D#6, HW#3 -- discuss the essay

HW#3

*What did you like about it?*
I liked that it gave the history on distance learning. It shows the time and effort spent on the research.

*How does it fit the WP#2 assignment prompt?*
It references research and introduces the fucused issue.

* If you were going to revise this to submit for WP#2, what would you change? Why?*
I would revise most of this because it looks more like the original rough draft from WP#1 than an annotation. It doesn't cite enuogh resources and doesn't give clear detail on where each side stand on the issue. I would reference sources and there position on answering my topic sentence rather than stating history on the subject.

D#5, HW#9

HW#9

I posted to April's Thoughts and to Andres Cox on their D#5, HW#6 posts. Proofreading was very beneficial to me. It gave me an idea of whether I was on track with the class or not, which is one of my personal course goals. This also helped me to see my writing through other peoples view points ,which will help me to achieve my course competencies and improve my writing.

D#5, HW#8 -- Grammar assignment 2

HW#8

Since this week we were proofreading and peer editing I decided that I could use some work on proof reading my own paper before I submit it to avoid some of the grammatical errors that turned up in my draft. I used the tips given to me by classmates that peer edited my paper. I also used http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/proofreading.aspx and http://www.dailywritingtips.com/category/grammar/ to understand my mistakes.

Original: Pregnancy is a topic that always interests me because it’s such a unique and interesting process. I was pregnant with my daughter when I was 17-years-old. Since I was so young when I had her I wasn’t thinking about having any more children soon afterwards. My life revolved around caring for her and making a life for us. It has been just the two of us since she was a year old and being a single mom can be a struggle. Keeping up with our life was full enough that still, I never considered having anymore children. I was always very happy with life being just the two of us.

Revised: Pregnancy is a topic that has always interested, because it’s such a unique and interesting process. I was pregnant with my daughter when I was 17-years-old. Since I was so young when I had her I wasn’t thinking about having any more children soon afterward. My life revolved around caring for her and making a life for us. It has been just the two of us since she was a year old, and being a single mom can be a struggle. Keeping up with our life was busy and hectic, but fulfilling enough that I never considered having anymore children. I was always very happy with life being just the two of us.

D#5, HW#7 -- annotated bibliography

HW#7
This source was found on YouTube through a google search. It gives statistics on the pro's and con's of having a baby over the age of 35. This video is for mother's having babies and an older age. This source is authoritative because it gives nothing besides risks and positive features of advanced maternal age without telling you their side until the very end, which is helpful to inform the audience. This site helps to understand the facts on both sides.
"Advanced Maternal Age." YouTube. Ayrolyn. YouTube. 01 Aug. 2008. Web. 26 Sept. 2009.

This source was found through blogged.com. It explains that the newest research pertaining to advanced maternal age is finding that there is a correlation to cancer. Children born to mother's over the age of 35 are more likely to have cancer befor the age of 14, but there are other factors as well. This post looks authoritative; however, I'm not 100% positive about where the author is getting her statistics.
Raquel. (2009). Cancer risk and advanced maternal age. Retrieved September 26,2009, from http://battlingforhealth.com/2009/08/cancer-risk-and-advanced-maternal-age/

D#5, HW#6 -- Decide what primary data to collect

HW#6
*Observations*
-Listening to a doctor could answer my research question
-No observing would help because doctor's see a very wide variety of patients and most of the observations would be unrelated.
-I could put myself in an environment of pregnant women, which lately isn't difficult because everyone around me is pregnant, but most of them are in their 20's.

*Interviews*
- Yes, I think an experienced OB/GYN could help to explain what women in their 30's experience during pregnancy that differs from women in their 20's.
-Member's of chat board communities may help.
- I could learn about person experiences rather than an overview, since all pregnancy, labor, and delivery are different.

*Surveys*
- Survey's give statistics on several different aspects on a subject; whereas, interviewing you only get one point of view.
- ? thousands
- definitely not. The number of people that would need to be polled would take way too much time.

D#5, HW#5 -- peer review reflection

HW#5

2 classmates' drafts that I reviewed are: http://aprb13.blogspot.com/2009/09/research-proposal-d4-hw9.html#comments and http://klindenberg.blogspot.com/2009/09/d4-hw9-rough-draft-wp1.html#comments. I learned that all of us have things to learn, but more importantly I got to see different writing styles that I can incorporate into my own writing. I need to be more specific in my paper regarding statistics, where they come from, etc. Students that commented on my blog were Andres, somethingorother, Scott Sievers , MRdawn. I was surprised by Marrissa's comments because their were so many grammatical mistakes. I was expecting comments on content or organization because this is the first proposal I have ever written, but the grammar shouldn't have been so bad. My turnitin report shows that there are no matching sources for this report and the similarities are 0%. I feel the area of most concern is my cohesiveness and I need to work on tying my paper together.

D#5, HW#4 -- Peer Review

HW#4 -- Posted to April's Thoughts and eng102 klindenberg under their comments section for their draft on WP#1

D#5, HW#3 -- analysis

HW#3

My rough draft has 6 paragraphs. The point of the first one is to grab the readers attention and create a rhetorical situation to make the reader start to think about the subject. It functions in the argument because it makes the reader think about their personal views on the subject. It functions in the paper as a whole because it creates a good introduction into the topic without bombarding the reader immediately with statistics or facts. This paragraph starts by asking questions regarding my topic and relates to the paragraph below because that paragraph starts introducing why I'm asking the questions. It trasitions the same way by explaning why I am asking the initial research question. The purpose of paragraph two is to explane the topic. It functions in the arguement by giving background information, and functions in the paper by explaning to the reader what the paper is about. This paragraph gives an explanation of topic as a whole and then relates to the paragraph by expressing my personal explanation on why I'm interested in it. It transitions by stating that there is pressure to have children at a younger age, then the next paragraph begins to explain that age is a contributing factor into my inqiries. Paragraph three is my personal experience concerning the subject. This relates to the argument because it shows that my interests are personally invested, in return this makes the paper as a whole better because I am passionate about it. The paragraph below it relates because it is more about my personal experiences as time went on. This paragraph transitions into the one below it by explaing why I've been giving more attention to the subject over time. Paragraph four states the purpose of the paper. It functions in argument because it explains why it is worth arguing in the first place. The function in the paper is to concern the audience with the importance of the subject. This paragraph relates to the one above it by giving my personal situation and then explaining how it is important to a lot of other people. The transition used was to take my personal time line and reflect it towards the paper as a whole. It transitions to the paragraph below by explaning the purpose is to discuss women concieving and the next paragraph discusses women being the audience. Paragraph five discusses the audience. Knowing your audience is very important toward the argument because you need to understand what their original opinion on the topic is. The audience is also very important to the paper itself concerning terminology and data. This relates to the paragraph below because it covers the research that needs to be done and when researching audience is one of the most important thing to keep in mind. The transition I used was to consider my audience in regards to my research. Paragraph six is about my time line. It relates to the arguement because you don't want to do too little work or you wont be able to present it accurately. It relates directly to the paper because the time line is how long and what it will take to write the paper.

D#4, HW#12 -- Reflection

To start out the week I was a little skeptical of our assignment because I had never written a proposal before. So I did some more research to understand my topic, then once I started writting I got really excited about my topic, My personal goals are on track and I'm hoping that my course competencies are where they need to be.

Blogs I commented to this week:
Andres Cox: D#4, HW#4
Eng 102 Blog: D#4, HW#1-8 (#4)
eng102 Klindenberg: D#4, HW#4
April's Thoughts: D#4, HW#12
Tys: D#4, HW#3
Hell if I know: D#4, HW#6

D#4, HW#11 -- Annotated bibliography entries

1. This source is from scholarly journals found through MCC library site. It is a respectable source because it is current and scientific. This source is useful because it covers the science of how chromosomal abnormalities form and how the aging process affects this in mothers.

M.C., Magli. (2008). Advanced Maternal Age. Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 3(16), 6. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier Database.

2. This source is also from scholarly journals found through MCC library site. It is a hospital based study on birth outcomes for mothers of advanced maternal age. It is also very current and comes from a women's health journal. This research is very helpful because it gives a many charts and data on many different birthing outcomes.

Delpisheh, Ali, (2008). Pregnancy Late in Life: A Hospital-Based Study on Birth Outcomes. Journal of Women's Health, 17(6), 965-970. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier Database.

D#4, HW#9 WP1 Draft

Summer Bretz
Eng. 102
Section#24271
09/19/09
WP#1

Family Planning

When is the right time to start planning for a family? Some people always know that they want to have children at some point in their lives. Other people don’t realize that a family is what they want until later in life, when they meet their partner or after achieving career goals. It seems that a steadily increasing number of women are waiting until later in life to conceive. In theory, this appears to be a good idea because later in life you could be more mature, financially stable, and settled. Because of technology advancements and progress in medicine our bodies are staying healthy and active, well into our 60’s for some people. This observation leads to my question: Should a pregnancy be termed as “high risk” based on a maternal age of over 30?
Doctor’s have expressed that pregnancy for women 30 and older is considered a high risk. Any pregnancy under the age of 20 is also considered a high risk. I understand the concept of a risky pregnancy in any woman under 20-years-old because their body hasn’t had a chance to completely develop. On the other hand, a woman in her 30’s is old enough that her body has matured, but is definitely not old enough that her body is deteriorating. The medical term for this age defined high risk is “advanced maternal age”. Women in their 30’s are just as capable as women in their 20’s and in some cases even more healthy. I would like to know why pregnant women in their 30’s have to endure extra testing during pregnancy and extra pressure to start families at a younger age.
Pregnancy is a topic that always interests me because it’s such a unique and interesting process. I was pregnant with my daughter when I was 17-years-old. Since I was so young when I had her I wasn’t thinking about having any more children soon afterwards. My life revolved around caring for her and making a life for us. It has been just the two of us since she was a year old and being a single mom can be a struggle. Keeping up with our life was full enough that still, I never considered having anymore children. I was always very happy with life being just the two of us.
Around the time that my daughter was turning six and in kindergarten my biological clock slowly started ticking. My daughter was also starting to ask questions and wonder why she didn’t have any brothers or sisters. Then both of my sisters became pregnant and my internal clock started blaring instead of quietly ticking. I started doing the math on how much time I had to have more children. I knew that after 30-years-old pregnancy was considered a high risk. This gave me six years. “Yikes!” I had six years to meet a guy, possibly make a relationship out of it, get engaged, get married, get pregnant, and have a baby! This plan was clearly unrealistic and a little crazy, since you can’t plan life that way. So I started to wonder if maybe my life was supposed to be just me and my daughter, and maybe I was never meant to have more children.
Now I am down to four years until I turn 30 and I know I’m not going to make that deadline. So my purpose for this research is to find out if a high risk pregnancy after 30 is more of a precaution or is it serious enough to believe that I am out of time. I want to inform readers and myself on the realistic expectations of pregnancy at a later age. I want to understand what the options are in family planning for older couples. I also would like to inform women of what to look ahead to concerning the risk on their own bodies; as well as, the risks presented to their baby.
Women are the main focus of my audience because pregnancy is something they personally go through. However, I understand that the class as whole is my audience and I believe that men can also benefit from this research. Pregnancy might not be a primary thought in anyone’s mind right now, but at some point, everyone is going to think about if it’s something they want or when is a good time. Even if pregnancy isn’t something my audience is concerned with personally; everyone has a family member or a friend that will want to be at some point. I think this information could be useful when considering family planning for the teacher and the entire class.
I recognize that in order to give my audience as much accurate information as possible it will take time to research. I plan to do a lot of internet research. Medicine and science change so frequently that I believe the internet will have the most updated research available. I would also like to do some investigating on chat boards specifically created for moms, and find out what their opinions are of “advanced maternal age”. I want to know their personal experiences, and find out how high risk pregnancies differed from an optimal pregnancy. Pregnancy can always be a risk, and every mother has her own story.

D#4,HW#8 -- Take an inventory of what you know

HW8

• The main controversy is age and it's relation to high risk pregnancy. People generally do agree that each pregnancy should be considered case by case and not as a whole.
• I believe that there are too many variables in pregnancy to simply put age as the factor on high risk. My research does give examples of how risk factors increase, but they are based on all of the things we have put our bodies through, thus blaming age because the longer you are alive the more strees you put on your body. These strains are not the same for everyone therefore cannot apply to all women in their 30's. I found this evidence in journal articles.
• Women in general, and men in the medical field or that are thinking of becoming a parent at some point. As women I think our opinions vary on our own personal health because a woman in good health would say of course she could carry a child, but a woman that has a bad medical history would probably take an oposing side of the issue.
• There are tons of websites and chat boards directed specifically toward mothers. These chats would be the best place to get other mothers opinions.
• I need more medical research

D#4, HW#7 -- What is the writer's place in the rhetorical situation?

HW7

• I am getting older, but am still not ready to add to my family.
• that pregnancy in women over the age of 30 is concidered high risk. Yes, there are significant reasons why this is true.
• Yes, there are significant risks that women should think about before waiting too long to start a family, but personal health does factor in as well.
• the increase of fetal deaths.
• Because I believe women should have a choice in when is the best time for themselves to have children; at the same time these choices shouldn't be made lightly and without information.
• I think that women without any previous medical complications should be able to have a normal pregnancy without undergoing excessive testing and doctors visits.
• I may lean toward the idea that age isnt the factor that contributes to high risk pregnancies.
• friends and family

D#4, HW#6 -- Write a Research Question

HW6
1. Who: Who is more at risk, mothers or babies?
What: What do most doctors recognize as signs of high risk pregnancy?
When: When is the average optimal time for pregnancy in adult women?
Where: Where are doctor's getting thier facts from?
How: How can research pin point a certain age that becomes high risk for pregnancy?
Why: Why is a high risk prgnancy so different then a regular pregnancy?
Should: Should the term "high risk" be generalized according to any age?
Would: Would mother's that already have children still be high risk?

2. I wan to share information about the issue and I want to define terms and aspects on the issue.

3. My audience is the class and since it is an internet class it is very hard to understand their interests; however, pregnancy is generally a part of life and may be of interest later. My purpose of writing is to reasearch and give information.

4. The when, where, and how questions can be crossed out.

5. Should the term "high risk" be generalized according to any age?

D#4, HW#5 -- Focus your research topic

HW5

• Women shouldn't become pregnant after a certain age because it is unhealthy for both the mother and the baby.
• A woman should be able to choose if her body is healthy enough to carry a child regardless of her age.
• There shouldn't be a high risk warning at the age of 30 because it is too young to be valid.
• Are there enough statistics to back up a "high risk" warning.
• If pregnancy in your 30's is high risk then why are doctors performing invitro on women in their 40's?
• If a woman over 30 is having a "normal" pregnancy then all of the additional test shouldn't be necessarry.

D#4, HW#4 -- How can I make a topic manageable?

HW#4
1. Yes, I believe my topic satisfies the reqirements of the assignment because it does involve research.

2. I am very interested in my topic because it is something I have personally been concerened with. I want to focus mostly on finding out how significant the high risk warining is to mothers over 30.

3. I think I have narrowed my topic to make the research specific. It is also broad enough to be able to find available data.

D#4, HW#3 -- Techno Tip

HW#3
*What are people on this blog talking about?*
-Taking on Animal Cruelty

*How do the different blogs relate to one another? How are they similar? How are they different?*
- All of the blogs pertain to cruelty to animals and to saving animals, but the specific causes and animals vary.

*What subtopics did you learn about while following the conversations? Do some of the subtopics cause you to reconsider your understanding of the issue?*
Subtopics- donations and service animals. All of the subtopics seem to follow the issue and doesn't sway my understanding of the issue.

HW# 12

Lots of reading and lots of assignments this week!!! But I am glad for it because I understand what we are doing so much more than I did last week. I guess it helps that I finally got the right book too. :) My course competencies and my personal course goals are all on track. And I feel really positive about this class. I understand now that our proposals have to have some kind of personal attachment to make our research easy for the audience to relate to and make the proposal better.

BLOGS I POSTED COMMENTS TO THIS WEEK:

April's thoughts: Essay discussion D#3 HW#3
Andres Cox: D#3, HW#1-12 (hw#3)
Get the ball rolling: D#3, HW#4
Andres Cox: D#3, HW#1-12 (hw#5)
Eng 102 Blog: D#3, HW# 1-7 (hw#6)
eng102 klindenberg:D3-hw7-consider audience and purpose
April's thoughts: Citation and the table D#3HW#8-10 (hw#8)

D#3, HW#11 -- 2 annotated bibliography entries

HW#11

Hollander, D., (1996). Fetal Loss Is a Relatively Common Experience, But Risk Doubles Among Women Aged 35 and Older. Family Planning Perspectives, 28(2), 86-87. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier Database. .

This source was found in the academic search premier section. It is a Journal article found online. This is a respectable source because all the context is based off of scientific studies and their data. This is useful to my research because it gives me statistics on fetal death which risks increase with the age of the mother.

Turner, R. (1993). Risk of Late Fetal Death, Preterm Birth Increases In Women 30 and Older. Family Planning Perspectives, 25(2), 93-94. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier Database. .

This source also comes from the academic search premier section and is a journal article found online. Medical analysis is always very respectable place to find research. This article is useful because it gives more proof to my first resource about fetal death and also talks about preterm birth increases as well.

D#3, HW#10 -- practice bibliographic citations

HW#10
-Static citation-
Citation 1
Gillan, Ian, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, and Ian Paice. "Space Truckin." Machine Head. Warner Bros., 1972. Web. 3 October 2007. iTunes Store:.

Citation 2
Gillan, Ian, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, and Ian Paice. "Space Truckin." Machine Head. Warner Bros., 1972. Web. XM station 41, The Bone Yard. XM Radio:.

-Syndicated Resources-
Hajek, Christopher., et al. "The Relationships among Perceived Physician Accommodation, Perceived Outgroup Typicality, and Patient Inclinations toward Compliance." Communication Research Reports Sept. 2007: 293-302. Web. 29 Jan. 2008

-Streamed Resources-
38.
"Superhero in the Alley," Bones, TV episode, directed by James WhitmoreJr., Fox , January 24, 2008.

39.
"Superhero in the Alley," Bones, TV episode, directed by James Whitmore Jr. (Cenrury City, CA: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 2006) http://www.fox.com/fod/player.htm?show=bones (accessed January 24, 2008).

40.
"Superhero in the Alley," Bones, DVD, directed by James Whitmore Jr. (2006;Century City, CA: 20th Century Fox, 2006).

D#3, HW#9 -- Techno-tip

HW#9 - freewriting
-a healthy pregnancy is based on each individial mother and baby. Every pregnancy is different. One mother can have five difference pregnancies and each can be different, regardless of her age. Each delivery is differenct as well. although genetics does have some say in how a mother carries age should not affect that. The 20's are considered optimal time for pregnancy and fertility, but does a woman's body age that much after 5 years to make that kind of a diference? Estrogen levels may be lower in the 30's however vitamins can counter act that. I know a lot about pregnancy, but still don't understand how a small age gap can make such a huge difference.

D#3, HW#8 -- Assignment prompts

HW#8

*What is the research question?*

-All pregnancies can be risky, is it really significantly more dangerous after 30?

*What is the context?*

- statistics concerning pregnancy and age

-Doctor's oppinion on pregnancy after 30

-background on subject

-background on my interest in the subject

*What is the purpose?*

-To understand if "high risk pregnancy" is considered as a precaution or something women should avoid all together.

*Who is the audience?*

-the class and women in general

*How do you fit into the context?*

- I would like to have more kids someday; however, I don't want to be forced in to doing it within the next four years.

*How do the answers to the five questions affect one another and your understanding of the topic?*
-These questions all affect the final outcome of the research paper.

-WP#1- purpose:To find a good topic to research, Audience: the class and teacher, Topic: writing a research proposal, Author: me

-WP#2- purpose: Review research, Audience: the class and teacher, Topic: review of research, Author: me

-WP#3- purpose:analyzing and arranging research, Audience: the class and teacher, Topic: writing a research argument, Author: me

D#3, HW#7 -- audience and purpose

HW#7
1. What might your audience be interested in? How could you relate your topic to your audience's experience?
- My audience will probably want to know some general background info. to begin with because I'm sure that people aren't familiar with the subject. Researching the statistical differences will be important to give an accurate understanding to an audience that doesn't know anything about pregnancy. I think this subject can be relatable, especially, because my audience are students. When starting out your carreer and planning it, you don't realize your options for a personal or family may become limited at such a young age.

2.Will this topic satisfy the purpose of your writing and research?
- Yes. The purpose is for research. I would have to research why doctor's state that the pregnancy becomes a higher risk and the differences in younger women's pregnancies and newborns as opposed to older women's pregnancies and newborns.

D#3, HW#6 -- Generate Topic ideas

HW#6
1. Spend 3 to 5 minutes generating a list of topics that you find interesting and compelling. List 6 to 8 possibilities.
- sobriety, stem cell research, home care for the elderly, carreer options, marriage, pregnancy after the age of 35.


2. Go through your list and phrase each topic as a question.
-Does addiction ever really go away?
-Why is stem cell research so controvertial, when its so beneficial?
-Is home care the best option for elderly family members?
-What are the specific options for carreers in the physical therapy field?
-Is marriage an out dated ritual?
-Why is pregnancy in your 30's considered high risk?


3. Pick one the sounds particularly interesting to you. Free write for 5 minutes.
- Why is pregnancy in your 30's considered high risk? People are living longer and our bodies stay healthier longer, 30 seems young. All pregnancies can be risky, is it really significantly more dangerous after 30. I know that doctor's require the pregnancy to be monitored by double. you have to have more tests done. I think pregnancy after 30 is a very common now and I haven't seen anything on an increase in newborn death or disease.

4. Look at you freewriting and highlight of underline the most interesting idea you came up with. Free write for 5 minutes.
-All pregnancies can be risky, is it really significantly more dangerous after 30. A twenty-year-old couple can have a child with birth defects, how much higher are the statistics after 30? On a case by case scenario there are many women in their mid 30's that are way more healthy than some 19-year-old females. Why is age the determining factor? It may be possible that it could be because of the hormone changes and the chemical reactions that the body goes through during pregnancy.....?
-

D#3, HW#5 -- Whats important to you

HW#5

*What discussions (in writing, on the internet, verbally) engage you and other members of the community?*
- Education, majors, marriage, pregnancy, medical treatments

*What events or experiences have happened that you still remember and that left you, or other members of the community, with questions or concerns?*
-my Grandma's stroke
-addiction/sobriety
-adoption

*What problems or concerns exist in this particular community?*
-my grandma's stroke: concerns family, what is her long term care plan? What are legitimate expectations on recovery?
-addiction/sobriety: concerns friends, how do you know if staying sober is going to be permanent this time?

*Who, Which individuals and groups, is involved in this discussion, event, or problem? Why are they involved?*
-my ex-boyfriend's family members, friends, and myself

*When and where did/does discussion, event, or problem take place?*
-At his sister's work


*What exactly is the topic of the discussion, event, or problem?*
- recent behavior

*Why is the discussion, event, or problem significant to the community members?*
-this issue is important to all of us because when things start going bad it affects all of us and all areas of our lives.


*How does the community usually start to resolve the discussion, event, of problem?*
-keeping in touch with each other

D#3, HW#4 -- Identify Kairos

HW4
*What is your motivation for doing this reaearch and writing? course assignment and grades? interest in topic? need to do/change something in your life?*
-course assignment and grades are my motivation because my education is very important.

*What is going on around you affects your understanding of this research project and topic? school? work? home? community?*
-school has the biggest affect on my understanding of this research project.

*What has happened in the past and present, and what might happen in th future, that affects your understanding of this research project and topic?*
-I am hoping that some more guidence from my teacher will affect my future understanding of this project. As for the present affects: I will need to e-mail him my questions.

D#3, HW#3 -- Essay discussion

HW#3
*What did you like about it?*
I like the author's unbias stand on the issue. It sounds like she will be able to make give a lot of information without swaying the reader in one direction or another.

*How does it fit the wp#1 assignment prompt?*
I think this gives a very good description on "research in progress" because it shows her outline and explains where her original idea came from.

*If you were going to revise this to submit for wp#1, what would you change? Why?*
I would give more details on the specific points of research that I wanted to focus on becuase it would help me to organize my paper better.

D#2, HW#6 -- What are your writing idiosyncrasies? (revised)

HW#6

*What have friends, family members, and instructors identified as strengths in your writing? What have the said that you do well?*
-My previous teachers have often told me that the content of my paper is very good.

*What words, phrases, or sentence styles do you find yourself repeating in your writing?*
-I repeat "however" or " on the other hand" a lot because I forget what other transition to use.

*If you still have them, pull out graded writing assignments from past classes. Read through the comments. What common themes run through the context.*
-I use the same generic outline through out all of my papers, but that has been the requirements.

*What parts of your own writing (paragraphs, complex sentences, semicolons, passive voice, etc.) do you already know you should spend some time focusing on and improving?*
-Complex sentences and organizing my information.

D#2, HW#5 -- How do rhetorical situations compare? (revised)

HW#5

*What motivated you to conduct the research?*
Getting my daughter into a good program before all the spots were filled up.

*What was the topic, or subject of your research? Was the topic rooted to a specific time and location? Why or why not?*
-Finding day care summer camp programs.
-Yes on time and location I needed my daughter to be able to transition from school to summer camp as if nothing had changed, so I needed the location to be close and the timing to work perfectly.

* Who was the audience for your research? Who was affected by the results? Who might have been an unintended audience that was affected by your research? How did knowing your audience affect your research?*
-My daughter and her dad were my audience and were both affects by the results.
-An unintended audience that was affected by my research was my sister, who also happened to be looking at day care facilities.
- I knew her dad wouldn't really care, but I knew my daughter would. Knowing what she was looking for helped me get to work every day without her complaining.

D#2, HW#4 -- How do research processes compare? (revised)

HW#4
*Why did you conduct this research? If you were given instruction, what were they?*
-Academic: I conducted research for my English 101 class. My paper was about the effects budget cuts have on education's art programs. The instruction given were to have at least 3 resources.
-Personal: I needed to find a summer camp program for my daughter during the summer months while I worked.

*What questions did you ask?*
-Academic: What are the benefits of art programs? What are current budget cuts? How will this affect student's majoring in art and their careers?
-Personal: What is the price? What hours are available? Is the location close to home or work?

*How did you start?*
Academic: I started with newspaper articles on budget cuts on education, and google searches regarding the benefits of art education.
Personal: I asked other single moms about where their kids were enrolled for the summer.

*What went right and what went wrong?*
Academic: I found great research already done on how beneficial art is to the learning process, but I think it could have been better with some more library time.
Personal: The enrollment fee was way cheaper than I was expecting. I don't feel I had enough time to visit the different facilities.

*What were the outcomes of your research?*
Academic: A really good paper :)
Personal: A very happy daughter and a less stressed out me.

*How would you conduct your research differently if you were to do it again?*
Academic: I think with any research you could always have more resouces.
Personal: I would give myself more time (the summer kind of snuck up on me this year)

D#2, HW#3 -- How have you conducted research before? W/the correct textbook

HW#3
-My most recent research was for a summer program for my daughter to attend while she was out of school. I've always had a family member watch her over the summer time, so finding a program to enroll her in was a new process for us. I needed to find out what was the best price along with available hours that would agree with my work schedule.

- My research involved myself, my daughter, and my daughter's Dad. The conclusion ultimately affected my daughter because she had to spend her summer there. It also affected my ex-husband because we split child care costs. I did all of the research myself and then presented them with the best option.

- I did research on the internet for which types of programs were available. Then called different facilities that met my criterea for their cost. I asked other moms that I work with where their kids were attending. I gathered my info from talking to single moms and day care directors.

D#2, HW#8 -- reflection on learning

I think the reading this week really helped me to understand the difference in rhetoric contexts specifically toward the audience. The examples given made me understand that how detailed the context of the paper is has to depend on how familiar your audience is with the subject written. Chapter two was very beneficial to understanding how to organize my writing. My personal work goals for this class are being achieved so far. My biggest goals are to learn, and to keep on task with the rest of the class, and improve my writing of course :)

The postings that I replied to this week were:

• April's course commitment
• Andres D#2, HW4
• Andres textbook question
  

D#2, HW#7 --- Grammar Assignment

The grammatical problem that I focused on was the appropriate use of commas. I don't know why commas are so confusing. For some reason it seems like this is a problem for a lot of people. When I am looking at a sentence and it doesn't seem quite right a comma seems to be the easy fix. To understand the rules for comma usage I used the Owl Purdue website (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/) for one of my resources. I studied the power point presentation on "conquering the comma". For my second resource I used the grammar girl website (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/). In this website I listened to the lecture on comma splices.

I am not working on any writing at this moment, so this is a very old writing assignment. Corrections to this project are made in red.

“What am I going to be doing today Mommy?” my daughter asks me every morning, and every morning during the chaos of getting ready for work, taking out the dog, and preparing for the day I tell her to go look at her calendar. This calendar is her guide to daily activities hosted by the Summer Camp at Tutor Time which she attends every weekday. Summer day camps are the answer to a lot of working parent’s worries when another school year has flown by, and there are no daily activities for children while their parents are at work. However, finding a day camp that will fit everyone’s needs can be quite a task. As a parent, I want to be able to rely on the facility and the staff to make the summer months convenient with my work schedule. I also want my daughter to be able to relax and enjoy her summer; as well as, develop mentally, socially, and physically during this time. That is why my choice of summer day camp for my daughter is the Summer Camp at Tutor Time. Tutor Time has one of the best summer day camp programs for school aged children because of it’s compliance with state requirements, the activities offered, and the efforts put in to go above and beyond parent’s expectations.

State requirements in Arizona for summer day camps and child care facilities can be found at www.azdhs.gov, they state that all facilities must have a certification, finger print requirements for staff, and are subject to inspections and investigations. The qualifications to gain a certificate are extensive and constantly changing. The key points important specifically for summer day camps are the field trip regulations and transportation guidelines. According to www.azsos.gov section R9-3-412:
“Each motor vehicle used to transport enrolled children is equipped with an operational heating system, an operational air-conditioning, a first-aid kit that meets requirements of R9-3-314, two clean towels or blankets, and drinking water in an amount sufficient to meet the needs of each enrolled child in the motor vehicle and sufficient cups or other drinking receptacles so that each individual in the motor vehicle can drink from a different cup or receptacle.”
This law is very important because children enrolled in summer day camps are often doing activities outside of the day care facility. Field trip requirements have several more contingencies that can also be found at www.azsos.gov in section R9-3-413. Children are not allowed on field trips if the day camp does not have a dated signature from the parent. This signature must be on a permission slip containing information on the child and all information regarding the field trip. Children must also be accounted for at all times. A staff member must keep a checklist of all children and check it before leaving the day camp facility, when arriving at the field trip destination, every hour, when leaving the field trip destination, and again when arriving back at the day camp. Any day care or summer camp program should strictly abide by these rules, and give proof of it to any parent upon their request.

I have learned that when using commas you must have a coordinating conjunction, or you will have a comma splice error. Also, the simple rule to follow when wondering if a comma is needed is to check to see if the sentence can be split into two sentences. If it can and you have the words for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so connecting the two sentences then you need a comma in front of the connecting word.

D#2, HW#3-6-- reflections on research

3. How have you conducted research before?
I usually like to start my research with a general search in google because I feel like it can gives me a very broad perspective and may help me to see aspects of my subject that I wouldn't have thought of myself. Then I narrow down my subject and continue with specific research.
4. How do research processes compare?
Research needs to be more focused on the audience that you are writig for; rather than being so general.
5. How do rhetorical situations copare?
Your writing needs to be more specific and detailed depending on how formal or informal the project is.
6. What are you writing idiosyncrasies?
I tend to write as if I'm talking, then I have to go back and reword everything.