Personality Profile

How do the people in your group affect the outcome of your work?

As I stated in my last post about group work, I don’t enjoy it. I worry about how the others will do working in the group. There are some people who help in the group and then there are those folks who don’t really care about anything. For some reason, I always got put with the group of slackers. Maybe because the teacher thought I could motivate them to do work. Well, that was not the case. It happened all the time in my English classes. And honestly, it started to piss me off. I started to hate group work, and when we did have group work I would beg my teacher to let me do a project by myself. I usually had a good argument, and ended up doing projects by myself. 

It makes me nervous to do group work. I am afraid that people wont pull their weight and leave one or two of us to do the entire project. And in the end their name gets put on the final project. 

When we were assigned our groups for out Wikki page, I was a little concerned. I hadn’t ever talked to either one of the people in the group, and I hadn’t read any blog posts from either of them either. I was nervous. So when our new groups were assigned, and Ms. Sasser asked if we wanted to be in new groups I was thankful. I was excited when Christian claimed me. It seems like he and I are one of the very few who talk in class. I am a talker, and I enjoy participating in discussion. I wanted a group where I could have a good discussion with the people. People who are shy aren’t good group workers, in my opinion.  When Shelbi and Christian were paired with me I was quite excited. Christian talked in class and I knew Shelbi was a hard worker. I knew that we would be a good group. I am happy to have these two in my group for the rest of the semester.

The personalities of the people in your group are a big factor in the work you put into your project. I think if you can get along well with your peers and create a good friendship the project will be a success. If you are kind of standoffish, and don’t talk in your group, then well your group is going to be awkward and unpleasant. In the end it all matters about how you build that relationship with your peers. 

Concerns in the Class.

My main concern in this class is working with groups. I am not keen on working in groups. I feel like I work a lot better by myself. I don’t feel like my grade should be a refection of others work ethic. I have been in positions where working in groups have been successful, and other times working within a group has been disastrous.  My grade should be a refection of my work, and no one elses. If  a group project is done, there is really no way to know who did what work, and who did no work.  I really have no other major concerns about this class. I am quite fond of the learning style, and only having to come to class one day a week. I like the blogging, and I think this is a good way to learn. For my self anyway.

How has literature influenced my writing?

How have writing styles influenced my writing ?

In the past I never enjoyed writing. I had always hated it, until I  met my eleventh grade English teacher. She taught us the importance of different styles of writing and literature. I believe that literature influences everyone who writes. Every author has had some sort of influence for their writing style. Mrs. Porter, my eleventh and twelfth grade English teacher, taught us to look at every type of literature, and to think about what the author was thinking about at this time. Although it’s difficult to understand why an author chooses to write what he or she does, we have to think of all the possibilities.  Looking at all the different literature really influences how you choose to write what you do. It also shows you the different styles of writing you can use. If it is mystery, suspense, romance, drama or comedy. My favorite of the American authors is Henry David Thoreau. In his novel, Walden, he recalls the places he lived before settling down at Walden Pond. He uses his experiences to guide him, and therefore leading him to the pond.  He chooses to create his own sanctuary at Walden. I guess you could say a paradise to live the simple life. He writes in such detail, you can almost picture it in your head. As I wrote my paper in Eleventh grade, I always seemed to refer back to Walden, and other works of Thoreau, I remember the detail he puts into his writing. And when I attempt to write, I try to put as much detail into my writing as I can. I want to paint a picture for my readers, to help them imagine, and have a mental picture of the idea I am trying to portray. I believe it is important to engage your readers, or try to engage them.

In twelfth grade, Mrs. Porter was my British Literature teacher. She forced us to read all these different stories and novels. Beowulf, Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. British literature showed me how not to write, not that I am British or anything. It just seemed so dry to me, and I was extremely bored. Jane Eyre was my favorite novel in the class. The others made me want to shoot myself! Mrs. Porter introduced us to many different styles of writing, although each period in time has a different style. It has helped shape my writing and helped me become a stronger writer.

Ramble..Ramble..

Its so hard to write about a topic unless you are really interested in it. And when you have nothing to write, its hard to fill a paper.  The problem i am going to have to overcome is rambling. You just go on and on, on a subject you pretend  to know about. But we all know, that we could care less about a paper. Its an awful truth to admit, but its true.  I want to learn not to ramble, to actually make my paper interesting, and not have to worry about boring my readers half to death.