Blogs - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly...

So what makes a blog a good one? Well, to be honest, I don't think any blog post can be a bad one. It is composed of your own personal thoughts and opinions, correct? Well if that is the case, to call a blog bad would be to criticize someone's opinion. Therefore, we really can't just evaluate a blog. I believe the best way to judge a blog is to judge ones own thoughts while taking the post in. Does the blog form an opinion in the reader's mind? Does it pose interesting points? Honestly, I believe those previous criteria are what we should really be looking for when we evaluate someone's blog post. If you can read a post and finish it with a certain opinion, whether you agree with it or not, then it is a great post, as it provokes thought from the reader. I think it would be wrong to base judgement on conventions - spelling and such (or incorrect use of elements...for example, my use of the dash right there may be questionable, but hey, it makes me happy). A blog post is a personal thought and opinion. Let me ask you, do your dreams formulate themselves in perfect grammar? How about your thoughts, or instincts? Nope, and even if you say they do, you and I both know that that is probably only in some instances. So how exactly would one go about grading them on a scale of 1-3? Well first off, no one who writes a blog post should receive a zero, as their blog reflects their thoughts and opinions, and to award them a zero would be the equivalent of telling someone that their opinion is wrong. A work that would earn three points would contain thought provoking matter and would display a great deal of thought and effort on the writer's part. A two-worthy piece of work , in my opinion, should be interesting and thought out. A one, however, should be earned by a work that may show opinion but is not necessarily too interesting. I honestly feel that it would not make much of a difference should we as the students grade each other's blogs or should Mr. Whitten grade them. If the students were to grade each other, it would allow for a separate assignment in which the students could observe the opinions of others and reply to beliefs and ideas. However, overall I do not think it would make much of a difference in reference to which party would do the evaluating. Personally, I believe that we should be judging and evaluating blog posts based upon whether or not they provoke thought, opinion, or interest from the reader.