English 295 with Dr. Burton has been one of the most rewarding classes I have taken at BYU. I am not just saying that because Dr. Burton is going to read this, I am saying it because it is true. I was not looking forward to taking a "Literary Analysis" class. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out Dr. Burton's spin on it, we were to make a blog!
The "Holy Grail"
And so my journey into the blogging world began. At first I was all over the place, excited with my new creation and just wanting to spew everything I thought was "cool" onto my blog. I then realized that that is not the purpose of this class, the purpose it to get focused on one thing and research about it. So I chose comics. In the class description it says, "students are expected to 'take ownership' of their own education..." well no one took ownership of one theme better than I did. I stuck with my comic super friends through thick and thin. Their were times I thought I was taking to big of a risk by studying "comics" in an English class! But I saw how deep my love for comics ran, and I found to the holy grail of truths that all comic readers embark upon, comic books are literature!!! Victory!
Terrified of My Own Writing
In the course description it also reads, "Eng 295 aims to provide students with a foundation in the skills of writing about literature...." Before Eng 295 I was terrified of my own writing. I hated reading my compositions and I was even more terrified to let other's read it. Imagine the terror that befell upon me when I realized that I had mistakenly connected my class blog with my facebook account! Now everyone I knew would read my writing. I have gained more confidence in my own style of writing and my own voice thanks to Eng 295.
Global Audience
As of today I have 18,679 views on my blog. It is a pretty cool thing when you realize that people are actually interested in what you have to say. Another excerpt from the course description reads, "Students will learn to address an academic audience...." The amazing thing about this class is that it is global. Our academic audience is not to one person, it is to the world. It is to the 300 people in Australia or India who have looked at my blog. Even this post, (which is my final paper), is targeted to the global audience and not just to my teacher.
Writing the Digital Way!
I have learned a great deal in this class but no more so than how to write in a digital world. our class focused on learning how to write to a society that is rapidly changing to more and more digital consumption. I learned how to write to a digital audience rather than just a formal class room audience. On the internet you have to be personable, informative, aesthetically pleasing, and short, basically you have to write as if you were writing a comic. BOOM! Tied it all in at the end there back to comics. Comics are the way of the future! So rise up "Dork Nation" and be proud!
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