Tuesday, November 26, 2013

ENGL 1030 Constructive Review

I felt that my section of ENGL 1030 at Clemson University was a largely effective and informative course.  I felt that our projects were generally quite effective, however, I felt that more emphasis should have been put on the content of writing rather than the mechanics of doing so.
The section of the course which focused on career writings was particularly effective, as it taught a form of writing which is necessary for all students regardless of major or career aspirations.  We focused on writing a resume and cover letter for companies we might apply to for actual internships, and discussed other forms of business writing.  Later in the semester we wrote an academic research paper on a chosen topic.  Personally, this was my favorite project, as it forced us to critically think about our issue and create a sound persuasive argument surrounding it.  I felt like this project had the most focus on the content of writing and argumentative styles.
The mechanics of writing are vital; one must be able to use grammar effectively and be able to cite a variety of sources.  The course was quite effective at adressing this; I now feel that I have a much stronger understanding of citations. That being said, mechanical skills can be obtained easily, while it is much more difficult to learn how to write an effective argument.  I hoped the course would place more emphasis on this, as such a difficult skill is good to learn in a college environment.  It certainly did in a few projects, but I could tell it was not the central point of the course.  For example, I particularly enjoyed the short writing where we analyzed a piece by an editorial writer, and wrote a persuasive argument on it.  This assignment was largely centered around ideas, and I felt it was quite effective at developing writing skills.
Ultimately, I enjoyed the course, and it exceeded my expectations for an introductory writing course, but I wished it placed a bit more emphasis on content.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

The Angel Oak (Extra Credit Post)

On Sunday of Fall Break, I made my way to John's Island's Angel Oak in an impromptu visit on my way back from the beach at Kiawah Island.  I'd been by the land mark tree once or twice before in my life, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to see it again as I passed by the road sign.  I got a few nice, but by no means professional pictures of it:

It truly is a sight to see.  The tree itself is simply massive, with its canopy covering an area somewhere around 50 feet in radius.  Despite the constant influx of visitors, the area around it has a serene feel to it due to the flat, cleared ground beneath the tree and the wooded surroundings.

This historic piece of natural beauty is now in danger, however.  My visit prompted me to do some research into the tree's history, and while doing so, I found that there is currently a controversy over development surrounding the area.  A development business plans to purchase the land immediately behind the Angel Oak, and develop it into a larger apartment complex and capitalize on the high demand for real estate in the Charleston area's barrier islands.  This doesn't sound particularly threatening, but the Angel Oak isn't just like any tree.  It has a massively wide, but relatively shallow root system that covers an area much larger than that of it's canopy.  The planned apartment complex would inevitably cause some damage to this root system.  Apartments require foundations, which penetrate deep into the earth, damaging any roots they come into contact with.  Additionally, the increased local population with bring with it a higher level of pollution, which could create chemicals that damage the soil of the Angel Oak.  The tree's size does not make it invincible.  In fact, it is particularly fragile due to its old age.  A disruption in its root system may not cause the tree to immediately die, but it would certainly decrease its life span.
This development is not quite inevitable, however.  Environmental protection groups are raising money to buy the land, however, only about half of the over one million dollar cost has been funded.  Large groups, including Charleston County, have helped to fund this, but there is still a long way to go to save the Angel Oak.
In all likelihood, funding efforts will eventually come through, and this natural beauty will be saved.  Until then, I will make sure to enjoy its sight on many of the visits I make to Charleston.

The Progression of my Writing

During my time in English 1030, I've seen my writing abilities progress to a small degree.  Primarily, I've become a more effective arguer, due to my new understanding of the key components of argumentation, logos, pathos, ethos, and kairos, or logic, emotion, ethics, and the opportune moment.  The class discussed how to build an argument for different situations based off of these four fundamental building blocks, and I've done some thought about implementing them on my own time as well.  This has helped me organize my arguments, and develop a more effective mental map of how to express my ideas.  As effective argumentation is a key component of effective writing, this has also significantly increased my writing abilities.  I've always felt that I was rather good at using logic to convey a point in a written argument, but I never really thought about how I could use emotion and my own trustworthiness or ethics to make my argument stronger.  These concepts just seemed outside of the scope of a typical, formal, academic writing.  But after a fair amount of consideration, I realized that emotion is extremely vital to connecting with the reader in any but the most formal and scientific papers, and that you must establish trustworthiness no matter what the situation of your writing is, as ethos provides a fundamental back up to any weaknesses in the rest of your argument; if a reader has some doubts of your process, but knows that you are extremely trustworthy, he or she will be more likely to believe your argument if you establish a strong ethos.
Additionally, I've become better at the mechanical side of writing: grammar, MLA formatting and particularly citations.  Grammar is a continual process that improves continually through ones writing career, this class being no exception.  Until now, I haven't really been forced to carefully use MLA formatting and citations.  My use of them now has forced me to completely learn how to implement them, and now I can write much more effectively for a formal academic situation.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Transitioning

Coming to Clemson, and with it, leaving Charleston, where I've lived my entire life, has been no easy transition.  It's been the largest such change of my life, greater than moving between school levels, or adjusting to new friends, since I've always lived in a relatively stationary environment.  The scenery around me, my living conditions, my responsibilities, and all but a few of the people around me are completely new, seen only in passing before.  No, you wouldn't think a transition this big would warrant a quick and painless adjustment, and it didn't.  This doesn't mean, however, that I resent the change in the slightest.  In fact, I very much enjoy it.  Charleston was becoming old, repetitive, and I felt like I hardly had any opportunity for advancement there.  Clemson, however, offers a whole new world of opportunity ahead of me.  And although it wasn't easy, I've adapted to the new environment much quicker even than I originally expected.  I've made new friends, become accustomed to the world around me at Clemson, and assumed the roles the new responsibilities placed upon me.  I now feel thoroughly prepared for my college career here.  Where in high school, my classes felt like their main purpose was so that I could say I attended them, so that I could obtain a certification instead of actually learning, Clemson gives purpose to education.  I'm learning real, valuable, and world applicable knowledge and skills.  I've already transitioned to a higher sense of educational responsibility, in response to this.  People socialize differently here.  Sure, there are the frat boys and sorority girls who just want to blend in, but there are countless unique and interesting people, who have their own remarkable stories to share here, from all walks of life.  It's quite a shift from the static clique groups of high school. Yes, coming to Clemson has been a great transition, but I'm happier it's happening than I could say.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

My Bio

I, Ryan A. Becwar, am a college student attending Clemson University in the upstate of South Carolina.  I originally came from the beautiful port city of Charleston, South Carolina, and still refer to the Low Country as my home, although I'm sure this will change over my next few years at Clemson.  I'm writing this blog primarily for my English 1030 class, however, it will also serve as my personal location to place any ideas, thoughts, interesting observations, or records of any personal projects which come to mind.  Sometimes one just can't write enough in 140 characters, and a personal blog provides an excellent relief for those moments.
I'm currently majoring in Computer Science, but am considering double majoring in Physics, if I can manage to do so in my four years at Clemson.  If not, I'll be certain to at least achieve a minor in the subject.  I've always had a very strong passion for mathematics and solving logically constrained problems, which first led me to my enjoyment of physics, and at a later age to my discovery of programming, as a means of solving iterative mathematical problems.  Ever since, programming has been my greatest passion, and I've used it for personal hobbies, school robotics competitions, academic exploration, and to automate whatever in my life I can, including the personal projects of some friends.
My life isn't entirely consumed by my major, however.  In my free time I greatly enjoy social activities, and any form of competition.  I play a fair amount of Ultimate Frisbee, regularly run and bicycle, and plan to take up Fencing while I'm at Clemson.  These allow me to stay fit, while maintaining a high level of personal physical and mental self control.  Back in Charleston, I would go to the local swing dancing clubs whenever possible, and plan to continue this hobby at Clemson.  I've never had a great talent for dancing, but I enjoy it, and with that enjoyment, I've been able to teach myself its techniques to a level that I'm quite comfortable on the dance floor.
I hope you, the reader, enjoy the contents of this blog.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.