For the participation side of the discussion question forum, you must respond to two of your classmates’ posts. These responses should also be developed and should be at least 150 words in length. Not meeting requirements, simply posting short agreements, or only evaluating the quality of a peer’s post will lead to point deductions; instead, focus on building on to their points and pushing the discussion further by answering questions raised, asking more thought provoking questions, offering more examples, etc.

Overall, practice basic “netiquette” by considering your audience, content, style and tone before submitting your posts. 

First post : The main idea in “Mothers Tongue” is about how the author, Amy Tan, is a writer but notices that she has broken English as well. Broken English is usually when a non-native English speaker is using fragments of English in their sentences, but not complete English. The main idea is developed throughout the story by Amy Tan discussing her experiences where she recalls using broken English, such as with her mother and her husband. The author uses descriptions and imagery to give the reader a better understanding of the plot, and the surrounding details of it. For example, when Amy was walking with her mother and discussing furniture. Due to the description and imagery that Amy gave the reader, I imagined her walking down the sidewalk with her mother outside of a store-front. I also imagined her facial expressions when she noticed that she as well was using broken English, I imagined a shocked reaction. I think that using descriptions and imagery is the most effective way to capture the reader. I think this because it allows the reader to picture the scene in their head and fully understand what is happening in the scene. By using these strategies this allows the reader to connect more to the story, whereas they might not have as much before. For example, when Amy Tan’s mother went to the hospital for a CAT scan for a tumor. During this part of the story, the author is very descriptive. Due to the very descriptive nature of the author’s experience, this allows the reader to become captivated with emotion for the mother in the story.

second post :

1)     The main idea of “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott is to eradicate the misconceptions that good and experienced writers do not need to write first, second, or even third drafts to create great work. In fact, even the best writers in the world start off in the drafting process. Lamott develops her main idea throughout the essay by continuing to revisit and support her claim about how writing a first draft is necessary to create something great. Drafting is one of the most important parts of the writing process, but is often one of the most frustrating parts as well. However, as Lamott says in paragraph 10, “almost all good writers begin with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere.”

2)     After reading this essay, the organizational method that stood out the most was the author’s use of description. To form more of a connection with Lamott’s readers/audience, she related her thesis to realistic experiences she has in her life when starting the writing process. The author explained in detail about her daily routines and feelings she’d have while creating a first draft, as well as the struggles she would go through. According to page 43 of the RFW book, it talks about how examples are the most common pattern of development. Illustrations are also mentioned as being extended versions of examples. The author utilized this description method within her own essay by using multiple sentences to develop and illustrate the points she made throughout it. Out of the many examples within the text, descriptive patterns were shown terrifically in the following sentence. “I’d get up and study my teeth in the mirror for a while. Then I’d stop, remember to breathe, make a few phone calls, hit the kitchen and chow down. Eventually I’d go back and sit down at my desk, and sigh for the next ten minutes.” It uses details to paint a picture for the audience to envision.

3)     Out of the rhetorical strategies used by the author to keep her audience engaged in the message she was trying to convey, the most effective strategy was her use of anecdotes. Lamott talks about some of her personal experiences she had when she used to write food reviews for California magazine. She mentioned how even though she’d been doing the reviews for years, she’d still doubt herself and panic when it came time to write. Lamott then mentioned the process she would usually go through to create her ‘child’s draft’ and how the first draft was necessary to eventually create a piece of writing that turned out fine and “sometimes even funny … and helpful.” With her use of anecdotes, Lamott can connect and ease the tensions of a large group of people whether it be students or struggling writers, etc. As a reader who also experiences the struggles of writing essays, stories, and even discussion board posts, I am able to see how the author of this essay used her personal life experiences to provide encouragement and motivation to those who struggle to believe even professional writers go through the exact same feelings.