Chapter 5 Harris

                In chapter 5, I like how Harris says “My hope is that doing so will allow me to offer a view of revising that, on one hand, doesn’t reduce it to a mere fiddling with sentences, to editing for style and correctness, but…” (Harris, 99). He then goes on to say that he would rather give a set of questions for you to consider when revising, which are:

1)      What’s your project?

2)      What works?

3)      What else might be said?

4)      What’s next?

                All of these are his first four chapters. This makes editing a little easier when you are able to ask yourself these questions in order to make your paper stronger, make more sense, and add what’s needed. I think these tools could be helpful to revising. He also says that these are not easy questions that you ask yourself, and that people who publish books go through hours, days, and even months of revising their papers. It isn’t as easy as you think when you read a book, but you never see their first draft.

Extra Credit Project Fair

                At the project fair, I found a girl (forgot her name) who was double majoring in some sort of science and French. For her project, they went to Mali and were able to help the people there to learn how to work computers and show them everything. They taught the Mali people in a remote village how to use the computers so that they could get connected with the technology world. One step closer to becoming a first world country. They were originally going to go to Morocco to do this, but there had been some terrorism so they were advised not to go. Instead, they were able to type up a computer Manual in French and give them to the Moroccan people so they learn how to use the computer.

                They also worked with MMAMA (Malian Mothers Against Malaria in Africa) where this group of mothers will sew and make goods, and people here at Montana State will sell them and all the money goes straight to the women to help fight against Malaria in their village. They make goods and use the money they make to buy bed nets and medicine that will help their children survive malaria.

                I was interested in this project because I have always loved international relations in a way. I have always wanted to travel and help poor villages out, and I felt like this was a really good project and a great way to help people out with your major and stuff.  I almost got to go to India to help with a humanitarian project in May, but unfortunately money was too tight. I hope someday I get to do a project like this and have an affect one peoples lives.

Harris, Chapter 4

                “By noting what others have had to say on a subject, defining where their thinking ends and yours begins, you can make your own stance as a writer all the more clear.” I agree with this quote from page 73 in the chapter Taking an Approach. It is good to take other peoples opinions about the subject you’re writing on to help yours come across more clearly. If you have other people that have somewhat the same idea as you, then it can make your paper come a long way. On page 86 Harris says that some writers are urged to try and not be bias about what they pick to write about, but as Harris says, this basically takes away the reason that you wanted to write about it in the first place. I agree with this statement. No one wants to write a paper on something that isn’t necessarily in line with their views or something they believe or are interested in.

Harris, Chapter 3

                I think the part is interesting on page 55 when Harris says that his professor asked him why he wrote is whole paper discussing the work of somebody be didn’t think was very bright. From this, I take it that it is better to not just argue for a whole paper, but try and take something out of what the person has written. A paper looks better if you can say that yes this point is right, but I disagree with this and this, and this is why. He says that he tries to set aside the temptation to argue. “Countering looks at other views and texts not as wrong but as partial—in the sense of being both interested and incomplete,” (Harris, 56). I like this part because he is saying that instead of proving the writer wrong, you should point out what they are missing.

Rewriting, Chapter 2

            I thought the analogy on page at the beginning on page 35 was interesting when he compared an academic writing paper to a person who shows up late in a conversation, voices their opinion, argues, listens, and then has to leave while the argument still goes on. When you are writing an academic paper based on an argument that is already present in the world, the argument still won’t be done. You must come up with a conclusion, but that is your own personal conclusion. You are voicing your opinion, but the argument will never be over. I liked this part, and it kind of shows that no matter what you can't win. You have to take facts that are written from books, or other sources, put them in your own words, and write about them. The argument never ends, but your paper does.