What to do?

So, when a semester comes to an end, what is one supposed to do with a blog?  One of my friends suggested that I keep it updated, using certain events to do so.  The first one, then, was suggested by one of these friends.  It is as follows:

HELLO KITTY IS DEAD

Hello Kitty, the beloved Japanese cartoon creation, was found dead in the dorm room of Erin Simmons on Wednesday, December 10th, at 9 o'clock in the evening.  While her death is still under investigation, it is believed that Hello Kitty succumbed to a dead battery.  Due to her owner being at college and unsure of which replacement to purchase, Hello Kitty passed away.  A memorial service is scheduled to take place at the Sanrio store located in Crabtree Valley Mall, Raleigh, North Carolina, on Tuesday, December 15.  The service will begin at 1 pm and end at 3.  Flowers may be sent care of Erin Simmons to her house in South Carolina.  

Oh, and the Hello Kitty written about was from a watch...with a dead battery...observe...

Erin is quite distraught.  Any attempt at lessening this grief is greatly welcomed.  Thank you.  

UPDATE

There has been an update to the memorial service date and time.  The service is scheduled to take place on January 11th, at the Target in Morgantown, West Virginia.  The change has come due to friends of the deceased being unable to attend the service in North Carolina.  We apologize for any inconvenience.  Thank you.

Draftingness! Ahhh!

Today=draft workshop

Thursday=presentation

Draft workshop questions and course evaluations=Thursday

Topics for Oral Presentation

What is your Research Question and why did it interest you?

Who do you study?

What research methods did you use?

--data collection methods

--how did you analyze your data?

What did you learn?  

How did you answer your research question?

(one interesting example, supporting piece of evidence)

FINAL DRAFT=DUE MONDAY, DECEMBER 8TH, BY 1 PM!

Sheet of paper with comments is on ecampus, as well.  

The snow doth melt...ah, such great happ--er--sadness...

No class on Thursday!  Group meetings...twenty-ish minutes...

329 Colson=where we shall be meeting!  I'm meeting at 1:05-1:25 on Thursday.

Don't have to bring any work; bring questions, bring concerns

Talk about where you are in your progress, and about the work you'll have to do to make more progress...

Cancel reading for Thursday.  No more readings to do; we come back and do the draft workshop.

If intimidated by the creative example we read on Thursday, think more of Jack Selzer's writing.

Style: Obama speech

Grand, Middle, Plain style:

types of words chosen--range, grand/elevated------->plain/everyday

kinds of ideas discussed--range, grand/significant------>plain/everyday

structures/figures of speech--highly stylized------->straightforward "plain"

where would we place this speech/parts of this speech in the different categories:

Doesn't use too much "grand" speech, structure of sentences was pretty complicated

Diction: puts in some grand speech, strong/bigger words, "particularly divisive turn", he's very educated, talking to those who are educated in the sense that they know what's going on; "flowery" speech

Middle to Grand speech style; 

significant, weighty topics

Significance!  

Grand, lots of people would understand it

Middle, fewer people, middle ground

Plain, 

Snow? It's gorgeous!

This be from pages 364 and 365 of the ARC:

1) Trope!  No, not what you were thinking it was...

Onomatopoeia:

A word using this comes about by sounding like what it describes; words can be like "crash" or "mutter".  One word used most often with the current weather is "brrr"...my mother absolutely hates this "word" as she believes that no one actually says that without having first been exposed to the word in print.

Antonomasia:

This is a nickname for something/someone.  In my Spanish class today, there was a presentation given about the animosity between Hugo Chavez and George W. Bush.  In the video clip, Chavez calls President Bush, "Mr. Danger".  Chavez uses Antonomasia to explain how he believes Bush wants to be seen.

Metonymy:

An altered name; most recently, I observed a friend of mine expressing love for 221.  By doing this, my friend was not expressing love for the number, but rather for the class and the material being taught.  For a literal thinker, this was fair game...

Periphrasis:

Wonder what this could be!?  There are times when I'm writing a paper that has to meet a certain page requirement where I will use this tactic to finish my assignment.  Being too wordy, though, is not always a good thing.  I might get the paper done, but receive a comment from the teacher about "the paper is too wordy.  You could have cut out about half of that and added more important information".

Hyperbaton:

This type of trope is, when used in settings with friends who do not hit too hard,  fun to mess around with.  Guess what I just did...

Hyperbole:

"An elegant straining of the truth", I could not have expressed it better; anableat.

Today! This day...is a day...of today...

Readings due for Thursday--packet

What were ancients thinking about in arranging texts?

Arrangements should be based on the argument sections...for example, we want to shape the text in a certain way if we have a hostile audience (ideally)

writer triangle...static triangle, dynamic relationships amongst the triangle members...

Cicero's 6-part division for discourse

1) exordim: introduction, insinuation

2) narratio: statement of issue

3) partitio: divide the issue into its major parts

4) Confirmation: supporting arguments (topic sentence, evidence, examples, analysis)

5) Refutation: anticipating and responding to objections

6) Peroratio: conclusion

Thus, there are six

How are these evidenced in the article by Selzer...with words...

Triangulation with examples to support your analysis

Refutation!  It must happen for the civilization to survive!  Ahhhhh!

A storm in the brain...a rain storm might flood my brain, thus making it hard to think around all the water...

Your rhetorical situation:

Audience, writer, topic...what is each one, and what is the relationship between them?

Who are you writing for?  What is their understanding of the specific topic?

I think, since this is a free write, that I will make up a rhetorical situation...but it should probably be about my project...so...

The audience for my topic is the teacher, who will comment and grade the assignment.  The audience is also the person I'm writing about.  Without said person, I would not have a topic.  The writer, being me, is composing the account in order to learn more about he topic.  The person being studied is a professional, who, because of his status, is very knowledgeable about the topic.  The audience already has a view on the topic, but will listen to the suggestions set out in the writing.  Thus, freewriting...is...really hard to do...one more minute...well, this situation is important, as it can explain how to free write.

Thursday work! Last Thursday, apparently...secondary sources!

The reports do not need to be "laden" with secondary sources; but sometimes they are quite helpful.  

Brainstorm!

Homework is enhanced by sacred harp singing...

Yes, it is, actually...anyways, to homework!

p. 318

2) There are many examples of each; insinuations, narrative, partitions, and perorations are parts of almost every single speech I read for this.  I think that the most common aspect of the speeches I read was narrative.  As they were mainly political speeches, much of the speech needed to be about the candidate, and what the candidate went through up to that point in time.  Each one had insinuations, though some were made in different ways.  Partitions were given, albeit very carefully so as not to seem like begging, and perorations were a bit harder to come by.  When I first started reading the speeches, it was hardest to pick out the perorations, so I would categorize them as being the least used amongst the others.

3) Her choices in arranging her arguments make sense only to the point that they make sense while reading them.  There are a few items she mention that are debatable when looked over after the read-through.  These items make it difficult to agree with her completely about her topic.  She would definitely have made the letter sound different if it was solely directed at the school; but this was going out to more than just the school, thus the need for a different style of writing.  She would most likely assume that the alumni would understand more of what she wrote about, than, say, a high school senior who has no connection with Barnard school.  This would include a different greeting, as she would not begin a letter to graduates of Barnard without saying hello.  If written as a letter in the alumni newsletter, it would be less formal, and might even give more details as to the instances where she was meeting with students and parents.  These are all possible ideas for the exordium.

And class is important, too...

A day in class...

This be the class...this...

Seen

What does Seen and Nick's writing process look like?  (composing process)

Two main points I would want to make...

Step #1--create your thesis (how would you answer that in one sentence?)

Mentoring relationship>collaboration

We see this whole relationship as one where Seen mentors Nick; this thought comes about because Nick has no say in the collaboration.  He interjects comments and suggestions, but Seen does not make any effort to use them.  

One sentence!!! (posted on the 301 site)

The joint work which we see between Seen and Nick is not a collaboration, but an example of mentoring and apprenticeship, therefore the process is one that is a binary of control and servitude/mentorship.

Step #2--locate a "moment", re-gather the data/evidence, and then describe what happened in "thick detail"

Moment--beginning of the piece when Seen establishes his role as the mentor in the relationship.  Nick accepts Seen's decisions, even though they mean Nick will not be taking a leading role in the composition of the piece.  Nick goes from explaining how the piece should look, to simply asking Seen questions about how it should look.  By changing to asking questions, Nick has accepted the fact that Seen has the final decision.

From the 301 blog:

Immediately, just as the creation process is beginning, there is discussion between Seen and Nick concerning the the image and where/how it will be created. Nick asserts his opinion, but Seen dismisses it out of hand, relegating Nick to a completely subordinate role. Nick accepts this role, and it guides the rest of the creation process, creating the mentor/student relationship that drives the roles of both men from beginning to end.

Step #3--Interpret the data, make sense of it for readers

"I think that we're starting it too low."--Nick

"No, it will be perfect, believe me. Believe me."--Seen

These quotes show the relationship between the two as one where Seen is in charge, with Nick taking on the role of the lowly apprentice.  This is of note because it highlights the fact that this is a mentor/apprentice relationship...

From 301 blog:

Step #3: Interpret the data, make sense of it for readers-- what do you want us to notice?

Given all the rhetoric and the roles each man accepts, this scene is not at all a collaboration, and is much more of a servant/master relationship. Throughout the scene, Seen never touches a spray can himself, leaving all the work to Nick despite the fact that he is in total creative control. In order to understand or interpret anything about this "collaboration" one must first understand through what sort of lens to interpret the information. In this case, one must first understand that Seen is in complete control of Nick beginning to end, and that Nick is little more than a voiceless robot obeying orders.

Also. Anableat.

Step #4--Is there something in here that confirms/supports our own interpretation of data? Is there something that denies it?  Identify "testimony" that confirms our analysis.

The testimony in support of and confirmation of our analysis is the discussions between Nick and Seen.  In these discussions, Nick explains what he is trying to do. Seen then interjects "just trust me/believe me", never really explaining why he is shooting down the other explanations.  

Step #5--explain the significance of this testimony for your own argument

In his 1988 analysis of graffiti writers, Richard Lachmann reaches a similar conclusion about this mentoring/apprentice relationship

Deliver Testimony

Anableat.

Five minutes!  Anableat...

Step #6--like we said...anableat.

Review the description and analysis, and loop back to create a topic sentence that signals to the readers the direction in which you're going to go. This topic sentence should be deliver one of your major supporting reasons underpinnning the thesis.

RESOURCES!!!  For testimony...

on Tuesday! ! 

AHHHH!!!

I thought the title fitting.  Anyways...I have another paper I have to write.  I just finished the progress report for this class, and now I'm doing the homework, mainly to prove that I am still capable of doing it.  Yeah, so here goes...

P. 283, 2 and 4

2) Evidence of the senses--taste, touch, hearing, sight, smell--sometimes indisputable.  Instances where I have found them unreliable?  There have been several times that my mother has cooked a meal where the food looked quite atrocious.  This led to me thinking that, because it looked horrible, it would taste horrible, too.  Also, this reminds me of my little sister, after she was just born.  She looked so little, smelled so interesting, and sounded so loud that it was a bit much to take in.  This resulted in me having very strong opinions about her for several years.  But, to get more focused, there have been times when I have been in situations where hearing something else bettered the situation.  Just think about a time when you have knocked something off a table.  We all have, and are all shocked when the item initially falls.  The sound it makes when contact is made with the floor results in us grimacing, crying, or jumping for joy (carefully around the object, that is).  But just because we hear a loud crashing noise does not mean the item is completely useless.  How do you know that the TV was not turned on at the exact same time...it's plausible...a lil'...  And what about politics?  We can hear tons of things, but that doesn't mean it's reliable!  I could keep going, but I need to finish the question.  No, I do not think that empirical evidence is convincing.  Yes, it can have it's convincing moments, but not all the time.  Everything that looks nice is not nice.  Experience tells us this.  I accept the ancients' skepticism in the empirical evidence department, mainly because such evidence can easily be proven wrong.  Now, if the person chooses not to believe it...that's a whole other blog post...

4) Ah!  Finally a question that can be answered on a sheet of paper that is not electronic.  (I see a blog as a sheet of paper where you can easily check spelling mistakes and the words look pretty...oh, yeah...other people can easily read it, blah blah blah...)  

Another paper awaits me, so I must away!

Well, where is she?

I'm right here!  Well, not actually, but I hope you get what I mean.  So, last week sorta got away from me.  Papers coming due and classes preventing the finish of said papers made up my week.  And homework for this class would be good to do.  I will be doing it either in smaller sections, or in large portions, in order to get it all done before Tuesday and Thursday.  And no class Tuesday!  Just wanted to remind myself of that...

Gray days are lovely days...

Today!  I'm so glad I didn't skip...

Grayness=Goodness

Progress report: goal/purpose: persuade me (project manager) that you have a clear vision for project and have a handle on it; to achieve this goal-->be specific in describing accomplishments

"specific"=I gathered these documents and what you did when analyzing those, be specific/not general

Be specific on things you've done, and things that you need to do.  Let him know that you have a handle on all the things that will go into making this project complete.  Describe in specific detail.  Be persuasive.  

Organizational/sections--every part has a purpose

Roman Numeralize!

Introduction: give a summary statement=are you on track, what will you do to get on track; short statement so he knows how things are going--

1) Project overview

2) Summary statement about progress

Body sections: 

1) Work completed

can have subcategories that talk about the types of work; talk about gathering texts, interviewing, others... Observation/interviews/collection of texts and ANALYZING the text; break it up by types of work or go chronologically; be specific when I can

2) Work remaining

similar organizational structure down here; drafting and writing the documents; refer back to plan of work in the proposal; showing a draft to the person you are studying

In 1 or 2, talk about problems I've had to this point; persuasive point=show him that there is a strategy to get through the problems; don't complain, show you know what you are going to do

Final section=a conclusion!

Pull from summary statement; think about overall goal, say where you are, tell if you're behind/ahead of schedule, how you're going to work; summarize where you are, and where you're going; you're strategy

Look on ecampus for examples of progress reports--look today, he'll put them up with comments--due date has been pushed back to November 6th.  No class on Election day!  November 4th. 

Bookness!

Reflect on readings for definitions of these terms: 

Premise: this is what you start out with, this is the basis for all your research/analysis of material; without this, you cannot continue (?)

Probability: anything can happen!  this is different from plausibility in that something plausible is probable... thank you, dictionaries...

"Local" within the realm of rhetoric deals with...

Premise: a statement that's assumed before an idea is explored; as someone's building an argument, a premise is an unstated assumption on which the argument is grounded; logical premise behind it; 

Probability: common ideas/interests that people share; dealing with issues of "likelihood", conclusion; draw a parallel to statements about human behavior

Deductive Reasoning: movement from general principles (class of items) to specific cases; if premises (assumptions/common beliefs) are true, then conclusion about specific case is true

Inductive Reasoning: movement from specific cases/examples to general principles

Enthymeme!  assumption is unstated in argument! rhetorical argument founded on assumptions that remain unstated

piece back together the enthymeme; the unstated items... we move backwards--

"If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit" 

MAJOR premise: evidence doesn't fit the defendant, then you must acquit the defendant (grounded in assumption in the legal community)

MINOR premise: the glove is evidence

MINOR premise: the glove doesn't fit the defendant

SW: "Where would we be in this class without youtube?"

Youtube video=Holiday Inn Express - Fainter 

"Did anyone stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?"

"I'm a doctor."

(more emphatically) "Did anyone stay..."

Build up enthymeme: 

MAJOR premise: Smart people are the best people to handle tough, difficult situations (in general)

MINOR premise: People who stay at a HIE are smart (General class=smart people)

Statement: "We need someone who stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night to help this man"

Complete this questionnaire because it is your duty as a teacher to address the writing needs of your students.

Enthymemes...hmm?

Enthymemes: These are a lot like syllogisms, but used in rhetoric, and not in scientific circles. "The premises used in construction rhetorical proofs differ from those used in dialectic and science only in the degree of certainty we can attach to them...Rhetors ordinarily use some widely held community belief as the major premise of their argument. Then they apply that premise to the particular case in which they are interested."

So...homework question number 3, p. 186:

Popular slogans are conclusions or premises of enthymemes, as stated in the book.  "Elvis has left the building"=part of a long argument whose other premises are never stated...I must articulate them...

Originally, the phrase was used to alert concert-goers of Elvis' departure from the premises, thus dashing their hopes of an encore performance.  Then, it was thrown into popular culture through lps and other records.  It then made its way into movies and such popular media, eventually being turned into a fairly common statement used in TV shows.  

The meaning now is basically "the show is over, go home".

I'm not sure exactly how to start this, but anyways...

X=...

Y is an example/reason of/for X

Therefore, it follows that Z

I will use this statement to mean that the show is over (show being anything from TV to live event).  

The show is over.

The main person in the show is no longer here, and there is nothing else to see.

Please leave.

Thus, Elvis has left the building.

Gray day = happy day

Types of analyzing data:

1. Faigley's social perspective
   
2. Intertextuality (Bazerman/Selzer): p. 88 wwd; 1) direct quotation, 2) indirect quotation, 3) mentioning another document, 4) commenting on another text, 5) using recognizable phrasing; categories of writing we see
   
3. "Tracing writing process" (Prior): A) analyzing texts: same btw drafts, slightly revised, added, [deleted]; B) Thinking Aloud -->differentiating the different types of comments
   
4. Influence of Workplace Culture on Writing/revising (editorial comments)
   
5. Analyzing genres: Prominent Linguistic Features (uses active verbs, presents concrete details), Rhetorical features ( what is person doing to make argument in the progress report?), Organizational Features (chronological order)
6. Speaking/writing Connection
   
7. Rhetorical Theories: definitions/concepts can give as lenses to analyze what's happening in texts
   
8. Coding data:reading all the collected data, looking for patterns, themes, similarities/differences to emerge
   

How do these work as a way of analyzing data that we collect/difference b/t this and analyzing throughout.

Freewrite: how will I gather data?  try to think specifically...how might I try to start making sense of things?

Going one by one through the types of analyses aforemetioned, the following is how I will use that to enable me to analyze the documents and such:

begin by observing the writer writing a document.  have him explain the thoughts that go through his head while writing, while taking an inventory of what he does/uses to help him get the writing done.  once that is completed, or when he comes to a stopping place (but will add more later), ask him questions about why he chose certain words/phrases.  ask about the tone of the document, as well as the level of understanding needed to read the document and take out meaning (i.e. does the person reading the document at the other end need to be an expert in that field, or is it fine for a novice to read?).  continue to ask him questions about why he chose certain words over others.  then, observe the correcting/continuation of the document.  when that is finished, begin the questions again...

Triangulation: As you analyze data from one source, consider/analyze data you've collected from another source--does it confirm, challenge, complicate your initial analysis?

A day with Gray turns happy again!

Todayness!

Ideology: A set of beliefs, or ideas, that help a person shape/understand the world; feminism, capitalism, conservatism/liberalism, communism, humanism (?), environmentalism, liberalism...

Common Topics: conjecture, degree, possibility; specific procedures/set of questions for generating arguments (heuristics: generating ideas/topics/arguments)

Commonplace: something people can take "comfort" in; "taken for granted", "unstated"; "vague principles/myths/traditional values"; faith in a "vaguely defined God" guides the nation, patriotism, loyalty, national flag/anthem/symbols, frontier; often unstated ideas, statements that help to shape an ideology; unstated premises that help to construct an ideology

Zinn, p. 131--American ideology, commonplaces are frequently resorted to in popular rhetoric; they provide the terms within which American discourse works

Hirsch--how does he think, as opposed to Zinn

Specifics from the text: MANY!

Ideologic--"main street, not wall street"; how do they work?  what are they? ideologic (ideas)--arguments that are made by stringing together commonplaces--p. 141

"Keep Austin Weird"--commonplace is leftist movement

1) An"ideal" city is a "weird" city//the same is boring

2) A weird city has lots of different people, different shots, different ideas, different cultures, heterogeneous=weird city

3) Austin is a weird city

4) Homogeneity is not weird

5) Box stores corporations promote homogeneity

6) Government should promote what is unique in a city rather than what is "the same"

This is the "Keep Austin Weird" movement more than anything else

7) moves it into more specific terms: Austin policy should keep local stores here rather than inviting in corporations

"Guns don't kill people, people kill people"

1) Guns are weapons that claim many lives, due to bullets

2) Guns are incapable of free-will and/or action by themselves

3) Guns are only deadly when initiated by a person at a person

4) Guns are not a major contributing factor to violence at large unless they are wielded by people

5) Guns should not be  the focus of legislation

6) Violent offenders who use guns in the wrong way should be the focus of legislation

Wallsaver widget...

Understandingness...

Something I want to understand better...that is hard...there are many things I don't understand, and just choosing one will be hard...

Let's see...

I would really like to know if the following theory will ever happen/could be true: 

Electronic books will eventually replace paper books

As a person who once aspired to become a librarian/book restorer, I feel quite strongly about this topic.  Using Aristotle's Common Topics argument, though, I will discover the answer, hopefully, in this quandary.  

Common Topics:

1) Whether a thing has (or has not) occurred or will (or will not) occur--conjecture

2) Whether a thing is greater or smaller than another thing--degree

3) What is (and is not) possible--possibility

This be the part where I go through and ask questions/explain items...fun!

1) Paper books are still around, so they have not been forgotten; there are electronic devices, like Kindles, that allow the owner to download books and highlight items; in this ever-developing society, electronic books could still take over paper books.  

2) I believe that paper books are greater than electronic books because you can have the book in front of you, you can see how the writer intended it (not many writers compose specifically for electronic media; ebooks are normally taken from books that were in print on paper before the electronic form).  There are many people, though, who prefer electronic books.  They believe that it is easier to use one thing and have many books on it, instead of having to lug around huge books.  I understand that, but if we completely get rid of it, think of how much history we will be getting rid of!  Thanks Gutenberg, but we didn't need you after all!

3) It is very possible that ebooks will take over the paper books due to the amount of people that use electronic devices.  I have several friends who only listen to audiobooks; they never open a book unless directed to do so for school.  This greatly saddens me; when you have your own copy of a book, you can read at your own pace.  You can put the book down and wait until you understand so you can continue.  When it is an audiobook, though, you have to pause it and you normally lose your place.  But back to ebooks...because they can be accessed from many different places on an electronic device people already own, it is very possible that they will take over the book business.  

There are several more ways in which I can argue for/against ebooks.  I will save that for another time...I was about to say that people are to trees as frogs are to bugs, but the analogy didn't work...so...onward to class!

A day that must needs Gray!

The book?!

Terminology:

Common topics--under inventions

Common Topics--conjecture, greater/lesser (degree), what's possible, set of questions that we can ask and answer in order to begin generating arguments on any topic/in any situation (this is what makes it "common"); special (meaning "specific") topics, make sense in certain topics and fields; questions of conjecture, degree (greater/lesser), possibility,

1) Whether a thing has or has not occurred or will or will not occur: what exists? what doesn't exist? how were things in the past? how will things be in the future? no sort of objective statement;

2) Whether a thing is greater or smaller than another thing: lesser/greater degree; goodness, justness, honor, expediency (insert key terms); what is the most expedient?  what is the most just?

3) What is and is not possible: (present/future) what is possible? (present/future) what can we expect to happen? (past) what is impossible? 

Trying to generate as many arguments as possible in the specific context.  

Common Places:

Ideology!  Shape how you see the world!  Cannot get rid of...helps the persons interpret...

beliefs, attitudes, values, ways of thinking/viewing the world that define a group

Communism, capitalism, feminism, environmentalism, conservatism/liberalism

protecting/preserving families; strengthening communities; think of them as political bumper stickers (plastered all over your car, commonplaces that help to create your ideology)

Statements that circulate in ideologies

Look at his blog...it has links to what we discussed in class...

p. 135

read back through the chapter, think about McC argument...

Paperses!

In case you were wondering, I do make up my own titles for these posts. I don't normally pick words that many people know, but I do try pronouncing them before I type them. If you enjoy the spellings, imagine someone actually sitting and pronouncing it. :)

Anyways! Newspapers!

The main items being debated in the "American public sphere" are the election and the stock-market. These two topics concern all Americans, though the stock-market, nowadays, only concerns certain people. The ways in which the media portray the trials occurring in the US greatly affect the way in which American view their own country. If the media says we are all going to be bankrupted by the failing economy, the public will generally agree. This brings up the topic of "ideological bias". This means, simply, that the certain slant written into the newspapers and magazines is one proposing values, and, in some cases, stating values not felt by the society as a whole.
The ideological bias felt by my hometown newspaper is one that the rest of the state does not share. To protect the citizens of said city, I will not say the city. So...there... The liberal/conservative bias currently felt in America affects the ideology of everyone because, as can be seen from the current presidential debates, not everyone thinks the same way. The ideological biases felt by the people in the book, even, are not the same.
Some ideological biases will be supported, and some will not. This is simple logic. Not everyone agrees on the same issues, and those that do agree on the same issues have various degrees of agreement. This will always be the case, and most newspapers will pull on the biases felt by the larger population. And no matter how hard people protest, this will continue to be the case.

Onward to class!

4 points toward an abstract!

The following is a (very) rough draft of an abstract for the "undergraduate research poster competition" at the capitol.  

First, how to write and abstract: 1) Motivation/problem statement, 2) Methods/procedure/approach, 3) Results/findings/product, 4) Conclusion/implications.

Using these four points, I can construct an abstract.  I will need to make up a few points for my results and conclusions, but this should be clear, as I have not yet finished the product.

Abstract:

The process of writing, editing, and completing a document seem very basic and straightforward, but there is much more that goes into the writing process.  Many items, for example, are not thought of as part of "the writing process", but they contribute to the whole as much as the topic itself.  By shadowing an editor, asking him questions, and collecting documents he has written/edited, I am able to see this process more clearly.  The data collection methods used help this researcher answer different types of questions.  By asking open-ended questions, I am able to get the editor talking about a certain method he used.  By asking a very general question, we might engage in a discourse which will lead to an important question/answer.  As this project is not yet complete, I can only hypothesize about my findings.  I hope to find ways in which the editor uses the space around him to help him in his writing process.  This can be by using a computer with a wireless keyboard in order for him to sit back in his chair and type, without feeling tied down to the desk.  By observing his interactions with his workspace, this researcher will be able to answer questions on how the placement of the computer desktop and the lighting in the room contribute to the amount of work being done in the work space.  I might come to the discovery that this editor completes more work at home because of less distraction and more quiet.  By answering these questions using several methods of research, I will be able to help other writers in the same field better use their work area.  Since I myself am trying to go into the field I am researching, this project will help me in my future career.

My thoughts on the abstract at present:

The most important thing for me to do to better enhance this abstract is to finish the project. By doing this, I will have come to a conclusion and be able to lead the reader along through the abstract to the findings I will have discovered by then.  By writing this now, when the project is still in its initial stage, I do not know enough information to write my findings.

A day so sad turned Gray!

Today!

Three types of interviews:

semi-structured--purpose: gaining insight into writer's motivations, values, background, approach to the writing process

what are some of your unique/important items in your writing?

discourse-based--

stimulated elicitation--prop; purpose: gaining insight on writer's thinking/problem--solving strategies; learning about writer's decision making

Cover-letter writer--more of a class influence

What influence did the class discussions and free-writes have on your writing?  

In what ways did you apply the class knowledge (knowledge you gained from class) to the writing of the letter?

(What was the most important item you've brought to your cover letter? Differences you know between your first and last drafts? What do you do when you don't fully understand what to do in an assignment?)

Framing--keep it positive!  Don't put them on the defensive. Start with something positive you see, "I really liked how you used this, why did you choose to do it this way?"  Keep emphasis on understanding and not understanding; this will help you get around the "weaknesses"; go around the negative, maybe don't even say "not understanding".  They can "shut-down", and not give you an answer.  VALUE JUDGEMENTS! "what do you focus on in your editing?" 

Gathering data! Analysis comes after.

Reading!

Something peculiar!

There are other things influencing what people write...writing in collaboration doesn't always mean switching files with someone else and both writing the same thing.

Writer, audience, topic...the relation of all of these influences what the text will look like...

Capitol dayness...abstracts?!

handout!  p. 5, here is what we know, and this is what we don't know.

BLOG POSTINGNESS!

Thursdayness!

Bloggingness...and spelling errors...

2-3 questions, semi-structured interview:

concerning class influence on writing style--

why did you choose to use this word (point out specific word in the text) and not some other synonym?

what changes would you make judging by what you just read?

what do you wish you had done differently, and why?  do you think that would have worked better, and if so, why?

Then, today in class we will be talking about semi-structured interviews...

Errr...umm...hmm...

Todayness!  Research proposal due Tuesday, October 14.  Make a follow-up contact with the peep.  Format the paper...section headings/he suggests...format of the progress report?  Page length, 4-6 pages...we can go over that...5 pages (approximate)

packets!  Prior examples...the guy...and the examples we came up with before...

NOTES!!!!!!  Not chords...just notes...

Interviews: 

Stimulated Elicitation: don't randomly pick a prop, think about it beforehand and have specific items in mind to ask/talk about...

draft, highlight comments, read aloud and explain!

Semi-Structural Interviews:  open-ended questions instead of closed...talk peeps!  Talk!  Trying to get to a certain point, but still leaving them room to speak...but talk about what you are wanting to find out about...

Discourse-Based Interviews:

Responding to what is said...participating in the conversations..."where you present those alternatives"; revision of a sentence or passage (to see style, organization); 1) state your focus/purpose, 2) select a textual passage, 3) revise text, present alternatives for one element, 4) draft question

Gadsby...vowels?!

long words...

Oolong

State purpose of the interview-->interview is not a conversation-->it aims at information gathering=what was the influence of classroom items in this?  Discussions?

Select a textual "prop"=the cover letter, teacher notes, writing prompt

Draft Questions=

The influence of classroom context:

Thursday: ecampus reading, discourse-based interview; also semi-structured interview--trying to get info on a specific thing, not so general (2-3 questions)

Todayness!

Intertextuality and genres:

Topics; which is useful in my research project?

I think that the discussion of genre is most useful for me while assembling my research project.  This is because I will need to incorporate several different kinds of genre into my project, in order to receive a more definite answer to what I am trying to discover.  I'll need to use genres like interviews and questionnaires, then incorporate them into the project.  In the project, these will prove useful because I'll have a more definite range for the project.  With several genres helping, I'll be able to know what my research person is getting out of what I'm asking.

Today!

A collaboration with Aaron...his blog contains several notes...

Lots of writings...and discussions...

Notes from the reading that was on Thursday are on Aaron's blog.

Now, the notes on Intertextuality:

1) Writer has the agency; writer controls the intertextual references.

Selectively quote...writers control the texts to make it their way...

2) Why do you want to be in control of it?  The intertextual references do important rhetorical work.--p. 85 VERBS!!!

Verbs: particular words...evokes!  Passing judgement, as well as implying...

Intertextuality in movies!

How is he choosing to incorporate other people's opinions on things:

Clips he chooses, and quotes:

How he references them...the peeps...

He uses the other texts, newspapers, to comment on the movie.  He puns their names, those of the newspapers, and he only says three quotes...

He's skipping the second one, for "racy subject matter"

In the third, he makes fun of "stoners"...he pulls quotes from different newspapers, again, to make comments on the movie.  For the first one, he says two positive and one negative.  For the third, he says two negative and one positive.  It seems as though he wants us to not like it.

Intertextual: 

1) direct quotation

2) indirect quotation

3) mentioning a person, idea

4) comment/evaluation of an idea or text

5) referring to general ideas of a subject person

Harold and Kumar: How the writer set up the review of the reviews--summary/judgement

He makes an argument, more of one than the other reviewers.  You don't come to see it for the plot.  More of a shock-comedy; pulled out the clips to prove this.  He didn't give the audience a chance to like the movie.  He plays upon the "stoner" role as soon as the clips are over.  Makes it appear that, if one likes the movie, he/she is a "stoner".

"Not the target audience"--making up fake "direct" quotations.

Homeworks!

Here be the homework for today:

WWD, p. 94, number 3

An undergraduate paper I have written...I shall choose one from my English 102 class.  I enjoyed the class because the teacher was awesome, but I don't know that I learned that much about writing papers.  But one paper I had to write for the class I remember well; it was about Darfur, and how WVU, as a school, needed to stand up and do something about the conflict.

I had lots of resources; for a paper like that, you have to have lots of resources or it could be considered highly unlikely that any of my facts were true.  I took the position that many have taken: the reports we were hearing here were quite different from what was going on.  Some numbers were tiny, while others were monstrous.  I created something "novel" by writing something that pertained to many people.  My value added was how people could become involved with helping the Darfurians.  The sources I used most likely received their information from another source.  The teacher was rather interested in finding out the background of every source I used, but he never pushed me to find them out for myself.  That was one of the downfalls of the class.  I'm sure I didn't help it much, but it was difficult to be motivated when the only critical comment I got was, "nothing!"  Critical work helps me!  Anyways...after I had turned in the paper, I did some research to find out where the sources were getting sources.  Some answers surprised me, while other really didn't.  The paper, though, turned out well.  I just think that I needed to spend more time actually working on the paper BEFORE it was due.

Anyways...um..yeah...anyways...

Newnessness?!

The proposal has been pushed back until October 9th.

Types of details:

1. Roles, how each performed the roles--body language
   
2. Specific embodied activities (typing--speed steps to reread; silently rereading)
3. Speech (types/topics; sequence; tone)
4. Level of Comfort (stumbling over words; pace of activity; posture; amount of discussion)
5. "Other activities"--not doing research, pulling from own experiences; fidgeting, getting up; drinking coffee
6. Clothing details

Notes, notes, notes:

1. Observational notes: find out what's going on
2. Theoretical notes: making a theory of what I'm seeing
3. Methodological notes: questions I should ask the person later

Notes taken from the video: 

they are corroborating what they want to draw; one is the leader, the others are following what he is saying; the leader does take part in the actions, even though he is explaining what is going on; the leader, seen, explains to the peeps what he wants it to look like, but he has to do it anyway

Notes on specific clips

First:

they already have notes ready for what they're going to do; seen explains his to the others and tells why they should do that one instead; he is more vocal than the others; seen uses more hand motions than the others in the scene; he becomes louder than the others; there are several guys there, no girls, but seen is definitely in charge.

Second: 

seen shows them how it's supposed to look; tells the peeps where to begin the "piece"; the peeps ask him questions, but he still overrides what they say; again, seen is in charge; it's no longer about comparing notes; seen has decided how it's going to look, and he is telling the others how to execute his plans

Third: 

one person does the painting, the others are off to the sides, I would assume; it's not seen doing the piece, it's the guy he was explaining things to

Fourth:

the peeps explain how they think it looks, seen explains and overrides what they think; seen is now outlining, even though he is really good...he steps back and explains what is needed and what he's doing in the scene, he tells the audience and looks over the piece

Fifth:

he explains again how he thinks it looks...he doesn't correct anything, mainly b/c he can't; that's why he tells us why he needs the outline; he is doing the drawing now, along with some of the others; he likes it

Sixth:

seen gets upset at the others, even though he let them draw

Seventh: 

seen wants things a certain way, and others are trying to tell him what they think.  he, again, overrides them; he wants it the way he wants it; it could be considered a seen project, but others are helping him out

Eighth: 

seen explains what he did on other projects, and then proceeds to go more in depth when the people he's working with don't know what he's talking about

Ninth:

Seen is the leader of the group, and it keeps getting more evident; he has to give the peeps promises; then he shows them, with paint (you can't erase it), how to do it

Painting over outline; repainting!!  They DO revise!

Seen; graffiti artist; documentary; 1985/7?

Notes on the Reading:

(on eCampus)  Does Kliman (?) provide the assurance that she was there?

Analysis section now (third page); my guess would be that the examples she use would convince, or at least help, the audience believe that she was there making the observations.

Quotes from the people; pgs. 63, 64, 65--she refers to actual observation; why do you wait?

Observations from the text: p. 64

Observations!!

In class on Tuesday, we had to split up into groups of four and take turns observing and creating a response to a person's query. Aaron and I went first on creating the response. Vanessa and Erin observed. Then, we switched. This is where my observations come into play.

When we first began observing V and E, as I shall call them, A and I (again, I'm abbreviating!) were sitting right behind them. This seemed to make them uncomfortable with writing and thinking of topics to write about. A decided that we should move back a few feet, and when we did, V and E wrote three sentences. I'm not sure if the two are correlated, but it was quite funny.

Anyways, my observations greatly changed considering where I was sitting at the time. When I was right behind E, I couldn't really see what she was doing on the computer, but I could guess from what V was doing. Since A and I made V and E uncomfortable, I recorded a lot of the same things. My observing seemed to get better when I, too, was not right behind the girls.

Toward the end of V and E writing, I noticed that I wasn't taking as many notes as when we had started. A was not taking notes, but he seemed to pull more out of what occured than what I did with the notes I was taking. This leads me to believe that many data collecting methods might work better, or I should switch between them.

I found this exercise very informative. I think I learned a lot about "personal space" and how another's presence in that space affects the work being accomplished. I wouldn't mind doing this exercise again, although using different methods of data collection the next time.

Classesness!

Observations!

Read the English 301 blog.

Still picture: on eCampus

1) The students are typing on laptops, writing down notes on paper and the board, and seem to be discussing a topic.

2) The students are sitting close enough to each other so that, if they need to quietly talk to the person beside them, they can do so without disrupting the others.  One is standing; she seems to be leading the group in some way. Semi-circular arrangement of seats--look attached.  Comfortable seating; commons area? Why do they have laptops?  Using them for? What is the book for? Why is book closed? Not a professional area; laptops, book bags on floor; flip flops! Creating as a group. All equals? Teacher/students? Fingers at the ready for to type. Sitting up, attentive. 

3) It seems to be midday; the light is very bright outside, and the room does not look as though there is artificial light used.  Also, the students seem awake, not half asleep.

4) We have approached this picture after the conversation was well underway.  They seem to be in the middle of discussion.  

5) 

6) The students don't seem to be trying to get things done too quickly--they would appear on edge if this were the case; they seem to be relaxed and at ease.

7) They seem like they are supposed to look interested, but they really don't.

8) The picture is both neat and messy.  The students left bags in the middle of the floor (hopefully there is no fire) and they each have something blocking their way, such as a computer or a book.

9) They seem rather bored.

10) 

11) "blah"

Moving pictures?!

Real-life observing:

Of Erin and Vanessa

Spend time between now and Thursday blogging about the observation practices.

Freewrite on the English 301 blog.  Reflecting on how YOU (me) observed.  What did I do, how would I have enhanced it, changed it?

Rhetoricalness?

This is the homework that is due today.  Since it was a lot, this post might get lengthy.  Just bear with me.

p. 113, RA #3

Compelling letter on the editorial page of the newspaper.

The letter I am choosing to use for this assignment is found in the Daily Athenaeum from 9/18/08.  It is entitled, "Owners of Blue Hole have come a long way"

Analysis: The writer, Scott Dobson, explains that when he was a student at WVU, he often went to the Blue Hole to swim and jump off the bridge.  He calls to attention the fact that people need to "police their actions", and that the owners of the swimming spot should not be held accountable for the foolish acts of students.

Issue: The Blue Hole swimming area has been deemed unsafe for WVU students to use, mainly because so many students have been injured while using it.  

Argument: This letter seems to define more than anything else.  Dobson defines the problem as the students.  The position that is being argued against is one of whether or not the owners should be prosecuted for all the injuries occurring there.  The writer attacks the students, even though he himself was one in the past.  This writer can achieve a common ground with others about this issue, but there will still be people, such as the students being blamed, who will not support what he says, and will not agree.  

I found this letter quite confusing, mainly because Dobson was calling current WVU students "stupid" while saying that he, too, went to the Blue Hole to swim when he was a student.  It confused me because I highly doubt he was calling himself stupid.  Normally, if someone calls him or herself stupid, he/she does not believe the statement and doesn't expect anyone else to believe it, either.  Also, it's in the DA. I don't have a lot of respect for the writings in the DA.  If you'd like to know why, I'll be more than happy to tell you.

Anyways...onward class!

The class that is right now

We put up things on the board that were added, appear in both, or dropped from both the freewrite and the first draft for this one guy's papers we are looking at.

Things I'm still not sure about:

I'm not sure that there are any questions that I still have.  I didn't have a whole lot of questions going into this, but the few I had were answered in the discussions.  

What do I feel sure of?

I think that I understand a bit more about the texts, and where to look to find how these texts changed.  I think that if I was given a topic in this packet to research, I could come up with lots of questions that I could find the answers to by using the ideas mentioned in class.

I really want to perfect my letter of inquiry.  

Weekendness, again...

As I've done before, I need to put up one thing I don't understand from class, as well as one thing I do understand.

The one thing I understand is the analysis of initiating texts.  For the most part, I understood what we were supposed to be looking for, and how that pertained to the exercise as a whole.

The one thing I don't understand is applying Kairos to writing.  I'm not quite sure I completely understood what we were supposed to understand from that.

Anyways...to homeworks!

Classtineness!

Questions from last class...

What research questions guide your study?

Why is this question important to ask?

How did this text come to look the way that it does?

Why does the text achieve some goals & not others?

How could the text be improved?

Initiating text...

writing prompt, it prompts the writer to compose another text (like the job ad, the initiating text is the assignment description)

what happens to the text?

it gets interpreted by the writer (the student); gets negotiated (we're looking for the HOW for each of these points)

How can we discover answers to these points, using the packet we have?

How does he interpret the initiating text, and how does it get negotiated?

I'd say that the first text to come after the initiating text is the rough draft.  If not the rough draft, it would be whatever writing took place concerning that text before the rough draft.  

The rough draft would show how the writer interpreted the initiating text, and then the responses from peers and the teacher would show how the text is negotiated.

The teacher notes most likely came before the writing prompt, but the notes are geared more toward the teacher, and not the assignment.  The teacher would use his notes to start the discussions and such.

We are doing this to track the whole writing experience; if we start with the final paper, we have overlooked many important aspects that influenced what went in to the finished project.

Interpret--

Texts: assignment description (look for key words, what goals were set, what purpose was established, look for words that give emphasis); post write (to figure out what worked and what didn't; he states what his opinion was, how he interpreted it);

Interview: stimulated elicitation interviewing "prop";

Negotiate--

Texts: workshop package (peer review questions, focus us on specific moves the writer should make), teaching notes (to see what was emphasized, repeated); 

1. Final documents
   
2. Post write (3 times: before, after drafts; after writing final)
3. Rough draft(13.14; 17.18); peer reviews
4. Free writes (21.22--job skills; 23--audience)

Trying to collect all the papers that the person wrote, in order, 

1. Free writes
2. Rough draft
3. Post write 1 &2
4. Final draft
5. Post write 3
6. Rhetorical analysis memo

Collect all the info, and put it in order.  Ask the person to explain the brainstorming process; try to piece it together. Writing log--not every day, but ask them to write down everything they did writing for a particular project.

Group work: carefully analyzing the documents, p. 175-180 of Prior

1. Free writes--the skills he writes about continue through the documents; he realizes that this is an important aspect of the assignment, and he begins this in a free write
   
2. Rough draft--the skills mentioned in the free write come to play in the rd; he uses the skills that he thinks are the most important and uses them to persuade his audience
   
3. Post write 1 &2--the skills
   
4. Final draft--he connects skills to company needs, as opposed to just pointing to the company itself; he explains the courses by specific name, instead of alluding to them
   
5. Post write 3
   
6. Rhetorical analysis memo
   

(topics may stay the same, but examples change. what motivated you to bring examples into one cover letter that you didn't bring into your other?)

Classness!

Kairos questions: the rhetor needs to know the pressing questions about the topic.  He/she needs to keep in mind the people in the audience--rhetor writes in a way that stresses the main point.  Rhetor can bring in the people who are removed by miles--makes the problem present.

Tracing the writing processes--

ex. Start with a successful text, we try to understand the text, in order to find out how it was written...this helps when we want to study how the writer writes...how did it come to look the way it does? Why does the text look the way it does?  Why?/So what?  help us to understand what effective writing process looks like?  

ex. How could this text have been written better?  Only looking at the text...removes the writer from the text (when we're not the writer).  How did the text come to meet certain goals, and not others?  The people writing may have understood the ideas differently.

ex. The process of the person--they did all the mapping of the people included in the other people...

Class handouts

Analysis of the texts--

Assignment description--3--we know what the writer was aiming for; we see this through the way in which the writer interprets the text and prompt. Description of the "target document", what it looks like. To understand the writer's objectives. Guidelines for writing the final text.  

Old one--

how the person is writing, broad audience, specific?  e.g.--If it is broad, the reader might think that the writer does not have a particular direction in mind.

teacher comments--the student needs to 

FROM AARON AND ERIN
---

AUXILIARY ASSIGNMENT:

The "finishing" process of the text hinges entirely upon the peer review comments of the young man's contemporaries and instructor. At this point, he has assembled a text that he finds at least satisfactory, but the final polish is added after direct criticism is supplied from sources outside of the audience. In examining the notes taken during this finishing process, we can begin to understand what aspects of the paper-- in its nearly completed form-- were cut entirely, and what aspects were found to be satisfactory and/or deserved further focus and enhancement.

Example:
Professor Wible's comment on a sentence in which the student discussed a previous internship as well as many hours spent working on a farm-- in the original draft this is a small sentence, after peer review, it is very much expanded and therefore manages to augment the student's "argument" that he is the best candidate and deserving of the position for which he is applying.

PAGE BY PAGE BREAKDOWN

Page 13: The peer review comments enable the writer to see how his audience is interpreting his text, to see if he is meeting his goal in the text.

Page 14: Again, the structure of the outline lets the audience know how organized the person is, this influences how the audience views the outline.

Pages 15-16: Skipped by instruction

Page 17: The instructor's comments work in association with the peer comments. They both let the writer know what is important to say. This is important because it allows the writer to have an idea of how affective the document is. The instructor's comments will help the writer to bring out the details in his text that otherwise would not have been expanded upon.

La Question et La Pregunta y The Question

This is another of the homework assignments for my English 301 class.  For this homework, though, I have to make a drawing that represents my writing process for my exploratory essay.  I'm going to talk about my writing process for this paper, but I will try to draw a representation of this, too.  I don't have paint (the drawing program) on my computer, so I'll have to show it in class.  

My writing process: The Exploratory Essay

When I write a paper for a class, I always, or try to, pay attention in class.  This way, I'll get any helpful hints that the teacher throws my way, and I'll have input from my classmates.  For this exploratory essay (EE) I paid attention in class when my professor explained the instructions.  (See picture of me sitting in front of an amazing iMac) I listened when my classmates gave out ideas, and I even helped out by adding my question to the board. (See picture of me writing on board) I took lots of notes to help me with this process, and I used the notes as building blocks to start the paper.  (See picture of me playing with blocks--they represent the notes I took) I did a lot of searching on the Internet for listings of editors in the area. (See picture of me sitting in front of my MacBook surfing the web) Since I already had a research question in mind, I began to brainstorm ways in which I could put the question on paper as an idea.  (See picture of me writing in my journal/notebook) I spoke to several people about the ideas I had, wondering whether it was a good question and if I needed to incorporate something more. (See picture of me talking to other stick-figures, err, humans) I finally sat down at my computer and wrote the paper.  (Another picture of  me in front of my computer, typing away)

Now, I must create a visual metaphor for my drawing that I have done.  This ought to be interesting...

Once I have done this, I need to compare the two, saying what each includes/excludes.

Both drawings exclude the exact details of the real-life situation.  This is to be expected, as I am not a good drawer (meant as one who draws pictures, not the rolling thing in the kitchen).  The drawings did not include me talking to the editors themselves.  I'm sure that would have greatly helped with my writing, but I could not pin-point an editor to ask.  I believe I have pin-pointed one now, though.  I'm sure I have left out major ideas not incorporated in the drawings, but I am not positive.  

If you're in my class, I'll be able to show you the pictures.  If not, however, I'm trying to figure out how to upload images.  I think the "upload images" button might play into this query, but I'm too confused to ask.  Anyways...to class!

Les mots et las palabras y the words...

I just realized how awesome this "create post" space is. I can add an image or video to my post, change the font style, color and size, and I can even spell-check! This makes me quite happy...anyways...I had so much fun thinking up a title for this post...

The following is, again, my responses to my homework:

1) For this question, I am to survey a variety of magazines and newspapers and select a handful of articles on a given issue. I will choose what is taking over the news so much today: Sarah Palin's 17-year old daughter is pregnant. Now, I'm supposed to look for examples of kairos, or space and/or time. Most of the articles I have read show kairos by explaining when the news was first learned by both McCain and Palin, and when they broke it to the rest of the nation. Also, kairos is represented by how many months along in the pregnancy the daughter is.

The relevance of this article is surprising, at least to me. I would not have thought that the nation was so interested in the children of a presidential candidate; yes, I understood that we were curious, but not curious enough to being conspiracy theories about who was pregnant and who was lying. This issue is pertinent in that we need to know as much as possible about a presidential, or in this case, a vice-presidential candidate.

The writers and/or speakers in these articles "change the subject" so that the attention is put back on McCain and Palin as a team, or on Obama by himself. The writer in the DA especially exhasperated me in that he had to turn the topic to Obama--one reason I hate politics is that both sides, or however many there are, are biased to their side. It's only natural, but it bugs me to death--if the person is going to spend a lot of time talking about one person, I feel that the writer should speak an equally lengthy time talking about the other person in the argument or debate. (By changing the subject, I do believe I exhibited kairos.) The "change of subject" done by most writers and speakers is to focus the attention back on the issue in relation to a bigger issue. In this case, the bigger issue is who are we trying to elect?

4) For this question, I need to choose an issue and compose an opening paragraph that shows how the issue matters for people I may be addressing. My issue will be the topic I discussed above. I'm so original, I know... I might show a bit of a slant from what I was saying above. It might turn out to be something totally different, too. My audience, I believe, is the conservative female in the United States. I will no doubt use many facts that I did not find out myself; since this story has been a headliner for at least two days, and I have read many articles, I know that I have been influenced by what I have read. Anyways...ahem...

The fact of Sarah Palin's 17-year old daughter's pregnancy will most likely not come as a shock to most of you that read the newspaper or watch CNN. But how many of you have gone through an issue such as this while also trying to manage a state, then having to prove to the American people that you are ready to be vice-president? Not knowing the background of most readers, I would still venture to say that not many of you have experienced this. I believe that Sarah Palin deserves a lot of credit for taking on all these negative comments and conspiracy theories and not cracking under the pressure of it all. True, this woman has not been in this position for many days, but imagine all the mental preparation she must have done. Think about her family; her husband and children must be quite proud of her, but they, too, are going to be carried through the mud. Why? Because this is politics; messy, messy politics. I believe that we should support her, not because she's a woman and we are for "girl power" (a phrase I highly dislike), but because she is a mother and she is trying to provide the best for her children and family. She is trying to make this nation one where she is not afraid of letting her children go to school and learn, or having her son go off to war without the support of the people he is protecting. I realize that being a mother is also being a woman, but the drive here is not toward that. It is toward a better United States; one where we can finally be proud of our nation for doing and being the right thing.

Yeah, so...freewriting...I hope I didn't lose you. If I did, apologies are being cast. Anyways...to class!

Weekendness!

One thing I know at the end of this week that I didn't know at the beginning of the week: 

I know what debate is, and I know that I still dislike how it is portrayed in Crossfire.

One question I still have:

I still feel quite lost as to what rhetoric is.  It seems rather broad to me, and I'm afraid that this is posing the problem--it's really hard for me to wrap my head around this.

Classtines!

Rhetoric--brings attention to social criteria, when used by technical writers; brings attention to "a broad array of concern"; "social impact of the papers".

Faigley reading--

the nurse blurb:

1) the nurse assumes that the text is being read by someone who understands what the nurse has written.  A member of the medical profession is most likely the desired audience.  The nurse photocopied a template of sorts in order to communicate to others in his profession.

2) this perspective is trying to discover what the patient is suffering from, and what might be something to use to help him in the process of recovery.

3)why study this?  to be able to help others understand the text, in order for everyone to be on the same field

Textual/individual/social perspectives:

Textual perspective--study the text to see how people approach the text, and then how the text itself explains things

Individual perspective--removed from the rest of the world; focuses on how one person makes sense of a writing prompt

Social perspective--cultural values, appeal to a certain type of readers, how it (the text) applies to society; try to find out what people want to know more about, thinks about the purpose of the document, who will be reading, and what you want them to do with it

Faigley--states that the document is part of a continuum, not a starting point; as opposed to the statement in the previous blog post.

What happens before? the people need to know what led up to that point, like the patient coming to the hospital, the hospital needs to know what led up to that point; the environmental-impact statement writer used a template made up by someone years ago; need to know the purpose of the document, who it will reach, and what the document needs to say.

People prefer facts over opinions.  The scientific facts, rather than the opinions, are favored.  There is a lot more to learn than just "x, y, and z".

Audience/Discourse Community:

Au: rhetorical triangle, English 101 

Writer/Speaker

/\

Audience--Topic

What does the audience know about the topic, what is their attitude toward the topic, and such.  This is seeing it too narrowly--need to see social roles, community organization, worldview (What does company one believe about this topic as opposed to company two?)

three types of criteria in thinking of a proposal, for example

DC: restricted traits that define them as a group (literate in the same language, e.g. terminology/concepts)

DC: particular usages of certain languages (Spanish/English speakers) (culture!) 

There is a lot we can do to understand than what Faigley suggests.  Rhetoric can help us with this.

Bloggingness!

I love making up new words. But sometimes, new words just don't work. They have a particular context, perhaps, but most of the time people just don't understand the meaning assigned to these new words.

Anyways, I am here to blog for class.

A document in the workplace is "a moment in the continuous process of communication".
What, then, does a PW need to know and be able to do in order to participate effectively in the process?

I think that PWs need to be able to communicate effectively. This includes being able to communicate clearly. Oftentimes, a person will be speaking, and, while he or she is able to understand the conversation, others around the speaker are not following along. This happens countless times in written communication as well.

A PW needs to be able to understand the material. Without a previous knowledge about what is going on, the PW will (normally) not be able to write something communicating the information. Unless, of course, the PW is really good at making up ideas.

PWs need to know the topic well enough to help others understand it. If they cannot do this, they are trying to communicate and are failing. In the end, this helps no one.

Post #2, Notes! They pass from blog to blog

What is rhetoric?

Theatrical--scripted, attacks to the "enemy", questions prepared in advance, stock answers, expected outcomes to questions posed; real rhetoric--real

What is not rhetoric?

It can be made up of stigmas, meaning people believe that rhetoric is bad, simply because they conjure up images of politics and such.

What is debate?

Debate is arguing for the purpose of changing someone else's views on a subject.  Occasionally, though, this branches over into the next question.

What is debate that is not really debate?

Debate is not really debate when people yell and fight about technicalities.  Debate is to defend one's position; people get defensive and upset with one another.

Motivation--what is the motivation for this?  Is it to get the truth out, or is it just to argue and debate?  Interested in the solving of community's problem, or defending one's position.  Benefits are for the audience; they can go away from hearing a debate and make decisions.  But the people debating are not open to change one's opinion or even interested in listening to the other person.  Crossfire--if one changes position, one is a loser.  Stewart was enforcing the rhetoric idea, but Crossfire debated.  Debate now is trying to unbalance your opponent, not to hear the other person's side.  They only ask small-point questions, they need to ask questions that bring out detailed answers.  Listening only to make their own points, or just to deflect from the ideas being spoken.  "Communally beneficial" is not "everyone wins"; it's compromise.

How to tie this in to Professional Writing and Writers?

Worksheet!

Brainstorm!

How does an editor keep the author's voice in items that have to be highly edited?  How do you approach the subject with the author?

How does an editor decide to buy the publication rights from an author?  How do they go about doing this?

--How does a specific editor organize his or her area?  Does this help or hinder the work being done?  Do they need things out in site to help them write or concentrate?

How do they manage their time?  Do they have specific times in which they do things, or are their actions random?  (i.e., time to check e-mails, answer clients or superiors, do their "heavy" work, etc.)

Questions posed by others:

How does a PWE stay motivated while working on topics not particularly interesting?

When two or more PWEs collaborate on a given project, how do they divide the work and avoid "too many cooks in the kitchen" syndrome?

How does a technical writer sort through their info to decide what is worth publishing and what can be discarded?

How do editors deal with controversial subject or things they don't believe in?

How much knowledge should a PW have on a subject before writing about/working with it?

How does the editor know what the audience wants?

Rhetorical Activities

The following are my answers to the rhetorical activities, numbers 2 and 4, on pages 29 and 30 of the book Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students:

1. (being number 2) In a particular sketch of the comedian Jon Stewart, he made a "point about the state of argument in America today". What Stewart said was that argument is not really argument. I have encountered this on numerous occasions. I'll overhear two people discussing the exact same point, with little difference, but each will say the other is wrong, thus completely missing the fact that they are both on the same side. To me, this is an argument-that's-not-really-an-argument. A theatrical sort of argument, I believe, is set apart from the rhetorically engaged argument because it seems either staged or put on. It's only for show, whereas a rhetorically engaged argument is one where the people actually care about making a point--they aren't just doing it for show.
2. (being number 4) Persuasion in my community--this is rather difficult to answer. I would say, or type, rather, that persuasion in my community is when a friend begins talking to me on a topic that I share the opposite view. If he or she poses the point in an easily-understood way, I will most likely agree with the way the friend is thinking. When this occurs, I find myself being swayed because I have been thinking of the topic in a new way. If I can see both sides of the issue, I can understand how people come upon that assumption, and I can argue for both sides.

The following is a list of arguments that seem convincing in certain cases:

1. The people I know changing their minds--this normally happens, I think, the way I outlined above. Once they hear the other side of the issue, it is normally easier to understand why someone believes a certain way. Other cases, though, it's easy to see the faults in a person's argument. When this occurs, the people I know take it upon themselves to correct the person. Depending on how this is handled, the person being corrected might listen and could very well change his or her views.
2. Religious conversion--this happens when one person asks another person about his or her beliefs. I've had many conversations with people just to discuss what the other person believes. If the person has no real belief system (?) then it is normally pretty easy for them to hear what I'm saying. If the person does have adamant beliefs on certain issues, though, the person is generally very caught up in believing only what he or she already believes. The opposite can be true in both cases, too. I fault myself in being easily swayed. Not everyone is like me. Yes, I can take a stand on a few things, but if I completely understand the arguments, I'm swayed because I think it's a fault in my thinking. This gets rather frustrating.
3. Convincing people to stop smoking or go on a diet--two very different things. The people I know who have gone on diets for health reasons are very similar to those who stop smoking because of health reasons--they are stopping because it will benefit them, or they are eating less or eating better because they will benefit from the decision. These happen many different ways. Some may be swayed by a doctor, others are swayed by friends. Sometimes, though, one person may convince him or herself that the decision is better.
4. Racists--I think that this either happens or doesn't solely based on the people one hangs around with. (Ah! Preposition!) The more and more one stays around people that believe in racism (can one believe "in" it?), the more that person is going to be seeing things from a racist perspective. The opposite is also true.
5. Presidents and wars--presidents are, by very nature, persuasive...how do you think they became president? Presidents can convince their people that a war is right based on several things. The number one way is to show the people that their own safety is threatened. The number two would be to show them that other places they have strong feelings about are threatened. The list can be endless for how presidents persuade their people. If there is a president, he or she is persuasive and will either tell the truth or not.

I've been trying to go back through the previous post and make it understandable. It was done in class on the computer, so I took notes quickly and didn't look too closely for mistakes or complete sentences. I will try to change this soon.

Oh, the responses!

In-class responses and notes for Thursday:

This is a similar type of project that we will be doing--this is far more in-depth, but still important for us to be able to look at

Why did Selzer (1983) want to study the composing processes of an engineer?

He wanted to find out how people in various occupations write, and why they are writing the way they are.  He wanted to study it because it hadn't been studied--if the person was not a writer by trade, he or she had not been studied.  He wanted to study how people arrange and revise texts for teaching technical writing.  He emphasizes "how" the engineers plan, arrange, revise, and write; not exactly "what" they write.  

I think that he also did it because the engineer did not have a writing process that most think of when they hear that term.  Remarks on that will come in later questions.

Which of his finding did I find interesting, surprising, unique, compelling?

• The main finding that astonished me (astonished might be a bit strong) was that the engineer he studied, Nelson, rarely spent time revising.  I spend hours revising, but Nelson spent "less than 5% of his time revising what he had written"; "then he hands a draft to his secretary and then only makes minor edits".  (p. 184)--why? "b/c most people write what comes into their heads and then they correct it later--students are taught to compose like this; but this doesn't normally happen in the workplace; wanted to change the way students were taught, so they would be taught how they would have to work"
  
• "Nelson spends significant time thinking about his audience's needs, interests, kowledge (spends 80% of his time 'inventing' or 'researching')."
  
• "Nelson has the ability to reuse documents; incorporate them into new documents."
  
• last paragraph on 183..."Nelson had stylistic rules that he followed with every document (e.g., short sentence length, topic sentence in every paragraph)"
  

MULTIPLE DATA COLLECTION METHODS

Taped discuss: Nelson responded in detail to questions about his writing sessions, their focus, their length, their conduct

DID NOT ask Nelson to compose aloud

Follow-up Interviews: these were face-to-face with Nelson, prompted by observations that Selzer had

Observe: Selzer went to Nelson's work and observed what was done; how Nelson interacted with co-workers, the surroundings, watched Nelson write

Collection: Selzer collected all of Nelson's documents; notes scribbled, research documents

There were multiple methods because "a lot of writing is unconscious; it cannot be put in words, and can be observed when the person is observed"

Triangulation--Triangulating Data

  I

       /   \

Obs. --Doc.

How did Selzer convince me that he was correct or on target?

He spent hours studying Nelson's strategy.  Selzer took notes, interviewed Nelson at length, and had Nelson tape record the processes he notices that he used.  Selzer said that the way in which Nelson wrote was "almost second-nature"; this made a bit more sense, I felt, with the findings because Selzer was basically doing a character study.

p.182, last full paragraph--Selzer includes phrases that "tell you that Selzer was there with Nelson, saw the projects, collected data from the observations because Selzer was there"

Ethos--credibility of the writer(talk about in 2 weeks); you need to assure the reader that you were there

Pathos--emotional appeal

Exploratory Essay--

What types of questions might you want to discover answers to about the field of PWE?

Why are these questions of interest to you? How might answering these questions help you to achieve or pursue some of your professional goals?

Why might answers to these questions be of interest to others?

Where might you go to find answers to this question: Who might you study? How might you study this person?

What do we know already? (outside research, text-book from another class, websites about PWEs, what's left to learn from what we already know?)

Hypothesize: What kind of answers do you think you might reach?

Post #1--Words, they find themselves in print

The class for which I am writing this blog is for discovering more about Professional Writers and Editors.  These PWEs can be masquerading using many different names.  They could be scriptwriters or songwriters; freelance journalists or lawyers; editors or copy writers, who work in advertising and as the assistants to editors.  Just because a person is majoring or, as in my case, minoring in Professional Writing and Editing does not mean that the person will hold a job title with any of those three words in the position title.  

The skills acquired my PWEs can be used to write grants, explain scientific theories, and design manuals for schools and corporations.

And just as how the titles may be different, the kind of company the PWE works for can be quite diverse.  One may work writing articles for a psychological journal, while another edits a handbook for a non-profit organization.  PWEs can use their knowledge in any line of work.  I know several people who are going to use their degree in association with becoming a lawyer and going into business for themselves.  I want to use my experience to become an editor for a publishing firm.  As someone in one of my classes said. "being a book editor keeps the job interesting; you get to read so many different things".  I agree completely.  

Knowing that you could go into any field of work using a degree in PWE makes me think that this kind of degree would be quite sought after by students.

And it is easier writing down a page...

Post the First

Do you wish people would say that going up the stairs was easier than going down?  One hears "it's easier going down than up!" and "it's shorter going down!" constantly.  If we were to tell each other that climbing stairs is easier than carefully plodding our way down them, others would be more inclined to take the stairs.  I've never liked taking the stairs, though.

Random feelings and words make the world an interesting place.  They can creep up on someone and totally surprise him or her, or they could just creep them out.  This blog, though, is not for me to post my random feelings.  This blog is for me to practice my writing.  I'll be posting responses to homework assignments that I have.  I'm sure that if you are in the class where these are assigned, you would understand them a bit more than those who happened upon this blog in the dead of night.  For those who do happen upon this blog, please know that I'm working on my writing.  I'm trying to get better at it, but it's an ongoing process.  

Maybe we should say, "it's easier writing down a page than up!"  I might enjoy the process more if I thought about it like that...