When completing the midterm I found following some of the steps on my check list was surprisingly helpful. Being  in a quiet environment without having to worry about other activities helped me concentrate and complete my essay before the time ended. I wasn’t able to use all of the steps like getting rid of my phone or eliminating all internet distractions, but making an outline and proof reading aloud really helped me write. I decided to follow some new steps like don’t wait till last minute to write, and double checking the rubric which were very helpful. For the final I’m going to try and make sure I follow the most helpful and important steps that I used for the midterm.  I unfortunately kept my phone with me, but for the final it will be out of sight and mind.

I’m not a big fan of timed essays, I feel the cause too much stress and causes a student to work less efficiently. When doing essays for class you can properly space what you’re going to do when over the course of the day. It’s not rushed and you can properly edit and find mistakes. although timed testing does cause you to work faster and not to worry about other distractions. Ultimately timed writing is a stressful process.

I’m not to fond of the writing test being on black board, it’s very easy to get distracted and easily stress. To ensure my success I will make sure I am in complete silence and am away from any distractions such as my cell phone. Also, make sure any prior engagements are done, like other assignments for classes. Then make sure I’m properly  fed and all personal needs are taken care of. Lastly, make sure my computer is charged and my internet connection is good because I don’t want my test cutting off in the middle.

I will defiantly try and use my check list, some steps I might step over. Such as getting a peer review and having a first and final draft for there isn’t much time for either. I will have an outline prepared first, which helps develop and thesis and topic sentences. I will re read once I am finished, and even read again out loud just in case I am missing something. From chapter five there are several tips I can use, such as not using first or second person. Also, each paragraph should contain one idea and begin with a topic sentence.

Due to inclement weather ODU should be closed, because of the large amount of commuters the school has,  the small roads, and the far walking distance from housing.

Old Dominion has accumulated a large amount of commuters making it very hard for them to drive with very bad road conditions.

In addition to the far driving distance Norfolk roads are very small and full of various potholes.

Even though students do live around the university, those who live in the district and village area have a far walk, and could be in danger when crossing an icy Hampton Boulevard.

Using visual learning I have been able to better apply my self in my college courses. Using graphs, pictures, and colorful notes it has become easier to memorize and apply information I have learned into my studies. Although when writing, visual learning isn’t very helpful during the formation of paragraphs.

To be completely honest I didn’t use my learning style in my essay, because there’s not really a way to apply visual techniques. This is probably why I find writing essays to be so difficult and have trouble correcting them. I understand writing is a visual process, but you can’t apply drawings and graphs into the formation of an essay. The most I can do is form an outline, which gives me a general idea of topic sentences. It doesn’t really give me the ability to expand my paragraphs and apply useful information. Plus when you’re correcting the final essay it’s extremely difficult to find mistakes, and coming up with ways properly correct them. The only way I can write essays is looking at sentences and ideas from sample essays. Which if the sentences are not changed properly they can be considered plagiarism. Hopefully I can find more tricks of visual learning to help me properly form and correct essays,

https://docs.google.com/a/odu.edu/document/d/1hlQAblmUk9y0fQMbN_vkztgAQk1QZRsSRt36442EdOY/edit?usp=sharing

Torrie Hillis

Check List

• Be sure to be in a quiet environment where theres plenty of time to work.
• Start earlier, don’t wait till day before to write essay.
• Develop outline with correct content.
• Make sure there is a thesis at the beginning of the essay.
• Before editing make sure you meet all requirements listed.
• Read essay before submitting for peer review, see if theres anything you can obviously fix.
• Work on grammar and structure of sentences, look out for fragments and independent causes.
• Take peer review comments into account, does this make sense? Are they right, etc.
• Correct final essay to perfection

To improve on my essay I think I need to take more time on what I’m writing. I’m notorious for starting the day before, and it often leads me to rush and turn it in with whatever is written. I think my main problem is sentence structure. I’m not very good with independent and dependent clauses, and so I can never properly correct them. Hopefully talking to the professor, and taking my time will help me understand how to fix these problems. Another thing is my content can often go off topic and I don’t realize it most of the time. Which is why starting with an outline will more beneficial than just trying to write everything at once.

https://docs.google.com/a/odu.edu/document/d/17QsjQv4TMWOcSScZTAG4Te_s6-Q2m5uATkDo3jRwyZY/edit?usp=sharing

Torrie Hillis

Journal Two

Oral presentations are generally easy for me, the only difficulty I found is working with multiple people. Usually theres always one slacker who does nothing, and one who does all the work. Unfortunately in past experiences I’ve been the one stuck with doing the whole project. Luckily for this oral presentation everyone has pulled their weight and, our outline is pretty organized. The topic is the easiest part of the presentation, there are a lot of sources on campus available for students. The Webb is one of the biggest available sources and, contains a lot of goods and services.

I’ve had plenty of oral presentations over the years, and am very comfortable speaking in front of people if I am prepared. I recently took a public speaking class where your peers evaluated you. I wasn’t very good at first, but by the fourth presentation I had learned to fix my mistakes. I thoroughly enjoy giving presentations, and being in front of a large group of people. If I’m properly prepared, my presentations go by smoothly and efficiently.

I think our group is working well together, and will be prepared. We have an outline done, and a powerpoint ready to add slides on. To make sure everyone pulled their weight we assigned two sources found in the Webb to each person. Each person will then present their two sources given.

https://docs.google.com/a/odu.edu/document/d/1CPcpYan8qXOvA1HzNBu7_6C2OA6UeoX39f0e48gGDLM/edit?usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/a/odu.edu/document/d/1YBEN32t8afpEkqKLO66edySxqEokQueEc0Tq0gtgwtI/edit?usp=sharing