My advice to future students who take English 304 is pretty simple. This class can be very easy if you pay attention, stay on top of your work, and try.
There are times when this class will have a few assignments that need to be done at or around the same time and the key is to pay attention to due dates and read Angie's to do list every weeek. Angie makes this class easier by posting what you need to do each and every week so as long as you pay attention to her in class and keep up with work that she puts on her website then you will be fine.
Also, whatever is asked of you in class for daily grades, or in group work just do it. There are so many easy daily grades, but if you do not do them then it becomes difficult to stay on top of things. Just do not get behind in your work and you should easily get an A or a B.
And if all else fails, just try hard. Angie is great to work with and she will help you out as much as possible. If you work hard for her, she will help you out as well. I had a project due on a Monday and I had a family emergency and she allowed me to present it the next class. With that being said I had worked hard and proved to be a hard working student. If you try hard, you will succeed in this class.
Hopefully you guys will enjoy this class, it is really fun and you do a lot of interesting things that make this class worthwile.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Client Project-Team Awesome
I have enjoyed working on this client project for several reasons. Normally group projects are just splitting up a powerpoint and coming together to present it on one day in class. But this project is different because we are working with an outside organization which provides different aspects to a group project. Project goals and tasks might change based on feedback and communication with the client. Also I have enjoyed working with my group. Sometimes group projects can be a hassle as far as getting everyone together and taking time out of everyone's busy schedule, but Team Awesome has been awesome to work with and everybody is for the most part doing their part in putting together the website for the Clemson University Water Ski Team.
Except for a lack of productive communication with our client, everything has run smoothly. I think if we had heard a specific answer to our proposal we could have done more sooner to enhance the website. Even with this, our group has gotten good feedback from the client recently. We have a video from team members and that video has also allowed us to stay in good contact with the team.
Overall, our team has done a great job and I cannot wait to see how everything turns out in the end. Several years from now it will be neat to say that I helped create the Clemson Water Ski website for them and hopefully it will still be going strong.
Except for a lack of productive communication with our client, everything has run smoothly. I think if we had heard a specific answer to our proposal we could have done more sooner to enhance the website. Even with this, our group has gotten good feedback from the client recently. We have a video from team members and that video has also allowed us to stay in good contact with the team.
Overall, our team has done a great job and I cannot wait to see how everything turns out in the end. Several years from now it will be neat to say that I helped create the Clemson Water Ski website for them and hopefully it will still be going strong.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Dual Coding Theory
This ad is a great example for the dual coding theory. The Nike ad really stands out because of the two distinct messages it is delivering at the same time. The way they position the words in the advertisement is what caught my eye. Practice like Champions and We Believe are two different messages but putting them together makes you think about both things at the same time. It is not really important what the actual messages mean for the ad, because how Nike positioned the advertisement wording and the visual of an old lockerroom style of building for both messages. To me, as soon as I looked at it the building and the words made me think about sports, obviously, and most specifically football.
I think that Nike wanted it to be a distinct lockerroom mentality, regardless of what sport you relate it too. Because we believe and practice like champions can work for just about any team sport.
Dual Coding really makes this ad effective for Nike and for its customers.
I think that Nike wanted it to be a distinct lockerroom mentality, regardless of what sport you relate it too. Because we believe and practice like champions can work for just about any team sport.
Dual Coding really makes this ad effective for Nike and for its customers.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Miscommunication in the Workplace
I work in the equipment room at Jervey along with 15 other students and several full-time employees so communication is never anyones main concern. What I mean by that is everybody assumes that someone knows something already, while the other person is waiting on what to do. This does not happen all the time, but miscommunication happens a lot even when nobody really notices it.
One example of when miscommunication occured is when we are on the football field for practice and a coach needs something. For the most part we are all assigned a coach, so we always make sure our coach has what he needs. There was one instance where one of us had no possible way of doing his normal job that day because he was taking care of another problem, but he did not tell anyone to make sure someone covered his coach. The lack of communication caused one coach to not have anyone help him for over 20 minutes which really ticked him off.
Lack of communication in the workplace is very common, but it is something that should not happen at all. It is so easy to communicate, especially with the people you work with. People do not communicate when they are in a hurry, get lazy, or they are apathetic.
We fixed our problem by making sure each manager had certain jobs, but also had something that could help do if someone was not there. It is our job to communicate when we need help at practice, so we have to take the time to let others know.
Communicating is a simple thing that does not get done in the right way in any workplace. But in a workplace it is very important and we must recognize this. A workplace is 100X better when there is solid communication.
One example of when miscommunication occured is when we are on the football field for practice and a coach needs something. For the most part we are all assigned a coach, so we always make sure our coach has what he needs. There was one instance where one of us had no possible way of doing his normal job that day because he was taking care of another problem, but he did not tell anyone to make sure someone covered his coach. The lack of communication caused one coach to not have anyone help him for over 20 minutes which really ticked him off.
Lack of communication in the workplace is very common, but it is something that should not happen at all. It is so easy to communicate, especially with the people you work with. People do not communicate when they are in a hurry, get lazy, or they are apathetic.
We fixed our problem by making sure each manager had certain jobs, but also had something that could help do if someone was not there. It is our job to communicate when we need help at practice, so we have to take the time to let others know.
Communicating is a simple thing that does not get done in the right way in any workplace. But in a workplace it is very important and we must recognize this. A workplace is 100X better when there is solid communication.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Job Interview
I thought my job interview went extremely well considering that it was my first practice or real job interview. I think that this practice job interview will help me out greatly in the long run as I do actual job interviews. Now at least I know what to expect to a certain extent when I do a job interview.
I thought that I would be a little nervous because I really did not know what to expect, but for some reason I was very confident in my interview which surprised me in a way. I think it helped that I was interviewing for a job that I know so much about. Hopefully being comfortable with what I am interviewing for will happen when I interview for a real job.
There was one question and moment in the interview that caught me off guard and that was when I was asked at the very end if I had any questions. I am sure that in a longer interview I would, but at that moment I really didnt know what to say. I know now that it is important to at least have one legitimate question you would like to ask.
I really felt prepared for my interview and I think that if I could do it all again I would do it the same. I would at least have something in mind to ask the person who is interviewing me.
All in all, my first job interview seemed to be a success. Hopefully I can use this experience to help me out down the road, when the interview isnt just for a daily grade in Business Writing.
I thought that I would be a little nervous because I really did not know what to expect, but for some reason I was very confident in my interview which surprised me in a way. I think it helped that I was interviewing for a job that I know so much about. Hopefully being comfortable with what I am interviewing for will happen when I interview for a real job.
There was one question and moment in the interview that caught me off guard and that was when I was asked at the very end if I had any questions. I am sure that in a longer interview I would, but at that moment I really didnt know what to say. I know now that it is important to at least have one legitimate question you would like to ask.
I really felt prepared for my interview and I think that if I could do it all again I would do it the same. I would at least have something in mind to ask the person who is interviewing me.
All in all, my first job interview seemed to be a success. Hopefully I can use this experience to help me out down the road, when the interview isnt just for a daily grade in Business Writing.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Great Presentations
I thought everybody did a great job this week on the presentations. Every single presentation was really creative and well thought out. It was weird that everybody went but me, I feel like I missed out on all the fun....haha. But it was fun to watch everybody do so well.
The three presentations that I thought were interesting were Barbara's presentation on the Polish dance and the delicious cake, Meredith's presentation on rowing, and Jamie's presentation on Gatorade.
Barbara's presentation was interesting because it was about something that I had never heard of and it provided everybody a traditional dance to learn if they wanted to. The cake was very good as well. I could easily have eaten the whole cake.
Meredith's presentation was neat because it provided information on a sport that a lot of people might not know about. There were some interesting things about rowing that I learned from her presentation. Really any type of sport is going to draw my full attention.
Jamie's presentation was good, as well. He presented for Gatorade like he really was a spokesperson for Gatorade. His attitude was very good for the part of presenting on Gatorade. It was a neat way of presenting the information. For not knowing what to do until the last minute Jamie did a good job....haha
All in all, everybody did a great job, I hope mine can be as good as everybody elses.
The three presentations that I thought were interesting were Barbara's presentation on the Polish dance and the delicious cake, Meredith's presentation on rowing, and Jamie's presentation on Gatorade.
Barbara's presentation was interesting because it was about something that I had never heard of and it provided everybody a traditional dance to learn if they wanted to. The cake was very good as well. I could easily have eaten the whole cake.
Meredith's presentation was neat because it provided information on a sport that a lot of people might not know about. There were some interesting things about rowing that I learned from her presentation. Really any type of sport is going to draw my full attention.
Jamie's presentation was good, as well. He presented for Gatorade like he really was a spokesperson for Gatorade. His attitude was very good for the part of presenting on Gatorade. It was a neat way of presenting the information. For not knowing what to do until the last minute Jamie did a good job....haha
All in all, everybody did a great job, I hope mine can be as good as everybody elses.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
The last 24 hours
The last 24 hours of my life have been a rollercoaster ride to say the least. Yesterday, at the football game I felt on top of the world for 30 of the 60 minutes and by the end of the game I wanted to lock myself in my room and not come out for a week. Sometimes, as we all know, it is frustrating to be a Clemson fan. But I have faith in my team that we will bounce back the right way and do great things this year.
But the football game is only a part of my rollercoaster day, as late last night my aunt went into labor over a month early. The scary part for me is that she is in her 40's which is already not exactly healthy to have a baby and she lives in Anderson and I was one of the only family members around. Needless to say I have been at the hospital most of the day so far and I came back to change clothes and do my blog in case I didnt have enough time. I am so happy to have another baby cousin close by, but I hope that baby Madeline is born healthy and my aunt will be ok as well.
After the day I had yesterday and early part of today, when I saw the blog topic was anything we want to write about, I knew I had to vent about the football game and talk about my whirlwind day that is not over with my family.
But the football game is only a part of my rollercoaster day, as late last night my aunt went into labor over a month early. The scary part for me is that she is in her 40's which is already not exactly healthy to have a baby and she lives in Anderson and I was one of the only family members around. Needless to say I have been at the hospital most of the day so far and I came back to change clothes and do my blog in case I didnt have enough time. I am so happy to have another baby cousin close by, but I hope that baby Madeline is born healthy and my aunt will be ok as well.
After the day I had yesterday and early part of today, when I saw the blog topic was anything we want to write about, I knew I had to vent about the football game and talk about my whirlwind day that is not over with my family.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Cover Letters
The articles on cover letters were very interesting and made me think about my actual cover letter a little bit more.
The first article, "The Reality of Cover letters," gave me a good idea of what to expect from my interviewer. The fact that the cover letter is not looked at all unless they are seriously considering you is something that I did not know. That really shouldnt affect how you do your cover letter, because in my opinion you should treat every interview as if they will consider you and they will take everything you have in consideration. One major thing I did learn was that my cover letter should really not be about me at all. That is something that I would not have done with my cover letter draft, to the extent that this article described.
The rest of the articles were also very helpful. The cover letter checklist article was nice because it gives you everything that you must have for your cover letter.
Since I have never really made a resume or a cover letter, none of these articles I could really disagree with. It was nice read all of this useful information that I can use to create the best cover letter for me.
The first article, "The Reality of Cover letters," gave me a good idea of what to expect from my interviewer. The fact that the cover letter is not looked at all unless they are seriously considering you is something that I did not know. That really shouldnt affect how you do your cover letter, because in my opinion you should treat every interview as if they will consider you and they will take everything you have in consideration. One major thing I did learn was that my cover letter should really not be about me at all. That is something that I would not have done with my cover letter draft, to the extent that this article described.
The rest of the articles were also very helpful. The cover letter checklist article was nice because it gives you everything that you must have for your cover letter.
Since I have never really made a resume or a cover letter, none of these articles I could really disagree with. It was nice read all of this useful information that I can use to create the best cover letter for me.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Dealing with Interviews
The two articles I read were "How to Deal with Interview Stress" and "How to answer the Toughest Interview Questions." Both articles dealt with handling the actual interview process. The first article, "How to Deal with Interview Stress," was a great article that helps break down how to handle stress leading up and during the actual job interview. I could very well see myself being nervous before a big job interview and this article shared some helpful tips on how to avoid and/or control my nerves. The biggest tip for me in the article was when it talked about pausing in an interview and not panic. Taking your time and not worrying to much when there is an awkward silence is a helpful tip for me. I think more job interviews go bad because of nerves and stress than they do with just being a bad interviewer.
In "How to answer the Toughest Interview Question" I learned a lot about preparing yourself for the tough questions that are for the most part going to get asked. Asking questions about your future and how much money you might make are questions that need to be answered appropriately depending on the job or interviewer you are with. This article prepares you for the big questions that could make or break your job interview.
These two articles were great in making sure you can handle your job interview just a little bit better and make it go a little bit smoother.
In "How to answer the Toughest Interview Question" I learned a lot about preparing yourself for the tough questions that are for the most part going to get asked. Asking questions about your future and how much money you might make are questions that need to be answered appropriately depending on the job or interviewer you are with. This article prepares you for the big questions that could make or break your job interview.
These two articles were great in making sure you can handle your job interview just a little bit better and make it go a little bit smoother.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
In my Next 10 years
In 10 years I will be 30 years old and hopefully living my life to the fullest. I have a lot of goals, dreams, and ideas for how I will be living my life in 10 years.
I envision that in the year 2018 I will be married to the love of my life and we will have two kids. I can only imagine how being married and having kids is like. I am actually very excited about that part of my life. Some people fear being 30 with a wife and two kids, being a soccer coach but I think I will love that part of my life. Family has always been important to me and I know that it will be when I am the father-figure.
As far as my career goes, I have been thinking about what I want to do for the past five years. For some reason I have always been very career-oriented in what I want to be involved with, especially in 10 years. My ultimate career goal is to be a general manager for an NFL team, but in ten years there is no possible way that happens unless I become a legendary benchmark for my profession. The youngest GM right now in the NFL is 42 years old. That job is something you do not do out of college. Therefore, in 10 years I expect to be in an executive position with an NFL team. This includes an assistant to the GM or director or business or personal operations. These are good gateway jobs to my personal goal of being a GM. If I kept any of those jobs I mentioned and never advanced, that would still be a more than upper quality job for me.
When I am 30, with my job and family I plan on making sure no matter where I live, I come to at least one home Clemson football game a year. I dont think that after I graduate from here I could ever be away from Clemson football for more than a year. When I am 30, I will look back and say that these four years at Clemson where probably some of the best of my life and I will always want to come back. And going back to Clemson, which is my second home; I will also try and go back to my hometown to see my extended family at least once a year as well. I think it is important to keep family close.
In 10 years I will be working for a foootball team somewhere, have a wonderful family, and being living the good life and not be freaking out about being 30 years old.
I envision that in the year 2018 I will be married to the love of my life and we will have two kids. I can only imagine how being married and having kids is like. I am actually very excited about that part of my life. Some people fear being 30 with a wife and two kids, being a soccer coach but I think I will love that part of my life. Family has always been important to me and I know that it will be when I am the father-figure.
As far as my career goes, I have been thinking about what I want to do for the past five years. For some reason I have always been very career-oriented in what I want to be involved with, especially in 10 years. My ultimate career goal is to be a general manager for an NFL team, but in ten years there is no possible way that happens unless I become a legendary benchmark for my profession. The youngest GM right now in the NFL is 42 years old. That job is something you do not do out of college. Therefore, in 10 years I expect to be in an executive position with an NFL team. This includes an assistant to the GM or director or business or personal operations. These are good gateway jobs to my personal goal of being a GM. If I kept any of those jobs I mentioned and never advanced, that would still be a more than upper quality job for me.
When I am 30, with my job and family I plan on making sure no matter where I live, I come to at least one home Clemson football game a year. I dont think that after I graduate from here I could ever be away from Clemson football for more than a year. When I am 30, I will look back and say that these four years at Clemson where probably some of the best of my life and I will always want to come back. And going back to Clemson, which is my second home; I will also try and go back to my hometown to see my extended family at least once a year as well. I think it is important to keep family close.
In 10 years I will be working for a foootball team somewhere, have a wonderful family, and being living the good life and not be freaking out about being 30 years old.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Web 2.0
This video was very interesting. First of all the title of the video really makes you think. The Machine is Us/ing us is very much true in today's time. Technology and the machines we use today are us, we us them so much that it is weird when something is not done on a computer or other technological device anymore. Therefore, these machines use us. Right now we are all blogging about this video we watched from youtube. Technology has captured us and is using us at this very moment.
Web 2.0 affects us all, but for someone entering the workplace, especially a workplace where technology controls all forms of communication and the work-place, it is especially important for someone to be "technology smart." Web 2.0 demonstrates how technology is so powerful in the workplace and that is something that a new worker would need to understand and be able to use with consistency.
As far as people who are already working in the workplace, unless you are working for an old-fashioned company, web 2.0 has already overtaken the workplace and is expected to be used. Just about every job you have today involves technology and especially in business web 2.0 is a powerful way of staying on top in the business world, so it is important for employees to be able to use it properly.
Rethinking everything means that now that we are in 2008, everything we have ever done with technology is changing. Technology is stronger, times have changed. Just having the internet is no longer enough. Rethinking everything means becoming equipped with everything new today in order to become stronger in the business world.
Overall this video shows where technology is now, it is far beyond the internet. People blog, create websites, and much much more. And to be successful in the business world web 2.0 must become a reality for anyone who is not there yet.
Web 2.0 affects us all, but for someone entering the workplace, especially a workplace where technology controls all forms of communication and the work-place, it is especially important for someone to be "technology smart." Web 2.0 demonstrates how technology is so powerful in the workplace and that is something that a new worker would need to understand and be able to use with consistency.
As far as people who are already working in the workplace, unless you are working for an old-fashioned company, web 2.0 has already overtaken the workplace and is expected to be used. Just about every job you have today involves technology and especially in business web 2.0 is a powerful way of staying on top in the business world, so it is important for employees to be able to use it properly.
Rethinking everything means that now that we are in 2008, everything we have ever done with technology is changing. Technology is stronger, times have changed. Just having the internet is no longer enough. Rethinking everything means becoming equipped with everything new today in order to become stronger in the business world.
Overall this video shows where technology is now, it is far beyond the internet. People blog, create websites, and much much more. And to be successful in the business world web 2.0 must become a reality for anyone who is not there yet.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Ben Introduction
Hey everybody my name is Ben Newport and I am a junior at Clemson University. I am from Albemarle, NC which is about three hours away from Clemson. I am majoring in sports management and working on a business administration minor. I hope to use both of these degrees and help from this class to pursue a future in running my own football team in the NFL. I currently work for the Clemson football team as an equipment manager. I hope to use this business writing class to improve my skills before I begin any future jobs after college.
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