Oh 1 Ji Seok Oh

Mrs. Davis

English 1101

September 4, 2013

Literacy Memoir What comes to mind when you hear the word Literac y? Most people think of reading, writing, and other topics based on education or communication. To me, literacy is defined as the way one understands anything. This includes languages, music, and even body language. When I want to see my level of profession in any situation, I compare it to my literacy rate in that subject.
Commented [C2]: Why? What about reading do you not like? Be as specific and detailed as possible. As a reader, I want to know more. Commented [C1]: What do you mean here?

I usually despise reading which made me get behind in reading when it came to reading assignments. Although I plan on being a computer engineer, my second choice would've been psycho logy. I was told to read 7 habits by my engr1201 professor, and honestly, that was the first time I actually picked up a book and sat down and read it for more than 3 hours, in years... disappointing right? Anyways before I started reading the book, I had no idea what it was about. I started with the pretext thought of "oh boy, time to find an excuse to read this later". But after reading the first 10 pages, I was pretty hooked. Because of my ADHD, although I was enjoying the book, I had a lot of thoughts going on in my head. One of the thoughts was "I hope this is the book that revolutionizes my opinion on reading".

Commented [C3]: This seems like a random but important idea. What draws you to psychology? How is the literacy/Discourse different for psych than it is for engineering? Commented [C4]: Is that the full title? Commented [C5]: Wow why do you think that is? Does it relate to your ADHD, or is there something more? Tell me more.

Commented [C6]: What about this book was different? What hooked you?

Oh 2 My problem with reading isn't just reading novels. Whatever situation I'm in, whether it's reading instructions, reading homework assignments, or even posters, I always skim through the words if it's more than a paragraph; and I always end up missing an important part. This is why I want to change my reading habits. I've always been told to read, but I never took interest. I'm really hoping that I will be able to have fun while reading in college and learn better techniques to help me improve my literacy in reading. In positive aspects, my literacy in music has changed since Ive started playing drums. Before my drumming experience I would pay attention to the vocals more, but now when I listen to music, I feel the beat more than the actual singing. I believe this makes listening to music more enjoyable than I did before.
Commented [C11]: Interesting do you think this relates to your more traditional literacy? (It may not just wondering.) Commented [C12]: I want to know more about your musical literacy. You dont have the same amount of details as you do with other forms. Why did you mention music? What effect has it had on your literacies? Why is it significant? Commented [C13]: As a reader, this seems like a sudden shift. How can you transition or reorganize your thoughts? Commented [C8]: What sorts of texts are you hoping to read? Commented [C9]: Do you mean practical strategies? Commented [C7]: Why do you think you do this? When did you start skimming? Was there a specific reason for you starting to skim, or was it a gradual process that you eventually noticed?

Commented [C10]: When did you start? Did you play any other musical instruments before picking up drums?

While I was growing up, I was pretty much an only child. I have two sisters; one being ten years older, and the other thirteen years. They were both out of the house by the time I was eight. My parents were out of the house from nine in the morning to nine at night pretty much every day. This meant that I had no method of transportation until I was able to drive myself. I never got to participate in sports, clubs, and other afterschool events. There were no other people my age in my neighborhood. I was always home alone on the computer playing video games. I ended up experimenting with programs such as visual basic (programming software). I ended up taking a class my junior in high school that taught how to use visual basics. Learning how to use software such as this requires one to learn a new language. This language is called C++. Its a programming language you need to understand to be able to write it. I believe this is a form of literacy that helps me understand how to think in a more broad perspective.

Commented [C14]: You make a valid point when you say that C++ is a whole other language. How does your technical/computer literacy affect your other forms of literacy? Commented [C15]: How? Be detailed in your explanation. Commented [C16]: Jo, you have some wonderful ideas in your memoir. I was especially engaged when you talked about your struggle with reading and your technological literacy. You mentioned in your letter that you attempted to match your conclusion with your thesis statement. Remember you do not necessarily have to have a thesis statement because this assignment is a personal narrative. I do think you need to consider your message what do you want your readers to know, and why should they care? Make sure that you have a unifying theme to tie everything together. What do you want to say about literacy overall? How have your different literacies (music, technology, reading, etc.) interacted with one another? Think about organizing your thoughts to match your purpose/theme. And you dont have to describe all of your literacies; if there are just one or two you want to focus on, thats fine! There are also a few places where I think you could expand, to give your reader a more clear picture of what you experienced. I hope my suggestions are helpful. Mrs. Davis