Reading Response 4 (McCloud)

McCloud – “Vocabulary of Comics”

Summary

In his article, “Vocabulary of Comics,” McCloud attempts to show the meaning behind icons of different kinds to show the correlation between them and why we connect with images the less detailed and more abstract (i.e. a cartoon).He eventually comes to the point of universality inherent to cartoons; cartoons describe a large sample of people because of their lack of details. We, while children, connect to cartoons because they are simplified and easier to interpret, as well as being what our mental image of own features are.

Synthesis

This article isn’t like any of the other readings we’ve done so far. It isn’t showing us a different way to change our writing style or analyzing conversation. It isn’t even in an “article format,” being written as a comic to help emphasize the point being made about icons and images. The only thing that is similar is that it is an analysis of a concept; it just isn’t one that has to do with writing.

Pre-reading

1. My favorite cartoon was when I was younger was Scooby-Doo. I related to all of the characters as a group, because they were normal kids, all of them friends and from different “cliques” and they had a good time, which I had as a kid. They also liked to go out and solve mysteries, which I thought was really cool. Because they were not portrayed as adults, I connected as one kid to another and it made me think that it was possible for me to solve mysteries and be as cool as them.

2. There are patterns in the lights and ceiling tiles that resemble a human face, as well as in parts of the carpet. The only similarity is just the placement of two objects as eyes and another as a mouth below them. I can see them without the face, if you look at only one part at a time, or in short intervals. The longer you look at it, the more it looks like a face.

QD

1. Adults still like the simplicity of cartoons because it reminds them of fond memories of their childhood, as well as allowing them an escape from the hardships and responsibilities of adulthood. There should not be an age when cartoons are inappropriate, because it gives everyone a universal humor and joy, and it may just help keep some adults a little younger. McCloud would agree, because even adults would benefit from cartoons simplifying some complex ideas for them. Hence why there are political cartoons.

2. McCloud used the comic book format so he could show the contrast between the two images, so that the reader’s interpretation of his language wouldn’t get between the point he was trying to make, so he took the reader’s interpretation out of the picture (pun intended). His point could have been garbled in translation if he had tried to describe the differences in writing, so some people wouldn’t have understood what he was trying to argue.

A&E

2. McCloud contends that we are more likely to see ourselves in generic, cartoonish images that don’t accurately resemble ourselves, because we rarely see our own face, only through mirrors. This then means that we spend a majority of our time seeing everyone else, so our own features tend to blur together. I have never looked at a photo of someone and identified with them, unless it was a family member.

3. Some adults “grow out” of watching cartoon, or say they do, because they feel that it is part of the role of an adult to scorn anything from their childhood, as cartoons are viewed as childish in nature. Some feel that the oversimplification is below their “intellect” and others have simply developed a new, more “refined” sense of humor. The truth that they encounter icons and cartoons every day is passed over by them, because they see it as an inevitable encounter, something that they can’t avoid. They’ve “grown out” of the choice to watch cartoons.

4. McCloud’s concept of the mask would affect my perception of myself, but not that of others, because when you wear a mask, your surroundings don’t change, you do. Without my mask, my perceptions of my surroundings would be the same, though their perception of me might be different, because they haven’t changed any, my mental image of myself has.

Thoughts

This is probably my favorite reading so far, simply because it was different. The others are scholarly articles whose concepts were a little beyond what I’m used to reading, but I can relate to cartoons, and it made the concept a lot easier to understand. In was a nice change from the same old, same old.

Video Summaries

 

How to Find a Book in the Library

Using ALICE, the library’s online database for all of their books, you can look a book up by title subject, anything you want. Then you can use the call number to find it in the library. The main book page tells you the floor, and you can pull up a map to find where on the floor it is. Then, when you get there, there are lots of signs signaling where everything is. Another neat feature is that when you find your book, you will usually find books of the same subject in the same general call number area, and you can look for books on ALICE by the subject of a book you’ve found.

How to Get a Book from OhioLINK

OhioLINK is a very simple site to use, all you do is when a book that you search for either isn’t available at Alden, or Alden doesn’t have it, you can search libraries across Ohio with their database, and request a copy. According to the person in the video, it should arrive in around 3 business days, but it is also important to make sure you fill out all of the information correctly, such as where to pick up the book at and what college you’re from (i.e. Ohio University).

ArticlesPlus

Articles plus searches lots of different places for scholarly articles, but when doing research, you probably want “peer reviewed” articles. After you search for whatever your subject is, there is a section on the left side of the page to refine your search, and there you can select “full text” and “peer reviewed” so that the results will only show selections fitting these criteria. Some articles are available in PDF form, so you can print, email, or save them as you see fit. Others you may have to find where they are, and the database helps with that too.

Topic Proposal

The construct that I'd like to challege in mainstream culture is that good fictional writing requires stereotypical characters, or can be achieved simply through stereotypes. This is most prevalent not only in schooling where they emphasize the traditional hero and other types in the novels that you read in class, but also in popular culture, where the hero or anti-hero is pushed as "popular" or "desirable." I feel that too many novels, especially towards the younger generation. It seems that people are told that a sterotype is what makes a good novel, and then there is no attempt for character development, which then makes a bad story. I feel that it is creating a group of people who don't know how to make characters in stories connect with the reader, because though you may know what a stereotype is going to do, it is hard to make a connection to one. I feel that to have a good story, complex characters beyond simple stereotypes are required; or at least development of said stereotypes to try and make an attempt at an original idea.

 

Some search terms would be:

•  Character development
• stereotype reception
• impact of stereotypes on story
• " of developed characters on story

Reading Response 3

Kantz – “Helping Students Use Textual Sources Persuasively”

Summary

In her article, “Helping Students Use Textual Sources Persuasively,” Kantz attempts to explain how to use a source properly in essays for students in college, through examples of good and bad of source use. She argues that if you use sources like you were taught in high school, you won’t be meeting your teacher’s expectations, and it really isn’t that hard to write the essay’s once you make the shift to a rhetorical mindset.

Synthesis

This reading is similar to Greene’s article, because it is encouraging students to think beyond the basic teaching of high school and to transcend the bare minimum for the assignments. This attempt to break the preconceptions of all of your other educational experiences seems to be a common theme, because Klein touched on it as well.

Pre-reading

In an argument I’ve had recently, the factual dispute was resolved when one side conceded the point when they assimilated the new information. They didn’t agree entirely on the facts, but they agreed to disagree on most of the other parts of the discussion, but they resolved the argument by settling one part of it and agreeing to come back to the rest at a different time.

QD

1. Kantz contends that facts are merely points that the community as a whole has decided is correct, but is always up for discussion, and has endured much discussion to fall under the tentative category of “fact.”

2. A list of the things that Kantz says students don’t know: problems writing persuasive researched papers, interpretation of assignment, interpretation of sources (as stories), expect sources to tell the truth, facts are a kind of claim, how to construct a more complex representation of texts, the concept of a rhetorical situation, understanding author’s facts are for specified audience, the true nature of plagiarism, task management skills, and thinking can write a paper in one draft. She is correct when applied to a vast majority of students. My experience in AP classes has given me a small glimpse to parts of what she explains we need to learn, such as using more than one draft for a paper and closer analysis of sources, but people without this experience fit in her profile well. I understand a good many of them, but it will take time to get into the practice of doing them well.

AE

2. The relationship between creativity and research, prior to this class, was how creative you were in paraphrasing your sources when you used it, and where you looked for sources. As Kantz talks about it, it is how you can interpret the “facts” in your sources and find the “truth” to use in your research. There is little overlap between the old way we were taught to research and Kantz’s method of research, but her methods have definitely influenced me to try harder when I do a research paper to try and come up with an original topic. She uses her model way too much, because I do know that research is much more fluid than her triangle makes it out to be.

MM

She’s trying to analyze the construct of sources holding all of the truth. It is useful for me to know this because it will help when I need to critically analyze something or do a much more complex writing assignment, and it will eventually help me to understand things other than just writing, if I work at it.

Thoughts

This article was okay, but it got repetitious fast. She could have consolidated the writing in about five pages less than she did. It brought up some good points, but most people have figured some of them out by now, so while parts of it were interesting, others were a chore to struggle through from sheer boredom.

Reading Response 2

 

Klein – “What Is It We Do When We Write Articles Like This”

Summary

In his article, “What Is It We Do When We Write Articles Like This,” Klein attempts to convey the main idea of his research, that of investigating and categorizing how academic writers conduct their research. He argues that only do they conduct their research in a much more complicated way than can be categorized in his model; as he feels research should; he also wants to spread this idea of complex research rather than copying encyclopedic text, because he feels that this will help prepare students for true research.

Synthesis

This article is not very similar to Greene’s article, though there is one similarity, that of trying to convince the reader to be a better researcher than what they have previously learned in high school. While Greene focuses on the flexibility of the conversation as a whole, Klein is more intent on the process of the research that Greene insists all people participate in.

Pre-reading

Out of my courses this semester, I have 2 that require researched writing. I imagine doing this research as a combination of reading on the topic coupled with conversations and discussions with my classmates and professors. To complete these projects, I will probably need access to the library, internet, and as well as with my professors and classmates to bounce ideas off of to help refine my ideas.

QD

1. Klein hits it right on the money when he talks about the high school students and their research papers, though it’s more with the internet than in a library, but the concept is the same. I actually have done more actual research in my normal essays than in my research papers. I like being able to talk to other people and to learn about different frames of mind than what I’ve already discovered or known. His method of research sound like it would accomplish the most and have the best results for the research, however I have not full used the method because that was not the method I was indoctrinated with.

3. Sources play a role in the research of professionals like Klein interviewed, but only in the sense of reference and in questing for further proof of their findings. It is much more important in past research efforts when your teacher required a certain amount of outside sources. The old method of research only had you reciting other people’s findings instead of finding your own.

4. The way I’ve done research papers isn’t quite the night long copying session he mentions, however I would do a lot more analysis of the other sources I found to analyze my own meaning from it rather than just quoting it over and over. I would spend more time looking for more general information that could help me, rather than specifically searching for information that I know I need.

Thoughts

This reading was rather interesting and shows how complex and intense all of the professionals are in their process of research. Nothing in it was overly surprising, but I thought his method of categorizing all of the different forms of research was interesting; plus I had to look up the definitions of a couple of his terms, which I don’t usually do.

Reading Response 1

Greene – Argument as Conversation

Summary

Greene’s article, Argument as Conversation, attempts to explain how research and study is necessary to have a productive conversation through descriptions of a proper frame of focus, as well as giving examples that show proper techniques. He feels that a new and unique focus created by research into the conversation adds to the overall conversation, and makes the reader a more productive benefit to society.

Synthesis

This reading is similar to several “self-help” books that I have read, though their topics elude me. The similarity is where not only does the author mention what you should do and support it with facts, but gives you examples of how it applies, counter-arguments, and key steps to look for.

Pre-reading

The definition of argument is dependent on the context of the situation. Is most everyday conversation, it is a conversation gone bad, with no information being passed back and forth, and full of yelling which has the potential to turn violent. The connotation of this is not very good generally. In an academic setting, an argument is the evidence behind a discussion, debate, or conversation. The big difference is that to have a conversation, you need an argument, but if you are having an argument, there probably is no reason, just yelling.

QD

2. Greene quotes Kenneth Burke’s passage once again because the metaphor that he uses is very easy to understand and explains everything perfectly. This metaphor emphasizes the fact that no one in the conversation was there the entire time, so no one knows the whole conversation. It is the job of whoever is joining to listen to the present strain; relating to Greene’s statement that research is necessary to make an educated addition to any conversation. This metaphor shows the conversation as never ending, so even if you contribute your whole life, the discussion will still go on. This can be applied to writing, because even after you are gone, people will still be discussing the topics you brought up and discussed, bringing up the idea that writing is flexible. He also mentions that the discussion is interminable, probably shattering some people’s belief that certain things are set in stone, while the reality is nothing is fixed forever.

3. The concept of framing is to find a focus that no one else has or hasn’t given appropriate attention to, and to introduce it to the conversation. The metaphor that it represents is one of perspective, because there are many different frames of the same picture. Framing is important to Greene because he feels that framing allows better understanding of a topic, as well as to more productive additions to conversations, making the reader(s) contributors to society.

AE

2. Greene’s article is indeed a conversation, because he presents both sides of the issue in a format that follows most logical thought and questions the reader may have to the points he brings up. Greene most definitely practices what he preaches, because he has researched enough to have a conversation with the reader over the subject matter through his knowledge of the whole subject.

Thoughts

The reading was interesting, because it gave a lot of thought to a subject that I and many others have only given a cursory glance, so it is good food for thought, and will definitely help me later on because it will remind me to think and research more and to discover what those before me have written before I write anything and risk sounding stale. Though this is the first time I’ve thought about most of these concepts in great depth, they ring surprisingly true in many aspects, and have a good message that many things are fluid and change.