Reflection on Open Letter Draft

DaPuglet. "Bailey Puggins The Santa Pug." 6/1/2012 via flickr. CC0 Creative Commons. 

In this blog I will be talking about the revision process in the letter writing. I revised Isaak's and Swati's letters.

I saw how my peers organized their letters and that it was okay to make my paragraphs a little longer than I initially had them. It also gave me a good idea of how to improve upon my transitions. I felt that my own letter was a little bit more formal than Isaak's but I also threw in a bit of informality and humor, things that my peers could relate to.

Did I demonstrate an ability to think about my writing and myself as a writer?

Looking at others' writing helped compare what kind of writing I have been doing. Reading the way others transitioned their ideas make me think about how I can improve my own transitions and format my letter more properly. I figured out that I can use larger paragraphs than I was originally using. It also made me recognize that it would be a good idea to use quotes from some of the blogs I was talking about in my letter. There were also some grammar things that I figured out I needed to fix by reading other letters as well as reading over peer review.

Did I provide analysis of my experiences, writing assignments, or concepts you have learned?

I talked about how certain blogs and tasks in class assisted me in working on my time management, my planning process, and my condensing of my writing. I also talked about how it has shaped my overall thinking not just in my English class but in my other classes. It is also a learning process so my organization will continue to evolve and mold to how I need it to fix my schedule.

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

I used quotes as well as a description about my new pre planning writing process that has evolved from blog assignments. The quote was from my very first blog post telling about how I was a "Heavy Reviser" and the detailed steps were also what we went over in class and what I experienced in my writing process.

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

I talked about my mind set coming into college with my writing process and how it had to change and these were the biggest changes that I made due to Bottai's planning and assignments.

Draft of Open Letter

kpgolfpro. "Chihuahua Puppy Chihuahua Dog Small Cute Animal." 25/12/2014 via pixabay. CCO Public Domain.

On this post, I will be attaching a link to the draft of my open letter. It will go into talking about how this class has helped me become a better writer, thinker and planner.

To those of you viewing this, it is still a draft and needs to be reread a few times, but it is to get the overall idea of where I am going with the writing and that what I am saying makes sense and that overall it is well organized. I have always had trouble with bringing the final product together after thinking out my ideas for the first time so I hope it is not too bad! Despite the homework, I did enjoy this class and I feel that I did learn a lot. It was a big time commitment but it forced me to get my act together early on in the game and create a schedule and plan that worked best for me which is the most important thing.

Reflecting more on my Writing Process

pmbbun. "Sleeping Puppy Puppy Sleep Dog Animal Pet Cute." 22/2/2014 via pixabay. CCO Public Domain.

In this blog post, I will be doing more reflecting on the class as a whole and what I really got out of it. It was a challenge, but it was a learning experience in many ways.

1) What were the biggest challenges I faced this semester, overall?

The biggest challenge I faced was limiting how much I could write. I am one that likes to over explain ideas, so trying just to get the main points out without the extra fluff was a bit of a challenge for me. The blogging genre forced me to say what I wanted in a quick, concise manner.

Another challenge for me was time management. This class had a lot of writing homework and I had to work little bits of the homework into my schedule throughout the week so that I was hopefully not doing the whole thing Saturday evening. I had to think about my other classes and what homework they gave as well. In the beginning of the semester I had told myself that I would become more organized with my time, and it started out well in the begging but became harder to maintain as the year went on.

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

I know that I need to space out the time that I write my projects. Looking at the drafts at different points in time helped me find more of the errors not just in my grammar, but my organization. I had to plan into my homework time to get even one or two blog posts done each day so that I was not swamped at the end of the week with a lot of homework.

I learned that making an outline helps with the drafting process. I have a better idea going into it what main points I want to hit so that I don't end up rambling on and losing track of my organization. This preplanning process was key to my organization. But as I worked on my drafts, it also helped to keep referring to the outline so I can remember what points I am trying to make. It helps from getting lost in the research of the topic I am studying.

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

Better understanding a genre helps as the writer understand who I am writing for and in what context. This helps guide the language and what kind of information is important to include within the work of literature, whatever kind of genre it may be. By knowing my genre, I can better analyze my audience, purpose and context. I start out more organized and have more well thought out ideas because I know what kind of overall message I want to send the reader home with.

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

I think my better practice of using concise language will help with any kind of future paper. And now, I have a better idea of how to start my writing process. There is a lot more pre- thought to writing than I was initially doing. Knowing these things to begin with will help me having to avoid making more changes in the drafting process.

This class also helped me better analyze readings. Learning how to find the main points in articles will help me better analyze and understand any articles I will have to read in the future. In science, I will probably have to start reading other scientific works and learn from them. I can pick up more information and even learn to better read between the lines. I am not sure exactly what the future has in store for me, but knowing how to better break down readings will help my overall comprehension of the topic(s) I am reading about.

5) What was my most effective moment from this semester in 109H?

The most effective moment I had this year was learning how to do research. Google is a vast search engine and learning how to sort through results and knowing what key words to use has helped me find more the sites that I was looking for. Even in this semester I have used this skill in other classes to help for research papers.

6) What was my least effective moment from this semester in 109H?

The least effective moments were probably in doing extra writing in blog posts that I could have learned by just doing a reading or annotating my sources. It was helpful to be asked the questions, but the need to go over and analyze in detail the questions was not quite as necessary. It took time away from actually working on my final projects.

Revisiting my Writing Process

Wang, Nicholas. "very_cute_puppy_01." 29/5/2007 via flickr. Creative Commons.

In this blog post I will be reflecting my writing process in the beginning of the year and how it had evolved over the semester. I will also look at how I wanted my writing process to become and if I met up to my own goals or not.

In blog post 1.10, it seemed that I classified myself as more of a heavy revisor where I did very little planning, would write a rough draft and just make a lot of changes into what I perceived to be my final draft. My goal was that maybe I would include more pre planning in my process of writing. By doing this, my draft would be more of what I want out of my final copy without the need to make so many revisions or even end up rewriting it. 

I would have to say that I have made improvements in my writing process to help meet my goal. I have been doing an outline of the points that I want to cover in my written work, no matter what it was, and I believe that it has helped with my draft work.  With the outline, I know exactly what points I want to make and what the most efficient way to make that point is. But even with this outline process, I still have to make a lot of revisions on the drafts. I think this can be because once I continue to reread what I write, I end up not liking what I initially write. 

Pertaining to my schedule analysis, one of the points I wanted to work on was spacing out the time I work on my blogging and project assignments. I did not do this very well. I tried to make sure that I worked on some blogging throughout the week, but the assignments that were due the next day always took priority to the blogging that was due Saturday evening. So I then I always tended to work on the blogging on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I still believe that it is good to space out your time to be more efficient so that you are not cramming to get it all done at once. But making that a reality has been hard. 

In the future, I want to continue to work on my time management. In improving this, I can start by writing down more of what I have to do and really analyzing how much time I have each day to do homework in a realistic manner. What I didn't do has much was organize my English homework around the homework for my other classes. But at the time, I also was not aware at what other homework I had for my other classes. This means that my homework schedule will have to be modified as the year progresses. This is something that I can work on for my next semester schedule. I can use my planner more as well. This can have me make sure I am getting everything I need to done not just for the evening, but by being able to get ahead as well.

In the next 3 or so years of college I will continue to find new strategies that will help improve my time management. There will be some trial and error, but the best thing right now is that I would consider myself more of a planner as well as a revisor with my writing. I know what kinds of information I need to find out before even thinking about what I need to write. With a clearer goal in mind of where I want to get with my paper, I can better clean up my writing. 

Reflection on Project 3

dbking. "St. Bernard Puppy." 11/6/2005 via wikipedia. Creative Commons Attribution.

In this blog post I will be reflecting on Project 3 by answering a series of questions posed by the Writing Public Lives reading.

1) What was specifically revised from one draft to another?

I had to work on making my essay more personalized and not just as much spitting out facts but becoming more emotionally involved in the issue. I also had to work on my organization a bit. When I wrote it I just kind of wrote what came to mind but reading it back, it didn't make much sense.

2) Point to global changes: how did you reconsider your thesis or organization?

I went through my main points and made sure that all my ideas from each main point flowed together in one section and that the different main points ended up flowing together as well.

3) What led you to these changes? A reconsideration of audience? A shift in purpose?

Advice from pier review as well as teacher review helped me think about what I needed to focus on. The different ideas were not in order and jumped around, not making it very convenient for the reader to follow along. I also had to make the purpose more personal as well, not just about getting a point across but the specific idea that I wanted to leave my audience with.

4) How do these changes affect your credibility as an author?

If my information seems more organized and well thought out the reader will be more inclined to think I know what I am talking about. If they believe that I am more of an expert in the area that I am writing about then they will be more likely to listen to what I have to say and believe my point of view. If it looks like I have seen all sides of the argument then the points I make seem more justified in my evaluation of the argument and my point.

5) How will these changes better address the audience or venue?

The audience will be more inclined to continue reading if they can follow my argument better.

6) Point to local changes: how did you reconsider sentence structure and style?

I had to shorted some of my sentences so they were not so long. Some of them became hard to follow and also made some a little more informal so that I could connect more with the audience.

7) How will these changes assist your audience in understanding your purpose?

By understanding the sentences better and being able to follow my argument, hopefully what I have to say will have a bigger influence on the audience and they will hopefully want to advocate for stem cell research.

8) Did you have to reconsider the conventions of the particular genre in which you are writing?

I had to do a bit more reading up on the genre to make sure that I got the formatting right as well.

9) Finally, how does the process of reflection help you reconsider your identity as a writer?

I feel like I am the same writer but it made me notice how much I am really using emotion in my writing. When I am looking at an argument I like to know the facts so that I can make my own opinion on the issue and I felt like I did include the fact (hyperlinks) but I also become more emotionally invested in the issue and hopefully I was able to spur some emotions onto the audience.

Publishing Public Argument

In this blog post I will post a link to the final draft of Project 3.  I will also be going over the rubric and giving a self evaluation of the article. 

Pham, Tony. "Husky Puppy." 9/6/2007 via wikimedia. Creative Common Attribution Share Alike 2.0 Generic.

1. Mark with an "x" where you feel your target audience currently stands on the issue (before reading/watcing/hearing your argument) below:

←------------------------------------X----------------|--------------------------------------------------------->

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly

agree                                                                                                                          disagree

2. Now mark with an "x" where you feel your target audience should be (after they've read/watched/heard your argument) below:

←-----------X-----------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------->

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly

agree                                                                                                                          disagree

3. Check one (and only one) of the argument types below for your public argument:

         ___X___ My public argument etablishes an original pro position on an issue of debate.

         _______ My public argument establishes an original con position on an issue of debate.

         _______ My public argument clarifies the causes for a problem that is being debated.

         _______ My public argument prooposes a solution for a problem that is being debated.

         _______ My public argument positively evaluate a specific solution or policy under debate (and clearly identifies the idea I'm supporting).

         _______ My public argument openly refutes a specific solution or policy under debate (and clearly identifies the idea I'm refuting).

4. Briefly explain how your public argument doesn’t simply restate information from other sources, but provides original context and insight into the situation:

I do state a bit of what the situation is as well as the other side of the debate so the audience is given context but then I also dive into the emotional appeal about the health needs of certain individuals the the dramatic change this research will bring to their lives as well as the lives of their loved ones. The main idea though is that the pros of the research outweigh the cons and risks of doing the research on the embryonic stem cells. I put my own experiences and situation into the argument. I talk about my fondness of dogs, my wanted to be a doctor, and my moral views when it comes to the need to save lives. I bring in different points surrounding the issue that go beyond just talking about stem cells and what they can do but how they can change lives. 

5. Identify the specific rhetorical appeals you believe you've employed in your public argument below:

Ethical or credibility-establishing appeals

                    ___X__ Telling personal stories that establish a credible point-of-view

                    ___X__ Referring to credible sources (established journalism, credentialed experts, etc.)

                    _____ Employing carefully chosen key words or phrases that demonstrate you are credible (proper terminology, strong but clear vocabulary, etc.)

                    __X___ Adopting a tone that is inviting and trustworthy rather than distancing or alienating

                    __X___ Arranging visual elements properly (not employing watermarked images, cropping images carefully, avoiding sloppy presentation)

                    _____ Establishing your own public image in an inviting way (using an appropriate images of yourself, if you appear on camera dressing in a warm or friendly or professional manner, appearing against a background that’s welcoming or credibility-establishing)

                    __X___ Sharing any personal expertise you may possess about the subject (your identity as a student in your discipline affords you some authority here)

                    _____ Openly acknowledging counterarguments and refuting them intelligently

                    _____ Appealing openly to the values and beliefs shared by the audience (remember that the website/platform/YouTube channel your argument is designed for helps determine the kind of audience who will encounter your piece)

                    _____ Other: 

Emotional appeals

                    __X___ Telling personal stories that create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    _____ Telling emotionally compelling narratives drawn from history and/or the current culture

                    __X___ Employing the repetition of key words or phrases that create an appropriate emotional impact

                    _____ Employing an appropriate level of formality for the subject matter (through appearance, formatting, style of language, etc.)

                    _____ Appropriate use of humor for subject matter, platform/website, audience

                    _____ Use of “shocking” statistics in order to underline a specific point

                    ___X__ Use of imagery to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    _____ Employing an attractive color palette that sets an appropriate emotional tone (no clashing or ‘ugly’ colors, no overuse of too many variant colors, etc.)

                    _____ Use of music to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    _____ Use of sound effects to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    ____ Employing an engaging and appropriate tone of voice for the debate

                    ___X__ Other: creating a visual with language to help people feel sympathy for the sick people potentially not getting treatment or even the little dogs 

Logical or rational appeals

                    _____ Using historical records from credible sources in order to establish precedents, trends, or patterns

                    __X___ Using statistics from credible sources in order to establish precedents, trends, or patterns (more of just information pertaining to research going on today about stem cells)

                    _____ Using interviews from stakeholders that help affirm your stance or position

                    _____ Using expert opinions that help affirm your stance or position

                    _____ Effective organization of elements, images, text, etc.

                    ___X__ Clear transitions between different sections of the argument (by using title cards, interstitial music, voiceover, etc.)

                    _____ Crafted sequencing of images/text/content in order to make linear arguments

                    _____ Intentional emphasis on specific images/text/content in order to strengthen argument

                    _____ Careful design of size/color relationships between objects to effectively direct the viewer’s attention/gaze (for visual arguments)

                    __X___ Other: lots of links to sources giving information about stem cells and particular information on them that goes along with the argument that I am making at the moment. 

Sample articles that I used for reference are:

Tracking India's flu outbreak in Real Time
How Water is Reshaping the West

Reflection on Project 3 Draft

jackmac34. "Buttercups Flowers Orange Petals." 3/2015 via pixabay. CC0 Public Domain.

In this blog post I will go over who reviewed my draft for project 3 and give hyperlinks to the two projects that I commented on. These helped give me ideas on my own project as well.

I commented on Isaak's and Elliot's project 3s.

1) Isaak reviewed my rough draft.

2) What do I think and feel about the feedback I recieved? Did anything confuse me about the feedback?

I think the feedback was good. No much commentary on what I need to fix. Also I think that he interpreted my project as being a Tedd talk when instead I was really just linking a video to a Ted talk in the beginning and then going into my own article. So some of his comments he made were about it being a Tedd talk rather than an article.

3) What aspects of Project 3 need the most work going forward (Audience, Purpose, Argumentation, or Genre?) How do I plan on addressing these areas?

I need to work on better connecting with my audience. I start to get more personal with the argument towards the middle but I need to start that connection earlier and not just state facts but give my opinion on the facts as well.

4) How am I feeling overall about the direction of my project after peer review and teacher conferences this week?

I feel a lot better about my article since now I need to know what I need to work on the most.

Draft of Public Argument

Unsplash. "Pug Puppy Dog Animal Cute." 4/2015 via Pixabay. CC0 Public Domain

This post has the link to my first draft of my article. It is an article posted on either a science section of PBS or on a more medical oriented site like medical daily. The video in the beginning of the artice is about stem cells and lets the audience know about them before jumping into my article that uses their background knowledge for my argument.

Considering Visual Elements

Unsplash. "Child Girl Balloon Dog Puppy Female Portrait." 10/2015 via pixabay. Public Domain CC0. 

In this post, I will be talking about the visual elements within my article and how they help to enhance my message. I will answer questions from the reader to help get me thinking about what I want to do in my article.

• How might I vary the fonts in my projects for emphasis, such as in the title and body of my project?

I plan on bolding the heading and making the words the larger than the rest of the text so the title pops and hopefully helps draw in the reader. I will also want to bold some quotes from different scientific sources so that they help keep the reader going on the point I want to make in my article. But I want my normal font to be legible in Times New Roman or some type of classic font. When it gets too fancy it becomes harder to read. 

• What types of text or associations do the font(s) produce? What types of text might my reader think of when they see the font?

When you use a classic font like Times New Roman, it often reminds one of essay or more academic sort of pieces. But in a way, that is what this sort of is is an academic piece. You want your reader to take you seriously. If you start using curly fancy font, the article loses that appeal. 

• Is the theme or association that the image produces relevant ot the theme of my argument?

I am using a video by TEDD talk posted on YouTube. It is appropriate to my topic because it describes stems cells in an easy, efficient manner. It tells about the controversy I have the opinion on. It helps the reader understand the topic so then my point comes across better and is also more memorable. 

• Does the image inform or emphasize m argument in an important way, or does it seem superficial or unrelated to my argument? 

By understanding stem cells better, the reader can understand my argument better. If you don't know what stems cells are or their purpose for research, it is hard to agree with the point to sacrifice a potential human life in the name of science. The audience has to understand how far we have come in stem cell research and how if we continue to support it, it is will only grow and improve. They are not only used for finding cures for genetic like diseases, but also can be used for drug testing to better our medicine to human needs, also to eliminate testing on animals. 

• Do your eyes move easily from section to section in the order that you intended?

I feel that my outline does move fluently from one idea to the next. The video is a good start to the flow since it gives the background information about the stem cells themselves. Then I move onto the controversy I am trying to argue about. I then mention my thesis statement. It is not one long introduction paragraph, but a few little ones. Two for the introduction and the next for the thesis statement. 

• Do too many visual images make my text busy or disorganized? If so, which images might you omit?

Yes it can if there are too many. It can take away from the actual text and focus more on the images. In this case, I don't think I will include any more visuals after the video link. The article should not be that long where I need more visuals to keep the reader engaged. They should be interesting in learning more about the topic and not so consumed with the pictures of stem cells. Though including an image of a magnified stem cell might be interesting to show.

Reflection: 

I read Chloe's and Alex's blog posts. Alex made me think more about the color schemes I want to use in my article. I don't want to use really dramatic colors because I want to make sure my message doesn't lose its professional appeal but yet I want to have it stand out to my reader. This is a college student looking at this and I need to persuade them to think that reading this article is worth their time. They need to have a good first impression of the article. 

Project 3 Outline

BarnImages. "Chihuahua Puppy Pet Dog Animal Small Fluffy." 7/2015 via pixabay. Public Domain CC0.

This blog post contains a link of the outline for Project 3 on stem cell research. Here is the link!

Analyzing My Genre

ClkerFreeVectorImages. "Medicine Pills Bottles Medical Capsules Pharmacy." 2014 via pixabay. CC0 Public Domain.

In this blog post, I will be talking about the type of genre I will be using for project 3 about the debate over stem cell research. I will be writing an article with an audience that is more interested in science and medicine. It will be posted on a site similar to medicaldaily.com. In particular I want this article to appeal to someone who wants to learn more about stem cells but in an easy to read manner. The audience would be younger; more along the line of college students to middle age. This is a site to learn about stem cells in an efficient manner.

5 different examples of articles from this site that I want to mimic are:

• General Anesthesia and the Human Brain: How Going Under May Impact Cognitive Function
• The effect of Stress On Your Entire Body, As Told By This Unique Animation
• The Politics of Stem Cells 
• Tracking India's Deadly Flu Outbreak in Real Time
• Stem Cells finally Deliver, but not on their Original Promise

Social Context

• Where is the genre typically set?

This kind of an article is suppose to appeal to those interested in learning more about medicine and maybe different kinds of medical related diseases or research pertaining to medicine. There is an entire tab related to weird medicine on this website and I can direct this kind of research in that direction. I am not only informing the reader about stem cell, but that they are worth the time and research and the amazing applications of the success of the research. I can also include a video about stem cells and then go into talking about it in an article afterwards and the controversy surrounding the research. This is what "The effect of Stress On Your Entire Body, As Told By This Unique Animation" did when talking about stress and how it really influences what it does to your body physically. I can make a video about stem cells and do little animations and stuff.

• What is the subject of the genre?

The subject of the genre is the argument about stem cells. I am arguing that stem cell research is a good thing and that the research should be promoted by the government in research funds. President Obama opened up research for a select stem cells, but does not leave much room for evolution of stem cells. 

• Who uses the genre? 

This type of genre is for people who want a quick bit of information about a particular topic in more of a user friendly fashion. It is visually appealing and gives the reader enough information so that they can understand what is going on within the article and know what is going on and what the controversy is about or whatever the author is discussing. That is why I think this type of website would be a place that college students interested in science and such would go to to look for information.

• When and why is the genre used? What purpose does the genre serve for the people who use it?

It is used to know information about a particular thing is a short space. It it portrayed in a quick manner to the audience and seems interesting to read to someone who is interested in the overall topic of what the information is covering. In this case science or medical information. 

Rhetorical Patterns of the Genre

• What type of content is usually included and excluded?

There is usually some type of background information given on the topic. The amount of background information is dependent upon the audience the author is aiming at. If the intended audience is already pretty knowledgable about the scientific topic you are discussing, the background information necessary to give is minimal. The only information really necessary is the more specific part of the topic you are discussing that most applies to your point. 

There is also usually an informative title(apparent in the titles that I selected), an introduction(to tell the reader what the article will more specifically be covering), images that draw the reader in, maybe graphs or visuals that are better depicting your argument, smaller paragraphs that make the article more user friendly, and a conclusion that depicts your point once again. 

In the case of what I am doing, I might do a video in the beginning that better explains what stem cells are and then after the video go into more detail about the research and why it is a good thing. It is a good visual and it will hopefully help the reader understand my argument better. 

• What rhetorical appeals are used most often? Do you notice any patterns in the appeals to logos pathos or ethos? 

It seems the articles used logos to show that they know the information that they are arguing. The PBS article showed the history of the stem cells before going into the current debates going on today about stem cell research. They also use pathos with the pictures. This is most apparent in the 2nd PBS article when you see the picture of the man brushing his teeth with same water that people are bathing in. 

It creates sympathy for the people experiencing these struggles and makes people want to reach out and help or have sympathy for those who are enduring these struggles. You not only read the words about the diseases but you see how it is happening. There always seem to be some party that is struggling and the author wants the reader to understand this and be aware this is happening somewhere in the world or here in our own nation.

But they also want you to be away that they know what they are talking about in that they are a reliable source. There are usually links that prove the more scientific points made in the articles. This is especially true in the case of the article talking about the effects of anesthesia on brain development and function. They give links to sources about studies that have been done to prove what the author is saying is backed up by a study. It is up to the reader to interpret how reliable the study is. 

• How are the texts organized? Do they generally open in similar ways? Conclude in similar ways? What common parts do the samples share?

The couple of posts on the medical daily website lead the article with a catchy image to draw the reader in. One of these images was actually a video. This not only made the article more interesting but made the topic more understandable since you had visuals to go along with the topic. It showed you more specifically in a lecture like format what stress does to your body. 

They then go into the introduction. The anesthesia article author, Lizette Borreli, starts off with connecting with the audience on a common known fact or myth of anesthesia about counting back from 100. It makes the reader interested in what the rest of the article will really talk about. Many people have been under anesthesia, so knowing more about it is sometimes interesting and a bit scary. 

The body paragraphs are generally the same- not too long and not too short. They don't want to scare away the reader. 

The conclusion is generally the same. They end with the main point they are trying to make. They lead with general information about the topic and then transition into the controversy. All the information given prior leads to the main point, bringing all the facts together in an opinion about the topic. 

• Do sentences in the genre share a certain style? Are the mostly active, passive, simple, or complex? Is there an abundance or lack of questions, explanation points, or semicolons? 

They vary a bit in style. The article about anesthesia has subheadings and seems to be more in a QRG format. I would not write this much nor use subheadings, but I liked how they transitioned from facts to opinions in the article. The sentences however are much like those in the other articles. They are generally not very long sentences, but include commas and lists within the sentences. They cannot drag on too long because you don't want to take the chance and lose the reader's attention. Not a real big use of semicolons. The sentences are shorter and easy to read and understand. 

• What type of word choice is used? Do many of the words fit in a particular category of jargon or slang? Is the overall effect of the word choice formal, informal, humorous or academic?

The word choice seems to be a mixture of formal and informal language. When trying to relate the reader, it is more informal, but it comes to more of the facts, it seems that the information is more formal and factual base. The language is not too complicated but the facts are stated in a straightforward manner so that nothing is lost in translation. 

Analyze What those Patterns Reveal about the Social Context of the Genre

• Who does the genre include and who does it exclude?

These articles include images, simpler paragraphs, and hyperlinks that give the words more basis. It does not include very complex words or phrases. It talks about the facts in a very straight forward way. There is not much wiggle room for interpretation as to what the authors mean. This means that when it comes down to the author telling their point of view on the issue, there is no dispute about what the author is arguing about. 

• What roles for writers and readers does the genre encourage?

Some of these articles, it seems like the reader takes the position of the student while the author is the teacher. They are trying to keep their students engaged while teaching them something interesting. One of the authors went as far as including a TEDD talk video of the topic they went on to further talk about. In this case, for my article, I can include a video from another source, or a video of my own making. 

The language is easy enough for someone newer to the topic can understand and follow. It is not always guaranteed on the PBS site that the reader will know about the topic being talked about. But generally, to look at the mind and body section of the site, the reader must have some interest in science and or medicine. 

• What values and beliefs are assumed about or encouraged from users of the genre? 

Those who read articles of this kind of nature are assumed to have some interest in science or medicine. If they were not looking for that kind of an article, it probably means that they would not have found the articles I have used for an example. The PBS website's article were under the catagory of mind and body, so unless you were specifically looking for that topic of an article, it means that these articles would not have appeared. Maybe if they are more interested in science they would have a greater chance of supporting the advancement of scientific and medical research.

• What content does the genre treat as most valuable? Least valuable?

The most valuable content is probably the opinion of the author themselves. In writing such a short work, one has to get their point across in an efficient manner. In doing this, they need to know what their opinion is in the first place.

Reflection

I looked at Samantha's and Chloe's blog posts and I feel that what they said was accurate to the texts they were analyzing and seems to work with what they want to talk about in their project 3's. Reading through Chloe's made me realize even more the importance of the facts that I am bringing to the article and how important they are for the controversy and arguing my point. I can't just have the facts that support my side of the argument, but the facts the opposing side is thinking about as well and be able to prove that my facts are stronger than theirs. 

Considering Types

Chiltepinster. "Mocking Bird Argument" 6/26/2011 via wikimedia. CC0 Public Domain.

This blog will talk about what kind of argument I will use. The different types of arguments include position argument, casual argument, evaluative argument, proposal argument, and refutable argument. The type of argument that is most appropriate for stem cell research is the position argument.

This kind of argument is the best because I am trying to argue a point, not necessarily the success or failure to a certain action taken by government. Government is a part of the issue but it is not necessarily the entire issue. The government has responded to the concerns about stem cell research since they are ones that fund a lot of scientific research. Without government approval, it is hard for stem cell approval to create a lot of progress. There have been specific pieces of legislation that have been passed by President Bush and Obama that have influenced stem cell research, but there is always unrest, even when laws are set.

I am not really trying to refute an idea necessarily, I am just supporting my idea. I don't want to insult the religious beliefs of others and how they think about stem cells, but I want these people to be able to accept my point of view and see that accepting stem cell research can be accepted by their religion as well. It is about helping people in the long run.

I am not trying to propose a new solution. I am just trying to say the benefits of stem cell research are good enough that they would be supported by religious people. There are two options and I am just saying one is better than the other.

Reflection:

I looked at Issak's and Evan's blog posts on their argument devices and I agree with what they had to say about their arguments and the best way to get their rhetorical devices across to the audience. I feel like I have not changed my views on how I want to bring across my argument. Evan had a similar kind of argument that I had in the way that it comes across to the public and he took the same approach that I had. It is very important that I include both point of views and then argue that one is better than the other. If you ignore the other side, the people you are trying to convince will not want to listen to what you have to say.

My Rhetorical Action Plan

742680. "Planning Plan Adjusting Aspirations Concepts Ideas." 2/2015 via pixabay. CC0 Public Domain.

1) Audience: Who am I going to try to persuade with my public argument?

My designated audience is appealing more towards the science educated younger generation. These are individuals who might be more interested in stem cell research but don't know a lot about it. I will make sure that I discuss the specifics of stem cells and which aspect of them are more highly debated. This is very specific knowledge and do not expect my audience to be very familiar with it. But having an interest is might draw them to the article since it would most likely be published on a more science oriented website or magazine.

• What does the audience know about stem cells already? How would they know about this topic if they do?

The audience would most likely have an idea about what stems cell are and their general purpose. The details about them and what aspect of the research is most controversial is not something I would expect the audience to know. THis is the specificity of the embryonic stem cells, not necessarily the adult stem cells.

• What do I know about the values of the audience I am talking to?

These people are interested in science and how the world around them works. But having an interest in science does not necessarily relate to religious values. Usually though, it means that they are willing to experiment farther with science and the way the world works than more conservatively religious people. I am more reaching out to their thirst for more knowledge, or wanting to help people. But to speak out to more critics, I can bring up that stem cell research is helping people in the end and limiting that assistance will not create change in the struggles people are facing today and will face in the future. 

• What type of research or evidence will be most persuasive in this argument? How will I go about translating the research for my audience?

In this case, factual research is always good. Discussing what kind of event are taking place in the stem cell research now are important to showing the audience that I know what I am talking about and that I have heard the most recent information on the topic before coming to my conclusion. The current development in adult stem cells will most likely help my case since this seems to be the safer stem cells to be working with right now when it comes to public opinion. I can convey this message by also relating better to the audience. I can talk about my future goals in life and coming from this point of view makes me see that even with all the advancement we have made in science, there is so much more to discover and learn. We have already improved our overall health so much with medical discoveries, why should we stop now? I can even refer to first impressions  of acts that are now consider to be normal in medical procedures. 

• What visual images or elements might my audience respond to? Why?

The future picture of recovering patients from medical breakthroughs by stem cells is always a positive motivator. There is also the visualization of the current sick patients and just how bad some of these diseases are, not just for the patients but their families as well. No one wants to watch a family member slowly lose their mind or not be able to walk or move. It is often the family members that fight the hardest for the change since they are the ones that are stuck their watching their loved one degrees health wise. 

• Why is my audience reading my argument? Am I trying to expand their understanding on an idea or topic? 

I would assume they are reading about it because they are interested in stem cells or they were searching articles on a science based website and maybe wanted to learn something new. They could have also been in a similar position I was in when I had to find a topic to research. This could give them one perspective on stem cell research and why it should be accepted. 

2) Genre: What form of writing will I use? 

I will make this an article. That means the paragraphs have to be shorter an easier to understand. I still have an introduction and a thesis but it is more reader friendly. 

The second kind of form I can use can be a TEDD talk sort of a video. In this video you don't only inform the public about the topic you are researching but you inform them on your views and your argument about the topic. You bring the audience into the story by not only the topic, but by words, body language, and visuals. These sort of things can vary from professors talking about issues or fanatics posting videos on youtube. Hopefully this video would be perceived in a way where I seem like more of an expert in the topic I am discussing. 

• What is the function of the genre?

The article: It is to draw the reader in and to make it easy for them to stay engaged in the text. This is a text that the reader should be a bit engaged in to begin with, but in order to keep the reader interested, a picture is nice or even in the case of scientific articles, charts or graphs that are portraying the point you are trying to get across. This goes along with the visualization of the idea. 

The video is a form of communication that involves less effort by the viewer and a chance to hopefully get their full attention. You are informing the reader about the issue in a visual way. That means that body language becomes a factor for the speaker. Depending upon where the video ends up can change the intension of the video. But that is the same for a work of literature as well.   

• What is the setting of your genre?

The setting is in a medical related website. This website mostly attracts science oriented people who enjoy learning new things about medical facts and may be interested in the idea of stem cells or may to learn more about stem cells for other means. 

A type of video is a TEDD talk video which goes over a certain issue in today's world. These Tedd talks also allow the author to divulge his opinion to the audience as well as stating the facts. This is the approach I would like to take in my argument. I like the viewers to have all the information before they can fully make their judgement on the issue.  

• How I might I use ethos, logos, and pathos for my argument?

I can use my personal story to build my credibility to the reader about how I have the best interest of patients in mind. This is ethos by building my character as a compassionate person who cares about the lives of others. I can also use logos by talking about the specifics of  stem cell research. By being about to talk about the stem cells in more detail, I will seem like more of a credible source since I know about the information I am talking about. 

I can use sympathetic gestures in a visual aspect to make sure that the audience wants to trust me. I can use the same type of rhetoric in my speech as I mentioned before for my article.

• What kinds of visual elements will I use in this genre?

I can include graphs or some sort of visual representation of the data I am talking about or the kind of progress that stem cell research is making. I could also use images of sick people today with diseases that stem cell research will supposedly cure. This gives a bigger motivation to look for a cure or to support the advancement of research in order to limit those kind of situations. 

• What types of style will I use for this genre?

I will use a mixture of formal and informal language. When it comes to discussing the specifics of stem cell research, I will use more formal language to get the information across in the most efficient way possible. The informal aspect comes into play when trying to relate to my audience. I need to seem like a person with feelings, not a machine spewing out facts. This is also what will help me become a more credible source. 

This kind of style applies for the speech expect I have to be mindful of body language, apparel, etc.  

3) Responses/Action: Explain the possible actions I would like my audience to take after they read or view my argument. 

First I want them to think about their own opinions on this issue and then be able to listen about the facts of the issue to see if their ideas on the issue have changed. But by the end of the article, if they are persuaded by my argument then they would want to inform their state representative their viewpoints on the issue or even donate money themselves to stem cell research. Even if they are not as inclined to do that much after reading the article, hopefully they will have changed their own views and maybe even talked to others about what they have learned and inspire others to take some form of action. 

• Positive support I will get from the audience is:
• the thought that I am doing something good by raising awareness. Stem cell research can bring salvation to a lot of hope deprived people. Diseases that are deemed fatal today may be curable some time in the future. 
• I am laying out the facts in, hopefully, a non bias way. Finally, they have found out information about the stem cell research controversy that doesn't have the author pouring their heart into the argument with no facts to back it up. (I hope they will think this by the end). 
• The reaction of "I am now so emotionally involved in this issue because of what this amazing author said that I just want to give all my money to stem cell research since the government does not advocate much of it. We want to cure illnesses!"

• Negative Rebuttals that the audience might give are: 
• Even with these potential cures, it does not give enough reason to mess with future human lives in this way. God made these stem cells to produce life. We should not be pocking at them trying to discover their secrets. 
• Even with the potential, it does not mean that these amazing cures have yet to be discovered. It is only the potential of cures that I am fighting for.
• Then there are those who are not willing to change their views. They will always believe that these embryonic stem cells are future life and messing with them is not a good thing, no matter what the future benefits. 

• Which of the negatives are best to talk about?

The second one mentioned is the best to argue against. It is good to state not only the potential of stem cells but how far they have already come and the progress that they have made. This website gives some information on the different parts of stem cell research. It gives the impression that there is a plan with these stem cells and how they are planned on being used. 

• What are potential chains of actions am I trying to create?

I want to for one, raise awareness of stem cell research and how much of a future investment it is. It is something that should be taken seriously. 

Analyzing Purpose

Live Life Happy. "You had a purpose before anyone had an opinion." 5/16/2015 via flickr. Creative Commons Public Domain. 

This blog post contains a link to a coggle that talks about why I am writing this argument and what I am trying to get my audience to do or to think like and what shouldn't be a possibility for the audience. The paragraph discussing the audience it stated within the Coggle in the category of "audience."

Analyzing Context

Tagle, Eduardo. " Debate Anatel 2010." 1/11/2010 via wikipedia. CCO Public Domain. 

In this blog post I will be going into more depth about the topic that I am arguing about. This topic would be stem cell research. I not only have to look at my side of the argument, but the opposing side as well and be able to produce counterarguments.

1) What are the key perspectives or schools of thought on the debate that you are studying?

There are two very clear sides to this argument: those for the evolution of stem cell research and those against stem cell research all together. Those who are against stem cell research are more against the use of stem cells for other purposes. This controversy mostly comes out of the use of embryonic stem cells. By using them stem cells for research, you are essentially eliminating all chances of the embryonic stem cell every producing life.

By taking the stem cells out of the embryo, the researcher would have to break through the outer layer of the embryo, therefore killing the likelihood of it becoming a baby. There are regulations put on how much can be done with embryonic stem cells. There is always controversy about when life starts. Those who believe it starts at conception sees this kind of research is taking away a life that has the right to live. But the opportunities these cells hold is enormous.

Then there is the group that is willing to take these risks in order to save the lives that are already in existence. The benefits of the research into these cells seem to be enormous. There is a lot of potential with cells that can transform into any other kind of cell. The embryonic stem cells are primarily used for research to cure neurological diseases.

Here is a link talking more about stem cells and the controversy.

2) What are the major points of contention or major disagreement among these perspectives?

The major point of controversy in this issue is the potential life these embryonic cells can have if they were not experimented on. There is also the issue that the cells used to create life should not be experimented on. Science should not go that far. Human life is sacred and should not be put in a petri dish and broken apart. People are also against the cloning of embryonic stem cells.

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

Both sides can see that the research may hold good outcomes, but one side is not willing to let embryonic stem cells be used for such experiments. Human life is sacred and using the thing that creates life to experiment with is out of some people's code of ethics.

4) What are the ideological differences, if any, between the perspectives?

People who are for the advancement of stem cell research are able to see the scientific advancements of it over the actual harm of using the stem cells. The embryonic stem cells that are being used for these experiments are either donated when frozen embryonic stem cells are left over from In Vitro Fertilization treatment, or they can be created in a lab. Just because someone is a scientist does not mean that they are not religious, it just means that their religious ideologies are different than those who disapprove of the stem cell research. These religious views might be a bit more conservative and that is why they feel so strongly about this issue.

This link tells more about the views of the different sides and the politics behind it as well.

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

Many people's call to action has to do with government involvement. Many people advocate to push the government to approve more on stem cell research. Those who are advocating the saving of lives through the elimination of stem cell research advocate their representatives to not support the expansion of stem cell research. The stem cell still has the potential of being fertilized and creating life. This is not something science should mess with.

Those who are for stem cell research advocate the advancement of medicine and proclaim that advocating for the advancement of stem cell research will help bring cures to some of the world's worse diseases, whether they be genetic or degenerative. These diseases have been puzzling scientists for quite some time. This could lead to a new hope  for those battling life threatening diseases. It leads people to become aware of the struggles that they are going through and the benefits that come out of advocating for stem cell research.

6) What perspectives are useful in supporting your own arguments about the issue? Why did you choose these?

I support the advocation of stem cell research. I feel that this research can lead to new medical breakthroughs that we would not have been able to come up with otherwise. It will lead to help saving lives. Taking the role as a future doctor, it shows that I have the best interests at heart. I want to see us saving as many lives as possible. advocating for stem cell research can help bring life saving opportunity to many Americans, as well as those is other parts of the world. Also as someone coming out of school in 4 to 8 years, breakthroughs in this type of research can lead to new job opportunities and different methods of helping people.

7) What perspectives do you think will be the greatest threat to your argument? Why so?

This argument has to be appealed ethically since it is the ethical appeal that people are most concerned about. This involves conveying to the audience that I am ethically stable and that I can relate to both the more conservative audience as well as the science based audience. I am a religious person as I have grown up with a Catholic mother who has taken me to church and has gotten me involved in the church. Even with this tie to faith I still believe that the life saving potential of this research is too important to pass up on the hope that the little embryonic stem cell will have the opportunity to create life.

Reflection:

After reading through Michael's and Alex's blog post, I know that I have to really know what I want to argue, not just a general idea that stem cell research is good, but what part of it is good and even bring up a particular instance that stem cell research can help. The more specific you are about the argument, the ore the reader can hopefully understand your argument and have less opportunity to form a counter argument.

Audience and Genre

geralt. "Men Personal Many Human Silhouette Quantitative." 4/ 2015 via pixabay. CCO Pubic Domain.

In this blog I will be discussing the audience involved in knowing the answer to the controversy I will be talking about.

The people interested in this topic are those that have probably been exposed to the idea of stem cells in the past. I would say, based off of the places that this controversy is written about, people who read about more scientific information would be interested in this topic and would be more inclined to read my argument and maybe be able to make a rebuttal on it. When I approach the audience I can probably assume that they know what stem cells are but maybe do not know the different types of stem cells. Those who are also involved in the religious/ ethical based argument may not be scientists, but more conservative individuals.

Two specific groups that may be interested in this topic may be:

• More socially conservative Republicans. (Who would be against my side of the issue)
• College students interested in research. (Who might be more prone to agree with me)

For the more conservative Republicans...

• Some news sources that tend to have a conservative audience would be:
• The National Review
• This place would be a place to write general articles. These are articles that we have been looking at in class for quite some time. It needs a title, introduction, short, easy to read paragraphs, and of course, hyperlinks. These don't seem to be very long articles but get their point across in a quick and efficient manner.  
• Examples of articles published on this site are:
• "Cow Cloning Disaster a Warning Against Human Cloning"
• "Adult Stem Cells Affect MS"

• The Weekly Standard
• This is another place where conservatives tend to see what current events are occurring. This is showing current events so if there was an update on the stem cell research issue, a conservative view will be posted here. These seem to be a little more serious in their format, not really including many pictures, but getting right to the information. 
• Examples of stem cell articles at the site are:
• "The End of Stem- Cell Wars "
• "Stem- Cell Doubletalk"

For the more science oriented college students...

• Some news sources that tend to have a science interested audience are:
• Medical Daily
• This place talks about new science topics that are continuing to evolve today. There are images and the language is a bit viewer friendly. This also goes into detail a little more about the actual  stem cells just in cause the audience was not an expert in them. This is why it is better for college students since they might be familiar with stem cells but don't exactly know what they mean. 
• Some examples of articles from this source are:
• "FDA Approves Stem Cell Treatment For Hearth Disease: Mayo Clinic To Test Technique In Human Trial"
• "Stem Cell Breakthrough Opens Door For Two -Dad Babies In As Little As 2 Years." 
• How Stuff Works
• This is a similar site to the Medical Daily. They post article format things that are a bit viewer friendly but involve the reader to become more interested in the topic to go looking for it. But there are also blogs on this page that will talk about parts of a bigger topic. Blog posts came up a lot when discussing stem cells 
• Some examples of articles from this source are:
• "A real Use for Stem Cells." 
• "Recent Stem Cell Successes show how powerful Stem Cell Therapies May become" 
• 
  

Extended Annotated Bibliography

This is the link for the extended Annotative Bibliography.

Narrowing My Focus

OpenClipArtVectors. "Light Bulb Lamp Electric Electric Bulb Think." 2013 via pixabay. CCO Public Domain.

This blog will talk about questions I need to answer for project 3 and why they are important to answer.

Questions to answer:

What kind of stem cells are people most against using?

There are different kind of stem cells and these different stem cells are taken from different places in the human body and from different ages as well. the certain human age of the donator can be influences how people think about using stem cells for other purposes. It also brings up the question of whether the stem cells are lab grown or if they are actually coming from a person.

What form of media is this controversy most talked about in?

By knowing what form of media this is discussed in can tell you a lot about what kinds of people are more invested in this issue. Different sources reach different kinds of people. Knowing who is keeping up on this issue the most shows who knows more about it and is willing to argue their point more. As a writer, you also know where they are most likely to get their information and understand whether it is credible or not. This can help argue your own point, whether it is for the other side or against it.

Questions About Controversy

geralt. "Question Question Mark Characters Request Problem." 2014 via pixabay. CCO Public Domain. 

In this blog post I will be looking for new sources for Project 3. I will be discussing the stem cell research and how it should be permitted so that science and medicine can be allowed to evolve and change for the better.

Questions involving WHO:

1) What new groups arose in protest after President Obama permitted the government funding of stem cell research?
2) What specific religious groups are oppose to stem cell research?
3) What specific groups are advocating for stem cell research?

Questions involving WHAT is up for debate:

1) What kind of stem cells are people most against using?
2) What scientific facts are being used to argue against stem cell research?
3) What proof is there that proves that this research may be successful in creating all these new and impressive cures? Is it just talk?

Questions involving WHEN this controversy started:

1) When was stem cell research introduced?
2) When did more restrictions get put on stem cell research?
3) When were shifting moments in the controversy?

Questions about WHERE the controversy unfolded:

1) What form of media is this controversy most talked about in?
2) Is there a particular part of the country that this issue is more significant in?
3) Where in religion is this the biggest problem?

Questions about HOW this controversy has unfolded in the media:

1) Was there a significant event or news release that make this a big issue?
2) Is there any recent buzz about this topic?
3) How are doctor's opinions on this issue impacting its development?