Victory Lap

Hi there,
I'm not sure if any of you guys will actually see this...but for my victory lap I wanted to include a picture of the most adorable dog that kept me company while I finished up this English Project.

Congrats to us for making it through the semester, and have a great break/ rest of your college career!!

Reflection on Open Letter Draft

In the following post I will be reflecting on the work I did for the Open Letter. I will also talk about how peer-editing helped me understand this project more.

Qedem1611. "Christmas Lights Colors Holidays Decoration Water" 6/11/2014 via Pixabay. CCO Public Domain. 

I peer-edited Ayra and Kelly's drafts of their open letters.

1. Did you demonstrate an ability to think about your writing and yourself as a writer?
I think that through my draft I was in fact able to express my thoughts and feelings about myself as a writer and with the work that I am able to produce. I think that my draft did a good job of evaluating the good and bad aspects of my writing process.

2. Did you provide analysis of your experiences, writing assignments, or concepts you have learned?
Yes, I talked about the past writing projects we have completed this year, and I analyzed them to talk about what worked and what did not work for me. I also evaluated how helpful it was to learn about genres and what kind of impact they will have in the future.

3. Did you provide concrete examples from you own writing (either quotes from your writing or rich descriptions of your writing process)?
Yes, I included several hyperlinks to past blog posts that I have completed over the course of the semester.

4. Did you explain why you made certain choices and whether those choices were effective?
I tried to talk about why I made choices the way I did. One particular example is when I talked about how using outlines help me, especially the outline I made for Project 2.

5. Did you use specific terms and concepts related to writing and the writing process?
I used specific words that I thought we emphasized in class like genre and conventions. I also included the specific names we gave to the different types of writers that we could be.

Draft of Open Letter

In the following post I will point out the points I think my peer editors should look for while they read my letter.

PetarM. "Writing a letter" 2/25/2012 via Wikipedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0 License. 

HERE is my draft of my Open Letter.

Hi there,
In my draft I feel like I have successfully included what I needed in order to answer the prompt, however, I feel like overall it's not as detailed as I could have made it. I would love some help with where I could include more, and what type of examples would help make this letter more informative. Also, I'm not sure that I included enough examples in my letter body to help get the point across and answer the prompt, any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Reflecting More on My Writing Experiences

In the following post I will answer questions in order to reflect more on my writing process and how it has evolved over the course of the semester.

Koul, Anirudh. "London Bridge (Tower Bridge): Reflection on the River Thames"
 4/5/2009 via Flickr. CC BY-NC 2.0 License.  

1. What were the biggest challenges you faced this semester, overall? 
I think the biggest challenge that I have had to face this semester was finishing all my work on time. Especially since some of the deadlines were very extensive in the amount of work that needed to be completed it sometimes was difficult to make sure that I am able to produce work of good quality.

2. What did you learn this semester about your own time management, writing and editorial skills? 
I reinforced that my time management skills are awful, but I think my writing and editorial skills are improving. For many of the writing projects I wrote many drafts and between each copy I made many changes that helped in producing a good final product.

3. What do you know about the concept of a 'genre'? Explain how understanding this concept is central to being a more effective writer. 
A genre is a category of writing that dictates the format of the piece. The specific conventions of a genre refer to how the text is laid out, what type of visuals are present, etc. By knowing a genre and its corresponding conventions its possible to successfully write in a new genre.

4. What skills from this course might you use and/or develop further in the next few years of college coursework?
I think this class forced me to address my bad time management skills and to work on how to plan out a long term assignment so it gets done on time, and not at the last minute. Also, learning how to write in different genres will help as the writing I did in high school is guaranteed to be very different than the writing I will do in my engineering classes.

5. What was the most effective moment from this semester in 109H?
I think the most effective moment that I have had during this class was right after we turned in our first assignment. After we finished this assignment it allowed me to reflect on how much I had learned in such as short time.

Not only have I learned many different technologies like Blogger and Coggle, but I have also learned the conventions of different genres like blogs and QRGs.
  

6. What was your least effective moment from this semester in 109H?

One of the least effective moments that I have had this semester was doing a Coogle for the rhetorical  analysis. I typically find mind maps and pre-writing useful, but this Coggle was about information that I didn't really need to focus on. 

Revisiting My Writing Process

In the following post I will reflect on how my writing process and time management skills have changed from this course.

LeMasney, John. "When in doubt, visit your library" 5/25/2015 via Flickr. CC BY-SA 2.0 License.  

Looking back on my original Writing Style post I realize I was way more optimistic than I should have been. I recognized that I was a procrastinator, but I assumed that I would be able to change this habit. However, I conclude that after my first semester as a college student I am still a procrastinator.

I also had hoped to become a heavy planner, and the original plan was to look at the deadlines on Sunday, and spread out the work throughout the week. This goal has been a little more successful, but I have not been able to space out my writing or assignments as much as I had hoped.

From this course, especially with the large workload that we have had to manage I see that while my time management skills still suck, I am a very motivated and focused student that will get the work done on time, even if it all gets pushed to the last minute.

I think this motivation is harder to teach than time management so I think the skills that I have will be useful for the future in my career.

Reflection on Project 3

In this post I will be reflecting on the public argument I created for Project 3. I will conduct my reflection by answering the questions posed in Writing Public Lives.

Simon. "Laos Tree Water Reflection Mirroring Southeast" 11/19/2011 via Pixabay.
CCO Public Domain/ FAQ License. 

1. What was specifically revised from one draft to another?
From my first draft to my second draft I made significant changes as I switched the type of argumentative paper I was writing. After writing my first draft I saw that my attempt at a causal argument was not effective, and after my conference I decided that an evaluative argument would be more effective.

2. Point to global changes: how did you reconsider your thesis or organization?
Because I changed what type of paper I would be writing, my thesis changed from trying to identify the causes of fracking to establishing that fracking could be improved by changing how fracking is done.

3. What led you to these changes? A reconsideration of audience? A shift in purpose?
All of the changes that I made resulted from a shift in the purpose I wanted my paper to have. I shifted purpose because I decided that this new purpose would allow my argument to be more effective.

4. How do these changes affect your credibility as an author?
I think all of these changes, especially my change in purpose makes me more credible as an author because now I have an argument where I can give my own view/perspective on instead of just repeating someone else's view.

5. How will these changes better address the audience or venue?
I think these changes help me better reach my audience. Because I wrote for an environmental blog, all of the readers are already environmentalists to some degree, so they most likely have opinions on fracking before reading my post. So, I am presenting hopefully some new information that will interest them.

6. Point to local changes: how did you reconsider sentence structure and style?
I think between my drafts I did not change the sentence style or structure very much. Even though I made some dramatic changes to the type and purpose of my writing, I did not change my audience or where I wanted to publish.

7. How will these changes assist your audience in understanding your purpose?
I think my purpose is much clearer to my audience because now I am trying to present new information to my audience that will hopefully change their opinion on fracking instead of giving them information they most likely already know.

8. Did you have to reconsider the conventions of the particular genre in which you are writing?
No, the genre and publishing area did not change, so the conventions stayed the same.

9. Finally, how does the process of reflection help you reconsider your identity as a writer?
I think this project has made me realize that I prefer to analyze an existing concept, similar to the evaluation we did in project 3. I feel like this is an area where I am able to make a convincing argument.

Publishing Public Argument

In the post below I will provide a link to access the final draft of my Project 3: Public Argument and a reflection about my project 3.

Logan. "The End Book." 8/23/2010 via Wikipedia. Public Domain. 

HERE is a link to the final copy of Project 3: My Public Argument.

1. Mark with an "x" where you feel your target audience currently stands on the issue (before reading/watching/hearing your argument) below:

                                                           

←---------------------------------------------------X--|--------------------------------------------------------->

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly

agree                                                                                                                          disagree

2. Now mark with an "x" where you feel your target audience should be (after they've read/watched/heard your argument) below:

←-------------------------X---------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------->

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly

agree                                                                                                                          disagree

3. Check one (and only one) of the argument types below for your public argument:

         _______ My public argument establishes an original pro position on an issue of debate.

         _______ My public argument establishes an original con position on an issue of debate.

         _______ My public argument clarifies the causes for a problem that is being debated.

         _______ My public argument proposes a solution for a problem that is being debated.

         ___X___ My public argument positively evaluate a specific solution or policy under debate (and clearly identifies the idea I'm supporting).

         _______ My public argument openly refutes a specific solution or policy under debate (and clearly identifies the idea I'm refuting).

4. Briefly explain how your public argument doesn’t simply restate information from other sources, but provides original context and insight into the situation:

-I think I was able to make my argument different from what has already been written because I was able to include information from many different places as evidence in my argument. Also, because I researched the demographic of treehugger.com's viewers I learned that I am in the same generation as majority of their viewers. Therefore, I was able to appeal to them as I relate to them. 

5. Identify the specific rhetorical appeals you believe you've employed in your public argument below:
I tried to keep my argument logical by providing lots of evidence and information from studies. I also hyperlinked to all the different sources I used the links to show my audience that the information I included was credible. In addition to my logical appeals, I tried to appeal to the emotional side of my audience. I tried to make my reader's feel hopeful in the future of water-free fracking. 

Ethical or credibility-establishing appeals

                    _____ Telling personal stories that establish a credible point-of-view

                    __X__ Referring to credible sources (established journalism, credentialed experts, etc.)

                    _____ Employing carefully chosen key words or phrases that demonstrate you are credible (proper terminology, strong but clear vocabulary, etc.)

                    __X__ Adopting a tone that is inviting and trustworthy rather than distancing or alienating

                    __X___ Arranging visual elements properly (not employing watermarked images, cropping images carefully, avoiding sloppy presentation)

                    __X__ Establishing your own public image in an inviting way (using an appropriate images of yourself, if you appear on camera dressing in a warm or friendly or professional manner, appearing against a background that’s welcoming or credibility-establishing)

                    _____ Sharing any personal expertise you may possess about the subject (your identity as a student in your discipline affords you some authority here)

                    _____ Openly acknowledging counterarguments and refuting them intelligently

                    __X__ Appealing openly to the values and beliefs shared by the audience (remember that the website/platform/YouTube channel your argument is designed for helps determine the kind of audience who will encounter your piece)

                    _____ Other: 

Emotional appeals

                    _____ Telling personal stories that create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    _____ Telling emotionally compelling narratives drawn from history and/or the current culture

                    _____ Employing the repetition of key words or phrases that create an appropriate emotional impact

                    __X__ Employing an appropriate level of formality for the subject matter (through appearance, formatting, style of language, etc.)

                    _____ Appropriate use of humor for subject matter, platform/website, audience

                    _____ Use of “shocking” statistics in order to underline a specific point

                    _____ Use of imagery to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    _____ Employing an attractive color palette that sets an appropriate emotional tone (no clashing or ‘ugly’ colors, no overuse of too many variant colors, etc.)

                    _____ Use of music to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    _____ Use of sound effects to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    __X_ Employing an engaging and appropriate tone of voice for the debate

                    _____ Other: 

Logical or rational appeals

                    _____ Using historical records from credible sources in order to establish precedents, trends, or patterns

                    _____ Using statistics from credible sources in order to establish precedents, trends, or patterns

                    _____ Using interviews from stakeholders that help affirm your stance or position

                    _____ Using expert opinions that help affirm your stance or position

                    _____ Effective organization of elements, images, text, etc.

                    _____ Clear transitions between different sections of the argument (by using title cards, interstitial music, voice over, etc.)

                    _____ Crafted sequencing of images/text/content in order to make linear arguments

                    _____ Intentional emphasis on specific images/text/content in order to strengthen argument

                    _____ Careful design of size/color relationships between objects to effectively direct the viewer’s attention/gaze (for visual arguments)

                    __X__ Other: Using recent and relevant studies as evidence.

Examples of my genre:
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3