Benjamin Sampson, English 2010, Period 1
Learning Log #2
February 18, 2021 -
1. Ah-Ha, “One of the literacies we develop over our lifespans is personal literacy, also
called vernacular literacy. Personal literacies are the reading and writing practices
individuals engage in during activities of their own choice and for personal satisfaction or
to meet personal goals. Examples might include documenting your daily food intake with
a smartphone app, keeping a journal, creating a weight-training plan and tracking your
performance, or writing and playing music. They are instrumental to how we learn and to
our success in formal schooling. These personal literacies are closely tied to our
development of academic literate practices that help us learn in formal school settings.”
2. Ah-Ha, “While some students move easily between personal literacies and academic
literacies, others have more challenges as they move from the types of literate practices
they participate in for personal fulfillment to the types of literate practices they must
participate in to succeed as students in institutions of higher education. Once we
become aware of the various personal literacies we practice in our lives, we can begin to
see their connections to the academic literate practices we must develop to meet our
academic goals.”
3. Movies - Television - Video Games - Outdoor Activities - Friends - Reading - Writing -
Curiosity - Observation - Organization
February 23, 2021
1. “We also use stories to communicate our values to others. Recently standing in the line
with two loaves of bread, some milk, and a carton of eggs, I overheard this conversation
between what I assume was a young couple—they had a child with them, probably
around two. The young woman led off with this question …”
2. “So, yes, we all tell stories with a purpose. They are a form of action, of entering and
living in the world. Possibly you’ve never thought about story in quite this way but we
assume it’s not too surprising. What might be more surprising is that this deep structure
of story in our lives can also be found in traditional academic writing, researched
arguments, and even scientific studies when there is no obvious “story” or vignette
present. For more on this see “Rhetorical Stories.” En fin, maybe “academic” writing is
not as different as we might imagine from the stories we tell each day to the people we
love.”
3. There's a certain characteristic to reading and telling stories that is unlike any other.
Feeling human is a large part of our center, being able to convey that through past
experiences lets us reconcile a larger picture. A broader perspective becomes visible
and creates a sense of meaningfulness.
February 25, 2021
1. Ah-Ha, “Now, I had a decision to make about truth, but also about the overall rhetorical
situation and purpose of my story: Was the story I had written a lie? Was it simply my
version? Who did I imagine as my audience? Should I add what my cousin had revealed
even though I had no memory of it? Should I offer the competing accounts? There is no
right answer to these questions. Awareness of the decision-making process itself is the
core of effective writing.”
2. Ah-Ha, “For our purposes in a writing class, it is paramount that we tell meaningful and
coherent stories. Meaningful so that we are invested in communicating something to
someone who may or may not know us; coherent so that our story can be understood.
And while this conversation of truth and memoir can get a bit theoretical, it also has a
very practical and pragmatic impact on writing memoirs.”
3. Truth is complicated in a sense of distortion and confusion. Facts can get lost as well as
changed pertaining to the story. As time goes one, we can lose the less important details
or things that made the story what it is. Questioning the truth can also become
complicated as our memories are not as great as a computer tech storage. Being as it is,
this allows for mistakes and loss of information. This complicates truth and distorts the
overall details and image of the story.
March 2, 2021
1. Writing requires individual choices for clear ideas. Decision making process takes place
on many different levels. Leading the reader through your concepts.
2. The Power of Scene: Consider the realm and relationship between your goal and how
you can attain it.
3. The Power of Experience: Effective storytelling can relate a meaningful purpose and
understanding to the reader.
4. The Power of Sensory Detail: Using these sensory words conveying our 5 senses can
take the reader into another realm.
5. The Power of Voice: Using diction or portraying the character can help determine the
mode of force and subject relayed.
6. The Power of Conflict: Conflict means people care, it gives excitement and attention to
how and what is happening.
March 4th, 2021
1. Simple: Understanding complex ideas is core to creating accessible information for the
reader.
2. Unexpected: Formulating the text to be exciting and interesting, this creates a more
influential and roller coaster story.
3. Concrete: Showing but not telling forms a strong knowledge base systematically
revolving the story.
4. Credible: Fact-check the information and convey solid concepts and conclusions.
5. Emotional: Create a pathos sense of storytelling which coveys moralities and character's
feelings.
6. Story Based: Follow the general and common layout of the story, this creates similarity
and flow.
March 9th, 2021
1. Ironic Statement, “To confess is to tell a story about ourselves. Confessional stories may
include a particular moral framing, but nevertheless, a confessional story is a narration of
our lives for a particular purpose, in this case, redemption or catharsis. To narrate our
lives is to admit to a point of view and to ground our arguments in the lived experience of
who we are. It is to push back on the so-called objective view, which holds that we can
carefully reason through a position without our own motives interfering.” This statement
is ironic because it makes the connection between a confession and story.
2. Ironic Statement, “Unfortunately, rigor is often defined, unknowingly at times, as that
which students simply do not like: if students like a curriculum too much, we teachers,
looking in from the outside, may assume the instructor is just having fun and really not
teaching much at all.” This statement is ironic because it fills in the gap of the teacher to
student perspective and how it is supposed to be about learning.
3. Ironic Statement, “In arguing that academic writing can be (and already is) narrative
based, I’m arguing that academic writing is not nearly as objective as we often like to
imagine. It is autobiographical. I’m also arguing that much of the academic writing I’ve
done, which explicitly relies on narrative, is just as valid as any other type of academic
writing.”
4. A story is an argument in the sense that you are selling the story. Ultimately you are
trying to achieve a goal whether that be a really good story or just an enjoyable one.
Whatever it may be, you are arguing the structure, details, and events that happened in
the story to fulfill that purpose.
March 10th, 2021
1. The realization of underlying qualities make it easier to understand and comprehend the
story-telling aspect with situation and occasion, an explicit timeline and or course of
events, and the animation of a storyworld. The writers also allow the ability to feel and
emphasize with the characters and to feel motivated within the story.
2. Ultimately the ability to connect with the reader and flow feeling and understanding
through writing into the thoughts and feelings of this perspective. Conveying concepts in
an understandable way can be done through a variety of ways in story-telling.
March 17th, 2021
1. Page blocked by Jordanschooldistrict.org
March 22nd, 2021
1. “The least helpful thing you can do when peer reviewing is correct grammar and typos.”
Ultimately trying to perfect the grammar and spelling is the least priority out of giving
feedback. The writer can ultimately fix this by themselves and if it’s concerning the idea
or clarity then it may be revised, but mostly it should be the last priority for feedback.
2. “The best writing comes out of a communal effort.” Being able to share ideas and revise
through multiple perspectives. Somebody could see something that many others don’t
see for the betterment of the essay.
