discussion replies

English Discussion

What craft techniques does Didion employ throughout the essay? Draw on all of our craft targets over the last six weeks to help you answer. How would you characterize the voice of the essay? How do the craft techniques Didion employs help create this voice or, set this tone? How would you classify “Slouching Towards Bethlehem”? Is it a memoir? Creative nonfiction? Literary fiction? Or, is it a hybrid of some sort? Share your thoughts on these questions, and be sure to respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts, as well.

reply ( 50 words) 1 brownie

Joan Didion” Slouching Towards Bethlehem is a harsh look at the amount of drugs and mindset of people during the early 1960s.  Joan is writing in narrative nonfiction with some pose poetry in the mix.  While reading the story you can tell, Joan had a tremous amount of research because in the essay she goes though several different people to gain the full effect of the 1960's . The number of dangerous situations she could have been is unreal.  She had to go to great lengths to gain the literary detail she needed in this essay.   I don’t believe Slouching Towards Bethlehem has elements of creative nonfiction because there is not just one climax. There are several ups and downs in this story. For example she talks about the girl laying in the floor and then in a week later she is still there.  Then, in the essay the guy tells Joan the girl has Pneumonia and was in the hospital. 

Reply 2 Joseph ( 50 words)

I was a preteen when this article first appeared.  Although I did not live in California, I can attest that the Summer of Love mentality and the excessive drug use were real. 

This is not my first exposure to Joan Didion’s work.  Each time I read Didion’s "Slouching Towards Bethlehem," I am amazed at how calm, cool, and collected her reporting methods are in the article.  She describes pure chaos and the unraveling of society as calmly as listing the food in her pantry.

Didion narrates the story from the first-person point of view but still manages to slip her thoughts into the accounts.  For example, when trying to talk with the police, Didion states, “I wonder why it is taboo to talk to Officer Gerrans” and “I wonder if I can talk to anyone at all in the police department.”  When she describes meeting the three-year-old child Michael, you can almost feel the remorse in her writing.  Even in that instant, Didion’s account of Michael is a matter of fact and cold in nature.  Additionally, although there are many characters in the article, I think that Didion saw herself as the main protagonist.  That is, Didion made all the decisions regarding the story’s direction.

I think this is an excellent example of using creative nonfiction in journalism.  Her description of the imagery of San Francisco, particularly the Haight-Ashbury district, is spectacular.

Each time I read this article, I am struck by the societal similarities that still exist today.  Didion may well have been a seer, like Nostradamus.  Particularly in San Francisco, which still seems to have the same issues of homelessness, drug abuse, and crime.  Did the generation described in Didion’s article learn anything?  They are now parents and grandparents.  They are our social and political leaders. 

Psyc discussion

In addition to publishing one’s research, scientists are frequently tasked with presenting their work at conferences and other venues. Why are presentations important in the academic community?

Next week, you will prepare a presentation covering your research. How will you identify what to focus on in your presentation? What areas will you exclude, if any, from the presentation, and why?

Brennan 1 100 words

There are some key distinctions to be made when considering the differences between editing and proofreading. Proofreading focus is mainly to help the author correct minor errors and make small tweaks to the paper such as identifying spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Proofreading does not require an in-depth knowledge of the subject with which the writer is writing on but more so an overall knowledge of writing and reading comprehension. Proofreading is design to assist in the aesthetics of the final paper rather than major revisions to the final paper (Levisohn 2019). On the other hand, "editing is the process of improving the overall quality of writing to make an essay the best it can possibly be. It uses much more creativity and often considers the feelings of the work's audience" (Levisohn 2019).  Editing can suggest major changes to the final paper by examining if the conclusions within the paper are effectively communicated to the target audience as well as evaluating the tone and persuasiveness of the paper. Unlike the proofreader, the editor is required to have a more in-depth knowledge of the subject that the author of the paper is writing on as they need to be able to make sure that the paper's points and meaning is perceived in the clearest way by the target audience. Both editing and proofreading allow for the reader to have assistance to most effectively communicating their ideas to their readers. A second pair of eyes can allow for errors to be corrected that the author may not see and yield a more thorough and persuasive final paper. 

“Proofreading Suite of Courses.” CIEP,  https://www.ciep.uk/training/choose-a-course/proofreading-suite-courses .

Reply 2 Lisa 100 words

Editing and proofreading are often confused, and the terms are used interchangeably. However, editing and proofreading are very different. 

 

When a paper is edited, it is checked for clarity, organization, conciseness, transition, and if there is enough supporting evidence. Editing may involve checking that the content meets the assignment criteria, makes an argument, has supporting evidence, and this evidence is relevant. Checking the structure of a paper would encompass the thesis statement, introduction, conclusion, structure, order, the transition between paragraphs, and flow of the paper. The clarity of the terms and sentences will be checked, along with the appropriate use of style. The style includes gender-neutral terms, tone, passive voice use, and sentence structure variability. Lastly, the in-text citations and references will be checked for errors.

 

Proofreading focuses on errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. This step is done after editing. Proofreading is an important step to making your writing free of errors that might distract the reader. It is worth the time spent to carefully proofread your paper. 

 

By editing and proofreading your paper, you will present a more polished and professional paper that is concise, strongly supported with facts, easy to read, and does not distract the reader with mistakes. 

 

Editing and Proofreading. (2019). Unc.edu. https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/

Discussion 2

In addition to publishing one’s research, scientists are frequently tasked with presenting their work at conferences and other venues. Why are presentations important in the academic community?

Next week, you will prepare a presentation covering your research. How will you identify what to focus on in your presentation? What areas will you exclude, if any, from the presentation, and why?

Reply 1 (100 words) brennan

Scientists are frequently tasked to present their research for a multiple key reasons. In my opinion, presenting is the most effective way to communicate the conclusions drawn from one's research. Presenting one's research can reach a larger target audience than merely relying on other methods. Further, presentations are important in the academic community as it allows students to develop communication skills that will be a resource they will likely use in the work force. Also, presenting material calls for a higher level of understanding and mastery of the topic the student or even the professor is presenting on. 

In my own presentation, I will place an emphasis on the data that specifically answers the research question and on the conclusions that were drawn from said data. In my presentation I will also focus on communicating how the topic has a real-world application and communicating the ways in which it is relevant and something to be aware of in our everyday lives. I will likely exclude some of the explanations and less significant details that were needed in the body paragraphs to support some of the key points in my presentation. 

Reply 2 Shandra ( 100 words)

There are many reasons that presentations are important. Presentations work on communication skills, builds confidence and helps with leadership skills. When presenting information the presenter usually has a purpose for the presentation and this determines the way the individual presents the information. If they are trying to persuade, they will need to show some passion in order to create an emotion in the audience and compel them to act or change their minds about something. This is very important in the social science world because continuing research is what drives this field. If an individual wants a particular topic of research to be further investigated they can follow up their research paper with a presentation that convinces the audience to do so. When preparing to present on my research, I will focus on making sure that the audience is aware of the importance of my topic. I will make sure that my research is organized and flows easily so that no one is confused and in turn, no longer interested. I will refrain from overwhelming the audience with too many of the research numbers but instead, present a few just to show some results to support my topic. These results will help new researchers find new avenues to explore and identify whether my research topic is valid or not. If it is determined to be true, then this means that continued research will be needed to find a solution to the issue. However, if it is concluded that there are some inconsistencies in the research or further research is needed to confirm that the topic is not true, the research will only continue for a short period. I will use all parts of my research paper but I will not present the paper word for word.