Thlog 4: HighLite Up my Life

  Each week in Writing 2 thus far has brought forth a few key writing concepts that have helped me to not only improve my technique, but actually get excited to work on my skills and make solid progress in my development as a rhetor. This week was no different, and I feel as though the editing processes we covered in class are quite practical for any type of writing assignment. While I originally felt fairly confident about my WP1 paper going into Monday's class, using the techniques we discussed and taking another look at it improved my writing quality tenfold for this assignment. The first trick that really resonated with me involved the highlighting activity, which pinpointed the most important aspects of my paper and gave me a fantastic visual representation of where I could make adjustments and improvements to better express my ideas. Once I had highlighted the various aspects of my paper it became quite clear that I had a great deal of excess fluff which I was then able to eliminate and replace with ease, something which seemed daunting and impractical prior to completing this activity.
  The second fundamental skill that I learned in class this week involved the poetry activity that we reviewed on Wednesday. By spacing out my sentences and analyzing each part of my essay in isolation, I was able to observe weak points such as run-on sentences and pacing issues throughout my main body paragraphs. Again, I found this activity to be invaluable in my writing process and will utilize it for the duration of my writing journey. I had always wondered about the most efficient way to analyze and edit my papers, and both of these methods proved to be just that. Looking forward to progressing even more during the weeks to come!

Thloggin Away

Thloggin Away

  The previous week of Writing 2 only consisted of one meeting instead of the usual two, but I still took away a lot of good content and ideas in my writing journey. Class was focused on second order thinking in the form of peer review and editing. While I procrastinated on finishing my WP1 a little more than I would have liked, I was still able to put together a writing piece to be proud of, which was validated by the comments and reviews from my peers. A central topic of conversation involved the idea of a working, arguable thesis statement, which I believe to be a core component of my essay. The concept of a working thesis greatly influenced my writing style for this piece, as I continually went back and made adjustments to the introductory portion as I went along. As my writing progressed, I gained increasing clarity about the fundamental purpose of my paper and used this knowledge to evolve my thesis statement over time. While I have always revisited my main ideas and thesis statements in my writing career, never before had I considered the prospect of starting an essay with a basic thesis and continually refining it as I went along. This will surely prove to be a valuable skill that I will keep in mind when putting together any piece of writing, as it simplifies the process of first order thinking and removes the pressure of creating a perfect introduction at the start of the process. While I believe that there is great value in starting off strong with a solid framework in mind for a writing piece, that doesn't necessarily mean that it can't be reviewed and refined.

  In addition to thesis-related concepts, I also learned a good bit about peer review from the reading and in-class practice. Learning how to temper criticisms and really express my thoughts on a fellow writer's work proved challenging, but will definitely come in handy for the duration of this course and my academic career. I came to realize that the key to this type of analysis is to simply take the time to really analyze a student's work and take the context of the entire paper into account when giving feedback. In order to give quality advice on how to improve a paper, higher and lower writing skills must be given careful consideration and treated as separate concepts which could be emphasized in constructive criticism. By analyzing the WP1's of my classmates, I was better able to understand the purpose of the essay and logistics of putting together my own WP1 into a cohesive writing piece. Looking forward to going back and making some key changes as suggested by the peer reviews of my friends!

Thlog 2: Writing Skillzzz

Thlog Week 2

 Continuing my writing development journey this quarter, I have truly found that some of the key lessons from Writing 2 really resonated with me and will improve my writing as I practice the concepts in all of my work. My new favorite place to find quick and effective tips to really hone my writing is the ‘daily process/writing tips’ that we reviewed in class. The idea of implementing placeholders ___ into my work has transformed my writing process and helped me overcome the ridiculous roadblocks that I always seem to encounter during my thought process, allowing me to keep the momentum and put my ideas into action right away. I am observing that first-order writing processes are greatly enhanced by this concept, and high volume production is much more efficient without the need to achieve perfection right off the bat in the first draft of a piece.  

  Another huge writing tip that stuck with me involved the Oxford Comma, an anomaly that has downright bewildered me for the entirety of my academic career. I had always wondered why some authors chose to include the final comma in a series and others not, never quite sure which technique to follow in my own writing. Clarification of this idea finally put the concept to rest and remedied my interminable confusion! In addition to these key concepts, I really took to the whole issue of genre as we studied and discussed it during classes this week. I picked up on the concept that a basic understanding of genre and the conventions, audience, and purpose involved with it are essential to navigating our daily lives. The real-life applications of academic concepts are what really capture my interest, and the convention of genres and their prevalence in all forms of media surrounding us are no exception!

PB1B - Genre Generation!

PB1B: Inspecting Genre Generators

  The various conventions of writing genres can be invaluable for literary analysis and construction, assisting writers with a framework for efficient expression of their ideas in a writing piece. For this blog entry, I will discuss the implications of a few key genres as they are found within a couple of online “genre generators”. The first type of writing piece to be analyzed takes the form of a formal research paper, as generated by a website developed by MIT researchers.

  As with any formal piece of writing in an academic environment, the generated research papers follow a simple set of conventions that are meant to speak to the ethos of the author and legitimize the results of the study in question. This leads to a basic structure which first states the name of the study along with all researchers involved and an abstract providing the reason for the study, typically in the form of a question yet unanswered by science. Following this short introduction, papers of this type proceed to explain the experimental process in greatly detailed paragraphs riddled with jargon and complex terms. Embedded within these lengthy walls of text lie a series of figures and graphs which help the reader to visualize the data presented by researchers and improve comprehension of ideas. The final key to a successful research paper involves an extensive reference list which speaks to the sheer amount of effort and magnitude of people which contributed to the completion of the study. This is a stark contrast to the next genre in question, which takes a much more disordered tone.

  The PandyLand comic generator perfectly illustrates the nature of common comic strips, which appear to be random yet still hold a variety of conventions that set them apart from other types of media. Most of the comic strips which are generated have completely random dialogue that rarely combine to form a cohesive conversation or idea, but can be quite humorous in this respect. As the generator shows, this genre is characterized by short dialogue remarks between characters, strung together by a choppy series of images depicting the situation at hand. The use of simple cartoon images lends to the relaxed tone of the genre, keeping everything simple and to the point. Further, some choice comic strips could be considered relaxed to the extent of coming across as quite crass to some audiences due to the use of many offensive topics or crude language.  This suggests that comics should primarily be used in a casual context for the purpose of comedic relief, and the target audience should be carefully considered.

The next online generator happens to be a meme generator, which transposes short comedic phrases onto symbolic images meant to better display the purpose of the joke. All memes appear to use a similar set of base images which bring this genre to life and provide a familiar background which can be applied to a variety of jokes. Typically, generated memes consist of a setup line as well as a second phrase completing the joke, keeping the tone fairly casual and direct. This illustrates the usefulness of memes as a simple way to communicate comedic ideas in a familiar context to which other readers can relate and comprehend efficiently.

  For the final genre type analysis, consider the conventions of a love letter. This can be explored through the online generator, ‘Letter Generator –UK’, leading to the discovery of a variety of fundamental building blocks for this type of writing piece. Love letters always take a sentimental tone, often including memories and recollections of good times spent with the reader as well as a general outline for the reason behind the profession of love. This genre is meant to appease to audience and make them feel good, which is accomplished with a series of compliments and flattery embedded within a letter. As with all generators in this series, the basic conventions and components from which genres are derived can be discovered and analyzed within the sea of randomness and disorder spurted out by these websites.

Thlog 1

 

This week has been a fantastic introduction to Writing 2 and the material that we will cover during the next few months. Though I have not kept up with personal journaling and blogging as frequently lately, I am excited to get back in the practice of expressing myself through the written word. Right from the start, this class set a great tone with the first reading "Writing Spaces". I have never experienced course material in the form of a comic, so this was a refreshing and stimulating read. The main takeaway that I got from this piece was that writing and rhetoric permeate all areas of our lives, and affect us in a broad variety of ways. In our everyday lives we will experience rhetoric on television, radio, online, and even in our conversations with others, making critical analysis an essential skill which we must use to navigate our lives.

The second reading of this week involved Dirk’s “Navigating Genres”, which thoroughly explored the application of genre in various contexts. While reading and annotating this article I began to grasp the idea that genres give us a framework in which to organize and classify our writing. This concept really resonated with me, as I am constantly searching for ways to improve my efficiency in any endeavor – genres allow us to follow a recognized structure instead of writing blindly without rhyme or reason. An essential part of Dirk’s piece touched upon “the value of teaching genre awareness rather than acquisition of particular genres”, which I found to be quite an insightful concept involving being taught how to think rather than what to think.

All in all, the introductory week of class has been a positive experience so far, and I feel as though I am already getting back into the swing of things with my writing technique!

A Personal Touch: Exploration of Genre

  A critical component in the education of a modern scholar involves the use of skepticism and rhetorical analysis in order to understand the implications of any situation in which they find themselves. While this skill is invaluable to possess, it can be further enhanced with some simple communication with others involved in a similar position. By listening to the viewpoint of others we can in turn create a better understanding of something for ourselves, making human interaction quite critical to a great deal of things. The context in which I would like to explore this issue is within the genre of personal reviews. This genre applies to a variety of things, such as restaurants, hotels, products, and media, and can have a profound effect on our spending habits if used correctly.

  “’Microwave for One’ is not just a cookbook. It is a lifestyle. Sonia Allison gave me the confidence needed to rebuild my life.” – Drew. While searching for an easy recipe book to give my ‘culinarily-challenged’ sister for Christmas, I sifted through dozens of seemingly identical books with nothing to distinguish them. After countless minutes of tedious searching, I came across this review and knew this had to be the book for her! In an age of online shopping comes a severe limitation on one’s ability as a consumer to find a suitable product without seeing it in the flesh, it is time to adapt and learn to heed the good word of others and trust in the opinion of our fellow shoppers. The genre of ‘reviews’ includes a broad expanse of unique voices and opinions, but follows a basic guideline with conventions and standards that enable efficient communication between consumers.

  Whether it comes in the form of an inspiring product review, a cold-blooded scolding of a restaurant’s service, or a pleasant recounting of a good hotel stay, all individual reviews provide us with valuable information to assist in our decision making process. This is due to the exigence of our fellow consumer trying to find the best value for their money and passing their knowledge onto others. The audience for this genre involves others searching to find a similar product or service, which elicits a sense of camaraderie and fellowship as one attempts to persuade someone else for or against the good in question. Due to the nature of the relationship between this rhetor and his audience, reviews conventionally have a casual yet helpful tone, taking the form of a piece of friendly advice (or a dire warning of trouble). The laid back atmosphere created by this genre fulfills the purpose of attempting to persuade the reader and usually leads to a sense of trust between the writer and his audience. In addition, reviews tend to be quite concise and direct, devoid of filler or distraction which would detract from the efficiency of communication. Due to these critical factors, the genre of personal review can be a valuable tool for anyone looking to put their trust into others and make efficient and informed decisions in the process of consumerism.

About Me

January 6, 2016

  While reading through the Writing 2 course reader I came across a section describing the terrible conundrum of starting a new writing piece and staring at the blank page without a clue as to where to begin. This is the predicament in which I now find myself – filled with ideas and thoughts but no direction or focus to the madness. This past summer I started a blog on Tumblr just to occupy my free time, and wrote a few cool articles about self-experimentation and lifestyle; I have some experience in the medium. However, I am now faced with the issue of deciding on a focus for this blog in order to write effectively and find a theme that I enjoy to express myself with. Thus far, the tone could be described as conversational, which I believe is surely the way to go with a personal blog of this sort. However, I wonder if I am expected to write solely on Writing 2 topics, or if I can branch out to broader horizons? In any case, I believe a short introduction on myself is in order to start this blogging journey.

  “Stay Hungry”. This is my motto, my passion, and my driving force in life which guides me through the trials and tribulations of life on a day to day basis. I believe that we should seek to leave our comfort zone as often as possible in order to grow and develop into better versions of ourselves. While this can be challenging and often times quite uncomfortable, that is really the whole point, something which is essential to leading a righteous lifestyle. I hope to express my challenges and document my development as a writer through this blog and learn to apply the sense of adversity and urgency that I ascribe to life to this end. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for much more to come!