ARCS Act. 1&3 pg. 364

Act. 1
From the DA:
- Sports Section.“Darryl ‘Truck’ Byrant”- This is an example of an Antonomasia, because it is a descriptive word used to describe a proper name.
- Main Page. “Reach out across campus”- This is an example of a Synecdoche, because the reach out across campus refers to assistance.
- News Section. “Sleepy Sunday” – Example of a Catachresis, because it is describing Sunday as sleepy, which does not exist.

From Internet Ad:
- “Great Depression II” – Example of Antonomasia and/or Metonymy, because it is using the event Great Depression to refer to something bad and it is also using the event to relate to an up and coming similar situation.

From Internet Article:
- “Koby Bryant is no Michael Jordan” – example of a Hyperbole, because it is used to strain the truth about Koby.

Advertisements:
- “Just Do It”- example of Metonymy, because that advertisement slogan is associated with Nike.
- “NOBAMA”- example of Hyperbaton, because it uses the word No and Obama and puts them together to create a campaign slogan that is a parody.

Act. 2
I used a passage by Mark Twain in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”
Original Passage:
“By and by he rolled out and jumped up to his feet looking wild, and he see me and went for me. He chased me round and round the place with a clasp knife, calling me the Angel of death, and saying he would kill me, and then I couldn’t come for him no more. I begged, and told him I was only Huck; but he laughed such a screechy laugh, an roared and cussed, and kept on chasing me up.”

*What I changed is in bold

New Passage:
“By and by he rolled out and jumped up like a bat out of hell, and he see me and went for me. Whoosh, he chased me round and round the place with a clasp knife, calling me the Angel of death, and saying he would kick the bucket on me , and then I couldn’t come for him no more. I begged like pigs on a farm, and told him I was only Huck, the adventurer; his laughter sounded like nails on a chalk board, an roared and cussed, and kept on chasing me up.”

In Class Notes November 11

Arrangement- ideally, the rhetorical situation influences the writers decisions

Writer=Audience-=Topic

Cicero's 6 part decision for discourse:

1. Exordium: Introduction; more direct. Maybe by giving an example (story, image)>Insinuation
2. Narration: Statement of issue
3. Partition: divide the issue into its major parts
4. Confirmaton: major supporting arguments (evidence, examples, and analysis)
5. Refutation: anticipating and responding to objection
6. Peroration: Conclusion

Reading:

1. Would people analyze the same data in a different way?
2. People have other data that would challenge/complicate your analysis
3. Our data, our analysis challenges other people's interpertations
4. Qualifying a statment on assertion

Rehtorical Situation:

If someone was to read my reserach ideas and questions of the Case Manager at BBBS, im sure they would interpret things differently.

ARCS Act 2&3 pg. 318

Act. 2
In Senator John McCain’s concession speech about President-elect Barak Obama, displays examples of narratives, partitions, and perorations.

In a simple statement McCain states his narrative point: My friends, we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Sen. Barack Obama — to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.
This statement depicts the narrative point that he has lost this presidential race and is now honoring the rightful candidate who clearly won the American people’s vote.

Using partitions, here is an example throughout McCain’s speech that he names the issue in dispute: Sen. Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain. These are difficult times for our country, and I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.
I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our goodwill and earnest effort to find ways to come together, to find the necessary compromises, to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.
Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.

McCain, later also uses the second function in performing partition, where he lists the arguments in order as they have happened throughout the election process. He first identifies that he and Sen. Obama have had their differences, but he has won. Then he goes on to tell his supporters that they must move on as well and help “bridge” their differences with what is to come in our very near future.

In the concession speech to sum up everything the peroration was stated like this: I would not be an American worthy of the name, should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century. Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone and I thank the people of Arizona for it.
Tonight — tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Sen. Obama, I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president.
And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties but to believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.

McCain, sums up his speech by reiterating that he has served this country and will continue serving his country with pride. He brings the attention to people who have disagreed with the President-elect’s decision by commenting on how he will put his trust in Sen. Obama, as should everyone who has supported his campaign should do now; and he brings the attention to ALL Americans to believe in a country where there are no ends to possibilities that are created here. Throughout this, you can also get a sense of sympathy he posses on himself by saying, “, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant.”

Act. 3

If Shapiro were to write for a smaller publication, I do not see any reason why she would have to “tone”, or “modify” her original article. People read the press for a good reason, and that is to find “newsworthy” articles not something that has been sugar coated, because of a particular place where it has been published. So, no I do not think there is anything wrong with what she has wrote about the education and parents involvement at universities.

ARCS ACT 1&4 pg 283

2. Taste is something I find unreliable. For example, many things taste like something else like chicken. Chicken has a “universal” taste that could cause someone who can not use their other senses to identify what they are eating could possibly trick them into what really was the right food. Touch might also seem like a deceiving sense, because let’s say you are blindfolded you probably couldn’t tell the difference without using your other senses whether you were feeling a rigid rock or sandpaper. A person’s testimony of their senses could develop an argument with someone else’s testimony of their senses, because it is all based out of ones opinion and people find that person truthful and reliable. Some people would trust a blind person to identify a distinct smell because they have to develop a keen sense of smell to live their lives versus a person who is able to see what they smell.

4. In the text they talk about how rhetoricians never take anyone’s testimony at face value without motives and witnesses. Using this as a helpful tool in my research project, the person I am studying is under my very own testimony. It could be that we have a phone interview and he tells me all these facts, but if I do not observe face to face what he is talking about than I may be lied to. Seeing is believing in this world and you can never be sure if someone is telling you the truth without seeing it for yourself.

ARCS pg 263 act 1,4,6

1)    1)  Scene: the crowd of fans is on their toes with excitement and anticipation whether the Mountaineers will get the must-needed touchdown to win the game. Breathing hard from nervous and sweat and the pressure of 1000’s and 1000 are of eyes watching the quarterback for the Mountaineers gets the snap. Face dripping with sweat, eyes concentrated on the pass…he makes the throw. Fans screaming as they see the pass in the air, their faces tight with anticipated pain of what is going to happen. To receive the ball they win to miss this pass the let down to moving on to the National Championship yet again. The pass was caught and the Mountaineers score!! Everybody is excited and energetic making the atmosphere ecstatic from the big win that the team just pulled off.

 

4) If you look in the paper of the DA under the help wanted, its really funny to read what the little blurbs say to catch the attention of their readers; especially college readers. They all have the job title in bold as well as how much money you can make if you apply. They usually say, “Fast Cash,” or “no experience necessary needed.” They are also those advertisements from the local bars, like today Mutt’s advertisement says you can get your picture taken with the raccoon and pumpkin from 10-12 or the Lazy Lizard has golden ticket night every Thursday that allows you to pass for free cover and free drink specials from 9-11; this is all to attract the attention of new and old customers.

 

6) I noticed reading a local article about Halloween safety tips when trick-or-treating. The article uses pejorative terms such as, “caution,” “the best way…”, “increasingly,” etc. This just shows that ethos of the article is implementing safety. The values are clear about what the community likes to read and focus there attention on which is children and their safety. So by using words that relate to safety draws the attention and the emotion that appeals to their readers. 

In Class Notes October 28, 2008

What is ethos?
-good character
-goodwill
-good sense

*1st, 2nd, 3rd person "distance" and "voice"
*active vs passive
* qualifiers
* word choec
* punctuation

Parents example pg 315.
Sharpio-
Good Sense: making the argument- "if we do x, y will happen" Examples- 1st person word choice (pairing)
Qualifier- "it is a complex matter"

Goodwill: acknowledges parents, emotions, values
- word choice confidence, grace
- QUALIFIERS (some...most)

Good Character:

• (agressiveness toward parents)
• (trust)/ (responsible)/ (fair)/ (honest)
• Situates herself as an advocate for both parents and students
• word choices
• examples (first person)

ARCS pg 230 act 1,2,6

Activity 1
In one of my English classes I have had to become an “expert” on press releases. I have looked at numerous printed and online press releases. Each writer expresses ethos by identifying their audience. Always following the 5 W’s and the tagalong H is the structure of how they establish character (ethos) in each press release. For an example, ESPN press releases have action pictures and quotes from athletes, coaches, sports analysts, etc. These quotes are the ways that project ethos in each press release, because the facts are coming right from the person. The topic in each press release is focused on generating a newsworthy article that will appeal to journalists who will cover the story in full detail.
Activity 2
Each author does not make a “close” distance relationship with their readers. In a press release it is best to leave out jargon and ego because a press release is simply to state the facts that are most newsworthy and interesting so that a news article maybe developed later on from the media, etc. The voice of the majority of each press release is geared towards the intended audience. ESPN for example uses “sports lingo” because they know that sports viewers, fans, and others who associate their time with sports will understand. The writer also uses really easy words to read quickly and uses numbers and graphics to help create a rhetorical distance for their sports fans/readers.
Activity 6
Ellen DeGeneres.
Dear program writing director,
I feel that the show needs more fun filled games to involve the audience. The doughnut game and marshmellow game is funny and entertaining. So, I have created another game that I fill will spread like wildfire for most popular games played on the show. It involves karaoke and dancing. There will be two randomly chosen audience members and they will have to pick out of a list of artists and the specific song and they will have to sing and dance like that song artists. It will be great. We can even have people send in youtube videos that could lead to a free trip out to LA and come to the show for like a “playoff.” You know how I feel about dancing so why not start my show with dancing and end it with dancing.

In Class October 23, 2008

* my computer glitched, so my notes were unsaved till this point in class *

If evidence does not fit the defendent, then you must acquit the defendant.
- Grounded in community values (major premise: unstated)
-The glove is evidence (unstated minor prmise)
-The glove doesn't fit the defendant (stated minor prmise)
"If the glvoe doesn't fit, you must acquit"

Video-
- Someone needs medical help
- A doctor is certified to help with medical emergency problems
- Holiday Inn guests are smart
"A holiday inn guest is smarter than a doctor"

Major Premise(general class): Smart people are the best people to handle difficult situations
Minor Premise (specific case): People who stay at a Holiday Inn Express are smart
Argument: We need someone who stayed at the Holidy Inn Express to help this man

ARCS Act. 3 pg 186

“Elvis has left the building”
- Elvis has moved to a different place
- Elvis has performed his last show
- Grand finale

ARCS Act 1 pg 186

The first sentence of the article I thought used Enthymematic proof because it had the “thus it follows that” indicated by “therefore;” plane crash kills and injures passengers therefore investigations by federal aviation officials are investigating accident.

A NTSB Public Affairs Officer Petter Kundson used an example of maxim in his quote which read, “Oftentimes, we find that as we collect more information, the picture changes.” The quote uses a wise saying that everybody generally understands and accepts its analogy. It clearly deals with human actions that are being chosen on what is happening and what to do with the problem at hand.

The last paragraph talks about the only two survivors of the plane crash and uses signs to help identify its logical proof. The text claims that the two passengers, Travis Barker and DJ AM both experienced plane crash accidents which was the real event in the sign and now their state of affairs are they suffered severe burns because of the crash.

Article-
Shredded Tires, Debris Likely Caused Travis Barker's Plane Crash:
Federal aviation officials looking into last month's crash that killed four people and critically injured Travis Barker and DJ AM are focusing on bare tires and debris on the runway as the causes of the fate of the doomed Learjet and those onboard. The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that the aircraft's wheels had very little rubber remaining and its brakes were severely damaged. The plane crashed upon an aborted takeoff around midnight Sept. 19. "Oftentimes, we find that as we collect more information, the picture changes," said NTSB Public Affairs Officer Peter Knudson, who said the physical evidence of the crash – such as skid marks and the condition of the brakes – is being analyzed. The cockpit voice recorder indicated that crewmembers expressed their belief that a tire blew as the jet was on the runway. Having both suffered severe burns in the crash, Barker, 32, and DJ AM (real name: Adam Goldstein), 35, are now expected to recover fully.
The wreckage of the Learjet carrying Travis Barker, Adam Goldstein and four others Photo by: Brett Flashnick / AP

In class October 21, 2008

Analyze Data

Faigley's Social Perspective:
-Coding Data: reading all the collected data, looking for patterns, themes, similarities/differences to emerge

Intertextuality (Bazerman):
1)Direct Quotation
2) Indirect Quotation
3) Mentioning another document
4) Commenting on another text
5) Using recognizable phrases

"Tracing Writing Process" (Prior):
A) Analyzing Texts:
-Same between drafts
-Slightly revised
-Added
-[Deleted]

B) Thinking aloud
-differentiating the various types of comments

Influence of Workplace Culture on Writing/Revising:
-Kleimann's four categories of revision comments
- Editorial comments

Analyzing Genres:
-Prominent Linguistic Features
ex- uses active verbs
- presents concrete details
-Rhetorical Features
ex-Progress report that has an argument throughout the report. What is the person doing to make an argument in the report.
-Organizational Features
ex-Chronological order

Speaking-Writing Connection:

Rhetorical Theories:
-Definitions/concepts can serve as lenses to analyze what is happening in texts


Free Write- What I am going to do about re-analyzing my data:
- I am probably going to focus more on the Analyzing Genres: the organizational features and rhetorical features.
- If my person I am observing writes evaluations and creates projects then what type of order does that person deliver throughout the evaluation?
- I will be looking for active verbs and indirect quotations. From there that could lead me to re-analyzing what type of argument was that person trying to perceive in the evaluation; was it more of an argument or agreement?

In Class Notes October 16,2008

Ideology: Sets of beliefs, values, ideas that shape how someone views the world
ex-feminism, conservatism, humanism, communism, capitalism, and enviormentalism

Common Topic: specific procedure/set of questions for generating arguments (heuristics)

Common Place: unstated ideas, statements that help to shape an ideology
- unstated premises that help to construct an ideology

*Common Places are frequently resorted to popular rhetoric
*They provide the terms within which American discourse works

Ideologic: Arguments that are made by stringing together common places

"Keep Austin Weird"
1) An "ideal" city is a "weird" city
2) A weird city has lots of different people, different shops , different ideas, different cultures
3) Austin is a werid city
4) Homogeneity is not weird
5) Npx stpres corp. promote homogenerity
6) Gov't should promote what is unique in a city rather than what is "the same"
7) Austin policy should keep local stores here rather than inviting in corp.

"Guns don't kill people; people kill people"
Government should create legislation that targets criminals alone not the tools they use to commit crime
Guns don't do anything on their own
People are inherently good or bad
Good people will follow laws. Bad people will ignore laws
Responsible people should be given rights; unresponsible people forfeit their rights
Government should protect community

ARCS Act. 4 pg 153

My topic is going to be over TV violence.

Common Topic of Conjecture:
- There is parent lock on television sets
- All kids will inevitable be exposed to violence one way or another
- When there was not any televised programs there were comic books that had violence
- There are TV ratings to help get an idea of what is going to be on the show, just like how there are movie ratings

Common Topic of Degree:
- Not all TV is bad. PBS, Disney, and other kids network shows use fun and entertaining ways to even help educate kids while watching the program
- TV violence may be bad in the U.S. but not as bad as in other countries who do not even have a TV to stem ideas from violent programs aired
- Violent TV programs may cause a reaction to kids giving off the vibe of hurting others is actually not all fun and games
- There is always going to be a disclaimer on violent shows, it is up to parents to reinforce that disclaimer

Common Topic of Possibility:
- Maybe violent programs will only air past a certain time where kids would be asleep or at school. Example- Adult Swim on Cartoon Network starts running their “violent” and “adult” cartoons at 10 p.m.
- You can never take away TV programs and the violent shows that maybe aired. There will always be violence and there will always be a show that airs that violence

ARCS Act. 5 pg 153

ARCS Activity 5 pg 153

After researching the news and internet for something that sprung away from the “meltdown” of our economy debate, I finally found two articles comment on the SNL skit over Alaskan Governor, Sarah Palin. Looking at Time, which is a liberal point of view and USA Today; a conservative view point I noticed some interesting differences between the two news websites.
The whole story behind SNL and Sarah Palin, was SNL’s cast member Tina Fey who has created the identical Sarah Palin keeps airing on SNL and people are starting to complain that SNL might be using the “Sarah Palin” skit as a political campaign.
The USA Today version of the event was really laid back and relaxed. The article took the commonplace theme of saying that SNL has never had an impact on the nominees for a political presidential race. The article talks about how everybody knows that SNL is for fun. They even have Sarah Palin commenting on how funny Tina Fey really is and how well she can pull off looking like her identical twin.
Times do not like the idea of having SNL as a commonplace for political satire to actually make news. Times article starts to talk about how this is not good for Palin’s stance in the political race and how it will affect voters. The article goes on by saying that voters might even get mixed up feelings on who is the “real” Palin.
I do not know much about politics and I am no genius with defining what truly is ideological, but from reading these two articles over a little political humor I get a deeper understanding that the ideology of shows and skits over things that people care deeply about will always have a bigger influence on the party that is left in the dark. The ideology of shows is feeling familiar with the way it’s ran; like SNL, everybody is familiar with not taking the show out of context; that is why SNL has Tina Fey saying things like “Katie (Couric) can I use one of my life lines?” (making fun of when Palin went on the Katie Couric show).

October 14, 2008

Ideology: beliefs, attitudes, values. Ways of thinking/viewing the world that defines a group
pg 130 ARCS

Common Places:
examples- "protecting and preserving families" or "strengthing communities"
-Mode of thinking/often unexamined beliefs taht make up an ideology
-Short ways to reference larger ideas/beliefs/values (a retorical advise)

Class Update

The readings on intertexuality was really interesting to read about because now when im writing i am observing my work as go through my process or writing. Today, in class visually looking at the progress reports I will use the layout structures as the examples.

Reading Activity 3 on Intertexuality

In my Women's Studies class we had to read an article and write an essay about how it referred to a certain question that was assigned in class. The process I took to assemble my essay was to read first the article. Then, I went on the Internet to find quotes, because I always like to start my essays off with quotes that relate to my paper, I always feel like it gives out a stronger message. While I am using the Internet I background research my thesis question. Then I begin to write. I write my first draft without re-reading. After I have completed my essay that is when I go back and check for the mechanical errors.
I guess I really never thought about about how much my words stand out. It's like the quote in the text "you are as strong as your weakest link." It is funny that when I use quotes to start my paper that I am using intertexuality, because its a source of meaning and its a background and support for my essay. Now, that I am thinking about what words I choose to complete my sentences that turn into paragraphs that makes up my papers I typically put my beliefs and statements into each word. I always strive for better vocabulary so that is why I thesaurus abuse my words.

Graffiti Video

Observation:

• Discussing using brainstormed pictures
• Collaborating together while facing one another in front of the wall they are about to spray paint
• Wearing gloves and "casual" attire
• Looks like its in the morning or the beginning of the start of evening
• One person at a time doing the work. Others maybe standing off to the side giving their opinions as the process of spray painting is being done.
• Each time something is spray painted the artists step back and observe and discuss
• Collaborating ideas before/while spray painting
• Talked about having around 100 outlines
• Talks about needing a first outline.
• Then you fill it then that replaces the first outline and then you add color and that takes then replaces the last outline- so there is a "process" that the artists follow in order to create/produce their designs/work
• The further along the process becomes the more collaborating and discussion about what to do next
• Discussing colors/ arguing and persuading one another about which color would look the "best"
• Uses hand motions to express and form ideas

in class observation activity

My first observation of the picture is that its a very small and active classroom. The atmosphere seems very relaxed and comfortable allowing the students to feel and express their opinions. The time of the day is either early morning or mid-afternoon. The time of day definitely affects the moods of students who are willing to learn. These students look very attentive. The students have laptops to maybe blog questions and/or answers or they could just be taking notes. Now, its almost easier for students to type faster than writing allowing more time to tentatively listen to the teacher and interact more in the classroom discussions.

When observing for the free write in-class asignment I did not take notes right away. I wanted to listen in how the two writers talked and collobrated their work together. They at first asked each other if they were in the PWE major. One said yes the other said no. The one that said no then said to the the student majoring in PWE if she could fill her in for what is required for a PWE major. The intial process of their paragraph was to brainstorm and talk amounst themselves then type. They would re-evaluate their sentence and discuss questions like how this would help them in a career after college. They also took what they are doing in this class and discussed how its relevent to the PWE major.

Reflection on Observating:
What i notice myself doing was thinking of ways that I would go about the writing process. This then prosed new theories and questions of my own when observing somebody else in their working atmosphere. As I kept observing I looked more and more for the verbal revisions amoung the writers. I observed how the writers were feeding off of one anothers ideas and then collaborating on a sentence. What I was doing while just observing was inferencing my observations on the spot. I wanted to ask questions like why did you choose to talk about a particular class versus another class. I observed that the writer/typer was creating more ideas than the other writer who was not typing. I think its because its the "mindset" if you will say that I am in charge of writing/typing, even thought the writers are in the same playing/collaborating process.

Class update again

This was a very long and complicated couple of classes. I think Im pretty clear on taking the comments on the 1st drafts of things and analysising them for my final draft. Im still not clear on the whole idea of observing and critcially understanding the work. I feel like I just can't write and be myself when communicating to the person I want to observe in the techincal/ critcial writing field.

Rhetorical Activites 3

DA’s Opinion section of Tuesday, September 9, 2008
“University text alert system fails to deliver”
This article was written after the shooting on high street that occurred on the past Sunday morning. The main point in the article was the text message alert that West Virginia University has for emergencies and how the emergency text alert system was not used during the shooting.

I thought the writer accomplished all stasis arguments in the article. The writer uses “hateful speech” by pointing out that the conjecture of the article was describing how city police officials did not use the emergency text message alert system. The police officials thought it was not necessary to spread panic when they already had the violators in custody and the shooting was not on campus property.

The definition of stasis in the article is about what police officials think of when the word “emergency” is used to send out an alert text message for the safety of WVU’s students.

The quality of stasis in the article is the body of it all. The shooting not only affects the students, but the local community. A student, comparative questions of quality is the state of no other alternatives for their protection if police officials keep continuing to say that each incident was un-necessary to “create panic when there’s no reason for panic.” Students may look at the issue of they have a right to be texted, whether they police feels it is necessary not to send a campus wide panic.

The writer does not support the police officials. It is clearly stated in the text, “Just because a dangerous crime is committed outside an invisible boundary between campus and off-campus does not mean it won’t affect our lives or how safe we feel in our community.” In the article the writer states a specific argument and has a fact that WVU is ranked one of the safest schools in the Big East. If we have such a strong safety policy then why reject the text message alert system, whether or not it seems plausible.

letter of inquiry stuff

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?

These are the types of questions that would be the start of your specific questions.

What Prior talks about:
Initiating text: prompts the writer to compose another text
example: assignment descriptions
* this gets interpreted by the writer
* gets negotiated

How can we discover the answers towards the initiating text?
Interpreting:
Text- assignment, description, what goals were set/what purpose was established, words that give emphasis
Interviewing - stimulated elicitation interviewing "prop",
Negotiate:
Text: peer review questions, focus us on the specific moves the writer should try to make, teaching notes

Week Update

In the past few classes we have had I feel like Im running into the dark with the ideas and thoughts that are discussed during class. We look and talk about examples, but I don't understand what we are supposed to be looking for in the examples themselves. I understand the exploratory essay and the letter of inquiry, but in class when we are trying to relate that back to those assignments I find them irrelevant, and that is because I am lost in the explanations of the given in-class assignments. When we are paired up in partners to discuss the packet we have been looking at all last week, I have gained zero value in doing so, because its has been the same over and over ideas throughout the packet from the beginning and there is no more further questions and ideas to be dicussed with a partner. I feel that doing it as a class as a whole generates more discussions and ideas then individual partners. I also feel that we no longer blog during class, which gives me some time indvidually to take a minute and refelct what are class discussion was and raise some questions I had or just thought of, which is nice when we do our out of class assignments and readings.

Response to Exploratory Essay

The first thing I did to start my Exploratory Essay was to research on the Internet on someone who uses professional writing in their daily job. I wanted the field to be about something I was interested in and had relatively small connections with the field. This way when I wrote my essay and when I wrote my essay and when I would interview this person I could retrospectively account my writing.
After, I found the Big Brother & Big Sister organization and was interested in researching how the math support specialist professionally wrote their evaluations for the clients, families, and other employees & team members at the Big Brother Big Sister Organization.
Next, I took the reading that was assigned in class by Jack Stelzer. I used his research and finding on the engineer he observed to conduct questions of my own for when i observe the Match Support Specialist.

Class 9/2 notes/discussion

Define: discourse community? 

 - Discourse: "identity kit" comes w/an appropriate costume and instructions on how to act and talk as the member of a specific community

"Being trained as an engineer, one learns how to speak, think, and act like an engineer" - James G. 

Looking outside of the Professional Writing and Editing jobs and specifications of that particular "community" I am the treasurer as well as a member of them team for the Women's Club Volleyball Team at WVU. Each club forms sort of its own community. We hold specific events together or hold events among other club teams at WVU. The fellow officers and I have to write out reports at the end of the year. I have to read and balance the club check books and accounts. We have to e-mail and communicate with other university teams whom we want to travel too and play in their tournament. The officers and I also run practices and have to be a coach as well as a player. This is difficult, because of how we choose to communicate when we are a coach or the player. Being strict, having fun. 

• How does the social perspective apply to my work as a professional writer?
  
• What kinds of things do you need to know in order to be a member of that group? 
  
• How do group members' communicate w/ one another? Sanctioning. 
  
• What subjects are/ are not appropriate for discussion? How do we discuss them?

Specific genres become used as forms of communication.

Learning lingo- understanding concepts and expectations

Rhetorical Activites 1&4

1) The issue that I chose to talk about was whether cannabis should become illegal in the United States. This issue is quite interesting, because there are many views to recognize. On Wednesday of last week, Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced a bill that would remove federal penalties for personal use of marijuana. Ever since it was outlawed after the Prohibition in 1937, the U.S. federal government has kept a strict mind set on the issue.
The kairos of this issue is like the gun control/violence in the text’s example, because the government’s officials do not state clearly their position on whether cannabis should be illegal or not, they all just say the issue needs time for further discussion. Just like the government officials say they need more time on what to do with the gun-free zones throughout the United States. Now, that Congressman Frank posed this issue it has become urgent news.
The communities and pro-cannabis groups are favoring these times, because the issue is now openly up for discussion in the federal government. People who are for the issue of making cannabis legal have argument upon argument of why it is necessary for cannabis to be legal. Cannabis users argue, marijuana can be used to treat illnesses, including glaucoma, asthma, multiple sclerosis and H.I.V. /A.I.D.S. Talk show host Montel Williams who has multiple sclerosis and has to take over a 100 pills a day uses medical marijuana to help ease his pain agrees that cannabis should be legal in the U.S. for reasons like his own. People like John Walters, director of national drug control policy who is against cannabis being legal said in a press release that "Marijuana is the blindspot of drug policy....Baby Boomers have this perception that marijuana is about fun and freedom. It isn't. It's about dependency, disease, and dysfunction.”
The writers/ speakers defiantly write in their own interest for the issue. You can easily tell if they favor the issue or not, because in the articles there is a lot of “changing of the subject” that initially pulls toward a related issue such as the topic of medical marijuana or how the government spends around $10 billion dollars of taxpayers money to enforce cannabis laws.

4) Does the drinking age in the U.S. still need to be twenty-one? The United States is the only country in the world that has its legal drinking age be 21 years old. The argument that it pro longs the abuse of alcohol in the country is completely blindsided by the fact that if people want to do something they are going to do it even if there are possible repercussions. College students like me are influenced by alcohol everyday, because drinking has now become a social activity.

Weekend Review

I think I am pretty clear on what a Professional Writer is and does for everyone who reads their work.

I am still un-clear on what rhetoric really means and how to apply it to the field of professional writing and editing.

PWE and its workplace

A professional writer can be the Neo of the Matrix. They potentially could take someone else's studies, thoughts and ideas and write out something for other readers to understand, hence taking a code nobody can read and write something for everyone to understand.

It is important that a professional writer grasp the environment he or she is writing in or for, because communication is key and if he/she writes something that nobody understands that writer breaks communication with whomever is reading their work. For example, the manager of a company writes a memo to its employees about a new policy that is going to take into effect. If the manager uses words that non of his/her staff would understand the point of the memo would be pointless because the communication of the document would not be fully understood by the employees to adopt this new policy, because they did not understand what their manager was trying to say.

The saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words" defines why a writer must be precise with its word choice because words are the only way of communicating when verbal communication is not an option.

Ideas/ brainstorming PWE positions

1. How does a PWE stay motivated while working on topics not particularly interesting to him/her?
2. What does it take for a technical writer's work be respected and used?
3. What kind of ethics do technical writers have?
4. How do editors deal with controversial subject or things they don't believe in?
5. When 2 or more PWE's collaborate on a give project, how do they divide the work and avoid "too many cooks in the kitchen" syndrome?
6. How do eitors organize their work areas? - How does this affect their work?
7. How does a technical writer sort through their info to decide what is worth publishing and what can be discarded?
8. How do editors make the choice to include or exclude material from a book? How do they know what will appeal?
9. What type of training beyond an undergraduate degree is required to work is marketing and corporate communication?
10. How do editors know better than a writer, what the audience needs?
11. How much knowledge should a PWE have on a subject before writing assit/writing with it?

Rhetorical Activites 2&4

2) The closest example I could think of when encountering an example of a argument that really is not an argument, would be the television show "At the movies with Ebert and Roeper." This is a show that has two well known movie critics talk and argue newly released films. Ebert and Roeper both give their audience as well as each other their opinions on what movies are good and bad, but how can they openly "argue" what films are better than others when there is a script that they follow on the prompter next to the cameras. In the text it states, "opinions belong to individuals, while facts belong to everybody" (pg. 15). The show only shows a theatrical sort of argument versus a rhetorical argument, because it is scripted and both Ebert and Roeper are not really listening to each other's opinions and arguments about what films a must see, because everyone is entitled to their own opinion and you can not change someones opinion or else you would be changing the script of the show and that would no longer be theatrical, which is what everyone whose watching does not want to happen.

4) I believe that every college kid goes through this art of persuasion in which their friends persuade them into going out during the week instead of doing homework. The persuasion starts out with an excuse to do it in the morning or that everyone is going out so you might as well go out and not be a "party pooper." The person who does not want to go out at first is strong with determination of sticking with his/her decision, but as all their friends who bring up all these excuses such as great bar specials or telling you that you really do not have that much to do starts to get you thinking and soon enough you are closing the books and heading out for the night in which you were suppose to be doing homework. I am a Catholic and my religious background automatically puts me in confrontation with others when the word "God" comes into play. For example, my friends and I will be talking about our church services and how some involve fun music and a relaxed atmosphere, but when Catholics such as myself bring up our church service its always that my religion is so old and boring and so completely different from all others. I try to argue that my church is getting better with the "rules" but who am I kidding, except for myself because just like people, religion will never change. So, its very hard to want to argue about my Catholic background, because its really the only religion that has not evolved with time and even my views change about religion over time and I do become accessible to being persuaded on other religions. People who are smokers or overweight can be persuaded to change their habits very quickly. It could be for their significant other who does not like a smoker or he/she is a health nut and only buys healthy foods.
Everyone is easily persuaded, because it is human nature to agree to disagree on any subject that involves an opinion, because opinions are personal.

Jack Selzer and the Engineer

Jack Selzer wanted to better understand how people write rhetorically, meaning he wanted to know how people such as engineers and how they write not necessarily what they write. When teachers and other instructors try to teach people how to write professionally, most of the time they can not explain efficiently. So, Jack studied somebody who was an engineer who wrote professionally everyday without trying or having a writers background. He also wanted to learn how engineers and other scientists planned, arranged, reivesed, and wrote.

What I thought was most intereresting about Jack's research was, how precise and accurate the engineer wrote his proposals. The engineer would brainstorm and brainstorm and then write one draft that was nearly perfect. A typical professional writer has many revised drafts before its final product. The engineer was on target, because he would resarch what his client wanted so when it came time to writing he did not have to revise. Selzer, noticed that the engineer had specific "rules" as to how he writes and develops his assignments. Such as, keeping the paragraphs short, using easy to read text, and making it very organzied with a beginning, middle, and end. Selzer, knew the engineer was accuarte and correct in his writing skills because he had tape recoreded his ideas and thoughts. He also interviewed the engineer's co-workers and re-read the engineer's old documents. Selzer finally had these follow up interviews with the engineer to ask why he did the things he did.

Different Jobs for Professional Writers

Reading through some of the articles to get an idea of what kind of jobs are held for a professional writer I realized that there are many freelance writers. I think that makes perfect sense, because not many businesses want to hire one person to write such thing as a project proposal so writers with there technical writing backgrounds would want to be a freelancer so they can be hired by many companies. Other types of jobs that professional writers could be apart of is in the fields of business, science, communications, and law. The type of work a writer would complete for the science field would be to write up a lab review for other colleagues. A professional writer must be accurate with their writings because the point is to be rhetoric giving off only information that is precise and helpful to others. For example, a professional writer who writes for a fortune 500 company whose task was to conduct a proposal to one of their clients about investing in that company, the writer would have to complete that proposal with easy to use words, very short and to the point paragraphs, and accurate information that the client could quickly read and feel comfortable. This kind of task may seem easy, but takes an exhausting thought process and then numerous drafts before the final product could be considered "readable." Other fields that professional writers are based out from consist of magazine editors/writers and researchers, film writers, web designers, being able to report facts for someone, creating presentations, etc. All in all the field of professional writing and editing is becoming more demanding in our society, because everyone has their own opportunity cost of how they value time.