Evaluation on Task 4

·                     What is the thesis for your paper?

The thesis for my paper is, “When I was younger my mother read to me, and it made me want to read more.”

·                     List the main points you make in your paper.

I make the points that reading and writing is valuable to our country and this world, and how Fredrick Douglass fought for his freedom by learning how to read and write. Then I talked about my experiences I had in my life about reading and writing.

·                     What was the most helpful advice you received from your peer evaluation?

Is to just add more detail and stick to the main subject and have a good flow between paragraphs.

·                     What was the most helpful information you received in class for your paper?

Just stick to the main subject and have good details.

·                     How many drafts of this paper do you think you wrote and how/when did you write them? For example, did you compose at the keyboard, did you write lots of notes to yourself, did you pre-write or outline, did you write in small chunks of time or sit down and produce an entire draft at one sitting?

I think about 2 drafts, and I wrote them about three days ahead of time. I typed it all on the computer, always kept it on the computer. I wrote a lot of notes too because I was talking ab out Fredrick Douglass.

·                     What would you do differently with this paper to make it more effectively, or what did you try to do that you just don’t think you got a good handle on?

I would probably rewrite how I went into every paragraph, because I want to do it better. I think I didn’t do good in that part.

·                     What are most pleased with about this paper?

The fact that I got it done, and how I learned more about the history of our country, and I thought I did pretty well about it. 

ENG 100 Evaluation

If your reading and writing practices have changed since this class, how have they been modified because of English 100?

I think my reading and writing has become better through the time I was in the class. The way I write and read, it seems like I look for more details to write about because Ms. Chastain would ask for more, and I’m glad she did because I have become better at wring my papers.

How have you become a better reader and/or writer?

Yes I have become a better reader and writer.

How has the blog encouraged you to write more thoroughly or has it not?

Yes it has, because if I don’t, I probably wouldn’t get all my points.

What did you like about having a blog in a reading and writing course?

I liked it because it gave me time to think about what I had to write. It was nice because it gave me time, and it didn’t have to be done by the end of the class.

How is the blog similar to a journal? How is it different from a traditional journal?

It’s similar because it is basically writing but instead your typing your thoughts on a computer and not a paper, and its different from a traditional journal because your typing it.

What kind of experience have you had for English 100? Please explain.

Experiences I had are basically, just a lot of memories because every assignment I wrote about was mostly about my mom or dad. It was personal because when I wrote about my dad I really missed him. Just talking about him and telling his story. Than reading the stories in the books made me think about life after I read them. Like how serious the struggle was in the stories and then how they overcame the situations that they went through.

What would you like to see change with this class including the smaller writing assignments and/or the task papers?

Nothing really, I liked the way it is.

Jeshurun Nuu

Ms. Chastain

ENG 100

December 5, 2010

Task 4

            The value of reading and writing to our country is greatly needed, not only to the development of our country but to life it’s self. I don’t see this world functioning without it because; we use it in our daily lives. Reading a news paper, painting a picture, writing the news papers, books, signs for a sense of direction to where to go. Reading and writing matter’s to what we all comprehend on what we do. The value of reading is very important to everybody in this world we live in. Without it, I doubt that our country would have got far as it did.  When I was younger my mother read to me, and it made me want to read more.

I always liked writing and reading when I was younger. From the first time that I knew I liked reading was when my mother use to read stories to me from the bible. I was lucky enough to have a mother who started reading to me early. I loved hearing it, and sometimes she would make me read. When I started reading the bible most of the words were challenging, because it was a different language.  When I read I was always interested in what the stories had to tell me. The adventures Moses and Israel had traveling, or the man named Samson who was so strong he can bring down a whole building.  Many of the stories made me want to read more. In high school, they made all of the kids be accountable of for reading books. I thought it was easy compared to all the students who had a problems reading.

Three days ago I read How I Learned to Read and Write a story on how Fredrick Douglas had to struggle to learn how to read, and later on write. He went through so many situations, you would think he wouldn’t survive, but as the story said, he was a kind and smart boy. He was smart to make friends with white poor boys in the street. He brought bread to them as long as they gave him lessons on how to read. He tried to learn how to read for a purpose, and it was to be free. Free from slavery and all the wickedness that came with it. When I think of him today, I think of him as a determined man who is trying to better his life, and get away from slavery. I think many people, not just African Americans, appreciate him. I think his determination and will to learn how to read and write, is a great inspiration. He showed us how to break away from what is wrong, and to do what we must to succeed at what we want to do.

Through reading and writing Fredrick Douglas found a way to be free, and we found a way to express our feelings by writing. He learned how to write by writing the initials of the ships based on where they were going (Douglas141). Unlike Douglas, I had someone to teach me. My mother helped me pronounce every word that was hard. Douglas had  learn by white boys on the street. I would think learning how to write now days would be easier for everybody because slavery is not going on. People are not threatened if they want to learn something that will improve your life. He was not allowed to learn, we are encouraged too. That’s why Douglas wrote stories about his life situations to express what he had inside his heart.  If he was still alive today, I would think he would take advantage of every opportunity he was given.

When I think of why people read, I think because of knowledge and entertainment. For Fredrick’s reason, it was knowledge. For mine, it was entertainment.  I loved reading and liked reading for the adventure that the story brings; the fast pace, edge of your seat stuff. It gets me away from everything and just lets my imagination go free.             Fredrick on the other hand read to be free. He learned that in reading, comes great power, the power to be free and to be his own man. He did more than just take his freedom back, but take his life back that he never had the chance to experience.

Fredrick Douglass sensed that words can be a powerful way to change a life as well as changing history. Reading and writing is a great deal not to just Fredrick Douglass, but to all of us as the future. Today in society, reading and writing is surrounds us all, and is basically our history. Reading and writing is what we do every day, and is easier than it was back then. We have schools that accept anybody, no matter what color you are. Today our society encourages us to succeed. In Fredrick’s time, they were not allowed to learn. They were nothing more than just slaves. They were never given a chance to learn how to read or write. Today we have a choice and are free to read and write as we please.  I took the opportunity and wrote this paper to express what I feel on my experiences that I had with reading and writing. I now love to read, and writing is also getting to where I like it more.  Reading has been a big thing in my life as well as writing. It is just a way to express and to learn new beginnings every day.