Brandt Article

 Summary:

In her article Sponsors of Literacy Deborah Brandt has a short introduction about sponsorship for literacy and argues for how nobody real gets and developments literacy or literacy skills by themselves. She goes more in depth describing how we learn through what she calls sponsors and things can be programs, schools, technologies and or people. These sponsors are our way of receiving and sustaining literacy skills and information.  In her first section of the article she talks about peoples different access to sponsorship and gives a strong example scenario between a privileged white kid and a underprivileged Latino girl and how even though they live in the same area there sponsorship access is much different. These differences affect what we learn and how we learn it Brandt says. She then enters a smooth transition in which talks about the effects of ones sponsors and how they are influenced on them. How it has risen and then need for further awareness and specialty in certain skills is very important. She goes into an example again talking about Dwanye Lowery and how the union and his work affected what type of learning he had to go through and what processing this required. I mean that the skills became narrowed minded and he had to learn specific skills and critical thinking or problem solving for certain literacy instead of a overall broad spectrum learning.  Brandt then argues about the appropriateness of literacy and how underprivileged women in the 20^th century began to see more opportunity in the workforce such as a huge rise in secretary or desk jobs became available. These women were then trained and taught the processes and forms of which highly educated and high ranked men did their jobs. These two women used this in support of their ideas and values and in essence she argues how it is transferred from person to person and how it is passed down like how one used it for her religious group and one for helping with her family and bills and so forth. She then ends describing her goals of the article and how we should use literacy to further people’s education in literacy not just regarding their jobs and future but really just individual studies and their desires and needs in regarded of this category.

Synthesis:

I think that this article highly relates to Kantz in the essence of influences and how they affect us. Kantz and Lowery both agree with the fact that influences are in fact how things work and where we become or develop ourselves and our skills. Both of their articles talk about the effects of influences around us and the ideas they develop in us and how these ideas often become our uses and new ideals and values from which then we transfer on to others and or use to influence. The big difference is the relevance of the two are completely different subjects to argue on but they are both using the same idea or argument that influences are in essence or do become us and how go about certain things or otherwise how we use these influences to better ourselves.

1.       Questions for Discussion and Journaling:

These are the people and sometimes things that are relevant or would appear in ones memory in the learning of literacy. These are all the influences one would experience some examples she list are teachers, editors, and supervisor and so on. These are people in a relationship with the sponsored and are often times richer and have a lot more knowledge and they use this to lend or give their information or influences to the sponsored for in return something or credibility.

2.       Questions for Discussion and Journaling:

For example in this article Brandt talks about how hired women employees became secretaries or desk workers and learned many of task that their bosses(high educated and advanced males) had to do so they then were able to take over certain jobs and help relieve work from the boss. This job coming to women was a good job with good pay and advanced their literacy skills in writing, reading, categorizing and so much more but also gave the boss less work to do and another employee that could do strong and effective things for him in essence gaining things himself.  I see this in my life all the time when I use to get tutored for English when I was younger it advanced my skills and understanding in mainly reading but also writing and my tutor gained as well pay from this .

4.Questions for Discussion and Journaling:

These are systems, uses and people at which we receive sponsorship. They are the affective uses we bring upon or accumulate in order to be furthered or more advanced in literacy subjects and uses. These are imported and structured things and entitlements we use in order to accustom better literacy uses, techniques and developments.  There are the qualities and abilities we get acquired because of these stratified systems such as living in a middle class family with good connection to a college as to a poor family living in the country. These stakes are the further development and knowledge needed in order to be better off in a career or in your life. The growth and development of literacy is continuing and is always changing and on the rise so is the stakes which are the things needed in order o make it or be successful if you will.

1.       Applying and Exploring:

When I think about my literacies and their influences on me I would think mainly of my parents, school education and religious education. I would always learn from my parents I mean that’s the influences or sponsors that first taught me to read and write then there is school which taught me so much more in language and all the concepts and ideas that go into it. This sponsor taught me pretty much everything in regards to my literacy but then there was also religion which taught me a few things but this literacy wasn’t necessarily based in skills in writing and reading or development but more understanding, interpreting and critical thinking because we had to understand why things happened, how they happened, what certain messages where being presented as well as understanding the bible and phrases and so forth. I have not had full access to college literacies yet which I really want but I am beginning my development in hopefully a four year process of this.

2.       Applying and Exploring:

My school had multiple times eliminated certain books from what was considered readable and almost always for my English classes we were assigned a certain book till high school where we could choose which one exactly we wanted to read. This was an agonizing process and was extremely unfair for us students limiting or creativity and ability to choose our sponsor. Also because we had certain list we were unable to choose another option that was acceptable so in essence we were limited and controlled in our influences and sponsors throughout my schooling.

1.       Meta Moment:

I think that this article is a direct match with the goal of understanding literacy and also becoming aware of the forces that have shaped e as a writer and reader. The entire article gives examples and directly talks about how these affects take place and how exactly you get your sponsors and who they are. Also the effect they have on us and how we develop specific skills and techniques and so forth. I think that this has really furthered my understanding of the idea of literacy and sponsors and helped me think more in depth about the influences in my life and how they have restricted or formed my type of writing and reading. I think it is still going on with me today as I have required courses and assignments in college. They limit you to certain things or you need certain requirements which are just how they plan to influence you into the shape they perceive their students being.

Final Thoughts:

I think that this article was pretty confusing and hard to understand with certain wording and also it was still very dry to me even with the constant examples. I will say that the example allowed me to understand what exactly Brandt was trying to say if it wasn’t for these examples I would have been lost. Also this article has opened my eyes to writing and reading and my further understanding of development of it and all that goes into it and so forth. I think overall it had some interesting points but I don’t think it was very useful or effective for furthering my writing or understanding sponsors and choosing my direction.

sample essay peer critque

Due Tomorrow, Do Tomorrow

I hope I never again witness such academic injustice as I did that fateful day in Mrs. Foley's 8th grade English class. We had a persuasive essay due on Monday morning regarding the new school levy on the ballot. Mrs. Foley snaked through the aisles collecting the papers. For weeks she had been pestering us about starting our papers early and not waiting until the weekend, let alone Monday morning at 6 am to complete them. She believed that there was no way anyone could possibly produce an adequate paper without properly preparing for and writing multiple drafts first. She claimed she would be able to simply read through the first paragraph and her sixth sense teacher senses would start tingling.

I really and truly had every intention of starting that paper days in advance. I wanted to work at it word by word, and then have the time to go back and revise. But, for whatever reason— my plans just did not work out. Every time I would sit down to type the paper I would end up alphabetizing my CDs or refolding all of the clothes in my dresser. I had never been so productive in my life. However, after several hours of color coordinating, alphabetizing and organizing, there sat my essay; untouched.

Sunday evening around 8 p.m. just as Desperate Housewives was about to come on, I decided: enough was enough. This paper needed to be done. Tomorrow morning. Before school. So, I set my alarm to wake me up about an hour before usual, and I woke up the next morning and sat down at my computer and started to type. Never had a paper been so easy to generate. I was amazed, and I felt confident in my writing.

As Mrs. Foley collected my paper, I watched her quickly look over it and turn to me with a grin of approval. The next week when she handed them back, she announced to the class that she was very proud of my paper. She said it was evident that I had given much thought, time and effort to the assignment and she was very pleased that I followed directions to work on the task slowly, and a few days in advance. I didn’t know if I should feel proud or guilty. Despite her instruction to not procrastinate, I had— and it had benefitted me greatly.

Where are these names coming from? List there relevance to paper before using them as a source.

Mrs. Foley taught me a valuable lesson that day. Perhaps procrastination is not as bad as we all make it out to be, and more importantly, writing instructors need to rethink their attitudes toward procrastination because, as it worked for me, it might actually be beneficial for some writers. Writing scholars have long advocated teaching student to be aware of the processes they employ when writing (Flower and Hayes, Perl). Some have even argued that writers use different processes whether for different writing situations or because of differences in personality (Hairston, Harris). Due to my “ah-ha moment” I discovered there is a beneficial writing process that occurs during procrastination. While it may not work for everyone, it does work for some and it is up to the writing professional to encourage the writer to discover that for themselves. Then, it is up to the writer to find out if procrastination is a bad thing for them individually, and if not— how to use it to their advantage. It is time for writing educators to stop always preaching the negative connotation and effects of procrastination and instead to encourage writers to discover for themselves how, if at all, procrastination can help their writing.

Procrastination works if it is used to the writers advantage, this is the key to productive procrastination-seems impossible, but isn’t. Dustin Wax explains the three different genres of procrastinators: the creative procrastinators, the undefined worker, and the mind game procrastinator.

The “creative procrastinator” is the most productive of the three, and also the least common among writers. Creative procrastinators know what they want to do, they need time to let the ideas “ferment” before they are ready to sit down and put them into action. Some may consider it to be strategic planning, and others may call it pure coincidence.  Whatever you choose to call it, it’s “the time spent dreaming up what you want to say or do, weighing ideas in your mind, following false leads and tearing off on mental wild goose chases, and generally thinking things through” (Wax). From the outside looking in, it probably isn’t a valid planning strategy because it does not stick to the run-of-the-mill ‘make a concept map, then an outline’ writing preparation. However, if there is anything I have learned from my English 151 class, it is that it is nearly impossible to tell a student how to go about writing. Whether you are walking to class, or getting dinner with friends, as long as you are actively and productively thinking about your paper or assignment— procrastination is working for you.

Talk about an author who says it is bad or uses an example here to synthesize the paper more.

Give an example scenario or back up with evidence. Try to relate this and first topic more for better understanding of differences between the two.

However, you cannot consider yourself to be a creative procrastinator while staring at the wall for an hour because you don’t know how to come up with a thesis, or don’t know the topic you’re discussing well enough to come up with one. That is not writing, it is just wasting time. The second type of procrastinator Wax explains is called the “Undefined Worker”. This procrastinator will do other activities besides their assignment and assume that the paper will simply write itself when the time comes. This procrastinator will put forth the time to do less important tasks, but will not put forth the imagination and mental planning that the Creative Procrastinator would.

The third kind of procrastinator that Wax explains is called the “Mind Game Procrastinator”. This procrastinator knows they have an assignment to complete, and a lot of preparation also to do for the assignment, yet they keep busy by doing other, less important tasks. This is the student who only cleans their room the weekend before a paper is due on Monday.  Here lies the problem with procrastination: our minds can often trick us into procrastinating, often to the point that we don’t realize we’re procrastinating at all. This type of procrastinator feels productive because they are completing a task. Even though it is not the task that needs to be completed.

Change up word choice and also maybe try and eliminate some of this voice in this essay to help keep paper valid.

            As a writer and especially as a student I am guilty of all three of these types of procrastination. The point is however, that there are potential benefits to procrastination, and educators need to encourage writers not to avoid procrastination but to see how they can use it to their advantage.

I am not out to prove that procrastination is the best kept secret to writing, nor am I trying to prove that procrastination benefits everyone. In fact, in a 2010 research study done by Applied Psychology Magazine, only 31% of writers benefit from some form of procrastination. In the same study, researchers concluded that 82% of students reported feeling more confidence in their assignment if it was not procrastinated (Yeo et al.). So, we cannot ignore the negative effects of procrastination, however, isn’t that 31% substantial? If 1 in 3 students are being told taught a misleading way of writing, then isn’t it worth writing educator’s time to look into who from their classroom would benefit from it, and who wouldn’t?

 One can conclude that procrastination is most often, an error of technicality, not morality. It is not logical for writing professionals to tell students that procrastinating is an awful thing with negative effects, while not using procrastination to your full advantage can have destructive effects, it is more important that they encourage students to discover for themselves if procrastinating does work for them or not.

Introduce them here and now them take the time to explain all of them so the reader knows what to expect.

            John R. Perry in his essay “How to Procrastinate and Still Get Things Done” explains what he calls 'structured procrastination'. He emphasizes that procrastinating doesn't mean doing nothing. He also goes on to explain that one of the most common ways procrastinators avoid doing something is by doing something else. He includes a list of five ways to not only learn what kind of procrastinator you are, but distinct steps on how procrastination can be your number one writing tool. After reading his essay and looking through his research findings, I concluded that all writing professionals should encourage their students to make these discoveries and to follow these steps to a more efficient route of procrastination.

In all of my years through grade school, and high school, and now college, no teacher of mine, at any point realized that the war against procrastination was a losing battle. Instead of meeting me halfway and teaching me how to use my procrastination to my full advantage, they simply told me to avoid it all together. With thirteen, almost fourteen years of schooling under my belt, I can say with certainty that—I will never stop procrastinating, but only because I have learned how to help my writing. I have learned to do so with these helpful hints regarding structured procrastination from Professor John. R Perry.

1.       Always Have Something to Do

Besides the assignment at hand, make a to-do list of other little things that need to get done. Work on your assignment for a set amount of time, then work on your other to-do list. While working on your other list, be thinking actively and progressively about your assignment. According to Mr. Perry, if you avoid your assignment by doing absolutely nothing, you are digressing. Instead, keep your to-do list full with other things you need to do besides the one(s) you are avoiding.

2.      Daydream.

It has been proven again and again that the power of the human imagination is very impressive. If you have an assignment that is looming over you, and you just can’t get the momentum to start— daydream about it. You’ll be amazed at what comes to mind. In the frame of mind, you can slowly start drafting your paper, or planning the paper out in your head.

3.       Develop Momentum by Not Doing

This is where your “character flaw” of procrastination comes into play to help you accomplish something. Take one of those tasks that seem less important than your assignment and do them. Completing those small tasks can help with the feeling of failure that procrastination seems to carry, and get some momtentum going. While completing these tasks, focus on your assignment being completed. Taking small breaks from your assignment and being productive can keep you in high spirits and give you the energy, once you go back to you assignment, to complete it. Professor Perry admits that one must have 'excellent self-deceptive skills' to accomplish this.

4.      Give Up the Fantasy of Perfection

In a later essay, “Procrastination and Perfectionism,” Mr. Perry discusses how the “fantasy of perfection feeds procrastination simply because many procrastinators are perfectionists and assume that it is difficult and time consuming to do things perfectly.” So, instead of working hard on something thoroughly today, procrastinators will wait until there is not enough time to do it thoroughly. So, when you are feeling over-whelmed about completing an assignment perfectly, step back and ponder: what are the chances your assignment will be absolutely flawless. If the chances are low, then give yourself permission to make mistakes and go out on a ledge. You’ll find, that after this release of false hope is gone, sitting down to do the assignment will be a lot less daunting.

5.     

Use suggestion or offer it as a use don’t state a guarantee for it may not be the same with the reader as it is with you.

When All Else Fails, Sit Down and Do It.

The sad truth is that the anxiety of an approaching deadline and the feeling of running out of time is the strongest motivation for procrastinators. Sometimes, an hour countdown until the assignment due date is all you need to get the creative juices flowing. It is amazing what someone can accomplish under pressure. Especially if the student has done the last four steps, sitting down to actually complete the assignment with that time restraint should make it a lot easier.

Make article titles the same form whether that’s in quotes, underlined or italics.

Steven Witte addresses quite possibly the strongest case against anti-procrastinators. He believes that the traces of procrastination are so incredibly evident in our writing, it is nearly impossible to ignore. Witte also argues that “pre-text” or the writer’s tentative writing plan, “has both a semantic and syntactic component, and they may take the form of phrases, dependent clauses, sentences or sequences” (397). In other words, hesitation to complete an assignment leads most writers to pretext-like thoughts. Thus, they may not notice, but they are actually writing the paper in their heads. This explains why for the 31% of successful procrastinators, writing is so innate and sincere when it comes time for them to complete the assignment.

In Dominique Ransom’s article “How Do I Write?”, she argues that there are benefits and repercussions to strategically giving yourself that sense of rush due to extreme procrastination. She did a self-observation where she observed her writing habits in a natural environment, doing a timed writing exercise. As she did the writing assignment, she kept on a separate piece of paper, a record of her thoughts about the assignment, and her mood. She observed that timed writing exercises caused her to write faster and more of a need to "get to the point", although it hindered her writing performance and process. Many simple mistakes were made in the time restraint writing assignment. She even noticed that pausing to write down her thoughts caused her to defer her concentration from the prompt/assignment at hand.

From this we can conclude that procrastination helps to cut out all of  “the fill” that comes with some assignments and really get to the meat and potatoes of the whole paper. However, in Ransom’s case, the cons outweigh the pros. Ransom noticed a lot of simple mistakes in her writing and did not fully respond to the prompts because she was so focused about getting all of her main thoughts on the topic out and onto the paper. This would be a case where Ransom is not using procrastination to her full advantage, thus, it is not helping her in return.

Think

For me, the benefits of procrastination happen about three to four days before I actually sit down to complete the assignment. I will read through the grading sheet and thing about my topic clearly. I will then think of multiple hooks and introduction options I like for my paper. Over the next few days, I’ll think about the options in my head and then when it is finally time to sit down at my laptop to type a paper, I have a solid idea of how I want the paper to flow and sound. In my opinion, this is an exemplary way of getting procrastination to work best for you.  Instead of adjusting myself to not procrastinate, I am adjusting procrastination to benefit me in the most productive way possible.

“And it is up” also sentence doesn’t make sense

            Through my many years of schooling I learned that perhaps procrastination is not as bad as writing professionals make it out to be. I discovered there is a beneficial writing process that occurs during the procrastination, but to make procrastination productive, it is vital that you do not skip this process. I have learned that for some writers, procrastination is inevitable. We all are in some way, shape or form, professional procrastinators. While it may not work for everyone, it does work for some and it up to the writing professional to encourage the writer to discover that for themselves. Then, it is up to the writer to find out if procrastination is a bad thing for them individually, and if not— how to use it to their advantage. Procrastination is a writing process unique to each and every writer. It is time for writing educators to stop preaching the negative connotation and effects of procrastination and encourage writers to discover for themselves how, if at all, procrastination can help their writing.

Main Idea: Procrastination can in fact be helpful to some writers but it is always viewed as incorrect writing. Teachers see procrastination as a bad thing that will cause your writing to be a failure but to some students it actually improves their work. The author goes further in depth by explaining how there are multiple types of procrastinators and that in order to be a successful one you can’t be one you is productive but never productive with the actual paper but instead with little things in your life that aren’t relevant. Then there are the types that just never get to the paper at all they just avoid it till the last second. The last type is the procrastinator that in actuality is working on their paper the entire time without writing anything because they are constantly thinking about their paper and how they want to say things or the way they want the paper to flow and so forth. Also she talks about five steps to help with this procrastination to make sure it is as effective as possible for you the writer.

Comments:

·         The yellow highlighting I thought were either very strong areas that drew me in or made me curious or they were areas that were very useful and effective to the paper. For that instance you should take a second look and possibly go even more in depth over these areas.

·         The blue highlighting I have commented on in the margins what was wrong or how it confused me.

·         Use more quotes from earlier sources as well as later ones instead of summarizing the majority this will make your paper more professional and valid to the reader.

·         Use more examples to explain scenarios so the audience can see multiple ways and meanings for the topics you discuss.

·         Work on more synthesis between the writers and their works your evidence was strong but try to relate the authors together and explain or talk about what ideas and concepts they agreed on and which ones they differed on.

·         Also I would like to see more from the other side you introduce and use valid points from the other perspective but you never really relate any negatives to what you think are positives. I mean that I would like to see more synthesis not only between these authors but authors with a completely different opinion on procrastination or if possible the specific methods and ideas you argue are positives.

·         Overall I think this paper was very effective and used multiple methods and creative tools to make the paper standout and different. Also I think it was a very interesting read and would be the same for any age because anyone can relate to procrastination in their lives at some point. Also because it is very close to a student’s heart because they often deal with this every week as well as it is very interesting to think about from a teachers perspective to see and understand how procrastination can actually be very effective and useful for some writers.