Now I will preach. Tell me later if I'm practicing!

In my last blog, I discussed some of the merits of my fellow English 225 classmates blogs. However, rather than just appreciating their blogs, it's time to learn from them! How can I improve my own blogs?
First off, I think that one way to improve my blogs would be to try to be more creative with my titles. I really do try my best to make my titles seem interesting and draw in the reader, but sometimes they fall flat. Rather than just saying what I am going to write about, perhaps I should try to put funny quotes or phrases, or even something more serious in the titles.

Additionally, I think that some of the time, my titles get too long and offer too much information. For instance, in my blog “Low-income schools + many students - motivated Teachers = A need for someone like you” I tried to incorporate visuals. I thought my title was clever, and obviously it did bring in some readers (thanks Payel for your input!), I think it may have been a little bit on the long side. Perhaps in some cases I should even put just one or two words that are particularly controversial or funny, or stand out in some other way; that way, the reader will be interested, and will need to actually read the blog, not just the title, to know where the blog will be going.

Be succinct! Oh, this is a problem I don’t know if I will ever be able to overcome. I try really hard to be straight to the point, but I know I often am not. I do feel that it is important to explain my reasoning and the ways in which I interpret something because others may not see the concept the same way and will not understand my logic. But, being long winded can keep some readers from starting to read the article, or once they have started, they may stop reading. I know that my schedule can often get hectic, and although I may find someone’s blog title and first paragraph interesting, I may only skim the rest of the blog if I don’t have the time to commit to reading it in depth. Therefore, I will try to be a little more condensed so that others who are turned off by the length of my blog will be more likely to read it.
And, if I don’t make my overall blogs shorter, I will try to at least break them into shorter paragraphs to keep the mind from wandering!

Use visuals, James! I think the blog that I enjoyed writing the most, and the one that perhaps also had the most impact, was the one in which I used visuals from Teach for America and other sources. Visuals can attract the audience, or they can make their own statements, sometimes even in closing the argument. As they say, a pic is worth a thousand words...often, it’s worth much more! Although I can throw statistics at my readers until the cows come home (or yes, I did use that phrase, lol), it’s more likely they will remember the visuals at the end of the day.

Who are you? OK, this will be the last improvement I will mention. In reading Matt’s and Lauren’s blogs, I didn’t even have to actually know them outside of the class to know their personalities: I could “see” them just by reading their writing. Their comedic effects, short sentences, bold arguments, and controversial issues helped me know who they were. I often think of writing this blog as one thing: an assignment. In forgetting to have a little fun with the blog, I think I often lose my voice, and I will try to bring more of who I am and what I am feeling to my blog, whether that be my current feelings of despair (3 exams next week, ugh!) or my fun loving, sarcastic personality.

Thanks for reading! Make sure you keep me in line in future blogs…if I’m too long winded or dry, feel free to tell me!