JBS
The Sweetland Minor in Writing Blog – the blog of all blogs as some have called it. Our class blog was a phenomenal way for all of us to both share ideas and also get to know each other a little more. Not just through posting, but also by commenting on our classmates’ posts, we were able to receive much-needed feedback and support. I can think of one time in particular, especially stressed out about our in-progress remediating project, I very much vented out my frustrations in one of my posts. It made me feel a lot better that others were going through the exact same thing I was and that I wasn’t alone in the least bit.
The Blogosphere - Out There for the Whole World to See
Writing 220 - Sweetland Minor in Writing Blog
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a blog as, “A Web site that contains online personal reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer.” I think a blog is so much more than that. I blog can be a place for a writer to communicate things to the world they could never get out otherwise; a way to reach an entirely new audience and generation; or for people with a shared interest to come together. As a huge Michigan sports fan, I’ve been essentially addicted to the blog I subscribe to updating breaking Michigan news and insider information. The message board updates almost by the minute with thousands of subscribers waiting by the breath on who’ll be our next head football coach – it’s a place to collectively rejoice in success and unrelentingly complain in failure. So no, a blog is not just a “site that contains online personal reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks” – a blog is so much more.
English 125 - The Book of Slade
-
As I said before, my high school focused very hard on developing students’ writing skills, for which I will always be grateful. But, when I sat down for my first college English class and the professor said we would be writing mainly through a blog for the semester – I was a bit taken aback; this was not what I had worked so hard on learning to do for the past four or so years. However, I found I was easily able to apply the skills I had learned to this new style of writing, and even relished being able to project my voice free and clear without the inhibitions of academic writing. It’s pretty funny looking back on some those posts, several about adjusting to life in college and others about things I barely remember. Though only a couple years ago – it feels like a century.
Political Science 101 - Touchdown Theory
My political science 101 class is a little weird. In order to determine our own grades, they gave us the option to choose two out of four “paths” – exams, papers, blogging, and a group project. You could only choose two, and points were distributed evenly across each area. Being the writer that I am, I of course chose papers and blogging. I eventually wrote six blog posts throughout the semester, on a range of topics from Machiavelli to the future of the NFL. After the fact, I’m very glad I chose the two paths I did, but if you hate politics I’d probably recommend skipping this one…