Sheree's writing

Final Blog

2008-01-15T05:42:00.000-08:00

One of the most valuable parts of the blogging process was always having the directions and layout of each assignment posted up for us at all times, and also having a calender of future assignments with the due dates on it. The blog was helpful in that we could view attached links to websites and several useful articles that helped us with our research and other assignments.

Using a blog helped me learn in this class this semester because it helped me to better organize my information on essays and assignments, and also the links attached to them allowed me to later refer back to them. The blogging process also allowed us to comment on other blogs as well as receive comments from our teacher and other classmates.

The blog that I am most proud of that I had written this year is my adoption introduction blog because it helped me to start off my midterm essay. My other blogs on adoption were also very helpful in writing my essay because they already summed up the articles that I was using for my essay and also had their websites attached to them.

Blogs like this can be used more effectively in a learning environment by allowing students to reach their teacher and other classmates more effectively than by using email, telephone, etc. For example, if a student is absent and needs to make up the work, he or she could easily get the missed notes or assignments from the blog by leaving a brief message.

Introduction to Adoption Essay

2008-01-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

Although, “a national survey showed that four in 10 Americans have considered adoption,” according to the National Adoption Day, with adoption laws becoming more and more strict, it is beginning to get very difficult for prospective parents to adopt new children into their family. Adoption is a very time consuming and complex process to complete. With all of the strict requirements that adoptive parents need to surpass now a day, finding the right adoption agency is very important and a major decision to make when deciding to adopt a child. In order to find the most suitable adoption agency for each adoptive couple or parent, comparing several different agencies to each other, and choosing the best form of adoption is crucial to ensure a happy and successful adoption.

I chose to start my essay with a fact in order to make the introduction more interesting so that the reader would want to continue and read on.

A question that I would like to ask about my introduction is whether or not the opening sentence works well for my essay topic and if some of the sentences in the introduction are too repetitive?

Process of Adoption

2008-01-06T18:34:00.000-08:00

The process of adoption is very long and could even take over two years to complete it, but in different situations it can vary. Once the prospective parents have decided to adopt a child, the first step that needs to be taken is finding a suitable adoption agency. From there the potential adopters can meet and talk with a social worker from the agency in which they hope to adopt from.

If the adopters are accepted by the agency, they then will proceed with the application and began a home study assessment. This means that an assigned social worker will make several visits to the adopters’ home, and ask them about their family background, own childhood, and present condition of their everyday lives. The social worker will also talk any children or any other members of the family. The home study assessment alone can take several months to complete and is often very demanding.

The prospective adopters are required to have a medical examination, and then give the adoption a full report with their own and family’s health history. This allows the agency’s medical advisor to determine if there are any know health issues that would make the prospective parents unable to care for an adopted child.

Once the home study report is completed it then gets evaluated by an adoption panel and the agency’s decision maker. The adoption panel is a group of people who help decide whether or not the prospective parents are approved to adopt, and if so which particular child would be right for the adoptive parents. The panel’s recommendation is later reviewed by the agency’s decision maker for the final decision to be made.

Welcoming Adoption Services

2007-12-20T19:19:00.000-08:00

Although several adoption agencies have many requirements for the adoptive parents, there are also some that are very open and welcoming to people hoping to adopt and require very little of them.

At Adoption Services, it does not matter whether the people looking to adopt are single or married. The age, income, religion, and number of children are also not very relevant or important for adopting a child at this agency. For this agency, the only requirement is for the person or couple hoping to adopt is to provide a loving home and environment for the adopted child.

The Adoption Services helps orphans find loving parents from all over the world. This agency is open to placing children not only to married couples, but also divorced, single, and newlyweds looking to adopt. They also allow adoptions to parents, who work full- time. Children are not only placed with U.S. citizens, but also with people from other countries as well.

Requirements for a Chinese Adoption Agency

2007-12-20T05:51:00.000-08:00

When prospective parents are looking to adopt a child, one of the first decisions that they have to make is whether to adopt a child nationally or internationally and choosing a suitable adoption agency that is right for them. Every adoption agency is different and some may require more expectations of the adoptive parents then others.

For example, at Living Hope Adoption Agency, a Chinese Adoption Agency located near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the requirements for adopting a child are more strict then most agencies and are more limited to the people who they accept.

The first requirement of this adoption agency is that only married couples are eligible to adopt from them. Each person must also be between 30 and 50 years old, and must make a joined income of $30,000 minimum for a family of three, including the adopted child. The couple must be married for at least two years in order to adopt a child, but must be married for at least five years if either has been previously been divorced. Each spouse is also not permitted more then two divorces. The couple must be in good health, and have a body mass index of less than 40. Lastly, at least one of the spouses must be a U.S. resident in order to adopt from this agency.

Requirements and Restrictions of Adoption

2007-12-18T05:49:00.000-08:00

When it comes to international adoption there are many requirements that the potential adoptive parents must meet depending on the country from which the child is from. The most common factors that are considered when looking to adopt a child are age, income, amount of children already living in the home, number of years marriage of the hopeful adoptive parents. Also, if the person wanting to adopt is single, gender starts to become another important deciding factor in the process.

According to adoption.com, there are several countries that also have a few more unusual requirements for adopting children. For example, “If you want to adopt from Korea, you cannot weigh more than 30% over the normal weight for your height when you work with certain agencies.” Another odd requirement for adopting a child, “…from Indonesia, a two year in-country residency before an application will be considered, and a belief in God are required.”

With the all of the requirements and restrictions that are involved with adoption, people hoping to adopt internationally need to understand and become aware of the laws and regulations that go along with each individual country, in order to choose the best fit for them during the adoption process.

Adoption Essay

2007-12-12T17:48:00.000-08:00

For my midterm research essay I am going to be writing about adoption. In my essay I will be discussing the process of adoption and how it takes place. I will also be discussing the requirements for adopting a child and if the requirements are reasonable and fair or not. I decided to do this topic because it will be interesting to learn more about it and the process and requirements that go along with it.

I chose my topic from the list of Hot Topics and used this link to help me find articles related to adoption. One helpful website that I used for this research essay was adoption.com. This site helped me to better understand the requirements and restrictions of adopting a child. It also was informative in explaining the different types of adoption, such as national and international adoption.

This essay would most likely be aimed at prospective parents hoping to adopt a child and wanting to learn more about the different requirements of adoption to see how eligible they are for adopting a child.

Traveling in Cars vs. Airplanes

2007-12-02T18:37:00.000-08:00

For my comparative essay I am going to be explaining the similarities and differences of traveling in a car and traveling on a plane. This essay will help someone to decide whether to drive in a car or to take a plane to their destination, when considering traveling a long distance. Though each type of transportation has its benefits, each also has many flaws.

For this essay I will be using the flip- flop method of writing to compare my two topics. The flip- flop method is not only more practical to use so that the reader does not forget the previous explanations described in each paragraph, but it much easier to describe things when you are able to go back and forth in the same paragraph, as appose to going back and forth in different paragraphs, such as in the block method.

One way to help get started in writing this essay is to set up a Venn diagram. While the differences of the two topics should be listed on the outer circles, the similarities should be listed in the central overlapping circles. For an example of how to set up a Venn diagram and for more ideas on writing a comparative essay, visit: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/comparison_contrast.html .

What is a Comparison Essay?

2007-11-29T18:23:00.000-08:00

In class, we learned about different ways to set up a comparison essay. One way is the block method, which is done by having all of the information on the first topic presented, and then having all information of the second topic. Another way that we learned was called the flip- flop method. In this method, you first write about one specific idea about your topic and then write about another specific idea. It is important to continually connect and compare corresponding ideas.

We have also read two articles that are examples of comparison essays in class. The first one called, "Brothers, Bad Blood and the Blackwater Tangle," was a story about two brothers who were involved with the Blackwater scandle. The security contractor was accused of killing 17 Iraqis in Baghdad, while guarding a State Department convoy.

The second article that we have read was called, "Battle of the Beds: Suave S.U.V.’s With Pickup Lines." This essay compared the strengths and weaknesses of the Ford Explorer Sport Trac to the Chevrolet Avalanche. While the Explorer Sport Trac is smaller and less expensive than the Chevrolet Avalanche, the Sport Trac comes with a very small cargo bed. And even though the Chevrolet Avalanche can be opened up from the back of the cab to extend its cargo- carrying capacity, it takes away the two back seats, making the vehicle unsecure.

Both of these essays were set up very differently. While the article about the two brothers did not have a particular writing style, the one comparing the pick- up trucks followed more of the block method.

I plan to use this information to help me with my essay because after seeing several examples of different writting styles used I can pick one that works the best for me.

Cell Phone Jammers

2007-11-12T21:51:00.000-08:00

In the New York Times, the article describing Jammers used to block out cell phone signals was interesting and something that I had never heard of before. Even though these cell phone devices are illegal in the United States, several are still shipped here over seas. I think that cell phone jammers are irresponsible and not only cut off a single person’s cell phone signal, but any others in a 30 ft. radius.

Jamming cell phones and cutting off people’s single could also be very dangerous in emergency situations. For example, as mentioned in the article, if a criminal obtains a cell jammer he could use it to stop someone from communicating in a crisis.

What is a blog?

2007-11-06T18:33:00.000-08:00

A blog is an informal personal memo, and could be about anything you want. It could be used to post your thoughts and ideas, or even just pictures. It could also be used for school, as a personal diary, a way of communication, or just for fun. Blogging is a way to have different people from all over the world read what you have to say and leave you comments and responses.

From the websites that I visited, there were many examples of different types of blogs. Most of them were made up of short concise paragraphs and some even included pictures. Each website was set up in its own unique way with different fonts and backgrounds, and all of them were based on a different topic. One website that I visited included different tips for life, such as 10 Effective Ways to Increase Your Energy Levels. This website is very interesting and gives useful advice that can be used throughout everyday life such as learning new ways to increase your enery.

2007-10-30T22:25:00.000-07:00

For the Love of the Run

It does not seem very long ago that I had my first day of cross country practice and the entire team met by the track. It was my freshman year, and I had not run more than a mile before that day. It was very hot and humid, and as we waited for more people to arrive, I noticed that there were only nine girls but about forty guys. Soon after, we started our warm up and then had to run a timed mile on the track. After completing the workout I felt tired and nauseous, and shortly discovered that we would be going on another run. I think I lasted for another mile and a half or so before I had to stop and catch my breath. Running cross country was much more difficult then I could ever have imagined.

In my intro I described my very first day of cross country practice. I tried to describe this scene with some detail and description. It is still in progress and needs some more revision and work done.

2007-10-24T07:54:00.001-07:00

What makes a college essay challenging is the fact that it has to be original, and stand out among the others to the admission officer. Even thought standardized test scores and grades are of major importance, the college essay shows more about your character and personality. It also should not be one that is written only once, but should be revised over and over again. This essay should tell a story that grabs the readers attention, and makes them want to read more.