Journal entry #7

I did the Workbench exercise last night, It took me longer than just the 2 hours that Ms. A said that it would. I kept going back and forth just to make sure that I was doing what I was supposed to do. I might have read everything under the sun last night on accident. Wow!! Information overload is what I have to say about that. I'm so glad that we can refer back to it as often as we like. I learned so many things about paragraphs, sentence structure, punctuation, even about voice of the writer. I learned about the reader's job in writing and editing. There is so much good information on this Workbench. Some of it I enjoyed and some of it I did not.
I loved the parts about writing should be like music. We use punctuation to set the rhythm and tone. We also use commas for speed bumps to slow down the reader and periods for stop signs and to pause the reader. I like the parts about sentence structure, and keeping the sentences as short and to the point as possible. You should not just keep adding words to fill the page. Sometimes you should pick different words that don't take up so much space. Make your words speak, not stutter.
I know that we will be editing our own essays this week and this training will be very beneficial. We should always do a first draft and then pull things out and then pull more out. I hope I'm able to do this and not change too much of my feelings and emotions that I put into my essay. The personal narratives are something that I don't really have too much problem writing those, because they are about me.
I actually learned something about myself and writing and reading that I wasn't really aware of, or I was aware, just never thought about. I am a story lover. I don't care for the report type of reading and writing. I love where they showed the difference: Reports point us in direction, Stories Pull us in directions. Great analogy, and for the first time it makes so much sense to me.
I also enjoyed the parts of topics, this really helps because they were giving me an example that I will be able to follow: When the news or topic is most serious, UNDERSTATE, When the topic is least serious, EXAGGERATE.... makes sense this way. With a very serious story, you don't need as many colorful words as you might need in just a story. All of this goes in painting a picture for your reader.
We are half way done with our class..... I'm just going to say that I am seeing light at the end of my tunnel... English is a difficult subject for me, but I feel I'm doing well.