Post #5-Jimmy McGuire

Coming into this class I felt very confident in my writing, and I didn’t expect many difficulties. I had taken Honors and AP English all throughout high school and had always done well, so I thought that would translate to this course. What I had overlooked, though, is that this is my second year at Ohio State and up until this class I had only written pretty much 2 or 3 very short papers. Essentially I have simply lucked out with the professors I have had, because none of them made long essays a part of their curriculum. So I’ve gone a full year and a half without doing any kind of analytical writing, which showed at the beginning of this class.

I had not done as well as I would have liked on our first paper, because I think I actually forgot how to write good essays. I didn’t go into great detail on most of the points I was analyzing, and I suppose I simply did not analyze my subject as in depth as I should have. Plus, writing about gender and sexuality in American cartoons is a difficult subject in my opinion because it is not something we think about in our everyday lives, and requires some deep thought.

I think I eventually started to improve my writing though once the Secondary Source Analysis rolled around. I detailed my arguments much more and went into greater depth on the topic, and I connected my individual ideas much better than before. I had also received a much better grade, which is a plus. Once my commonplace manuscript was due, I felt I had written even better than before, and once again my grade had improved.

Ultimately, I think I not only “remembered” how to write good papers in general, but I think I improved to a higher mark than I ever reached before. Each successive assignment earned a higher grade than the one before it, so I think my writing improvement is especially evident there. I would attribute much of this to being forced to think analytically about our course theme, because again it is not something I had given much thought to beforehand, and so it resulted in better papers in the end. I’m happy with my performance in this class, and hopefully my writing will continue to grow in future classes.

Blog #5: Molly Hopkins

Before this class, I really did not enjoy English. I would much rather be in a Math class than an English class and I have never really enjoyed writing. However, this class definitely changed my opinions about English class. Before, I would dread writing papers, and while this class did not make me love writing papers, I feel that it did make me a better writer as well as made writing easier for me.

I really liked the structure of the class, especially how we wrote the primary source analysis before we even looked at any secondary sources. That definitely made tackling the larger, six to seven page research paper easier for me. It also helped me to remain focused and to not get caught up in using too many outside sources. Having the primary source analysis definitely made sure that my own thoughts and ideas were the basis of my research paper and that I was only using the secondary sources to back up my claims.

Another thing about this class that I really was it was my first at Ohio State that was not a big lecture class, with the exception of my recitations. I loved how laid back the class was, but it was still structured enough that I learned a lot and got my work done.

I also really enjoyed how the class was given a theme, because while gender and sexuality in animated film would probably not have been the topic that I would have chosen to write my research paper on had we been given a free topic, it did make the decision a lot easier. Had it been a free topic, I most likely would have stressed for days over what to write my paper about, and consequently wasted a lot of time and stress over nothing.

Another specific aspect of this class that I enjoyed was definitely Commonplace. I really liked getting to not only write a paper about something that I actually cared about, I enjoyed getting to read some as well. While the one that I was assigned to peer review was not the most interesting, some of the examples that we read in class were very compelling and interesting to me.

While this class was a requirement and I was not expecting to enjoy it considering my past experiences with English classes, I surprisingly really enjoyed it! I would have to say that this was my favorite class this quarter, or at least the one that I dreaded going to the least.

Blog #5: Matthew York

When I first read in my course requirements that I had to take an introductory English class, I wasn't thrilled. I had taken an English class every year of my educational career and I really wasn't looking forward to continuing. To my surprise, I actually enjoyed this class very much. I've never really considered myself a very strong writer and aside from doing well on the writing portions of the ACT/SAT, I had never really achieved success when it came to writing. In my senior year Government class, I had written Op-Eds every quarter for extra credit and was never published in a newspaper or even considered for it. The expectations I had for myself in this class were relatively low. I knew that it was a class that every freshmen at OSU would take, so I knew it wasn't designed to hurt our GPA's. At the same time, I had struggled with English both junior and senior year, so I was worried that it may continue.

Overall, I surpassed my goals this quarter in almost every aspect. I enjoyed this course much more than I thought I would and I also enjoyed writing the papers more than first expected. Throughout high school, we had always been told what to write about and what to research, so when I was given the opportunity to choose my arguments with the primary and secondary analysis, I was ecstatic. Throughout this quarter I feel that I have developed not only as a writer, but also as an editor. This class gave us opportunities in many fields of composition. Not only were we given the job of writing papers and manuscripts, but we were also designated peer reviewers for both analysis papers as well as the commonplace manuscript. I enjoyed the fact that not every assignment was centered around the same idea. It was refreshing to switch things up every once in a while and get a different perspective on things.

In conclusion, I enjoyed my time in English 110 and hope that the skills I learned in this class will reflect toward my abilities to defend opinions as well as back up arguments with research. While the business field doesn't center around writing research papers and critiquing people's works, I know that at some point, my tools acquired in this class will aid me in my career field some day. As someone who wasn't excited to write papers, I can honestly say that I am glad I took English 110 and feel fortunate to have learned so much within a span of 10 weeks.

Blog Prompt #5 Jonathan Vignos

When I first walked into the class I was completely
dreading it. I am not a big fan of reading and writing and I thought this would
be the worst class ever. It is something that doesn’t sound fun to me and I
would rather find myself doing math then reading or writing. Now looking back on the class, I have completely enjoyed my time in this class. Even though I have learned many different things, such as people who wear crocs are mental, I have learned a lot about writing and how to improve my papers.

Though I have learned a great deal of things about writing,
there are two things that really stand out to me. The first thing that I
learned was when analyzing a video you can use The Method to help yourself.
When I first was observing the clips, I wasn’t really looking at the details
that much. I would notice the basics and that was it. After a while, I started
to look for repetitions, strands, binaries and anomalies. It’s something that I
have started doing even while watching any TV show or movie. This has helped me be more observant and read between the lines, instead of just looking at the basic things. Though we have only have observed and wrote about clips, this idea will help me when I need to observe other things and need to talk about them.

The next thing I learned, which I find the most
beneficial thing, is improving my thesis statements. This is really important
to me because a thesis statement can make or break your paper. Before the class I used to just write down a thesis and if it sounded good to me then I would use it. It’s something that would either work or completely fail for me. My writing of thesis statements has improved because I know how to look to see if I answer the questions of what, how, and why. This has completely improved my writing and it something that will help me throughout my whole writing career.

Lastly, I just wanted to say thank you Tory for
creating a class that I really enjoyed and am glad I was able to have you. You
made me thoroughly enjoy my time and actually enjoy writing, which is the first time I have ever said this. You managed to teach me a lot and actually make me laugh the whole time. Best of luck in your future and thank you.

Blog Post #5 - Casey Reinard

    All throughout high school, English class tends to be considered by most as the mandatory and least enjoyable class. I fell under the category of students who saw English class this way. I never wanted to go, and once I was sitting at my desk, all I could do was watch the clock tick away as class dragged on. However, I have to say that I did not feel this way about English 110.01 in the least. In fact, I felt almost the exact opposite way. Between the subject of "Gender and Sexuality Studies in Animated Film" and Tory teaching the class, I thoroughly enjoyed this freshman GEC course.
    When Tory introduced the topic of Gender and Sexuality Studies in Animated Film, I honestly didn't know what to expect, but I figured it would at least be interesting, and definitely different than what I am used to learning about in English class. For me, English class throughout high school consisted of composing a research paper, reading a book or two that had some significance to the history of America, and then a seemingly-unnecessarily review of elementary grammar. This was not the case at all, though, as Tory guided us through the "art" of dissecting classic cartoons, mainly from Disney, to truly understand what said cartoon's animators and creators want people to learn. These so-called "lessons" from cartoon creators include the projection of stereotypes into the innocent minds of young kids and teens.
    Lastly, I feel the need to say "thank you" to Tory, for making English 110.01, a stereotypically boring and unnecessary class, a fantastic learning experience and enjoyable class to be in. He was able to stay on topic and teach us more than what was expected of him, all the while creating a fun and joking atmosphere that was conducive to learning.

Blog #5 - Jordan Wamer

When I signed up for English 110 it was more of a sigh of relief. I never got around to taking it my first year, and kind of resented having to sign up. That all changed within the first few weeks. This wasn't a class that took an overbearing amount of work or concentration, but it did help my writing skills. I liked the combination of free writing and writing with a purpose. The Primary and Secondary source papers were both very good assignments. I feel like my writing skills improved from completing that. The biggest benefit was my creative thinking skills. I had to look past the obvious messages of a cartoon while looking for the not-so-obvious subliminal messages.

I've dabbled with blogs before, but it's nice to have to update it constantly. It feels good to put your opinion and thoughts out there. It’s not very often that people listen to what I say, so for those who have read it, I thank you. I also enjoyed the Commonplace assignment, the concept of students editing students work is fun. The class topic was unique, I enjoyed writing about something that I wouldn't have addressed else wise. It also made me look more into what I see on TV, looking for subliminal messages in cartoons and other media sources TOO.

This was my first class that wasn't in a large lecture hall. I really enjoyed the smaller class, discussion was much easier. I'd also like to thank Tory. He kept the class interesting, and unlike most professors I've had, would give you the time of day to talk about your work. He was also very good at contacting me back when needed. He also kept me very entertained with his fashion rants.

Prompt 5 - Steven Scherer

I really had no idea what I was getting myself into when I signed up for English 110.01. Others had told me that it was easy and required little effort. I don’t think I took it quite as seriously in the first two weeks because of what peers had told me. In fact, I resented the fact I even had to sign up. Coming into the Honors program here at OSU, most students have AP credit for English. Unfortunately, my high school was so small that we had essentially no college credit options of any kind. After basically having completed the class, I can now look back and say that others were right; it wasn’t too bad. This class did, however, take more thinking than I had expected. I must admit I was skeptical of the idea of any sort of themed college English class, but I’m a firm believer that it’s one of the few ways it can be made appealing to a wide variety of students.

When I consider what I have learned in English 110.01, I feel the most interesting thing I have gained an insight into is analyzing a fictional animated film for very much nonfictional examples. I have rarely considered examples of gender and sexuality in any sort of film before, but I now find myself picking things out here and there as I watch cartoon and non-cartoon media. Before English 110.01, I had never written a literary analysis over and media except novels. While in high school I authored a decent amount of informational reports and thesis papers that were often about nonfictional material. Never was I asked to analyze videos in a well-thought out manner, so I consider that as my area that has most improved.

Realistically, I don’t feel that English 110.01 has changed the style of my writing too much, but it has given me more analytical skills to put in my toolbox. While I could just ignore these skills, as a studying engineer I feel it is my duty to apply them to each and every situation they could be used in. There’s nothing wrong with being able to write a better technical document because I have gained analytical skills from thinking about animated films.

I have also come to appreciate the Commonplace component of English 110.01. Serious persuasive writing (other than straight-up thesis supporting) is something I haven’t done in quite awhile. It felt good to come up with an argument based on my beliefs and values and then support it with facts. Additionally, Commonplace has given me a chance to provide real feedback to a peer. I have always enjoyed giving well-thought out feedback when someone actually asked for it. I have never been asked to critique someone’s essay in such a professional and well thought-out manner, so this was a new experience for me as well.

All in all, I feel that English 110.01 has given me better analytical skills more than anything else. I consider myself to be a decent writer already, but the way I go about analyzing topics has definitely seen some sort of improvement.