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McLendon
Jasmine R. McLendon
Jasmine R. McLendon
Jasmine R. McLendon
Jasmine R. McLendon Ms. Caruso English 1101 04 September 2013 My Revised Literacy Memoir My stance on writing and reading as of now is that of someone who loves to write and read. I feel that writing is a fervent way to express feelings, thoughts, and ideas. I came to hold this view because I have had a passion for writing since elementary school. Growing up, I have learned a lot about reading and writing and its significant value. In my opinion, there is no way to live a successful or descent life without knowing how to read or write. I say this because everything consists of either reading or writing. For example, there is no way to fully express yourself other than speaking and even then you dont let everything out. Also, you have to know how to read in order to get the full meaning of something. Anybody can tell you anything, but reading it for yourself will allow you to understand and interpret it in your own way thats best for you. I see the value of reading in place in my life today because I needed reading and writing to get to the place Im at in my life right now. Without reading and writing I wouldnt have full knowledge of certain things and I wouldnt be able to fully express myself or interest others. I have had many good experiences throughout my life in writing. During my elementary, middle, and high school years I earned good grades for my writing because it is something I enjoy doing. I never made below a B on a paper and those Bs were close to As. In elementary, I wrote plays and presented them to my classmates. There was even a time where my third grade teacher enjoyed one of my plays so much, she invited my classmates parents to come see my classmates and I perform it. When writing plays, I used to try to make them seem
Jasmine R. McLendon
like real life, unlike my stories that I wrote which were mainly fantasies. This specific play I named after my favorite TV show at the time, Family Matters. While writing this play I wanted to make it like a real life situation where there was a problem that had to be solved. I dont remember every detail about the play (I have a copy of it at home), but I do remember typing scripts for the people who played in it and we would rehearse during our recess. When we presented the play, I was proud of myself because of the reactions I got from the parents. They were really into the play as one would be into a good movie. Many of them told my parents, Gosh shes a very smart girl to have sat and came up with such a bright idea. Im pretty sure some of the parts of the play were a bit rudimentary because after all I was only like eight or nine but Im sure the parents were looking at the fact that I was that young coming up with ideas like these. In middle school I earned a Level IV on my seventh grade writing test which I wrote about an imaginary palace that consisted of a huge dragon that was trying to kill my friends and I. As I started out in high school I found that writing began to get more and more difficult each year as teachers began to look for more in my writing such as better wording of things and stronger words. My family knew that I was a great writer and they would encourage me to speak on my writings but I admit that I am not the best speaker and I often refused that option. As far as reading, I have always mastered it because it is something that I also love doing. Starting in elementary school until about my ninth grade year in high school, my grandmother would always tell me to read a chapter out of a chapter book each day during the week then she would tell me to tell her what I read about or she would have me to write a summary of what I read. I remember liking to read things that actually interested me and kept my attention. For example, I absolutely loved reading mystery books such as Cam Jansen Mysteries because they
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kept my attention and I would want to read past my twenty minute mark because of the suspense within the books. I have great comprehension skills. But, I do find comprehending poems and rhetoric writing hard considering the fact that you have to dig deep and crack the writings surface. I found this to be one of my biggest struggles my junior and senior years of high school. My communication skills in and outside of school are not as good as they should be because as I mentioned earlier I am not the best speaker and speaking in front of people makes me nervous. Also, when communicating with others, I find myself not being able to get out what I truly mean or what Im really trying to say. At times you will see me stumble over my words or stop in the middle of what Im saying in order to try to seek a better way of wording or specific words to fit what I am trying to say. But, it all depends on my audience. Outside of school when Im with my friends or family the fact that speaking to them is easy, I can better communicate with them. Experiences outside of school and at home have shaped my literacy just as much, or maybe even more than school has. I say this because my experiences outside of school give me much more to write about because all kinds of things take place in a persons life outside of school different from what would take place in school. For example, as a part of my literacy I like to express myself in different ways one of which I love to sing, which is one of my specific literacies. In school, I cant just burst out into song because people would look at me as if Im crazy. Also, personal life experiences like my past relationships, my religion, my morals, and many other things shape my literacy in a way that school and teachers cant. Important things that people should know about my literacy history is that Im better at writing to entertain or express my feelings on a topic rather than writing about something that I read such as compare and contrast, argumentative, and expanding on rhetorical devices. Since
Jasmine R. McLendon
the first day of Ms. Carusos class, I have learned a lot about literacy that I had never learned before. Also, I have learned some new things about myself in this class. I always thought that literacy was basically the way a person reads and writes. But, from her and the readings she gives us, I have learned that literacy can be a persons way of thinking, their way of life, and the way they convey these things to people. For example, when we brought in our literacy artifacts, Ms. Caruso brought in a pair of clogging shoes explaining to us that clogging is something that she loves doing and that she could tell us what we needed to know about clogging. I brought in a mirror as my artifact because the mirror represented how my literacy history and my literacy today is a reflection of me. Learning this has shaped my literacy history because it is actually a pivotal point. I say this because at this point, I learned that literacy is not only reading and writing, but it can also be the things that people love and know best. As I look back, I have only talked about my literacy experinces in terms of my writing and reading skills but I now know that literacy can go way beyond these things. When my classmate, Ashley Proctor, responded to my literacy memoir, she pointed out that I am in both the success and literacy winner archetype categories. This was something new that I had learned because I had never knew the different literacy archetypes nor which ones best fit me. This experience shaped my literacy because it added to my list of experiences by giving me a new way to see myself. I am not the same Jasmine as a writer as I was before, I am an example of the success and literacy winner archetypes. This gives me a new way to reflect on myself and express myself as a writer. My writing process consists of me planning first. Once the right thing comes to mind, I jot down an introduction, body, and conclusion. The things that I jot down are ideas, not exactly what my paper will say. As Im writing my introduction, body, and conclusion, I add more as it comes to mind. I do try to revise my writing to the best of my ability after I have read over it.
Jasmine R. McLendon
One thing that I need to change about my writing process is knowing exactly where to put certain words, phrases, and sentences throughout whatever it is that Im writing. I feel that knowing exactly what it is that a person wants out of my writing and knowing what they are looking for and clarifying it in a way that I can understand would make writing easier for me. I think that this semester holds great things for me considering the fact that Ms. Caruso stated that this class focusses on improving me as a writer. I am nervous and eager at the same time about this class. Im nervous because I just want to do everything that I need to do and I hope that Im able to meet all of the requirements. Im eager because I am confident about becoming a better writer because it is something that I love doing. But, my number one concern is doing all that I can in order to maintain an above just passing grade. Part Four The way that my own personal experiences have shaped my literacy history, good or bad, may have affected others in a whole different way. My experience of writing the play was a positive experience for me as well as my classmates and their parents. I saw this through their expressions and the comments they gave afterwards which motivated me as a writer. My bad experiences such as not being the best at analyzing poems a more complex writings affected me in a bad way in the way that they kind of discouraged me. But, as for my teachers, they may have been moved by the fact that I actually tried my best and they could see that I put time and effort into what I wrote. Also, I mentioned how when Im speaking I often struggle when trying to get my point across. My audience may receive this as a common issue that a lot of people have and they may not see it the way I do. Very often I feel bad and say Sorry when I struggle to get my point across and whoever I am talking to will say Its fine. I understand what you are saying. When I hear this from them, it makes me feel better. When I think of how my
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experiences shaped my literacy history I also think of how they shaped me as an overall person. All of my experiences have made me a stronger writer and each time I learn something new its added on. So every day, my literacy is expanding because I am experiencing new things good and bad. The overall tone of this paper reflects that while I was writing it I was in a very serious and passionate mood. You can see this by how I explain my experiences and by the ways I expressed how they impacted me. I hope that my audience can feel this tone and see my mood represented throughout my writing.