I would just like to congratulate everyone who made it to the end of this class. I actually thought that comp 1 was harder than comp 2 except for the topic I chose to write my paper. I am not saying this class was easy I am just saying that if you learned everything you could in comp 1 that it made this class easier. In the past ten weeks I have defiantly strengthened my research and my revising skills. I could still use some improvement in my writing when it comes to punctuation like comas I missed a couple on my paper and yes I did run a spell check. If I could express my advice to new students I would tell them to do the research and read the articles then make a good outline. If you have a good outline that flows nice you will develop a good paper that flows. It is time to go I have enjoyed this class and I am looking forward to my upcoming classes.

This is the end of week nine for me and I feel great this has been a good term for me. I was nervous stating this term because in my first two terms I had gotten really good grades and I was nervous that I would mess up my good grades. I was also getting some much-needed dental work during this term so that really added to the pressure because I knew I was going to be down for most of a week since I was getting a top denture. Getting the teeth pulled was the easy part learning to wear the denture was the hard part. I was also taking my first math class here at Kaplan that was making me nervous but everything turned out a ok for me and I got threw it with not bumps. I am very pleased with my progress this term. I look forward to returning next year and continuing to push myself to get the grades.

Wow, here we are in week eight it is almost Christmas. I am finally starting to feel good about my final paper. I have made most of the changes our professor suggested and a few of my own. So I turned it in to the Kaplan writing center to find out what else I needed to look at before I turn it in. I was rather surprised they liked it for the most part and most of the changes they suggested were things I was considering doing any way. I really cannot complain about people not commenting on my blog because I have not done much commenting on theirs. I think that the blog was interesting in class I was able to write some interesting things on here that were going on in my life. I cannot say for sure that I will continue my blog I would much rather keep a private journal. I really do not feel comfortable venting on line for all to see. On the other hand, when some good things happen it would be nice to share that as well. I am so excited this year for Christmas it will probably be the last good one for the next year or two until I graduate from school. It is a calculated decision that I made to better my families future. Good luck to everyone with your final papers next week.

Unit 7 Peer Reviews

I was nervous starting this week because you have to share your work with others and offer it up for review. I feel really good about my paper after seeing what others were writing I feel as if I am doing as good as anyone else in the class. I always feel mean when I do a peer reviews but I really hope they help the people I wrote them to. This week the big Ah Ha moment was when I realized that I was on the right path for getting a good grade on my paper. The past few terms I also wrote papers but I found the research to be easier. I guess I would link to Ashley Higgins at http://thelifeofashleyhiggins.blogspot.com/ because I like the feedback I get from my peers. It really helps me reorganize my thoughts when I am having trouble. I am not much of a blogger I do not like to share my thought aloud for everyone to read it feels awkward

This has been an interesting week for me but I am glad it was this week and not next week with thanks giving on Thursday I am glad our rough draft is out of the way. Usually when I write I can move along pretty good but this week really got me. This is probably the worst case of writer’s block I have had. I got threw it with a lot of persistence I just kept reading and writing until I got it done. I have a lot to do in order to get ready for thanks giving and the dreaded black Friday. Now the fun begins shopping for Christmas. I am pleased with my progress here at Kaplan this far and I am looking forward to continuing my success so that I can obtain a good job in the future. Doing well in school seems to be my focus these days and my efforts seem to be paying off well. That is about it for me this week not much going on here just getting ready for the holidays and trying to figure out what to get my kids for Christmas.

Week 5 blog

Hello fellow Bloggers

My personal writing process varies from project to project a little bit.  When the project has lots of research that just falls into place, easily it is great but when the information is slow coming or not helpful it makes it hard to get started.  One thing I always do is go through all the articles I intend to use and copy and paste things that will be helpful when figuring out what to write ad gives me a reference for finding the article I want to reference when writing my paper.  So far, I have not had any major academic challenges, I have been moving along just fine.  I am in my third term, I have a 4.0, and I am hoping to keep it going.  So far, since I have been at Kaplan it has not had any major changes in my life but I think I have more of a can do attitude as I enjoy the learning process more.

My thoughts on plagiarism

It is important that we cite our work because it is illegal not to.  People who do not cite their work could get in a lot of trouble they could fail a class, lose a job, or even sued.  I think I would be ok with someone using my work as long as it was not for profit.  If they are, a paid writer they should know better but students are learning and as long as it is, an honest mistake and they are not obvious that they copied it word for word and did not even try to cite the work.  The internet has made things very interesting for many people with rampant plagiarism all over the place.  In my opinion there are many people writing things online that should be censored to or required to meet certain criteria before posting it to public areas, but then again why shouldn’t they be able to chat with their families and share photos.  Of course, this blurs the line but the wheels of society move slow and it will take time to get this monitored properly.  Identifying plagiarism can  be tricky it is not like it is flagged in the work saying here I am, but there are some tells like if you don’t cite certain things like dates and other technical information.  I like to look for all types of sources when I do my research I would rather have overkill than not enough when it comes time to write my paper.  As much as I always thought that citing, work was silly in high school I am starting to understand it now and can see why it is so important to people after all it is work writing and if you do not want to do the work then you do not deserve the credit.  Oh and by the way, if anyone was wondering I am feeling much better this week and I am getting use to my new teeth.

My visit to the dentist

Good evening and happy Halloween this will be one I intend to remember for a while.  Going back to last Monday, I woke up early 6:00 AM I had a dentist appointment.  It was my turn to have my teeth pulled.  My mom picked me up around 7:10 AM to drop me off at the dentist and my appointment was at 8:00 AM.  Around 8:10 AM, I got into the back so I am thinking ok here I go it is my turn how bad can it be.  I know that my wife had it done about 2.5 years ago and she wished it on me so I am figuring it was going to be an experience.  Here I sit in the dentist’s chair thinking this is going to hurt what did I get myself into but the dentist arrives quickly and starts to numb me up.  Right about now I am hoping this is going to be over before I know it but when the dentist is done numbing me up he disappeared for like 30 minutes.  I am telling you it felt like about 2 hours.  I have always been treated well in the dentist’s chair up until this point.  Right about now is when I go from being happy that I would have a nice smile to thinking about all the pain.  First off, let me say it is not the end of the world but it does hurt.  I think I felt everything that the dentist did and I thought that was bad until I got home and had to deal with a denture in the roof of my mouth.  The first thing the dentist does when he returns to the room is take this rod and start pushing it between my teeth and rocking it back and forth and I can hear my teeth chipping and cracking.  I am really thinking oh boy what am I in for because I could actually feel some of that.  I was actually fairly numb except for my I teeth witch just never got numb.  Ok I was thinking this was the worst of it right not at all.  The next thing he does is say you will feel some pressure so as I am sitting there he starts to pull on my tooth, I am sitting there, and it snaps.  I am thinking that I just heard my tooth snap what the heck is going on.  That was not as bad as it sounded it really did not hurt it was just the sound of my tooth snapping that got me alarmed.  Over all I thought I had a good experience considering what I had done every time I needed more nova cane I got it except for the last tooth the dentist pulled he just shot some around the tooth and went back to popping the root out it hurt the worst of all my teeth being pulled that day.  Today after almost a week of pressing my dentures up into my gums, I am starting to feel better.  I will say that getting dentures to fit my gums is probably worse than anything that the dentist did to me that day.  I am finally getting use to these things after spending 2 hours filing them with a nail file to stop them from digging into my cheekbones.  I can tell you I spent the first day in vicodin land and quickly moved to Advil liquid gels they actually work quite well with the pain since they are an anti-inflammatory.  Wow, this has turned into a saga.  Well I have been looking for something to write all week and this is what I have been thinking about all week.  Let me know how you feel about this experience I think it is one to remember.

Week one CM-229

This is my first week of class. I have never had a blog account before so this will be interesting to me. I am looking foward to working with my new blog account.