates my belief because I first had experiences the last words.
Sabatino: What questions do you have for me about your TIB essay?
Ashley: Two questions I have: 1. What is an appropriate length for an essay of this topic? 2. How do we go about having our essays published once done with the finishing stages?
This I Wonder: Writing Process
Sabatino: Describe your process for writing and revising the This I Wonder (TIW) essay (free write, list, presentation, etc.). What helped you the most? What did you struggle with the most? What specific revisions have you made? Please include a discussion about assignment-related blog posts.
Ashley: For my This I Wonder Essay we presented our essays to the class and I really feel that helped me to see the problem sentences. This form of revision helped me to read my essay and see where words or sentences didn't quite make sense, or problem areas where I would trip over my words.
Sabatino: How has your process been similar to your This I Believe process? How has the process been different?
Ashley: My process differed in ways of where I wrote my essay. My This I Wonder Essay was mainly written in the library where I was able to concentrate all of my thoughts mainly on this topic.
Sabatino: In what ways have our course readings impacted the way you have written your TIW essay?
Ashley: I feel that our course readings didn't have much of an impact on my writing of my This I Wonder Essay because I feel that I couldn't relate to the readings with my situation.
Sabatino: What is your plan for future revisions to your TIW essay?
Ashley: I would like to continue to work on my writings and further revise them by reading aloud my essays and recording myself that way I can hear myself read them and can make additional notes as to what doesn't fit, or doesn't sound right throughout my essay.
This I Wonder: Writing Product
Sabatino: What is your understanding of showing and telling writing? How does your essay incorporate both?
Ashley: Showing and telling is taking your essay and deconstructing it into scenes where you are able to have your audience picture or imagine what you are trying to portray by showing and by having the audience understand your reasoning behind what you are showing through telling.
Sabatino: Can you describe (or copy and paste) your TIW opening scene? Why did you choose to open your essay with this scene?
Ashley: “10, 9, 8,” I heard Taylor start the countdown
"Am I really going to do this? Am I really about to jump?” I wondered as I stood 5 feet from the edge of a 60 foot cliff.
I chose to open with this statement because I felt that I could grab the readers attention without giving too much away about my essay off the bat.
Sabatino: What is the major decision you had to make in your TIW essay?
Ashley: The major decision I made in my This I Wonder Essay is the decision whether or not to jump from a 60 foot cliff.
Sabatino: Can you describe (or copy and paste) the scene where you put your decision into action?
Ashley: And as I heard the number four, my body took control and my mind went blank.'
“321” I heard Taylor scream them as fast as she could as I leaped and jumped off the edge.
The free fall was exhilarating. I couldn't scream, I couldn't breathe, I was just falling. And then you heard it, SMACK! During the free fall my legs had come out from under me and I had landed in the water as if I was going to sit down in a chair. As I pushed myself to the top, I could feel the pain in my legs, but that wasn't on my mind. I was so proud of myself, I did it, I jumped. I swam to the side of the quarry and when I climbed out of the water my legs instantly felt like Jell-O. Taylor had jumped in right after I did and was the first to see my legs.
Sabatino: Can you describe (or copy and paste) your "I wonder" moments in the essay? Which social systems influenced your decision?
Ashley: I took my shoes off and stepped back, my hands were shaking and my heart was beating faster than I have ever felt it beat before.
“10, 9, 8,” I heard Taylor start the countdown
“Am I really going to do this? Am I really about to jump? How could I have let those drunk idiots convince me to do this?” I wondered as I stood 5 feet from the edge of a 60 foot cliff.
“7, 6,”
My right foot stepped forward but my left foot didn't follow, I had frozen there. I was scared and petrified of what I was about to do.
“How could I have let those drunk idiots convince me to do this” I thought, but then I realized they didn't. I knew somewhere deep in my heart and my mind that I wanted to do this. I wasn't going to let fear stop me from doing this.
“5, 4,”
This I Argue: Writing Process
Sabatino: Please discuss your writing process, including generative techniques, research, and revision.
Ashley: The writing process for this essay was different, and personally not my favorite. I was not a fan of being told what to write about other than having the option to choose what to write like I was given with the first two. This essay was based off a hunger issue in America relating to a documentary we watched in class A Place at the Table.
Personal Website
Sabatino: Discuss your experiences with creating and maintaining a website for this course?
Ashley: I have had a great experience with my website. I love how independent it is and how you have many outlets to show your own creativity. It is a great tool to develop now because I think they will help in the future to have an online portfolio of my work to share with a future employer.
Sabatino: Do you think your site is organized and easy to navigate?
Ashley: Yes, I think my site is organized and also easy to navigate.
Sabatino: What type of identity have you constructed through your site?
Ashley: I want to construct an identity that informs people of the depth I can take my writing and that my writing comes from the soul, it's not a bunch of BS thrown together.
Personal Blog
Sabatino: What are your thoughts about creating and maintaining a blog? Is your blog organized and easy to navigate?
Ashley: At first, I was a little skeptical about blogging because I was not too familiar with it, but through our draft revisions and small exercises I have become comfortable with blogging and I think it has become much easier to navigate then when I first started!
Sabatino: What are your thoughts about blogging? Please consider the public, social network nature of a blog as well as your initial thoughts in the beginning of the semester as compared to now.
Ashley: At first, I was excited to share my thoughts with any and everyone in the world, but at this stage of my writing I feel there is more I can expand and improve on before I know that my writing is ready to be read by the world. I want to produce something good, and solid. Something that will keep my readers coming back to check my blog for new posts and I think that will take more time and experience and practice until I am there yet.
Questions for Final Conference
Sabatino: Parting comments? Questions for me?
Ashley: I would like to end this post with what grade I feel I deserve at the end of our time together. I do not feel that I deserve an A. I have not given A work and I have not put the effort into getting that A. But through my writing, I feel that I have earned a B. I feel I have earned this because I have taken the assignments with your expectations but also tried to make it my own. I wanted to make each of these assignments my own, because what is writing if it doesn't mean something to you in the end?