YEP.

Then go to prezi, log in, and just paste those instructions into the "create with AI" field. Then you can twizzle with how you want it to look, copy the link using the share button, and add it here.

What worked for you in the course? What could have been better (be gentle... I'm human). This spot is just our conversation. Also, upload your dog or critter pics for extra credit.

Don't have a pet? Upload what you consider your spirit animal.

I want to start of by saying I sincerely enjoyed the duration of your course. The work was not overbearing, and it was easy for me to balance with work which I am super grateful for. When I came to this class, I felt pretty confident about the subject of English as a whole, as I took an AP English class only a year ago in high school and did well on the AP test. For me, this class was like a second nature. Leaving now, I feel more refined and refreshed with the knowledge I came in with, and I a very grateful to learn how to properly use APA as I was never taught before. What worked for me was the clear expectations for the assignments and the instructor's ability to promptly respond when an issue came up. I really enjoyed your casual and energetic tone; it really made me want to do good in class as it pumped me up. For me personally, I felt like the notes could've been outlined or explained better. I tried my best to follow the standard in the picture, but I can't say I did it 100% correctly (I am a perfectionist so this drove me nuts lol). I really have no other real critique, just a solid, well lead class in my opinion. Attached is a picture of my dogs, Mona and Joy. Mona is the black one and Joy is the tricolored one. They are miniature Aussies, and they loved to bark at me for attention while I was trying to do work for you class.

PS: I have this quote framed in my room, my grandpa gave it to me when I was 13 :)

Regardless of how far I have come with my knowledge of APA I still can't help but think I must have something wrong with my formatting. I did a little research on my own too and I think I am on the right track, but still feel like I am missing some elements. I also have tons of information down and more facts, but I 1. already reached my page limit and 2. want to hone in on the 3 main points to tie better to my thesis. In the past I have often overwritten so I want to avoid that.

Going forward I think I will have the opportunity to have multiple support points per each point I am trying to make. I have 4-5 hours os research in my notebook, and I barely got to incorporate a lot of it because I rather have less pointed well explained and reasoned through then just a bunch of facts. I think I can also add more words that are bigger and represent my personality more to make the paper seem more professional and give me some instant ethos to truly debunk the Moon landing.

Threats to a strong finish will simply be overthinking it. If I second guess my work or try to overdo it, I know it will harm me in the end. I have struggled with this a lot in the past and then end up over doing it. Especially with the formatting and length I just need to fixate on what matters and block out the rest of the noise. It's like a sculpture, and I can't get that out of my head. I am at that point where I really like the way it looks, it just needs some finishing touches, but if you add too much it can takeaway from the piece it once was

A few things that stood out to be while watching video one is that King grew up in poverty, he saw his friend get gruesomely killed, he was a grave digger at one point, he always wrote 2,000 words a day, he played in a band, he was an addict several times in his life, and that he is a major philanthropist. My main takeaway from his advice was it is okay to not know the ending. I often times hyper-fixate on where the story is headed instead of writing in the moment and just following it where it wants to go. This process of his doesn't align well with mine as I am very plan oriented and like to know where I am headed before hand. So far, I think my process is like pulling a thread because when I do long papers I get my few bullet points out in front of me and just type the entire paper out most times. I will just stare down at the keys and let my fingers do the work of taking the first word and getting that to my last sentence.

Perfectly Horrible Draft

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KcdZV3NYleaMOSO0VIVF2ZpmZLFNp_bhX20shmX69ag/edit?usp=sharing

Overall I would way it went pretty well, but I have a really hard time with drafts. When it comes to drafts, I struggle with not trying to prefect it to save myself time down the road. I feel like I still have a decent amount of room to beef this paper up yet though. I think the most painful thing was simply just not trying to overdo it for a draft. I like the way you compared writing to sculpting in the lector, it really resonated with me. I need to slow down and just flow through the steps going forward. I left room for improvement with this paper though, and I attempted to use APA format to push myself because at our school we would only use MLA. I did find some holes in my argument, but I feel like I did a decent job rationalizing them considering how much scientific data I have to combat against. I had to change a few witnesses/sources because they were too reliable. A lot of my original sources were articles that would mention the theory but in a following paragraph attempt to debunk it, so I had to look for stuff on the outskirts of the internet. It was surprisingly hard to find, probably because the government is trying to hide the truth :). Help wise, I feel pretty confident with my sources and the research I've done. I have probably put too much time (about 10-15 hours) into this assignment whether it may be reading instructions, researching, or writing my paper.

Back in high school, people would always come to be to critique their papers before turning them in and I was very nitpicky, but I will say I never revised a teachers assignment. I will say the funniest part of the whole story was with the clear images. The loogie as a "gleaming diamond on silk" and later jellyfish nailed to the sky were both disgusting and hilarious. Those images are, in my opinion, the "keepers" of this piece, because they are visual images the reader will take away; they will stick in people's brains to symbolize and represent that moment in time. I also liked the way the reactions flowed through each member, as if a domino effect was occurring, which allowed a nice organic buildup of comedy and anticipation. I appreciated the buildup of the main moment (the launch, then the gleam, then the slo-mo descent) was really well done to maximize the laughs. The intro discussion about road life was helpful to establish context for the story, even though it ran a bit long; there are a lot of paragraphs before you get to the funny moment, and the pacing could lose some patient readers. Plus, the description of these velvet curtains, pulleys and the analogy of an Easy Bake Oven was very colorful; however, it was a bit of a momentum killer. Also, the long drawn out illness section. Funny, for sure, but honestly the important detail was the band was sick and played anyway. Tightening up the sections of unnecessary detail or context would have kept the story working towards the punchline, and would have better sustained the energy for the big scene. As for strengths: voice, scene building, comic rhythm. The narration has that authentic, conversational tone; like a road story from a musician. The layering of each bandmate's reactions into the scene made it feel layered and dynamic. More importantly you really had the right balance of disgusting and laugh out loud funny pretty nicely wrapped up. Weaknesses are primarily pacing and focus. At times the piece feels too fixated on details along the way instead of it being seen as the build up to a funny moment. I also thought the ending took a little long to go away; a snappier exit would have increased the laughs for each reader. Overall it was an enjoyable story, and something memorable. The critique I gave got me thinking and paying more attention to narration elements, especially pacing, concise ideas, and the delivery of the humor.  

"WRITING REFLECTION- REVISION FUNNIEST"

(I see now it is supposed to been MLA instead of APA, going forward I will ensure I switch over)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q0nLbZQEOLwMsHQag1xkToh1BtvZrQ74oQMlLVRzVtg/edit?usp=sharing

What I found effective my second time around was trying to keep things interesting throughout the whole reading. Getting effusive and silly with my diction helped enliven things up a bit, and I think it will help people reading stay engaged. I also used far more of my own words from my own vocabulary, and I felt like it gave things a nice touch. I still find it challenging to keep it engaging the entire time when the punchline comes at the end. I wish I would have shortened it a bit more because I felt like I still had parts that dragged on a little bit. The hardest part was working to create a smooth transition from the scene in the classroom to the scene in math class. I feel like I could have been a bit better with transitioning between the two scenes, but I had a hard time finding a smooth way to do so. The critique work certainly helped because I learned that I could add more colorful words and descriptive details because that is what kept me engaged while reading Professor Ren’s narrative. I also added a sort of conclusion at the end to wrap things up, and I felt like it added a lot because it connected nicely back to my hook in the beginning.

"RENDLESHAM VIDS"

To start, yes I see Aristotle's principles when they are presenting a new speaker, and I could argue how I can see ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos in this case is apparent in that they tell a part the new witness had in the event, and that they had direct involvement, giving them some inherent credibility. Pathos is demonstrated by the fact they provide us a personal introduction to the speakers and they tell us about how they are ostracized for seeing what they saw, and they make us feel bad and thereby we want to believe them even more. Logos is just simply demonstrated in that they say they were there, and it makes sense as to why we should listen to what they say. I would argue that the investigators made a fairly good case that there was actually a UFO. They used physical evidence such as the fact they had there was radiation at the site (7:31 in video one) and that there were broken branches (12:35 video one) to illustrate their story. Also, in the second video (7:25) they make the claim that there is a legal statement from the Government that is publicly available that corroborates the UFO sighting (despite the fact they were apparently altered to downplay the situation). Given the sources of evidence there, I would say they made a decent case but not necessarily a conclusive case for me. I don't think it happened. In video one, (3:00) they say the UFO had left the area by careful maneuvering through the trees at high speeds. Later in the video (10:41) they say it broke into many pieces and then was gone. This presents to me an inconsistency in how the aliens come in and out of Earth, and if they are advanced I would expect that they would have one known way. The second reason is that in the second video (1:25) they reveal that one of the main men talking wrote a book about the event. This made me begin to wonder if the whole video series is one big sponsorship/ad for his book and he will cash in with the profits later on. Also a lot of the stuff was far-fetched, so all think I conclude that it is a farce.

Don't feel bad about turning it in late, life happens and it catches up to everyone sometimes. I wish I could see your paper, but the sharing feature isn't available. Nonetheless, finish strong! You got this!

My biggest thing is overthinking too. In my experience, if you like how it is it is difficult to add more in the way a draft would require you too. I read through your paper and thought it was well put together, the length and content is great there may just be some things formatting wise but you and I both aren't perfect on that lol. Keep it up man, can't wait to see to read the final

I love how much the quote moved you. When I first read it when I was younger I didn't get it, but now that I am older I agree that it is one hell of a motivator. I have struggled with the idea of rejection/failure, but if you never try you will never know. Super cool that we had similar takeaways, maybe you should print it and hang it up too :)!

I also struggled with the fact there have been tons of holes in my argument, and it was difficult to connect some points. I think it is a normal thing considering we are writing about likely fictional topics, it is usually a lot easier to do it with factual topics as there are more and better sources. Don't be discouraged, I feel your pain. I had to go to like page 10 of Google to even find some points to use. You got this!

Brody,

I first have to say I think your grandpas quote if great! I really liked your thoughts on Roosevelts speech as well, there is a vast range of ages in the class, and it is good to see how each student interprets the speech. You tied it together perfectly is anyone engaging, the cost of engaging, and the benefit may be the struggle itself.  

Hey Brody, I really liked your take on Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena.” You nailed the idea that it’s better to try and fail than to never try at all. That line about “dust, sweat, and blood” really hits home, it’s a reminder that the struggle itself is part of the reward. I think it’s awesome that you’re feeling inspired to take more risks while you’re young. It’s true, we learn the most when we step out of our comfort zones and actually go for it. Watching from the sidelines might be safe, but it won’t get us anywhere. Keep chasing those goals, you’ve got time to stumble and still come out stronger. I also love the fact that your grandpa recognized the power of the message so much that he made sure he passed it down you!

I really liked your take on this one! Im right there with you on taking more risks and hope you choose to pursue whatever it is you may be working towards!

Hi Brody, nice proposal. I too have had my suspicions about rather we actually did go to the moon. I was always thinking if we did go there in the 60s and 70s, then how come we've never been back. Especially considering we are more technologically advanced than we were back then. I also think about the astronauts that went on Apollo 11. What are the odds of NASA finding several astronauts willing to risk their lives on a mission that had never been done before? Can you imagine flying to the moon in a capsule knowing what would happen if something went wrong and you got stuck there? I can't. I look forward to reading your investigation. Good luck with your research.

Great topic! I am a big fan of this discussion as well. I thought we were supposed to pick ridiculous conspiracy theories not factual ones haha. Looking forward to your work.

This is intriguing to me. I also am very interested in space and space exploration. If we are all that is in this vast universe how depressing would this be. Something happened in the 70's and 80's that boosted the technology levels. Room size computers to iPhones, it all happened too quickly.

You can dig on factual things, that's totally okay (see the sample list I provided). The idea is to find something that academia or the general public has rejected or considers 'fake' news. EX: Tupac is alive! or Bigfoot is real! Or.. anything Illuminati, Princess Di was assassinated... or alien abductions.

All have claims based in facts. Dig on the story, begin with the official explanation... and work your way backwards from there. Where does it unravel? That's the fun of it. Pulling that thread, finding witnesses and experts that can tell the story; LEAD your reader to a conclusion, without telling them what to think outright. ;)

Whether you are very experienced in English, or if you have taken a break from education for some years now, this class is for you. Ren is a very compassionate and kind person who has realistic expectations for those of you who may be working full time. In my class, there were many people who haven't wrote an essay in 10-20 years, and this class is a great opportunity to get back into the swing of things. There is lots of content on how to get started writing your papers, as well as detailed layouts of formatting, paraphrasing, and other key things you will utilize in class. As long as you genuinely give it your best effort, you should do just fine. Engagement is key, because the more advice you give to others, the more advice they will reciprocate. There are many nice people, and if you ever have any questions about classmate or Ren herself always answers promptly. I wish you best on your English class endeavors!