Reading Response 24

                                   Anzaldua – “The Path of the Red and Black Ink”

In her article, “The Path of the Red and Black Ink,” Anzaldua discusses how important writing is to her and to society around her. She argues that writing is related to a person’s identity, especially hers, and it though using herself as an example shows how much of an impact it can have on a person.

Synthesis

This relates back to all of the piece on identity in writing, whether it be from the feminist authors, or the racial authors, or the authors on discourse community. She is showing how writing is a key factor in your identity, and gives many examples to back it up.

A&E

1. The significance is in what is valued. This split is shown in everything that is produced in said country. The current materials, be they material or immaterial, produced in this country are still more individual, because we still value doing things by yourself, the “rugged individualism” of the past America. Everything is done for yourself, and that’s what’s marketed too.

2. No, because the personal edge to the writing allowed her to add more detail and feeling into the piece allowing her to truly show the reader and convince them of her points. It really helped having that creative side in, allowing it to flow better and make it easier to read.

Thoughts

This piece was okay, but it seems to be hammering in the same things that we’ve been talking about for a large majority of the year. I know it’s important, but it seems a little repetitive.

Reading Response 23

Cixous – “The Laugh of the Medusa”

Summary
In her article, “The Laugh of the Medusa,” Cixous attempts to show how women need to be more assertive in their writing, and show that they need to be more feminist and use their female side. She asserts that male-centered writing has jaded many female writers to use male ideals.

Synthesis

This article is similar to Flynn’s work on writing on female writing, but it is much more accusatory than Flynn’s piece was. Another thing to note is that there was a lot lost in Cixous’ article due to translation

QD

1. This piece didn’t make me uncomfortable, although it appeared that that was part of the intention of the author to do so. Her arguments were out dated compared to the society that I’ve grown up in, so it wasn’t as shocking as it was intended to be.

2. She is imploring them to put their personal identity into their writings, not societies identity of themselves into their writings. She wants women to find their own identity separate from that of androcentric society and to incorporate it into their writing.

Thoughts

It was very long, and a little confusing, but it was a lot more because of the poor translation than because of the content. I also think that a lot of the power behind her story was lost in translation.

Reading Response 22

Alexander – “Transgender Rhetorics: (Re)Composing Narratives of the Gendered Body”

Summary
In his article, “Transgender Rhetorics: (Re)Composing Narratives of the Gendered Body,” Alexander attempts to show how transgender theories in relation to feminist studies are essential to understanding gender as a construct. He asserts that this construct shouldn't be governed by gender stereotypes, and should be looked at openly, and uses student examples to help show this.

Synthesis

This article relates a lot to the last several articles we’ve read, especially the ones about identity, because this piece relates a lot to a construct about identity. It relates a lot to Flynn’s work on feminist writings, and on gender identities.

A&E

3. It makes people think about something that they took for granted more in depth. The true meaning of the topic will come forth rather than a vague assumption based on stereotypes. I feel that a wider appreciation for not only other people, but the other gender as well. The concept could then be applied to just about any social construct with negative stereotypes as well.

4. He describes gender as a construct because there are a lot of different ideas about what is correct. The concept of transgender itself shows that it is a construct because it removes all stereotypical definitions of gender. The implications of it being both personal and political are that there are more than one group of people trying to create definitions and boundaries for this construct.

Thoughts

It was long and confusing. His writing style and thought process are light years above me, and he’s obviously put a lot   of thought into this particular topic. Not too much else to comment of, straightforward concept, after I read the apparatus to help clarify.

Reading Response 21 (Delpit)

Delpit – “The Politics of Teaching Literary Discourse”

Summary
In her article, “The Politics of Teaching Literary Discourse,” Delpit attempts to show how Gee’s theories on Discourse can severely hinder minorities who aren’t born in a dominant Discourse. She asserts that, unlike Gee’s statements, teachers can have a large impact on a poor or minority student and help them to achieve economic success by teaching them ways around their difference from the dominant Discourse.

Synthesis

This piece is a lot like the Devitt et al piece, because it takes an old concept of discourse community and updates it for the more modern age, adds on to it. She addresses all of the flaws that she notices in Gee’s articles and addresses the problems, and then states her own experiences and her own spin on the idea.

QD

3. I agree with what Delpit is arguing, because it makes sense for the identity of the minorities to remain intact, because Gee himself emphasizes how important a person’s identity is to a person’s Discourse. The effective parts are her examples of success stories because they show that it isn’t as impossible as Gee makes it out to be. Her weaknesses stem from an oversight that she refers to a majority of the people as minorities, when in fact it’s not just the minorities and poor that have these problems.

4. Teachers can “acknowledge and validate students’ home language without using it to limit students’ potential.” They must also be aware of the conflict between home and school discourse and try to reduce the perceived difference.

Thoughts

This piece was interesting, and addresses a couple of holes in Gee’s theory that I had noticed when we first read it. Her solution is the common compromise style, which removes a little of the complexity, but is in itself very workable. A good piece with an interesting thesis.

Reading Response 20

Flynn – “Composing as a Woman”

Summary

In her article, “Composing as a Woman,” Flynn attempts to show that gender differences in writing are pronounced and that they need to be addressed. She claims that writing, as with most things, has been male centered, and that there needs to be the inclusion of the female perspective. She gives some examples to show the inherent differences in gender perspectives to back up her ideas. She also comes back later to write about the context in which she wrote the article, stating that the time period she wrote it in needs to be taken into consideration.

Synthesis

This piece is helping to show a little about how identity works within a person’s writing, to help back up Gee and Wardle. However, instead of conforming to the standards, which would be the male centered concepts, Flynn wants to have both male and female influenced ideas to be considered and taught.

Pre-Reading

I haven’t experienced too much gender difference in the classroom. Both genders always have different ideas to offer during a discussion, but you can say the same about two people of the same gender. I have had teachers that have treated one gender of student differently than the other, mainly being more lenient with the female students about due dates and make up work; the boys had to earn the respect of the teacher while the girls automatically had it; but it was just another quirk that you worked around, and it didn’t inhibit learning.

QD

1. Flynn is stating that for most of history, the woman’s perspective has been removed because of the stereotype of gender roles. In relation to her last comment, “difference is erased in a desire to universalize,” it shows that this marginalization could happen to anyone, minorities especially because the majority of people want uniformity, because differences lead to conflict.

Thoughts

While this piece was educational and interesting, I really had to think to try and associate it with the readings that we have been doing recently. Though it has certain inherent concepts similar, it seemed almost out of place with what we have been reading, so I was confused for a lot longer than I probably should’ve been.

Reading Response 19

Villanueva – “Memoria Is a Friend of Ours: On the Discourses of Color”

Summary

In his article, “Memoria Is a Friend of Ours: On the Discourses of Color,” Villanueva attempts to show that in using memories in your writing, it can help connect you to your past history and culture, and help solidify what your identity as a writer is. He shows this through his inclusion of past works of his own or of close colleagues which apply to his thesis.

Synthesis

This piece helps reinforce the concepts brought in by Wardle and Gee; the importance of identity, because Villanueva is showing that your past experiences will help build on your identity in ways that you never think of, and thus change what kind of Discourse you are a part of.

QD

7. By using Gee’s concept of Discourse, Villanueva’s primary Discourse is the American culture he was assimilated into and his secondary one is his home Discourse of Puerto Rico. He desperately wants to reverse this, but he can barely speak Spanish fluently, and his memories from home are few and far between.

Thoughts

This piece was slightly unorthodox with the random insertions, and with the book that it’s in, it made the text that much smaller and harder to read, but never the less, it was engaging, and it made a lot of sense. It clarified some of Gee’s ideas in a much simpler format for me, and this was very helpful.

Reading Response 18

Heilker and Yergeau – “Autism and Rhetoric”

Summary

In their article, “Autism and Rhetoric,” Heilker and Yergeau attempt to show that autism as another form of rhetoric. They argue that, though the definition of autism is mostly communicative, instead of autism being something “wrong” with someone, it merely means they have a unique way of going about communication, and this can be seen much clearer if you treat autism as a style of rhetoric. The authors both have unique perspectives on this, as Heilker has a son with autism, while Yergeau herself has Asperger’s syndrome.

Synthesis

This article pulls, indirectly, from Wardle’s concept of identity. The authors show that society treats autism as a deficit from the norm, and try to shift the reader’s perception to that of considering autism as a form of rhetoric to see that they aren’t less like people because they are autistic, but that they think different, just like variation between cultures. This idea of giving autism its own identity follows Wardle’s model of adjusting your style of writing; and in this case method of speech; to a new discourse community.

Thoughts

This piece was very interesting. I have friends whom are autistic, and though I have never disregarded them because of it, I have definitely never thought of them in this light. It was very well put together, and the bits where the authors put in a personal thought was very good, because I got to know the authors and their perspectives. Over all I enjoyed it a lot, and feel that I learned something, which is always a good thing.

Project 3

The concept of discourse community is one that has been extensively discussed among many scholars throughout literary history, and is one that is still greatly debated to this day. Before I define what discourse community will mean for this article, it is important to reference the main schools of thought that are prevalent to this large topic. Swales discusses discourse communities as an entity with rules and structure. To make an analogy, he treats them as countries; corporeal entities that anyone can enter and learn the rules and become a citizen. It is possible to be a multi-citizen in many different countries, and similarly Swales states that it is possible to be a member of more than one community. Following this analogy, you still have a main “country” that you are best versed at and stay at the most. This whole concept is very different from the one that Gee presents, that of Discourses, where he presents the opportunity for another wonderful analogy. He states that there are multiple Discourses, and though we many learn the rules of others and visit them, we truly only have one main discourse. This is similar to the states in the US, where you can go back and forth between the states and must follow all of the laws in said state, but you only live in one state at a time. These two different views on the same concept show the opposite sides that exist, and in reality there is a more moderated concept that fits a wider audience.

Reading Response 17

Wardle – “Identity, Authority, and Learning to Write in New Workplaces”

Summary

In her article, “Identity, Authority, and Learning to Write in New Workplaces,” Wardle attempts to show that in jobs, it is important to adjust your writing to the new “discourse community” of your work because it will be beneficial. She argues this through an example of a computer specialist in an English department at a college, and shows where things would’ve been better if the new person had conformed or at least met halfway.

Synthesis

This work is very much based on the work of Swales and Gee, use their idea of discourse community/Discourse. While she uses Swales terminology, she is vague enough to pull bits from each scholar. This basis forms a large part of her concept, because it wouldn’t exist without the idea that there are separate discourse communities with different conventions. Though loosely used, the idea of learning to write differently to be accepted into the community is very similar in part to Devitt et al and their work on genre, the genre in this example being his writing. To have the authority he feels he deserves, he needs to be in their genre so that they can recognize him.

Project 3 Prposal

I would like to study the discourse community of Wookiepedia and those that use it. I feel that this would be an interesting topic because of my deep connection with said discourse community. It qualifies under Swales 6 characteristics. It has a broadly agreed upon set of public goals; to try and inform people about the Star Wars universe and to organize all of the information therein. It has mechanisms of intercommunication; forums and other online chatting, but also conversations between fellow users face to face. It also uses mechanisms to provide information and feedback; the whole purpose is to provide information, and if you information is wrong it can be removed from the site by other people fixing it, in other words feedback. All kinds of people are present in the discourse community, since Star Wars is such a far stretching audience. This allows for a broader influx of different genres assist in the furtherance of its goals. In no other area of fiction than that of the science variety is there more lexis specific to the community. Since it is all based around fiction, there are alot of events, names, and other such lexis that are unique only to this community. While many people know somethings about Star Wars, there are many things that only someone who used Wookiepedia would know, which then includes them in the discourse community. Finally there are members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise, since it is constantly updated by the administrators of the site to keep everything as factual as possible; factual to the universe that is. My one weak spot is I don't have any idea who to interview. I feel that a face to face interview rather than a chat with a random person online would be better, so I will have to find another person on campus who uses Wookiepedia. A set of texts that could be analyzed would be for one, any article, to show how they make sure that information is being passed, and two, a discussion board to show how all of the information is debated upon to prove it's validity

Reading Response 16

Devitt et al – “Materiality and Genre in the Study of Discourse Communities”

Summary

In their articles, “Materiality and Genre in the Study of Discourse Communities,” the authors attempt to redefine genre as it applies to the discourse community. They argue that genre is what defines the differences between each discourse community

Synthesis

This being the first compilation article, it is obviously different from the rest of the articles we’ve read. However, it does go along with the Swales piece nicely, taking what he had stated on discourse communities and adding their own spin to it.

Thoughts

This piece was if-y, if that’s a word. While it had some good points, there wasn’t much to talk about, as seen by my short parts above. The whole third article was quotations by people who use even bigger words than the authors do, which was slightly aggravating. All in all a very modest piece.

Reading Response 15

Gee – “Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction”

Summary

In his article, “Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction,” Gee attempts to define his concept of “Discourse” and to show it is separate from “discourse.” He argues that you learn a primary Discourse, and then all of your secondary Discourses that you learn throughout life are only imitations; you aren’t truly a member of that secondary Discourse.

Synthesis

This piece is similar to Swales’ piece, because they are talking about the same topic, albeit they each make their own definitions that are basically the same. The difference is that they are on different sides of the issue. Gee doesn’t feel that you can full master one Discourse, let alone more than one, and thus because of this different parts of different Discourses transfer back and forth. Swales has his little formula you plug into, and by it you can be in infinitely many discourse communities.

Pre-reading

Two or three activities that I participate in are college, reading Star Wars books, and socializing with friends. College influences how I participate in the other two things, because I always try and get my class work done first, so that will influence who I can socialize with and when I can read. There aren’t totally separate, but not inseparable either.

QD

1. Gee means that there are situational obstacles when communicating, as well as cultural ones to take into account. In English class they try to get rid of all of this when they teach grammar, but sometimes improper grammar has an extra meaning that isn’t in the “textbook.”

Thoughts

This piece was a lot more interesting than I thought it was going to be – I thought it was going to be a repeat of Swales. Instead, it was a thoughtful piece that was almost a key to Swales, and allowed me to understand not only his points, but the differences between the two.

Reading Response 14

Swales – “The Concept of Discourse Community”

Summary

In his article, “The Concept of Discourse Community,” Swales attempts to explain to the reader the concept of the discourse community, and the various permutations that exist among the various scholars. He argues that there are differences between several different concepts and gives his criteria for what he calls a discourse community.

Synthesis

This piece isn’t really like much of the rest of the pieces we’ve read, even his intro piece we did. This is very organized and structure, like a couple of the more scientific pieces, but he jumps around too much to be compared to them. Same for the vice versa. His topic is similar to several others, but he takes his own, rather dry, angle so it’s hard to compare.

Pre-reading

I feel out of place whenever there are sports on television and I’m forced to stay in the room. This is because I don’t find sports to be entertaining or exciting like many of my male counterparts.

QD

5. A discourse community that I belong to is the one that contains followers of the Star Wars continuum. It is connected to all of its members through all of the different media, be it media, books, comic books, video games, ect. The main setters of the rules are George Lucas himself and Leland Chee, the Continuity Database Administrator. The goals are the expansion of the continuum and its maintenance. Because of the large number of authors in this discourse community, there is lots of different ideas, so lots of different material to bring to the table.

Thoughts

This piece was so boring the framing the reading section warned me that it was boring. If a frame of a piece of literature takes two pages just to sum up that the piece is boring, then maybe we should fine a more interesting piece that says the same thing, I’m sure there’s one out there somewhere, that’s what Google’s for.

Reading Response 13

Wysocki – “The Sticky Embrace of Beauty”

Summary

In her article, “The Sticky Embrace of Beauty,” Wysocki attempts to analyze the concept of art and how it has different effects on people and their perceptions based on details held within pictures. She argues that our predetermined notions of beauty can both give us pleasure as well as anger from a picture. She breaks it down into a very descriptive analysis of what you feel when you see anything

Synthesis

This doesn’t really have much in common with anything that we’ve read. It discusses literacy a little, such as in how your experiences influence what you see in art, as well as how position, shading, and other factors influence what you receive from a picture. It relates to Berger in that it analyzes art, and the one that Wysocki looks at a lot is about a nude, basically. However she widens her approach beyond just nudes and applies her concept to all art.

QD

2. Visually, it is a low-visual text because other than the picture in question and the following diagrams, there are very few pictures or any defining features to the article to help convey anything more than “essay.” Aside from her longer quotes that are indented from her main essay, it flows like any other essay.

3. No it doesn’t work as a consumer. It interests me on a purely biological level, but it doesn’t make me want to either purchase the book or learn more. I have much better things to spend time on, such as finishing this reading response.

A&E

2. Beauty is most definitely in the eye of the beholder, as some people find some things appealing whiles others don’t, and vice versa. I don’t agree with can’t because there are very few things that are truly universal. Based on culture and your own personal experiences, you come up with your own idea of what beauty is. Wysocki was correct by saying that it is subjected to social forces.

MM

This statement fits her article well, because although she refers back to her original argument about the Peek article, her reasoning can be applied to a plethora of different art types. Her deductions could be applied to anything with  a picture in it, such as her statement about the difference between placements, as well as discussing how when you make something it becomes more universal.

Thoughts

I didn’t like this text much, though I did agree with her final statements on the subject. My tiresome complaint of the argument being stretched is coming back again. Her sources are reference in a way that she expects us to know what she’s talking about, and her vocabulary is excessively complex. I honestly didn’t fully understand what most of her article was about til I reread the Framing the Reading section of the apparatus.

Reading Response 12

Baron – From Pencils to Pixels: The Stages of Literacy Technologies

Summary

In his article, “From Pencils to Pixels: The Stages of Literacy Technologies,” Baron attempts to show that the computer is just another addition in a long line of new writing technologies. He goes about this by showing how writing itself was a new technology in its day, and spends a lot of time describing how the pencil, something we take as granted, was originally something invented not even for writing, but evolved over time.

Synthesis

This piece has a lot of characteristics of the Malcolm X piece as well as Lamott and Diaz, because it has a much more personal feel. It relates it’s topic to themes that we as the audience would understand and relate to. It also has a little hint of Berger in it because it analyzes everything in a historical order, which not many of the other articles do.

Pre-reading

A list of the technologies I use for writing:

·         Computer

·         Pencil and Paper

·         Verbal Communication

·         Music

·         The Internet

·         Written Sources (such as novels or reference materials depending upon what I’m writing.

A&E

2. There are many writing technologies that could be improved, but I think what needs improved would be grammar check. Most word processors have it now, and it’s nowhere near as helpful as spell check. Most of the time its corrections don’t even make sense or are just blatantly wrong. Not only do I think this, but teachers will mark of when I listen to it, so it seems a pointless addition at the present moment, but it would be good if someone were to update it.

Thoughts

This article was much more engaging than I went into it thinking it would be. The author does a very good job capturing the reader’s attention with a meaningful topic as well as helpful sources that don’t bore the reader. The points that the author bring up to prove his point of view are different from the stock sources used by scholars, and I learned new historical facts on top of being convinced of his point. It was engaging and interesting. Very impressed.

Reading Response 11

Brandt – Sponsors of Literacy

Summary

In her article, “Sponsors of Literacy,” Brandt attempts to show us her new definition of literacy and show how her concept of sponsors that she has developed through all of her research into literacy. She states that these sponsors teach us how to be literate, in turn showing us to be who we are, almost molding us with key characteristics of themselves.

Synthesis

 This article is much along the same lines as those whom dealt with studies that they had done, such as Kantz and Klein. However, Brandt is analyzing something she noticed while studying so1mething related, but different.

Pre-reading

List of ways reading is promoted: learning to read is an achievement early on, reading contests in elementary school, most popular forms of media are text (i.e. newspapers and magazines), writing contests with various organizations, college applications, ect. Reasons for being a better reader and writer are that you will do much better when you are older and are trying to get a job and have a family to support. This advice is usually given by adults, especially close relatives or older friends, and the occasional teacher.

A&E

1. I grew up in Ann Arbor, MI till the age of 9, then moved to Defiance, OH. Moved from suburbia to the middle of nowhere. Had several dozen times as much yard, as well as chores. When I got to Defiance, I didn’t know anyone, so I read a lot because I was by myself. This stayed this way till high school, and I still keep my love of reading to this day. I’ve always liked to read, but it was honestly the bullying of my fourth and fifth grade classes that led me to love reading. It’s almost like a default activity for me. Because of my voracious appetite for books, I became very literate, vocabulary wise. However I did a lot of pleasure reading, so come high school, I did not like many of the novels we read for class. I had friends who were into my kind of books by then though, so I didn’t entirely die of boredom.

Thoughts

The piece was interesting enough, and presented a lot of neat points that I had never thought about. However, my chief complain of it needing shortened still stands, and after going over my paper on stereotypes, I think some authors write long passages just because they can. While this one isn’t the case, I think, it could’ve been shortened or consolidated without any loss of meaning.

Reading Response 10 (Bryson)

Bryson – “Good English and Bad”

Summary

In his article, “Good English and Bad,” Bryson attempts to show how the “rules” for the English language are not only convoluted, but straight up wrong or nonexistent. He argues that many of the “rules” have become so confused that many different rules are there from confusion or no reason at all. He doesn’t feel that to have a rule just for the sake of the rule is a good enough reason to use sloppy or inelegant grammar.

Synthesis

This text is similar to many of our texts, picking a construct to challenge and then proving its point. However, it is like many of the shorter works by having a sort of commentary in the background, a little bit of dry humor to keep the reader awake. The author uses examples that are simple yet get the point across in the most effective way, similar to many of the pieces that are directed to students, yet this article is approachable by many different people of different mindsets.

Pre-reading

Good English is a very loose term to apply to anything with so varied a basis. Good grammar is something to strive for, but not entirely necessary. Sometimes context is more important than grammar, especially in speech. I personally will use improper grammar to make a point or to be funny (i.e. pronouncing words as they are spelled with phonics as well as combining words to make a new word).

QD

1. Bryson is challenging the writing construct of grammar rules, show by his many examples of where rules contradict each other. He points out how flexible and democratic the English language, going into a brief history of how academics throughout history have tried to revise the rules to make them simpler, but they constantly make it worse. He gives purely grammatical examples that show where the standing rules are deficient to help prove his point.

A&E

2. Bryson means that whatever we want the English language to do, it does. Throughout history, meanings, spellings, pronunciations, and “rules” have changed at the whim of a popular scholar. Personally, I’ve seen commas rules taught four different ways throughout my schooling career, none of which my parents or siblings were taught. Teacher to teacher, scholar to scholar, each rule has a varying level of importance, with some getting bent or broken frequently by one, but being invulnerable by another.

MM

Some parts of speech are noun, verb, adverb, pronoun, ect. I learned how they all relate in school, a long time ago. Most of it is ingrained into my subconscious mind, so I do it instinctively, most of the time. I do not think about it at all when I write, I think about translating my thoughts to words, and they magically appear in a relatively correct grammatical format, if I’m lucky. It may help me write better if I knew grammar better, because I could fall back on it to try mixing up my sentence structure, but not very much.

Thoughts

This piece was much more interesting than many of the others we’ve read recently, mainly because of the more down to earth vocabulary as well as descriptive and understandable examples. They were relatable with my own experiences with the language, indeed they were relatable to just about anyone. This made it much more interesting to read.

Project 1 Intro/Conversation

Intro

When you think of writing, there are two distinct genres that separate it down the middle. To many, they are as different as night and day, blue and red, hot and cold, sweet and sour, the list goes on. When it comes to writing, you can either write creatively or academically, poetically or rhetorically. This gap between fiction and nonfiction has long been thought to be unbridgeable. This construct; a construct being something that we accept as true due to extensive exposure within our culture or discipline, but was something agreed upon in the first place; has been discussed extensively by ( ) who mention (). I say that this gap is neither as long nor as dark as many people make it out to be. While there are distinct differences between them, by changing the situations, you can understand both. To show how this construct works, I will challenge a second construct that is prevalent in the literary world, on both sides of the issue. The concept of the stereotype has been around for a long time, in both fiction and nonfiction. This construct has two faces, as has been the common theme so far in this paragraph, in that it can be applied to both sides, but from different angles. For the creative side, there is the idea that to have good writing all you need are stereotypical characters to make a good story. For the rhetorical side, there is the concept that an essay must be straightforward and lengthy, as well as use complex vocabulary. The result of testing this construct on both sides will then by default test the original construct that we have set out to prove. Meta much? If so, get ready for the most convoluted set of logic to make sense that you’ve ever seen.

Synthesis

Literature and Composition: Separatism or Convergence? By John Trimbur is a work that supports bridging the gap between the creative and rhetorical. By showing his stated initial want for them to be separate and realization that they can work together. Also, Create Flesh and Blood Characters by William Kowalski illustrates my point of stereotypes for the fiction side. The article Challenging Stereotypes About Academic Writing: Complexity, elaboration, Explicitness by Douglas Biber and Bethany Gray shows the stereotypes found in nonfiction and academic writing and challenges them, thus proving the point I’m trying to make. I also want to look at Greene’s article on conversation, but don’t know how it will fit in if at all. The same goes for Porter’s article on Intertextuality and Elbow’s on Contradictions.

This is a bare bones outline of what I intend to do, but more analysis of the texts is required to know more about what I want to do with what source. 

Reading Response 9

Bernhardt – “Seeing the Text”

Summary

In his article, “Seeing the Text,” Bernhardt attempts to show the relationship that the visual points of text have on people when they read them. He argues that how something is set up graphically will lead to different ways of understanding as well as different levels in interest toward the material and can also be traced to the audience that the text is geared toward.

Synthesis

This article is a lot like Klein’s as well as Elbow’s, because it is written for a more academic audience. He throws a couple of bones in that are more for students, but the majority is very high level. It is also structured in a very scientific pattern, laying out all of the evidence and then results.

Pre-reading

No, none of my other classes have me do lab reports or organize text with images. If I were to, the visual clues would help narrow down the details that the text may have a hard time to describe to the reader.

QD

4. It is normal to have a teacher want us to write a paper that follows a specific form because then everyone has to write the same way and it is a lot easier to judge and grade the student’s work. When you have it as an assignment, it gets rid of different student’s interpretations and has only the teacher’s interpretation as the valid one, so there is a more linear grading system.

A&E

1. There may have been times that I’ve had to use unconventional visual structure, such as in my high school chemistry classes where it was structured more as a list in some parts. To use them again would only be beneficial in a science field, since most English teacher’s will want the generic essay, but if asked for it won’t be a difficult thing to do.

Post-reading

McCloud would have had a diagram for each paragraph, showing each part that he was talking about. I think this way would’ve been much easier to understand, because instead of having to both understand him and visualize his visuals, you would only have to understand the concept.

MM

In the context of looking at graphs and charts would probably be the most common case. Pamphlets and newspapers are also set up visually, as they have pictures and aren’t a wall of text. I couldn’t say what assignment calls for the most visual thinking, but the readings of McCloud and Berger apply since they involve art and images, not in that order.

Thoughts

This article was dreadfully boring, and aside from McCloud’s work, it doesn’t appear to apply to much of what we are doing in this class. His vocabulary, like many of the others that we have read, is unnecessarily complicated and circuitous, and merely confuses the reader rather than informing them.

Reading Response 8

Porter – “Intertextuality and the Discourse Community”

Summary

In his article, “Intertextuality and the Discourse Community,” Porter attempts to show the reader that plagiarism as defined in popular culture isn’t in fact what happens. He argues for intertextuality, which states that “all writing and speech – indeed, all signs – arise from a single network.” (88)

Synthesis

This is a lot like Klein’s work, because not only is he supporting his idea that is a much broader context than many would think to apply to writing, it is most obviously written towards a more scholarly community, as shown by the spinning of my head after reading it. The vocabulary and rhetoric he uses is definitely not meant for anyone without a Phd.

Pre-reading

I get a lot of help from writing, by asking friends for advice, having others proofread, even by relying on spell check frequently. I have even participated in my fair share of collaborative writings, voluntary and otherwise. Anything I do in life can also have an influence on my ideas that I’m working on, even if they have no correlation.

QD

4. I’ve always evaluated writing on whether or not I like it, and whether it fits the criteria I set out to accomplish. Most of the ways my writing has been evaluated before fits with my own idea, although I may be less knowledgeable about all of the grammar rules that my judges.

5. His work reflects on his principles, because he keeps bringing other people’s ideas into his article not only to show his point, but to make it as well. He is obviously not the first to think about this, because there are already a large number of people on both sides of the fence over the issue.

A&E

1. There are many different texts in it, shown in all of the different ways of displaying comfort and there are homages back to the tried and true, as they are trying to make money off of it. The cultural intertext is the constant use of not only women, but of different racial mixes to try and show that all types of people will look good as a result of said product, making it more universally accepted.

MM

No, he hasn’t changed my mind as all, because I know in my writings I’ve relied heavily on the assistance of others; his declaration of it merely confirmed my suspicions. I don’t think I’ll change the way I right at all, because I think that by using outside sources I also push myself to be more creative so I don’t feel as though I’m not contributing to my own writing.

Thoughts

I did not enjoy this text at all, it was long and hard, and the concept not overly surprising or interesting. That it was obviously written for people over my level of comprehension didn’t help at all, and makes the concept that much harder to grasp.

Reading Response 7

Elbow – “Voice in Writing Again: Embracing Contraries”

Summary

In his article, “Voice in Writing Again: Embracing Contraries,” Elbow attempts to support both sides of the age old argument about viewing writing through the two main lenses, text based and voice based. He argues against the standard compromise, saying that it waters down the resulting concept, instead encouraging the use of both lenses, and learning when to switch between them. He does this through showing all of the advantages and disadvantages of each different process, and through this demonstrating that they are contrary, but neither is necessarily wrong.

Synthesis

This is similar to many of the other texts we have read in class, where the author is applying a common discussion in the academic community to students writing, and challenging us to change our standards. What is different about it is that he isn’t showing the other side as wrong, rather encouraging us to accept both sides of the topic as correct and applicable at different times.

Pre-reading

2. There is no doubt that papers would be different with the inclusion of “I” into a paper. It would allow the use of much more personal language; the ability to relate to a much more specific personal event rather than through obscure and roundabout impersonal language that you spend more time thinking about the wording to take away the personal touch than on the content of the essay in question.

QD

1. I had always defined voice as the personality that the author gave to the surroundings and situations in a story. All, or a vast majority, of my experience is with fiction works, so the critical analysis of the text without voice doesn’t really apply, although without it, the humorous descriptions of the settings or the impassive character actions would be different. The majority of differences in voice I’ve found exist in nonfiction and poetry, where they seem to take themselves way too seriously, or there isn’t any voice to be found.

4. In his argument, his is playing his “game” because he switches mindsets when he talks about the different frames that he is currently supporting, he then doubts the other side by showing their flaws. By showing support for both sides rather than just giving a cursory glance at the “opposing side,” even though there aren’t any in this essay, he’s giving the feeling of an unresolved debate, because though he’s supporting both sides, his tone when he switches sides still shows that edge of “this sides right” even though he ends with his statement that he supports both. He uses this to emphasize that there is still a difference between when each one is applicable.

A&E

1. Sincerity is when you write from you heart or mind with little thought to censor or restrict what you are writing; you feel what you are writing. Resonance is when you make the “voice,” for lack of a better word, change subtly to make a certain point stick out differently than the rest of your piece. This took a little time to come up with, mainly for the right words, but the concept wasn’t difficult to come up with.

2. When you listen to a passage, the job of identifying what the tone and inflection of the characters isn’t left up to your imagination; rather it is decided by the speaker. It also jades your memory when you read it yourself again; you don’t hear your internal voice, you hear the speaker. You understand passages that sounded weird with the inflection you gave them when you hear them differently. It is definitely a tool that I use when reading, because when you say things multiple times, they seem to make more sense.

MM

It is possible to incorporate this into your writing, you just need to write something and look at it from more than perspective; using Greene’s idea of frames, you need to use multiple frames to find where every part fits. Instead of coming to a compromise and taking only certain parts for your piece, you can blend all of the ideas together while keeping both distinct ideas.

Thoughts

This was my least favorite thing I’ve read so far, not because of the subject matter, for the concept is intriguing, but it was sooooo long. After about page two, I kept checking to see how much more I had to read every other paragraph. This kind of ambiance is not conducive to pleasure reading. The concept of opposing ideas both being correct and coexisting is very intriguing, and I intend on expanding upon it in one of my novel ideas….

Reading Response 6

Berkenkotter – “Decisions and Revisions: The Planning Strategies of a Published Writer”

Murray – “Response of a Laboratory Rat – or, Being Protocoled”

Summary

In their articles, “Decisions and Revisions: The Planning Strategies of a Published Writer”

and “Response of a Laboratory Rat – or, Being Protocoled,” Berkenkotter and Murray attempt to show, through their experiment, the processes that go through the mind of a professional writer to try and analyze the “proper” method of writing and revising piece. Berkenkotter disliked the (then) current methods of analysis which consisted of putting writers in a laboratory setting, with parameters. She felt, and proved, that this inhibited the thought processes of the writer, and observed the writer in its natural environment.

Synthesis

This is similar to the other texts, such as Klein, where as it is a discussion about the methods and results of their research, and an application of the self-same results to the writing of students in schooling now.

Pre-reading

I don’t have any particular writing habits, although I concentrate better most of the time if I have music playing, although this doesn’t work all the time.

QD

1. Murray’s writing process is very eccentric, as he has a system that works for him and him alone, as far as I can tell. He does a lot of notes on what he wants to write, but he dictates it rather than actually types it, so he also listens to it, and discerns whether it has the correct feel. I sit down and think about the concept as I go through life, refine random bits and pieces as I think, and when I sit down to write, I connect all the dots.

3. Berkenkotter discovered that for Murray, planning and revision are basically the same in practice. When he went back to do revision, he instead did a combination of both, which she called reconceiving.

A&E

1. I spend a lot of time connecting ideas with dialogue when I am writing a story. I have written a lot of non-story type essays, so I have a general idea of what formulas work and what don’t. I do a mental outline of what I need to write, and I formulate it in the most logical order, and start writing. When I go through and reread, I sometimes move ideas to try and make sure my point is being made. I don’t spend as much time on revising as I should, rather I’m used to just plowing through and hoping it’s right.

MM

I feel that I have a better understanding of how to revise and now I know that I need to spend more time on the information and on how everything is set up.

Thoughts

This article was weird, because it took me a while to realize that it was more geared for other academics, and when I took that into account, the point made a lot more sense. It didn’t really tell me anything I didn’t know, but it brought it all into light, and showed me I’m not the only one who goes back and forth on writings.

Reading Response 5 (Berger)

Berger – “Ways of Seeing”

Summary

In his article, “Ways of Seeing,” Berger attempts to use an analysis of European nude paintings to show gender placement in the corresponding time period in which the painting was created. He uses this to show the dual existence of women as well as the rather simplistic realm of men. Though the style has changed over the years, it still shows the same general trend of treating women as objects and men as overseers to judge said objects, which is obviously wrong.

Synthesis

This article isn’t like anything else we’ve read, because there is no argument about bettering our writing style, or anything to do with writing for that matter. Rather, this article is a social commentary on the historic placement of genders based on an analysis of nude oil paintings.

Pre-reading

1. For starters, we are imagining a lot if I’m going to draw. It takes a stretch just to imagine that whatever I draw even remotely comes close to looking like a woman. As to the direction she is facing, it would depend on the context of the picture, but in the generic sci-fi laser battle, probably sideways (hint: this is also my scene). As in any drawn out battle, there is mass chaos and people everywhere, if we imagine that I can draw mass chaos and other people. In no way would she be nude or naked, as it is a distraction when you are cold on the battle field. Although it might confuse the enemy.

3. The male is depicted as ruggedly handsome, as well as cool and confident. Almost as if he was projecting an aura of awesome, if there is such a thing. The woman, on the other hand, is depicted as “beautiful” with a pound of make-up covering her face, and wearing a skimpy, yet uniquely weird outfit that probably cost more than you make a year (directed at Mr. Vetter). She is depicted as confident and sexy, and gives off a vibe of ease with her surroundings. The depictions are all based around the stereotypical “perfect” person, and all of their publicity people set it up that way.

QD

1. The artists of these paintings knew exactly what they were doing; the painting of nude females, not the commentary on stereotypes that they didn’t know applied to them. Unfortunately, being a male, I have access to the horrible machinations of said mind, and the one thing guys like above looking at naked women is money (not saying that I do, it’s just an evil of hormones). These painters were marketing geniuses, because they were able to make money drawing naked women. Not only does it show status because of the servility of said women to the man that is commissioning this painting, but the painter gets to fulfill a primal urge and make money while doing it. Thus pornography was born. But all jokes aside, they did know what they were doing, and Berger would agree with this, because it shows the subservient nature of the female’s position in the process.

3. These assumptions are still very much in effect today, though their connotations have changed a little. Though there are some women that follow the old method of subservience; through their mannerisms, attire, surroundings, etc.; there are others that are much more independent through these same things. They don’t follow the list as strictly and because of this they have a more defined presence because what people see and think they are is in fact who they are, thus eliminating the dual existence.

A&E

2. There are definite ways we can apply Berger’s ideas of relationships to texts, because there is a definite relationship between the author and/or narrator to the reader. This relationship that you enter is one of the passing of ideas and thoughts; or in my realm of fiction, the telling of a story which could be told different based on the narrator and the author.

4. Humor defines a person by how they react to many different scenarios and situations. Some things seem funny to certain people and silly to others. Humor can also be seen as a passive trait, because it takes the place of other emotions such as anger, jealousy, ect. Humor mellows everything out when used properly and shows a person’s character when they can not only tell jokes, but take some as well. Humor could be seen as compensation for some insecurity, but that isn’t the case all the time, just like humor isn’t gender based the entire time. It is a careful combination of both, as well as the fact that most people like to laugh and smile, plus it’s always a good ice breaker.

MM

The necessity of reading this article has a lot to do with the correlation of spectator and viewer in relation to writing. When writing, it always good to keep the perspectives of the author and reader into consideration. This is especially important when you are trying to aim for a certain point that is affected by one of these points. The more general nature of art allows for an easier job of comprehending how easy it to understand something many different ways when you change a minute detail.