O frabjous day!

This blog will now be used for my English 303 class! It is so happy to have a purpose once again!

What to do.

I think the answer is to cease writing for this blog.  This blog was fun, at first.  I laughed at the name, then realized that everyone else wouldn't understand the reference.  Even if I told them, I think it would go right over their head--like the joke about the plane...it went right over your head*.  But even with me deciding not to write for this blog, I have written for this blog.  I am, as I type, typing for this blog.  When I stop typing this entry, I might stop completely at writing this blog.  But I'm not sure.  It might take me a few years, or just a few hours to decide that I want to write something else.  Whenever I decide to write again, whether sooner or later, I'll have to inform you then, as I'm not sure now.  

*This joke is credited to one of my dear friends.

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.