Post Lesson 3 Work

Discussion Board Replies
Writing has to be organized or else it won't make sense to the reader. Even though passages of writing can be plain and seen as precious, they need adequate description of events, places, people, and things that are going on in the story or else the reader will not understand what they are reading about. However, too much description will simply cause the reader to lose focus and wonder if there is something of a simpler nature that they can read instead. One does not simply gain knowledge just by reading something new; one gains knowledge by reading something that they can understand and appreciate even if it is something they have read before. All writing has a certain amount of potential and whether that potential grows or shrinks is up to the writer. The writer of something has control of what they write and how much it can draw people in depending on how it is written. Written work that is given time and enough love that it is written in a pleasurable fashion will attract positive attention. Writing is not well organized and either over or under-descriptive, however, will not attract attention of readers simply because a messy piece of writing is not often considered attractive enough to read. 

It is truly a wonderful thing if one who reads about the gospel already has a knowledge of it, as they can come to love it even more than they already do. However, it is even more wonderful when someone who doesn't have a knowledge of the gospel reads something associated with it, as it is an opportunity for them to learn something new if they are willing to open their mind. The gospel was written in such a way that even people who don't know of it or much about it can read and learn to appreciate it if they want to. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ provide plain truths that are reasonably easy for those with open minds to understand if they choose to. Those who find beauty in the plain truths of the gospel make those truths precious simply by embracing them into their lives. We can enjoy the blessings that come from the gospel if we are so willing to just have an open mind and take the time to learn.

Speaking Partner Experience # 4

I met with Ismenia this morning and we went over the pronunciation of interjections and exponents.

I try to speak using proper grammar, so a lot of the terms were somewhat strange, but not hard to understand. Some of the terms are more to familiar to Ismenia than other terms are. We discussed what experiences have prompted us to have 'Aha' or moments of understanding.

I love working with Ismenia and it makes me to teach English to others in another country someday.

Lesson 3

I started the lesson preparation by reading this week's reading assignments, which were three essays that sounded very interesting. The essays were about the personal beliefs of individuals and they all started with a clear declaration of the belief itself. A belief has to be clear before it can be declared.

I then watched three videos on Paragraph and Essay Development that talked about narrative writing, tone and voice, and how reading improves writing. 

I also made an initial Discussion Board post as part of the weekly assignments.

"I believe that people should take pride in what they do, even if it is scorned or misunderstood by the public at large." from the essay Do What You Love by Tony Hawk perfectly illustrates the point the author is trying to make because the whole essay is largely about following your own dreams as you dream them and not changing your dreams just because they are scorned or misunderstood by others. Not everyone has the same goals or ambitions and we should all be comfortable with that fact, but in reality, not everyone is comfortable with the idea of independent thinking. We all have the choice to keep our dream as we have laid it out, even if all we can do is keep it in our heart and mind until our circumstances change. Circumstances may not be in our control, but nobody can control our desires.

Nobody has the right to control our heart and mind even if we do not have control over our personal circumstances. In his essay, Tony Hawk makes it clear that he chose and continues to choose keeping his dream the way he wants it even if it is viewed as a waste of time by others around him. It is sadly very true that some who have dreams change them in order to fit in with their circumstances or the demands of others, but people shouldn't have to fully walk away from what they love in order to please others. Even if you have to do something else in order to meet personal or familial needs, it is still very possible to hold on to and even dabble in things that contribute to living your dream. 

We may not be able to pursue our dreams full-time all the time, but that doesn't mean we should give them up entirely. There is a beauty in balancing life's demands with activities related to dreams, as life is too short to be focused solely on seriousness and dabbling in dreams can breathe new life into you. However, as Professor Dumbledore said in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone said, "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." There must be a balance between living life and living out dreams, as neither can really be beneficial without the other to keep one's self in check.

This week's Grammar Lesson was on Comma Use and I have to admit that the reading and video were very informative, as I have never worked with American grammar before. This is all very new to me and even though I may not get perfect marks on everything, I want to do my absolute best.

I then took the Comma Use quiz and got 100% on the first try because I remembered the FANBOYS rule and took my time doing the quiz.

Post Lesson 2 Work

I met with a writing tutor to finalize modifications on my paper before I handed it in. I have been told I did a good job with it for the most part, but I am nervous about writing university-level papers.

I was just told my opening paragraph was FLAWLESS! I was also told that I am amazing at writing and have kicked off the writing portion with eloquence. Tutor Brietta said my professor will be blown away by how eloquent my writing is, which I hope will turn out to be the case.

Discussion Board Replies:
I think that it's really important to remember that not everyone has the sense of sight, so they use their other senses to understand what is out in the world. The naked eye can see everyday things and occurrences, but it takes a deeper vision to see the inner beauty of everything and that is my reasoning behind why the Lord looks upon our hearts; our hearts tell him the truth and our desires while our words may not be what is necessarily true. There is more fun and more to learn when you try to see with more than just your eyes, as you can see truths and hidden treasures with your other senses and also your feelings.

I find it fascinating that in plain sight, turtles can be seen as slow and defenseless, but they know how to take care of themselves and know how to enjoy life. Turtles are slow not because they are big, but because they are treading through life with a caution that more of us should have when it comes to mortality. Turtles are often perceived as lazy and defenseless simply because of their appearance, but they have a hard shell to protect them when evil seeks to subtly destroy them and they can also fight back to protect what is sacred to them. Instead of rushing through life, maybe we need to take a lesson or two from the turtle and actually take the time to look around at our life. Knowing where we are and where we want to go, as a turtle does, may help us avoid subtle dangers. Turtles take the time to become aware of their surroundings and they are better at avoiding trouble than we often are, as we don't often take the time to take in our surroundings.

Speaking Partner Experience # 3

Ismenia and I met today at 11:10, as she had to work on Tuesday. Today's conversation revolved around requesting an explanation. Ismenia read a few things to me and said the questions were kind of familiar and she understands them because they are how she can ask something to her mentor, which is me, that she didn't understand. We then discussed questions about Excel and also did some pronunciation practice with fractions. We also detoured and worked on Ismenia's math for a bit and I showed her how to do division properly by showing her verbally through steps. In Brazil, math is quite different and it is a pleasure to teach her in a way that will help her become successful.

Lesson 2 Work

I started off by correcting the alterations made to the love letter that I wrote last week and saw edited by the very few peers that made it to class on Thursday. Because of the weather, we only had seven people show up and only one of those people was from out of town; the rest were from Lethbridge.

This week's grammar lesson pertains to run-on sentences and it will be very interesting to see what I can learn about them. First, I read a handout on run-on sentences and then, I watched a Writing Center video that talked about run-on sentences. I also reviewed comma splices and fused-on sentences before reviewing practice exercises.

In the first practice exercise, I got 100% and in the second practice exercise, I got 90%

I then did the run-ons grammar quiz and got 100% on the very first try!

After the quiz, I turned my attention to the readings for the week.

Discussion Board Post:

The passage I chose as my favorite comes from the excerpt Dandelions by Robert Fulghum and that passage reads, "...The young leaves make a spicy salad. The flowers add fine flavor and elegant color to a classic light wine. Toast the roots, grind and brew, and you have a palatable coffee. The tenderest shoots make a tonic tea. The dried mature leaves are high in iron, vitamins A and C, and make a good laxative. Bees favor dandelions, and the cooperative result is high-class honey."

This passage contains very descriptive writing that allows readers to create images in their minds about people using parts of the dandelions for various purposes. The way the passage is written also sends a message to the reader and that message is that everyone and everything has value to to someone and a valuable purpose in life. Each part of the dandelion is said to have a very unique purpose that proves beneficial to the pleasure of those who see the dandelion as being more than just a pesky weed that needs to be exterminated; it also tells us that we are worth more than what we may see in the mirror. When a reader can apply a passage of writing to themselves and find value in themselves as a result of what is being said about a simple object, it gives said reader confidence and motivation to love themselves.

If purpose and beauty can be found in a simple object by the writer, the reader will look at themselves and realize that they also have purpose and beauty. A writer's job in writing is to bring a sense of imagery to a reader through their writing and if the writing creates enough imagery, the reader can and probably will imagine themselves within the realm of possibilities that they are reading about. If something is written well enough, it can give a reader power and courage to live beyond their comfort zone because the writing makes them believe that all things are possible, even for them.

I also watched some videos on Paragraph and Essay Development.

Post Lesson 1 Work

Main Post: President Monson's talk on how to communicate effectively. 

President Monson took a great deal of time and energy to present in the topic of communication because he wanted to make sure that he conveyed what he and the Lord felt were necessary messages. Both time and communication are very valuable commodities that are needed to survive mortality, but they are two of the most troublesome things to man simply because they are not always used in an effective manner. It may simply be a matter of not knowing how to communicate effectively and that might be why conflict happens, so instead of continuing to foster conflict, people need to learn how to communicate effectively in order to prevent or stop an active conflict from growing. There are many types of communication and not all of the types are always used properly simply because people don't know how to use them. Many academic and non-academic courses are available to teach people how to communicate properly, but people often fear learning new things because it means that they will need to step out of their comfort zone and use a little faith. Faith is not always an easy thing to exercise. 

 

As far as writing goes, it is a very expressive type of communication and great detail can be used to make a point, but at the same time, one has to know what points are pertinent to include in writing and what points will prove ineffective to the written word. Even if people are shaky with their verbal communication, they can still express themselves through writing and communicate effectively using that medium so long as they understand the finer points of writing. If one does not understand how to write, it is very possible to learn as long as one is willing to take the time and energy to learn. President Monson is good at both verbal and written communication not only because he understands the finer points of both communication mediums and practices them, he also continually works to have the Spirit with him and all things are possible through the Spirit of God even if we do not see it as being possible. The Spirit of God has the ability to help us be strong even in our weaknesses.

 

Knowing about proper communication helps us to have the confidence to use it to not only get to know others around us, but to also foster a sense of unity with others by creating open relationships. Creating such unity is a gesture of love and charity is the pure love of Christ put into action. When we have enough confidence in ourselves to use communication to build unity with others, positive feelings such as friendship and love eventually develop and when we are harboring and expressing love, that invites the Spirit of God to be with us. When we have the Spirit of God with us, we are more likely to receive personal revelation and when we receive revelation, we need to record it either on paper so we can reflect upon what we are taught or we need to record it in our hearts. Writing down things that we are taught through God's Spirit tells God that we are listening to what he has to tell us and that we are open to future revelations. Even if we never share what we write with anyone else when it comes to revelation, we need to write our personal revelations down so we can show God that we have heard him and actually care about what He has to tell us. When we actively show God that we care about what He has to say, He will often give us more revelation. We keep the Spirit with us by recording revelation and showing God that we care about learning as much as He cares about teaching us.

Reply # 1: When you look at another writer's work and then take away all the descriptive terms and simplify things, it makes what might be a compelling passage seem rather boring. Detail is what illuminates a plain passage and it is what attracts readers, as readers often enjoy reading detailed writing because it allows them to create an image of what they are reading in their minds and allows to sort of be part of what they are reading as if they were there. The idea of 'living through reading' is why people often choose to read books, as it will give them vicarious experiences that they might never have outside of reading. Reading seems to allow people to forget the barriers they have in life. Reading allows people to live out fantasies in their minds.

Reply # 2: We have to communicate in order to let others know what we want or need, as people are generally not mind-readers and cannot be of help to another if they don't know their needs. Even if another's verbal communication is not easy to understand or non-existent, there is a beauty and saving grace in being able to use writing or signals to make needs or wants known. If our actions are clear enough to convey a point, maybe words are not always necessary. There were no words to describe the Atonement, yet the purpose of the Atonement was clearly communicated through Christ's actions. Christ so willingly put Himself through such agony and didn't save Himself from it despite knowing how to and having the power to stop his suffering whenever He wanted to, which is what we read in the scriptures. Words are often just words and it takes showing how we feel or what we mean in order to appear legitimate in our communication.