Thlog #10

This week in class, we learned how to make an E-portfolio, which I think is super cool. I think knowing how to work weebly.com will come in handy in the future, and it’s neat that anyone who googles me will find my portfolio as well. I’ve also been working on my writing portfolio this week. Even though the writing portfolio has been time consuming so far, it’s actually been a super helpful project for me. For my first two WPs, I didn’t really grasp the concept of a “driving” thesis statement. After writing my revisions, however, I feel like I completely nailed both theses. They took my papers in a completely different direction, which involved a lot of re-writing and adding in new information, but I’m confident I got them to the “next level”. (I would give myself A’s on both of my revisions). The google doc-a-thon helped me out too. I asked a question about whether or not I was contradicting myself in a certain paragraph, and most people said the paragraph was contradictory and confusing. I ended up omitting the paragraph from my WP1, and it flows much better now. Responding to other people’s questions allowed me to reflect on my own work as well. A lot of people asked about their thesis statement and how to make it stronger, and reading through everyone’s tips gave me some ideas on how to make my own theses even better. At the beginning of the quarter, I thought this class was going to be a drag. Even though the course was difficult at times, I enjoyed it a lot and felt like my writing truly did benefit from it. Thanks for such a great class, Zack. :) 

Thlog #9

The group presentations this week taught me a lot of different things that I didn’t previously know about the English language. In the first presentation, the chief taught me about hedged language and qualified claims. Now, instead of saying, “I’m the greatest and coolest person to ever live”, I say “It is possible that I am the greatest and coolest person to ever live”, which not only makes me sound more intelligent, but less conceited as well. The presentation about sentences taught me a new term: fanboys. Fanboys are the words for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. I learned that fanboys join words or phrases together in sentences. My own presentation taught me a lot as well. Previously, I’d thought that parallelism just applied to two lines in the same plane that never intersect. It turns out that parallelism is a super important part of many textual genres, including job applications, essays, scholarly articles, and more. Using parallelism makes any genre look more professional and put together, which in turn gives the author credibility. It also creates flow and makes a piece of writing more organized. My blog is one good example of parallelism. Each post has the same background, an orange title, and text of the same color, font, and font size. Not only can we find parallelism in written texts, we can find it in the physical world as well. The white house, with its pillars and symmetrical windows, is one example of this. The presentations were both educational and funny, and I learned something new from each one. 

Thlog #7

This week I was able to figure out a lot of ideas for my WP3. The list of different genres on the lesson plan was really helpful because it helped me decide what I wanted to do for my own project. I like this project more than the other two writing projects we’ve done, because it’s allowing me to  think outside of the box. On my WP2, I received a comment about not using enough of my own “voice” throughout, and I don’t see that being a problem with this last project. I was stuck between two different ideas for my older audience genre, but I got some great feedback on my PB3A and was able to determine that the second idea was much better. I know I will have to spend more time thinking about this part of the project, because I’m not as confident about it as I am about the first part. The time suggestion you gave in class was helpful as well. I’ve spent most of my time on my younger audience genre so far, because I have to get really creative with it, but I realize that I don’t have to spend the exact amount of time on both for them to be effective. Reading everyone’s ideas in their PB3As was so cool and totally inspired me to get as creative as possible with my own project. I’m excited to see how this project turns out!

PB3A

For my WP3, I want to research a scholarly article about nutrition, nutritional facts, or nutritional facts labels. Using the first prompt idea, I would take this information and make it into two different pieces, one for a younger audience and one for an older audience. 

For the younger audience, I would make the back of a cereal box. The cereal box would be aimed at an audience approximately 7-12 years old, because 7 year olds can usually read on their own and 12 year olds are not yet teenagers and are still considered children. On the box would be a bunch of fun facts about health and nutrition, with a bunch of big fonts and bright colors. There would also be some illustrations, maybe of other kids so the audience can relate to the image, or of characters from popular tv shows or movies. On the side would be a nutritional facts label for the product. The language would be simple, and the sentences would be short. It would include a link to a website where the kid can get more information about nutrition and play fun games, and it would also remind the child to ask their parent’s permission before going online. It might also include a maze where the child can find the healthiest snack, or a crossword where the child can fill in nutritional words based on the simple clues. 

For the older audience, I’m still on the fence about what to do. This genre would definitely be aimed at parents, however. 

I could make a magazine or newspaper article about the low nutritional value of fast food and how harmful this food can be for children and parents alike. For this idea, I would use a formal but still somewhat conversational tone. The vocabulary would be high enough for an adult to understand, but wouldn't be over the average person’s head. The article would include rhetorical questions to make the intended audience of the piece think more critically about the topic. It would include some kind of visual, whether it be a graph/chart or a picture of an organic grocery store. It would contain many facts and not be a very opinionated piece. It would also be organized into multiple, medium length paragraphs.

I could also write a letter to a food company explaining my concern over the list of ingredients in a certain product. The structure of a normal business letter would be maintained— it would include a proper heading and greeting and would contain multiple paragraphs. It would include a handwritten signature at the end as well. In addition to addressing the problem, I would offer one or more possible solutions and suggest that the reader take them into consideration. The letter should be simple, relatively short, and to the point, like most complaint letters. Along with the complaint should come some compliments and thank you’s, so the reader is more obligated to do as asked. Along with being formal, the letter should be polite and friendly. It should also include contact information for the writer of the letter, so they can be contacted if necessary.

Thlog #6

This week in class I got a lot of good tips about my WP2 during the peer reading workshop. I forgot about adding quotes from the course readings, and one of my partners reminded me to add that in. She also told me to elaborate more, which made me realize that I had more evidence than analysis in my essay. WP2 was harder for me than WP1, but I ended up with a lot more information for this project than the first one. It was hard to decide what to write and what to leave out, but I think in the end I used just the right amount of information. I was unsure about my thesis, but using the concept of the arguability test helped me come up with one that made sense and fit with my argument. 

Reflection

• What are some "moves" you see in these videos? 

The Family Guy video uses humor to entertain the audience. In the Bob Ross and Disney videos, they show the painting and describe it as it's being painted. This gives the audience a visual.

• How do these artists describe what they’re doing?  What do the artists refer to while they describe their work?  What do they talk about?  What do they direct our attention towards? 

They describe the motions they're making as they paint. They refer to their tools and the things that they're painting. They talk about why they're doing what they're doing. They direct our attention toward the painting, and even zoom in on what they're painting or describing.  

• How would you characterize each artist's style, and what impact does their style have on you (a viewer/audience member)?  How have these artists chosen to portray their subject matter?  

Bob Ross gets really into his work and describes every move that he makes. This makes the reader laugh and not take him seriously. In the disney video, each artist has a different way of painting the same tree. They use different tools and work at different paces. 

Journal 11/4

Q1. So, in the end, how’d your WP2 paper go?  What were you happy with?  What weren’t you?  Why?  Be specific! (Remember: this is fodder for your end-of-quarter metacognitive reflection)

I think it went well, I answered all of the prompt, and I was happy with way it was organized. What I didn’t like was that I had a little too much information and  I didn’t really know what to include and what to take out.

Q2. Which 2 or 3 comments that you received yesterday were the most helpful for you?  Why?

The comment about adding in course readings was helpful because I totally forgot about that. I also got a comment about elaborating on some of the “moves” I identified.

Thlog #5

This week in class I learned that a discipline is an area of study, similar to a major. People in different disciplines do research on the same topics, just in different ways. For example, for my WP2, I looked at scholarly articles on criminal behavior from two different disciplines, sociology and psychology. While the psych article looked at behaviors and mentality of four different murderers, the soc article discussed how society contributes to murders in general. I also learned about moves that authors make in their writing. A move can be almost anything, from introducing a quote, to explaining that quote, to simply changing the font on a specific word to give it more emphasis. There were many examples of these moves in the “They Say, I Say” appendix that I used in my Pb2B and WP2. I liked the activity where we identified the moves in the song by Sublime — it helped me better understand the concept of “moves” in general, considering I couldn’t even answer the journal question at the beginning of Monday’s class. The writing tip about leaving yourself comments was helpful as well. I usually use asterisks in my writing so I know that I have to come back and revise/add something, but sometimes when I come back to it I forget what I need to change. Actually adding in comments to remind myself what needs to be revised is much easier and much more effective. I’m also really glad you made it clear that Wikipedia is okay to use for basic information, because it is my go to website when I’m starting a paper or project. 

PB2B

Authors tend make certain “moves”  in their writing in order to inform and entertain their readers. Understanding these “moves” an author makes and his reason for making them help us to analyze the writer’s work and understand it as a whole, which can in turn make us better writers ourselves.

The “They Say, I Say” appendix gives many templates of writer’s potential moves. We see these same types of moves in many of the readings. In “Teaching Two Kinds of Writing”, Peter Elbow introduces an ongoing debate when he says, "Some say 'yes, good, we all need holidays from thinking.’ Others say, ‘Horrors! Their vigilance muscles will get flabby and they’ll lose their ability to think critically’. But I insist that I’m teaching thinking". In “Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis”, Laura Carroll introduces a quote from Kenneth Burke about rhetoric by saying, “In fact, according to rhetorician Kenneth Burke…”. She also goes on to explain this quote, saying, “In other words, most of our actions are persuasive in nature”. In the same piece, Carroll says that she disagrees with the media, and offers a reason why. She claims that “we are also told by the media that buying more stuff can make us happy, but historical surveys show that US happiness peaked in the 1950’s, when people saw as many advertisements in their lifetime as the average American sees in one year.” Another move, made by Alex Reid in “Why Blog?”, is that of introducing standard views. He does this in the first sentence of his piece, stating that “as Malcolm Gladwell and others have observed, it takes some 10,000 hours of dedication to a craft or profession to become an ‘expert’’. 

In “Responding to Student’s Writing”, author Richard Straub also makes a multitude of unique moves. The first one is his choice to begin the piece with the short, one-word sentence, “Okay.” The writer makes this move, which I like to call the “The Fault in Our Stars”, to establish his piece as casual and conversational. His intended audience is students, so his conversational tone is meant to appeal to younger groups of people. This can also been seen when he tells the reader, in the first paragraph, to “be cool about it”. The conversational tone keeps the audience interested, and allows them to relate to the author. This strategy is effective in establishing the author’s intended audience and maintaining this audience’s interest throughout. 

In a move that I call “The Break Up”, the writer “breaks up” his writing into sections, each with a question as the heading. For example, one of the headings reads, “What Are Your Goals?” The author makes this move to encourage the reader to think — in this particular case, to reevaluate their motivations and goals for reviewing someone else’s writing. Thinking about these types of questions allows readers to get into the mindset of a peer reviewer, which is what the author wants. Using these questions as headings is effective because the reader can determine what his or her answer is before reading, and then compare the author’s thoughts and ideas with their own.

In the section titled “How to Present your Comments?” the author lists, using bullet points, ideas on where and how to write comments. I call this move “Main Ideas Only”. He breaks up the information in this way to make it more clear, concise, and easier to read. The reader will be more likely to retain the information in this section, because it is given to them directly, with no “fluff”. Using sentences instead of bullet points would have simply presented more information than necessary. Bullet points are effective in this particular situation because there is no confusion about what the author’s main points are.

The author includes a figure in his work, a move I like to call “Let’s Get Visual”. The figure is an essay that has been read over by a friend or peer. There are comments all over the essay, some of them critical and some complimentary. The author makes this move because including pictures can be helpful to students who learn visually. For some, this visual may even be crucial to their understanding of the work as a whole. They can see the author’s tips and ideas being put to use, and they can determine whether or not they make similar comments when responding to student’s writing themselves. They can see how exactly to make the comments and where on the page to put them. I think that pictures and figures included in writing can be very beneficial to a reader. They reinforce many components of the author’s argument in a more visual way.

Throughout the piece, the author consistently uses the words “you” and “I”. This is a move that I like to call “Together Forever”. Because the use of these words is not typical of formal writing, this move adds to the conversational, casual tone, much like the “Fault In Our Stars” move. It also allows the author to get his point across more directly, which is important in this particular writing. This move was effective because the tips are given to the reader specifically, which makes them more likely to remember and utilize them.

Analyzing the particular moves that writers make can be highly beneficial to our own writing. We can become better writers ourselves by mimicking the moves we find effective and steering clear of the ones we don’t like.

PB2A

What makes a scholarly academic research paper different from a regular essay? A magazine article? A children’s book? The conventions and rhetoric used make these papers one-of-a-kind. By analyzing two different sources — an actual scholarly research paper and a paper created by a generator — we can explore these conventions and understand which are the most important in this genre. 

The scholarly research paper that I analyzed was about Tourette’s syndrome. It was titled “Dual Regulating Effect of Ningdong Granule on Extracellular Dopamine Content of Two Kinds of Tourette's Syndrome Rat Models”. Just like the papers from the SCI Generator, the title was confusing and contained many words that I had to look up. For example, one of the randomly generated papers was titled “On the Essential Unification of 32 Bit Architectures and IPv7”. There were multiple authors of the Tourette’s paper, all of which were listed under the title. In scholarly research papers, multiple authors can be highly beneficial to the overall work. There are ideas from multiple different sources instead of one, which establishes Ethos. 

The tone and intended audience are the most important conventions to be aware of when writing or reading a research paper. The tone of the Tourette’s paper, like those papers from the SCI generator, was very formal and informative. Formality is what the intended audience, which is colleagues who peer-review the essay, and then other scholars and well-educated people interested in the same field of study, expect to see when reading this kind of paper. Diction was important in maintaining this tone — high vocabulary was a major convention that made it all the more formal. Correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation furthered the formality as well. The authors wrote as formally and intelligently as they pleased, because their intended audience knew the subject well and most likely had experience in that particular line of research. 

The Tourette’s research began with a summary, while the SCI generator papers began with an abstract. Like an abstract, a summary gives a reader information on the paper and prepares them for what they are about to read. However, an abstract is meant to interest a reader enough for them to want to read the rest of the paper. The Tourette’s research began with a summary instead of an abstract because the authors assumed that their audience was already interested in what they had researched and discovered.

Both the paper on Tourette’s and the generated paper followed a certain format. Not only does this add to the formality of the paper, but helps its organization and structure as well. The reader has a much easier time understanding and retaining the information presented because it is split up into different sections. Each section has a heading, which tells the reader what they will be reading about and allows them to find a specific section of the work if needed. Some of these headings include introduction, results, and materials and methods. The scholarly research paper also includes subheadings, which break up the information even further. One example of this is the subheading “DTA Protein Expression in Striatum”. The papers are composed of multiple paragraphs, many of them beginning with transitional words that keep the paper flowing.

Both papers included graphs and tables, which help the reader to see the information in a different way. The figures are explained in a few sentences right beneath, offering the reader some insight into the significance of each table. 

The authors of the scholarly research paper appealed to Ethos once more when they used direct evidence from different sources. Like the paper from the SCI generator, they also listed all of their references at the very end of the paper, which allows the reader to determine whether or not it is a credible source.

Because the Tourette’s paper is an actual research project, it was much more involved and detailed than any of the papers created by the SCI generator. But besides this and the subject of the paper, there weren't many differences between the two. The conventions of a research paper are consistent enough that a scholarly research project and fake paper created using a generator contained similarities in almost every aspect of writing. 

Thlog 3

This week in class I learned a lot of different tips and tricks to help with my WP1 and future writing projects. I learned how to write a working thesis, which was really helpful because it allowed my ideas to change as needed each time I revised my essay. Learning about the “arguability test” was helpful as well. Learning both of these concepts allowed me to making my thesis rock solid, and after revising my WP1 a few times, I felt really confident in it. I liked the peer/reader review also. The commentary from my group was super helpful, and I added in a majority of the suggestions I received. I thought the reverse outline idea was cool also. After highlighting, I realized that a lot of my essay didn’t relate back to my thesis and I didn’t have enough textual evidence. The second and fourth colors weren’t equal, so I knew I had to go back and add in more of my own analysis. Our journal questions helped me to reflect on my paper as a whole and figure out that I needed to revise it again for me to be happy with it. 

Thlog #2

De Piero’s daily writing tips have taught me a lot this week. Writing tip #1 taught me to use placeholders in my writing, which helped when I was brainstorming for my PB1b and WP1. I learned how to use the Oxford comma, which I had previously not known about. The Oxford comma lesson also taught me the names of every member of the Beatles, which I believe is information that will come in handy someday. I learned something very important on Wednesday — dashes and hyphens are used in different situations. This is a mistake that I commonly make in my writing, and I’m glad I finally figured out the difference. The “So What? Who Cares?” reading taught me that I need to explain why my arguments matter in my writings, even if I’m addressing an audience that already knows. Addressing the “So What?” issue has always been a little tricky for me, so I liked that this reading gave multiple templates to use in answering this question. PB1B gave me even more insight into the world of genre by showing me just how important conventions are in writing. “Responding — Really Responding — to Other Student’s Writing” has helped me make my feedback on other student’s PB’s more effective. I learned that it is best to be very specific, and to offer constructive criticism as well as praise. I feel as though the in-class daily writing tips and readings are helping me to achieve my goal of becoming a more interesting writer. 

PB 1B - Genre Generators

If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. Many people apply this rule to everyday life. But can it be applied to textual genres as well? The genre generators suggest that as long as the conventions are consistent, then the genre is consistent as well. These sites give us more insight into why conventions are so important in understanding and analyzing different genres.

The sci generator creates scientific research papers written using fake data. Even though the information presented is completely made up, conventions tell the reader that the text is indeed a research paper. Conventions of this genre include high vocabulary, correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation, charts and graphs, and a list of references from which the writer obtained the information. Each paper also follows a specific format. The information is broken up into sections, each with a different heading. Intro, design, conclusion, and results are a few examples of these. The most important convention of the research paper is the tone, which is both formal and informative. Diction and syntax are two rhetorical devices that aid in setting this tone. 

The second generator creates comic strips. Each comic strip has three panels, and each panel contains a cartoon and dialogue. A comic strip is only successful if it’s funny. Therefore, one of the most important conventions of this genre is humor. Sarcasm and even satire are a couple rhetorical devices a writer can utilize when working in this genre. Even if the reader doesn’t personally find the comic funny, they will understand the author’s attempt at being humorous. Another convention is simple dialogue. A comic with paragraphs of text would not be effective because the reader would lose interest easily. Informality is a convention of this genre as well. 

The last generator creates memes. A meme consists of a picture, usually of a person or an animal, accompanied by a caption. A meme’s conventions are similar to that of the comic strip. The only difference is that while comic strips tell a story, a meme simply has a random, funny saying. The most important convention of a meme is humor- a writer in this genre aims to create a meme funny or witty enough to go viral. Memes are always short and to the point, usually only containing one or two lines of text. Memes are also informal. Punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure are not important. Misspellings and bad grammar can even add to the humor and make the meme more successful. 

I also found a random essay generator at http://www.longessays.com/essay.php. An essay is created about any topic typed into the search bar. The exact template is used for every paper generated, and only the word/s you typed in as the topic will change. An introduction, conclusion, and body paragraphs are some common conventions of an essay. A formal tone, and correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation are also essential in this genre. Every essay created with this generator includes information on the social and cultural, economic, environmental, and political factors of the specific topic. These elements are conventions of many academic essays.

These generators give a deeper understanding of genre by showing the importance of conventions. A work becomes part of a certain genre when all of the conventions are satisfied. Knowing what conventions are and being able to recognize them allows a reader to decide the genre of any given text. Likewise, to be a successful writer, one must read and study other works within the genre and use the same conventions in their own work.

Thlog #1

In the past week, Writing 2 has taught me a lot about genres, conventions, and rhetoric. “Teaching Two Kinds of Writing” by Peter Elbow was both an interesting and helpful reading. When writing essays for high school english classes, I used to jump right into second order thinking. I would analyze every sentence of my writing and try to make perfect sense of it right off the bat. I now realize that using first order thinking is beneficial to my writing. It speeds up the writing process because I get my ideas down on paper more quickly. 

Another helpful reading was “Backpacks to Briefcases” by Carroll. I took AP English my junior year of high school, and had to write many rhetorical analysis essays. Even though I understood rhetorical devices, I never completely understood what the point of rhetorical analysis was. Carroll’s comparison of the media to rhetorical analysis helped me to better understand why rhetoric is important. The article also refreshed my memory on rhetorical devices like pathos, ethos, and logos. I thought that the ransom letter example in “Navigating Genres” by Dirk was humorous way to explain the importance of the rhetorical situation as well. 

This week I’ve also realized just how specific some genres can be. I used to think that all genres were very broad, like a letter or an essay. I learned, however, that a friendly letter and a business letter are two completely different genres because they have different conventions. I also learned that conventions are similarities found within genres. In addition, I discovered that advertisements, letter of recommendation requests, and Instagram captions are all considered their own genres.

PB 1A

A college admissions essay is unlike any other essay  that a student is asked to write throughout their high school career - one might even say it the most important essay a student will ever have to write. Because a college admissions essay is so different from other essays, it falls into its own genre. There are many conventions and rhetorical features of the college admissions essay. This genre of text is usually found attached to a college application, when students begin applying to universities during the fall of their senior year. They are written by students hoping to gain admission into a university, and read by a board of admissions. Readers of these essays can also include parents, friends, and teachers, for the main purpose of proofreading the student’s work. College admissions essays can be written about a variety of different subjects, depending on the given prompt. Many prompts ask for a personal statement, in which the student describes themselves and their aspirations for the future. Other prompts ask the student to describe how their world has shaped them. Some prompts are very different, however - last year, the University of Chicago asked students to write about “what makes odd numbers, odd”. All essays should address a student’s achievements and goals for the future, and should answer the question of why they should be admitted to the university. It showcases the student’s creativity and writing skills.  The purpose of the essay is  for the writer to tell the reader something about themselves that is not disclosed in the rest of the application. It is something that sets the student apart from all of the other applicants. Readers get to “know” each student through their essay, and help them to decide whether the student is worthy of admission.

There are many conventions of this genre. A college admissions essay is formal, and respectful in tone. It is very specific to the student and directly answers the prompt. It typically includes a lot of boasting about oneself. It also follows a certain format - each essay is expected to have an intro, two or three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The intro has a hook and a thesis. The essay should show organization and structure. The essay also has to be under a certain word count, which is stated in the prompt. Correct grammar, punctuation spelling, high vocabulary, and complex sentences are some other very important components. Students are expected to follow the prompt and put their best foot forward. Proper word choice and subject matter are therefore essential to writing a good college admissions essays. Talking about partying and drinking, for example, would not be appropriate for this genre. Using slang would be detrimental to the essay as well. 

Rhetoric is important to consider when writing in this genre as well. The writer must know that their intended audience is a board of admissions, and the reader must understand that the students writing these essays only have a high school level education. The student can also appeal to ethos, logos, and pathos in their writing. It is important that the writer appeal to ethos, because the more credible they seem, the more their audience will believe that the great things  they say about themselves are true. An appeal to pathos allows the reader to empathize with the writer. Other rhetorical features to keep when writing a college admissions essay are anecdotes and syntax. Anecdotes make introductory paragraphs interesting, and good syntax is important for persuasion.

The best possible outcome for the writer in this genre is being admitted to the university of their choosing. For the reader, it is selecting the best students for the university from the applicant pool. The college admissions essay is a textual genre that, when understood and written properly, makes both the reader and writer’s dreams come true. 

About Me

Hey there, I’m Taylor Preston, but most people call me Taypres for short. I’m a freshman from Hollister, CA, and my interests include Netflix, naps, and dubstep. Lately I’ve also been really into traveling, though I’ve yet to travel anywhere too far. On Spring Break I went to Mexico (and got to hold a baby tiger, as you can see) and this summer I went to Hawaii. I hope to study abroad sometime during college and I really want to visit Thailand someday. I’m currently a communications major but that’s subject to change considering I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I’m also a procrastinator, and I embarrass myself a lot more than the average person. In high school I was involved in cheerleading and student government, and I’m excited to see what kind of things I get involved with here at UCSB. I love meeting new people so if you want to know more about me feel free to say hi!