Reflection on Open Letter Draft

I used the 5 questions on pages 253-256 to reflect on my open letter draft. How crazy is it that this is the last blog post for this class??


I edited Alyssa and Isabel's drafts.

Image by Ableman, Scott. "Midnight at the Reflecting Pool." Uploaded 6/1/07 via Flickr.
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1. Did you demonstrate an ability to think about your writing and yourself as a writer? 

Having never been asked to reflect on my own writing before this class, I was unsure of where to start. It was incredibly helpful to have the "Revisiting My Writing Process" and "Reflecting More on My Writing Experiences" done before I began my draft; I started my draft using the ideas that I developed in those two posts and then went from there.

I personally think that this draft was the easiest of the 4 for me to write because it is entirely from a personal perspective. Not having to use outside sources (other than our own work, which I'm familiar with) made this project a lot more enjoyable for me to write.

Mostly, my draft needs some local revisions. There were no huge global issues that my peers pointed out to me, and I have yet to find any in my own editing. Overall, I think it's a good start. After some more editing, I'm sure I will be happy with the final product.

2. Did you provide analysis of your experiences, writing assignments, or concepts you have learned?

I analyzed how I was introduced to and used certain skills in high school and then compared them to what I have learned in 109. Mostly, I looked at how the way I approach introductions and conclusions changed after taking this course.

I also discussed how what we've done in this class will help me later in my college education and future career. The editing and writing skills that I have gained as well as my increased expertise in managing my time will benefit me greatly in the future.

3. Did you provide concrete examples from your own writing (either quotes from your writing or rich descriptions of your writing process)? 

I either linked to the blog posts that related to the topic I was discussing, or I referred to certain parts of the class. My audience will understand what I am referring to even if I don't provide a hyperlink (sometimes it's impossible, because I refer to the project as a whole).

Using quotes from my work didn't seem necessary for my particular project, so I chose to leave them out. Maybe I will decide to add some as I am editing my project if I think it would be helpful or beneficial.

4. Did you explain why you made certain choices and whether those choices were effective?

When I discussed my time management in this class, I explained how breaking up each deadline helped me not to procrastinate. I got all of my work submitted on time, which helped my overall grade in the class. I get incredibly stressed when I'm behind or having to catchup on work that I fell behind on, so that motivated me even more to stay on top of my workload.

I also explained how, as much as I hate scrapping parts of my drafts, it's usually necessary to produce a good final project. Not everything that I write in my first draft will add something to my project once it's finished.

5. Did you use specific terms and concepts relating to writing and the writing process? 

I discussed introductions and conclusions, my personal writing process and time management style, and editing. All of these things are important in every class, but especially a class like this one that centers around composition.

Draft of Open Letter

I genuinely enjoyed writing this draft, and I think that while the ideas are there, my draft needs some help with construction. 

Image by Raymond, Nicolas. "Under Construction Grunge Sign." Uploaded 4/19/12 via Flickr.
Attribution 2.0 Generic license. 

For one, the paragraphs are huge, so I need to figure out a way to cut them down to a manageable size. Also, I was a little unsure about how formal or informal to be in a semi-formal letter, so if anything seems out of place, please let me know. 

I also only hyperlinked to two past blog posts, but I referred to a lot more of my work without providing a link, because I didn't think they were necessary in the context of my letter. If anyone has a suggestion about adding a link to anything that I referenced or putting in something else entirely, that would be great. 

Otherwise, I'm sure there are some spelling, grammar, or sentence structure issues that I missed when I copy-edited. Thanks in advance!! 

Here is the link to my Open Letter Draft. 

Reflecting More on My Writing Experiences

I've reflected on the past semester in 109H using the questions that were posted for blog post 14.5

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1. What were the biggest challenges you faced this semester, overall?

Overall, I think the biggest challenge was adjusting to college life. I am incredibly close with my younger sister and my aunt, so moving away from them and my dad was tough. I am a very routine oriented person and don't do terribly well with change, so the first couple weeks of classes, I was not a happy camper. But once I started to settle in and establish a routine, and I quickly adjusted to my new home and environment.

While the workload was not entirely unexpected, it was still a lot to take on. Especially being in the honors college, there is a lot of pressure to perform at a high level and keep grades up.

I've done well in all of my classes this semester. I've stayed on top of my work and didn't let myself get lazy and start procrastinating.


2. What did you learn this semester about your own time management, writing, and editorial skills?

Because of the sheer amount of writing that I've had to do for all of my classes this semester, I've gotten good at just sitting down and writing. I used to consider myself more of a heavy planner [blog post 1.10] who would think a lot before starting an assignment, but I've gotten to the point where I'm able to start writing without a lot of planning beforehand.

This type of writing, however, requires a lot of editing. I considered myself to be a fairly good editor in high school, but this semester has helped me become much more efficient than ever before. Knowing how to edit both my own work and my peers' work will benefit me greatly in the future with both my education and whatever jobs and careers I end up with.

I used to procrastinate quite a bit in high school, because the pressure of having a deadline would motivate me. Since I've been here though, I have gotten all of my work done before the deadline. I would structure each week around the English deadline; I planned to do a couple steps for English each day, and then I would fill in the rest of my time with work for other classes.

Planning out when I would get everything done and sticking to that schedule was incredibly helpful for me. Even though I haven't followed the plan that I originally laid out for doing homework [blog post 1.12], I still managed to get everything done, usually with time to spare.


3. What do you know about the concept of genre? Explain how understanding this concept is central to being a more effective writer.

I never really considered the genres that I was using in my high school classes, because all of the guidelines were given as part of the assignment. Most essays I wrote were 5 paragraph essays that have strict conventions, but we were never explicitly taught about how to properly use them.

In order to be the most effective writer possible, it's necessary to know how to effectively use the genre. Writing a blog post that contains long, complex, indented paragraphs with in-text citations would not be effective, because most people who read blogs are looking for scannable paragraphs that give a condensed amount of information on a certain topic.

It's essentially important to use genre as a way to reach the intended audience and either inform or persuade them on the topic.  If the audience is confused or disinterested about how you portray your topic, they will not react well.


4. What skills from this course might you use and/or develop further in the next few years of college coursework?

Even though I most likely won't be taking any more English or composition classes, most courses that I will take require essays or written pieces of some sort.

I know that being a proficient editor will help me a lot in the future. Knowing how to properly use genres and rhetorical situations will make any writing that I have much easier and more effective.

The time management skills that I gained both from this class and the semester as a whole will carry over into future semesters. If I keep getting my work done before it's due and not procrastinating on anything, I will be able to produce higher quality work that I am proud of.


5. What was your most effective moment from this semester in 109H?

I think that the achievement that I am most proud of from this semester is how well I planned and executed my work. I never missed a deadline, so I never had to worry about missing points for late blog posts and projects.

Along with managing my time well, I also produced the highest quality work that I could. I am happy with the quality of work that I produced, and I don't feel like I BS'ed my way through the work like I have done in past classes.


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

Where I was least effective in this class was with the Read, Reply, Reflect assignments. Near the beginning of the semester, I would write a good amount on each post that I commented on.

On the first blog post, 1.10, I wrote this, "I am also partially a heavy planner, but for me, the idea or topic is the hardest part. I usually come up with the idea when I'm doing things completely unrelated to writing or school work. That's when the Heavy Planner disappears and leaves the Heavy Revisor behind. 

I wish that, like you, the Planner stayed the whole way through. I often get stuck after I find my idea, because I can't come up with a good intro, or I just can't get into it. 

I agree that most people in this class will have at least a little bit of the Planner style due to of the vast amount of writing we've had to do over the years we've been in school. Not many people can just sit down and start writing without some mental or written planning ahead of time. This can be both a blessing and a curse when deadlines are upon us" on Emma's blog post.

For my most recent RRR, I wrote, Having read both your outline and your visual elements post, I think you are on the right track for your project. I'm sure it's difficult to plan both what to say and what images to use, but you have obviously given your project a lot of thought. I'm excited to see your final product" on Alyssa's blog post.

As I did more and more RRRs, I felt like I was just saying the same things over and over. While I understand that it's important to know what other people in our class are doing and what they think of our work, after a while, it just seemed like a waste of time. I know that I probably should have worked harder to find original and helpful things to say, but I don't know how doable it is. 

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.
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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!!

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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.

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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! 

Considering Type

For this post, I used page 414 of Writing Public Lives to evaluate what type of argument I want to make for Project 3. (The headings that are bolded are strategies that could work for my project.)


Position Argument

• A position argument could work well for my topic. If I state my side and then mention and counter the other side, it would make my argument stronger. 
• Telling my story without any mention to why people disagree or oppose me would make my argument seem more like a sob story rather than a way to argue a point. 

Casual  (Supposed to be Causal?) Argument 

• I am not sure if the book means casual or causal because it says both, but if it means causal argument, that would be an ineffective strategy for my project. 
• This controversy is incredibly difficult to track, and determining where it started would be impossible. It becomes more hotly debated at certain times, like after the Adrian Peterson case, but it has been controversial for a long time. 

Evaluative Argument

• There really haven't been any solutions proposed, so without any, I can't really do an evaluative argument. 

Image by Miller, Anna T. "Argument?" Uploaded 9/28/13 via Flickr.
Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license

Proposal Argument

• I do want to have somewhere in my project a possible solution to this controversy, starting with alternative methods of punishment, but the step-by-step format wouldn't really work for my project. 
• If I could adapt this argument format and just propose a solution without each step, that could work for my article. 

Refutation Argument

• I could also do a refutation argument and directly address the views expressed by those who are in favor of spanking. Rather than do a position argument and discuss both sides, I could write my article to directly refute the other side without giving any sort of credibility to their opinions. Format my project to shoot holes in their argument. 

Reflection

Action Plan: Savannah and Isabel both wrote very comprehensive action plans that will help them greatly when they are planning how to write their projects. Savannah and I are both arguing the less popular opinions on our topics, so it will be interesting to see how our final products are similar and how they are different. Isabel has a topic that she could use images or graphs effectively for and it will be cool to see how that affects her argument and her project as a whole. Both of them have topics that require more logical and scientific arguments than mine, and our audiences are different as well. 

Considering Types: Savannah's argument is best suited for a refutation argument, but she could also use an evaluative argument. Isabel is considering either a position or evaluative argument for her topic, but I think that it would make her article seem more credible to list the pros and cons of her position on the controversy. It's interesting that we all considered the evaluative argument. Savannah commented that an evaluative argument might be the best type for my topic, so I will have to consider that when I'm making my final decision on how to format my argument. 

My Rhetorical Action Plan

This post is my planning for Project 3 using the questions on pages 412-413 of Writing Public Lives.

[The pictures are supposed to be funny. I'm sure this post will be helpful in writing Project 3, but it took me forever to write.]

Audience

1. What does the audience know about the topic, text or idea? Where do they get their knowledge from? Do they have certain predispositions or opinions about the topic that you will need to address? 

• Because this topic isn't difficult to understand or technical, most people are at least aware that spanking is a controversial method of punishment. 
• Whether or not a household uses spanking, most kids grow up with an awareness that some kids are spanked when they do something wrong. 
• The majority of parents feel strongly on one side or the other of this controversy. I will need to acknowledge the opinions of both sides to increase the credibility and reach of my argument. 

2. What do you know about the values, ideas, principles, or norms that members of the audience might hold?

• All parents want what is best for their children, so that is a piece of common ground that I can use to build my argument off of. 
• Whether or not a parent chooses to spank has little to do with social norms and more to do with personal beliefs about its effectiveness and the ethics surrounding it. 

3. What type of research or evidence do you think will be persuasive for your audience? How might you have to translate this research for them?

• The evidence/research on this topic isn't clear cut, so I will need to rely on another method to appeal my readers' sense of logic. 

4. What visual images or elements might your audience respond to? Why?

• While images generally help evoke emotion, it would be difficult to find an image to portray spanking being too offensive or graphic. 
• The best way to use "visuals" will be to tell my story in a way that will make readers able to picture the scenarios and emotions without using a physical image. 

5. Why is your audience reading or listening to your argument? Are you trying to expand their understanding of an idea, encourage them to take action on an issue, challenge a long-held tradition or viewpoint? How likely is your argument to motivate your audience? 

• My intended audience would read my article if they were reading a parenting magazine. If they are intrigued by the topic, they will read the whole piece. 
• My intention is to encourage parents not to spank their children, so in a way, I'm encouraging them to change their view which will make them want to change their actions. 
• I hope that if I properly use emotional, and potentially logical, appeals that I will be able to reach my audience and change their minds on the idea of spanking. 

Image by MacEntee, Sean. "work sick." Uploaded 4/7/11 via Flickr.
Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

[A.K.A. how I feel after writing this blog post]

Genre

Genre Idea 1- Personal Narrative Published as an Op-Ed in a Parenting Magazine

1. Here is an article that is not exactly a personal story, but it pleads with parents to stop spanking their children. It evokes emotion, and makes readers reconsider whether spanking is ethical and effective or not. 
2. This is the exact genre that I will be writing in, but this doctor draws on his medical experience instead of something that happened to him personally. Still, it is a great model for how I want to approach Project 3. 

What is the function of this genre? What is it designed to do to your readers? Why did you choose it? 

• This genre uses appeals that usually are directed at readers senses of compassion. These articles are usually written to plead with parents to stop spanking their children. 
• I chose this genre because I can draw from my personal experiences to write a compelling and emotional story that could convince parents not to spank. 

What is the setting of your genre? Where could you see it being used?

• My intention would be to have my article published in a parenting magazine, which is where my second example was published. 

How might you use the rhetorical appeals we have studied in this genre? 

• Given the personal nature of parenting, I think that emotional appeals are most effective in this genre. Telling a personal story in some ways is an appeal to credibility, and logic is always useful to support the emotional side of the argument. 

What type of visual elements, if any, will you use in this genre?

• As I said under "audience," I don't think that images would be effective in this genre. The most important visual element would likely be the paragraph structure, use of white space, and titles/subtitles to break up the blocks of text. 

What type of style will you use in this genre?

• I think that the more personal/emotional parts of my piece could be informal without damaging my argument, but if I mention any studies or research, I should adjust my tone to be a little more formal. I, however, shouldn't be too impersonal because that would run the risk of negatively impacting my credibility. 

Genre 2- Article written for any news source, doesn't include my personal story

1. This article is fairly comprehensive; it discusses the controversy, possible alternatives to spanking, and how other countries discipline their children. While it doesn't appeal much to emotion, it still makes readers reconsider spanking their kids. 
2. This example uses someone else's story, and it does a good job of evoking emotion. Because using your own personal story could make you seem too emotional and not credible enough, it could be helpful to use someone else's story to make it seem less of a complaint and more of an objective look at the affects of spanking. 

What is the function of this genre? What is it designed to do to your readers? Why did you choose it? 

• This genre can also be used to persuade readers, but doesn't have to be as emotionally based as a personal story does. 
• I am still undecided if I should use my story or not, so this would be a great alternative. 

What is the setting of your genre? Where could you see it being used?

• This genre is a little more versatile because it could be published in a larger variety of locations. It could easily appear on any news source or magazine that thinks its readership could benefit from its message. 

How might you use the rhetorical appeals we have studied in this genre? 

• I can still use emotional appeals, but with this genre, I will need to use more logic than I would have to with genre #1. 

What type of visual elements, if any, will you use in this genre?

• Again, visual aids will not be very effective or necessary in this genre. 

What type of style will you use in this genre?

• This genre would be more formal than the first option, because it is presenting facts and logic rather than emotions and stories. I would want to seem credible and intelligent, especially if I am citing other sources, I don't want to come off as unprofessional or like I am lacking knowledge of the topic. 

Image by Brady. "give up." Uploaded 6/7/09 via Flickr.
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

[Also how I feel after writing this blog post]

Responses/Actions

Positive Reactions

• Someone is moved by my piece, and decides to stop spanking their child(ren). 
• A reader has a strong reaction one way or the other, and writes a response. This would be a great way to gauge how effective my argument is.  If they agree with me, I will know that my argument was somewhat effective. If they disagree with me, I will know where I need to strengthen my argument. 
• Someone who reads my piece decides that they want to find out more about the topic. Whatever they end up deciding after reading more articles doesn't matter as long as someone is inspired by my writing to look further into the topic. 

Negative Reactions

• "This is one story. That isn't how most people feel about having been spanked as a child."
• While this may be my personal story, I'm sure there are people who can relate strongly to my experiences. I am not trying to make any sweeping generalizations, I'm just trying to influence at least one person to see the ill effects of spanking.
• "I was spanked, and I turned out okay."
• It is fairly common for people who were spanked to be perfectly fine in their relationships with their parents, but there are some who are not. I am speaking for those who were damaged or had their relationship damaged because of being spanked by one or both parents. 
• "You're not an expert. Why should I listen to you?"
• It's true that I am not an expert in any way. I am speaking both from personal experience and from having done research and read other people's stories. I am not claiming to be an expert, I am just trying to show how spanking can have an ill effect on children.

Analyzing Purpose

I created a Coggle to brainstorm using the prompts on page 326 of Writing Public Lives.

Screenshot taken by Boone-Roberts, Morgan. "Project 3 Brainstorm." 10/28/15. 

For those of you that don't have incredible vision, here is the link to the Coggle that is easier to read.

Analyzing Context

I analyzed the context of my project using the questions from page 340 of Writing Public Lives.

1. What are the key perspectives or schools of thought on the debate?

The two clear-cut perspectives in this controversy are those who are in favor of spanking and those who are opposed to it.  Most people that feel strongly about this topic are parents, but there are also scientists and psychologists who are interested in the effect that spanking has on children.

People who oppose spanking cite studies that have found a correlation between being spanked as a child and having behavioral problems.

People in favor of spanking have tried to find fault with the studies by citing their own experiences with how effective spanking is to teach children important lessons and correct misbehavior.

Both sides use personal stories to back up their beliefs or views on the controversy.


2. What are the major points of contention or disagreements among these perspectives?

The argument focuses mostly on the effectiveness as well as the long term effects of spanking.

While some studies say so, there is no definitive proof that spanking causes violent behavior and/or mental problems later in life. The research does point towards that conclusion, but even if there were to be an unquestionable amount of data, there would still be people who would refuse to believe it.

People are also arguing over how effective it is. Truly, what form of punishment gets the message across probably differs a lot from one child to the next, and also from one parenting style to the next.


3. What are the possible points of agreement or common ground between these perspectives?

Both groups are mostly concerned with the well being of their children. They all want their kids to turn out well, they just disagree on how to help them become well-behaved, well-rounded individuals. Almost no parent would want to do something to negatively affect their child's mental health and later success.

All parents have experienced similar misbehavior amongst their kids. They know how hard it can be to figure out how to teach a child that what they are doing is unsafe or not okay. This is perhaps the biggest and most important piece of common ground between the two sides.

Image by Rouzet, Philippe. "perspective de Cathédrale." Uploaded 12/1/13 via Flickr.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.  

4. What are the ideological differences between the perspectives?

It is difficult to find clear ideological differences between the two groups. Religion doesn't seem to play much of a role in which side of the controversy a person is on.

There have been studies and polls done to determine if race, education, or income level play into this controversy. There is no explicitly clear findings, but there could be connection between the family's race and the likelihood that they use spanking to correct behavior in their children.


5. What specific actions do their perspectives or texts ask their audience to take?

Most of the article I've found have been opposed to spanking. They use emotion to implore parents not to spank their children and to find alternate forms of discipline.

The texts that I have found that support spanking have been on message boards. People who write on discussion forums on this topic are less trying to start any sort of action rather than just opposing and questioning the uproar of people who oppose spanking.


6. What perspectives are useful in supporting your own argument? Why did you choose these?

In this controversy, it seems like personal stories and perspectives are the most effective. Reading through some of the posts on open forums, I felt myself moved by posts that support spanking even though I strongly oppose it. Personal stories easily evoke emotion in their readers, and any parent can understand where parents on the opposite side are coming from.


7. What perspectives do you think will be the greatest threat to your argument? 

With what science there is supporting my side of the controversy, I think the biggest opposition to my argument would be other personal stories.

However, I think the best part of using personal stories is that no one can refute an individual's own experiences. They could only counter with their own experiences, but it is up to the readers to decide which story is more effective, truthful, or typical of the majority of cases.


Reflection:

Kelly and Savannah both have topics that are based more in science whereas mine is based a lot more in personal opinion. But we all are dealing with controversies that have either conflicting or not enough scientific evidence to draw a conclusion. We are also all investigating controversies that affect personal health. Kelly and Savannah are both are dealing more with physical health where I am working more with mental health and wellbeing.