The Last Writing Project / Thlog 9

One more week to go! Do not fret classmates, it will all be over soon. Finals will come and go and, with that, we'll all be off enjoying our spring break in no time! But for now, let dead week commence.

This week, Writing 2 was all about WP3s.

It it absolutely crazy that only a week ago, my WP3 was a few ideas in my head. Last Monday was really helpful in developing my thought process for this last writing project, in my opinion at least. Talking about ideas and conversing with others about my ideas seems to be very beneficial to not only myself, but the others in my group. This was a recurring thought on Wednesday as well. Our WP3, though great for allowing creativity and freedom, was quite confusing in terms of what was expected of us. Talking to fellow classmates allows me (and probably everyone else) to get a feel of where our heads are at regarding the assignment.

It took a bit longer than usual to wrap my head around the assignment as well as all the freedom we were given. Because of this, I wish we had more time for this writing project (though I do understand that it is due so soon because the quarter is coming to a close). When utilized correctly, allowing for freedom can really produce great work. However, it seems that my confusion with what was assigned and my tendency of getting distracted really affected how I began my assignment. Somehow, I was able to sit down, figure out what I wanted to do, and make a plan. Only then, when I found a path to focus on, was I able to appreciate the creativity of the assignment. And in the end, I really did have a lot of fun executing my plans for the WP3.

Discourse Communities and Genres / WP3

In reading Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice: Membership, Conflict, and Diversity, Johns made it clear that discourse communities are very similar to what we already picture when think of communities. Regardless of the common misconception that disciplines make up most of the variety of discourse communities, discourse communities also seem to be defined by interests, politics, and professions. They are both "social and interest groups with which [an individual has] chosen to affiliate" (Johns 501), but discourse communities hold much farther implications than just affiliation. Discourse communities are also separated by textual conventions, genres, and language, among many other rhetorical tools. When recognizing discourse communities, Johns is very adamant in stating that individuals may be part of an assortment of communities and highlighting the fact that conflicts often arise with participation in several communities.

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Transformations

Younger Audience

Bottom right reads "Warning: College may cause one to prioritize school over personal
ventures, no matter how important. One, for the time-being, may have to sacrifice any
hobbies, extracurricular activities, and relationships with friends and family members."

Older Audience: click here

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Discourse Communities and Genres

In Ann M. Johns’s article Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice: Membership, Conflict, and Diversity, Johns claims that a discourse community often exists as a group of people, united by a common goal they all want to work toward or achieve. Discourse communities seem to be “[held] together or [separated] from one another [by practice and values]” (Johns 500). That is, practice and values are core conventions that those in the same community are united by, but individuals who differ in actions and opinions tend to take part in different communities. These communities often stem from a wide variety of places, from cultural differences to social status to varying professions. However, Johns spends a great deal of energy emphasizing the exploration of discourse communities outside of academics. This is largely due to the common misconception that discourse communities are rarely encountered outside of academic disciplines. An example of this is college, which brings about many academic discourse communities that exist and are separated by different fields of study. We will approach communities, both academic and nonacademic, as well as discuss one’s ability to take part in several discourse communities while conflicts arise.

Transforming the article into a genre fit for an older audience, I decided to create an Instagram profile for a woman, Annabelle K. Jordan, in her 30s. She recently opened up a local cupcake shop, “Ann’s Cupcakery,” and leads a fulfilling life with her husband and two kids. With this form of social media, Annabelle is mostly likely reaching out to an audience in their late 20s to mid 30s, many of whom are friends, family, fellow members of the community, or supporters of Annabelle’s small business. In order to maintain an Instagram profile for a more mature audience, the language is simple but calm. This is unlike that of young teenagers, whose profiles are littered with unnecessary punctuation, excessive amounts of emojis, and excitement in the form of all capital letters. Like the language, many of the pictures posted are also simple and calm, free of any disruptive bright colors. The vibe paired with the language and photos of Annabelle’s Instagram mirrors her suburban life: quiet and steady. With the life she leads, it seems that the social media profile allows Annabelle an easy, on-the-go way of updating friends and family on life events.

When first encountering Annabelle’s Instagram, a few different communities that she takes part in are established right off the bat with the description. “Wife | Mother | Business Owner” reveals a simple facts about her that holds implications to the types of communities she participates in. These suspicions are confirmed through the photos posted. One photo seems to be of a fundraiser at the local elementary school. The comments and caption paint a picture of a supportive parent, fulfilling her role in supporting the school her children attend through involvement with the parent-teacher association, or PTA. With the photo of a sign in support of Hillary Clinton and the comments, it is safe to assume that Annabelle is a Democrat who was raised as such. Other pictures, such as the photo of her business cards or the wine and cheese laid out for her book club, help establish the other types of communities Annabelle participates in and demonstrates the variety of communities everyone is a part of.
Reaching out to a younger audience was done by first creating an advertisement for attending college. The target audience is high school students, more specifically from ages 16-18. This is mostly directed at them due to the content of the advertisement. This is a prime age in which most students are thinking about college, exploring their options if they choose to further their education, and even applying to college.. However, there are several other moves that also contribute to appealing to this younger audience. A simple and familiar, but attention-grabbing background is used in order to capture the attention of young teenagers. Alongside the background, bright, contrasting colors are utilized as a way for the words to stand out and increase the chances of students reading the information. Parallelism occurs among the text bubbles, where there is a short title separated by a line and followed by a brief summary. Establishing an easily recognizable pattern like this will allow the audience to quickly understand the structure which, in turn, will aid in comprehending the material presented.

In regards to the article, the idea of college itself holds implications to the many different discourse communities that exist within academics. However, the disclaimer is the main focus of the advertisement. At the bottom, there is a warning in small, dark text, very characteristic of many disclaimers. Here lies an example of the conflict that occurs between the different disciplines that exist within the college system. However, this does not only mention conflict between different disciplines, but all discourse communities in general. School requires that one fully understand the information given in order to “modify [one’s] language to fit that of [that] academic classroom” (Johns 511). In other words, a student is expected to minimize influences learned from other fields in order to focus on the lexis and genres of the discipline at hand. This is very similar to what is mentioned in the disclaimer, where students often find themselves sacrificing religious beliefs, hobbies, and relationships in return for education. Johns claims the existence of many stories of students “who must make choices between their communities and academic lives.” (Johns 511) The sacrifice of the student’s other communities for academics may leave one feeling lost, unsure of their identity when separated from their other communities for too long. “After all, who you are as an individual is about a lot more than just assuming a one-time role.” (Losh et al. 125)

In regards to composition, knowing the different social, political, recreational, and cultural discourse communities that exist and overlap will help to better understand and cater to the reader. With a thorough understanding of discourse communities, a writer would be able further analyze the audience, recognize the different types of communities they play a role in, and know the type of language, tone, genre, etc. associated with those communities. With these transformations, writing specifically for a younger audience “created a completely different rhetorical effect.” (Losh et al 130) It was obvious that the language, tone, and genre were drastically different than that of the older audience.

In this class, we have recognized the importance of genres, the different types of audiences that are associated with certain genres and how they affect our everyday lives. This article reverses the situation. With the ability to recognize the audience, as Johns demonstrates here, one “can determine the type of language used, the formality of the discourse, the medium or delivery of the rhetoric, and even the types of reasons used to make the rhetor’s argument.” (Carroll 49) Therefore, having a strong grasp on the concept of either discourse communities or genres and being able to apply the knowledge we have learned allows for great rhetorical skills that are applicable to the many communities we all belong in, regardless of academics.

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Works Cited

Carroll, Laura Bolin. "Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis." Writing

Spaces: Readings on Writing. By Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky. Vol. 2. West

Lafayette, IN: Parlor, 2010. 45-58. Print.

Dirk, Kerry. "Navigating Genres." Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. By Charles Lowe and

Pavel Zemliansky. Vol. 1. West Lafayette, IN: Parlor, 2010. 249-61. Print.

Johns, Ann M. "Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice: Membership, Conflict,

and Diversity." Text, Role, and Context: Developing Academic Literacies. Cambridge,

New York: Cambridge UP, 1997. 51-70. Print.

Losh, Elizabeth M., Jonathan Alexander, Kevin Cannon, and Zander Cannon. "Writing

Identities." Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 113-
39. Print.

Changing Up the Pace / Thlog 8

Overall, I think this week really helped me to understand what was expected as we dive into this upcoming project. Reading the prompt at first, I was more scared than excited by the creativity allowed in this project. However, the rest of Monday really helped me let go of that fear.

Speaking for myself, the series of videos shown in class was highly appreciated. It helped break up the structure of lecturing and small discussions that I was used to in class. Not only that, but the videos we were shown very much helped me to grasp the concept of the upcoming project. Watching Bob Ross was quite enjoyable not only because it was Bob Ross, but also because we were able to sit down, watch an amusing video, and learn about the moves and the type of approach Ross took when painting. It was also refreshing to be able to see an example of how individual artists approached their pieces differently in the Disney painting video. Seeing them discuss their technique, view their work, and execute their type of ‘moves’ allowed me to truly understand what was expected of us from this upcoming paper as well as what was expected from us from previous papers (which will definitely help with the portfolio).

Watching these videos aided in understanding the framing activity in class, which I also thought was helpful. Viewing things from different perspectives is a key part of writing, as well as just life in general. However, I never thought to ‘zoom’ in and out of my perspective in order to more effectively view something. Emphasizing a certain convention or aspect is an important tool that I could use in the future to strengthen their argument. As the weeks go by, I realize that I am learning many new ways to not only view one’s writing, but how to approach different aspects of life.

Framing / PB3A

With my article, Ann M. Johns’s Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice, I have definitely decided upon an approach similar the artist who only drew the trunk of the tree in the Disney tree painting video. The article is much too long to transform the entire thing, so I will be focusing on very specific sections of the article with my transformations.

Younger Audience

A small subsection, The Cost of Affiliation, has many accurate claims regarding students and how much they must sacrifice to go to school. They have to make choices and prioritize academics over their communities, often making putting their personal life on the backburner. I think this section would be great as a product disclaimer from an advertisement, such as the ones at the end of radio or television commercials. There would be a small disclaimer at the bottom of an advertisement, like Black Friday newspaper ads or ones that appear in magazines. In smaller font following an asterisk, there would be a paragraph warning you about the possible “side effects” of continuing your education. Vocabulary would be much more professional and objective, with a large, brightly colored and attention-grabbing visual to distract from it.

Example of a disclaimer is shown in the white text box.

Older Audience

The section titled Social, Political, and Recreational Communities informs the audience about different types of communities that exist. There are many different kinds of communities, ranging from religious to social and economic. The section mostly gives the reader insight into communities and the groups of people involved, claiming that the strength of one’s affiliations with a community are based on individual interests, politics, and professions. Transforming this into a Instagram profile, which goes greatly in depth about one’s involvement and loyalties within the community, is a great way to demonstrate its importance. It shows one’s what one values, allows one to share with the world their personal relationships, and reveals a lot about one’s personality. When analyzing it, I would like to discuss the implications of the types of communities my character is involved in based on the personal information displayed.

Tidbits of What I Missed / Thlog 7

Unfortunately, my on-and-off illness of the quarter struck again and I wasn’t able to attend class during week 7. However, I did get caught up by a fellow classmate. The lesson plan doc on gauchospace also helped quite a bit.

I appreciated the daily tips, as always.

• “Know what you write” is definitely a tip I will keep in mind. I love approaching topics I do not know much about, excited to learn more about it throughout the writing process. However, in retrospect, this is not one of my smarter choices. Though I find it exciting to learn about these new topics, I often get distracted and a bit overwhelmed by all this new information. This takes away from the overall direction of my paper and limits my argument due to lack of focus and sufficient background information, respectively.
• It is common for myself, as well as many of you I’m sure, to get stuck when I begin writing. The idea of “attacking the page” is a new, refreshing, and innovative idea. Sometimes, it seems that I am unable to write because I am far too preoccupied by my tone or diction of my rough draft. Writing without regard to the audience allows for ideas to flow and leaves one less anxious as to what reaction he may evoke. This technique may prove to give way to more passionate, unadulterated arguments.
• With all these tips, one still may not be able to rid himself of writer’s block. These writers may need more visual representations in order to begin, rather than just words on a paper. Drawing a “mind map” may be very helpful to those who seek to organize their thoughts and opinions prior to introductions, conclusions, or analysis.

Aside from that, I also heard and read about the activity in which we picked our favorite introductory paragraphs, analyzed them, and discussed why we liked them. It’s a creative way to get the class involved and it resonates much more since the analysis revolves around the work of our fellow classmates rather than professional writers.

Learning About Language MIGHT Be Important / Thlog 6

Here’s why:

• Hedged language is honestly pretty amazing. It reminds me of one of Marshall Eriksen’s catchphrases, “Lawyered!” You are essentially creating a loophole with word choice. It demonstrates the real power of language and why we even bother to learn about all these rhetorical features and conventions.
• Have you ever read a sentence that never seemed to end? The sentence just drags on and on, word by word. Having parallelism allows for such a sentence without the confusion. Parallelism aids in organizing a piece, determining its structure, and highlighting main points. It eases the audience’s job of reading. Most likely, they begin to recognize the pattern at hand and learn how to navigate around the structure easily.
• We also learned how not use the word cult. Let me explain… I have this Austrian friend who moved here when he entered high school. English was not his first language. One day, we were talking about the word ‘cult.’ Now as native-English speakers, we understand the negative connotation behind this word. Cult is usually used in a negative way, implying that the group of people are exclusive and unwelcoming. However, my friend did not know this. He only knew the denotation, which led him to think that a cult was a very close, tight-knit group of friends. He asked, “Are [my friends and I] a cult?” When I declared they were not, he countered with, “Why not?!”

...It took many, many attempts to explain why a cult was not something he wanted to be in.

So this week, we (or at least I) learned why language comprehension was important.

Rest / PB2B

Many of the following moves are commonly used in everyday writing. I, myself, can reference many times in which I have used these types of moves in order to better my writing. However, there are also many other movies characteristic of specific authors. I have spotted a few just from rereading these articles.


Indicating Who Cares

All of us, as students, learn new things every single day. However, have you ever thought about why any of this matters? This is something that Carroll keeps in mind in Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis when writing about “how [...] this [matters] outside a college classroom.” (Carroll 57) Then, she gives us thorough and satisfying answers. We can use rhetorical analysis in order to more effectively read a textbook, in order to dissect a scholarly article, when watching a video, as well as in everyday life.

Embedding Voice Markers

“Here I offer my definition..” (Boyd 100), Boyd begins. This is typical of a voice marker, in which the author takes advantage of the opportunity to give their own advice. This is easily recognizable since many who do this switch from an objective tone to a first person point of view almost immediately.

Agreeing and Disagreeing Simultaneously

“Or perhaps you, like Chelsea Vick…” (Boyd 99) Boyd states. Prior to this, she writes an entire paragraph discussing her own opinion, which very much differs from Vick. However, she begins this new paragraph by giving the reader some space to breathe and actually think about the ideas that have been laid out in the paper. Boyd gives the reader an in, allowing you to possibly agree with Vick. Along with that, she elaborates on behalf of Vick to aid the reader in understanding both sides of the argument.

Explaining Quotations

In order to further elaborate on information provided by a scholar, Bunn begins an analytical sentence with, “As Walker suggests…” (Bunn 78). This follows a direct quote from Walker, insinuating that sentence after is a further explanation of what Walker meant to say.

Capturing Authorial Action

Often, authors use words such as concedes, demonstrates, believes, etc. in order to assert what they believe is happening or is being implied. Such a statement is present in Dirk's Navigating Genre, in which he states that, "Carolyn Miller argues..." (Dirk 252), followed by her definition of what genres should be. Here, Dirk illustrates Miller's stance prior to that of his own in order to demonstrate discrepancies among writers and genres.

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I Wonder if Your Shoes Fit…

Often, authors of essays and articles attempt to relate to their reader. In Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis, Carroll does exactly this when stating, “You’ve probably been in a situation where you arrived underdressed for an occasion.” (Carroll 55) She goes on to speak of the feelings of discomfort and slight isolation this must have brought about as the night dragged on. This is a move that many authors use. They want to step in the reader’s shoes in order to connect with the audience and engage with them by bringing up circumstances they recognize. In doing so, the audience will in fact be more engaged, allowing the main point of the article to reach its readers more effectively.

Trust.
When introducing other sources, Dirk establishes credibility by giving a brief academic background of the source. While referencing Amy Devitt, he is sure to mention that she is “a professor who specializes in the study of genre theory.” (Dirk 252) Dirk does the same for Carolyn Miller, who we are told is “a leading professor in the field of technical communication." (Dirk 252) To be frank, this move seemed quite trivial at first. With further analysis though, I do think it is effective.  Acknowledging their achievements and mentioning the disciplines they practice increases the validity of what they have to offer. We are able to put more faith in the words of these sources once we learn their roles in these fields of study.

Are you thinking about this? You should be.

Rather than waiting for the reader to recognize the main ideas and pose their own questions, Bunn brings up his own questions. Separated by bullet points, you can find questions all over How to Read Like a Writer. He plants questions everywhere in order to keep your train of thought on track. I do feel like this is an effective way to convey your purpose and prevent misinterpretation, but part of me also feels like this inhibits the reader. Reading is all about interpretation! It’s about navigating yourself and your thoughts through all the rhetoric.

Death by Example
What I have noticed from many of these authors is the ridiculous amount of examples they happen to use when they want to emphasize something. Bunn spends an entire paragraph drilling example after example of ways in which we read for information (Bunn 74). Though this appears to be effective by providing an endless amount of examples we recognize, it can be rather boring after the first ten examples.

Dots! Dots! Dots!

Transitioning between subjects is a hard thing to do. Authors who have had years and years of practice still have problems with this. Rather than struggle with this, Bunn has a straightforward, fuck-the-system solution: dots. When jumping from an analysis to a story, from one subject to another, etc., Bunn uses these intervals of dots that span from a single line to several. This is a great way to break up not only the monotony of all the text, but also to provide some sort of organization. When you see those dots, you know to expect something new. To me, this seems like an innovative and effective way to alert the readers of a sudden change in direction without disrupting the flow.
(Also, bonus points for anyone who got the HIMYM reference.)