My Response to Dr. Burton

This is the response I wrote to the email from Professor Burton advising me on connecting and my honors prospectus.  

Professor Burton,

Thank you for your email.  After working on my third draft I’ve realized that I have really understated the importance of having a blog as a companion to the conventional travel essays.  In fact, I feel kind of stupid for making it sound like just another way of drafting, especially given my Ghana experience.  My whole project and inquiry conference presentation basically concluded that having multiple ways to represent an experience enhances the authenticity of travel documentation, and that is why I think it is so important to include my blogging in my prospectus—as a way to combat the creative writer that is prone to “romanticize through detachment and isolation” and more.  

I’m sending this third draft to you and Professor Bennion.  Hopefully these revisions have made the blogging argument more coherent.  After I post your email and this response on my blog I will link Professor Bennion to them so he can see where some of my recent changes are coming from.  I’m not sure if you two have had a chance to chat yet.  

I’ll continue on with the posts and work even harder on connecting.  So far I have not had a lot of luck with my first shot at Derrick’s advice, but I’ve found two other sites that might be helpful that I will comment on soon.  

As far as getting into discussions or arguments, how do you propose you get into those?  With the example of Matt, would I just comment on one of his posts and pose the question?  Either way, I’ll start devoting more time to reaching out and commenting on others blogs.  

This week I will also do a critique of my Ghana blog.  I assume this is using the rubric you offered as a page on your Digital Writer blog?

Thanks again,

Rachel