Faiths Heuristic

Strengths:
SpellingWith spell check added to Microsoft Word, it is becoming easier to write if one struggles with spelling. I still believe that knowing how to spell is important in writing, because a computer cannot always be accurate. Spelling was a struggle for me before third grade. One of my favorite elementary school teachers helped me improve this skill. She would work with me on our weekly spelling lists, whenever there was free time, and encouraged me to read often. She introduced me to many wonderful books and turned me into a reader for life. When I began reading on a daily basis, I improved my spelling on my own. Reading is so helpful for those who are trying to improve their spelling. When people read it familiarizes them with words, and how to spell those words without them even thinking about it. Reading I strive to read on a daily basis, whether it be from a textbook or a novel. Reading is a great help in gaining inspiration for writing. Through seeing how others write, one can become familiar with techniques that he or she may or may not want to use in their own writing. Many do not realize it, but writing becomes a blend, with the writers unique twist, of what he or she has learned through reading. Using a ThesaurusThis is a new strength I have developed. Utilizing a thesaurus helps writers avoid using the same words, especially descriptive adjectives. If descriptive words are continuously used they begin to lose their effect. Using a Dictionary When I write essays, I add words that I do not commonly use; because I use a thesaurus, to avoid inserting the same wording. Since I do this, a

dictionary is a great resource for me. It helps me check if I am incorporating words effectively into my essay. Never Using You Within an Essay When I saw: use you in the donts column of our dos and donts handout, I could not help but laugh. In high school, I used you multiple times within an essay and received a bad grade on it. I have never used you in an essay again after this experience. If one does incorporate you into an essay, it makes the writing sound informal. OrganizationI was not always an expert in organizing my writing. Before high school, I would say that I was a novice in this skill. My English teachers helped me substantially, with understanding the importance of organization and how to organize an essay. There are multiple ways to organize an essay, but my teachers focused on a general three part structure with opening paragraphs, supporting paragraphs, and concluding paragraphs. The Longman Reader references the structure I learned in high school on page fifty seven. Organization is important, because it allows readers to have a deeper understanding of what a writer is trying to convey. If a reader finds no organization, he or she will likely be confused and lose interest in the writing. Creating Effective Introductions and ConclusionsIn a majority of my essays, my introduction and conclusion are my favorite parts. It is important to create an excellent introduction, because without it a reader may not want to continue reading an authors writing. It also helps readers have a clear idea of what the author is writing about. Conclusions are important, because they restate the points that a writer wants his or her readers to take away from their writing.

ContinuityContinuity is what gives writing unity. When I write I try to stay on topic, throughout the whole piece, to allow everything to flow from beginning to end. This is important, because a reader will be confused if a writer has strayed from their topic. If readers begin to get confused, it is most likely that they will lose interest and stop reading a writers work.

Creating Thesis StatementsThis is a strength that I have been improving on. The Longman Reader has helped me substantially in creating well written thesis statements. On page 28 it says The thesis determines what does and does not belong in the essaywhen it occurs early in an essay, it also helps focus the reader on the pieces central point. When I write thesis statements, I try to avoid the pitfalls that are common and are explained in The Longman Reader on pages 29 through 30. It states that: thesis statements should not make an announcement about what the essay is about, make a factual statement, or make a broad statement. My favorite thesis statement, I have written this year, came from an essay about an influential person in my life. It followed a few sentences about my father teaching me basic skills. I wrote: These experiences taught me useful skills, but I learn and gain inspiration much more through watching how my father lives his life. From this thesis statement, it is clear to the reader that this essay will focus on some of my fathers everyday life experiences that have inspired me.

Sentence Flow I have been told that my writing has flow. The rhythm of sentences in writing is extremely important. If writing does not have flow, a reader may feel that what they are reading is jumpy and probably will not want to continue reading.

Pacing I have been told that my writing has excellent pacing. Writing with the correct pacing can be tremendously difficult. The pacing of any type of writing can change. During suspenseful moments in a story a writer will typically write in a fast pace, while a romantic scene will probably be written in a slow pace. It is important to keep in mind, that pacing should change within writing, because it will keep a reader captivated.

Pathos and EthosPathos is the emotion one feels after reading a piece of writing. To incorporate pathos, I try to keep my audience in mind and write a message that will reach them. I always attempt to write in a way that makes readers feel as if they know my characters and can understand the thoughts and feelings of those characters. I also add ethos, which is a writers conviction, into my writing. To accomplish this, I think about my own emotions, and write in a way that I can personally relate to. If one cannot relate to their own writing it can seem insincere to the reader.

Clarity I have been told that I write in a way that is succinct and understandable to readers. What helps me with clarity, is keeping my audience in mind. For example, if I were writing an essay on genetics for a teacher in a biology class, I would not have to explain the scientific terms used; because the teacher would already have knowledge of them. If I were writing an essay, on this same topic, for general readers; I would have to explain a majority of the scientific terms used, otherwise they would be left confused. Writers can occasionally have trouble with clarity when they are writing subjectively. Subjective writing includes a great deal of description and poetic devices to evoke emotion, so writers need to be careful that they do not get caught up in wordiness. Writers need to be specific and clear to their readers through the poetic devices they create.

Incorporating No Clichs I cannot say that I have never used a clich in an essay, but since I have started this course, I have strived to stay away from them. Clichs make writing dull for readers, because they are phrases that are commonly seen and heard. Since they are not unique or creative, they should never be used in writing. Writers should make every effort to use their own distinctive voice.

Adding Relevant ExamplesThe Longman Reader states that: Examples serve many purposes. They can make writing more persuasive or interesting; and they can help explain abstract ideas. (p.177) When adding examples, in my essays, I always make sure they are relevant to the topic I am trying to present. If my examples are not relevant, they will not make my writing more persuasive or interesting; and they will certainly not help me in explaining abstract ideas.

Adding True Statistics and Facts Each time I use a statistic or fact in an essay, I check to be sure that it is true. If a fact or statistic, within an essay, is inaccurate it may cause a reader to disregard what the author is writing. They may even feel that the author is purposely trying to lie, to prove their opinions.

Finding Relevant Quotes Although quotes should be used sparingly, I enjoy searching for relevant ones to add to my writing. They can add support for an authors opinion or provide a fresh voice to writing. But, if they are not relevant or are used too regularly; they can make an essay seem chaotic.

Identifying Poetic Devices This course, has helped me become more aware of the vast variety of poetic devices. Although I am still improving my ability to write creative poetic devices; now, I can easily identify and appreciate them within the works of other writers.

Weaknesses:
Description and ImageryThrough hearing essays read aloud from my classmates and reading essays in The Longman Reader, I have noticed that I need to improve the description and imagery in my writing. As it was said in class, Your writing should not tell people what is described, it should show people. The Longman Reader defines description as the expression, in vivid language, of what the five senses experience (p.72). Without excellent description a reader may think that your writing is dull and trite. If vivid description is used, it creates a mental picture that will have readers pleading for more. In The Longman Reader, there is an essay titled Flavios Home, which was written by Gordon Parks. It uses an abundance of description that makes readers feel as if they are in Brazil seeing everything that is described. My favorite passage from this essay is the first paragraph which displays brilliant description. Flavios Home begins with: I have never lost my fierce grudge against poverty. It is the most savage of all human afflictions, claiming victims who cant mobilize their efforts against it, who lack strength to digest what little food they scrounge up to survive. It keeps growing, multiplying, spreading like a cancer. In my wanderings I attack it wherever I canin barrios, slums, and favelas. This paragraph clearly shows how destructive poverty is. Gordon Parks uses words such as fierce, savage, claiming, and spreading; which give his essay a powerful, severe, and gloomy tone. He also incorporates poetic devices which

include personification and a simile. My favorite poetic device he used, appears towards the end of the paragraph: spreading like a cancer.

Using Sentence EconomyThis is under the dos column in our class dos and donts handout. This is something that I really need to improve on. I have caught myself writing redundant sentences. For example, in my essay on my favorite book series I included this sentence: Children will be able to relate to the characters of their age. I should have said: Children will relate to the characters of their age.

Using Specific DictionIn our dos and donts handout, using the words something and thing are under the donts column. I often use the word something in my writing. It is not descriptive enough and tends to be overused. Rather than using something, I should try to explain what the something is in my writing.

Writing Creative TitlesI am progressing with this skill. Once, in high school, I could not come up with a unique title for one of my essays and ended up turning it in without a title. I did not end up getting a bad grade on the essay, but I could have had a perfect score if I had put more effort into creating a title. I never used to put a lot of thought into the titles I used for my essays, but now I have learned how vital an effective title is. In The Longman Reader (p.56), it states that a good title should hint at the essays thesis and snare the readers interest. A creative title is tremendously important. It is what gives a reader a first impression of your writing. Typically, it determines whether they will begin to read someones writing or not.

Comma SplicesIn The Longman Reader, starting on page 638, there is a section on avoiding common writing errors. An error from this section that I struggle with is comma splicing. Comma splicing is defined in The Longman Reader as joining two

complete thoughts with a comma, even though the comma alone is not strong enough to connect the two independent ideas. This section in The Longman Reader gives an example sentence that incorporates a comma splice and the ways that it could be corrected. The sentence that includes a comma splice is: The First Amendment cannot be taken for granted, it is the bedrock of our democracy. To correct this sentence, The Longman Reader states that you can replace the comma with a period, question mark or explanation point; use a semicolon to mark where the first sentence ends; turn one of the sentences into a dependent phrase; or keep the comma but follow it with a coordinating conjunction. Logos Logos is the word choice, diction, tone, and atmosphere of writing. I could definitely improve in all of these areas. I would like to put more thought into the diction used within my writing. The Longman Reader states that words have denotations, which are neutral dictionary meanings; as well as connotations, which are emotional associations that go beyond the literal meaning. (pg. 20). Since words have emotional associations, the words included in an essay should express the tone clearly. Misplaced ModifiersIn my writing, I have struggled with misplaced modifiers. In The Longman Reader (p.643), within the Avoiding Ten Common Writing Errors section, it includes an example sentence that has a misplaced modifier and how one could correct it. The misplaced modifier example sentence is: Television stations carried the story of the disastrous tornado throughout the nation. The misplaced modifier, within this sentence, makes the reader think that the tornado was throughout the nation. To correct this sentence, the writer needs to place the modifier next to the word it describes. The

corrected sentence is: Television stations throughout the nation carried the story of the disastrous tornado. Faulty Parallelism I have occasionally used faulty parallelism in my writing. The Longman Reader has been helpful, in reminding me to watch out for sentences with faulty parallelism in my writing. On page 646, The Longman Reader includes an example sentence that has faulty parallelism and how a writer could correct it. The example sentence is: After hiking all day, the campers were exhausted, hungry, and experienced soreness. This sentence has an error in its series. Of the three items in the series, the first two are adjectives, but the last is a verb and a noun. To correct this sentence The Longman Reader states that the writer should make the grammatical structure the same for each item in the series. The corrected sentence is: After hiking all day, the campers were exhausted, hungry, and sore. In this corrected sentence the series contains only adjectives. Incorporating Poetic Devices I am improving this skill. Through Freshmen English, I have learned how important it is to add poetic devices such as metaphors, similes, personification, alliteration, and onomatopoeia. Adding poetic devices makes writing come to life and keeps readers interested. As it was said in class, Good writing sings with poetic devices! It has been difficult for me to write unique and meaningful metaphors and similes. I also have trouble figuring out when I should incorporate personification, onomatopoeia, and alliteration into my writing. Objective Writing Objective writing, defined in The Longman Reader (p.73), is description in a straight forward way, where the author will not reveal their attitudes or feelings about a subject I could improve in writing objectively. I occasionally have

trouble writing without displaying my feelings towards a subject. For certain essays, such as a technical or scientific essay, writing should be focused on facts rather than emotions. Subject-Verb Agreement Subject-verb agreement is included in The Longman Reader (p.640), within the Avoiding Ten Common Writing Errors section. In one of my essays this year, I wrote: Whether a child believed in Christianity or not, they were always welcome to join. This sentence is flawed, because child is singular and they is plural. To correct this, I could have written: Whether a child believed in Christianity or not, he or she was always welcome to join. Subject-verb agreement is something that I have to be on the look-out for within my writing. This can be prevented with better proofreading. Describing a Setting I am much better at describing characters in a story than the setting. This can be problematic for writing a narrative piece, because it needs to be descriptive enough to place a reader into the story. The reader will not be able to experience the story if they cannot visualize the setting. Superfluous Commas Occasionally, I will include more commas than needed in a sentence. This is something I need to work on, because incorrect punctuation will make an essay look sloppy. Generalizing Generalizing is included in the donts column of our dos and donts class handout. I have a tendency to include accidental generalizations. An example sentence that includes a generalization is: Every college student is home-sick during their first few weeks of school. This is a generalization, because it assumes that all college students are home-sick when this may not be the case. To correct this, the writer

could say: Most college students are home-sick during their first few weeks of school. I am getting better at being more conscious of looking out for generalizations, in my writing. Using the Word Get as a Linking Verb Before Freshmen English, I did not know that it was wrong to use get as a linking verb. I would consistently write sentences such as: I got sick over Christmas break. To correct this sentence, I could write: I became sick over Christmas break. Proofreading I need to proofread my writing more carefully, before I turn in my essays. I will typically catch mistakes just before I turn an essay in. At this point, these mistakes cannot be fixed. In my essay on an influential person in my life, I missed noticing a sentence that had the word nothing in it. I specifically stated in my metacognitive letter that I proofread for non-specific words, but yet I still missed this. Proofreading once is not enough. Writers need to proofread a few times. It is also helpful to get another person to proofread; because he or she may notice a mistake, within a writers essay, that the writer did not catch. Slang Use I have trouble keeping slang out of my essays. For example, in my essay on an influential person in my life I included a sentence that contained the word kids. Children should have been used, because it is more professional. I need to be more conscious of the words I use, because adding slang into an essay makes the writing unprofessional and clumsy. Using Contractions Since the use of contractions is so prevalent in speech today, I have a
hard time remembering not to include them in my writing. This, just as slang use does, makes writing improper and sloppy.

Having a Peer Review My Writing I think that it would be helpful for me to ask others to review my writing more often than I do. At times, others will catch mistakes in an essay better than the writer can. It is also helpful to get the opinions of others on the content of an essay.

MLA and APA Formatting I am not completely unfamiliar with MLA and APA formatting; but, these formatting styles are still a bit of a struggle for me. As I become more accustomed to both, I am sure I can add MLA and APA Formatting into the strengths section of my heuristic. In the meantime, I have found an incredibly helpful website on MLA and APA formatting. It is called owl.english.purdue.edu, and it explains both of these formatting styles in great detail.

Affect vs. Effect I have a hard time remembering the difference between the words affect and effect. This can be problematic in writing, because I do not want to use either of these words ineffectively. An online dictionary helped me understand the contrast between these words. Affect can be defined as: to produce a change in something. Effect means: as a result of something or the ability to bring about a result.

i.e. vs. e.g. It is hard for me to remember the difference between the abbreviations i.e. and e.g. After I referenced the grammar girl section of a helpful website, (quickanddirtytips.com), I had a better understanding of the phrases. I.e. and e.g. are abbreviations for Latin phrases. I.e. stands for id est, which means that is. E.g. stands for exempli gratia, which means for example. The website also had some tips to help others, remember the meaning of both of these phrases. It stated that you could think of i.e. to mean in other words, because this phrase starts with i. It finally stated, that the abbreviation e.g. is easy to remember if you keep in mind, that there is an e in the phrase

for example. With these helpful tips, i.e. vs. e.g. will soon move to the strengths section of my heuristic.