Final Blog #10

In my last blog the professor has given us a lot to address.This has really been a whirlwind semester. I did learn a lot about writing this semester. I learned about run on sentences, citing sources and writing persuasively. When we learned about sources we learned about primary and secondary sources. I really struggled with the essays, I love to write but this was difficult. I have not written a real research paper since 1994 or 1995.The internet was not available the last time I took an English class. The blogs were easy and a lot fun. I loved learning about blogging. I have never blogged before this class. If I could do something different it would not be taking this class online in the summer. Summer sessions are so fast paced that this was very difficult when you add the internet aspect to it. I would probably have tried to be in a classroom. I loved learning about the paranormal. The books I read about mediums were very interesting. I dislike the internet class for a core subject. I really needed the one on one contact. The best part was learning about the paranormal and all of the different things that are considered paranormal.I did however have a good time in the end. I hope that I do well when I turn in my revisions. I wish that I had utilized the teacher more when I was working on my essays. I also would have liked to have met my classmates and had their support while we were working on our essays. Overall though, I did learn and hope that I will get to use that knowledge next semester when I take English 102. Professor Stacy gave us all the tools we need to succeed. I just hope that I retained the information and can use it in all areas of my education. I hope that my classmates had a great semester and learned a lot as well.

Blog # 9

I realize that this is late, and I am really not sure how I missed the assignment. I thought that I would make the effort and do the assignment anyway. I found the peer review a little helpful. I feel like some people are very harsh when they critique someones work. I think you should be helpful without sounding critical.I fixed my format and think that I made it much better. After making the corrections, I sent it to the writing center for Review. Jeremy's comments were very helpful. I made my revisions and turned it in. I hope that I have made some improvements in my writing. I think that the most important things that I had to fix were the format and really double checking for grammar errors. I hope that everything goes well.

Blog #7

This assignment has been very challenging. When you use 5 sources there is a lot of information to research. The hardest part is try to organize all of the information that I have found, in a way that makes sense. I have done persuasive writing before, but it was not for an essay, It was for a speech and it is a little different. I have learned that, once you start doing your research and see the oppositions point of view it can start to sway your opinion. You have to stay focused on the point of view that you chose so that you can get your work done.

Blog #6

I have chosen my 5 secondary sources.They are all books

1. Psychic Sleuths: Esp and Sensational Cases by Joe Nickel.

I have chosen this book because the focus is the use of psychics in criminal investigations. It is written by a paranormal investigator named Joe Nickel. He all used a team of many types of people including magicians in his research. He addresses how often police use psychics in investigations, and if they are receptive to the use of a psychic or medium. I think that this book is going to present more of a skeptics point of view. I am going to use it for the oppositions viewpoint.

2. The Truth about Medium by Gary Swartz PhD.

This book contains information about the real Allison DuBois, the medium who the hit show Medium is based on. It also contains stories of other psychics. I am hoping that it contains some real case files that allow me to say that psychics should be used as a tool in the investigation process. I have skimmed through the book and saw there there were excerpts of incidents with noted skeptics as well. The gentleman who wrote this book received his doctorate from Harvard. I think that this is going to a credible and scientifically based source.

3. The Psychic Detective by Colin Wilson

This is written by a British author that has written several books on the human mind and existence. This book has incidents of the paranormal not limited to but including psychic crime detection. I hope that this contains enough case study for me to prove my argument. I do not believe that this contains the skeptics point of view like the first two books. This book is older so some of the other books but I think that the case files are going to be very useful in my research.

4. Adventures of a Psychic by Sylvia Browne

I am using two books by Sylvia Browne. This one is a little older than the other but it appears to have a lot of good case information that I can use. Sylvia is a very famous psychic and there is about 10 years between both books. I hope that it contains some compelling cases that prove that psychics really do help in an investigation. This book focuses on the way she helps both families and police with their investigations.

5. Insight by Sylvia Browne

This books address the gifts of world renowned psychic Sylvia Browne as well. There are many stories in this book. I am planning to just use the parts that focus on her help with the case files. It covers both crime and missing persons cases. I am hoping that with my presentation of cases that I will show that psychics can be a help in the criminal justice system. I am hoping her notoriety will support my case.

Blog #5

This week I got an early start on my assignments. I learned about persuasive writing. When you are doing persuasive writing you have to state your beliefs. You also need to provide facts to back up those beliefs. When I am writing this essay I will need to anticipate the oppositions points and address them with my rebuttals without trying to bully the other side into seeing things my way. I am looking forward to writing this piece. It should prove to be very interesting.

Blog #4

In the revision process I decided to reword a few paragraphs. I also corrected my works cited, because I did not have it in alphabetical order. I did learn that it is always good to reread your paper with a fresh set of eyes. In the revision process you make sure that the paper says what you want it to say. You also make sure that it can be understood by the reader. This process was very challenging for me since it has been so long since I have written any sort of essay or paper. I hope that by the end of this class I become a pro.

Blog #3

I think that most of the response to my essay was pretty positive. I will fix the works cited page. I may take a few other suggestions as well. I felt that in reading all of the responses to the essays that some people were very critical of others.

Before I turn in my essay I am going to reread the paragraphs and see if there are some changes that need to be made. I am going to check my punctuation and the way my paper flows. Wish me luck!