week 15...post 15

I think that the thing I have improved on the most during this course, is been my ability to describe things better. I have a better ability to make things more clear, they have always been clear in my head, but not always was I able to put them down on paper in the same clearness. I think the thing I struggle with the most sometimes is sentence structure, I try and fit too much information into one sentence. I think that the class was ran really well, I think all of the assignments served a very good purpose, the only thing I would change is the length of the final project. I think that 12-15 pages is a bit excess. I think that you could write a well written mini-ethnography in 8-10 pages easily.

week 14...post 14

My favorite piece of data that I collected is the fieldwork I did. My subculture, in my opinion, was one of the most interesting to watch. I could sit there for 30 minutes sometimes, just watching people talk and carry on about their day. I liked to see the friendship that could be made between two people, that were complete strangers before they went out to the smoking area that day. I liked to see two people that did not know each other, sitting there smoking, and strike up a conversation, never exchange names, but just sit there and chit chat, until they were done smoking and they would go on their way. The easiest writing I have done so far is the first paper we did the Exploring Subcultures. This was my favorite, because at the time I was a smoker, so it interested me to do research on the topic, and second that paper seemed to have come to me the easiest, as far as ease of writing it.

week 7...post 7

I think that by doing my fieldwork, and doing my research on the subculture of smoking, it may disban some of the stereotypes that are out there for smokers. Even though I am not going to directly cover stereotypes in my paper, by researching in a professional matter, and not writing in a biased light, hopefully by writing the truth exactly as it happens, any readers will be able to see the truth and base their opinion on that rather than what they have heard. The only thing that my community needs, is a better reputation. The only way I can give them that, is if I do my fieldworking in a unbiased manner, and write down the truth as it is. That way when people read it they can form their own opinion. My contribution to the community is little if any, my contribution in class is that I participate in group discussions, and I'm not afraid to say what I am thinking about or wrote down on our blogs, and my contribution to my education is that I am trying really hard to get good grades, as to get a good job someday.

week 10...post 10

I am going to have my mini-ethnograpy broken up into different topics. I am going to talk about all of the topics that are related to each other, and then start a new sections with a different topic. Obviously since they are all about the same subculture, they won't be too different, but there are definitely some difference in the different areas that I am going to be talking about. I am going to start off by defining who a college smoker is, try and paint a picture of what I have found to be the typical college smoker, talk about the different smoking areas, and the differences involved there, and just try to give a good introduction to the subculture. I am going to close the mini-ethnography by summarizing the main themes in my paper. I think that the way I have chosen to lay out my paper is the best way, because it will make the most sense for the type of research I got from doing my fieldwork.

week 13...post 13

I went outside one sunny day in early March, it was warm, but it was a crisp day out. I went outside to enjoy a cigarette by myself, and when I lit up my cigarette, I noticed someone else coming outside at the same time. Since this was early March, March Madness had just started so I thought I would strike up a conversation. I asked him what team he was rooting for and he said the Butler Bulldogs, seeing as he was from the area in Indianapolis where Butler was located. We talked for several minutes, enjoying our cigarettes and the day. After we were both done, we put our cigarettes out in the trash and said our goodbyes, never exchanging names, and never knowing anything about one another. All we did was bond as people who smoke, being friendly, and enjoying the surroundings.

6 words

“Six words?, not done are you?”
“Man I’m hungry, let’s get food!”
“I want to go home, now!”
“light it up, smoke it down”
“Society doesn’t accept us, who cares?”

week 12...post 12

To me rhetoric, is the use of language and words to get your reader to better understand what you are trying to convey, and sometimes used for persuasive essays and pieces. I would say that the most common use of the word rhetoric is in a rhetorical question, or a question that doesn't need to be answered. I would say that this is usually used in a positive light, but I could see where it could be used in a negative way as well. I do not really see where I could used rhetoric, maybe to persuade someone to like smoking, or to understand the subculture better. That is the only way I could see me using rhetoric in my final portfolio and my mini-ethnography.

quotes

"Writing is like getting your wisdom teeth pulled, you don't want to do it, but you have to."

I am going to have to get my wisdom teeth pulled this summer, I don't want to do it, but I have to.

"For me writing is like pushing a heavy wheel down a hill, the hardest part is getting it going, then after that, I can watch it go all the way to the bottom."

This is how I write, the hardest part for me is sitting down to do it.

week 11...post 11

I would say that the biggest change to my writing style has been that I am way more descriptive than I ever was before. As a whole, my writing style probably has not changed much, but I am way more descriptive than I was at the beginning of the year. I hope you have noticed this, and it is not just me that thinks this. I think so far the only thing that has given me trouble is the lit. review, not the whole thing, just the lit. review part of the lit. review. The annotated bibliography was way easier than I thought it was going to be, I had never done one before, so I did not know what to expect. I write because I have to for class, I would probably never write outside of class, and if I did, it would probably be like a screen play for a short film, because I think making short films would be fun. I do not express myself well in writing, so I do not feel better after I write. I exercise and lift weights for that. The only thing I will write for in my future, is like criminal reports, and stuff of that nature, mainly because I am a criminal justice major, and I want to go to Texas and work on the Border Patrol.