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Writing - Connect and Dream


Make connections and point to what's important.

Generate some writing by doing one of the following in a new Google Doc: FreewriteLoopsComposing Guidelines. Then revise your writing based on feedback you recieve from your teacher and peers and by adding, subtracting, rearranging, replacing text. Use Structured Essays to organize your writing, but don’t post it yet. Finish the next two tasks before you post.

Choose one of the following:


Image for a mission on Youth Voices

At the beginning of
each new project,
inquiry, or writing
assignment you should
create substantial
personal, committed,
passionate pieces of
writing. It's a good idea
to collect your freewriting,
focused sentences, and
more freewriting 
in
Google Docs (or a similar
platform) that you can
share with your teacher
and others. It's important
to give the time, not just
at school but at home as well.

Image for issue at Youth Voices

"The loop writing process
is a way to get the best
of both... control and
creativity. On the one
hand it lets you steer
where you are going...
But on the other hand it
expands your point of
view.... It is especially
useful if you can't think
of much to write or are
stuck with a topic that
bores you." (Peter Elbow,
"
The Loop Writing
Process
," Chapter 8 in
Writing With Power.

Image for issue at Youth Voices

Sondra Perl's Composing
Guidelines sometimes
work differently for
different people--and
even differently for you
on different occasions.
The main thing to
remember is that they
are meant for you to
use on your own,
flexibly, in your own way.
There is nothing sacred
about the exact format
or wording. They are not
meant to be a straitjacket.
The specific details of the
procedure are much less
important than the
charitable, supportive,
and generative spirit
behind the whole thing.


 

It may seem strange at first to generate a free flow of writing from freewriting, loops or guidelines (in the first part of this task)...

... and then be told in the second part of this task to use a very structured guide, some of which almost seem like fill-in-the-blank exercises.

You need to find your own way between these two extremes. Try both, and you'll end up with a mess, but from this mess you can begin to create your own argument.

Try one of these!

Choose a title in the list below to find detailed scaffolds that make explicit what is expected in many different types of discussion posts and comments on Youth Voices. Once you've internalized these guides, we encourage you to mix and match different paragraphs, and to go beyond the use of a guide as well.

 


When you have finished your second or third drafts by getting feedback from your peers and by using one of the guides listed above, copy this draft from your Google Doc and paste it into a comment here (on this P2PU task), then click Yes, I'm done .

Task Discussion


  • chappelle said:

     

    Something that I have been interested in learning more about has been Lincoln’s view on how he felt about the african american people. I remember when my grandmother was talking about it when i was at her house , but i didn't really learn more about it at the time because I had gotten her point of view and just thought it was true. because my grandmother told me after hearing her conversation on the phone i asked her about it and she told me  that lincoln wasn't tryna help the black slaves he was worried about himself.Lately , the issue has caught me eye again. I know that  many  people say that he wasnt for the african american people he didn't have a kind heart towards african americans and also that lincoln didn't free the slaves because he didn't like the way the were being treated. From what i've heard from some people is that lincoln was a man that free the slaves to benefit the union and ive heard some people say that lincoln didn't care for african american people. Now that’s just what i heard , it may not be true.


    One thing that I know for sure about Lincoln is that Lincoln was that he freed the african american people also he loved to read and learn from his mistakes. Now , I’ve studied my share of U.S History research and i was really interested in Abraham lincoln's Life and  how he was brought up and became this wonderful inspiring person. I believe that lincoln was a good man and he did the right thing in everything he does from family issue down to others people issues .Personally its funny to me how his life was totally different from what i thought and heard i can honestly say from reading books articles and seeing movies articles that lincolns really struggled and and it made him have a strong attitude towards everything he does.


    Lincoln was a hard working man and fought for what was right even if they weren't his skin color.He also gave great speeches and was an antislavery man.Lincoln heard peoples point of view but  did what he thought was right i know that lincoln freed the slaves because he felt as though no human being should be auction.


    Being that I didn't have a lot of background information on Lincoln’s . ,I chose to do some research on the topic. As i searched for blogs and news articles on google , i came across  this one article (Abraham Lincoln’s- A Legacy Of Freedom By Friedman ). This article provided a lot of information and opinions in Abraham Lincoln's view on african american people. Some people felt that lincoln train a thought that changed this country tremendously will be a honor forever and ever and never forgotten ” Lincoln embodies fundamental American ideals that stretch from the founding of this nation down to the present.”This statement didn't really surprise me all that much , but it did make me feel happy that people's point of view was right and how much inspiration he put in too many people to think that just with his speeches and setting goals he made a difference forever and people will always reminder him for that.


    In another article there was this one statement that made me nod my head in agreement with the writer .It was "Through all his public function," Godwin said, "there shone the fact that he was a wise and good man.... [He was] our supremacist leader our safest counselor our wisest friend our dear father."This is true because lincoln was a good wise man to the people of every color he felt thought as if every men should be equal and respected as a human being lincoln  was a supremacist and believe that that white people was better in things they do which i feel in untrue.

    All of this makes me think that lincoln was a man who wanted all men to be equal  but he had some issue on if black people was capable of doing other things which i think is wrong but this makes me realize that he was a man that thought about what was going on around him and wanted to change that for the better and the future.

     


    Refrences 
    Friedman, M. (2008) Lincoln As Emancipator. In: Unknown. eds. (2012) Abraham Lincoln A Legacy Of Freedom. 1st ed. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

    on March 21, 2013, 2:38 p.m.
  • Evelyn S said:

    on Feb. 22, 2013, 1:12 p.m.
  • Anthonyf said:

    on Dec. 4, 2012, 12:47 p.m.
  • karina said:

                    So Why is money handled differently from different cultures?


      So the things that comes to is different religions. So maybe its the different religions that different cultures have. And the way they treat money and what its worth of it. Like say if your christian they might give a lot and help their churches and so forth. They might have a lot of fun raisers as well to help the community. As for the chinese they like to save as much as possible. The saving rates are higher than it is in the united states from my studies. And they mostly pay for things in cash. So these are just some things i know from my own studies that tells me a little bit about the difference in money handling from different cultures. These are just two though.

                Different cultures and societies, like different individuals, simply do, in fact have very different moral values.

     So yea different morals meaning like maybe they believe in things that other cultures don’t believe in. So thats when they use their money differently. Religion has powerful effect on cultures moral reasoning. And they really stick to it. Like muslims doesn’t allow their women to show their face and some american people would be furious about but they can’t do anything about it because thats not their religion.


                   Amazing how different cultures and the effect on moral values can have upon money.

    I feel that every cultures is reasonable and caring when it comes to money. They can be caring in every culture at least if you have it to be giving. Maybe people can determining on how you use money and see what culture you are just by that. Its pretty cool to me that the chinese and all they do is save a whole lot of money and thats what we need to learn as americans is to save because the economy now a days are harder than the past. We just have to cope with it and learn.

    on Nov. 5, 2012, 9:55 a.m.
  • Paul Allison said:

    This is by AshleyNicole

     

    One thing that I know for sure about gun violence and teen gang violence is that it needs to stop to many people are being hurt or arrested for things that can be controlled or talked about. Now, I've studied my share of articles , and i feel like they do things out of anger and respect. Personally, It's funny to me how NYPD are here to protect but never get there in time always after the situation takes place when someone is dead or hurt


    Gun violence and teen gang violence is not a joke or game that we should look past, just because your in a gang does not mean you or somebody you know wont get hurt just walking by. Gun Violence was not as bad as it is not in the past couple of years it has gone up about 20%. Gun Violence can range from different things such as homicides the number on in firearm deaths and suicide and robbery and assault. Gun Violence cost the US 100 billion dollars annually. Emergency medical care is a major contributor,

    Being that I didn't have a lot of background information on Gun violence and teen gang violence, I chose to do some research on the topic. As I searched for blogs and news articles on Google, I came across this one article:  17 members of Bronx gang indicted in connection with violent turf battle: 10 firearms seizedhttp://www.nyc.gov/html/snp/downloads/pdf/dubcity.pdf This article provided a lot of information and opinions on gun violence and teen gang violence. Some people felt that gun violence and teen gang violence are the leading cause of death in young peopl the ages 10-19. This statistic didn't really surprise me all that much, but it did make me feel upset. because i lost of friends due to gun and gang violence i wish it would just stop.
     

    on Oct. 25, 2012, 1:26 p.m.
  • ashleynicole said:

    what makes someone want to kill or be in a gang?

    i have been researching my questions and i have found that some people kill out of anger from things that happen to them in the past. i am  basically looking for teen’s that are in gangs and using guns and hurting and killing people. kids/teens that run around in gangs are doing it for a reason either to be cool and down with the wave or they are mad at something and want to take their anger out by fighting or doing other things that are not good. I know a lot of people that are in gangs and i ask them why are in it. some say its the way of life and some say its what they have to do to survive where they live at.

    the government and other people wants to blame what teens are doing on television and video games saying they want reenact what's going on in it. Law enforcement is the last resort to dealing with this because nobody can really tell them anything its like it goes through one ear and out the other but by the time the police gets there a life is already taken or the violence has already gone down.

    i was reading another article where it says parents do not give their children enough discipline and they make to much excuses to why they do the things they do. honestly i dont violence will ever stop because people do not care and i doubt they care about their own lives. They just don’t have no feelings

    as i read i find articles that tell me the same thing so i think i have to look in a different place.
     

    on Oct. 20, 2012, 2:08 p.m.
  • ZoeC said:

    The World vs. Christianity

    Pants are for men, skirts are for women. I feel angry about this statement my cousin made. My little cousin wanted to wear pants and they assumed that I’m the influence. I never spoke once about her wearing pants. They shouldn't say I'm the influence because there the one that influence her to wear something that they want her to wear she cant even have her own mind. She made the decision herself. She can be influenced by anyone TV, magazines, celebrities, etc. They yell at her and say they wont put up with it, of course she’s going to follow what you say because if she wear pants there not going to even look at her or speak to her.. Who does that to a little girl? Besides blaming me they said a smart comment under there breath “devil”. What does the devil have to do with clothes? I remember when women wore skirts that was in the time when women were house wife's and couldn't be anything more.   This statement is sexist. Women can now do what men do. We can be lawyers, doctors, etc. Why cant we wear pants? I asked her over & over and she couldn't give me a forward answer. I understand its your religion but say its the devil. They made it sound like I was raised wrong. They told my cousin she had to chose between “The World or Christianity”. What does that mean? If we wear pants , nail polish, lipstick that makes us not worthy to believe in God. God put us on the world to do good and live life in a respectful manner. God will love you no matter what. Why would he judge you off the clothes you wear. Clothes doesn't make you who you are, its what you do that makes a difference. For them to say wearing skirts make you different, they sound like idiots. They are ignorant.  If you believe that it is not right to wear pants then it should be a complete prohibition against women wearing men’s apparel. You know what’s so funny, they wear pajama pants though.  If its a sin to wear pants then that means no pajama pants. It cant be one way or the other, it cant be both. To preach about wearing pants then go out and wear pajama pants, they are total hypocrites. I don’t need to go out my way to prove my love for God. God will always love me for who I am and only he judges me. I do not think that pants can be thought of as only men’s apparel in today's society. Cultures and dress codes change over time. They say its in the bible but we must understand that no one in the Bible wore pants. Pants were not even made back then.

    on Oct. 7, 2012, 1:53 p.m.