Journal Blog #4: What happens next?

We are on our way. You have worked through the narrowing process and you have attempted a draft at an introduction. By now, your thesis statement should be fairly clear, so the reader should know where we are going...  right?

It is actually quite difficult to keep our point. Any of us knows the the feeling after we've been talking for a while to then think aloud...  "what was I saying again?" This is the challenge of academic work. It is to state your point and never lose it. To dig deep into it and keep going without getting distracted by other ideas that may seem related, but nevertheless are not doing anything to further undersand the task at hand.

What happens next? Describe the 3 or 4 supporting ideas for your thesis statement, and explain the order in which you plan to present them. We are nearing the end of the term, so lets get this planning done now while we still have time to be thoughtful.

Include your ID# in your post. Aj. M

Journal Blog #3: What is your area of interest?

Things move very quickly in these short summer sessions. Developing a topic is the first and most important part of the process. It is not only important to know your topic, but also to know where your topic comes from. What is behind your topic? Of what situation are you writing about? Of what subject does this topic belong?

The first thing you have to figure out is your area of interest. For ERS, this is wide open; however, I recommend that you consider your major as  your area of interest. This can be a good starting point from which we can start to narrow to a particular subject to a particular situation to a particular topic.

In this journal blog, tell me what your area of interest is and explain why? Are there possible ideas in this area that motivate you or catch your curiosity? Let me help you work this out.

Include your ID# in your post. Aj. M

Journal Blog #2: How can leaders inspire people in both good and bad ways?

We have been reading about some influential figures, namely Aung San Suu Kyi and Dave Brubeck. When we think of inspirational leaders, we usually think about those who have changed our world for the better... Those important figures that make us as individuals want to be better people.

However, leaders also have the influence to mislead and to misinform. We can find ourselves following the wrong leader down the wrong path. If not the wrong path, a strange path that gets us into one kind of trouble or another.

In this journal blog, I would like you to consider this question. Can you think of an example of a leader who has had great influence and many followers, but whose message may not be something we would admire. Why do so many people become inspired by these kinds of leaders?

Please include your ID# in your post. Aj. M

Journal Blog #1: Academic writing is hard because...

Welcome to this summer edition of ERS. In just 4 weeks, we will spend everyday together fine tuning our
writing skills to prepare you for your majors in MUIC and for your academic life overall. When we think of academic writing, it tends to be a serious subject. It is something that we approach with a high level of formality and focus. This is true and correct.

However, this should not be confused with boredom and void of creativity. The best academic writing is formal and focused and important...  and fun and interesting and inspiring. We often forget these latter parts. The ultimate objective is to inform and persuade our reading with well organized and thoughtful ideas, but hopefully along the way we as writer give them as reader an enjoyable and even memorable experience.

In this first journal blog for the summer term, share what you find the most difficult challenge is for you when you approach writing for an academic purpose.

Make sure that you include your ID# in your post. Aj. M

Journal Blog #7: What happens next?

We're almost there. You have brainstormed and narrowed. You have developed background and context. You now have a thesis statement... you now have a point of focus. So, what happens next?

The reader should have a clear idea about where you are going by now. Your introduction has directed them in a certain way... now take the reader that way. Don't change direction and confuse the reader. You need to follow up your thesis with logical, interesting, and well-developed ideas. The ideas should be arranged in a thoughtful order. Each idea should be equally developed.

This requires some careful and creative planning, because communicating in writing is different from any other medium. You only have one chance. You can't stop and say "oh... what I mean is..." No. The words on the page is what you mean.

In this journal blog, share what happens next in your essay. Remember to include your ID# and Section # in your post. Aj. M

Journal Blog #6: Narrow down to your topic.

We have been working to brainstorm topic ideas and to organize those ideas that we could communicate in an essay format. It is so important to not just get an idea, but it is maybe even more important to understand where that idea comes from. We have been narrowing from a theme to a sub-theme to a field to a subject to a situation and to a topic...  I want to see this in this journal blog, and please say a little bit about what you expect this essay to explain.

It is hard to say how important this process is, because before you know it, you will start to write only to realize that you don't know what you're writing about. Take the time and think with care about these steps.

Remember to include your ID# and Section # in your post. Aj. M

Journal Blog #5: What is your area of interest?

It is now time to start thinking of what you're going to do. I have been leading you up to now, exposing you to a variety of texts and ideas about leaders and leadership. We have seen how good and bad essays are organized, and you have given it a try already in your in-class essay.

Any essay has to start with an idea. The only rule for the last assignment is that whatever topic you do has to, in some way, relate to our theme of leadership. Start thinking about where you're going to go. Take the next step and consider your sub-theme. In this journal blog, tell me what your sub-theme is and why you want to go that way. Is it related to your major? Is it a general interest you already have? Do you have a personal connection or experience to this idea? Let me know what you're thinking, so I can help you to continue narrowing down to a particular idea.

Remember to include your Section # and ID# in your post. Aj. M

Journal Blog #4: Write an Introduction.

We have been looking at different ways to write an Introduction. Some may start with a quotations or a shocking statistic. Others might ask a question (and hopefully a good one). Others may tell a story (or otherwise called an anecdote) to bring the reader into the world of the topic: "a steamy evening at the beginning of the rainy season...".

When we think about Michael Jordan, we think of one of the greatest sports leaders of all time. Even after Shaq or Kobe or LeBron, Jordan still stands out as the model everyone looks to. He was a high flyer. He was quick and fast and smart. More than that, he was a winner. A good introduction tells us the background (who is he?), some context (when? where? what? why? how?), and takes the reader to a particular point, a thesis statement.

Think about Michael Jordan. Write your best introduction, and I will review the best ones in class.

Remember to include your ID# and Section # in your post. Aj. M

Journal Blog #3: How leaders make us better or worse?

When we think of leaders, we tend to automatically think of the great ones: Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Michael Jordan, Mother Theresa, Aug San Suu Kyi, and Nelson Mandela.Whether we're thinking of politics, religion, or sports, there are great leaders that inspire us in profound ways that make us dream of our potential.

However, there are also incredibly effective leaders who have been able to inspire masses of people to do bad things, horrible things... things we wouldn't do if it were not for their misguided leadership. Such leaders would be people like Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot, and Osama Bin Laden. While we may look at some leaders like this with fear and hatred, we cannot deny that they somehow captured the imaginations of people who would follow them and their vision.

In this journal blog, reflect on why we, as human beings, need to have a leader. And also consider how a leader can inspire us to even do unethical and horrible things that we would not think to do before. Does our ability to do good or bad depend on those leaders that are available to us? I wonder what draws us to certain kinds of models that may put us on the right or the wrong path.

Include your Section # and ID # in your post. Aj. M

Journal Blog #2: When have you needed to be a leader?

Some of us work much our lives to move up the ladder to achieve a position of leadership. It is our ambition to become more important and to have more status... more power. This can be in the context of work, in sport, in politics, and even in family. We have ideas for the future and we want people to follow us.

Yet, sometimes we are put into a position of leadership in other ways... sometimes by accident or against our will. We may unexpectedly be asked by others about what to do next, and it is up to us to figure that out for them. We are now in a time in this country where there appears to be no leader or leadership. A Prime Minister has been kicked out, people are confused about what to do next, and some people want the job and others do not.

I have always wanted to be a teacher. When my teachers asked me in primary school what I wanted to be, I said that I wanted to be a teacher. In this profession, I am asked to lead. This can be uncomfortable at times because sometimes others don't want to follow, so it is my work to convince them that the way I'm showing them is good for them. I know how to teach (I think) because I have observed so many teachers in my life. This is how I know what to do. But I also know what to do because of my students. They show me how to teach also. They show me when I'm doing the right thing by the expressions on their faces and by the work they produce, and they show me when I'm doing the wrong thing by the same way. Leadership is a constant education.

In this journal blog, explain when you have needed to be a leader and how you knew what to do in that role. Remember to include your Section # and ID # in your post. Aj. M