Elizabeth's US History Blog

1st Quarter: Self Assessment I think that I didn't start out the year as high as I would have liked too. Especially with those quizzes on the reading at the beginning of the year I wasn't remembering the material as much as I would have liked too. As the quarter went on I started to progress in my listening skills and my grades proved it. So far this year I have developed a better knowledge of making sure I don't plagiarize and that every work I turn in is authentically my own. Going forward I expect the course to get much harder. Bigger projects, more quizzes, or even a test. The difficulty of the class now is , I think, the perfect amount. It's not to easy to the point where I'm not learning anything but at the same time it's not to hard to the point where I'm struggling to get all the work done. 

Reflection on Paraphrase Practice What I've learned from this lesson is that when you are paraphrasing, your goal is to say exactly what the author is saying without using the same words as the author. You aren't supposed to summarize though, just get the same message across in you own words. I learned that overtime you quote not only do you have to say where its from, you need to say if its an excerpt or not and who said it. You paraphrase when in an essay you are explaining a quote and you summarize leading up to the quote. I personally prefer paraphrasing because you are making this work entirely your own, while still staying true to the source or information you paraphrased from.  The target skills I'm confident in: always making it clear, from context, that I understand the full meaning of the quote whether I quote or paraphrase, I must always be transparent about the source and how I'm using it only using a direct quote when it adds power and style ...

Practicing Incorporating a Quotation Quote by Roger Ebert: " Rarely has a film attended more carefully to the details of politics." I really liked "Lincoln" because, as Roger Ebert puts it, " Rarely has a film attended more carefully to the details of politics.". What this means is that its very uncommon in the film industry for these observations about politics to be shown. Director Steven  Spielberg also took different ways of showing Lincolns death than other directors would. Instead of showing the president being shot, he showed the peoples reaction to hearing such horrid news. 

Revised Paraphrase Practice Original:   " Lincoln lacked social polish but he had great intelligence and knowledge of human nature. The hallmark of the man, performed so powerfully by Daniel Day-Lewis  in "Lincoln," is calm self-confidence, patience and a willingness to play politics in a realistic way. The film focuses on the final months of Lincoln's life, including the passage of the 13th Amendment ending slavery, the surrender of the Confederacy and his assassination. Rarely has a film attended more carefully to the details of politics." (excerpt from the article "Lincoln Movie Review & Film Summary" by Roger Ebert) Original Paraphrase:    Abraham Lincoln was a very smart person especially when it came to the essence of man, however he  wasn't as sharp with his social interactions. Daniel Day-Lewis' performance as Lincoln captures many details about the president including his way with politics, his faith in himself,...

Paraphrase Practice Identical paragraph: " Lincoln lacked social polish but he had great intelligence and knowledge of human nature. The hallmark of the man, performed so powerfully by Daniel Day-Lewis  in "Lincoln," is calm self-confidence, patience and a willingness to play politics in a realistic way. The film focuses on the final months of Lincoln's life, including the passage of the 13th Amendment ending slavery, the surrender of the Confederacy and his assassination. Rarely has a film attended more carefully to the details of politics." (excerpt from the article "Lincoln Movie Review & Film Summary" by Roger Ebert) Paraphrased version: Abraham Lincoln was a very smart person especially when it came to the essence of man, however he  wasn't as sharp with his social interactions. Daniel Day-Lewis' performance as Lincoln captures many details about the president including his way with politics, his faith in himself, and his coo...

Civil War Letters Home The first letter to a wife back home was written by J.C. Morris on May 10, 1863 to his wife Amanda. His letter starts with how he is so happy that he gets to write this letter but he is worried the letter will never be sent out. He then goes on to write about how much they have accomplished but also that he wants to be home with her and their kids. He closes his letter with how sorry he is about not being able to write more and he gives his best wishes to her. The second letter was written by  William F. Testerman on July 25, 1864 to Miss Jane Davis. This letter starts with him saying how happy he is to be receiving a letter with her name at the bottom of it. He continues his letter saying that he cant wait to go home and see her. He ends his letter saying he need to go to sleep and he wishes for her to continue to write him. The third letter home was to Robert Bennett and was written by Sallie Leeper Scott on April 15 and 16th of 1865. On th...