Writing Reflection
My main issue is that I need to connect my writing back to the original text as opposed to only real world examples. This is apparent in my second blog post. In this post I was to react to the second republican debate, which we’d watched the night before. However I did not once even reference the original debate, and I only made one reference to CNN’s declaration of a winner. The body consisted almost purely of my own analysis with little to no evidence from the text or the debate. To prevent this issue in future writings, I will make sure I fully understand the expectations for evidence by clarifying these with my teachers.
My second issue is making sure that my thesis pertains to my subject matter. In my Tocqueville essay for example I had much to say about several candidates. I spoke towards their lies, towards their inconsistencies, and towards their total view changes. However I did not once mention that this essay was about connecting Tocqueville to the current round of political debates. In the future to prevent this, I will read and re-read my essays until I think their intended meaning is clear. After that phase, I will have one of my peers read over the essay and tell me what he or she thinks the thesis is. If its something other than what I intended, I will re-write my thesis and go through this process again until I am certain that anyone could understand what I mean to say.
Lastly I need to improve my transitions between paragraphs and my conclusions. This need for improvement is most evident in my Tocqueville essay. “This issue is apparent in even our most current round of elections. ¶ The presidential politicians play to the public’s ears.” As you can tell in this example my transitions leave something to be desired. I go from one paragraph to the next without much tying them together. To prevent this from remaining an issue in the future, I will specifically ask my peers to look for ways to improve my transitional statements during peer critiques. This will eventually teach me what to look for in transitions and thus solve the issue.
My second issue is making sure that my thesis pertains to my subject matter. In my Tocqueville essay for example I had much to say about several candidates. I spoke towards their lies, towards their inconsistencies, and towards their total view changes. However I did not once mention that this essay was about connecting Tocqueville to the current round of political debates. In the future to prevent this, I will read and re-read my essays until I think their intended meaning is clear. After that phase, I will have one of my peers read over the essay and tell me what he or she thinks the thesis is. If its something other than what I intended, I will re-write my thesis and go through this process again until I am certain that anyone could understand what I mean to say.
Lastly I need to improve my transitions between paragraphs and my conclusions. This need for improvement is most evident in my Tocqueville essay. “This issue is apparent in even our most current round of elections. ¶ The presidential politicians play to the public’s ears.” As you can tell in this example my transitions leave something to be desired. I go from one paragraph to the next without much tying them together. To prevent this from remaining an issue in the future, I will specifically ask my peers to look for ways to improve my transitional statements during peer critiques. This will eventually teach me what to look for in transitions and thus solve the issue.
Street Law Mini-Project
Project Description and Reflection
The point of this mini-project was to educate our class about our Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights. We were taught how these can be applied in certain situations, weather you are at home, school, or in a vehicle. We also learned the definitions of reasonable suspicion and probable cause and what situations require which justification. For example, a police officer would need probable cause to search or seize any of your belongings or to arrest you, however a school would only need reasonable suspicion in most search and seizure cases. After we learned this general information, we picked one aspect and delved deeper into the topic.
I chose to focus on student privacy rights in relation to search and seizure of possessions. I chose this topic because it is most relevant to my current status as a high school student. However, I did not connect with this project. While I do believe it is important to know your rights in order to make sure they aren’t violated, I do not enjoy learning about law. And so while I did make beautiful work in the form of an info-graphic and am glad to know more about my rights, I did not engage with this project.
I chose to focus on student privacy rights in relation to search and seizure of possessions. I chose this topic because it is most relevant to my current status as a high school student. However, I did not connect with this project. While I do believe it is important to know your rights in order to make sure they aren’t violated, I do not enjoy learning about law. And so while I did make beautiful work in the form of an info-graphic and am glad to know more about my rights, I did not engage with this project.