Monday, January 7, 2013

Why A Blog?

Congratulations, Minions: You have a blog of your (collective) very own.

Throughout the semester I'll be posting prompts on this blog to which I'd like you to respond. These exercises are to give you some practice in writing to express and enjoy yourself, without having to frantically count your commas or wonder if you're being rhetorical enough.

Blogs are also useful for:

  • Getting more input from the class about concepts with which you are struggling
  • Ranting and raving about class, assignments, or life in general
  • Posting prompts of your own, just to see what happens
  • Practicing your writing and rhetoric skills by bringing up and arguing what's important to you
  • Advertising performances or campus events you're involved/interested in
  • Recommending books or movies you've discovered
  • Share what you've been writing, discussing, or thinking with the wider world . . . even people outside class
Only two rules: be on time with your required posts, and be polite.

Because technology is a fickle mistress, please respond to this post with a brief introduction so that I know that you can read and respond without your computer exploding.

Here's mine. I am your teacher, but also still a student myself, so I feel your pain. I have been studying writing and literature since I was three years old, and I love to teach the skills of productive, useful argument . . . not just 'winning.' I served a mission in Busan, South Korea, where the food is very spicy and the number 4 is taboo. I am a geek of the highest order. I'm working towards a master's degree in British Literature, focusing on literary social activism of the mid-Victorian period. 


This is me making my 'mean teacher' face, which is the face you will get if you turn your work in late. Also I will eat your soul. 

19 comments:

  1. Hello, my name is Dan. My current major is Mechanical Engineering. I do not really like writing, and therefore do not have high expectations for this class. I am a musician, and play the trombone and piano. However, I've never had a lesson on the latter, so I can't promise anything great from it. I also have many random talents that some people find interesting, one of which is juggling. Oh, and I am from Massachusetts, but don't expect a Boston accent (it's called "Boston" accent for a reason).

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  2. Okay, was anyone else concerned when we were shown four books instead of just two today? I only saw two of the four on my booklist, so why is that?

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    1. Oh, and I'm Spencer. I'm studying Food Science. Writing and I get along pretty well. I love music too and play the cello and piano (working more on the piano this semester). I'm from Tooele Valley here in Utah for the past 4 years. =)

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    3. Yeah, I only have 3 of the 4. No idea where the 4th was coming from.

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  3. Hi I'm Tandy. I'm from Lehi Utah and my major is PDBio. I'm sure this class will boost my unliking of writing.. is unliking a word? probably not. Nice to meet you all!

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  4. Hi, I'm Ally, and I'm from Reading, Pennsylvania. I'm an undecided major, but the thing I'm thinking about the most right now is speech therapy. I like to write, but I'm not really good at it (at all). I like to draw, and I'm a visual arts minor. I play the cello too. :) I like acting and singing, even though I'm not the best at it. Anyways,nice to meet all of you :)

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  5. Hey, I'm Tyler. I come from the suburbs of Round Lake, Illinois, roughly an hour north of Chicago. My major is Pre-Management in preparation for, hopefully, my entry into BYU's Accounting program. In high school, I sang, acted, and danced in theatre and show choir. With those skills, I would say I'm somewhere between thrillingly good and mediocre. It depends on the day, really. Writing has never been my forte, but I do enjoy sharing ideas, so hopefully that enjoyment will help me make it through the class. I look forward to being with you all for the next 3 & 3/4 months.

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  6. My grandma often comments that I'm an inside out banana; I am yellow on the inside but white on the outside. However, she appreciates me slipping off my shoes when I come into her home, of which I am accustomed to, as I was born and raised in Asia. However, I'm not any sort of a banana, but a textbook third culture child. I have dual citizenship of England and America; two countries of which I have never lived in. I spent my primary years in Hong Kong, middle years in Singapore and high school years in India. My name is Autumn Reay. I can read, write and speak in Mandarin. I absolutely LOVE all kinds of sports so I was on my varsity basketball team, traveling ultimate Frisbee team and competed in horse back riding. I can play the cello and piano and my major at BYU is neuroscience.

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  7. Hey guys, I'm Ashlyn. I'm from a tiny town in Washington state that hardly anyone has ever heard of. I, unlike many of you, do not play any instruments nor do I sing. I like making new friends, the color pink, and sleeping. Also, sparkles.

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  8. Hi everyone, I am Charles Toronto. I was born in Palo Alto, California, and lived there for a grand total of two months before my family moved to Hong Kong. After living there for two years, my family moved to Beijing where we have lived (or lived in the vicinity of) since. I attended the International School of Beijing, where I was greatly involved in the theatrical productions put on (both musicals and plays). Besides acting, I greatly enjoy reading, mainly sci-fi and fantasy novels. I will also admit that I am a bit of a nerd, and any writing talent I have was put in to designing a fantasy setting for a game. Regarding musical instruments, I used to play the trumpet and French horn, but now only play the piano (and not that well...). Don't bother asking me about sports, I'm not talented when it comes to athletics, and I don't follow sports teams - it just doesn't interest me. There isn't a whole lot more about me to tell. I look forward to being able to get to know you all in the coming semester.

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  9. Hello everyone,
    My name is Britney Slade. I'm from a small town called Rye, Colorado, and I may be biased, but it is probably the greatest place on Earth to live! I am currently planning on studying nursing, although I haven't applied for the program yet. I recently finished my mission papers, so hopefully within the next few weeks I will know where I will be going on my mission after this semester is over! I love running and reading, and I may be the first one to say this, but I actually really enjoy writing as well! You all seemed like really friendly people when we met on Monday. I am looking forward to getting to know you all! :)

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  10. Hey everyone,
    I am Luke Taylor, as my account name most likely says. I'm a Utah native, born and raised in Kaysville. I love it here. I am skiing fanatic, hence the reason I even love the winters here. Although, negative 2 is slightly much. I am majoring in PD Bio, planning on going to dental school. Looking forward to this class even though my writing ability is subpar at best.

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  11. Hi!
    I'm Erin Mack. I am from Cincinnati, Ohio and this is my first semester here at BYU. Last semester I took classes from BYU Idaho, and thankfully I am here because it is a lot colder up in Rexburg! I will be majoring in nursing and then specializing in pediatric oncology. I played four years varisty golf in high school and loved church basketball. I lived in Holland for a year, toured around Europe, and was baptized there. I am so pumped for this class and to get to know you!

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  12. Yo
    I'm Rhett Gibbs. I am the foolish student who didn't show up to the the first class due to an unfortunate series of events relating to parking (curse the parking around BYU campus). I just got home from my mission to NYC about three weeks ago, and it was the coolest thing I have done with my life thus far. I have never considered myself much of a writer, nor have had much of a desire to do so, however my mommy tells me that I can do anything I put my mind to... we'll see what happens.

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  13. Hey everybody, I'm Steven Harolds. Most recently I'm from North Carolina, where I lived for my junior and senior years of high school. Before that I lived in Utah, Texas, and Virginia. I enjoy biking, technology, photography, climbing, and being creative. I listen to music from pretty much every genre and listen to it almost all the time at home. I'm currently majoring in computer engineering. I work at Vivint as a solar CAD technician. I'll be going on my mission after this semester, and at the moment my three top choices of places I hope to go are Germany, Korea, and New Zealand. As far as writing goes, I enjoy being creative with it, but I don't usually enjoy writing when given one specific topic to write on nor do I usually like to spend a huge amount of time on it. I like poetry and I've had a couple poems published in the past. That's pretty much me. The end.

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