Revisiting My Writing Process

After reading the first blog posts that I ever wrote for this class, I realized that I have actually changed my writing and time management styles over the past 15 weeks. 

Image by Templeton, Corey. "Looking into the past: Bug Light." Uploaded 5/22/09 via Flickr.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license. 

What changed most from August to now was my homework plan. My original plan was to get homework done on M/W/F mornings before my noon class, but I ended up doing most, if not all, of my homework after I was done with classes for the day. 

Like most college students, I was nowhere near awake enough to get homework done in the morning. Once I was already up and running after going to classes, it was easier to keep momentum and get my homework done. 

I'm proud of myself though, because I managed not to procrastinate much this semester. Having the deadlines broken up into steps made it much easier to stay on top of my workload and not get too overwhelmed. 

Once I had the deadline broken up for each week, I could then fill in time to do my other homework. Structuring my schedule around English homework made it easy to find time for all of my other class work. 

My writing style has stayed mostly the same. I used to consider myself sort of a Heavy Planner, but I found that it's easier than I thought to just sit down and start typing without doing much planning/thinking beforehand.  

This, of course, requires a lot of editing, but I already was a Heavy Revisor, so it hasn't been terribly difficult to change my habits. 

Now that I know what a college workload is like, I think it will be easier in coming semesters to keep on track with homework. The first semester is always the hardest with being away from home for the first time and having to be a real adult. Now I mostly know how to deal with all of that which will also make life easier. 

Even though I am still not completely sure what I want to major in, and even less sure about what I want to do as a career, I know that the habits I am forming now will affect my future success. Knowing how to manage my time and finish projects by or even before a deadline is essential. 

I think the format of this class made my entire first semester easier. Even though it was a demanding class as far as how much we had to do and what was expected of us, it taught me a lot about using my time wisely. 

I feel like I am a better writer and editor than I was before this class, and I learned a lot about how important it is to use genres correctly. I think that the quality of writing that I am producing now after this semester is much better than in high school, which is a really good thing. 

Reflection on Project 3

I used the questions on page 520 of Writing Public Lives to reflect on Project 3.

1. What was specifically revised from one draft to the next?

Most of the changes that I made from my first draft to my final draft were local edits.

• For example, I originally wrote, " It’s baffling that a parent would do anything that could possibly harm that relationship, or for that matter, do anything to hurt their child in any way." One of my peer reviewers pointed out that this sentence was awkward, so I changed it to, "It’s baffling that a parent would do anything that could possibly jeopardize that incredibly special relationship."

2. Point to global changes: how did you reconsider your thesis or organization? 

Because I wrote an informal article, my project doesn't really have a thesis. Instead, I pose a serious of questions that my piece then answers. Initially, I just had one question: "so why do many discipline in a way that negatively impacts their kids?"

After editing and rereading my article, I realized that I needed another question to thoroughly introduce my topic. I left the first question and added, "if parents knew how harmful spanking can be, would they continue to physically punish their children, regardless of the consequences?"

I changed very little with the organization or content of my project.

3. What led you to these changes? A reconsideration of audience? A shift in purpose? 

I changed my thesis once I had written my project because I didn't think it was comprehensive enough. Now, I think it does a much better job of introducing my article and my argument.

While one of my peer reviewers told me that I should have more data/citations for my project, I decided not to change anything. I considered my genre, my audience, and my purpose when I was writing, and I feel good about how I wrote to fit all three.

4. How do these changes affect your credibility as an author? 

Being able to speak directly to the intended audience is the best way to appear as a credible author. If they feel understood, they are more likely to be open to being persuaded or informed by the piece they are reading. Especially with such a personal topic, I had to be sure that my project conveyed emotions in a way that helps my readers see where I am coming from.

Image by Bastaki, Moha'Al. "U Complete Me." Uploaded 9/28/08 via Flickr.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license. 

5. How will these changes better address the audience or the venue? 

I think that changing my thesis made my argument more coherent and convincing, which will help me better address my audience. Also, by not adding outside evidence to my argument, I stayed true to the conventions of the genre. Personal opinion articles rarely contain statistics, data, or expert opinions, so I made sure to stay away from all of those strategies.

6. Point to local changes: how did you reconsider sentence structure and style?

Most of the local edits I made were to reword sentences and break large paragraphs up to be shorter and easier to scan. I kept my sentence structure mostly the same though.

7. How will these changes assist your audience in understanding your purpose?

With this genre, it's essential that the article be scannable. If readers are interested after quickly scanning, they will likely read the entire article.

Also, because this is a short piece, I need to be sure that my writing is understandable and not misleading. Having all of my sentences be clear makes it easier for my readers to understand and be persuaded by my argument.

8. Did you have to reconsider the conventions of the particular genre in which you are writing? 

After getting a peer review that I should add outside sources, I read through all of my examples again, and none of them used expert opinions or data. The only other thing that I changed to make sure I was using the conventions of the genre was making my paragraphs shorter.

9. Finally, how does the process of reflection help you reconsider your identity as a writer? 

There is always room for improvement. Looking back on what I changed between my first draft and my final draft helps me see what I've learned. For this project, most of the changes that I made were to better address my audience and to properly use the genre. Having never written an informal article before, I had to check my genre examples many times to make sure that I was sticking to the conventions.

Reflection also shows me that I am becoming a good editor. I am proud of my final draft because I know that I worked hard to produce an article that stays true to the genre while persuading my audience to believe in my argument. 

Publishing Public Argument

Here is my final Project 3!!

Image by Figuière, Hubert. "Three." Uploaded 3/16/10 via Flickr.
Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license. 

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

←----------------------------------x------------------|--------------------x------------------------------------->

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly 

agree

                                                                                                              disagree

[My article is written for people who may already have an opinion, but are still able to be persuaded by my article. If they are too far to either side, nothing will be able to change their minds.]

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

[I want my readers to oppose spanking, but I'd be naive if I didn't say that maybe someone could read something or have a personal experience that could make them suddenly believe in spanking.]

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

         

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

      

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

The main reason that my piece is an original contribution to the controversy is that it includes my personal views and experiences. Instead of using the same statistics and expert views that most other writers have used, I focused on how I view the controversy. Using a more informal genre, I was able to speak candidly and focus more on the points that I was making rather than analyzing what other people are saying.

5. Identify the specific rhetorical appeals you believe you've employedi n your public argument below:

Ethical or credibility-establishing appeals

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

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

    ___x__ Openly acknowledging counterarguments and refuting them intelligently

   ___x__ Appealing openly to the values and beliefs shared by the audience

Emotional appeals

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

  ___x__ Employing an appropriate level of formality for the subject matter 

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

  ___x__ Employing an attractive color palette that sets an appropriate emotional tone

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

                   

Logical or rational appeals

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

6. Below, provide us with working hyperlinks to THREE good examples of the genre you've chosen to write in. These examples can come from Blog Post 11.3 or they can be new examples. But they should all come from the same specific website/platform and should demonstrate the conventions for your piece:

Why you should argue in front of your kids

When you're Jewish but your kid loves Santa

The emotional triggers that come with special-needs parenting

[Note: these examples all have hyperlinks, but almost all of them link to other articles by the same author. Since I have no other articles for this website, I don't have anything to hyperlink to.]

Reflection on Project 3 Draft

I peer reviewed for Trey and Kyle.


1. Who reviewed your Project 3 rough draft?

Nick and Jayni peer reviewed my draft.

2. What did you think and/or feel about the feedback you received? Be explicit and clear.

I really appreciate that Nick was critical of my draft, because he gave me a lot of help with what I need to fix or work on. Overall, I do agree with his suggestions and critiques. He emphasized that I should use either expert sources or statistics to back up my argument, but because I am doing my article more as a short editorial, I'm not sure how much data I want to add. I want my argument to be mostly based on emotions.

Jayni's review was helpful because she seemed to understand exactly what point I am trying to make in my article as well as the strategies and appeals that I used to make it. Knowing that my readers understand my point and are influenced in some way is helpful and makes me feel like I did a good job with my project.

Image by AJC ajcann.wordpress.com. "Peer Review." Uploaded 5/23/08 via Flickr.
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3. What aspects of Project 3 need the most work going forward? How do you plan on addressing these areas?

I think I mostly need to make sure that I address my audience in a way that will help them be persuaded by my argument. My genre fits my topic and argument as well as it can, and I think that the purpose of my argument is clear. I just need to put a little more work into catering my article to my audience.

I might try adding in some more logical appeals and see what that does to my argument and it's effectiveness.

As Jayni mentioned, my genre examples differ in how much they refer to outside sources. I should go back over those examples and find exactly where citation is used to better understand if I need to change my article to better conform to the genre conventions.

4. How are you feeling overall about the direction of your project after peer review and/or instructor conferences this week?

The conference was helpful, albeit brief. The couple of suggestions that I got were beneficial. I walked into my conference fairly confident in my project, but after making a few suggested changes, I think it's even stronger.

Nick helped me both with global edits as well as fixing the wording and phrasing of some of my sentences. Jayni focused on helping me with global edits. Both of them were very helpful in making my draft the best it can be.

Once I spend some more time on my draft this week, I hope I'll have a project that I am happy with and proud of.

Draft of Public Argument

My project is an article for a parenting magazine expressing why I oppose spanking children. It is somewhat informal in tone, but I still want it to evoke a strong reaction in my readers and make them choose not to spank their children.

Image by Beall, Jeffrey. "Draft." Uploaded 4/24/11 via Flickr.
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While I think this draft is a good start, I know that it needs quite a bit of work. The biggest problem at this point is that I don't think it's long enough or has enough substance, but I am not entirely sure what to add or rework. The conclusion also needs some help.

Any and all suggestions are incredibly helpful, and I am not at all offended by people tearing my draft apart.

Here is the link to the Google Doc that contains my Project 3 Draft.

Considering Visual Elements

I used pages 395-402 of Writing Public Lives to decide what visual elements I will use in my article for Project 3. This post was somewhat difficult, because I am wiring an article in a genre that doesn't require visual elements to be effective.


1. What color choices reflect the visual-rhetorical tone of my project?

• My article will most likely be black type on a white background to avoid distracting my audience. 
• Even though my tone will be less formal, I need my audience to see me as credible, and bright colors and backgrounds would likely take away from my authority.

2. How might I vary the fonts used in my project for emphasis, such as in the title and body of my project?

• The fonts should still be fairly plain and not distracting. 
• The title font should be larger than the text size in the body of my article, but they should be the same font type. I want the title to stand out but not stick out too much. 

3. Is the feeling or tone that the image invokes appropriate to the visual-rhetorical tone of my argument?

• All of my example articles include an image at the top, so I should follow this as it is likely a convention of the genre. 
• A picture of a child would likely stay on topic but not be too distracting. 
• This is a difficult topic to find images for, so maybe even a cartoon-style drawing of a kid might be effective. Anything that would relate to my topic but not be out of place.

Screenshot by Boone-Roberts, Morgan. Taken 11/3/15 via Flickr. 

4. Is the image in close proximity to the argument that it is emphasizing or illustrating?

• I will most likely use only one image at the top of the article, and I am hoping to find one that relates to the topic as a whole rather than just one part of the argument. 
• I think images scattered through the whole article would be ineffective in this genre. 

5. If your project contains large blocks of text, could they be broken up more efficiently using text boxes, lines, headings, or images? 

• I plan on keeping my paragraphs brief so that my article is scannable, but I most likely will not use any of the elements listed above in my article. I feel like they would distract from rather than add to my argument. 

6. If you are calling your audience to take action, are the consequences of not taking action and the benefits of taking action clearly expressed? 

• I hope to impress on my readers the consequences of continuing to spank their children and the rewards of finding other ways to discipline a badly-behaving child. 
• However, I doubt that I will do this through the use of images or visual elements in my article. 

Project 3 Outline

I used pages 415, 419, and 421 of Writing Public Lives to format an outline for Project 3.

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Introduction

• Connect the issue to the audience's world view
• Even though my genre examples don't have a definite form for introductions, it's important to have some sort of lead to draw readers in with. 
• All of my readers are parents, so they have some things in common that will be easy to appeal to. They all want what's best for their kids, and they all struggle with how to be good parents.
• Drawing on these commonalities will make my readers feel understood and will make them more receptive to my argument. 

Body

• Major supporting arguments to oppose spanking
• While the evidence is not conclusive, there is a correlation between spanking and emotional/mental problems in children. 
• Spanking makes children fear rather than respect their parent(s).
• This can have long-term effects on the relationship between the child and the parent even into adulthood. 
• Spanking teaches a child to approach problems and anger with violence. 
• It also teaches them that being hit by someone who loves you is okay. 
• This could lead to people staying in violent or unsafe relationships because they don't realize that what is going on is not okay or they don't know any different way to show or receive affection. 
• Spanking is, unfortunately, often a snap reaction by the parent when they are angry about something their kid has done. 
• Parents often spank when there are alternatives, because they are angry and are not thinking clearly enough to evaluate the situation fully.
• The child may not be told why they are being punished, and therefore, can't learn from their mistake. 
• Major criticisms that support spanking 
• Children learn in many different ways. What works for one child may be completely ineffective for the next. 
• For some kids, time out or taking away toys or games does not correct their bad behavior. 
• If a child is doing something that is incredibly dangerous, there is sometimes no way to immediately reprimand them for that. 
• If a child tries to dart into the road, a spank might be the only way to immediately show them that their behavior is not only bad but could have horrible consequences. 
• " I was spanked and I turned out fine."
• "Kids today aren't spanked and they are spoiled little brats." 
• Key points and rebuttals 
• Points to support my argument 
• Spanking creates fear instead of respect and can damage the future relationship between the parent and the child. 
• Spanking teaches children that violence is okay, both to dish out and to receive. 
• Spanking is often done out of violence rather than to teach a child not to behave a certain way. 
• Points I need to address and disprove
• Saying there is no alternative way to discipline a child than to hit them. 
• Both in emergency situations or based off of different learning styles. There is always an alternative. 
• "I turned out fine" doesn't apply to everyone. If even one child is damaged by this, shouldn't the issue be addressed? 
• Potential topic sentences for each support paragraph
• "The bond between a parent and a child is irreplaceable, yet the way that parents punish their children can have strong negative effects on that incredibly special relationship."
• Paragraph about how spanking damages relationship between parent and child.
• "Teaching children that violence is okay in any scenario can teach them that violence is an okay response to a bad situation." 
• Can lead to issues in school and, later, domestic violence problems. 
• "If a parent spanks out of anger, they are likely to make the behavior problem less of a teaching experience and more of a direct punishment."
• Anger is not conducive to teaching a child a lesson, and that is unfortunately the state of mind that many parents are in when they spank their child. 
• Potential topic sentences for each rebuttal paragraph
• "While it is true that not everyone who was spanked as a child was damaged in any way, the safety of the children who were affected warrants the attention that this controversy has been attracting."
• Not every one was damaged, but the issue still needs to be talked about and hopefully resolved. 
• "There is always an alternative; that applies to this controversy as well."
• Address the possible alternative forms of discipline and how they too can be effective. 
• Gathering evidence
• Because I am drawing a lot from my own experiences, I probably won't be using many, if any, outside sources in my article. 
• Mapping my argument
• Click here to see the Coggle that I made for organizing my argument

Screenshot by Boone-Roberts, Morgan. 11/3/15 from Coggle. 

Conclusion

• Future of the debate
• This debate has been going on for such a long time and is so emotionally charged that a resolution coming anytime soon is unlikely. 
• So why is it important? 
• How can people work to end the controversy? 
• Is it even possible to resolve or will there always be a schism between the two sides that is impossible to fix or bring together? 

Reflection

Isabel's outline was really well done. Just from reading her outline, I think I have a good understanding of how her article will inform and persuade her audience that electrical stimulation is an effective form of physical therapy. 

Alyssa's visual elements post and her outline show a well-planned project. Her outline wasn't as detailed as Isabel's mostly because her project is a video rather than a written piece. She has good ideas about how to proceed and has experience making video projects, so I am sure her project will turn out great. 

I feel confident in my outline, and I think it will help me a lot as I begin drafting my article. 

Analyzing My Genre

I found five examples of my genre and analyzed them using the genre analysis questions from page 342 of Writing Public Lives.

Examples

Example 1 from Parenting Magazine.

• The writer uses her experience as well as expert opinions to make a position argument and to give advice to other parents. It is emotional and logical. 

Example 2 from Happy Child.

• The author uses an experience she had to directly refute another article. While this may be more of a refutation argument, it sets up her position and acknowledges the other side. It also attempts to persuade readers. 

Example 3 from Parents Magazine. 

• This article discusses a controversial word and how it should be used. It provides a position, but also gives advice to readers. It draws some on personal experience, but the discussion that leads to her conclusion is much more important.

Example 4 from Today's Parent Magazine.

• The topic here is controversial, so the author is trying to take a position and convince her readers to believe and agree with one side of the controversy. It is formatted almost like a blog post, and while I probably won't use an image, everything else fits the format that I plan on using for my article. 

Example 5 from Families Online Magazine.

• This article draws on a personal experience to give advice or pointers on a difficult topic. It is brief, but still takes a position and attempts to teach readers something. 

Screenshot by Boone-Roberts, Morgan. Taken from Flickr on 11/3/15.

Social Context

Where is the genre typically set?

• Articles about parenting matters mostly appear in parenting magazines such as the ones that I found my examples in. 
• However, the more broad genre that I am using, advice/op-ed articles, appear in most news sources and cover a wide variety of topics. 

What is the subject of the genre?

• The subject of my genre is to inform or persuade readers to feel, believe, or think a certain way. In the case of my project, I am trying to persuade my readers not to spank their children. 

Who uses the genre?

• Almost anyone can write an op-ed piece, but they are generally written by someone who has writing or journalistic experience. 

When and why is the genre used? What purposes does the genre serve for the people who use it? 

• The article is used to inform, persuade, educate, or argue about anything from news to addressing a controversy to asking people to support a cause. It is perhaps the most versatile genre out there. 

Rhetorical Patterns of the Genre

What type of content is usually included and excluded?

• In a position article, there is rarely much background information given. Especially since my examples as well as my article are written about fairly common topics, there is little need to explain the beginning of the controversy. 
• It is important to take a strong stance and not waver from it. It's necessary to consider the other side, but being wishy-washy will make the argument seem less well-constructed and credible.
• In the field of parenting articles, most include some sort of personal story even if it's as little as mentioning that the author is a parent and is therefore somewhat knowledgable on the topic they are arguing. 

What rhetorical appeals are used most often? 

• All three of the appeals can be used, but for my article and my examples, the authors mostly use emotional and logical appeals. 
• With parenting, the topics can be so controversial and personal that emotion has to come into play because the author is passionate about the issue. 

How are the texts organized? Do they generally open in similar ways? Conclude in similar ways? What common parts do these samples share?

• Because my examples are all on parenting matters, they all jump into the topic right away without having to explain the issue; they are all commonly known and understood problems. 
• While the paragraphs differ in length, they are all usually under 7 sentences long. 
• All of my examples conclude with looking ahead at the future of the controversy or how the proposed solution will change the situation. 
• All of my examples have a picture at the top, similar to blogging, so I will be sure to include a picture before I begin my article. 

Do sentences share a similar style? Are they mostly passive, active, simple, or complex? Is there an abundance or lack of questions, exclamation points, or semicolons? 

• The sentences all differ in structure. Most are active voice and include a mix of simple and complex sentences. 
• There are occasional questions and very few exclamations. Most of the sentences are declarative. 
• There are a couple sentences between my five example that use semicolons or dashes, but the vast majority don't. 

What type of word choice is used? Do many of the words fit in a particular category of jargon or slang? Is the overall effect of the word choice formal, informal, humorous, or academic? 

• There is not a lot of slang used, and because the topics aren't scientific or technical, they don't contain jargon. 
• These articles, because they are op-ed pieces or advice columns, are more informal in tone, but no to the point that they lose credibility of insult their audience's intelligence. 

Image by Cunningham, Simon. "Analysis." Uploaded 12/18/13 via Flickr.
Attribution 2.0 Generic license. 

What Those Patterns Reveal About the Social Context of the Genre

Who does the genre include and who does it exclude?

• This genre includes anyone who reads magazines or online news sources that have op-ed sections. 
• Specifically for my article, my audience includes parents who read the op-ed articles in parenting magazines. 
• It excludes everyone who doesn't read parenting articles. 

What roles for writers and readers does the genre encourage? 

• This genre encourages the use of personal opinions to persuade others to agree with the author stance. 
• If the article is on the same side of the argument as the reader, it should strengthen their feelings about that side and make them more passionate about the issue. 
• If the article opposes the reader's stance, it should make them question their views and make them reconsider their beliefs. Even if they don't change to the other side, they will at least be provoked to think about the other side. 

What values and beliefs are assumed about or encouraged from users of the genre? 

• Authors assume that readers have an opinion on the topic before reading the article. These types of pieces are meant to persuade, not inform, so readers should already have some sort of predisposed beliefs coming in. 
• Authors also assume that no reader would want a child to be hurt or damaged. They then use this to base their argument. That adds yet another layer of emotion to the topic as well. 

What content does the genre treat as most valuable? Least valuable? 

• Since these articles tend to be brief and mostly to the point, there is little that is not valuable to the argument and its persuasiveness. 
• Keeping audience in mind is probably the most important part, as is staying on topic and not going too far off on a tangent that doesn't directly relate to the argument itself. 

Reflection

Isabel is also doing an article, but she is informing her readers instead of persuading them. She mentioned that articles should be scannable, which I forgot to include in my blog post. Alyssa is doing a documentary, which is an awesome idea. She is trying to inform her audience as well, but also keep them entertained, or at least focused, on the topic that she is investigating. 

Even though we all are doing different types of projects, our blog posts were fairly similar. From just this, I think we are all on the right track for creating great projects!