Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Thlog #4 Organization

              Entering into this course I struggled a great deal with getting my idea down on paper and mapping them out. So when I came in I knew I was going to be looking for tools to improve in these areas. This has always been a challenge for me especially with big assignments.
            The first thing I used to do in the past was start writing my paper. I never took the time out to think through the topic or the idea before, This sometimes made me jumble up my ideas and jump all over the place because I wasn't structuring my paper correctly. This always made my papers seem all over the place whether from sentence to sentence or paragraph to paragraph the information just didn't flow properly.
           However, now with the many terms, skills, and techniques I've learned i feel way more secure at how my passages transition and flow. One of the things that helped me to structure my paper better was starting off with a concept map to get my ideas listed and see which ones are relative to one another so they can be close in the passage. This helps me capture the main idea of what I want to get across and what I can do to prove my argument. This helps me stay on track when I get lost or go off topic.It helps me keep my argument in tact.
         Another tool I use is to use the course vocabulary to be sure I'm making a strong academic argument. While using the vocab I know that I'm answering the right questions when talking about an author's writing.
           Also, I now look at all my sentences an attempt to transition them as best I can. Because now I am aware that when each sentence is apart of the last that's what creates the best flow and movement in a piece of writing.
        Lastly, transition words have been a huge help in my papers. Whether comparing, contrasting, or listing facts transition words are essential. They are used best to guide the reader along easily without rereading over an over again.

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Thlog #3 Change Of Habbits

          Entering my second college course made me a little on edge! Especially because it  was 2 courses in one. Which meant the work would be intense. I have always been good at turning in assighnments, however my writing process took way longer to get out my ideas and organize them so it makes sense to the reader.

          One of my biggest problems was finding a way to open my papers. Now that i have been introduced to new strategies on how to hook my reader i am more confident. I feel i have options now. Definition openers, Quotes, Strong opinion statments, facts. I have learned how each of these can be affective. Also how they are used to convey a tone at the beginning.
       
          Since starting this course i was able to pick up new habbits that increased my writing ability and speed. Starting with first order-thinking. Now i began all of my assignments by picking a topic and free writing what knowledge i already know about the topic. This helps me enter the topic with an open mind instead of trying to relate it to the paper. Which is what consumes most of my time.

          Next I research my topic to see the different views an how people write about the topic. When i finally settle on the writing im analyzing, I organize my ideas that are relavant to my academic argument. Following that, I see what vocabulary would be beneficial for me to use to explain the text the best.
       
          I feel that starting these types of habbits have increased my productivity in writing. I don't get flustered when i'm unsure how to start because now i have almost created a writing template that works to make my ideas flow accordingly.
   
          Without these tools I've been given I am using them in a way that makes me yhe most comfortable to understand what's asked of me. Than I use them to answer all the questions.

           Another tool that has elevated my writing is space savers. This small tool has helped me to eliminate wasted time on trying to find the write word in a sentence. When i use this tool i noticed once im finished my work and i read it back out loud, whatever words were missing seem to just fill in the blanks.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Thlog #2 Post- Pros & Cons of WP1

          My initial thought of wp1 was way off from how difficult of a task it really was to complete. I struggled with how to get my thoughts down on paper. However, the hardest part was settling on a topic that was interesting to me so tye assignment would not seem like so much work. Although I have a pretty good understanding of genre I struggle with explaining my ideas. But that was one of the pros that i recieved the chance to exercise the strategies i have been leatning in class to make me a better writer. I give a lot of credit to Shitty First Drafts for navigating me on the notion that first-order thinking can work in a positive way when writing a college essay also. I learned that you do get ideas that you might not have thought about through free writing about your topic.

          The class vocabulary was used as a big tool in explaining different genres and conventions I learned that to explain writing you have to use the correct venacular to achieve the desired goal in your academic argument. I used it for topics in my paragraphs to navigate my reader through so they would not get lost. I also kept in mind the understanding of each word and how it relates to writing. Even when i got stuck if i referred to another vocabulary word i had a new idea.
         
          The fact that genre is so broad was the hardest part to break down. Every form of written text has a genre. That was a new concept for me so i was a little nervous. How would I be able to convey answers to all the questions ? How would I be able to merge the topic with explaining a genre without over powering one another.

          Another pro that helped me to better my work was when the class shared their papers with each other. That played a big part because i was able to see how my other classmates chose to analyze the genre. This gave me fresh eyes to critique my own work. My classmates helped me to realize that i was missing the point of an academic argument.

           i will use these to improve on my next assignment.
       

PB2A Peter Pancakes

Peter Pancakes


  • Move - Standard Views : Many people do not realize that different types of literary genre are present in almost any form of writing.
This move is used as an introduction to let the reader know his opinion on people's general idea of genre. Which in this case is good because it gives the reader a hint on what's coming next in the rest of the passage. Also, from a writing perspective it's effective because he starts with what a reader already knows, so that he can build on that knowledge to persuade them to his beliefs.
  • Move - Indicating Who Cares : Although each menu has the same purpose to sell pancakes, each writer aimed to incorporate his or her own ingenious way of attracting customers.
The use of this move is effective. The writer tells the reader the exact purpose of the particular genres. He also makes it clear that each choice in the text is geared toward the same purpose even though they differ from each other.
  • Move - Capturing Authorial Action : The descriptions are no more than three sentences, including adjectives such as "sky-high" and "legendary award-winning" (IHOP).
The writer emphasizes how the words are used to enhance the customers thoughts about ordering the meal. It's effective because even though the text are short, the writer uses words that appeal to a readers thoughts in a positive way about the pancakes.
  • Move - Compare & Contrast : However, similarly to IHOP's but different from OHOP's, Denny's menu does have pictures of pancakes, though the images are very imaginative combinations if different components to create obnoxious, yet appetizing and appealing.
This move is used to show how the menus are similar but different. It is effective because all these are successful businesses that sell the same product, however they have similar and different approaches at getting the desired outcomes. Each has their own special way to make the audience think a specific way about the author's product.

  • Move - The Jump Out : The color and organization forced the eyes of the customer to focus on the picture because of the light back round allowed the HD pancakes to "pop-out".
This move was used to show how little changes such as color is chosen by the writer to invoke more stimulation from the reader. By using a visual approach it comes automatically as soon as you look at the piece of writing. This is effective because you can see how the picture stands alone but the text supports it's claim to taste.

Sunday, October 23, 2016

PB1B Sample Complaint Letters

Complaint Complexity

You are probably already familiar with many genres, although you may not know them as such; perhaps your knowledge of genres is limited to types of books, whether mystery, horror, action, etc.”(Dirk, 250) However, understanding genre is way more complex than given credit for, what most people don’t know is anything that has writing on it can be a form of genre. The best way to begin understanding genre is to get that all genres are classified by conventions, patterns, or ingredients that reoccur in all of these specific type of writing. I am determined to elaborate on how to break down the conventions on the specific genre of sample complaint letters and what conventions make the genre significant. Complaints can be written for more reasons than I can began to list -starts a civil suit; the plaintiff's lawyer writes up a very brief description of the events as his client claims them to be and files it with the court- though there is specific characteristics that make this piece of writing stand apart from the others. Although, this was a broad genre I emphatically made the choice to show three prime examples-by doing this it allows me to break down simplify, compare, and contrast- for the reader to visually see what my analysis is based on.

I took a close look at 3 samples of how complaints should be formatted. When you read these particular pieces of writing by scanning them you can immediately see they all list the same conventions. The first thing you notice is the identification, address, and contact information of the person making the complaint is listed first before anything else. However, if you read like a writer you would know that this is so you know who is addressing you with a problem before you even read it. In this case both of these techniques serve the same purpose. After the person making the complaint information is listed is the person’s information that the complaint is against, with their job position, organization, and contact information. They are all formatted just a little differently but they all have the same information presented at the top of the page, when reading rhetorically I believe this appeals to logically because it is the first pieces of information needed to know dealing with anything in law.

Starting into the complaint section two of the complaint samples that I used are more alike than the third. Ex.A and Ex.B are formatted in a fill in the blank kind of way. Which might be more common and efficient, you can just plug in the information that is relative to you. However, the complaint section of Ex.C is in letter format. This is where little conventions can be broken but it does not make it any less apart of this genre. These characteristics are just some of the ways to classify this specific genre from another. Also, taking different reading approaches on a piece of writing can be beneficial in different ways depending on what type of genre you are reading.



Work Cited
Navigating Genres By; Kerry Dirk

Friday, October 14, 2016

Thlog #1

            Our class discussions and passages that we have read have really boosted my confidence in understanding analyzing genre,.In the many ways that we have looked at it from all world aspects that text are associated with genre.We have been presented with many examples of bigger forms of genre and how to break down the multiple types of textual genre within those genres. One of the best examples that helped me was Kim Kardashian because it was something that was well known to me that was a clear example. Like how she has many forms of genre that relate to her.

Examples Kim Kardashian Text Genres:

  • Product Labels
  • Website
  • Tweets
  • App(Game Description)
  • Magazines
  • Blogs
       These made me understand the overview of genre. Than when you break those sections down even further you realize the list can be close to endless by just choosing one of the examples stated before. Such as magazines in different ones you will find many different textual genres depending on the type of magazines.

      The concept of genre is so deep that it inclines you to think as a writer whether you read or write. I am now getting the understanding of how the two are definitely coagulated together. Also, how the understanding of both can improve your skills in both areas.I feel this course has open up my eyes to looking past the text but at how the author is trying to persuade you or pay attention to the purpose of the writing.

       The nesting dolls were also a great tool used to advance my understanding of the concept of genre. Also how to break them down among smaller more specific concepts. the more specific you get an the explanation of it is when you really understand what you are doing. When we use tangable things to break down these big ideas it makes it easier for me to understand from a visual standpoint. Also how the tool can be used for all topics.

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

PB1A on Nutritious Facts Labels


Nutritious fact labels are directed to all consumers to inform them on the many ingredients, serving sizes, calories, vitamins, sugars, and salts. These labels are on almost every product that is bought for consumption to prevent the lack of knowledge for the product. Nutritious labels are almost always black and white so it is easily read and noticeable. However the words are so small so you don't focus to much and notice the serving size is not the whole bag most of the time. Labels are especially important to suppliers and consumers to describe the content to avoid a negative reaction or outcome due to not knowing what the product is composed of. We as people have different bodies that react to different things, if you consume a product that you don't know its contents you could have an allergic reaction and not even know the root of the problem without this source of information. Retailers normally break down big bags of chips into smaller serving sizes on the label to avoid showing a large number of calorie consumption. Nutrition label writers also  use words like less than to persuade the consumer feel this is more of a healthier alternative than it really is. With this language they are trying to minimize the fat, sugars, and salt content. Writers use the rhetorical appeal logos to persuade you with so many facts that you should not be able to question the content which makes the writer more credible. Readers appreciate the feeling of knowing the content in the product before consumption. Without this important genre we would not be able to determine the measurement of the calories, sugars or salts. Therefore we would not be able to make informed decisions on all the products we use and consume on a daily basis. I don't feel one nutritious label can be better than the next because they are all stating facts which all use the same type of rhetorical appeal in the same ways to get the point across to all readers and consumers. The most important piece of content is the list of ingredients that are present in this product so you have the knowledge to make an informed decision on whether the product fits you as a consumer. The writers main focus is to let the reader know all the facts. I see that on every nutritious label they list almost all vitamins even if this product doesn't contain that one because at first glance you would think it contains them all. Unless you really look hard on the label you wouldn't notice the huge zeros next to most of the vitamin list. These labels all have the same conventions and appeal to the same audience based on the structure and way the information is presented. Also, they all share the same type of information about the product. The content that is ignored is always smaller than the other print an located closer to the bottom so you have to exert more energy to read it.


  1. Lay's Oven Baked Chips
  2. Dorito Chips
  3. Fritos BBQ Corn chips