Eighth Entry: #2 Research Essay Glossing Activity

The general theme of my paper is how romantic comedies affect many women’s perception of a relationship. One central theme I could see was how I kept reefing to how women look at situations, and base the outcome on romantic comedies. Many women go into relationships believing certain fabrications from romantic comedies, such as drama is always present in a relationship, and no matter what happens prince charming will sweep you off your feet. Although sometimes these situations may occur, it is very rare and most women will probably never experience anything to that degree.

One idea in my paper that I was surprised by was the reasoning that it is someone’s job to formulate the romantic comedy premises. I made a good point in saying that there are multiple people who can come up with ideas and dialogue, probably using their imagination and not experience. I think I need to elaborate on this topic more and discuss how the situations many women see on the screen are paid to create elaborate plots that will engage the audience and want them to feel what the characters are feeling.

I feel like my paper does not go into enough detail on how some women are being affected. I think I need to put an example of someone, other than myself in my paper so that readers can see how much of an effect romantic comedies, such as “When Harry Met Sally”, have on society. I think more elaboration and specific situations will engage my readers more thoroughly and allow them to connect with my topic.

Seventh Entry: #2 Research Essay Sources

I found it pretty hard to find any information on my topic because it is very broad, and movie reviews are the only things that came up. I had to change my approach several times on each database. I usually started with “Romantic Comedies in Reality” and when nothing came up I used “romantic comedies perception of reality”, “Romantic comedies effects on women”, “the reality of romantic comedies”, and “how romantic comedies effect women’s emotions”. It was difficult to find anything because I don’t think the topic is generally considered academic, and most of the databases dealt with academic information. When information did show up, it was usually from newspapers and it was hard to distinguish whether it would be a reliable source versus an opinion column. When I tried to narrow my search with certain films such as “the Holiday”, or “When Harry Met Sally”, I found it hard to get anything but praise for the actors and their parts. The realization of my search was that I believe the technology that gave us movies impact the way we look at life in every way. I can’t find how movies have changed our perception or outlook on a certain aspect of our life, such as romance; because romantic movies and movies in general have become such a huge part of our society that it is hard to distinguish what reality is. Most of the databases provided by the library did help me find a few pieces that help support my topic. The search engines were less helpful, especially Google, which was surprising. Doing research for my topic has actually made me more interested in how a woman’s ideal romance has evolved through film and how technology has played a huge impact modern day culture.

Sixth Entry: #2 Research Essay Topic

My topic is how specific movies can alter someone's perception of reality; specifically romantic comedies that alter a woman’s understanding of relationships. Most women have preconceived notions of what the perfect relationship is suppose to be and most of them got their ideas from movies. Although movies can have some truths, they are rarely fact. Technology has influenced our society to believe that relationships should focus on the pleasant or romantic side of a relationship, and not the problems that are encountered. Film alters our perception of reality and glorifies romantic endeavors that are solemn and fundamental. By watching films that idolize romance, some women may be disappointed in their romantic adventures, and look for a relationship that is only exists in movies.
I can narrow down my topic and focus on a few movies that I think alter perception of romance. By giving specific examples, my paper will have more credibility.
Experts have addressed this topic somewhat in magazines, but movie critics have a more in-depth focus on perception and the way society deals with a movie’s message.
By exploring why romantic comedies alter a woman’s understanding of a relationship, women may be better able to evaluate what they are looking for in a relationship, and how to approach one.
I want to pursue this topic because film has the ability to influence every part of our life and sometimes this influence may not be as visible as we think. By examining the affects of film on a society, specifically women, will be able to examine their own lives and see how film has affected their romantic endeavors and the people they love.

Fifth Entry: Personal Essay Revisions

While I was looking over the peer review sheet, I realized that some of the examples and situations I encounter in my paper needed more explanation for the reader. During peer review, the people in my group pointed out some confusing points in my paper that any reader might have had trouble with. I had to remember that I was writing for an audience that doesn’t know how my family interacts and they have little to no background outside of what they read in my paper. I also got feedback that I needed to do more showing, or elaborate on certain events that could have a greater impact on my topic. The feedback was very helpful because after I read over the comments, I could see exactly where my audiences might get confused. I had to re-read my paper as if I didn’t know anything about Bar Harbor so I could avoid assumptions I might have made about my audience. By elaborating certain events in my story, the audience would be able to relate to me and the situations I encounter. I would also have the ability to draw my reader in and make the topic more interesting so that I can keep their attention. For example, I should expand on the topic of the lobster races. Most people probably don’t know what they are, and the more my reader knows, the more invested they may become in my paper. Most of the revisions I make will help clarify significant events that can support and develop the overall message of my story.

Fourth Entry

I was set on writing my personal essay about my first screenplay, until Friday in class. Our recent assignment where we had to bring in an object that described us got me wondering why I loved vacationing with my family in Bar Harbor, Maine. I was telling my mom on the phone about the personal essay we have to write and I told her what two topics I had in mind: my first screenplay or my summer in Bar Harbor. She is a very tentative listener and as I began to tell her about both topics, I realized that I had more questions about Bar Harbor that I would like to delve into.
I started to ask how a place that I absolutely dreaded two years ago captured my heart within a period of two months. I don’t know if it was the scenery, the people, the town, or the array of activities you can occupy yourself with that made me fall in love with Bar Harbor, but I want to find out. The more I thought about it, I realized that it may have been my family that helped my adoration for that small town grow. Living with two brothers isn’t easy, especially when you are stuck in a house with very few places to be alone and no TV. When we first arrived at our house in Bar Harbor, the days seemed to last forever. We sat around and wished we were back in our house in Kingwood, however, my parents new more than I gave them credit for. Two blocks away from our house were tennis courts, and a volleyball court. My parents soon bought us the sports equipment need and our days began to be filled with exciting games and homemade tournaments to see who the best athlete was. Rainy days were filled with monopoly and rummy. My love for Bar Harbor began to grow with the admiration and love that grew stronger for my family.

Third Entry

I have never realized how many writerly roles I have. Obviously, I have never thought about it, but I enjoyed this exercise because it allows you to observe the different qualities and traits you feel comfortable sharing with certain people. As a daughter, I talk to my parents mostly on the phone or my e-mail. I am not afraid to be myself or make mistakes; however when I write an e-mail to my dad, I always make sure the letter is to the point and grammatically correct. For example I recently asked my dad about a recreational event on campus that I wanted to participate in and his answer was “yes, please do it”. He is very concise and does not bother with details. He is a very busy man and I always try to write as professionally as I can around him. When I e-mail my mom, the composition of my e-mails is very different. She never worries about grammar or spelling. When I write to her, my sentences are formulated as if I were speaking to her on the phone. There are short sentences and long sentences with commas and breaks all over the place. I generally have my punctuation in the right place but I never stress over a comma. When writing to my parents, my style is very different. However, when I speak to them on the phone, I speak to them both the same way.
As a sister, I have many different ways of communicating. When I speak to my older brother I usually talk with him on facebook. However, when I say talk, the conversation is usually one-sided. He never responds to the letters that I meticulously write, and if he does it is with a one word answer. I asked him how school was, thinking he would tell me about his classes, and when he responded he simply wrote “fine”. I was naïve in thinking that he would actually tell me anything because he is not a very talkative person unless you are face-to-face. My little brother is completely different. I generally text him or e-mail him. I am very relaxed when I write him because we get along great and he doesn’t care if I mess up on spelling. He is however, the only person I will ever write to using the word “dude”.
When I talk to my close friends, I use text messaging, e-mail, and facebook. When I write to them I am very relaxed because they know my personality. I can say just about anything and I know how they will interpret it. One of my best friends spent last semester traveling with her father so I e-mailed her and told her blatantly to “get a facebook”. Depending on the context of the letter, most people might think that someone is demanding, but her response was “I’m trying, but it’s hard when I am traveling the world with my dad”. I could picture her saying that to me because I have known her for a while.
As a student, I am generally a very good note taker. I take as many notes as possible because I get nervous about the material that is fair game for tests. I also write a lot! Besides the daily exercises we write in English, I am in a media writing class which consists of writing small stories and editing pages out of workbooks. In the media class my teacher was recently telling us about correct grammar usage and I wrote down the definition for a noun, which I am pretty sure I know.
As a writer, my content and structure is constantly changing because I write to many different people. I try to incorporate everything I have learned into my writing but I adapt it based on who I am writing to.

Second Entry

I believe that I can learn to write well because I have confidence in my abilities. With practice and more attention, I think my writing can improve even more. I criticize my writing too much because it is hard to write something and not reread it multiple times with differing opinions. After reading Ballenger's idea of suspended judgment I thought that no one would believe what he was saying. There was no way I could write a paper and not worry about what grade I would get, but when we began doing exercises in class, I could see what he meant. I am slowly beginning to get more confident with my abilities to just write. I agree with Ballenger's statement that "the most important thing that influences a writer's growth is believing he or she can learn to write well". I think that by boosting your confidence in writing, you will feel more motivated to write without worrying who will criticize your work. Like Ballegener points out in ch. 1, by not criticizing the way you write when you do an assignment, your belief in your abilities as a writer will begin to get stronger. With that belief, your skills will begin to improve. By focusing more on what you have to say, instead of how many mistakes you make, you will be able to realize your stronger points. Finding out your better points of writing will allow you to find and develop some of your lesser skills as well. By finding your flaws, you have the chance to enhance your writing altogether. I think that Ballenger does want anyone to limit his or her abilities because they are afraid of criticism from others, as well as themselves. Every improvement made with writing adds satisfaction and confidence to the skills and the capabilities we possess.