Summary papers

Even though writing a summary was very difficult for me because I kept wanting to add my own opinion in there and not just what I saw, I enjoyed it and it was a different way of looking at a paper.  We had to write two summaries and I think doing the first one on Christo's Valley Curtain, was very helpful.  It was easy to follow and to be able to write about.  When we did the second one and got to pick, I picked After Innocence and it was a little bit harder to figure out what the main parts of the documentary were and what I should include in my paper.  Doing the first one on an easier film was helpful because it prepared me for the second one that was a little harder and I had a little more experience writing it.  I also liked peer editing the first paper, I think that was very helpful for someone else to read my work.  For the second paper, I did not peer edit it, I had several copies but I never had someone else read it and give me their opinion on it.  Overall, writing the two summaries challenged me to do something that I was not used to doing and get a new view on how writing can be.  It does not have to be just based off of a reading but can be based off of a film as well and I enjoyed the challenge that was given to me.

Documentary Summary

I had to pick a documentary out of a list given to me and write a summary on it.  I chose to watch After Innocence by Jessica Sanders.  This documentary is about the lives of several men who have been in prison for several years for a crime they did not commit.  They were proven innocent by DNA testing which was not something that was normally done.  Every mans situation was different but they all had somethings in common.  They all were wrongly convicted and when they were being interviewed, they seemed distant and did not show much emotions.  Out of all the men, two stuck out to me the most, Vincent and Wilton.  Vincent's story touched me because he talked about his daughter and how he could not be in her life while she was young because of something he did not do.  I had a family experience where I did not see my dad for a year and it was very difficult so I could not even imagine not growing up without him and how hard that must have been for both of them.  Another part was that he does not have enough money to get his record expunged for the crime so that is stuck on his record.  He will have a hard time getting a job from this and how is he supposed to get money to get it off if he cannot get a job in the first place.  Wilton's story also touched me because he was found not guilty but had to stay in prison for 3 years after this discovery.  It's crazy to think of all the people who are in prison because of something they did not do and are not able to get released.  When they are released then, they do not get any help they are just given money for the bus and are on their own.  Some of the men have been in there for a long time and they have been in prison for the prime years of their lives and have to learn many new skills.  After watching this, I got a new perspective and appreciate everything that I have because other people are not as lucky and cannot do some of the things that I can.

Refection on Christo's Valley Curtain

After turning in my final copy of a summary on Christo's Valley Curtain, I realized a couple things about my writing.  It was difficult at first to not put in my opinion and to not do outside research.  I kept wanting to add my thoughts in it and I had to keep going back and changing it trying to catch it as I went along.  I also noticed that I switch back and forth between past and present tense when I am trying to get an idea across.  For this paper I wrote it in present tense but saw myself switching to past and every time I read it I would notice another one that was in the wrong tense.  I am glad that I was able to catch it and watch out for it with my future papers that I will be writing.  Not using any information other that the film was a little difficult at first because I kept wanting to go and find other information instead of only using the information given to me.  However, I liked that we got to watch the film and write on that instead of reading something and having to summarize that.  Since I feel that I am more of a visual learner.  Peer review helped me to not only get feedback on my own paper but to also get different ideas from other papers that I read to help make my paper stronger.  On my own time, I watched the film again and saw different details that I did not notice the first time that I was watching it.  Being able to watch it as many times as I needed I thought was very helpful and made sure that I had all the information correct and I was not just going off my memory and saying I think this happened next or I think they said this.  

Rhetorical knowledge

Writing the summary in chronological order was helpful to do.  Even though it switches from Christo in his studio to the construction site, it is easy to follow along.  Especially when telling what is going on without using outside information and opinions. The paragraphs are separated by a new scene that is occurring in the film.  

Critical and creative thinking 

I realized in this paper more than others that I have written that it was a little more difficult to not add my own opinions in it.  I always want to add either my opinion or how I think a character is feeling at that moment.  Throughout this summary, I kept noticing that I wanted to tell how the characters were, however, I did not know those details unless they were told.  I did not know for sure if that is truly how they felt or not.  

Genre knowledge 

For this summary, we were not able to use information that was not given in the film.  I had to use only what I could see was happening and do my best to describe it.  This was difficult at times and really pushed me to pay closer attention to what the film was showing me.  Also to listen and watch the little details because some of them can make a big difference in the summary. 

Mechanical knowledge

The summary had to be double spaced and my Microsoft Word had different settings than it was supposed to be.  I never noticed it before it was pointed out in class that we had to make sure the settings were all correct and to not just go off of the default settings.  It might not seem like a big deal if the spacing is off, however, if it has to be in MLA the spacing is not considered correct.  My spacing was incorrect and was adding an extra space in between my lines and paragraphs that I was able to fix by it being brought up in class.  

What Makes a Good Question?

Everyday we encounter many questions some have one answer and on the other hand can have multiple answers.  These questions are for the most part are just overlooked and have become part of a daily routine that we do not even think about.  I personalty think a good question is something that makes you really think and concentrate on what you are being asked.  Everyone is going to have a different way of responding to a question and that does not mean that one person is correct and one is incorrect.  Nobody will respond in the exact same way as someone else, they may be similar but that does not mean they will always think the same way.  There are many situations that can be taken in different ways, if someone is asked a question in class there can be different responses and some of those can help others to see the question in a different view and can help them better understand what is going on.  An example of a question that can have multiple ways of looking at it is when you are given a question that is a short answer.  There can be more than one correct way of responding to it and making sure that you are understanding and comprehending what you are learning and not just memorizing it for a question that is either right or wrong.  Overall, I believe good questions are questions that can have more than one correct answer to them.