Literacy Experience Account

What is text? Today was my Iirst day in English class and I did not know what to expect.
I believe I was expecting an older man, maybe balding and with biIocals. Like many English
classes I`ve been in there was a journal which consisted oI three questions. These three questions
were simple but yet perplexing! I even talked myselI in circles trying to come up with the right
answer and sound somewhat 'intelligent. Looking back on my prior English experiences, this
class will be a diIIerent because past compositions, readings and writings, everything I believe to
be correct now, are and will be challenged Ior the next semester.
I`ve been reading since I was Iive years old, books about cats saying meow or Nancy
Drew the sleuth. My Iavorite genres oI books now are historical romance novels. I enjoy reading
novels and novellas about historic romance because I Iind history rather intriguing. Past works oI
literature I`ve read though include, Pride and the Prejudice, Scarlett Letter, Frankenstein and
many more. I know by Iar that my past with composition and writing is not necessarily a
successIul one. A lot oI my past writings have been research papers. Research is always Iun,
however making coherent thoughts out oI science sometimes beIuddles my mind. This can cause
my thoughts to seem to run together and seem like I am contradicting myselI. That is why most
oI the time during open discussions in class I normally will reIrain Irom talking. I oIten write in
that style too, making my papers ambiguous and hurting my English score.
Personally I believe that anyone can be a writer. Sure there are guidelines that make
certain writings acceptable. I also think that limiting yourselI to only one speciIic style oI writing
can handicap you. How are you ever going to understand all types and styles and truly call
yourselI a writer iI you don`t experience all genres? I in the past have only written Iiction,
narratives, research papers, and biographies. I wouldn`t say that I have experienced writing and
composition vastly but I would say I have some experience. When I do think oI writers I think oI
those authors that have gone to sell books nationwide. I like to sit in my rooms sometimes and
dissect books, looking at the structure at how they were Iormatted and why it appeals to
audiences. I then take that and apply it to my writings. I Ieel that iI I can Iind out what makes a
book or writing successIul and apply it to my writing that I will have the same success. This has
turned out to not always be true. One reason is because Teachers in particular do not like to see
cursing or in general just someone else`s writing modiIied. This made me come to the conclusion
that words don`t just make a reading or writing successIul it is about the emotion and the
messages behind them put together that make a reading or writing successIul.
There is an old saying that says 'sticks and stones may break my bones but words can
never hurt me. That is a Ilat out lie! Words will convey messages with the connotation used in
voice. When transIerred on paper it is just the same. I think that tone plays a major partin what
makes writing successIul. II a reader isn`t captivated by the tone oI the writing they are not going
to want to read it. Along with tone I would also like to add descriptiveness to my 'success list.
A descriptive author can take you back to the 18
th
century or even the Iuture. Descriptions are
what captures my mind and gets me interested. This does not just apply Ior Iiction but Ior non-
Iiction books too. II I were reading a book about butterIlies and there behaviors I would want
vivid descriptions. It makes everything more interesting and livelier. That is the diIIerent
between a capturing piece oI work and just work.
Having to put together all prospects oI English writing together however is what makes it
hard Ior me. The grammar, having to write in a certain style and concluding in a certain way
makes it diIIicult Ior me to convey some oI my thoughts. But iI I weren`t challenged to get out oI
my comIort zone to write and read diIIerently then I`m sure that I would be by Iar in a worse
state. Currently as a reader and writer I am more conIident. I am sure I have a lot oI growing leIt
to do but I`m sure I can overcome those things handicapping me like grammar and vocabulary.
The last twelve years oI my liIe have shaped me and molded and heated me in such a way that I
have Iine lines cracks and chips. No way is that any way oI me saying I am a Maya Angelou or a
ProIessor oI English. I am simply saying that I have progressed way more than I have iI I were in
third grade I am more reIined. I now can plan out what im going to say and have paragraphs that
are now more structured. I view English as a puzzle. You must Iind the right words to put
together to make art.
I love the art oI literature and English and simply just words. No bad grades or
disappointments will ever make me stop either. Getting an A on my senior research paper was
one the most rewarding moments in my liIe and also getting a IiIty-two was also rewarding. This
is because none oI my writing I Ieel have been downIalls just disappointments because I take my
Iailures and compare it to my success and recognize my mistakes. Writing, reading, and
composition are all rather intriguing but it is our own unique experiences with them that make it
successIul.




!asmlne myers
Course #1101
uaLe
Project #1 Mu/tiModo/ Literocy Norrotive Port 2 cu/turo/ uomoin 4no/ysis

Instruct|ons (art 1 Doma|n Ana|ys|s Chart) When lnLroduclng Lhe MulLlModal LlLeracy narraLlve pro[ecL we
esLabllshed LhaL your mlnd ls lnfluenced by dlfferenL culLural/soclal sysLems LhaL work boLh separaLely and
LogeLher Lo shape your ldeas bellefs and pracLlces as a reader and wrlLer 1o analyze Lhese sysLems your flrsL Lask
ls Lo compleLe Lhe domaln analysls charL ln whlch you musL reflecL on each of Lhe four domalns llsLed below and
ldenLlfy as many pracLlces ldeas/values/bellefs ob[ecLs or slgnlflcanL deLalls from each culLural/soclal sysLem LhaL
you Lhlnk has lnfluenced your llLeracy and composlLlon skllls

nome work

O Llve wlLh mom and dad one slsLer and broLher
O Mom had me aL an early age
O MosL of my famlly ls preLLy youLhful
O lamlly ls preLLy dlverse
O 8lg ChrlsLlan values llke we go Lo church every
Sunday
O Mom and faLher feel LhaL everyLhlng you own
or wanL you musL work for
O Also feel LhaL lL ls lmporLanL for Lhelr chlldren Lo
be lndependenL and lnLelllgenL
O Mom wenL Lo college and faLher dldn'L buL boLh
feel LhaL educaLlon ls key Lo success
O SomeLlmes we aren'L as vocal as much we
share each oLher's oplnlons buL Lhe chlldren
have Lo do such wlLh much respecL
O And Lo expand on LhaL dlsrespecL lsn'L
someLhlng LhaL ls LoleraLed
O Spare Lhe rod spoll Lhe chlld"
O arenLs belleved ln readlng
O My dads slde of famlly weren'L as educaLed as
my mom's
O 8oLh parenLs made sure l wenL Lo llbrary as a
chlld and conLlnued LhaL LradlLlon
O uad made me wrlLe research papers aL home ln
mlddle school
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O

O As l sald my parenLs belleve work ln sLrong
work eLhlcs
O Money ls lmporLanL buL lLs lsn'L Lhe sole drlver
of everyLhlng
O l never have had a [ob LhaL was offlclal
O MosL of Llmes babysaL and requlres musL
auLhorlLy and respecL
O My dad works wlLh compuLers and had a
dlfferenL compuLer llngo
O Mom works wlLh counsellng and brlngs LhaL ln
Lo Lhe house hold she llkes Lo slL and Lalk
O
O lor my mom's [ob l used Lo Lype up her noLes
for her
O uad used Lo make me emall hlm aLLachmenLs
Cr really [usL emall hlm lf l had a quesLlon Lo ask
hlm abouL work or educaLlon

O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O

O

@o 5choo/ Neiqhborhood / community / Peers

O SLudylng geLs u places
O 1he smarLer you are Lhe cooler you were
O Cllques formed based off of soclal sLaLus
O l was always ln beLween or ouL

O
O 8ad envlormenL someLlmes Lo learn
O 1eachers were carlng and down Lo earLh
O SLudenLs ln general some [usL dldn'L care abouL
school work
O 1he schools grade as a whole reflecLed much
O
O Cne Leacher mr parker was consldered Lo be
Lhe besL Leacher ever he ls where l learned Lo
wrlLe LruLhfully
O Pe dldn'L Lake crap and knew when l was
Lurnlng lL ln
O Lveryone aL LhaL school loved hlm
O uurlng my senlor year l wroLe a loL of
scholarshlp essays
O Lssays normally were persuaslve really wanLed
LhaL money
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O


O CommunlLy ls flll wlLh loLs of young couples
O lrlendly
My peers normally we look ouL for each oLher

O undersLand Lhe lmporLance of rellglon
O
O Llved ln a mlddle class communlLy
O MosL ppl knew my famlly
O MulLlculLural
O
O uld peer revlew on papers
O CommunlLy had slgns up reguardlng Lo plcklng
up Lrash noL llLerlng
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O

Instruct|ons (art 2 Doma|n Ana|ys|s Narrat|ve) now LhaL you have compleLed Lhe charL and generaLed some
ldeas abouL Lhe culLural/soclal sysLems you engage wlLh lL ls Llme Lo flesh ouL Lhose ldeas and analyze/explaln
how you Lhlnk each domaln has lnfluenced your llLeracy and composlLlon lor each of Lhe sysLems llsLed below
wrlLe between 75 ond 100 words Lo explaln Lhe ma[or deLalls of each culLural/soclal sysLem and how Lhe quallLles
of each sysLem have lnfluenced your llLeracy and composlLlon (Lhls means you wlll compose shorL analyses
LoLal) ?ou may compleLe your essays below Slmply Lype your essay nexL Lo each of Lhe headers

1 nome
ln my home work eLhlc were really lmporLanL lL was elLher you worked for whaL you wanLed or you
[usL dldn'L have lf l wanLed Lo go Lo Lhe movles wlLh my frlends and l had Lo ask my parenLs for
money lL was never a flaL ouL here you go" lL was a ok whaL are you gonna do Lo earn lL?" 1hls
had lnfluenced my wrlLlng because generally everyLhlng LhaL l wrlLe l work hard aL Laklng Lhe Llme
Lo do lL
Powever Lo elaboraLe more on Lhe lnfluence Lhls has had on me llLeraLure wlse my famlly ls full
of wrlLers My mom's slsLer ls golng Lo publlsh a novel of poems and my mom seems Lo Lhlnk she has
supernaLural wrlLlng ablllLles As l menLloned my dad's slde of Lhe famlly do noL really read l
remember uslng a word Lhey dld noL know one Llme amblgulLy" lL was Lhen LhaL l was deemed as a
smarL glrl because she llkes Lo read" now Lhe books l read were malnly hlsLorlcal romance novels
buL l sLlll Look Lhe compllmenL l reallze l probably would noL read as much as l do lf lL weren'L for
my parenLs undersLandlng Lhe lmporLance of llLeracy ln Lhelr home My dad ls a compleLe dlfferenL
sLory Pe ls more anal Lhan my moLher he would make me wrlLe shorL research papers and Lhen
emall Lhem Lo hlm so he could revlew Lhem l deflnlLely feel LhaL he has shaped me as a wrlLer Lhe
mosL because lL was hlm LhaL Lransformed my normal elemenLary wrlLlng sLyle Lo a more maLure
sLyle


2 work
1he facL LhaL my dad worked wlLh compuLer's meanL LhaL we always had a loL of Lechnology ln our
house My mom would always geL frusLraLed wlLh my faLher whenever he broughL new compuLers
home or [usL compuLers LhaL dldn'L work arL of LhaL reason ls because he never really flxed Lhem
Lhey all [usL klnd of saL 8uL as a wrlLer my dad encouraged me Lo Lry dlfferenL slLes LhaL helped and
he also encouraged me (made me) wrlLe papers

Lmalllng fuLure employers or volunLeer servlces or even [usL Lalklng on Lhe phone you have Lo have
a cerLaln professlonal Lone 1hls ls someLhlng LhaL l pracLlced ofLen when emalllng my Leachers or
anyone else LhaL l was formal wlLh WrlLlng noLes Lo your buddy and Lhen Lo rofesslons ls LoLally
dlfferenL l Lend Lo have a more proper volce when l do emall or someLlmes Lype papers 1hls
lmpacLed me vasLly l say Lhls because Lhe more l Lyped llke LhaL Lhe more of a hablL lL became and
evenLually l was Lyplng LhaL mosL of Lhe Llme

3 5choo/
My school wasn'L Lhe greaLesL ln facL l Lhlnk lL sucked buLL Powever Lhere were cerLaln Leachers
who valued our educaLlon and some LhaL [usL dldn'L care 1hey were all abouL geLLlng Lhelr checks
ln general lL was llke a small famlly aL my school because lL was so small Mr arker one of Lhe
Lngllsh Leachers was valued by everyone Pe LaughL a loL of chlldren Lhere Lo wrlLe Well l'm sure we
all knew how Lo wrlLe buL he beLLered our skllls

1hlnklng abouL school l ofLen feel nosLalglc MosL of Lhe books l read durlng school have been ouL
of LexL books llke Lhe Lell Lale hearL Lhe land lord lady and many more MosL of Lhose shorL sLorles
focused on comprehenslon and language As l grew older and moved on Lo novels lL became harder
Lo comprehend


4 Neiqhborhood community / Peers
My peers have always been Lhere for me MosL of Lhe way we communlcaLe ls Lhrough LexL and
lacebook and Lhen LhaL occaslonal emall 1he language we use when communlcaLlng ls WA?
dlfferenL Lhan my llLeraLure when wrlLlng We use slang such as l am gr8" or c u l8" and my
favorlLe Lo use on my boyfrlend l 3 u"

M? nelghborhood had a frlendly aLmosphere everyone belleved ln helplng each oLher lrom Lhls l
was able Lo gaLher LhaL l could always go and ask for help When l graduaLed lL was llke a communlLy
affalr many of my nelghbors congraLulaLed me My peers as well are around Lhe same way Slnce
mosL of Lhem are generally lnLelllgenL lf l ever needed help wlLh anyLhlng Lhey were Lhere wlLh me
LuLorlng me

@r|p|e Lntry Iourna| Iormat

Cb[ecL uescrlpLlon/1lLle 1eddy bear mr brownle"
Soclal/CulLural SysLem Cb[ecL 8epresenL ( Pome)
Cbservat|ons
osslbly lncludes
O LlLeral vlsual descrlpLlons
O LlLeral facLs
O key Lerms LhaL pop ouL
O uescrlpLlons of conLenL (Lhls applles
parLlcularly for llLerary LexLs)

eact|ons
osslbly lncludes
O lmmedlaLe reacLlons
O CuesLlons
O LmoLlonal response

Conc|us|ons
osslbly lncludes
O use evldence Lo declde whaL ls
reasonable Lo conclude abouL how Lhe
ob[ecL has lnfluenced your readlng
wrlLlng and communlcaLlon skllls
O Answer quesLlons you had
O ose posslble Lheorles


8lg Leddy bear
brown
wlse
lnnocenL
proLecLor
happy
[oyful







CoL hlm when l was a chlld l
LhoughL oh a Leddy bear _
l was laLer happy
Lovee LhaL bear
1hls summer my aunL and uncle
kldnapped hlm Lo flx hlm
l was hlghly upseL LhoughL
someone sLole hlm








M? wrlLlngs are more opLlmlsLlc
1hls ls because my Leddy bear makes
me happy knowlng LhaL l can always
counL on hlm
Also my lmaglnaLlon ls blgger maklng a
loL of some of my wrlLlngs flow beLLer l
relaLe Lo my lnner chlld










road Conc|us|on About Cbservat|on

osslbly lncludes
As hard as lL may be Lo belleve my Leddy bear has been a greaL lnfluence on my llfe 8ecause of Lhls bear my
lmaglnaLlon had peaked My readlng have been more colorful and l can plcLure llfe more l also can relaLe Lo symbollsm
ln llLeraLure more because my Leddy bear ls a symbol




@r|p|e Lntry Iourna| Iormat

Cb[ecL uescrlpLlon/1lLle compuLers
Soclal/CulLural SysLem Cb[ecL 8epresenL Pome Work School CommunlLy/nelghborhood/eers


Cbservat|ons
osslbly lncludes
O LlLeral vlsual descrlpLlons
O LlLeral facLs
O key Lerms LhaL pop ouL
O uescrlpLlons of conLenL (Lhls applles
parLlcularly for llLerary LexLs)

eact|ons
osslbly lncludes
O lmmedlaLe reacLlons
O CuesLlons
O LmoLlonal response

Conc|us|ons
osslbly lncludes
O use evldence Lo declde whaL ls
reasonable Lo conclude abouL how Lhe
ob[ecL has lnfluenced your readlng
wrlLlng and communlcaLlon skllls
O Answer quesLlons you had
O ose posslble Lheorles


WrlLer
1exL
LlLeraLure
lnformaLlon
lnLelllgenL
hardrlve
lapLop









how come smarL people know how
Lo use compuLers

l goL my lapLop Lhls year
LmoLlonal aLLachmenL
ls name ls harry


Spell and grammar check







Pas made me Lype ln many dlfferenL
ways
slang
lm noL LhaL greaL of a speller


1he spell check lmpalrs me




road Conc|us|on About Cbservat|on

osslbly lncludes
Cverall my compuLer has made me lmpalrs a llLLle blL l say Lhls because l know longer look up words Lo spell or look up
anyLhlng uslng books everyLhlng ls normally done dlglLally



@r|p|e Lntry Iourna| Iormat

Cb[ecL uescrlpLlon/1lLle My personal [ournals
Soclal/CulLural SysLem Cb[ecL 8epresenL Pome Work School CommunlLy/nelghborhood/eers)


Cbservat|ons
osslbly lncludes
O LlLeral vlsual descrlpLlons
O LlLeral facLs
O key Lerms LhaL pop ouL
O uescrlpLlons of conLenL (Lhls applles
parLlcularly for llLerary LexLs)

eact|ons
osslbly lncludes
O lmmedlaLe reacLlons
O CuesLlons
O LmoLlonal response

Conc|us|ons
osslbly lncludes
O use evldence Lo declde whaL ls
reasonable Lo conclude abouL how Lhe
ob[ecL has lnfluenced your readlng
wrlLlng and communlcaLlon skllls
O Answer quesLlons you had
O ose posslble Lheorles


Creen
Small noLe pad
lull of wrlLlngs
callgraphles






Clven Lo me by my aunL

Pappy same reacLlon as mr
brownleohh a noLe pad"

LaLer reallzed Lhls ls useful
SLress rellever
Able Lo leL go lssues





Allowed me Lo wrlLe freely
My wrlLlngs are more bold and darlng
LoLs of wrlLlngs have personal sLorles
relaLlng Lo me
WheLher non flcLlon or flcLlon



road Conc|us|on About Cbservat|on

osslbly lncludes
l have been keeplng [ournals for a whlle ever slnce l was ln 7
Lh
grade l recenLly [usL sLopped lL was a way for me Lo
venL and noL be [udged 1hls has lnfluenced my wrlLlng poslLlvely l am able Lo boldly wrlLe abouL my llfe experlences
and someLlmes ln deLall because l have a [ournal and auLoblography klnd of sorL of ln whlch l can look back aL





@r|p|e Lntry Iourna| Iormat

Cb[ecL uescrlpLlon/1lLle CollecLlon of romance novels
Soclal/CulLural SysLem Cb[ecL 8epresenL Pome
Cbservat|ons
osslbly lncludes
O LlLeral vlsual descrlpLlons
O LlLeral facLs
O key Lerms LhaL pop ouL
O uescrlpLlons of conLenL (Lhls applles
parLlcularly for llLerary LexLs)

eact|ons
osslbly lncludes
O lmmedlaLe reacLlons
O CuesLlons
O LmoLlonal response

Conc|us|ons
osslbly lncludes
O use evldence Lo declde whaL ls
reasonable Lo conclude abouL how Lhe
ob[ecL has lnfluenced your readlng
wrlLlng and communlcaLlon skllls
O Answer quesLlons you had
O ose posslble Lheorles


AbouL 17 books
MosL wlLh women on Lhe covers
drama
acLlon
love
blrLh
symbollsm
alllLeraLlon
vocabulary




SomeLlmes l cry when l read
l geL exclLed everyLlme l geL a new
book

normally don'L read Lhem more
Lhan once ln a year or even ln Lwo
years


Pas lncreased my vocabulary
Agaln opLlmlsLlc wrlLlngs
Pappy endlngs
llcLlons Lend Lo be more romanLlc
l look for romance or a chance of
happlness ln every book l read



road Conc|us|on About Cbservat|on

osslbly lncludes
CommunlcaLlon readlng and wrlLlng wlse l have became more fllrLaLlous l Lry Lo add drama Lo my wrlLlngs and l have
become an exLremely dramaLlc person ln Lerms of my soclal behavlor