LAB classes

Hi Students,

From now till the end of the semester we will have the following LAB classes:

Nov 22 : LAB 2. 146

Nov 24: LAB 2. 120

Dec 1: LAB 2. 120

Dec 6: LAB 2. 146

I will be in the classroom today and walk with you all to the LAB. Those who read this before 2:35 can just go to LAB 2. 146 by yourself.

See you.

ATTENTION!!!!

Hi all,

Following are some important issues that I would ask for your attention and action:

1. We will have LAB classes again next week on Nov 15 (LAB 2. 164) and Nov 17 (LAB 2. 148). Please be on time and bring your works (Research Proposal, articles, etc...) to class to go on.

2. I would need you all to give me another hard copy of project I where you highlight the changes based on my comments so that I can focus on your revision. This requirement has been mentioned before, however; only a few of you highlighted the changes. I will collect the highlighted revision ones next Monday, Nov 15.

Let me know if you have any questions.

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Darryl Wolf

English

Trang Phann

10/27/10

Closing My Eyes as I Speak: An Argument for Ignoring Audience Author(s): Peter Elbow Source: College English, Vol. 49, No. 1 (Jan., 1987), pp. 50-69

Summary:

This article is about the benefits of ignoring the audience as you write, allowing you to create a train of thought which will let your ideas to flow freely. It also explains that this concept can prevent writers block which is an indeed predicament that I personally encounter from time to time. Also I’ve learned that when the writer envisions the audience they get intimidated from the pressure and thus making it difficult to get his or her point across; not only that but as clearly as possible. Also we could benefit from our audience, doing so will reveal that the writer would have put more consideration to be benefited and possibly have an out come on a mutual basis. Putting ease for the reader as they accumulate the writer’s viewpoint. Which is why I have somewhat of a mutual answer for my question.

Question:

Is it good to ignore the audience? Which do you prefer writer or reader base prose?

I would like to be able to free my mind when I begin to write. Personally I believe that this could go both ways. Thinking outside the “box” and developing a direction other than your own could indeed benefit you. Without limiting your train of thought you could somewhat ignore the audience so you won’t feel pressured and delayed in your writing. Doing so would eliminate the causatum of a writer’s block and allow for ideas to flow and as well expand into deeper segments. However with no guidelines the writer may go off topic and elaborate too much. It all depends how you see this strategies and entwine with your analysis. I prefer both writer and reader base prose because I can benefit with the two. I like how writer base prose focuses on the individual and it doesn’t matter if the readers may not understand the context. As well as, writer base prose is more of an adequate approach for themselves but lets the writer formulate with anything they feel serene. Their acquisitions way become all-out biased in a way but reader base focuses with the reader; by making sure they understand what the writer is trying to come across.

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Monica Torres

Eng. Comp

Trang Phann

10/23/10

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Closing My Eyes as I Speak: An Argument for Ignoring Audience Author(s): Peter Elbow Source: College English, Vol. 49, No. 1 (Jan., 1987), pp. 50-69

Summary: The article “Closing My Eyes as I Speak” talks about benefits on ignoring the audience and how writers can improve their essays or writing. Elbow says that ignoring the audience can prevent writers block. He also says that when it comes to an audience we tend to get intimidated and make it hard on ourselves to go get our point across. He also says that sometimes our audience can help us, when we do think about the audience we think a lot more and of better things to say. This article has a lot of different views on writing and what will help you the most. Piagetian says that we should start out by being private and as we grow up we will become more social and will be able to write and talk more efficiently, while Vygotskian says we should start out social and then when we become older it will be easier to voice ourselves. There are also different views about writer base prose and reader base prose. One claims that it is best to use one than the other and vice versa. Reader base prose focuses on the reader and helps the reader fully understand, while writer base prose does the opposite. It’s all about the writing and it allows the writer to write about anything, it is all clear to the writer.

Q: Is it good to ignore the audience? Which do you prefer writer or reader base prose?

Answer: I personally think it is best to ignore the audience because I tend to freak out in front of them. I get embarrassed and forget what I’m talking about and I get off track from what I’m talking about. If I were to ignore them I think I would do a lot better because I wouldn’t feel so pressured and awkward in front of them. I prefer both writer and reader base prose because I can benefit from both. I like that writer base prose focuses on me and it doesn’t matter if the readers understand it. Writer base prose lets the writer talk or writer about anything the feel comfortable writing about, the can add as much detail as they want and it all makes sense to them. On the other hand, reader base focuses on the reader by making sure the reader understand what it is the writer is talking about.

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Brie Fenton Yesenia Ontiveros

ENG 1301.28

Trang Phan

oct. 20, 2010


Closing My Eyes as I Speak: An Argument for Ignoring Audience

Elbow, Peter. "Closing My Eyes as I Speak: An Argument for Ignoring Audience." College English 49.1 (1987): 50-69. Print.

Awareness of the audience can often cause incomplete thoughts and unclear writing. Elbow argues that if we ignore the audience we will end up with better writing in the end. It starts out weak but leads to better revisions. There are two different types of audiences: enabling and inhibiting. Enabling audiences cause us to think of better and more coherent things as we write and our piece turns out structured. We come up with ideas we did not know we had and we feel smart. It is helpful to keep these audiences in mind from the start. Inhibiting audiences block our writing. We feel dumb and can’t find our words or thoughts. When they are no longer pressuring us, all our thoughts come rushing back.
If we are constantly aware of the audience, were only thinking about how they will criticize our writing, we are not focusing. During the first stages of writing, if we ignore the audience, our words will be more true and clear. Teaching students how to realize when audience awareness is getting in their way, will help avoid overload and stressing. We can manipulate our thoughts and end up with better, developed writing than we would have had in the first place. Ignoring the audiences leads to stronger, more expressive and descriptive writing.

Question
The author says: “when attention to audience causes an overload, start out by ignoring them while you attend to your thinking; after you work out your thinking, turn your attention to audience” (p.53). How could you know when it’s overloaded?
Response
Many people have arguments about ignoring the audience. This method doesn’t not mean that you as the speaker have to block out the audience. In the article it mentions that when you feel over load to just ignore the audience. I really don’t think the author meant this as in were we forget about them and make no eye contact to them. The word “overload” I interpretation is; when we as the speaker feel nervous, and tempts to forget the subject. But the author ( Peter Elbow) of “ Closing My Eyes as I Speak” is intentions were not to tell us to ignore our audience but to not pay as much attention. I as the writer I tend to get nervous when I speak in front of a audience, what I do is tend to ignore the audience by simply not looking at them in the eyes, and think about something else. I also try not to memorize a speech because I tend to forget it.

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Vanessa Magdaleno & Mario A. Garcia
Eng. 1301
Tran Phan
10/16/10

Closing My Eyes as I Speak

SUMMARY:

Closing My Eyes as I Speak: An Argument for Ignoring Audience, Peter Elbow, College English, Vol. 49, No. 1 (Jan., 1987), pp. 50-69, National Council of Teachers of English, http://www.jstor.org/stable/377789,


This article tells us that an audience can be perceived as a force field or barrier; one that invites us or one that confuses or inhibits us. These are only some of the types of audiences that can be perceived in order to make our writing better. We can choose to either ignore or choose an audience. When we choose an audience, in our mind that audience is a great example of the people that you can impress with what you know, because they have a limited knowledge compared to yours. When you ignore your audience, this leads to something that Lind Flower would, call Writer-based Prose writing, which will lead to weak writing altogether. Sometimes when you ignore the wrong type of audience you will worry about how they will critique your writing because” we [find] them intimidating” (51), and so we are very defensive with our writing in order to please that intimidating person and therefore try and not be criticized as much as we would if we we’re comfortable with our writing. There is also an audience that we completely ignore in order to not go off track the topic and be able to stay focused on the writing rather than the readers. Having an audience is a great way to help shape your writing in a creative way.


QUESTION:
Why would writer-based prose be considered better than reader based prose? What are the negative and positive points about both?


RESPONSE:
Sometimes we write for an audience. Sometimes we write for ourselves. Sometimes we write just to simply explore our ideas. Most times, as writers, we need to be able to let out our ideas without the inhibiting factor of someone looking over our shoulder and pinpointing all of our mistakes. Sometimes the ideas in our head might be considered dumb, and irrelevant to a topic, but we need the security of knowing that it’s okay to explore such ideas. This is writer based prose.
I catch myself thinking that writer based prose is better because to me, it means writing for myself. Writer based prose occurs more often than reader based prose. It occurs while we are planning an essay. It allows the opportunity to put our own thoughts, emotions, and experiences into a topic. Using writer based prose is like putting a part of you into a composition.
However, Linda Flower states that ineffective writers use writer based prose. She says that people who use writer based prose are not concerned about the reader and the points that are made do not relate to each other. Essays that are written through writer based prose are sometimes understood as a language “private” to the writer.
The preference on what is better between reader and writer based prose is somewhat dependent on the writer. Some writers prefer to use reader based prose because it keeps the audience in mind. It is important to keep the audiences’ attitude toward your topic in mind.
After analyzing articles that we have covered, I have come to the conclusion that writer based prose is just as effective as reader based prose. Both need to be occurring when composing. However, they need to be done in the right way so that you are keeping the reader in mind, as well as letting yourself shine through in a paper.

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Hiram Lopez
ENG1301.28
Trang Phan
10-18-10
Closing My Eyes as I Speak: An Argument for Ignoring Audience Summary
Peter Elbow. “Closing My Eyes as I Speak: An Argument for Ignoring Audience” College English, Vol. 49, No. 1(Jan., 1987), pp 50-69

In the article “Closing My Eyes as I Speak: An Argument for Ignoring Audience,” Peter Elbow focused on the fact that when we talk to a person or a group we struggle to find words because we are so overwhelmed by their presence and it makes it hard for us to get our point across, he argues that” writing without audience awareness is not meant to undermine the many good reasons for writing with audience awareness.” (50) For example we easily neglect the audience because we would write in solitude, and that students have a weak sense of writing communication because they have only written to teachers in a school setting. He also made a claim that writer-based prose was sometimes better than reader-based prose. He describes that when writers are aware of the audience, it may disrupt their thinking. So, he suggests for teachers to teach them in a desert island mode, in order for the teachers to help their students by helping to trust and believe in their writing.
Question:
Why is it good to block out the audience at times?
Response:
I think it is important to block out the audience at times because an audience can overwhelm someone so much that they can often forget what they are trying to say. It goes the same way when we write alone in our rooms; we often have to write in writer-based prose so we can get our ideas out the way we understand them. It’s not that we should never think of the audience. The question is when. “An audience is a field of force.”(51) It all comes down to what kind of audience we have. There are two types of audiences an inviting or enabling, and inhibiting. The inviting and enabling audience which is like talking to the perfect listener they make us feel smart and allow us to come up with ideas we didn’t know we had. While the inhibiting audience makes us feel dumb and make it hard for us to find words or thoughts. So, it all comes down to the audience we have at hand they contribute to the ways we write. It can be good to block them out at times to write better papers.