Response to the Advertisement Project (thus far)

When I first discovered that I was going to be creating my own advertisement as an assignment for English 207, my primary feeling was excitement. A project like this one is a wonderful opportunity for me to delve into my imagination and produce an artistic creation that is all my own. I have always loved art and pictures, so this advertisement project has been a very smooth and enjoyable process for me. I truly enjoy watching my ideas come to life as I begin to draw and sketch my advertisement ideas down on paper. However, the technological aspect of the project is a bit of a challenge for me because I do not own a digital camera, but I am borrowing one from a friend. I am also a bit concerned about utilizing Photoshop to complete my final advertisement, but I think that with the help of my peers my project will continue to improve as I advance through all of the steps of the assignment. The first step of the project was the most exhilarating and straightforward part. After I read the Design Basics chapter in the Penguin Handbook, I was aware of all of the elements that I needed to include in my advertisement. So far, I have decided to create a dessert restaurant advertisement. The typeface will be bold to really stand out and my audience will target anyone with a sweet tooth. The chapter also helped me realize the importance of a color scheme in a visual advertisement so I have chosen to use light pastel colors such as pink and blue. I think the final outcome of this project will be well worth the time and energy I used to create it!

Response to the Peer Review Workshop

When I was creating my Digital Biography assignment I was excited to share my personal narrative with my fellow classmates. This particular assignment was enjoyable for me because I love delving into my past in order to understand how the elements of the past influence who I am today. The Penguin Handbook defines narrative writing as a deep reflection focusing on experiences from the past and written in first person voice. Writing in first person is always wonderful for me because I feel that when I create a composition in first person, I am speaking directly to my audience in my own voice. During the day of our peer evaluations I was both nervous and anxious to have my peers read my writing. I felt that my story was a personal extension of myself. During the process of the peer review I felt that I was sharing my writing in a safe environment because everyone in the class was required to share their writings with others. The peers that looked over my rough draft read it throroughly and gave the paper back to me offering very insightful tips on what needed to be revised or reworded. I felt that my peers gave very positive, detailed feedback regarding my paper. I also feel that my peers handled my paper and the critiquing of it in a professional and serious manner. When it was my turn to read my peer’s paper I wrote helpful notes in the margins and offered different ideas regaurding how to make the ideas of the paper flow during paragraph transitions. Overall, I feel that the class peer review workshop was a successful activity because now I see my classmates as writers who, like me, are constantly trying to improve their writing. Peer review is a great tool for our class to support one another as writers.

My Understanding of a Discourse Community

In my mind, when I reflect upon the idea of a discourse community I picture a group of individuals from various ethnic and/or religious backgrounds gathering together to verbally discuss common goals or interests. A discourse community is a group that does not necessarily share common values but do share interests, such as college majors, career goals, or a bond as simplistic as common musical tastes. In my own personal definition of discourse community, I do not limit the definition to a group of professionals or college students. Discourse communities extend and can branch out to contain every group of individuals, sharing common ideas and interests with one another through some mode of communication, whether it is verbal, or through e-mail or online chatting. There are multiple forms of communication other than verbal. With today's new technologies, it seems that communication opportunities are limitless, connecting individuals across the globe. Since the definition of discourse communication is not complete, I feel that my definition and ideas regarding it are valid. One final comment I would like to make concerns the essay excerpt by Russell. Russell commented that within the realm of the "modern university," there are many separate groups that have destroyed "linguistic hegemony," since "excluded social groups were admitted to universities." This statement seemed biased to me, and Russell needs to realize that linguistic diversity is a good thing because it enriches groups of students. After all, a university without diversity seems to me a waste of time and a loss of great experiences that could have been.

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