Halfa Kucha Reflection

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The writing process for my halfa kucha was similar to writing a paper. I brainstormed preliminary ideas about how trauma and recovery were portrayed in the two books I chose. I started with one book and then it was easier for me to directly compare the other book to those points. After I had my main points, I wrote a script for what I wanted to say in each subsection. There were two big subsections, the two themes about society’s view of the characters’ trauma, and within each subsection there were three detailed section, one for each book and one related to the quotes from Herman. I went back through, timed myself, and cut down significantly on the script so that each “paragraph” only took up 20 seconds or less. I normally write a lot of fluff because it sometimes takes me a while to get to the point depending on the writing piece I’m working on. I was surprised I didn’t have a lot more to take out when editing.

I chose visuals after writing my script. It was easier this way because I only had to look for frames that aligned with what I had written. I think it would’ve been personally harder to do it vice versa. I tried to choose scenes that the audience would recognize and wouldn’t take too much time to read. I overall didn’t mind this style of presentation. The time limit helped me cut down on what I wanted to say in order to get to the point and be concise. While giving the presentation, I didn’t like the time limit because it felt rushed and naturally, I ten to take a longer time to think about what I want to say before talking. There were points in my presentation where I had to forgo important points that I wish I had time to bring up or clarify. I liked how other people’s presentations were even more concise and really easy to follow although I think it would take a lot of time and editing for me to cut down further in my writing.

Literacy Narrative Part 3 Reflection

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

As a whole, the literacy narrative project has helped me achieve many of the learning outcomes for this class. The process of transforming my written literacy narrative into a comic allowed me to write across different genres and formats. I used technology for the large majority of the process, more so in making the comic version. I published the different formats of the narrative to my website, a digital platform. I used an app to create my comics, with the use of typed text, images from the Web, and other technological elements. Overall, the process involved the repetition of research, drafting, editing, and reflecting. I went through multiple drafts of the written text to make sure it sounded good and the comic in order to see which format of frames I liked the best. After getting feedback from classmates and other peers, I implemented changes so that my comic would be a better experience for readers. As I edited the comic, it inspired me to make a few edits to the written text as well. I was then able to rewrite the narrative back into text form based on my final comic.

It was interesting to return to the alphabetic narrative after finalizing my comic. I think the comic was really helpful in that it helped me simplify my narrative. This is meant in a good way – I was able to get rid of unnecessary details and make the actual story shine through. In my first drafts of the written narrative, I included a lot of fluff and I honestly didn’t have a clear path for the story to follow. After reviewing the comic, I decided to focus specifically on my public library experience rather than talk about my experiences outside of that realm. I am glad I made this shift because it made me feel more grounded and I could actually analyze the effects the realm has had on my perceptions of reading and writing. Also, I think it has a positive effect on readers in that they don’t have to go between distinct, vaguely connected ideas. In the earlier drafts, it seemed like certain parts of my narrative went along with different “thesis” statements, which could be confusing. My views of these memories has also been focused in a way. Instead of a general comment about how reading and writing is no longer fun to me, I now think about how these activities are still fun to me, it’s just my perspective changes depending on the setting. At school, I dislike them because it feels forced and stresses me out. However, at the public library, I am relaxed because to me, it symbolizes freewill and exploration based on past experiences.

Link to narrative rewrite: https://selazzioui.wordpress.com/literacy-narrative-part-3/

Literacy Narrative Comic Reflection

Photo by khairul nizam on Pexels.com

This writing process has helped me achieve many of the learning outcomes for this class. The process of transforming my written literacy narrative into a comic allowed me to write across different genres and formats. I used technology for the large majority of the process, more so in making the comic version. I published the written text version of the narrative to my website, a digital platform. I used an app to create my comics, with the use of typed text, images from the Web, and other technological elements. Overall, the process involved the repetition of research, drafting, editing, and reflecting. I went through multiple drafts of the written text to make sure it sounded good and the comic in order to see which format of frames I liked the best. After getting feedback from classmates and other peers, I implemented changes so that my comic would be a better experience for readers. As I edited the comic, it inspired me to make a few edits to the written text as well. 

There were a couple of major differences between writing my narrative as written text versus a comic. In the written text, it was easy for me to write freely by adding as many details as I wanted, within reason. For the comic, I had to downsize the amount of the narrative I wanted to tell. If I included every aspect of my written text, I would have had many more pages of frames. In order for my comic to be effective, I had to be even pickier about the details I included to ensure I wasn’t wasting valuable space. The comic format was easier in that I already had visualizations in my head of the scenes played out in my narrative. All I had to do was draw them out which took time but as a visual person, this format is more effective for me to explain my thoughts and opinions. Now that I have two different formats to compare to one another, I feel like the comic represents me more accurately. It is a representation of how my narrative is organized internally. I like that it has to be efficient because it gets the point across. In contrast, my written text can become clouded with fluff which can be distracting to readers.

On my second, final draft of my comic, I made more intentional decisions. I chose bright colors to represent how vivid these memories are and how vivid my childhood was. These memories brought a lot of happiness and forms of familial love and connection to me as a child. I chose different perspectives that represented different points in the narrative. For example, sometimes the frame was zoomed into a specific element in order to emphasize its importance. If I had more time and professional help, I would have changed the organization and design of the actual frames. I made different formats of frames from my storyboard draft however, I still feel like the organization could be even more creative. I would also find ways to make time shifts more smooth and coherent. In some cases, it can seem sudden when time shifts. 

Link to the final comic: https://selazzioui.wordpress.com/literacy-narrative-part-2/

Tracing Pages Reflection

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

The thesis of my essay is “The two different uses of slowed progression of time and movement were used to highlight the significance of both scenes.”. My main arguments are that the choice of moment and flow were most influential on the pages I analyzed. The design choices made these pages stand out among others throughout the novels.

I enjoyed the process of tracing and annotating. It was interesting to analyze the pages without text, even though the pages I chose originally didn’t have much dialogue or text. It was useful to go through the five choices in comic making and see if I could see them represented on the page. The suggested themes to consider were also helpful because they helped me categorize my annotations. The whole process helped me delve deeper than surface level observations.

My writing process didn’t completely change with the inductive thinking format. I knew pretty quickly what my first two topic sentences would be. It has always been hard for me to formulate thesis sentences. In this instance, I found it to be more difficult because I would easily slip into thinking that my first topic was my thesis even though it wasn’t. This confused me until I took some time to draw conclusions I made from the points made in the first couple of paragraphs. I was then able to choose which I felt fit the best.

As mentioned before, this project helped me look deeper at the pages. I think I overlooked some concepts when I first read these two novels. Analyzing them allowed me to look really close and try to observe as much as possible. It is easy for me to gloss over pages and not look at deeper meanings. After this process, I realized why that can be dangerous. It can cause me to miss important themes and messages that could possibly change my viewpoint on a character, situation, or topic. For example, I honestly missed the point of the zoomed-in panels in Stitches and the many little panels on the page in Spinning. I have been able to understand the likely motivations behind these design choices. I think I now appreciate the creativity and attention to detail a lot more.

Link to project: https://selazzioui.wordpress.com/tracing-pages/

Link to assignment prompt: https://eng181s21.davidmorgen.org/assignments/tracing-pages/

Literacy Narrative Reflection

Photo by Gelatin on Pexels.com

Link to Literacy Narrative, Part 1

The writing process for this literacy narrative went better than I thought it would. Since middle school, I have written more book analyses and scientific reports than creative, personal writing pieces. The freewriting exercises we did prior to this assignment definitely helped with my creative flow. I had brainstormed and put down a lot of descriptive details about the events I included. When it came time to start writing, I was easily able to write the parts of the narrative about my experience in detail. However, it was trickier to write opening and closing lines because I wanted to make interesting points that drew the reader in and left them satisfied.

“Some things may have changed, but the feelings I had originally felt during our visits instantly returned every time I stepped foot into the building.” This is one of the most interesting lines from my narrative. It reminded me that I am a reflective and nostalgic person. I think it was somewhat easier to talk about my previous experiences with reading and writing because I reflect on my memories from the past on a regular basis. I tend to remember things I experienced in greater detail than other people who were with me who barely remember anything. While writing my narrative, I found it both comforting and sad to reminisce about my childhood and all of the fun memories I have from that time.