Short&Sweet

    These short letters to the editor contain direct and specific issues that occur within the region. They are short and straight forward. Almost all of them are supporting an issue or demanding a state of action. Many have eye catching titles. They are like headlines which talk about the whole piece within a few words. They are like mini essays and the point/thesis of the piece is very evident. Each "blog" is set in a colloquial tone. They are informal and therefore can get straight to the point without seeming impolite. The writer in these pieces is also an informal person. They don't really have a title and seem to be commoners. The things that they write are more based on their own opinion than that of others.

    In the seventh chapter of From Inquiry to Academic Writing, the notion of summarizing and paraphrasing is mentioned. It is mainly about all the possible ways to shorten a piece of writing into more manageable portions. Both are techniques used to shorten a passage. Even though they seem the same they are different. Paraphrasing is lengthy-er and contains the meat of the message. Whereas summaries contain the bare bones of the passage. Both must present the "gist of an argument" where you are "expressing the author's central idea in a sentence or two"(134).  In this chapter there is also talk about synthesizing, where you compare two or more works against each other. With this technique, summarizing is essential. you have to know that main argument of each piece in order to compare them fairly. Plagiarism is a big no no. It is the worst offense you can do in the academic community.   In order to avoid plagiarism you must use your own style of voice to reinterpret what the passage was trying to evoke. The most important thing to do is always cite your sources. That way the original author is given the recognition he/she deserves.

    I don't know but this week has been the most stressful week of my schooling years. Literally every day of class I had,there was something due in ALL of my classes. That's flippin' crazy. I felt so hectic. I'm glad it's the almost weekend already. I'm gonna feel so relieved until I realize I still have finals to study for. Sheesh. Are blogs meant to vent like this? I wonder... Anywho the week has been so long... probably because I have been up all night and losing major amounts of sleep.

Project Two Brainstorm

    I honestly am very confused on what to write about. I am not sure whether my paper should be purely informative or have hints of persuasive notions within it. So for right now I am in the middle grounds. I have a hard time finding sources for my topic. I have had to alter my question multiple times because I haven't found the sources and information I want. I have just had a hard time figuring out my question and its purpose and sticking to it.
    So for my topic I am researching on how video games can be beneficial. They do more good than bad in other words. Video games have had a one sided view on its impact in the world and in education in particular. I guess I am hoping to change that or lessen the negative view on video games. I first want to show why video games are so pleasing and fun to play. I'm going to show the development of games and why game developers create games in a certain way. It is not only to please gamers and make sales but also to "trap" them into the game. Because a bad game will never sell. These are specific moves that they do in order for games to be as successful as they are.

Discourse Community

    In my discourse community of video gaming, there are a certain set of rules to become a renowned gamer and to be a part of the gaming community. Firstly, in order to be a part of the gaming community you must play games well. You will always be judged by your playing skills before anything else. The gaming community is quite easy to fit into if you have the urge to do so but at first it is difficult. First time gamers will not know of the exact play style that is deemed acceptable. Most first time gamers are deemed "Noobs". Noobs are usually low ranked players and play the game without much skill. For certain online games there are a few play styles that are not acceptable. Camping play styles where the player remains motionless in one spot is deemed noob-ish. Gamers wish to create fair and equal gaming experiences for everyone. Those who hack and mod, in other words cheat games, are threatened to be banned from playing them. Playing the game well and playing is right will establish credibility and acceptance into the gaming community.

    Once inside the gaming circle, communication within online video gaming is essential. The first thing one must do is create a gamertag. Gamertags will represent the player and provides an alter ego. Avatars are another type of representation that includes both a written expression as well as a visual representation of the gamer. Video games have since evolved from solo play to worldwide online gaming. Almost every game has an online multilayer which allows people from all over to play together. With this there is also a Gaming Language. Many words have evoked from the Gaming Community. Words such as camper, noob, hacker, MLG, hardscoper, etc...are created to describe and identify players. Online communication is enforced through the use of online chatting and outside gaming communities. There are various gaming sites that are specific to the game and provide a place for gamers to ask questions and gain knowledge of the game.
    My research on this topic is not going as smoothly as I would have hoped. I have not found any useful information pertaining to my topic. I want to talk about the gaming community and maybe how it has evolved since video gaming first appeared. I also want to look into the misconceptions about video games but the sources I have read only describe the effect of a certain game. I'm looking for a more general approach.