A composition workshop designed by Sue Stindt

1. Writing with Meaning: Eight Excellent Techniques A composition workshop designed by Sue Stindt

2. How to complete this workshop… Thank you for participating in “Writing with Meaning.” This workshop is intended to help you develop meaning in your personal and informative essay topics and to convey that meaning to readers. This workshop is a tutorial and requires your participation. To receive full credit for this two-hour workshop: Scroll through the slides one by one. Read the information thoroughly; give each point thought and consideration. The workshop contains 10 Activities, brief assignments for you to do or write, usually after reading a few discussion slides. At the end is a final reflection for you to complete. You must complete all 10 Activities and the reflection. Most activities do not have specifically right or wrong answers; rather, they ask for your thoughts, ideas, and experiences. Your work may be handwritten or typed (unless your teacher specifies typed). You do not have to complete this workshop in one sitting. You can work through it at your own pace as time allows. When finished, turn your work in to your instructor for credit.

3. Notes about this Workshop… The techniques discussed in this workshop are a compilation of techniques I teach in my classes, ideas from colleagues and the ideas of many writers, many writing teachers and professional from other disciplines. I have credited sources where used and included a works cited slide at the end. For students who have already completed the “Finding Meaning” workshop, a few of the slides contain review material.

4. Meaning… Whether trying to make sense of your life experiences, or your research and learning discoveries, discerning and expressing meaning in writing requires effort and critical thinking. THINK QUESTION COMPARE CONNECT ANALYZE SPECULATE REFLECT CONSIDER CONSEQUENCES http://www.goma.demon.co.uk/

5. CRITICAL THINKING Is a Skill You Can’t Live (or Write) Without… A writer must choose how to convey meaning – to interpret the significance and importance of the story or topic -- and connect with readers.

6. Critical thinking involves the ability to understand complex issues from multiple viewpoints and to realize that knowledge of any topic or of any experience develops through reasoning and reflection.

7. Essays and Meaning… Throughout the semester, you will be required to write various kinds of essays. Some will be personal in nature, such as a personal narrative or an essay revealing character or place. Others will be informative or expository, written from a combination of the objective point of view and first person point of view. You may be required to write an informative, research, I-search, persuasive, analytical or review essay. A character profile essay may fall somewhere in between personal and informative. No matter what type of essay you are asked to write, the essay must reveal meaning.

8. Essays and Meaning… • The following thoughts came fromthe website forVISUAL CONCEPT -- "Visual Thinking Software”: • We all have patterns of thought in our minds that we have been building all of our lives. Through constantly shifting patterns and experimenting with re-arrangements – we continue to learn. • As we try to deal with ever more complex and dynamic situations [and topics], it is helpful to get ideas out of our heads and into a medium where we can explore their content and their relationships. • Through writing powerful intuitions and insights can be generated and shared.

9. My story speaks for itself, doesn’t it? “…the elements of the experience or topic you write about should show the reader how they led you to some type of growth, new insights or understanding, even if it is a humorous one. You do not necessarily need to explain the meaning of the experience in abstract, general terms (although you can do so), but the meaning must be evident or implied by the end of the essay. After all, why write about it if it has no meaning to you?” say Olivia Bertabnoll and Jeff Rackham in their textbook From Sight to Insight: The Writing Process (42-3). What the authors say about not having to explain meaning in abstract, general terms is true, but… Many teachers in your college career may ask you to include the meaning in abstract or general terms and developing the skills to do so will benefit you in the future. Occasionally, if a story is so powerful and well written that the meaning is self-evident, I may tell the writer that it isn’t necessary to interpret the meaning.However, the ability to write abstractly and generally -- the ability to take the story beyond the personal -- IS a skill in itself. I like students to show that they have the ability to write abstractly or objectively, as well as personally. And remember, you’re not just writing a “story,” you’re writing an “essay.” A second compelling reason for “spelling it out” is because, as I’ve already mentioned (and you’ll read more about this soon), readers bring their own interpretations to the text. I think it’s important that the writer make his or her meaning clear to readers, forcing readers to at least consider that point of view or interpretation.

10. The Personal Narrative or Personal Reflection… An essay is a focused piece of writing It is mostly idea, often supported by story(Rule and Wheeler 10). A narrative is a story supported by an idea. A personal narrative is about the author, or a story told from the author’s point of view, written in the first person (“I”). A personal narrative essay combines all the above elements and you can think of it either way:a first person story focused on an idea or an idea supported by a story told in first person. Either way, all the elements must be included.

11. PERSONAL WRITING and MEANING… Think of “stories” as the everyday activities and adventures you describe to your friends and family. These are rich material for the personal narrative. Why do you tell the stories you tell? What do they mean? What do you want readers to take from them?

12. OUR STORIES… The people in the photo (left) are members of my family. We were visiting the U.S.S. Arizona, a National Monument at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii. My brother-in-law, Mark (center), and my sister (to his right) were both officers in the Air Force. Mark, especially, is passionate about history, particularly military history. That day, the U.S.S. Missouri was docked in the harbor (and, I believe, will remain there permanently as a monument). The Missouri is the ship on which the Japanese surrendered to end WWII. Mark visited that ship while the rest of us took the tour on the Arizona. When we reconnoitered, Mark told us about the Missouri’s place in history and what he’d heard and learned on his tour. He connected this information to other events he knew about the time and the war. Because of Mark’s passion for and interest in WWII history and his personal connection to the military, the meaning of the day’s experience was perfectly clear in the telling of his story.His story was authoritative, informative, interesting and heartfelt, qualities that engaged his listeners.

13. Activity 1… Making Meaning of Life Experiences Think of two of your own life stories. Briefly explain each. List several reasons why each particular incident or event that you experienced might stand out, be unforgettable, or come to mind when you are asked to tell a story about your life. What did you learn from the experience? What new insights did it give you? Do not use a cliché to summarize meaning. Use original words and specific examples.

14. Expository Writing and Meaning… The very basis of the word “expository,” which comes from “exposition,” according to Merriam-Webster Online, is “a setting forth of the meaning or purpose.” Expository writing requires a main idea (theme), purpose and significance (meaning). Note: I use the word “expository” in this workshop to refer to any writing that isn’t strictly personal, such as the personal narrative and character or place portraits.

15. Expository Writing and Meaning… Like your personal writing, expository writing tells a true story. But expository writing “must be backed up with evidence: facts, statistics, verifiable Quotes and references to other texts, names, dates, [and] numbers” (Bomer 164). http://gillinc.blogspot.com/uploaded_images/Alvaro.Morales.Katrina-767077.jpg

16. Writers make meaning of discovery, community and world events, art, and the lives of others… An essay should be constructed around a theme – a shared discovery or connection that informs the reader about a topic or offers an opinion or specific point of view. A clear purpose (spelled out in the essay) sheds light on the writer’s intentions.

17. The Writer’s Job… is to help the reader see why the topic or issue is important, not only to the writer, but also to the readers. Emphasizing the importance, significance or consequences of the topic or issue or making personal connections to a topic or issue makes the topic much more interesting to the reader. A research project, for example, should “mix personal experience and opinion with facts, statistics, and quotations from interviews and books” (Rule, Wheeler 10). It should spell out why the topic is important to the writer and why the writer thinks other people may or should be interested in the topic. Personal knowledge of or connection to a topic lends “authority” to the writer, makes him or her more credible.

18. What is meaning?

19. “Meaning stems from the events of the story, but it is larger than the story and has everything to do with the writer’s perspective – how he or she sees the story”(Rule, Wheeler129).

20. MEANING IS THE REWARD… The payback readers want is to learn, to grow, to gain insight, to understand the writer’s thinking, to identify or connect with what you have to say. MEANING IS your perspective of the stories you tell and information you gather. MEANING IS your purpose for choosing a particular story to tell or topic to explore or discuss. MEANING IS the significance of the story or research. MEANING IS knowledge, revealing insights, something you learned or saw in a new way. MEANING IS a connection of new knowledge to old knowledge or a connection to your readers. MEANING IS an acknowledgementof your readers. A writer must reveal meaning in his or her essay.

21. Ah, meaning is like a theme! Some teachers and writers use the word theme when they discuss meaning. Novelist Theodore Weesner said, “Theme is what the hell it is you’re really trying to say”(qtd. in Rule, Wheeler 130). Author Grace Paley said, “Every story is two stories” (qtd. in Rule, Wheeler 130). Stories are convergences, perhaps between a surface story, the events, and the underlying theme. A theme is the main idea, the purpose for writing the essay and the significance of the story in personal writing or the information discovered or shared in informative writing.A theme reveals meaning.

22. THEME… Theme is dependent on the writer’s perspective – his or her insights. Insights are “glimpses of understanding,” says Denis Ledoux in his book Turning Memories into Memoirs. “Oh, now I understand what she meant!” “Ah, that makes sense, she was trying to…” Insights help us draw conclusions about our stories, lives, research and discoveries. By describing insights (glimpses of understanding) in our essays, we reveal purpose and significance of the experience, the event, or the information presented to our readers. We make sense of our experiences and demonstrate our knowledge, showing how we learn and grow.

23. Theme depends on our point of view – our interpretation of the story or material or research. Sometimes as writers, we approach an essay with the theme in mind, but more often the theme unfolds as (or after) we tell the story or reveal our discoveries. Often we don’t know how to interpret our experiences immediately when they occur, but after looking back on them with a new perspective, we can put them in the context of our lives and see the lessons in them. Writers use many techniques to weave meaning throughout their essays.

24. EIGHT SIMPLE TECHNIQUES WRITERS USE TO EXPRESS MEANING… • Discuss universal themes or experiences • State a clear purpose • Go beyond yourself • Reflect • Compare contrast • Examine the subject in wider context • Make connections • Create metaphors – layers of meaning These eight techniques will be discussed on the following slides. You will find a writing activity after each discussion. You will notice a great deal of overlapping advice in these techniques. They are connected, and the intent of each is the same – to express meaning. Using just one technique may not be enough. Consider combining techniques that are best suited for your topic or narrative.

25. ONE: Discuss Universal Themes or Experiences Personal Writing A universal theme or experience is a topic or life experience that many of your readers will identify with – things many of us have in common. From the widest point of view, as human beings, most of us have many common experiences – growth and development, becoming independent, learning to love, facing death, laughter, pain, etc. As Americans we have many common cultural experiences – going to school, riding a bike, watching televisions. As families we experience many of the same things – sibling rivalry, responsibility for others, working through problems, living together, breaking up. To write with meaning, a writer can discuss in general terms a universal theme or experience I sometimes use the words “philosophical terms” instead of “general terms,” when explaining this to students. Step away from your personal story, change your writing voice from the personal tone of your story to an objective one. Explain your thoughts on the subject or theme in general. Your personal story then becomes an example of this life-theme. Writers connect to their readers and convey their ideas about specific life experiences by identifying one of these common themes or life experiences and interpreting their ideas about the significance of it.

26. To Discuss Universal Themes or Experiences: • Frame your story in an abstract idea or life lesson (examples follow) • Some teachers may assign a theme (idea or lesson) and ask you to write an essay about it. Here, you have to find a story that matches an idea or concept. • Usually this idea is based on an abstract concept… justice, truth, trust, joy, loss, humor, beauty, rejection, acceptance, etc. The writer may explore – explain his or her views or interpretation of or offer insight on an experience where she was treated unjustly; he lost the trust of his parents; she experienced a major loss for the first time; he discovered that a sense of humor is a healthy asset; she experienced the rejection of peers. These are “universal” experiences. We all learn these concepts through personal experience. The writer’s personal story is an example of how that concept came to light in the writer’s life (Rule & Wheeler 133-135). • Use objective language to discuss the “idea” or “concept” or step away from the “I” point of view and write objectively about an abstract concept. Interpret it. Explain what you think justice means (for example) to many people. Expository Writing Look for universal themes or life experiences in the research or persuasive topic you choose and in the literature or film you analyze.Use these themes to make personal connections or help your readers form connections.

27. Life Themes… Writing professor Peter Elbow suggests that you look for “powerful experiences or interests or preoccupations that shaped your reactions” (291) as topics to base your essays on. Examples of life themes that many people will connect with are: relations between parents and children, love, sex, divorce, eating, the outdoors, fighting, loneliness, adventure, or breaking free of obligations(Elbow 291).

28. Coping with loss Coping with change Managing stress Feeling rejected Wanting to fit in Fulfilling a dream Working hard Gaining respect Losing respect Forming friendships Believing in justice Riding a bike Learning to read Getting married Going on first date Learning to drive Breaking family bonds Having a baby Falling in love Forming belief system Feeling insecure Feeling sad Universal Experiences Include…

29. loss win change stress rejection acceptance dreams work respect friendship injustice justice love hate jealousy anger fear beliefs values humor joy goals want disgust karma competition courage failure embarrassment inspiration greed obsession excellence hope discipline wish revelation panic luck enemy despair terror envy goodness kindness praise success Abstract Ideas…

30. EXAMPLE OF THEME – PERSONAL NARRATIVE The following is an excerpt from a student essay, used with her permission. Since there is not space or time to read the essay in its entirety, I have highlighted passages that clarify meaning for readers. All words in black are mine. Students’ words are purple. Vicky wrote a story about stepping on a nest of bees when she was just a child. The bees swarmed her, covered her skin and she was stung multiple times. Interspersed in her story were the following insights: One summer day started out with enthusiasm and excitement, but for me ended in fear. When children experience a traumatic encounter with fear, it can remain with them throughout their lives. Later in the paper…It could have been a life and death situation if the bees had left stingers or had I been allergic. Yellow jacket bees leave no stingers, but can sting over and over again. After everything I had just gone through, the doctor commented on how he couldn’t believe I was afraid of a few bee stings.  She concludes…Although, I physically recuperated from the bee encounter, the fear from that experience has left me extremely guarded when bees enter my domain. I keep a can of spray adhesive on hand to use if a bee should enter my home. The spray adhesive glues the bee wings, leaving it with no way to fly and it drops to the ground instantly. It works fast and that’s for me! Vicky’s abstract idea (theme) is “fear.” Vicky reminds us of her theme several places in the paper. She weaves it in at appropriate and opportune spots.

31. EXAMPLE OF UNIVERAL THEME - EXPOSITORY The following is an excerpt from a student essay, used with her permission. Since there is not space or time to read the essay in its entirety, I have highlighted passages that clarify meaning for readers. All words in black are mine. Students’ words are purple. The above examples take a very direct approach to conveying the importance of the subject. Ashley wrote a research paper about ice cream. She worked at The Parlour and clearly enjoyed her job. The joy she observed in the customers, her co-workers, and her feelings about her job led her to this topic. She recognized that in our culture there is a universal love for and interest in ice cream. Indirectly, we can “read” this into her introduction: In the long hot days of summer one of the favorite things to do is to go down to the local ice cream parlor for a cooling treat. Ice cream comes in many different flavors and textures, from vanilla to beer flavor and from ice cream to sherbet. When I walk into work at Jackson’s local ice cream parlor, the first thing I notice is the sound of people laughing and having a good time. I put on my apron and get to work making the different ice cream sundaes on the fountain. The most popular sundae is the Jr. Pecan Combo followed by the Jr. Banana Split. The coolest part of making sundaes is topping them. We try to make them look the least messy as possible. My apron is usually a disaster within a few hours and it could be said that my fountain partner and I look like we swam in the toppings. But we all have good time making the perfect sundae for our customers. And her conclusion…At the end of the night we prepare the final sundaes and begin clean up. The worst part of working with ice cream is the fact that it gets everywhere. Every little crack has sprinkles, nuts, or some combination of them. But we turn up the jukebox and make the job a little more fun. Once all the walls are washed, the stainless steel cleaned, and the floors scrubbed, we say goodnight to each other and the whole process begins again in the morning. Ice cream is a treat that can be enjoyed year-round and in many different styles. Throughout the years it has undergone radical changes, with even more changes in the future. While we cannot be sure what the future holds for ice cream and ice cream lovers, we can be sure it will be there in some way, shape or form.

32. Activity 2… Themes Look at the stories you have written so far and examine them for theme. What are your stories saying beyond the facts? Finish this sentence for each of several of your stories: This story shows how it is important for people to…. Continue with these thoughts, writing a paragraph or two, then answer the following questions: Are you gearing your theme (message) to an intended audience? How has this influenced your plot development, your characterization, and your use of setting? What have you discovered about your theme while writing? Has the theme changed? How had this affected your interest? (Ledoux 114-8)

33. TWO: State a Clear Purpose Personal Writing • Explain why you chose to tell the particular story you did. Be specific. Discuss the significance of the event, story or experience with the reader. Whether you do this at the end or the beginning of the essay is up to you. There are advantages to each. • Revealing your point of view early in the essay encourages and guides the reader to “see the story in a certain way” and think about your interpretation as he or she reads the essay. • Revealing your point of view in the conclusion of the essay encourages the reader to determine the significance of the story, make his or her own connections with the story, and then finally consider how his or her view compared to yours. • Either way, you must: • Select and include details that support your purpose • Caution: Avoid mentioning the essay or assignment itself. Avoid sentences like, “In this essay, I will describe…” and, “The topic of this essay is….”

34. TWO: State a Clear Purpose Expository Writing A paragraph from Linda’s essay on the next slide is an excellent example of how stating a clear purpose can accomplish two important things: Topics are more interesting to readers when they can make personal connections, either through the author’s experiences or their own. A topic is more compelling to readers when they see that an author has some “authority” – personal experience with or knowledge of the topic.

35. EXAMPLE OF CLEAR PURPOSE (EXPOSITORY) The following is an excerpt from a student essay, used with her permission. Since there is not space or time to read the essay in its entirety, I have highlighted passages that clarify meaning for readers. All words in black are mine. Students’ words are purple. Linda wrote a persuasive paper about the importance of urging young women to pursue an education and to learn skills so that they can be independent. At my age, forty-eight years, I am faced with the ugly truth that people can’t depend on anyone in this world for their own well being. I, after many faithful years of serving as wife and mother was left homeless and penniless. It didn’t matter to anyone that I had no education or means of support. I was left to figure it out on my own. Financial security for women is very important; it is usually the women and children who suffer when a family is split apart. Whether it is due to divorce or death, women need to learn early in life how to take care of themselves first before getting involved with the male of the species. We need to teach our daughters that their lives are important, and they need to be independent and strong, both emotionally and physically.

36. Activity 3… Clear Purpose • Choose three topics or issues that you are interested in researching and possibly writing about. • For each topic answer the following questions, thoroughly (more than one sentence for each question; offer explanation). • Why are you interested in the topic? What personal connections or experience do you have with the topic or issue? • What is your purpose for writing about this topic or issue? Would you like to increase awareness, seek change, get others involved, educate others, entertain, etc.? • Why should readers be interested in or concerned about this topic? OR -- what might readers find interesting about the issue or topic?

37. THREE: Go Beyond Yourself Make your story or personal essay “bigger than you” Extend the meaning to others Recognize others who may have had similar experiences Help readers see how what you learned may apply to or connect to their lives Author Mitch Albom does this brilliantly in many of pieces. Excerpts from one of his pieces, similar to a character portrait as described in your textbook, are contained on a following slide. Personal Writing Go beyond yourself by generalizing to a broader audience Let your audience know that you understand that they may have had similar experiences. You may wish to acknowledge another way to interpret your experience if you think that your interpretation is unusual or conflicts with the norm. Expository Writing Explain why your topic or issue may be important to others Help readers understand the significance of the issue or topic in their lives Make connections for readers

38. Expanding your experience to other people or acknowledging the common view on a topic is a way to construct meaning. You are connecting the information to what other people may already know.

39. A fine example from Mitch Albom’s work… (http://www.wage.com/hosts/Mitch%20Albom%202.jpg) Mitch Albom, columnist, novelist and ex-sportscaster, wrote a wonderful character portrait of his Uncle Eddie as an article “He Was A Champion,” published in Parade Magazine, September 14, 2003. In it he describes Eddie’s physical characteristics, tells stories that Eddie used to tell and describes memories about family gatherings. He gives the readers some personal history about Eddie and uses dialogue that reflects Eddie’s personality. Albom reflects on his own feelings about Eddie from the point of view of when he was kid, and then also describes his observations and feelings from an adult point of view. • In this piece there are a couple themes the reader might connect with. There’s a theme about the importance of extended family members. There’s also a theme about loss and death and expressing our feelings to our loved ones while they are still alive. Mitch makes readers think about these ideas by stepping away from the story about Eddie and addressing the theme(s). • For example, there’s a paragraph in the middle of Mitch’s story that says, • They say that uncles stand to the side, that fathers and grandfathers have a more direct line to the child. But uncles, perhaps because of that distance, can be glorified in ways that others cannot, and as a boy I glorified Eddie. He was the champion in my family tree – and stronger than anyone I knew. • This is generalizing. This paragraph may make readers think about their own uncles or male role models, or aunts or female role models for that matter. The writer speculates about the role played by uncles, in general. • A paragraph at the end focuses on another theme, love and loss and regret, drawing the reader in with the use of “we.” • We all have wonderful people in our lives – but when they’re gone, it seems, all we can do is miss them. I miss Eddie’s quiet toughness. I miss our phone calls from the airport. I rub my arm now, where Eddie would have punched me, and I realize that I have never met anyone as magical as my uncle seemed to me as a boy. He should have known that. And I wish I had told him.

40. Mitch Albom continued… When Mitch says “we,” he’s talking to his readers; he’s talking to and about people in general. He makes these general comments to the readers and then returns to his personal story, the example of his theme. The comments make Mitch’s personal story about his uncle a story of uncles (the story is not just about HIS uncle, but all uncles), in general, or of loss and death and regrets (not just his, but ours, too), in general. These paragraphs give the story a universal appeal. Don’t most of us have people like Eddie in our lives? Haven’t most of us experienced loss or death of a loved one? Haven’t many of us wished we had expressed our feelings to someone we have lost? We, the readers, then identify with the story. We connect it to our own love, loss and family experiences. The connection you feel as a reader gives the story meaning. The introduction and the conclusion are good places to discuss the meaning, purpose or theme of your essay. By introducing your theme early, you, the writer, direct readers’ thoughts to a particular topic or issue connected to your story. Writer’s often return to that theme at the end with a new or additional point made clear from the story or from reflection, looking back on the event. But many good stories have thematic comments throughout. Rick Bragg’s 100 mph…. (in St. Martin’s textbook) is also a good example. Mr. Albom has used techniques one and three: theme development and going beyond himself. He also steps away from “I,” using “we” to connect with the reader(s) and uses objective language to discuss theme.

41. Activity 4… Beyond Yourself Look at the draft of your first essay or essays. Find places (more than one) where you can “go beyond yourself” by generalizing or by including your audience or recognizing a common experience. Add lines to emphasize these points. Develop your abstract ideas in these ways. Highlight these revisions in your essay or write the lines on your answer page for this workshop.

42. FOUR: Reflect Personal Writing To reflect means to “look back.” When you write about an event that happened in the past, the passing of time automatically gives you a new perspective on the event. Re-examine the impact of the experience. Ideas for Making Meaning: Speculate about people’s behaviors; examine motivation for observable behaviors; make reasonable guesses about your own and other character’s behavior based on the facts and circumstances of the story and its context Discuss the consequences Draw conclusions Examine belief systems Ask questions… I wonder? What if? Ask, “So What?” Consider the possibility of change Understand and reveal how emotions can influence decisions or actions and help readers reflect on the importance of the decision or action Explain the impact of what you’ve learned on your thinking or action

43. FOUR: Reflect on the Material Gathered Expository Writing • Ideas for Making Meaning: • It isn’t enough to collect information without assessing the meaning or value of what you’ve seen and heard. What have you learned? How might this topic, issue, event or person reveal something about our lives or the time in which we live? What is your final personal reaction? • A conclusion doesn’t need to be profound, but careful reflection should lead you to some understanding of the subjective beliefs, lifestyle, problems, or cultural values that are represented by this one topic, issue, event or individual – and perhaps show you how those might relate to society as a whole (Bertabnoll, Rackham 88). • Look back, step away from the event, issue, person or experience. Discuss the meaning of it today, a later time, as compared with the thoughts and feelings expressed in the essay or story. Reflection can occur in the moment. It can be a pause and self-prompting that one uses in the midst of [writing or telling]. To employ this second level of thinking allows one to consider intention and choices even as we perform them (Baldwin).

44. EXAMPLE OF REFLECTION The following is an excerpt from a student essay, used with her permission. Since there is not space or time to read the essay in its entirety, I have highlighted passages that clarify meaning for readers. All words in black and red are mine. Students’ words are purple. ----------------------------------------------------------- Denise wrote about a trip to Mexico. After describing her experience there, her paper concludes with a reflection: When I returned from Mexico I believe I was changed. I have a whole new outlook on what material objects really mean to me. I put my family first that is for sure. I was never truly conscious of how much food people in America actually waste. I now try to throw away as little as possible and only serve myself what I am going to finish. I realized that the Mexican people I met did not really have their eyes open. They did not have million dollar houses; they had shacks, yet they were happy. They did not have brand name clothes or shoes, yet they were happy. I wondered how they could be so happy and not have all of the stuff that I used to consider happiness for any teenager. I now understand that the reason that the people from Las Olivas are so happy is because they do not realize they are missing anything. When my family was tight on money I never felt like I was missing anything either, but when we became well off, I wanted everything. Happiness lies in the hearts of those with little and might never be reached by those who have a lot.

45. Activity 5… Reflection PART 1: REFLECTION Students have written about personal traits that describe or define their character. One student wrote about procrastination and how that habit affected her life. Others tell tales of first loves or of painful losses, the randomness of luck or the long lasting effects of abuse. The outstanding essays are the ones in which the writers reflected on what the traits or experiences mean in their lives and possibly in other people’s lives. Select a personal trait that describes a way that you typically behave. Reflect; look back. Describe how that trait or quality has influenced your life. Be specific (6). Speculate on the origin of the trait. Ask questions. Consider change. Examine consequences. What have you learned about yourself and about others?

46. FIVE: Compare Contrast or Explore Then and Now Personal Writing • Ideas for Comparing and Contrasting… Reveal how perspective, thoughts, ideas changed with time • Use thoughtshots to reveal what you were thinking and feeling at the time; reflect at the end on what you think and feel now, looking back • Manipulate time; compare the relationship of one day to every day (Bomer 160). Why or how did this day stand out? Explain why or how it came to be so important. How did it differ from all other days?More explanation follows…

47. We make meaning based on our point of view and perspective, how we see things. • Our reality in the stories we tell comes from our point of view. • We can change how we see things. • Sometimes it takes an outside observer (or reader) to help us see things differently. • We see things differently after experiencing new things, maturing and gaining new knowledge. • Meaning can change as we learn, grow and begin to reflect on our experiences in the bigger picture. 

48. My niece at age nice and… As we grow, accumulate new experiences and mature, change in perspective is inevitable. my mother-in-law at age 82, see the world very differently from each other.

49. Our views change with new knowledge… When we’re four or five, tying our shoes or riding a bike seem like daunting tasks. But, soon we realize they are very simple skills. Many teens struggle through adolescence, a time when they are easily influenced by peers and will do almost anything to fit in. When we’re older and look back on that time, we often wonder what we were thinking and why that seemed so important. Most young adults prefer to be their own person.

50. FIVE: Compare Contrast or Explore Then and Now Expository Writing “When writing of a past event, it’s easy to return to the same frame of mind you were in at the time the event occurred. Yet the advantage to looking back is the added perspective of the time that has passed” (Rule, Wheeler 133). On September 11, 2001 you had a reaction to the events that occurred that day. You felt and thought a certain way. Now, looking back, perhaps you see the bigger picture and the consequences. Perhaps your feelings have changed. Compare and contrast those differences. Consider the possibility of a change in your way of thinking If, after writing your story, research, or analysis and reflecting on it, you come to the conclusion that your thoughts and ideas were not productive or conducive to future positive outcomes, consider (like thinking out loud) the possibility of change. Describe a new outlook and your reasons for it (Idea from IN TIME).