Final Blogging Assessment

     Within the book, the author uses a variety of sentence structure and lengths to add emphasis to specific pieces. One specific line in the chapter Waiting for David, is when the author is describing a scene and says, "The world burst into flames" (70). I chose this quote because this short sentence structure used by the author, expresses the situation taking place and gets directly to the point. This quote adds value to my conversation because it adds imagery and a hyperbole that allow the reader to imagine what is going on without actually reading the chapter. This short sentence structure allows the reader to have a different view on the topic just with a few words. This short quote allows the writer to explain to the reader what they need to know and allows the reader to quickly interpret what is being explained to them.

     Some syntax and diction choices I utilized within my blog to enhance my writer's voice is when I said, "Hyperboles can help the piece sound more interesting just by making the sentence not sound as familiar to the reader." Here, I added a long sentence to explain a hyperbole to insure my reader's understand what I am discussing. If I didn't add this sentence some readers may have became confused of why I was referring to the sentence I was explaining. I also used casual diction when I was saying, "making them quick and easy to comprehend." By using the words "quick and easy" I am making my sentence less complicated allowing the reader too completely understand every word.

     Within my piece, I use technology to enhance the conversation. I used dictionary.com to help explain other words the author could have used to make his/her text more intriguing. By using this technology, it allows the reader to consider other words they could use and the source that help them identify more elevated diction. This could not only help in their writing, but could help them learn more terms to help understand in further pieces.

Why do you think this author wrote this piece?

     When we were younger, we all read poems by Shel Silverstein,with their interesting features. Whether it was Where the Sidewalk ends or any other of his amazing pieces.But one specifically stands out to me. Below is the poem Bear in There, by Shel Silverstein. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

There's a Polar Bear

In our Frigidaire--

He likes it 'cause it's cold in there.

With his seat in the meat

And his face in the fish

And his big hairy paws

In the buttery dish,

He's nibbling the noodles,

He's munching the rice,

He's slurping the soda,

He's licking the ice.

And he lets out a roar

If you open the door.

And it gives me a scare

To know he's in there--

That Polary Bear

In our Fridgitydaire.

http://www.poetrysoup.com/famous/poems/best/shel_silverstein

     This poem is based on an interesting topic. Silverstein is discussing a polar bear throughout this whole poem and describing it in many ways. I feel like Silverstein wrote this to entertain his audience, due to this poem not giving actual facts about the polar bear. The author uses comedy by saying, "He's slurping the soda," to further express this piece of being used for entertainment purposes. I enjoyed how Silverstein used a variety of imagery throughout this piece to further engage the audience.
   

Important lines from Uglies

     Throughout the book Uglies, there are many important lines intended for the audience to dig deeper into. Many of them are a variety of short and long sentences. One specific line in the chapter Waiting for David, is when the author is describing a scene and says, "The world burst into flames" (70). The author uses this short sentence structure to express the situation in which Shay throws a "sparkler". This short sentence structure allows the reader to have a different view on the situation at hand.  

     In this sentence, the author uses a hyperbole to over-exaggerate the situation. Hyperboles can help the piece sound more interesting just by making the sentence not sound as familiar to the reader. Also, by using a short sentence structure, the author is drawing more attention towards the sentence. These short sentences get right to the point, making them quick and easy to comprehend. The author uses casual diction in this sentence, to get directly to the point without using to complicated word choice.

     Although the author uses a lot of casual diction within this piece, he could have used some  elevated diction to make the text a bit more complicated. On dictionary.com, I found that the author could have changed the term, "bursts" into "erupts" or "gusts". This would have allowed the reader to consider the words being used.
 Below is a link of a variety of other words the author could have incorporated within their piece.
http://thesaurus.com/browse/burst

Vocabulary: Uglies

      In Uglies by Scott Westerfled, there is a variety of elevated diction being used. This elevated diction allows the reader to go more in depth with the passage without the author directly stating some of the words. It allows the reader to consider what is being written.
      Examples:

• "Her paranoia made a lot more sense now"(112). Paranoia means, a baseless or excessive suspicion of the motives of others. Westerfeld uses this to go more into detail with the topic, without actually going there himself.

• "The new uglies screamed in unison, scattering away from the flailing body plummeting towards them"(80). Plummeting means, to  fall, dive, drop, swoop. Westerfeld uses this word to make the act of falling more interesting then just using the word "falling" and it makes the reader more interested in what is occurring.    

 

 

Uglies: Comparing Characters

    The book Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, consists of mainly three characters, Shay, Tally, and Peris. Each one of them have completely different personalities. Below are these three characters and who/what they remind me of.

Peris: Peris reminds me of a book cover because that is all you see throughout the first couple chapters. When Tally goes to Prettytown to visit Peris, he was not the same. He never showed his opinion, he only showed what was expected from him. His own thoughts resemble "the pages", and in this case that is one thing he is not showing. He is covering up his emotions (pages), and putting a "cover" on, to make everything flow smoothly with no interruptions. You know when you go to the library and all you're worried about is how cool the title looks and not the background of the story? This is just like Peris.



Shay: Shay reminds me of a three year old because she is always testing the limits but never gets in trouble. Do you have any younger siblings who get off easy when they get in trouble when there should be a big punishment? That's how Shay is except she does more then steal a toy from someone. Shay could have a big punishment that could effect her whole life. But, Shay doesn't just remind me of a three year old, she kind of reminds me of Einstein in some way. She is very clever and knows every trick in the book.


Tally: Tally reminds me of a dog on a leash. She goes where she is pulled to 
go. Tally goes to this river with Shay because Shay is "dragging" her to go with her. Also, Tally goes to Prettytown to visit Peris because her heart is "dragging" her. She feels it is the right thing to visit her best friend even if she is not necessarily wanted.

Uglies: Prediction

    
     I just started reading the book Uglies by Scott Westerfeld due to a recommendation from my sister, and I thought I would start out with making predictions on what I think would happen.So here it goes.
     Tally has already ventured off into Prettytown and caused a big disturbance throughout the town just trying to interact with her best friend, Peris. Due to this act, I predict Tally will try and communicate with Peris even more before she is permitted, but is not wanted because of Peris's new start. With Tally's interference, I have no idea on how Peris will act. Whether he becomes supportive towards wanting to meet her, or wanting nothing to do with her. I feel like Peris's decision could led her to have a heartbreak, and cause her to revolt or do something she will regret. I guess I will have to keep reading to find out.

 https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&q=uglies#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=ehdqnUo7fiMlkM%253A%3BgfrgY2pyDkEEqM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.pagetopremiere.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2013%252F07%252Fuglies.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.pagetopremiere.com%252F2014%252F03%252Fuglies-series-by-scottwesterfeld-in-advanced-negotiations-to-become-tv-series%252F%3B800%3B600

Krista Ramsey

      My article describes a young couple in love, putting off their plans in order to help two children not only find a home, but to give them the love they need.
     One line I think is very well-written, is when Krista Ramsey says, "Then the smooth path got rough." This line has a great impact on the reader, particularly because it gets the point across using a short sentence, but has a strong meaning. The writer also uses low/informal diction which makes the quote even easier and more simple to understand, by using words such as, "smooth" and "rough". They author uses complete opposites to show the strong change of emotion within this text and to ensure there is no confusion of the dilemma that occurred.
     One thing that specifically stood out to me throughout all of Krista's articles, is she uses creative attention grabbers to keep her audience's attention. Some examples of this is in For better vision, kids need time outdoors, when Ramsey says, "parents claw back the iPhones" as well as in Super Bowl QBs score points for great style, when Ramsey says, "slouch off the field in his cutoff hoodie". She also uses this in Newlyweds spend first year raising groom's twin sisters, when Ramsey says, "Then the smooth path got rough." All of these attention grabbers keep the readers on their toes so the don't get bored.
      Three questions I would ask Krista if I had the chance would be:

1. How do you come up with the attention grabbers used in your passages?
2. How do you decide what stories you choose to write about?
3. Do you research much about the topic before you write about it, or do you just write based on the situation alone?

 http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/03/22/krista-ramsey/6760681/

About the Author: Scott Westerfeld

http://scottwesterfeld.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/westerfeld450.jpg

      I am about to start reading Uglies by: Scott Westerfeld and I thought before I begin, I should research background information about the author. 

      It all started on May 5, 1963 when Scott was born. He was born in Texas but due to his dad's job, a computer programmer, he moved to California then Connecticut. Westerfeld graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in philosophy in 1985. He married an Australian author, Justine Larbalesteir, and now divides his time between between Sydney, Australia and New York City.Scott Westerfeld is the author of eighteen novels, five for adults, and the other thirteen for young adults, but is most popular for his Uglies series, but has written other books such as, The Risen Empire and The Killing of Worlds. He is currently working on a piece titled Afterworlds and on March 12, 2013, he shared, "Afterworlds is going to be a long piece of work, with two novels wrapped into one in a strange and mystical way." So keep your eyes open!!

Thematic Prompt

The Enkindled Spring

By D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence 1885–1930

This spring as it comes bursts up in bonfires green,

Wild puffing of emerald trees, and flame-filled bushes,

Thorn-blossom lifting in wreaths of smoke between

Where the wood fumes up and the watery, flickering rushes.

I am amazed at this spring, this conflagration

Of green fires lit on the soil of the earth, this blaze

Of growing, and sparks that puff in wild gyration,

Faces of people streaming across my gaze.

And I, what fountain of fire am I among

This leaping combustion of spring? My spirit is tossed

About like a shadow buffeted in the throng

Of flames, a shadow that's gone astray, and is lost.

Why do you think the author wrote this work?

I think the author wrote this work to express his feelings towards spring. He captures your attention of the spring time by using various words and phrases. For example, "bursts up in bonfires green,wild puffing of emerald trees, and flame-filled bushes,". These phrases allows the reader to not only think of spring as a season, but to go into more detail of what occurs during it. This phrase paints a clear picture in the readers head of standing outside, admiring the "bursts" of green surrounding you, with the "puffing" mixture of yellow and orange trees. The author wanted to share his experience and thoughts of what goes through his head when the spring time occurs.

I think he also wrote this work to entertain the audience. He entertains them by using imagery such as,  "Where the wood fumes up and the watery, flickering rushes." This statement consists of imagery as well as the whole poem which helps catch the audiences attention. The author also catches your attention by using unique words like, "conflagration" and "gyration". This makes the audience use their context clues and think hard about the poem.

Blog Reflection

            Although blogging was fun, there were quite a few things I struggled on. One thing in particular, was summarizing what I had read. I overcame this by trying to dig further into a topic and reveal my opinion and thoughts, then just giving the passage and two sentences. This was challenging at first but it seemed to strengthen my writing and make it more interesting to read.

            This trimester, I have finished one book. Although I did not reach my goal, I expect to keep reading throughout the year to try and reach it eventually.

            One strength I had in blogging was using textual evidence to analyze chapters that particularly stood out to me.

            The quality of my writing has improved throughout the trimester. It’s improved in many ways especially in being more descriptive on my opinion. For example, in the beginning of the trimester, I was writing about the Shack and describing the scene, “The Shack takes place in many different locations, but one location stands out particularly. It takes place on a campground in the wilderness of Oregon”.  Later on in the trimester, I was writing about  Uglies, describing a scene with a  bridge and wrote, “Think of when you go to a Reds game, and your walking downtown after it ended with the cool air brushing your face and the sky so dark all you can see are the outlines of objects. You look over to the river and see the bridge, arched over the river leading its way into Kentucky.” I didn’t just say what was going on, like I did in the first post, but I went into more detail about an event that happened to me and trying to feel how the character was feeling with real events that occurred in my life. Unlike the first post, I did not just describe the setting but added more emotions and details to the text.

            Another way I improved my writing was I went into more detail on specific sentences opposed to just paragraphs as a whole. For example, “The water glistened through the trees (Westerfeld, 4-5).” I described this sentence by saying, “Did you ever go down by the river to throw rocks and try to get them to skip down the river? Or even just stand there looking at the water glistening as the sun hits it?” Here, I zoomed more into little events, like “water glistened”, and tried to describe a scenario that the reader would understand to make the reader feel more involved within the passage. Before I started describing specific sentences, I was giving a brief overview for the entire text. For example, “At first everything was peaceful with some of Mac's kids in the water on a canoe, and the others playing around in the fields or coloring at a wooden picnic bench.” In this case, I just described the entire chapter, without going into detail of sentences that I felt were worth describing. This makes my blog post less interesting to read and doesn’t make it sound like a well-developed post.

 

(best) http://sydneylombardoreadingblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/uglies.html

(worst) http://sydneylombardoreadingblog.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-shack-setting-and-more.html