My Email

I HATE HOTMAIL. MSN is the worst email service ever!

I have lost so many emails when using Hotmail. Every once in a while, it tells me that it has sent a message, and then hours or days later I find out that it was never delivered. This circumstance is made all the more awesome after spending a large amount of time writing an email to someone like... your PROFESSOR.

I'm going to go waste some more of my life retyping emails.

Oh, yeah...

I should probably talk about how my presentation went last week. Better late than never, right?

Overall, I think my presentation went okay. The reviews that I got from some of you were fairly mixed... several people thought that I seemed very at ease and comfortable in front of the class, and others felt that I was a little unsure of myself. I do think that I should have more firmly decided (and not asked) whether I should read some excerpts from my website to you, my audience, but otherwise I was comfortable with what I was presenting. I'm satisfied with how I did, though, now I wish that I had given the class a better look at some of the things I had written... And now that I've discovered some extra things that I've added to my site, including some sweet videos, I wish I had those at the time of my presentation so you could have seen them. But, then again, you can still look at them! I have them in a text box on the right. Go look! :)

"Shitty First Drafts"

Remember that essay by Anne Lamott that we had to read a few weeks ago? I mention it now because I caught myself using this approach to writing, and I realized how much of a difference it's made in how I write. I think that essay is definitely one of the most important things I've come across in this course. I've always struggled with getting things started in my writing, and that single, short reading assignment has improved my efficiency in writing a great deal.

"The first draft is the down draft -you just get it down. The second draft is the up draft -you fix it up.... And the third draft is the dental draft, where you check every tooth, to see if it's loose or cramped or decayed, or even, God help us, healthy."

This is my favorite thing that Lamott wrote in her essay. I also liked what she said about starting by "getting something -anything- down on paper." This has encouraged me quite a bit; now I'm comfortable with the fact that, yes, what I first put down on paper is crap, but once I take that first step, the jumbled words and sentences will start to form into concise paragraphs and pages by the time the second and third draft come along.

Thankful for the Lull!

So. This week, I have taken advantage of the break to focus on revising my Research Proposal, my Essay, and my Initiating Action Project. I have put a lot of work into editing them, and I still have a lot of work ahead of me! I’m really glad that I’ve had this week away from school so that I could dedicate a lot of time to narrowing my concentration to my portfolio, my final grade for Honors English. I’m a little wary of the fact that if I screw this up…I screw this entire class up! Haha, but hopefully with a bit more time and effort, I can finish this well and get a good grade. :)

17-14!

Virginia Tech > UVA! We totally needed this!!

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=283340259&w_cid=widgets:team:ncf:www.vt-football.com

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone enjoyed eating lots of turkey and giving thanks today!

Check this out: http://www.history.com/minisites/thanksgiving

Arabs and Muslims...

Sometimes we forget that there is a difference between the two!

Arabs are an ethnic group, whereas Muslims are a religious group.

The Middle East is an Islamic region (with major exceptions like Israel), but not necessarily an Arab region. Other ethnic groups such as the Kurds and Turks live in the Middle East as well, and they are definitely not Arab.

Wait. What?

I'm taking the World Regions course this semester, and lately that class and Honors English have strangely coincided very well! I'm doing my community project on Islam, and for this past week or so, John Boyer (our professor) has been focusing on the Middle East. Here are some things from his text book that are good to remember:

"Virtually all Arabs are Muslims, but most Muslims in the world are not Arab. Does that make sense? Islam is a worldwide phenomenon now, and places like Indonesia actually have more followers of the faith than any single country in the Middle East. The reason this is confusing for outsiders is because Islam started in Arab lands [Saudi Arabia to be exact], and the original and only Koran is written in Arabic. So no matter where you go in the world, from Morocco to Malaysia, Muslims will be reading the Arabic Koran and praying in Arabic tongue...but that don't make them Arab."
-The Plaid Avenger's World

Some more super helpful information is available on this blog/vlog, in the Middle East section:
http://www.plaidavenger.com/category/middle-east/
Be warned...it's the Plaid Avenger we're talking about.

Poll on Islam

I've added a poll to my blog about Islam... maybe you guys can take a minute and participate! :)

Initiating Action Project Feedback

"Great job!" :D

I thought this project turned out pretty well, so I'm glad that I received some affirmation from Professor Grete. Of course I didn't get limitless praise, though; I got some really constructive criticism as well.

Professor Grete encouraged me to make the main points of my website pages more obvious at first glance for my viewers. That is, using big phrases and visual aids that offer the general idea of my topic more readily.
The biggest suggestion I was given was to limit how much text I used in my website. (...Um. Did I understand that correctly? My Honors English Professor told me to write less? Haha. ;P Anyways...) Of course that made sense. One of the main points of a website is to make information less like a book, and more like ...a website. Emphasis on visual and interactive themes is necessary for me to stay true to the genre I chose for this project. I've already written essays on Islam, I don't need to keep writing more. So I probably had things right at first when I had less text. You know, before I got worried about having too little content on my website. Haha, oh well.

The other feedback I got was that my site links would look better as actual buttons. I wholeheartedly agree, but I don't think that I can do that... Any suggestions, anyone??

So. I have already tried to improve my homepage, giving more clarity to the main idea of my website. I think that over this next week I will "try to do more with hyperlinks," and adjust the amount of text I have included. I used hyperlinks several times in one section of my site, and I was actually a little unsure of whether that was okay or not. Now I know. So, in that fashion, I will revise the rest of my project. My website pages: "Islamic History" and "Initiating Action @ Virginia Tech" are in need of the most attention.

Yay for presentations due tomorrow!

Assignment #3 -Draft-

My website (draft) is complete!

Want to take a look? Here's the link: http://sites.google.com/site/islamatvirginiatech/Home

Please tell me what you think!

Feedback from Assignment #2

Again, Professor Grete's feedback was really valuable in guiding my essay to what I want it to be. She confirmed several of my doubts about its clarity and effectiveness, and also pointed out several things that I didn't realize my essay lacked. I now have a better plan for how to improve my essay. I need to give more information about my experience in the Middle East this past summer. My audience will be better able to form an opinion about Islam if I allow them to see what it was like being in Jordan, talking to Muslims, hearing the call to prayer, and learning about Islamic culture by immersion. By giving them that experience, I can leave it to them to decide what they perceive Islam to be.
I was relieved that Professor Grete did not consider my essay to be a "plain awful essay," as I anxiously expressed to her in my cover letter prefacing my essay. She was very encouraging, and I now feel more confident about what I have written. I certainly don't mean to say that I don't have substantial work ahead of me...but I do have less to do than I anticipated.
I definitely know what I will be doing during Thanksgiving break!

A Change of Plans

So. I've decided to attack my project from a different angle... I think I'm going to use Google to create my website, as opposed to creating my site basically from scratch. With Google, I will have an actual website, whereas had I gone about things the way I previously intended, it would only have been a document on my computer that would've looked like a website -not quite as cool. (I was planning on using Dreamweaver, if anyone knows what that is.) I think that using Google Sites will be a much more effective way of doing things.

A Persuasively Informative Website

The genre I have chosen for my Initiating Action Project is that of a (persuasive and expository) website.
By the way:
Expository writing is defined as:
seeking "to inform, explain, clarify, define or instruct."
Persuasive writing "intends to convince the reader of a stated opinion or belief."
We're all familiar with these definitions.

Some questions about my website genre from Professor Grete....

What are the conventions of your genre, and how much/what kind of freedom do you have within your genre?
There are really no stipulations on what a website should be; there aren't many standards to measure up to. Every website you go to on the Internet is proof that one website doesn't have to look the same as another or accomplish the same purpose. So, I have quite a bit of freedom with how I set up and organize all aspects of this project. I can make it purple and pink, or black and white; crazy, or sophisticated. (A great example is the very blog your reading right now - I designated what I wanted it to look like. It was a flexible process, and all about my preference. ...Selfish much?)
So yes, anyone can create a website that looks like anything and accomplishes any purpose ...but a successful website has to live up to certain standards of organization, efficiency, clarity, etc. It needs to appeal to the intended audience (just as traditional media does) so that it can achieve its goal.

Who writes in your genre, and for what purposes? Everyone writes through the Internet! The entire world is moving to the Internet to get things done, and by "things," I mean EVERYTHING. In our steadily globalizing society, the Internet is recognized to be one of the most effective means of initiating action, spreading information, entertaining, publicizing, shopping, networking, teaching, ....this list could grow very large! From teenagers to business men, everyone uses the world wide web to express themselves. Websites are a very effective genre.



Sources:
"Expository Writing" http://www.thewritingsite.org/resources/genre/expository.asp
"Persuasive Writing" http://www.thewritingsite.org/resources/genre/persuasive.asp
"Uses of the Internet" http://english.unitecnology.ac.nz/resources/resources/tutorial/conceptual/uses.html
"How Fast is the Internet Growing?" http://www.savetz.com/yic/YIC01FI_12.html

"Argument is inquiry, not war."

Haha, I loved that quirky sentence from our reading assignment. It seemed to be a strange thing to say, so I read it twice and then highlighted it because it's so true! Upon discovery of diverse opinions, so many people think that they have to convert others to their way of thinking. By whatever means necessary! No, it shouldn't be that way. We should seek to understand others before expecting to be understood, always looking to discern why another person thinks the way they do. So much more is accomplished that way. We need to grasp the "Concept of Audience" before attempting to exert different opinions on someone with whom we can't relate.
"The Concept of Audience" reminded me to step back from my perspectives and think about who I am writing to and about. That mindset will help me to convince my readers to consider my argument because I have shown consideration for their thoughts or beliefs.

So tomorrow -which is technically later today- we have to bring to class some preliminary details regarding our intentions with this third project. We have to define our audience, purpose, exigence, and genre(s). Here we go:

Audience: Students at Virginia Tech
Purpose: Improving education and Tolerance/Coexistence
Exigence: Lack of Knowledge and Awareness of Islam
Genre: A Persuasive and Expository Website


...9:05, here I come!

Initiating Action Proposal

The purpose for my Initiating Action Project will be to further inform my audience about the Islamic community. The issue that I see that I am trying to address is that people don't know very much about Islam. My audience will be the Virginia Tech student body, which will be a change from the audience to whom I've geared my previous projects.

My project will be in the form of a website (though it will not actually be online), flyers, and possibly a letter as well. I will use the flyers to catch people's attention and direct students on campus to my website where they can learn more about Muslims and Islam.

On the website, I will include:

• Several paragraphs of educational information about Islam
• Links to websites that I have found to be helpful and informative about Muslims and their faith
• A page of faith testimonials about Islam by Muslims?
• A link to and information about the Muslim Student Association on the Virginia Tech campus
• A link to and information about the MOSAIC theme housing community
  
• A page discussing my personal experiences in the Middle East
• A page calling for intercultural awareness, specifically on the VT campus
  
  • An appeal to Tech leadership to have some sort of (free) event geared towards raising awareness of cultures outside of the USA (not only Islamic communities, but other religions/cultures) -whether that be in the form of guest speakers or special events, ...etc. (This is where my letter might come in.)
    
• Pictures and graphics related to the Middle East
• A page with my contact information
  
• A page citing my sources

*Upon taking GOOD advice from Professor Grete, I'm only doing a website. Not a bad idea at all.

Initiating Action Examples

So, we are supposed to bring to class a few examples of Initiating Action projects of other people/groups...
The first thing I thought of was the "Pickens Plan" energy campaign that T. Boone Pickens has so successfully publicized. Something so effective is of course my #1 example. Here's the link to the site:
http://www.pickensplan.com/index.php?bcpid1842760405?bclid=1842745810&bctid=1819673299&page=ad
Example #2 is a flyer that I've snagged off a wall in my hall. It is geared towards recruiting a group of people to help clean up the roads near campus this past Saturday.

Happy Halloween!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj1I1GH8ADw

Tardiness..

I got to class late today. :(
People were in my room until 3:00am (couldn't get them out!), so not a whole lot of sleeping took place last night. I totally woke up at 9:00am on the dot...but I made it to class within 15 minutes. Still late, but not too shabby! (Though, of course, shame on me for oversleeping.)

My New Favorite Thing

Pandora Radio!
http://www.pandora.com/

Thoughts on My Essay Draft

I am a little unsure about how I performed on the essay draft that we all had to turn in on Wednesday. I know that I still have a lot of work to do on it....but I don't know whether that "a lot" entails an entirely new essay, or just typical editing. I never gave myself time to just sit and read my essay and really digest what it was that I was doing with my text; I wasn't able to get as deep with it as I wished. I definitely intend to make time for that much-needed contemplation before the official essay is due...and Professor Grete's feedback will absolutely help me improve and refine my writing as well! I'm looking forward to getting her email! ....I think, haha.

Feedback on Feedback

Last Friday, we received the essays of another one of our classmates to look over during the weekend. We were instructed to write a two-page letter to them with encouragement and critique in order to help each other improve our essays. Tyler evaluated my essay on Islam for our Peer Review exercise, and he was very helpful! My essay is definitely still quite a bit of a "shitty first draft," and Tyler gave me insights that will help me bring my paper to be something more like a final draft. Tyler pointed out weaknesses in my paper that definitely need to be addressed in order for me to have a balanced, unbiased essay. He noted that I need to include more persuasive information and clarify to my readers what my argument regarding Islam actually is about. Tyler also reminded me that I completely forgot to cite my sources. Where would I be without him? ;)