Before I came to TCC's English 111 course I thought I understood how to write fairly well. My thoughts quickly went from "I know how to write" to "Yikes, I don't know how to write." The important thing is that my writing ability has improved since taking English 111. I have learned about the mechanics of grammar too. I have always been an avid reader and I believe that because I can read and comprehend so well that surely I should be able to write fairly well. Now I find myself critiquing (with what limited knowledge I have about grammar and sentence structure) what I am reading rather than just reading it for it's content. I am fascinated by mystery writer's ability to develop and make interesting an idea. My favorite mystery writer is Patricia Cornwell. I can't fully identify why I like her writing so much except to say that she keeps interest high during the length of the book. I also like that she has a strong female lead character in her books. Although I won't be using the lessons learned from English 111 too much in my career because it doesn't demand too much writing (I am a service technician for heating, and air-conditioning systems), I will benefit from it in other ways. English 111 has helped me organize my thoughts and ideas better both on paper and in my head, and has enabled me to be clearer about what it is I am trying to express when writing. Since my grammar has improved I am better able to write a properly constructed sentence, placing commas and the like in their appropriate places. If I decide to take more academic courses I feel well prepared to meet the instructors demands and criteria regarding research and essay type papers.
Following are two annotated writings that I have chosen from all of the assignments given in English 111. The first is titled "Juxtaposed Jailings". It is a paper on a contrast of a personal experience: There is a marked difference in the jails and jailers of New York City and Ottawa, Canada. After being arrested in several cities for animal rights related actions, I was jailed in New York City in December of 1995 for an arrest during a peaceful civil disobedience action protesting animals being used for entertainment. I was later arrested in Ottawa during an anti-fur demonstration. The differences in the two jails and jailers were many. In New York the jail and jailers seemed to match each other pretty well. I found New York City jails and jailers to be: rough, unkempt, in poor shape; like slobs really, cold, rude, loud, cynical to a fault and crude. The jail and jailers in Ottawa however were very different than New York City. The jail and jailers in Ottawa were: friendly, organized, clean, polite, and nonabrasive.
The second annotated writing is entitled "A Transgendered Life". It is from an assignment in which we had to write a paper based on a conversation with someone. It is about a friend of mine who considers themselves transgendered and what transgendered means to them: What is male? What is female? Can one live somewhere in the middle? Can this middle ground, often referred to as trangendered be defined, or is it so subjective it will be impossible to assign a definition. The word hasn't landed in the dictionary yet. But from the word itself it is clear that it is about crossing the boundaries of gender. Zay a friend of mine who considers themselves trangendered, says it is hard to describe what exactly transgendered means. It has more do with what is inside one that what is reflected on the outside. Zay was born female but doesn't feel comfortable in her given body. She feels more male emotionally, physically and spiritually than she does female. She presents herself in more of a typical male fashion, both in dress and personal grooming. She may even go on to become a male through surgery and or hormones. Zay says she is not entirely sure what she will decide on. One gets the feeling that the words that Zay has used to describe herself are at best inadequate, as if using them limits her soul somehow. One thing Zay did make apparent is that living the word transgendered means transcending the boundaries that society has erected to separate the characteristics, behaviors, attitudes, dress, appearance and affectations of the male and female sexes. As Zay says, living a transgendered life widens the circle that limits our sexual and emotional selves.
My research project about an issue of local importance was the Hampton City Council's decision to allow special permits to be issued to hunt deer in residential sections of Hampton, Virginia to control a supposed overpopulation of deer there. I am against hunting deer. The following is a summation of both sides.
The pro-hunt side believes that hunting the deer in Hampton will: lessen the population of deer thereby preventing damage to lawns and shrubbery, lessen the threat of Lyme disease, and prevent deer/vehicle related accidents. The flip side of this is that there are several scientific studies that show that hunting will increase deer herd size (which will increase lawn and shrubbery damage), that a dart delivered contraceptive (Immunocontraception) has proven to be 85-95% effective in stopping the fertility success rate of white-tailed deer, that Lyme disease actually goes up when deer are removed from an area, that there are over 130 different types of vegetation to plant that deer do not like, that the installation of "Strieter-Lite Reflectors" on roadsides has lessened the number of deer/vehicle related accidents by 95% in seventeen other states, and that in 1995 out of the more than 1200 human deaths and injuries during hunting season the majority were persons mistaken for game animals, so allowing a hunt in a populated area will dangerous to the residents. With all the information from research and options available to Hampton, institution of non-lethal methods of deer population control seems not only to be more successful and safe in an urban setting but also more humane.
Judy S
Culture Shock Lane
Virginia Beach, Va
May 08, 1998
Future English 111 Students at TCC
1700 College Crescent
Virginia Beach, Va 23456
Dear Student of English,
I have several bits of advise for future English 111 students. They are: go to the writing center often to get help with grammar, organizational methods, and the mechanics of english, prepare to devote at least 13 hours a week just to your english assignments, get familiar with the college's word processor programs and computers, be especially nice to the people in the computer lab, don't expect the instructor to cut you a break because you're in a blue collar technical job that doesn't require too many writing skills, pay attention, follow formats and guidelines, don't use pencil, go over with someone in the writing center or the instructor the errors in your paper after they have been graded to correct them and hopefully learn how not to repeat them, get the practice sheets (from the Writing Center) on areas of grammar or mechanics you are weak in before you take the English 111 course. Get on the Web to become familiar with how it works. Pay attention, have fun learning how to write, and don't be late to class. That's about it. Good luck.
Best regards,
Judy S
My TCC Webfolio | English 111 mailto:JudyS
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position of the college or of any of its divisions or departments. Updated 05/06/98