WP3

Transformation Reflection

July 26, 1996. Yes, I am a summer baby. This is where I got the idea to research articles on birthdays, summer in particular. One article that I found was “Disadvantages for summer-born children” where researchers present possible, observable hindrances kids born in the summer may face. Some of these issues include low test scores, low self-esteem, repetition of grades, and higher referrals to psychological services (38). Not only does this scholarly article state these issues they also proclaim possible causes for such disadvantages, but they also have results that either proves or falsify the claims stated earlier.

 When I first read this article I was a little defensive because, me being a summer baby, I felt like these claims were not true. I wanted to stand up for all the summer-born children that do not associate with these negative claims. This “victimize” emotion I had given me the idea for the children’s book that I created for the younger audience. I wanted to make the statement that everyone is different and have their own special talents. This message of morality fit well with the genre of children’s book because reverting back to books that I read as a child they were packed full of morality. Some of the books that came to mind were Amelia Bedelia, No,David, and especially The Rainbow Fish. These books are geared for children around the ages of 3-6. The Rainbow Fish book helped me the most with developing my book because it had a similar theme with what I was trying to convey. But, all of the books deal with characters that stand out from the rest of the crowd. Although my book is not on any one character the idea that all people are different is observable in these books.

Another convention of children’s books for ages 3-6 are simple and limited sentences per page. For the most part, I wrote a sentence or less per page. I chose to make two pages have continuing thoughts. I did this to show how individuals compare and contrast. Within the pages, I had illustrations that matched what was going on with text below. This choice of having one illustration per theme is something that I saw in No, David. In these books David is caught getting into trouble, the illustration for the page matches the activity that David is getting himself into. I decided to color the book like this rather than making an entire scene that stretches across the two matching pages because I think it is easier for children to understand one image per one page. I was going to make the images cohesive in that the characters interact, this would have shown the conflict more explicitly but in the story, I wrote there was not interaction so I did not want to confuse the kids that would be reading the book.

It was difficult to include actual facts from the scholarly article into the children’s book but I was able to on a couple of occasions. On one of the pages I wrote, “Some people do well on tests. Some people need more time to learn” this is playing with the proposal that children that are born in the summer have lower test scores because they are the youngest and least developed in the class. I could not physically show the development differences in the brain children have so I chose to display a different physical developmental difference, height. In a way this resembles McCloud’s “Choice of Image” (28), I could have chosen to create a different discrepancy between characters but I felt height was a physical equivalent to intellectual development for the sake of the age group. The scholarly article does not speak about this type of diversity, but I felt this was one of the best ways to differentiate summer born children versus the other children.  I also addressed the topic of being born in the summer versus not being born in the summer with the sentences “Some people have birthdays in December. Others celebrate in the summer” which is the most literal difference I portrayed that I got from the scholarly article.

As for my adult audience geared transformation, I decided to be more literal. I created a “When Should You Get Pregos?” quiz that would most like be seen in a Cosmopolitan magazine. At first, I was going to a make more of a Question and Answer type quiz that was more serious and would be seen in a parenting magazine but I did not feel I had enough information that would make the article believable. In those types of magazines, there tends to be the pro’s and con’s as well as the opposing viewpoint as to not to completely freak out expecting mothers. Since I only had the disadvantages of being born in the summer I felt like the article would have come off as trying to convince people not conceive babies that would eventually be born in the summer. The Cosmo magazine platform was appropriate for the quiz I did end up making because it still has the connotation of being informational, in that people read Cosmopolitan in search of information (typically risqué), but I could still make the subject of babies (baby making) light-hearted.

The questions I made for the quiz were based on the different traits that are being compared in the scholarly article. For example, one of the questions I made was “How well did you do on tests?” this question comes from the hypothesis that summer born children have lower test scores because they have the least developed brains in the class (38). I based the quiz of character traits that the mother potentially had, meaning that I inferred that they would want their baby to be like them. As for the answers that one would choose I tried to make them funny and contemporary since that is the context of the article. The audience for the magazine can range from 18-34, the quiz is suitable for women in this age because it is not serious enough for women that are actually trying to get pregnant (mid-20’s) but is still informational and entertaining for all. Me being the intended age range for this magazine made it relatively easy to “put myself in their shoes” when creating the piece. In “Writing Identities” it describes how writing is about changing to meet the needs of different audiences (117), although I did not have to change much to fit into this audience I did have to however for the younger audience transformation. I thought about what I would want to read and engage with if I came across this quiz. I kept the piece contemporary by including phrases as answers from popular movies such as Mean Girls where I say “On Wednesday we wear pink” for one of the answers for the question “How did you see yourself in high school?”  The contrary to that same question was “I wore Birkenstocks before they were cool” this playing with fashion which is also seen in the magazine.

The quiz follows the mother’s life which leads to a season that the mother should conceive in. The ending answer to the quiz was the most difficult part about making the quiz because I needed to include actual facts from the scholarly article but in a comical way. I ended up Googling other facts about children born in different months to make the quiz true these tidbits can be seen in the three seasons other than summer since I had the information needed for summer in the scholarly article. These answers are more relaxed because I was able to manipulate the facts to fit my needs rather than trying to make the scholarly article fit into the answer. I tried to counterbalance the negatives of the summer answer by starting with a hypothetical positive answer, “What’s better than a summer pool party birthday? NOTHING!” As being a summer child myself I can vouch that those pool party birthdays are the best.  I also had to convert the season/month one is born in into the month/season that the mother would have to conceive in so that their child is born in a certain season. Someone born in summer would have typically been conceived in the fall.

Overall, this project was enjoyable. I liked seeing how my ideas led me to new and better ways to understand what a genre and conventions are but it also showed me some of my own stylistic “moves” that I prefer over others. I had to “kill some of my darlings” as Stephen King says when doing this project but it just made me think more critically of what I wanted and did not as well as helped me write this reflection by guiding me in the analyzing the decisions I made and why I made them.

Work Cited

Losh & Alexander. “Writing Identities”. 113-139.

Mcloud. “Writing With Pictures”. 8-56.

Sharp, Caroline, Nalia George, Claire Sargent, Sharon O’Donnell, Maureen Heron.

“Disadvantages of summer-born children”. Educational Journal 119 (2009). n.38. Web May 2016.

“The Month In Which You’re Born Affects Your Life Experiences”.

https://uber-facts.com/2012/12/11/the-month-your-born-in-affects-your-life-experience/. Web. May 26 2016.

Younger Audience

Older Audience

Thlog #8

I don’t know if I am the only one but I felt like the reading for this week was not a little tricky. It was not the language that I was getting caught up in but rather the way in which the information was presented. Since it was written as a comic I kind of took it as not being “true”. I think it is because typically comics don’t have information that is worth remembering or using. I found it hard to take notes of what was happening. It was difficult to collect my thought when reading because I was preoccupied with scavenging through the images to find the text as well as pulling out info that was relevant. I was also trying to track where to read next because it is not a usual text of reading left to right I was thinking to myself “do I read this box or this one?” a lot of the time. The comic did succeed however in sharing useful information. It brought forth components of writing that are in the back of our minds such as flow and angle. Growing up we aren’t really taught to focus on these things, they “come naturally” and those that are gifted writers have these techniques but in realistically they are things everyone can work on (especially me).   

            I think this is ironic that I had difficulty reading the comic because it was on how to write and being clear. Maybe it is because I am not used to reading comics and that's why I had such a hard time keeping track of everything. Reflecting on this I am seeing more and more how genres have their own norms and customs almost. It is like learning a new language. If I were to practice reading comics more I would eventually get better at understanding where to read and when to read it (instead of skipping to a box that looks more interesting). Just like if I practiced writing comics, the more I did it the more I would get the feel for it and I'd just keep improving.

PB3A

The first article I am considering for WP3 is one on ¨The Disadvantages for Summer-Born Children”. This article discusses research done by Sharp, George, Sargent, O’Donnell, and Heron on correlational issues with children born in between the months of May and August.  The disadvantages are mostly commonly seen in the classroom and measured on their ability in comparison to the older children in the classrooms.

The idea I had in mind, which is aimed at a younger audience, is a children’s book on diversity. Since the article address the issue that the younger children (those born in the summer) tend to fall behind academically, but also mentally because they are not capable of doing/thinking the same way as older children because their brains are not as developed yet I instantly thought of a “moral of the story” type of book. That is, everyone is different and it does not make you any less capable of achieving goals you just have to give it time. The article lists the causes and repercussions of birthdates, the list made me think of the different ways in which people can differ.

As for the adult-geared piece I was thinking of doing like a “When to Conceive” factoid, that could be found in a parenting magazine.  I am also thinking along the lines of those genetic ads/sites that pretty much allow you to “pick the perfect baby”. You would chose characteristics of a child you would like and when you get to the end there would be a hypothetical description of one’s future child. In the description, I could include facts like “even though you’ll be a bronzed pregnant goddess the likelihood of your child in falling behind in school is very high”. I feel like the adult audience is more difficult because this article is presenting information that pretty much-deterring people from having children in the summer.  The quiz would be more of the visual kind where you either go down, left, right, etc. until you get to the end where you find the results.

*Is it possible if I find a “Benefits of Being Born in the summer” article could I use both in creating something?  

The other article I found interesting is on the way in which characteristics are associated with the way in which children grip their writing utensils. Certain grip strength, finger placement, and speed can be correlated with gender. There has been prior research done on this same concept, that being said there is a lot of empirically based claims, there are many numbers involved.

*Still trying to think of a genre that I could use a lot of numbers and data

The older audience piece I was thinking about doing is a Buzzfeed like questionnaire “What Does the Way You Write Say About You?” I could either make it a horoscope looking page where you find the type of style you use and read the description that matches it. Or it could be a multiple choice like a quiz where you select what applies to you and at the end it will guess one of the qualities that are found in the studies.

For the younger based audience piece, I was thinking of a coloring book, where there are images and the word of the image to trace to practice writing. Further, there would be instructions to change the kids hand position to help them find what it comfortable. It would be a practice/activity guide, targeted at children who still working on fine motor skills.

*I know we have examples of other genres to transfer our articles to, but I keeping gravitating towards the same type of genres regardless of the article. 

Thlog #7

While watching the Disney Tree video I was trying to make connections to how it relates to our future WP3, but for the most part, I kept viewing the “message” the video had to be more closely related to WP2. It reminded me more of WP2 because when the artists were painting most of them picked a “field” in which they were painting. For example, the one artist was painting the tree with the eye of an architect while another artist painted as a biologist. It was kind of like the activity where we viewed material through a particular lens. Looking at something with one perspective will show you details you would not have noticed while looking with a different perspective. I still don’t really see how our WP3 correlates with the activities we did on Wednesday. I know our material is supposed to build on top of each other which could be why I can’t make a clear distinction as to how this activity relates to WP3.

In our blogs, it was interesting to see who our favorite artists were. It is kind of like a way of seeing what that person's “field” is. The class member’s preference, for the most part, matched the artist’s preferences which related to the way in which the artist saw the tree.

*** I JUST HAD AN EPHINANY***

I understand the reasoning behind the activity we did Wednesday. We were identifying the moves that are important for that genre because those moves are the ones we need to include when we “swap” genres. For example, the moves about introducing the paint brush/ tool that is used should be included because that was something that was common amongst the videos we watched. We need to find the moves that are common and translate them differently into the new genre that we chose. 

I Kinda Want To Go Paint Some Trees Now

The “move” that stands out the most to me is introducing the type of brush/tool that the artist is using/going to use. In the Bob Ross videos is much more necessary because his videos are tutorials (purpose) so the viewer needs to know what brushes are being used. Even in the Family Guy “recreation” they state the brush he is using; obviously, this is something that is noticeable if it is being reinterpreted even as a joke. In the Disney video, they also introduce the tools that the artist are using, but in a way different from Bob Ross. The purpose of showing the different tools is to show the differences in the artists, which was the point of the video.

Another “move” that is seen is an explanation of the technique the artist is using. This “move” has similar reasoning behind why it is used to that of the tools. The difference being though is that after the explanation of what they are doing there is a “why” they are doing it. They could easily have just said something along the lines of “use the side of the brush for denser shading” and have people repeated it, but instead there is a justification for it. By explaining why this technique is ideal for the image that they are painting the viewer gets a better understanding and in the case of Ross, the viewer can begin to learn for themselves.

The descriptions provided on what each artist is painting vary depending on the purpose of the painting. Ross’ explanation are more planned and descriptive because that is his “job” whereas the artist, while painting the tree leisurely, described more of the process of how they saw the tree and how they were going to represent it, there was less direct instruction but rather tips and tricks to guide the viewer on what to look for when they are painting.

Towards the end of the Disney video I had a clear distinction between which trees I liked and which I did not, my favorite being the “portrait of the trunk”.  It was not only the style of painting that I enjoyed the most it was the reasoning behind it that was appealing. His choice in making the painting almost an “exact” representation of what he was viewing made me enjoy the piece. I am not a creative or “abstract” thinker so the painting of the tree as architecture really put me off because I do not see things like that, I see things pretty much for as they are (like the portrait of the tree trunk).  The descriptions behind how the artists see the tree adds to the outcome of the actual painting. In the beginning, when they first started working it gave the viewer an idea of what to expect, even though I do not like the abstract tree that much I was still anticipating what the final outcome was going to be while watching the process unfold.

I felt like my paper turned out better than expected. I was happy with how my paragraphs flowed, I felt like my ideas were cohesive and consistent which made it easy to connect the paragraphs. I am still having issues including book sources. I went back to find places that I could use resources but I liked the way my paper was and didn't want to jeopardize including quotes just to meet the requirement of having them. It could be contradictory because the quotes could have supported my paper but I just have a difficult time locating where to put the quotes in the paper without making the paper muddy. 

The most helpful comment I had yesterday was elaborating on certain “moves” Because I know our class knows what “IMRAD” is does not mean other academic audiences know what it is. I have to find a balance of knowing when my audiences knows

the material I am referencing versus when I need to introduce and explain. All the feedback I got yesterday helped in some way or another, some of the comments that were made me think about what I was trying to say and explain it better but some comments were more stylistic and things my reviewer would like to see but not necessarily something I would like to include in my own work so I was making compromises with myself but also holding my ground in certain pieces of my work.

Thlog #6 Moves and Conventions

So this weekend I took a trip back home (29 Palms if anyone was wondering) during my very long four-hour train that took me to Fullerton I thought about “moves”. Actually, everything I did this whole weekend I was questioning how I could relate it back to “moves”. My mother and I hiked Bog Morongo Canyon Preserve in Joshua Tree and I kid you not while I was trekking the five-mile desert terrain I thought about the different “moves” I was making, the lizards (chuckwallas to be exact) were making, and my mom was making. So you must be wondering what were the “moves” were that I noticed, well to be honest pretty much everything I did I was considering a “move” because this entire weekend was being able to make choices, at least choices I don’t usually get to make. This is when I realized how close moves and conventions are as well as where I get confused in defining them. When I am back in the 805 I don’t feel as if I have as many choices ( I know confusing, college is where I feel limited…) this is because my life is so routine here, my choices BECOME conventions. The choice to go to class, the choice to not go to class, choosing to stay in the library until 2 am these are conventions of a college student. Back home I don’t have a “convention”; at least I don’t feel like I do. When I am home I get do decide what I want to do and when to do it without having to fit into a “genre” or “convention”. This is how I see writing, the choices you make outside of a particular genre/convention more easily identifiable as moves. I hope this somewhat right, otherwise, I just would have just confused my understanding even more. 

(this is inside the green area of picture below)

   Big Morongo Preserve 5/7/16

                                                              

PB2B- Moves, What Are They?

Moves, What Are They?

The moves one makes in writing gives the piece a certain style, tone, and effectiveness. By examining the different moves authors use one can identify what works, what doesn’t and from their one can implement those strategies into their own work. Arguably, one already has some established preferences for their writing, but by diving to the why other moves work it might change one’s opinion and enhance their writing in the future.

The They Say, I Say template sheet there were many moves that I was able to identify in work but with some level of difference. For example, the template states “On one hand, I agree with X that…But on the other hand, I still insist that…” In Navigating Genres, Dirk uses a similar move when he writes “True, genres often have formulaic features, but these features can change even as the nature of genre remains (Dirk 253).” Dirks choice of agreeing with the previous statement from a different author instead of blatantly disagreeing with their opinion shows that Dirk is able to “compromise” with others ideas. This can make Dirk appear more knowledgeable because he can combine two ideas into one and share it in a collective way. I would say that is mildly effective because when reading the paper someone may agree more with the guy that he is arguing against instead of taking Dirks point of view.  

One of the moves that I noticed Dirk uses a “casual” tone in his piece. He uses phrases that would not necessarily be considered professional like starting a sentence with “And now for some bad news: (Dirk 255).” This colloquial saying works for this piece because of its intended audience, college students. This laidback approach to reach his audience can also be seen with his use of humor like when he relates to those who need to “bear with him” when he addresses country music. I would call this informality move “College Kickback” because this style of writing is appropriate in a setting for a chill audience compared to, let’s say, family dinner with the neighbors next door.

“Standard Views” as They Say, I Say calls it can be found in Teaching Two Kinds of Thinking. Elbow introduces the common view that “For one of the main things that hold us back from being as creative as we could be is fear of looking silly of being wrong (Elbow 61).” This follows the templates layout “It is often said that…” I really like this move because it brings attention to something that people do know but they may not consciously be aware of. The only drawback I could think of would be that since it is not back up with empirical data that it could easily be argued.

            A move that Elbow uses that I appreciate is how he defines the terms he uses within his text rather than them being asterisks that lead you to the bottom of the page. Early on in his essay he gives the definition of both first-order and second-order thinking (Elbow 55). I like that this is in the text because it makes the flow of the paper smoother because I get a solid idea of what he is talking about and can continue on with his piece that leads into his argument. If the definitions were at the bottom of the page it would have interrupted my reading. I would call this move “Avoid the Fine Print” because if this was a fine print I probably wouldn’t have read the definitions. By having the definitions in the text Elbow probably gets more people to read what he is saying.

            One of my biggest concerns while writing is pointing out the opposing point of view, in Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis Carroll is able to assert her knowledge while recognizing there is more than one side to her argument. I would say this falls under the category of “Agreeing–With a Difference” in They Say, I Say.  Carrol adds to statements that she agrees with but thinks there is more to it or varies depending on the situation like when she states “On the other hand, successful discourse often responds very well to the context (Carroll 55).” I find this move effective for me because I feel like it meets my needs of addressing as many issues as possible, but I can see where this could complicate the point one is trying to make by almost “proving” other people’s arguments.

            A move that Carroll does that I am not the biggest fan of is what I call “Hidden Treasure”. This piece was very helpful for me in WP1, it did so with the questions she asked within the text. I think these questions should have been the highlight of paper and separated from the paragraphs. I felt like I had to dig them out of the text in order for me to use them. There are questions spread out throughout almost all the paragraphs. The questions she included were effective but having them kind of embedded in the text made them difficult to use effectively.

            The essay “So What? Who Cares?” Saying Why It Matters by Seven includes many quotes from various authors Seven does a good job “Explaining Quotations” as They Say, I Say labels it. Instead of him just repeating what the quote is he refashions it and explains it so that it’ll work with the argument.

            Like I mentioned earlier I try to address the oppositions in almost everything I write and I would say Seven is preoccupied with this as well. I noticed that he includes varying phrases with the word “however”. For example, “Consider however…(Seven 94)” or “All too often, however…(Seven 92) and “In fact, however…(Seven 98)” I would not call these excessive because they serve a purpose but the fact that I was able to find that many examples are a little repetitive. I would call this the “I Want to Make Everyone Happy”.

            They Say, I Say has templates for “Disagreeing, With Reasons” one of which can be found in Murder! (Rhetorically Speaking.) Boyd follows the pattern of “By focusing on …, X overlooks…” when she is describing how her students were too focused on gory details of a coroner’s report instead of looking at the basic details (Boyd 92). I think this tool is effective because it tells the reader why it is wrong/causes problems instead of just blurting out their perspective.

            One quality about me that I believe I lack is creativity, which is found everywhere in Boyd’s piece. The most creative move I admire in her essay is the titles for her sections. I think my favorite title is “Learning How to Say Goodbye” (Boyd 94). I would argue that creativity is a quality everyone values and finds effective. The author states that she intentionally made the piece funny and informal and it is evident in the titles. This humor appeals to her intended audience of college students, but it also just makes the piece overall more enjoyable. I would call this move “DIY”.

               

               

Thlog #5

Before reading the essay “Read like a Writer” Zack told us that this would be one of the most important readings we would do in this class. With this info I wanted to make sure I put more effort into understanding what I was reading rather than just doing the reading and not really attempting to grasp the information. I wouldn’t say that I have difficulty pulling information from a text–except for papers on writing. I think this is because the tools they share in the work can’t be used right away, unlike other readings you can take notes and refer to it later as a block of knowledge/fact. Writing tips that are extracted from papers can’t really be used until you write making it difficult for me to remember them or even want to use them since most papers I write, I write to just get them over with. The tools found in the reading are relevant to this class though because this is time and place to try out and adjust the styles we find in the papers.

Anyways, when I was reading the essay I tried to take my time to be more selective in what I chose to highlight. I did this by reading the essay and then going back and highlighting only one or two important points in each. I also tried to annotate while reading. This was harder for me because I have never “officially” annotated anything; I don’t even really know how to do it. I annotated by jotting down any questions I had when I was reading. I also tried to rephrase the information I was highlighting. At first when I was taking my time and breaking down the paper I thought that it was going to take me F-O-R-E-V-E-R, but then I thought how when I usually read I stop and get distracted because I get bored reading. Being more engaged while reading didn’t take less time, but it did make the process more interesting and I was not getting as lost in the text or caught up in my daydreams.

            During the activity we did in class when we shared the “moves” the author made in the piece I was keeping track of the ones I had noticed that other people we sharing, I noticed that I had a lot of the same ones. Although this piece seemed simple in deciphering the moves I felt like some of the more precise moves people were pointing out I had too, usually I only find the blatant ones. This was kind of my moment of realization that just taking my time and being engaged with the text, regardless of the subject, will make pulling out information easier and makes it stick in my brain better. 

PB2A- Scholarly Sources

Scholarly Sources: Makeup

The scholarly article I chose was a research paper for an experiment on the Influence of eye make-up on the perception of gaze direction. Just from reading the abstract one will find that the study was conducted to see if makeup has an alternative role besides from enhancing attractiveness.

Some of the conventions of a research paper include an abstract, synopsis, introduction, method, results, discussion, and references. What is interesting about the entire research paper is that is pretty much laid out exactly like the abstract. The abstract gives a preview of the paper itself by including the following things. The synopsis is at the beginning because it serves as a thesis statement; it is direct and tells the reader the purpose of the experiment. It would not make sense to have this type of information anywhere else in the abstract. The hypothesis follows the synopsis because it is the actual question that directed the experiment. After the hypothesis there are these statements that predict the outcome, the statements contradict each other. “Eye make-up might make an individual's gaze more recognizable by emphasizing the contrast of the eyes. Or make-up might make gaze less recognizable by transforming eyes to unnatural shapes.” While reading I thought the abstract showed credibility (ethos) in the experimenter because it did not come off as being biased towards any one outcome. After the theoretic part of the abstract ,there is the evidence and coding that was used. The rest of the research paper follows, going in depth for each of the sections of the paper.

The perception of different types of gazing is being operationalized in this study, but it does not give a definition of what gazing actually is. The only information about the type of gaze is “same direction” or “different direction”. Another concept that is being operationalized is recognition; there are different ways of recognizing something that needs to be narrowed down for the experiment to become more reliable. The amount of makeup defined as “light or heavy” is operationalized by having the faces wear “no eyeliner, thin eyeliner, or thick eyeliner”. The experimenters further operationalized this by giving the exact width and length of each category of eyeliner type. Although the paper mentions facial attractiveness as one of the roles of make-up it is not the main purpose of this experiment, but attractiveness would need to be operationalized.

In the discussion section of the paper, the main question that is addressed is “How might we explain the influence of eyeliner makeup on observers’ perception of gaze direction?” This question is different from the one mentioned in the abstract because it based off the result of the study. The researchers created this question because their result showed significance but having significance does not tell the research why there is such. I thought this was cool because they could have just ended with a conclusion of their results but they decided to question their own experiment, almost as if it was leading them into their next experiment. This relates to a reading I did in Writing 1 about how conclusions should be starting points for the next piece of writing, it is interesting to see this even in a research paper.

Overall, the abstract entirely is the most important part of a research paper, each section of the abstracts adds to its purpose. If you were to take out any part of the abstract it would not be an abstract, but the most valuable information in an abstract is probably the results of the study. Most people reading the abstract need the results for something else. The procedural part of the paper is important as well because it tells how the experiment was run. This is important because if the experiment was not conducted ethically or has multiple variables not addressed, the results could become unreliable or incorrect. If the results are suspicious one could review the procedure part and determine if the right criteria were met when performing the experiment.  

Thlog #4

Going back and reading Journal 4.2 I thought about why the class was labeling questions the way they did. It is pretty clear what people thought were STEM major questions versus the Sociology/Communication majors. This is kind of like the Genre activity; there are conventions to how majors think that is reflected in their questions. Person #4 questions were similar to many other peoples, but they were the one person to be classified as History/English. This intrigued me so I kept reading their response to figure out what “gave away” their major. I realized that it was their style of writing, their answer being written in complete sentences and in a paragraph structure, which lead the person to think they were English major. This stood out to me because I thought it was interesting that someone made a judgment about someone, not from their content, but from its form and style.

Analyzing decisions people make is actually something I do more often than I should; this is why these activities are so interesting to me. I do it because I like to reason, I want to create reasons for everything. Don’t ask me why, but I have always been an “overthinker” (even though I don’t think that is a real thing). I enjoy thinking about the cause and effects of pretty much everything, which is very similar to rhetoric. I just didn’t know that it had a name or an academic purpose. I think that my habits are a little excessive but this class is making me feel a less crazy because it has shown me that this is just another way of thinking. Writing about this stuff is making me a better writer because it has taken away the fear that I am writing about the wrong stuff so now I can focus on the writing itself.

Thlog #3

                Let’s be honest, why did week #3 feel like post-midterms week #6. . . I know for me part of this feeling comes from this writing project. I don’t want to come off as a complainer because I really have enjoyed analyzing genre and critically thinking about why genre and conventions are important. It is always good to take a step back and question things that have become habitual.

The hard part about this project is figuring out if I’m doing it right or wrong, I know I know there are no “rules” in writing but I find that I second guess myself on every… single…thing (yes, it’s exhausting.) This constant second guessing led me to rewrite a whole new essay. I absolutely hated the draft I turned in and after the disastrous feedback I got in peer/reader review I felt the needed to rewrite it.

Peer review was unsuccessful for because my group did not give me much feedback in the first place and the feedback I did get back was very generic overall it just felt very unauthentic. Some of the comments were helpful, they showed me there was confusion in my paper, they could not figure out what I was writing about. All these things made me want to restart my paper, which I did. Before restarting my essay I looked over our Journal 3.1 to get some inspiration from others as to what they were writing about. I really liked the party invitation idea, but I did not want to copy someone else’s idea so I stuck with Snickerdoodle recipes. My new draft seems a lot better than my old one, I am happier with it compared to the feeling I had the first time I wrote it. Hopefully peer review on Monday will go more smoothly and I will get some feedback that will enhance my paper rather than making me want to rip it to shreds.  

Thlog #2 (4/8/16)

From the reading on First and Second Order thinking I created this idea in my head that the creative and undirected First Order thinking was the “right way” to write, but after doing my PB1a I realized that writing is a combination of both as well as the writers personal preference. I have written a couple of papers First Orderly and I have been successful in writing them, they were even relatively easier to write compared to my usually long and disastrous writing process.

PB1a was different though because although I did not create an outline for what I was writing I followed the questions in the prompt line for line, like an outline. Once I got to the specific question, for example explaining the purpose of my genre, I used First Order thinking to project all my ideas for that topic, so everything that came to my mind relating to the purpose I wrote it down. Its relieving knowing that Second Order thinking doesn’t have to happen second, even if its effectiveness would probably be better. I think that using Second Order thinking can be helpful when someone is stuck or needs to make a guideline to push them along in writing.

 Honestly, I don’t think I would be able to have done PB1a without the guiding questions. If we had been asked to write a 2-page rhetorical analysis, based on what we have learned so far, on a genre of one’s choice my PB1a would have been complete garbage and BS. Reading #14 journal response and how their process was more self-directed kind of shocked me because of what I said one the guidance I had when writing PB1a. They described their thoughts on about how they would write a birthday card (their genre) and who they were writing for, they did this before actually answering the prompt. When I wrote my PB1a I would read a question with a genre in mind and see what kind of material I could generate, the one that I had the most input on is the one I ended up writing the whole piece on.

 The coolest thing that I got out of this week is that everyone brainstorms and writes in different ways. The way in which people think and act as either First Order or Second Order is irrelevant, but switching between the two and combining them in writing and other aspects of life can benefit people. 

PB1B- Generating Genre

Looking at the research papers from the generator I found that some of the conventions of a research paper had their own conventions within them. For example, the convention of an abstract within a research had its own convention. Abstracts appear to be short and contain a brief explanation of the experiment and its purpose. Research paper then has a Table of Content; within that Table of Content there is an Introduction, Related Works, Architecture, Implementation, Results, Conclusion, and References. The introduction has conventions of being medium sized. It also is where one will find the hypothesis that set up the experiment. Results also have conventions within them such as, containing graphs and charts, as well as an explanation of the results in relation to the hypothesis. The conclusion seems to be relatively short and is very similar to the Abstract. Conventions of the References would be that it is very standard and orderly and follows guidelines for a particular style to cite other’s work.

Comic conventions seemed like they would be the easiest because everyone would be able to point to the comic if asked if it were presented in a line up style interrogation. It was actually a lot harder trying to identify what makes a comic a comic.  Some of the conventions I found were illustrations/cartoons, dialogue is short, to distinguish who is speaking there is a bubble around that characters words, comics are light hearted and humorous, more than one character, scenes are separated by boxes. The particular comic generator we viewed was purely for entertainment, but some comics can be political. Some comics could even be seen as an entertaining new sources if they were written with informative intentions.

Memes’ conventions were also difficult to pin point because they are so simple. Some conventions of memes include large white font, usually at the top and/or bottom of the image. The images that are being written on come from screenshots of videos, movies, and TV shows. The images’ action or facial expression of character within the image relates, to some extent, to the message/joke of the text. Memes are funny; it is rare to see one with a serious message. Or at least the message is perceived as less serious if presented as a meme. Memes also tend to make fun of someone/something. The meme could be making fun of the person that the meme is of, the viewer, or some other person that is mentioned in the text.

Sticking with the same concept as my PB1A I looked up “Romance Novel Plot generator”. I wanted to see if the list of conventions followed the same blueprint as the generators. Many of my conventions did fit with those of the generator. One of the conventions for the plot of a romance novel was the MULTIPLE use of adjectives. Every time I generated a new plot there was na introduction of how the protagonist met their lover, then a problem is created by the antagonist (often in love with the same person the protagonist), then finally the solution where the protagonist succeeds and wins over their lover. The conflict of someone coming between the lovers is also a convention within itself.

To understand genre is to understand patterns as well as an understanding how the patterns are use. These patterns are then used to classify and create a particular type of writing into a category.  Genre can be better understood with the used of genre generating websites because the websites show the patterns within each genre.  The websites developed a structure that mimicked the basic collection of conventions within the particular genre. By deciphering which components of a genre are reused over and over again within the same genre one finds the patterns which are the conventions. It is helpful to see what conventions are used repeatedly in the generators because it gives one insight as to what makes up that genre as well as hinting at why that convention is important for that genre. For example, the convention of being funny is found in both memes and comics, but why they are both funny can be inferred from other conventions within their genre. Memes can be funny because of their convention of making fun of someone/something where as comics can be funny because of their convention of having illustrations/cartoons. 

PB1A- Romance Novels

Currently, I am reading the novel, “How to be Single”, I would classify its genre as a romance/comedy but when I tried to look up it was actually only labeled as “women’s fiction”. The conventions of a “romance novel” are more appropriate for this book rather than the broad description of “women’s fiction”. Some of the conventions used are woman/women with a broken heart(s), cheating men, one woman with the perfect relationship, married couples, exclusively dating couples, lack-luster dates vs. phenomenal dates, point of view is from a woman, comparing the female narrator's life with that of other women, woman pining over a particular guy, man makes incredible gesture to win over the woman that he is in love with, and of course the detailed sexual experiences.

The audience for romance/comedy is woman, but there is a certain type of woman who specifically read romance novels. The most obvious convention for this genre is a woman looking for love, that is the type of woman that are most likely going to be reading these types of books. Other types of women that could be reading these books are women that are in love but don’t receive the same type of affection and attention that is glamorized in romance novels.

The convention that in the end man and woman, regardless of the struggle that was presented throughout the book, will still end up being together and even more so in love is the message the author wants one to receive. They want all the women reading their book to remember that love will find them eventually. Not giving up on love and one’s enduring search for it will one day solve their problem of not having love. The purpose authors have for romance novels is that they want women to believe romance and love still exist.

Context could be that the idea of love is related to happiness and this idea is especially directly at woman from a young age. Love is important for both genders, but the importance of finding one’s soul mate is emphasized more towards women. This makes the conditions relating to love more appealing to women and because the idea of falling in love is important in our culture. Another context within romance novels is that women don’t want to feel like they are the only one’s experiencing things so by reading these novels they can identify some aspect of themselves in the characters of the story.

The style of a romance novel could be considered one of its conventions. Romance novels are often written with fluffed up and extremely detailed descriptions. The description of just the bedroom could be an entire paragraph. The style also includes portraying the entire atmosphere that is surrounding the event as well as reporting what the character is doing externally and their feelings internally. Having the story be told in the point of view of a woman is also a characteristic of style.

Overall the tone of a romance novel is optimistic. Women do not want to read a “romance” novel if the girl does not get the guy, there are other genres of books if one wants to read that. The attitude of romance novels is to build anticipation until the girl and guy can meet again, finally be together, or until the guy makes his grand gesture that everyone has been waiting for. There can be moments of the novel where things look bleak or are sad but the main tone of the genre comes predominantly from the ending where everything seems to work itself out.

A romance novel is a romance novel because it describes romantic encounters and relationships that woman wishes they would see in their real lives. The events are fictional and overly drawn out but that is what makes them appealing because these events would be very uncommon to see in one’s daily life. Romance novels always have a happy ending where the girl ends up falling in love whether it is with a man, her job, her family, or even learning to love herself. 

"Thlog" #1 Genre and Rhetoric

Rhetoric has always been a difficult concept for me to understand and grasp. The assigned reading “Backpacks vs. Briefcases” really helped me get a clearer idea of how to identify rhetoric in an organized and procedural manner. The questions provided in the text were the most useful to me. I like having this reference to use when I am analyzing pieces in the future.

 Before I begin actually analyzing in our writing project, I feel as though the activity we have been doing in class about identifying conventions within genres will help tremendously in breaking down the actual rhetoric. I had done a previous rhetorical analysis, in the beginning, I just dove into the “rhetorical situation, purpose and argument. I did not stop and separate the elements of the piece I was analyzing if I would have stopped to think about the “what’s” first then the “why’s” and “how’s” it would have been a lot easier to write the essay.

 In class when we shared our knowledge of textual genres, person #7 explained the conventions of a romance novel. While reading their answer I found myself agreeing with their conventions and believed they had accurately labeled the genre of a romance novel. After reading “Backpacks vs. Briefcase” and having reviewed their answers again, I realized I was analyzing WHY these were the conventions used in romance novels.

When I looked back at my responses it was more difficult for me to identify why certain conventions were used in the genre I picked.  It made me what to do two things. First, was to go back through my list of conventions and test them to an actual piece. I wanted to do this because I wanted to make sure my list was correct. I know that a convention may not always fit into an example of that genre, but I wanted to see if for the most part my ideas fit into this genre.  Two, I wanted to research why some of these conventions were used since I could not figure some of them out for myself. 

About Me "Blog Blurb"

If there is one thing y’all should know about me it is that I am a Belieber. Just kidding. But for real I love him. Anyways, besides listening to the Biebs I really enjoy watching TV. Each night I have a designated show. For example, Mondays is “Teen Mom”, Tuesdays is “The People vs. OJ Simpson”, Thursdays is “Greys Anatomy” etc. I also play on an intramural soccer team, we won the championship for F’15 and they told us that our team picture is up at Woodstock's but none of us have checked, but if you’re are looking to play let me know we always need more people.

My family currently lives in 29 Palms, CA. If you are wondering where that is, it is by Joshua Tree National Park. If you still don’t know, then Palm Springs. I hope none of you ever have to visit 29 Palms, it is all desert, and there are no stores, no restaurants. Just don’t go there. I have also lived in Florida and North Carolina. North Carolina was my favorite and I hope to move back there someday. Although I am a Panthers fan I am a Boston Red Sox baseball fan. Dustin Pedroia has always been my #1.

 My New England affair is due to my dad, he was born and raised in Connecticut, you could say I was born into the #SoxNation. My mom is a military brat like me, but she mainly grew up in 29 Palms where she met my dad when he got stationed out there as a young Marine. I have two brothers, both younger than me; I love them dearly and have no clue what I would do without them. My brothers’ and my mom seriously are best friends. I also have three dogs, two cats, and couple fish tanks. My cats are my life, people always joke that I am the crazy cat lady. I can’t deny their statements because I do own a sweatshirt with my own cats face on it.

I have two tattoos; I plan on getting more I just don’t know what I want. One is of a seahorse, it is on my back, and doesn’t really have any significance other than I really like seahorses. The other is on the inner part of my arm and is an orange ribbon in the shape of a heart with the word “mom” written in it. This one is extremely meaningful to me because I got it to show my support for my mother and her battle with Multiple Sclerosis.