Abigail The Great

Toned.

2008-04-04T12:33:00.000-07:00

I don't know if my title is a word but there you have it. Toned. I am toned. Oh...I guess it is a word. Anyway, when it comes to perfecting the voice and tone of any paper I write, I can fall into the "much too sarcastic" gap of writers. That being said, I have been extra careful about the tone of my paper. I am trying to be persuasive so I can't just be bland and neutral and all Switzerland like. I have to have some umph but it is directing that umph where I get a little messy. It is an academic essay so formality is key and I feel like my topic helps me along with that due to the fact that it is scientific, family related and health related all at once. That doesn't leave too much room for sarcasm but I promise, anywhere I did happen to find room I took full on advantage of. I've revised and redirected my introduction by changing the first sentence from "Americans are fat" to something a little less offensive...big thanks to all of you in class who critiqued that in the beginning. All in all I am tone-comfortable, organization-comfortable and research-comfortable. Yay for me.

Outline Shmoutline

2008-03-21T13:04:00.000-07:00

This outline really helped me a lot. At first I was all "damn it I hate outlines" but after doing it, I actually came up with a few more angles and ideas for my paper. Outlines, as much as I hate them are very very helpful when it comes to organization. It is like drawing up a map that you never think your going to use but you always end up using and if you don't make a map you're always wishing you had. I came up a great idea for broadening yet also narrowing my topic at the same time. Aha, many of you are going to say, "that's impossible!" but no, it isn't. Oh how anything is possible in the world of English. I don't actually know if that's true but it sounds nice doesn't it? Anyway, this super cool idea I had is this: instead of just talking about cooking oils effects on the body I can use the food pyramid as a guide. I would love to break down each step of the food pyramid and propose how each section can be enjoyed while also conquering obesity. This way, I can talk about cooking oils, making your food look good, grains, dairy, fruits, veggies, and even sugar! Because we all know how much we love our sugar. I've also finally come to a conclusion on my audience. I've decided to target families with children. Every parent is concerned about keeping their family healthy and happy so my essay will effect them directly and be a helpful guide. Plus, I can now include my piece on obesity in children and talk a little bit about exercise without being all over the place and unorganized. Yes! I get to have my cake and eat it too! (portioned of course.) I cant believe that I am actually ready to start finishing this baby up. I never thought that day would come. ha ha....just kidding. But seriously.

The hunt.

2008-03-02T16:48:00.000-08:00

Its been a while since I last posted on this, I don't know why it keeps slipping my mind but I guess its just a little difficult to remember to post on something each week when I feel like I'm posting stuff on Facebook all the time. Oh well, I should make time. I mean I do have all week. Anyways, the hunt for the perfect topic is still on it seems. I have at least narrowed it down to Oils. Now where I go with that is a whole new topic. (pun intended. ha-ha) I really need to decide which way I want to go on this though because I have to have enough time to work on my thoughts and ideas and organization. Ugh. Organization is always the worst part for me. I get too many sources and too many ideas and not enough FLOW. I can do it up with words and info but making sure that it all fits together and flows and is smooth ... its like trying to make math interesting, no matter how hard I try to put a spin on it that makes me want to do the homework, I just cant. Unless of course I have the right amount of time to dissect and undo and redo and edit and chop up and slice and cut/paste. So much to do. You'd think that 8 more weeks would be enough but it goes by so fast. Procrastination. Sucky.

Olive Oil, the Mafia, or Cardio Workouts

2008-02-02T20:27:00.000-08:00

So the process of narrowing my topic is coming along very nicely. The photography exercise helped me a lot in narrowing my topic of "the mafia" but then, in taking pictures of things Italian I had one of a bottle of olive oil and that got me working on a whole new topic which I think is going to be the one I stick to for the duration of the semester. I really hope that it works out and all goes well. I did my second Isearch with it to see if it would work out and if I could get enough research for it and I could. Actually, doing the research made me even more excited. So the point is that my second Isearch and my overall topic is I believe going to be Cooking oils for a healthy heart and body. I researched different oils a lot and how they affect your LDL and HDL levels and I'm very health conscientious when it comes to what I eat and cook so this topic fits me really well. I am still thinking about the mafia but I’m also thinking about different cooking topics I could do. I don’t know. I just have so many ideas and things that I am interested in its crazy. I would even love to do my paper on cardio workouts and why it is important for the body. Ah. I'm overwhelmed with different ideas!

Abigail The Great's Very First Blog

2008-01-18T13:11:00.000-08:00

Wow! I'm probaby the first one in the class to have set this up! Maybe not. All the same, I'm a nerd and that is alright. Figuring out which topic to use is going...alright. The Mafia is going strong in 1st place. Can The Soprano's be used as research? Lol. Just kidding.