I came into writing 101 not too worried about doing well in the class. I had always been good at writing and attended honors writing classes in junior high and high school. I was placed in honors classes, but writing wasn’t my best subject, and I had, and still have, many strengths and weaknesses that became apparent when writing the essays that were required for this class. After the first couple of weeks I received my first essay assignment, and I realized that this was not what I had been use to writing. I felt as if I was almost starting over, and that the skills I had learned growing up were not of any use in this class. I saw my writing skills change drastically between the two formal essay assignments that I had accomplished through the course of the quarter. This portfolio includes two essays that I had written during the quarter that show my writing skills progress.
Essay number one was a huge transition between the five paragraph essays I wrote in high school, and the college level essays that I was expected to write in writing 101. I definitely could see my weaknesses in writing the first essay regarding Bacon’s Rebellion. The main problem that I struggled with when writing this essay was the transitions between the paragraphs. I had a hard time stepping away from transition sentences using, “First, Second, third….,” like I had been taught my whole school life. I tried my best not to use those sort of transition words, but while concentrating on that I forgot to keep the flow between the paragraphs. “Meaning that all men are treated equal according to the laws. Bacon’s Rebellion created a lot of effects on the Virginian society, and some of those effects are still relevant to today.” These two sentences show the way the end of the third paragraph doesn’t flow with the beginning of the fourth paragraph. Not only was my transitions throughout my essay a struggle, but I also had trouble with not using critical thinking at a college level. A sentence such as, “The lower class already lived in poverty, and Berkeley himself pushed them into deeper poverty,” doesn’t show the level of thinking that is needed for such a topic as Bacon’s Rebellion. Due to the struggle of overcoming the writing process that I was taught as a high school student I received a low score on my first essay. I discovered many flaws that needed to be fixed on my first essay, so I took those into mind and fixed them for my second essay of the quarter. The problems I had in essay number one were not as apparent, or not at all apparent in essay number two.
Essay number two gave me a second chance to practice the skills I had learned I needed to work on in the first essay. The second assignment of the quarter was an essay about patriots versus loyalists. I was assigned to the colony of Rhode Island as a patriot. I created a hook that flowed nicely with the organization of my paper, and grabbed the readers attention. The hook was a quote in my introduction to create a more interesting start to my essay. "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country"(Nathan Hale). This quote was strong and gave my introduction a power. I spent a long time on editing the second essay, and it really paid off. Transitioning was a big problem in the flow of my Bacon’s Rebellion essay, and because of that I focused on it when writing my second essay. I looked over the transitions and read through them many times and I made sure they created the proper flow throughout the essay. “Their taxes are not made with the well-being of Rhode Island as their thought, but rather greedy thoughts of their prosperity. The King of England and Parliament hurt our colony through their unjust laws and taxations.” This essay showed a great example of transitioning. The weakness on research and critical thinking wasn’t much of a drawbacks in writing this essay, but it is still the one skill I need to work on the most. My knowledge of these drawbacks helped me to create a piece of work I am proud of.
Writing 101 was a challenge for me, and a giant leap from one degree of writing to the next. All the weaknesses in the my first essay became my strengths in the second essay. Being aware of my weaknesses in my first essay gave me the guidelines to create a better essay for my second assignment, and improve my strengths to a level that I didn’t know was there. The skills I have learned in writing 101 will be of great use for the rest of my career life.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Portfolio: Essay #1
Bacon’s Rebellion
Who do you want to run our country? Barrack Obama; the person who wants to make a change, or John McCain; who is said to be just like president George Bush. Many people want that change that Obama has offered. Bacon’s Rebellion is an example of leadership that we see, and want to see in our society. In the time of the rebellion, William Berkeley was a governor in Virginia whom everyone disliked. For a lot of people he was the George Bush, or John McCain of today. As for Barrack Obama, there was a man by the name of Nathaniel Bacon. Nathaniel Bacon was ready to make a change for the colonists of Virginia. Many people say that Nathaniel Bacon himself was the cause for the revolt. In reality, the poor leadership given by the government of Virginia was what led to the uproar of Bacon’s Rebellion.
A governors role in society is to lead in an effective way, yet William Berkeley had many faults as a governor. He mistreated everyone except the wealthy colonists. He was an unfair man who took advantage of the poor to help himself. Lower class, such as the farmers and the frontiersmen, were treated wrongly. The lower class already lived in poverty, and Berkeley himself pushed them into deeper poverty. “ He made taxes high, the prices for tobacco low, resentment against special privileges given to those close to the governor,” and Berkeley did not defend the frontier against attacks by the Native Americans (encyclopedia). This difficult matter made it hard for the farmers and frontiersmen to survive in such poverty. “The Frontiersmen felt that the colonial government had let them down.” (Zinn pg.36). The Native Americans and the Frontiersmen were not very fond of each other. The Frontiersmen wanted to clear up the anger once and for all by using violence to attack. William Berkeley wouldn’t allow this to happen. His plan was to keep peace with the Native Americans, even if it meant that his men would suffer on the frontier. William Berkeley only thought about himself, and didn’t take into mind the concerns of the people around him. He kept the Native Americans on a higher status then the farmers and the frontiersmen. The Declaration by Nathaniel Bacon states that the Government favored and protected the Native Americans over their own people after Berkeley got taken out of office. Berkeley and his fellow representatives never appointed any crimes the Native Americans participated in, therefore the Native Americans got away with their crimes without punishments. William Berkeley cared for the Native Americans more then his own colonists for which he is supposed to have been leading as governor.
The many colonists of Virginia lived in poverty caused by the Governor, even so, the Government did nothing to help them in their times of need. The Government had plenty of options to help the colonist, but instead of creating a better living environment they made it worse. This effected the ones living in poverty in the most harsh way. The government put them into poverty with their unfair taxes, and they only pushed them farther down with their selfishness. The Declaration by Nathaniel Bacon states that the Government “raised great unjust taxes,” created private favorites, and did not “in any measure advance this hopeful colony either by fortifications, towns, or trade.” The Government made no attempts in helping the colonists living in poverty, so they found a leader in Nathaniel Bacon. The governor was disliked by the farmers because he was a horrible leader. “Bacon became a popular leader when he supported farmers who felt left out of the governing process and needed protection from Native Americans who raided their farms” (library reference). The colonists found a much better leader in Nathaniel Bacon. Bacon created a favorable living environment for all the colonists by changing the unjust laws so they would treat people as equals.
Nathaniel Bacon ran the Government in a more effective way for a variety of people, unlike William Berkeley and his men. William Berkeley placed a higher emphasis on the wealthy colonists, and mistreated the lower class. Nathaniel Bacon made attempts to help the farmers and frontiersmen in the lower class, and succeeded. The textbook refers to Nathaniel Bacon as a great leader. He changed laws to better the colony. “The laws gave local settlers a voice in setting tax levies, forbade officeholders from demanding bribes or other extra fees for carrying out their duties, placed limits on holding multiple offices, and restored the vote to all freemen.” (textbook). Nathaniel Bacon restored the laws to the way they should have been. Meaning that all men are treated equal according to the laws.
Bacon’s Rebellion created a lot of effects on the Virginian society, and some of those effects are still relevant to today. There were many issues concerning the gap between the Rich and the Poor. During the Rebellion, the poor were mistreated and the rich were favored. There was William Berkeley who favored the wealthy and abused the poor, but there was also Nathaniel Bacon who tried to change that problem. Bacon was a savior for the poor. He took the taxes away and created a more equal environment. After watching all the presidential debates, this situation reminds me of the society we live in today, and the presidential candidates. We live in a society with different social classes. The wealthy, middle, and lower class. The middle and lower classes are not treated as well as the upper class. The lower classes are impacted by the taxes, and all the environmental issues (i.e., gas prices). Similar to Nathaniel Bacon; Barrack Obama is running for president to make the change for the mistreated lower class. The corrupted government as the cause for Bacon’s Rebellion shows the type of government we live in today.
Citations:
- "Bacon's Rebellion." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia.© 1994, 2000-2006, on Infoplease.© 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease.15 Oct. 2008 .
- Bacon, Nathaniel. Colonial America Reference Library. Vol. 3: Biographies: Volume 1. Detroit: UXL, 2000. p1-7.
- Bacon’s Rebellion: The Declaration (1676) by Nathaniel Bacon-Zinn, Howard. Volume One: A young People’s History of the United States.
Who do you want to run our country? Barrack Obama; the person who wants to make a change, or John McCain; who is said to be just like president George Bush. Many people want that change that Obama has offered. Bacon’s Rebellion is an example of leadership that we see, and want to see in our society. In the time of the rebellion, William Berkeley was a governor in Virginia whom everyone disliked. For a lot of people he was the George Bush, or John McCain of today. As for Barrack Obama, there was a man by the name of Nathaniel Bacon. Nathaniel Bacon was ready to make a change for the colonists of Virginia. Many people say that Nathaniel Bacon himself was the cause for the revolt. In reality, the poor leadership given by the government of Virginia was what led to the uproar of Bacon’s Rebellion.
A governors role in society is to lead in an effective way, yet William Berkeley had many faults as a governor. He mistreated everyone except the wealthy colonists. He was an unfair man who took advantage of the poor to help himself. Lower class, such as the farmers and the frontiersmen, were treated wrongly. The lower class already lived in poverty, and Berkeley himself pushed them into deeper poverty. “ He made taxes high, the prices for tobacco low, resentment against special privileges given to those close to the governor,” and Berkeley did not defend the frontier against attacks by the Native Americans (encyclopedia). This difficult matter made it hard for the farmers and frontiersmen to survive in such poverty. “The Frontiersmen felt that the colonial government had let them down.” (Zinn pg.36). The Native Americans and the Frontiersmen were not very fond of each other. The Frontiersmen wanted to clear up the anger once and for all by using violence to attack. William Berkeley wouldn’t allow this to happen. His plan was to keep peace with the Native Americans, even if it meant that his men would suffer on the frontier. William Berkeley only thought about himself, and didn’t take into mind the concerns of the people around him. He kept the Native Americans on a higher status then the farmers and the frontiersmen. The Declaration by Nathaniel Bacon states that the Government favored and protected the Native Americans over their own people after Berkeley got taken out of office. Berkeley and his fellow representatives never appointed any crimes the Native Americans participated in, therefore the Native Americans got away with their crimes without punishments. William Berkeley cared for the Native Americans more then his own colonists for which he is supposed to have been leading as governor.
The many colonists of Virginia lived in poverty caused by the Governor, even so, the Government did nothing to help them in their times of need. The Government had plenty of options to help the colonist, but instead of creating a better living environment they made it worse. This effected the ones living in poverty in the most harsh way. The government put them into poverty with their unfair taxes, and they only pushed them farther down with their selfishness. The Declaration by Nathaniel Bacon states that the Government “raised great unjust taxes,” created private favorites, and did not “in any measure advance this hopeful colony either by fortifications, towns, or trade.” The Government made no attempts in helping the colonists living in poverty, so they found a leader in Nathaniel Bacon. The governor was disliked by the farmers because he was a horrible leader. “Bacon became a popular leader when he supported farmers who felt left out of the governing process and needed protection from Native Americans who raided their farms” (library reference). The colonists found a much better leader in Nathaniel Bacon. Bacon created a favorable living environment for all the colonists by changing the unjust laws so they would treat people as equals.
Nathaniel Bacon ran the Government in a more effective way for a variety of people, unlike William Berkeley and his men. William Berkeley placed a higher emphasis on the wealthy colonists, and mistreated the lower class. Nathaniel Bacon made attempts to help the farmers and frontiersmen in the lower class, and succeeded. The textbook refers to Nathaniel Bacon as a great leader. He changed laws to better the colony. “The laws gave local settlers a voice in setting tax levies, forbade officeholders from demanding bribes or other extra fees for carrying out their duties, placed limits on holding multiple offices, and restored the vote to all freemen.” (textbook). Nathaniel Bacon restored the laws to the way they should have been. Meaning that all men are treated equal according to the laws.
Bacon’s Rebellion created a lot of effects on the Virginian society, and some of those effects are still relevant to today. There were many issues concerning the gap between the Rich and the Poor. During the Rebellion, the poor were mistreated and the rich were favored. There was William Berkeley who favored the wealthy and abused the poor, but there was also Nathaniel Bacon who tried to change that problem. Bacon was a savior for the poor. He took the taxes away and created a more equal environment. After watching all the presidential debates, this situation reminds me of the society we live in today, and the presidential candidates. We live in a society with different social classes. The wealthy, middle, and lower class. The middle and lower classes are not treated as well as the upper class. The lower classes are impacted by the taxes, and all the environmental issues (i.e., gas prices). Similar to Nathaniel Bacon; Barrack Obama is running for president to make the change for the mistreated lower class. The corrupted government as the cause for Bacon’s Rebellion shows the type of government we live in today.
Citations:
- "Bacon's Rebellion." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia.© 1994, 2000-2006, on Infoplease.© 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease.15 Oct. 2008 .
- Bacon, Nathaniel. Colonial America Reference Library. Vol. 3: Biographies: Volume 1. Detroit: UXL, 2000. p1-7.
- Bacon’s Rebellion: The Declaration (1676) by Nathaniel Bacon-Zinn, Howard. Volume One: A young People’s History of the United States.
Portfolio: Essay #2
Rhode Island Patriot
The most freedom I have ever felt has been brought to me through Rhode Island. In 1663, a charter was passed saying that we have total freedom from the colonies established around us. When the charter was passed, I was most thrilled and would do anything to support my freedom and the freedom of Rhode Island. I came here to escape the religious oppression and unruly acts forced upon me from our fellow colonies. They would not let the colonists and I practice our faith the way we wished. They tried to rule our lives the way Britain dictates us with their unjust laws. The freedom of Rhode Island has made me a proud patriot and I feel most grateful to live in such a colony as this. "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country"(Nathan Hale). We tried to fight with words instead of violence, but they didn’t want to stop their tyranny. Now is my time to fight with action for my beloved country against the unjust laws and taxes that effect the trade we use to survive. I have lived in the successful colony of Rhode Island for many years, and we don’t need the tyrannical acts such as taxes, and laws forced on us by Great Britain with our pleas for help being disregarded.
Since the time I first came to the wonderful colony of Rhode Island we prospered tremendously in our trade, which led us to our great economy. Newport is the focal point of our trading in Rhode Island, and is one of the most important seaports in all of the colonies (Doak 56). Once Great Britain found out about our prosperous trade, they wanted to seize our wealth and pay off the debts they had accumulated over the years of previous wars with the French. “At the end of the wars, England owed a lot of money for all of the soldiers, weapons, and forts that they had used. To raise money, England decided to tax the colonists for sugar, paper, and tea” (Whitehurst 17). My anger grew when thinking that Great Britain was taking our wealth to payoff their debts, when we have our own debts to settle. “[T]he colonists were already paying taxes to cover their own war debts and run the colonies. A lot of them thought paying twice wasn’t one bit fair” (Schanzer 18). Rhode Island is a small colony and we depend on trade to survive. Farming and trade are our most important economic sources of income. The main port in Newport was blockaded by British ships, and this effected our economy for the worse. “Newport was especially hard - hit. Beginning in June 1775, a British blockade of the port caused Newport residents serious problems. During the blockade, British ships stopped food supplies from entering the port” (Doak 94). These fierce taxes on our trade hurt us instead of help us, so we have to help ourselves. They forced many of my fellow colonists out of Newport, and they took over our trade center. Their taxes are not made with the well-being of Rhode Island as their thought, but rather greedy thoughts of their prosperity.
The King of England and Parliament hurt our colony through their unjust laws and taxations. Great Britain began to pass laws around 1650, and that was the beginning of British attempts to gain our wealth. “Great Britain passed the first of a number of laws that became known as the Navigation Acts. These laws were created mainly to protect British trade. However, the Navigation Acts hurt Rhode Island’s economy” (Doak 41). These laws put limits on the types of goods that we could make and sell. The laws state “[T]hat no goods grown or manufactured in Asia, Africa, or America should be transported to England except in English vessels, and that the goods of any European country imported into England must be brought in British vessels, or in vessels of the country producing them” (The Navigation Acts). The second law states that “This act forbade the importing into or the exporting from the British colonies of any goods except in English or colonial ships and it forbade certain enumerated articles--tobacco, sugar, cotton, wool, dyeing woods, etc.--to be shipped to any country, except to England or some English plantation.” (The Navigation Acts). We tried to put up with the taxes, but they only hurt us, so we had others smuggle the goods in and out of our port. This is the only choice we had to survive. Our economy is suffering more and more as the taxes from England keep coming, and they will only get worse if we don’t stop them.
The King of England does not respond to our cries for mercy, and the only choice they give us is to fight back to protect our welfare. We, Rhode Island and the colonies around us sent delegates to Philadelphia to develop a plan of stopping this nonsense. We made many attempts to stop their terror upon us by attempting to contact the King and Parliament. The delegates wrote to King George III pleading for mercy, but the King kept his attacks on our economy coming. “They wrote to King George III of Great Britain, offering to make a deal. The colonists would stop fighting if the British government met their demands for lower taxes and less meddling in colonial government” (Stefoff 18). We as patriots only want freedom from the British attacks. We make attempt after attempt to stop the taxes without violence. We sent many letters such as the Olive Branch Petition to the King of England asking to revoke the taxes and unjust laws placed upon us, and to treat us as more than slaves under the British Parliament. “We, therefore, beseech your Majesty, that your royal authority and influence may be graciously interposed to procure us relief from our afflicting fears and jealousies, occasioned by the system before mentioned, and to settle peace through every part of your dominions” (Olive Branch Petition). The King never took into mind any of the letters we wrote to him, and he never even looked at the Olive Branch Petition. We are falling apart because England is trying to rule over us, instead of next to us. We have rights, and in order to protect them we must fight, so we have to take up arms.
“In our own native land, in defense of the freedom that is our birthright, and which we ever enjoyed till the late violation of it -- for the protection of our property, acquired solely by the honest industry of our fore-fathers and ourselves, against violence actually offered, we have taken up arms. We shall lay them down when hostilities shall cease on the part of the aggressors, and all danger of their being renewed shall be removed, and not before” (Taking up Arms)
It is time to take a stand for the independence of Rhode Island.
England was my “mother country” before she placed us under her like slaves. Our patient letters to the King didn’t stop their abuse. England greedily forced taxes upon us, and unjustly placed laws against us. These minor inconveniences for England are major threats on the economy of Rhode Island. They are simply asking for us to fight back. Our independence is at stake, and England is not going to take that from us. I am a proud patriot from Rhode Island, and I will do whatever it takes to keep my freedom and the freedom of the colonies of America.
Citations:
Doak, Robin. Life in the Thirteen Colonies: Rhode Island. Canada: Children's Press, a division of Scholastic Inc., 2004.
Whitehurst, Susan. The Colony of Rhode Island. First. New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2000.
Schanzer, Rosalyn. George vs. George: The American Revolution as seen from both sides. Belgium: National Geographic Society, 2004.
Charter of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations - July 15, 1663
A Declaration by the Representatives of the United Colonies of North-America, Now Met in Congress at Philadelphia, Setting Forth the Causes and Necessity of Their Taking Up Arms.
Journals of the Continental Congress - Petition to the King; July 8, 1775
The Navigation Acts http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/colonial/book/chap10_6.html
The most freedom I have ever felt has been brought to me through Rhode Island. In 1663, a charter was passed saying that we have total freedom from the colonies established around us. When the charter was passed, I was most thrilled and would do anything to support my freedom and the freedom of Rhode Island. I came here to escape the religious oppression and unruly acts forced upon me from our fellow colonies. They would not let the colonists and I practice our faith the way we wished. They tried to rule our lives the way Britain dictates us with their unjust laws. The freedom of Rhode Island has made me a proud patriot and I feel most grateful to live in such a colony as this. "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country"(Nathan Hale). We tried to fight with words instead of violence, but they didn’t want to stop their tyranny. Now is my time to fight with action for my beloved country against the unjust laws and taxes that effect the trade we use to survive. I have lived in the successful colony of Rhode Island for many years, and we don’t need the tyrannical acts such as taxes, and laws forced on us by Great Britain with our pleas for help being disregarded.
Since the time I first came to the wonderful colony of Rhode Island we prospered tremendously in our trade, which led us to our great economy. Newport is the focal point of our trading in Rhode Island, and is one of the most important seaports in all of the colonies (Doak 56). Once Great Britain found out about our prosperous trade, they wanted to seize our wealth and pay off the debts they had accumulated over the years of previous wars with the French. “At the end of the wars, England owed a lot of money for all of the soldiers, weapons, and forts that they had used. To raise money, England decided to tax the colonists for sugar, paper, and tea” (Whitehurst 17). My anger grew when thinking that Great Britain was taking our wealth to payoff their debts, when we have our own debts to settle. “[T]he colonists were already paying taxes to cover their own war debts and run the colonies. A lot of them thought paying twice wasn’t one bit fair” (Schanzer 18). Rhode Island is a small colony and we depend on trade to survive. Farming and trade are our most important economic sources of income. The main port in Newport was blockaded by British ships, and this effected our economy for the worse. “Newport was especially hard - hit. Beginning in June 1775, a British blockade of the port caused Newport residents serious problems. During the blockade, British ships stopped food supplies from entering the port” (Doak 94). These fierce taxes on our trade hurt us instead of help us, so we have to help ourselves. They forced many of my fellow colonists out of Newport, and they took over our trade center. Their taxes are not made with the well-being of Rhode Island as their thought, but rather greedy thoughts of their prosperity.
The King of England and Parliament hurt our colony through their unjust laws and taxations. Great Britain began to pass laws around 1650, and that was the beginning of British attempts to gain our wealth. “Great Britain passed the first of a number of laws that became known as the Navigation Acts. These laws were created mainly to protect British trade. However, the Navigation Acts hurt Rhode Island’s economy” (Doak 41). These laws put limits on the types of goods that we could make and sell. The laws state “[T]hat no goods grown or manufactured in Asia, Africa, or America should be transported to England except in English vessels, and that the goods of any European country imported into England must be brought in British vessels, or in vessels of the country producing them” (The Navigation Acts). The second law states that “This act forbade the importing into or the exporting from the British colonies of any goods except in English or colonial ships and it forbade certain enumerated articles--tobacco, sugar, cotton, wool, dyeing woods, etc.--to be shipped to any country, except to England or some English plantation.” (The Navigation Acts). We tried to put up with the taxes, but they only hurt us, so we had others smuggle the goods in and out of our port. This is the only choice we had to survive. Our economy is suffering more and more as the taxes from England keep coming, and they will only get worse if we don’t stop them.
The King of England does not respond to our cries for mercy, and the only choice they give us is to fight back to protect our welfare. We, Rhode Island and the colonies around us sent delegates to Philadelphia to develop a plan of stopping this nonsense. We made many attempts to stop their terror upon us by attempting to contact the King and Parliament. The delegates wrote to King George III pleading for mercy, but the King kept his attacks on our economy coming. “They wrote to King George III of Great Britain, offering to make a deal. The colonists would stop fighting if the British government met their demands for lower taxes and less meddling in colonial government” (Stefoff 18). We as patriots only want freedom from the British attacks. We make attempt after attempt to stop the taxes without violence. We sent many letters such as the Olive Branch Petition to the King of England asking to revoke the taxes and unjust laws placed upon us, and to treat us as more than slaves under the British Parliament. “We, therefore, beseech your Majesty, that your royal authority and influence may be graciously interposed to procure us relief from our afflicting fears and jealousies, occasioned by the system before mentioned, and to settle peace through every part of your dominions” (Olive Branch Petition). The King never took into mind any of the letters we wrote to him, and he never even looked at the Olive Branch Petition. We are falling apart because England is trying to rule over us, instead of next to us. We have rights, and in order to protect them we must fight, so we have to take up arms.
“In our own native land, in defense of the freedom that is our birthright, and which we ever enjoyed till the late violation of it -- for the protection of our property, acquired solely by the honest industry of our fore-fathers and ourselves, against violence actually offered, we have taken up arms. We shall lay them down when hostilities shall cease on the part of the aggressors, and all danger of their being renewed shall be removed, and not before” (Taking up Arms)
It is time to take a stand for the independence of Rhode Island.
England was my “mother country” before she placed us under her like slaves. Our patient letters to the King didn’t stop their abuse. England greedily forced taxes upon us, and unjustly placed laws against us. These minor inconveniences for England are major threats on the economy of Rhode Island. They are simply asking for us to fight back. Our independence is at stake, and England is not going to take that from us. I am a proud patriot from Rhode Island, and I will do whatever it takes to keep my freedom and the freedom of the colonies of America.
Citations:
Doak, Robin. Life in the Thirteen Colonies: Rhode Island. Canada: Children's Press, a division of Scholastic Inc., 2004.
Whitehurst, Susan. The Colony of Rhode Island. First. New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2000.
Schanzer, Rosalyn. George vs. George: The American Revolution as seen from both sides. Belgium: National Geographic Society, 2004.
Charter of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations - July 15, 1663
A Declaration by the Representatives of the United Colonies of North-America, Now Met in Congress at Philadelphia, Setting Forth the Causes and Necessity of Their Taking Up Arms.
Journals of the Continental Congress - Petition to the King; July 8, 1775
The Navigation Acts http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/colonial/book/chap10_6.html
Portfolio: Final Exam
Frame II
The minds of many students have different views and opinions that when put together create a master piece. The writer of this article had a view that when students have the opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas on a piece of work, such as an essay, they wont get stuck in the writing process. According to the writer, there are many steps to the writing process, and one student tends to find themselves lost in this process. When this happens, the solution presented by the author is to talk to a peer whom they think has the ability to help. Many peers working together not only privileges the students, but it also brings out the creativity that longs to come when all the minds are put together. Groups working together to master the writing process works beautifully when the creativity between many minds comes through on paper. The concept of working in groups privileges the students with creativity presented by this author has been found true, with exceptions, in my writing experience this quarter in writing 101.
In my experiences as a writing 101 student, I have come to realize that I cannot create a essay that I am proud of without the help of other students. Their has been assignments given to me that require group effort throughout the quarter. I was assigned with a group of students to create a article for a wikipedia page. When the project was first assigned, I was not to sure I understood what was expected of my group and I. Before getting together with the members of my group I had many questions running through my head about what the outcome should look like. The four other members of my group also seemed to have questions about the project. Once my group got together, all our questions were resolved, and the process we had to take to create a wikipedia page was then clear. One student doesn’t know everything, but with the minds of many a lot can be answered.
I tried many times to create an essay that I felt proud of, but it never seemed to work when I attempted to do it by myself. Something was always missing. I found the missing ingredient when I was given peer review. My work needed to be looked at by the students in my class, so I could find the piece of the writing process I missed. When writing my essays I felt as if their was something I needed to edit or change. I found the help I needed in my peer reviews, and the reviews that my mother helped me with. I went to the students and asked for their thoughts and comments on my paper, but that was just the first step. I felt as if there was something missing, so I turned to my mom to read my essays. She too found flaws in my writing process, and helped me to correct them.
This view on the writing process, wasn’t always the case when working in a group project. Besides the project that I had mentioned earlier I was placed in a group where the creativity contribution wasn’t there. The assignment was to create an outline and present a debate, but I felt like I was the only one working. I needed more of a participation from the other members of my group, but they were not giving me any help on the outline. They were far from contributing to the outcome that was required. The view on writing that was presented through this article does not always apply to the writing process. Group assignments only work to the full extent when everyone in the group participates.
Writing takes a group effort to create a piece of work that you are proud of. There are many steps to the writing process, and when you find yourself stuck you can turn to your peers for guidance. The group participation all depends on the help you receive. Even so, group work not only privileges the students, but also enhances the creativity that comes along with many minds.
The minds of many students have different views and opinions that when put together create a master piece. The writer of this article had a view that when students have the opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas on a piece of work, such as an essay, they wont get stuck in the writing process. According to the writer, there are many steps to the writing process, and one student tends to find themselves lost in this process. When this happens, the solution presented by the author is to talk to a peer whom they think has the ability to help. Many peers working together not only privileges the students, but it also brings out the creativity that longs to come when all the minds are put together. Groups working together to master the writing process works beautifully when the creativity between many minds comes through on paper. The concept of working in groups privileges the students with creativity presented by this author has been found true, with exceptions, in my writing experience this quarter in writing 101.
In my experiences as a writing 101 student, I have come to realize that I cannot create a essay that I am proud of without the help of other students. Their has been assignments given to me that require group effort throughout the quarter. I was assigned with a group of students to create a article for a wikipedia page. When the project was first assigned, I was not to sure I understood what was expected of my group and I. Before getting together with the members of my group I had many questions running through my head about what the outcome should look like. The four other members of my group also seemed to have questions about the project. Once my group got together, all our questions were resolved, and the process we had to take to create a wikipedia page was then clear. One student doesn’t know everything, but with the minds of many a lot can be answered.
I tried many times to create an essay that I felt proud of, but it never seemed to work when I attempted to do it by myself. Something was always missing. I found the missing ingredient when I was given peer review. My work needed to be looked at by the students in my class, so I could find the piece of the writing process I missed. When writing my essays I felt as if their was something I needed to edit or change. I found the help I needed in my peer reviews, and the reviews that my mother helped me with. I went to the students and asked for their thoughts and comments on my paper, but that was just the first step. I felt as if there was something missing, so I turned to my mom to read my essays. She too found flaws in my writing process, and helped me to correct them.
This view on the writing process, wasn’t always the case when working in a group project. Besides the project that I had mentioned earlier I was placed in a group where the creativity contribution wasn’t there. The assignment was to create an outline and present a debate, but I felt like I was the only one working. I needed more of a participation from the other members of my group, but they were not giving me any help on the outline. They were far from contributing to the outcome that was required. The view on writing that was presented through this article does not always apply to the writing process. Group assignments only work to the full extent when everyone in the group participates.
Writing takes a group effort to create a piece of work that you are proud of. There are many steps to the writing process, and when you find yourself stuck you can turn to your peers for guidance. The group participation all depends on the help you receive. Even so, group work not only privileges the students, but also enhances the creativity that comes along with many minds.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
reflective letter revision
I came into writing 101 not to worried about not doing well in the class. I had always been good at writing and attended honors writing classes in junior high and high school. Though I was placed in honors classes writing wasn’t my best subject, and I had, and still have, many strengths and weaknesses that became apparent when writing the essays that were required for this class. After the first couple of weeks I received my first essay assignment, and I realized that this was not what I had been used to writing. I felt as if I was almost starting over, and that the skills I had learned growing up were not of any use in this class. I saw my writing skills change drastically between the two formal essay assignments that I had accomplished through the course of the quarter. This portfolio includes two essays that I had written during the quarter that show my writing skills progress.
Essay number one was a huge transition between the five paragraph essays I wrote in high school, and the college level essays that I was expected to write in writing 101. I definitely could see my weaknesses in writing the first essay regarding Bacon’s Rebellion. I had a lot of trouble with creating an introduction that hooked the reader, and at the same time was relevant to the main point of the essay. In the introduction of the first essay I related the president election of this year with the leaders of that time. I thought of it as a good idea, but now looking back and editing my essay I see that I didn’t quite place the relationship between the leaders of that time and the leaders of today in the introduction with a smooth transition. The other main problem that I struggled with when writing this essay was the transitions between the paragraphs. I had a hard time stepping away from transition sentences using, “First, Second, third….,” like I had been taught my whole school life. I tried my best not to use those sort of transition words, but while concentrating on that I forgot to keep the flow between the paragraphs. “Bacon created a favorable living environment for all the colonists by changing the unjust laws so they would treat people as equals. Nathaniel Bacon ran the Government in a more effective way for a variety of people, unlike William Berkeley and his men.” These two sentences show the way the end of the third paragraph doesn’t flow with the beginning of the fourth paragraph. Not only was my transitions throughout my essay a struggle, but I also had trouble when researching Bacon’s Rebellion. I couldn’t find any reliable sources that I understood, which led me to my problem of not using critical thinking at a college level. A sentence such as, “The lower class already lived in poverty, and Berkeley himself pushed them into deeper poverty,” doesn’t show the level of thinking that is needed for such a topic as Bacon’s Rebellion.. Due to the struggle of overcoming the writing process that I was taught as a high school student I received a low score on my first essay. I discovered many flaws that needed to be fixed on my first essay, so I took those into mind and fixed them for my second essay of the quarter. The problems I had in essay number one were not as apparent or not at all apparent in essay number two.
Essay number two gave me a second chance to practice the skills I had learned I needed to work on in the first essay. The second assignment of the quarter was an essay about patriots versus loyalists. I was assigned to the colony of Rhode Island as a patriot. The weaknesses I had in the first essay were no longer an exceeding weakness within the second essay. I created a hook that flowed nicely with the organization of my paper, and grabbed the readers attention. I used a quote in my introduction to create a more interesting start to my essay. "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country"(Nathan Hale). This quote was strong and gave my introduction a powerful hook. I spent a long time on editing the second essay, and it really paid off. The problem with creating an excellent hook was no longer a problem. Transitioning was a big problem in the flow of my Bacon’s Rebellion essay, and because of that I focused on it when writing as a patriot from Rhode Island. I looked over the transitions and read through them many times and I made sure they created the proper flow throughout the essay. “Their taxes are not made with the well-being of Rhode Island as their thought, but rather greedy thoughts of their prosperity. The King of England and Parliament hurt our colony through their unjust laws and taxations.” This essay showed a great example of transitioning throughout my essay. The weakness on research and critical thinking wasn’t much of a weakness when writing this essay. I couldn’t find enough information from the databases to create a college level analysis, so I solved my problem by getting reliable books from the library. My knowledge of my weaknesses helped me to create a piece of work I am proud of.
All the weaknesses in the my first essay became my strengths, but I will still need to work on critically thinking about topics at a college level. Writing 101 was a challenge for me, and a giant leap from one degree of writing to the next. I was aware of my weaknesses in my first essay, and that is what gave me the guidelines to create a better essay for my second assignment and improve my strengths to a level that I didn’t know was there. The skills I have learned in writing 101 will be of great use for the rest of my career life.
Essay number one was a huge transition between the five paragraph essays I wrote in high school, and the college level essays that I was expected to write in writing 101. I definitely could see my weaknesses in writing the first essay regarding Bacon’s Rebellion. I had a lot of trouble with creating an introduction that hooked the reader, and at the same time was relevant to the main point of the essay. In the introduction of the first essay I related the president election of this year with the leaders of that time. I thought of it as a good idea, but now looking back and editing my essay I see that I didn’t quite place the relationship between the leaders of that time and the leaders of today in the introduction with a smooth transition. The other main problem that I struggled with when writing this essay was the transitions between the paragraphs. I had a hard time stepping away from transition sentences using, “First, Second, third….,” like I had been taught my whole school life. I tried my best not to use those sort of transition words, but while concentrating on that I forgot to keep the flow between the paragraphs. “Bacon created a favorable living environment for all the colonists by changing the unjust laws so they would treat people as equals. Nathaniel Bacon ran the Government in a more effective way for a variety of people, unlike William Berkeley and his men.” These two sentences show the way the end of the third paragraph doesn’t flow with the beginning of the fourth paragraph. Not only was my transitions throughout my essay a struggle, but I also had trouble when researching Bacon’s Rebellion. I couldn’t find any reliable sources that I understood, which led me to my problem of not using critical thinking at a college level. A sentence such as, “The lower class already lived in poverty, and Berkeley himself pushed them into deeper poverty,” doesn’t show the level of thinking that is needed for such a topic as Bacon’s Rebellion.. Due to the struggle of overcoming the writing process that I was taught as a high school student I received a low score on my first essay. I discovered many flaws that needed to be fixed on my first essay, so I took those into mind and fixed them for my second essay of the quarter. The problems I had in essay number one were not as apparent or not at all apparent in essay number two.
Essay number two gave me a second chance to practice the skills I had learned I needed to work on in the first essay. The second assignment of the quarter was an essay about patriots versus loyalists. I was assigned to the colony of Rhode Island as a patriot. The weaknesses I had in the first essay were no longer an exceeding weakness within the second essay. I created a hook that flowed nicely with the organization of my paper, and grabbed the readers attention. I used a quote in my introduction to create a more interesting start to my essay. "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country"(Nathan Hale). This quote was strong and gave my introduction a powerful hook. I spent a long time on editing the second essay, and it really paid off. The problem with creating an excellent hook was no longer a problem. Transitioning was a big problem in the flow of my Bacon’s Rebellion essay, and because of that I focused on it when writing as a patriot from Rhode Island. I looked over the transitions and read through them many times and I made sure they created the proper flow throughout the essay. “Their taxes are not made with the well-being of Rhode Island as their thought, but rather greedy thoughts of their prosperity. The King of England and Parliament hurt our colony through their unjust laws and taxations.” This essay showed a great example of transitioning throughout my essay. The weakness on research and critical thinking wasn’t much of a weakness when writing this essay. I couldn’t find enough information from the databases to create a college level analysis, so I solved my problem by getting reliable books from the library. My knowledge of my weaknesses helped me to create a piece of work I am proud of.
All the weaknesses in the my first essay became my strengths, but I will still need to work on critically thinking about topics at a college level. Writing 101 was a challenge for me, and a giant leap from one degree of writing to the next. I was aware of my weaknesses in my first essay, and that is what gave me the guidelines to create a better essay for my second assignment and improve my strengths to a level that I didn’t know was there. The skills I have learned in writing 101 will be of great use for the rest of my career life.
Monday, December 8, 2008
reflective letter
I came into writing 101 not to worried about not doing well in the class. I had always been good at writing and attended honors writing classes in junior high and high school. After the first couple of weeks I received my first essay assignment, and I realized that this writing was not what I had been used to. I felt as if I was almost starting over. The skills that I had learned growing up were not of any use in this class. I saw my writing skills change drastically between the two formal essay assignments that I had accomplished through the course of the year.
This essay was a transition for me between the simple five paragraph essay i wrote in high school, and the essays we wrote using "They Say, I Say." I really liked using "They Say, I Say" as sort of a template for my essay. It was a great way to organize my thoughts on the comments of someone else, and the information given. My writing philosophy still stays the same and is applied to everything I write. The new way of writing that I have learned from using "They Say, I Say" is just a way to organize the skills from my writing philosophy.At the start of Bacon's Rebellion I didn't have a very good understanding about what really went on in this event. Even after the wiki entry, I wasn't 100% confident, but after all the research and critical thinking I had to do to complete this essay I felt that I gained a much better understanding of what really happened. Before this essay I didn't feel like my view on Bacon's Rebellion was correct, but i came to learn that everyone has their own view and it is their interpretation.
Since the time of the previous essay up to now, I have improved greatly. I'm not sure if it is because I handled my time wisely, or because I gained better writing skills. It is probably a combination of both. I kept on track with the schedule Craig planned out for us, and it really helped with my time management problem. I liked the way Craig gave us the schedule of due dates throughout the essay time period before hand. That really helped me keep myself going in the right direction with the time we had to accomplish the goals of the essay. This time, with essay #2, I felt like I had a hard time getting started with the outline. This was true because the research was difficult. I wasn’t finding any good information online on the databases, so to solve my problem I went to the library. The books I gathered were filled with information about my colony specifically. The books and the primary documents were great sources for my essay. I found that because I wrote my rough draft early on, I had a lot of time to edit and revise. This worked well in creating an essay that I was proud of.
This essay was a transition for me between the simple five paragraph essay i wrote in high school, and the essays we wrote using "They Say, I Say." I really liked using "They Say, I Say" as sort of a template for my essay. It was a great way to organize my thoughts on the comments of someone else, and the information given. My writing philosophy still stays the same and is applied to everything I write. The new way of writing that I have learned from using "They Say, I Say" is just a way to organize the skills from my writing philosophy.At the start of Bacon's Rebellion I didn't have a very good understanding about what really went on in this event. Even after the wiki entry, I wasn't 100% confident, but after all the research and critical thinking I had to do to complete this essay I felt that I gained a much better understanding of what really happened. Before this essay I didn't feel like my view on Bacon's Rebellion was correct, but i came to learn that everyone has their own view and it is their interpretation.
Since the time of the previous essay up to now, I have improved greatly. I'm not sure if it is because I handled my time wisely, or because I gained better writing skills. It is probably a combination of both. I kept on track with the schedule Craig planned out for us, and it really helped with my time management problem. I liked the way Craig gave us the schedule of due dates throughout the essay time period before hand. That really helped me keep myself going in the right direction with the time we had to accomplish the goals of the essay. This time, with essay #2, I felt like I had a hard time getting started with the outline. This was true because the research was difficult. I wasn’t finding any good information online on the databases, so to solve my problem I went to the library. The books I gathered were filled with information about my colony specifically. The books and the primary documents were great sources for my essay. I found that because I wrote my rough draft early on, I had a lot of time to edit and revise. This worked well in creating an essay that I was proud of.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Text Analysis #4
Virginia Resolution- Alien and Sedition Acts
--Who is writing?
~The General Assembly of Virginia wrote this document.
--Who is the audience?
~The audience is the people of the United States of America, and all the people that believe in the constitution. In the last paragraph, it states that a copy of this resolution shall be given to all the senators and representatives of all the other states in America.
--Who do the writers represent?
~The writers represent the government and those who want to protect the constitution.
--What is being said, argued and/or requested?
~The general assembly of Virginia is defending the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of Virginia. They want to keep the peace and happiness that the public has with the Constitution. There were acts placed against the Constitution such as the Alien and Sedition Acts. The General Assembly was trying to stop the acts such as those from continuing.
--How is it being said, argued and/or requested?
~The General Assembly creates a great argument with great points and evidence to back up their points. They state their argument in a very sophisticated and educated way. They sound very scholarly and they know what they are talking about.
--What proof and/or justification is being used to legitimize the request?
~The General Assembly uses the Alien Act and the Sedition Act as justification to the harm that is being laid on the Constitution, as stated in the 5th paragraph. "That the General Assembly doth particularly protest against the palpable and alarming infractions of the Constitution, in the two late cases of the "Alien and Sedition Acts" passed at the last session of Congress." The General Assembly explains that the acts both Control the government, and restrict the rights of the people. They go against the Constitution.
--Who is writing?
~The General Assembly of Virginia wrote this document.
--Who is the audience?
~The audience is the people of the United States of America, and all the people that believe in the constitution. In the last paragraph, it states that a copy of this resolution shall be given to all the senators and representatives of all the other states in America.
--Who do the writers represent?
~The writers represent the government and those who want to protect the constitution.
--What is being said, argued and/or requested?
~The general assembly of Virginia is defending the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of Virginia. They want to keep the peace and happiness that the public has with the Constitution. There were acts placed against the Constitution such as the Alien and Sedition Acts. The General Assembly was trying to stop the acts such as those from continuing.
--How is it being said, argued and/or requested?
~The General Assembly creates a great argument with great points and evidence to back up their points. They state their argument in a very sophisticated and educated way. They sound very scholarly and they know what they are talking about.
--What proof and/or justification is being used to legitimize the request?
~The General Assembly uses the Alien Act and the Sedition Act as justification to the harm that is being laid on the Constitution, as stated in the 5th paragraph. "That the General Assembly doth particularly protest against the palpable and alarming infractions of the Constitution, in the two late cases of the "Alien and Sedition Acts" passed at the last session of Congress." The General Assembly explains that the acts both Control the government, and restrict the rights of the people. They go against the Constitution.
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