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Media Analysis Reflection

For writing strategies that I’ve used, it really just comes down to me expanding my points and explaining my arguments more concisely. The struggles that I faced was really just focusing on one simple thing as opposed to jumping from point to point. I believe that working with peers have really just helped me become more confident and learn to be patient with myself. I really appreciate their kind and constructive criticism, and they have helped me point out my flaws, whether they be run on sentences, or anything regarding that.

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Literature Review Reflection

I learned to expand more on my arguments, and how to tie things in with one another in a more direct way. I did feel that it was a touch long, and I struggled to keep up with that sort of pace. Although it was an interesting literature review. I think having a peer review truly helps because it helps you see your flaws in a more direct and obvious way, and it helps you become a stronger writer. It just really helps to know that other people care to give you great advice.

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Queer Analysis

In many different television shows, there are certain instances of queer-baiting and the “bury the gays” trope. I feel that exploring the topic and how this effects queer people is truly interesting. So, how does queer baiting and the “bury the gays” trope effect the representation that queer people receive in media, particularly television? This piece of media from the show Supernatural can tie into this topic quite well. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnFElAfYmdk&t=1s

I believe that heteronormativity in media is portrayed somewhat subtly in the sense that it is almost always accepted without question, whereas queer couples somehow need to get the approval of the whole writing staff and demands of the fans. It feels as though people need to sometimes beg the writing for queer characters and couples to appear. I believe that most shows that go against this ‘standard’ of heternormativity are ones that encapsulate a great deal of queer characters. I believe that it can negatively impact society by, at the very least, indirectly confirming that being queer is inherently bad and non standard.

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Media Literacy Analysis Reflection

I believe that by using quotes that are accurate to the thesis, and trying to explain the thesis as diligently as possible is beneficial. I believe that, while my topic was rather broad, I was still sometimes struggling with finding ten sources and quotes that pertained to my thesis. I believe that peer editing helps specifically with making sure that I am not vague in my writing, and that I am not repeating myself over and over. That’s something that I find I can struggle with, and the peer editing helps me with realizing my mistakes and writing flaws. I believed that it helped with my draft and final version by really helping me explain that I could go into more details about my thesis, and explaining my arguments through a more social and cultural lens.

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Rhetorical & Cultural Analyses: Cultural Analysis

Something I would like to see and what I believe was interesting is how the view of women has changed throughout time in the media. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zq6qsg8/revision/1#:~:text=Representations%20of%20women%20in%20the%20media%20have%20developed,how%20society%20expects%20women%20to%20look%20and%20behave.

The sorts of things that I see perpetuated throughout the media is either that women are objects that should be stared at and gawked over, or many women now completely reject femininity and expect other women to do the same, or they’re giving into the whims and desires of men - which it is not. Any women should live however she feels is right. There should not be any predetermined way that women should live their lives. To this day, I still see women being objectified, and they still have to deal with being viewed through the male gaze. I think that, what we can do, is simply to show different types of women with different body types, different personalities, and different backstories and ethics. That is how we will overcome this, by getting to know others. 

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Expository reflection

I’ve learned that, in order to write better expository essay, it’s important to use a lot of credible sources, and to look at everything from a mostly logical point of view. The really difficult part for me was putting all of my thoughts into a coherent and strict narrative and big use of words and vocabulary. Hearing the perspective of my peers was very helpful, and it helps put it everything into a new lens. It helped me inspect my writing more closely.

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Engaging in Peer Review

In my personal experience, peer review has always been very interesting. Many people have both good and bad experiences, but I’ve always found it to be helpful. A lot of times, you can be in your own head, and are unable to look at your paper/ piece of work from a more objective sense, since you are so close to it. I have conducted a peer review in a few of my English courses previously. It was just as helpful now as it was when I did it previously. The criticism was both valid and constructive, and always kind. I believe that this helped me grow as a writer by letting me know what I needed to work on, but it also helped me be more confident when it came to things that I was good and decent at. I learned to expand my vocabulary more, and learned that I should expand my explanations more as well. For my next assignment, I aim to grow even more as a writer by taking and applying the helpful advice of my peers.

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Research

I find research to be quite interesting. It has really help me become informed with my other courses and has helped me become a better student in the process. I really don’t think that research is that cumbersome, and I enjoy it. I feel like I am decent at researching most things because I cross check a lot of my references. 

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Critical Reading

Reading critically and attentively is extremely important to any sort of text, especially when it comes to papers and essays and the like. In my expository essay, I am speaking about the effect of video games on American teenagers and children today. A bias that I have is that I enjoy playing video games. I have since I was a child. I believe that I can definitely take into account other views of things. It’s quite important to be open minded with these kinds of things. 

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Process Writing

My writing process really just consists of a general idea and then streamlining it. I edit it afterwards. I hope that it can improve throughout the semester by me being able to elaborate more when needed, and for me to be direct when needed. I believe I can improve it by working harder and applying myself even more. I think having a writing process is important because it can make it easier to write and to track your writing growth. I think that’s what’s so important about it.

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Writing Goals/Fears

My personal writing goals would really just consist of using a wider and stronger vocabulary, paired with the fact that I want to articulate some of my points better. I want to be able to make strong arguments in writing, and to dissect writing in general, especially when it comes to social media and online presence. I enjoy writing, and I try to do it somewhat often. I usually only write a few paragraphs, but I found that it can be relaxing. That’s really my attitude towards writing.

As for my current writing habits, I would have to say that I don’t write consistently. Sometimes I feel like I write more than i should, and other times I feel like I’m writing the bare minimum because I don’t know what to say. I think that when I write a lot, it can help me explain what I need to say in a more lengthy way. Other times I feel like being direct and short has more advantages because I am to the point. I think that it can really help, even though I can find the inconsistencies slightly annoying sometimes.

I plan to overcome these by attending this course. I want to grow and learn. I think that even writing small pieces like these really helps improve my writing skill. Career wise, I want to be a nurse, so I need to learn how to write clear yet detailed reports.