Almost done with expansion

I am happy to announce that I only need two and half additional pages to reach the page requirement. I have been expanding my essay for about five hours now and am in serious need of a break. So, I am considering options and am contemplating the whole "physically attack your paper" approach to revision. I have never tried such a fun revision option and I suppose now is a great time to branch out and try it. Since I have been writing on the max and in class, I have a few of paragraphs that are a little out of order. I feel as though cutting up my paper would help me rearrange the paragraphs and create better flow within my essay. So far there is a timeline flow to the essay, but a few expansion paragraphs are sprinkled throughout the essay. In order to better organize the paragraphs I may cut each sentence up to further rearrange the paragraphs.

Are you using any out of the ordinary approaches to revision?

ESSAY EXPANSION TIME :-)

Expansion is harder than I thought it would be. I was thinking all this new insight was just going to come right to the top of my head. Now that it is time to expand, I am feeling less than analytical. So far I have expanded an extra five pages, so I only have eight pages to go. I know I can do it, it just seems so daunting. I should look at the bright side, I am half way to the finish line.
I guess I chose the hard route, since I am only expanding one essay.
What are you expanding for your final portfolio?

Back to where it all began!

I just peer workshopped my own piece of writing! Alright, I suppose it is revision not peer workshopping.. but WOW. I did not remember what I wrote, and it was only a month or so ago. Looking at this piece makes me want to chop it up, expand and change the direction of the ending. I did not think so much could change in a matter of weeks, but there is so much more to this particular story that there was before. Even though this final portfolio will be a ton of work, I am really excited for the end result.

Has anyone else starting revising their work?

Peer Workshop!

I am so excited about this peer workshop! I have been wanting to workshop my writing all term, so I am glad to finally be able to. It is always nice to get a fresh perspective on your writing, as reading a draft over and over again gets annoying. I am HOPING that my piece of writing gets all marked up so I  can revise and expand my writing.

I have only workshopped writing once, and that was in class. So, this take home workshop is a whole new project for me. How are you liking this type of peer workshop?

Article Discussion

The first part of the article had me thinking "well DUH"... The basics of psychology tell us that we are shaped by our surroundings; what we do, who we do it with etc. So, when this author brought up the idea of extracurricular performances and writing influence each other (academic and non-academic) I completely agreed, but I was also waiting for something a little deeper and more promising.  

I suppose this article expanded more on the view of non-academic writing by adding in more verbal areas of communication such as a play that could be considered a type of writing. But the idea of role-playing in writing classrooms which seemed to me like classes already available: speech, debate, small group communications, drama, and acting classes ring a bell?

So, as I read on I began to understand the foothold performance has on youth.  Students seem to want to express themselves without being constricted by specific topics or strict guidelines. This leads me to believe performance is an inevitable part of the academic future. I am not sure at this moment if it will create a positive outcome for writing, but I do know it will change writing drastically. My only wish is that these performance centered writing classes be offered to higher level students due to the importance of academic writing in your beginning level courses.

ALLERGIES

After hours of research, I finally chose a specific avenue regarding sunflowers. Initially I was leaning toward an edible twist for sunflowers, but nearly all the research I found was vague and uninteresting. I felt no spark or intrigue when searching for nearly three hours. Finally on a whim I searched allergic reactions and hit the mother-load! 

Throughout my research travels, many allergy journals were complied which contained specific case studies with references to sunflower seeds, pollen and dust. The research was fascinating and ranged from dermal to lung allergic reactions. The most promising article referenced a specific protein that caused the allergic reaction, this could prove important for potential vaccines. 

Now I am faced with a narrative project that is quite promising. I will be discussing allergies in the manor of an allergy journal review. The entertaining part will be my unique twist on it all. I am undecided when it comes to my contribution, but I have though of some possibilities. 

1) Use this research to propose a medication (topical or oral) instead of a vaccine. 

2) Propose sunflower petals as a potential allergen. 

3) Compare to peanuts and discuss the unimportance/ insignificance of sunflower allergies.

Any thoughts?

Sunflower Petals

Alright, I may be thinking too hard. I need to come up with some sort of new twist on sunflowers. This is a daunting task... These plants have been around ofr hundreds of thousands of years and I just dont know what to do. I have thought and thought about it, but I just cant find something new to contribute to sunflowers. 
Lets face it, they are used in bread, tea, nut-butters, biodiesel, salads... and thats just to name a few. Should I come up with an idea about sunflower petals? That topic seems the least over-done, I am just not sure that I can think of something original. So, as for sunflower petals.. all I know right now is that they are edible, bitter and peppery, but edible! They are used in teas, you can sugar coat them and add them to ice cubes. 

Sunflower Petals

Sunflower petals...
Brainstorm:
- Possible use in prenatal tablets (What could it promote? Could it help the development of a fetus?)
- What properties does a sunflower petal have? How could this be used medicinally? (Anti-inflammatory, coagulant, pain reliever?) "Sunflower-aid"
- Use the petals as a sort of wrap or tortilla? (Do they hold-up when cooked, or do they fall apart?)
- Benefit of using sunflower petals in shakes? (Protein shakes.. nutritional value?)

Here comes the hard part. It is time to look up each of these ideas and run with the idea that leads to the most amount of research and literature to back up a entire paper. I still believe the hardest part in all of this will be finding something that has not been said before. I am sure these are "odd ball" ideas for flower petals, but sunflowers have been grown for many years and thus my challenge begins. 
Let me know what you think about my brainstorming. 

                                                                 

Rise of THE Sunflowers!

I suppose it is that time of the week, time to pick an article.

So, I have been thinking... and thinking... and thinking!

I have analyzed a few articles throughout my college career but they were all articles I liked and agreed with. I have decided to take a road less traveled and analyze an article I am not fond of. I found an article titled The Rise of Sunflowers in a botany journal that is ridiculously vague and all over the place. I am hoping that the flaws in the authors writing will help me create great talking points in my paper.

Wish me luck!

Biting the Bullet

Sunflowers are an overwhelming topic to say the least. There so many avenues I could take, but I ultimately have to slim it down to one. So I will share some specific ideas with you and see where it takes me.

Possibilities for analysis:

1) A poem

Four poems about sunflowers caught my eye... they are amazing! I am not sure if I am allowed to analyze a poem. If I am, I think it would be the most fun route for this up and coming paper.

2) The lineage of Sunflowers

I found a great article on the lineage of flowers in a botany journal. 

3) Sunflower oil as biodiesel

I found two articles on this where they analyzed the combustion rates to make sure the sunflower oil could preform well as a biodiesel. Both of the experiments I looked at agreed that sunflower oil can be used as biodiesel.

4) Sunflower use in teaching

A kindergarten teacher used Van Gogh's Sunflowers as a teaching platform for art. It had a bunch of pictures that the kids drew of Sunflowers replicating Van Gogh.  

Topic Trouble

Sunflower Seed Spread
 (Aka: Sunbutter)

Sunflower Oil





 

Alight I am going to be honest, yesterdays class scared me a bit. I am supposed to come up with a new twist on sunflowers... something that has not been thought of before. Goodness, this feels like a daunting task and I am completely dreading it. I suppose I have only been putting it off for two days. I need help getting over this fear. Any advice?

Sunflower Seeds

Final Decision

Do I pick an easy topic or do I pick a topic I am passionate about?... that is the question.

I think it is time in my college career to pick a topic I am actually passionate about. I should not pick one that is simple or one that could be somewhat interesting when I have the perfect topic at my fingertips. It is time I move from my boring little box and live a little. I have thought long and hard over the past couple weeks and talked myself into SUNFLOWERS!


I would like to thank all of you for your amazing input. It is so helpful when picking a topic to receive feedback from an outside observer.

Picking a Topic-- My Thought Process

Does the topic work for future writing assignments?

Will I be able to find enough research information? 

Will I be able to think of something "unthought" of about this topic? 

How well can I analyze this topic?

Topic 1) Nutrition

I am already taking a class on this subject and will not be required to write any essays. So, I really do not want to tackle this large topic. 

DISCARD PILE

Topic 2) Dancing

I have been in dance classes since I was four years old and have lost nearly all my love for dancing. It is a somewhat depressing topic due to the behavior of other dancers and jealousy (not on my part). I do not think I could be passionate about this subject even if you paid me.

DISCARD PILE

Topic 3) Public Transportation (Costs and Benefits)

Lets just say that I dislike public transportation with a passion. I do not like random people to sit next to me nor do I like to be bothered while I am CLEARLY doing homework of some sort. I use public transportation because its inexpensive and I am a poor college student. If I chose this topic I would not want to argue the positives, I would want to argue the negative aspects of public transportation.

DISCARD PILE

Topic 4) Sunflowers 

Is there one thing you think about that always makes you smile? No matter my mood, no matter where I am, sunflowers always make me smile. It may be their perky color, or the fresh sent of summer that brings me happiness. I am curious about all the varieties as well as future uses for sunflower oil. Will I be able to run a car on sunflower oil? Is sunflower oil a healthy alternative?

POSSIBILITY

Topic 5) Death

This topic would be interesting if you went broad and compared burial traditions with other countries. Also, I think this topic is too 

broad and daunting since I know little about traditions in other countries.

DISCARD PILE 

Topic 6) Instant Gratification ( ipad, iphone, google, e-readers)

This topic is so interesting because you can take it so many different directions. You could talk about youth and how cellphones, e-readers and google have influenced the world these children grow up in.  You can even talk about the elderly and how they have been influenced by electronics. I believe i will be able to find ample studies and resources regarding instant gratification. 

POSSIBILITY 

There you have it-- I have narrowed my choices down to only two.

Initial Post

     I have been brainstorming topics for the upcoming topic proposal all day long. I initially thought a familiar topic would be easier and thus a great idea. I have since then decided that I would like to write about an unfamiliar topic so I can expand my knowledge. This is the time to learn and broaden my mind so I am choosing to embrace it. So far I have created a list of six possible topics. I do not gravitate to any particular one and will choose based on information availability.

Possible Topics
1). Nutrition
2). Dancing
3). Public Transportation (Cost and Benefits)
4). Sunflowers
5). Death
6). Instant Gratification (impulsive decisions, netflix, ipad, iphone, google)