Synthesis Chart

Swales (discourse community)	Gee (Discourse)	Wardle (Activity System & Communities of practice)	Devitt, Bawarshi, Reiff (genres & genre analysis)
-6 defining characteristics of discourse community: 1) broad set of public goals - common objective 2) mechanisms of intercommunication among its members -different ways to communicate ideas 3) uses mechanisms to provide info and feedback -actively involved members 4) possess one or more genres -topics and form that DC uses 5) specific lexis -language that DC -vocabulary 6) threshold of members relevant to content and discoursal expertise -new members can enter, but old ones still there	-primary Discourse: early in life; at home and with the family -secondary Discourse: public institutions; church, schools, community groups, or other organizations; anything non-home based -dominant Discourse: brings goods (money, status, etc) from secondary Discourse -nondominant Discourse: brings solidarity but not actual goods -tension and conflict between 2 Discourses -assuming the term “language” means grammar = misleading assumption	-identity and authority -Identity: 3 interrelated modes of belonging: engagement,  imagination and alignment -engagement: relationships one makes with other members -imagination: Figuring out where one belongs within the system -alignment: finding common ground with oneself and the community -Authority: bestowed by institutions, can be withdrawn, and must be maintained through approp. expressions -Alan example	-Devitt: law community; miscommunication between specialists and nonspecialists; creates conflict and confusion; not explaining key terms and definitions causes language barrier; (tax forms, ballots, jury members) - Bawarshi: PMHF; medical community; doctor gives narrow view of a person/ patient àdiscusses how limited language does not allow others access to community’s genre -Reiff: Ethnography research; students can compose community’s genre and social behaviors through this type of research

#25 "Implementing Inclusion"

"Implementing Inclusion" desk guide

New Terms

     There were actually quite a few words in the "Implementing Inclusions" guide that I was unfamiliar with prior to reader the guide. The first word that really stood out to me was "cultural humility." I never knew that a term was coined for someone who is accepting of other people's cultures and beliefs, and will build relationships off their new found understandings. Also, I had no idea that there were such things as "gender neutral pronouns." These consist of ze, zim, hir, hirs, and hirself. Basically, it combines him and her into one word that is gender friendly.  These rules are actually very valuable to know,especially when talking about someone part of the LGBT community. It will help me to better communicate with those in the community.

Chart Description

     An estimated 90% of Americans are either heterosexual or cisgendered, but what about the other 10% of Americans? What are they classified as? Well, the other 10% can be broken down into two groups: sexual orientation and gender identity. These two groups make up the Queer Community. Sexual orientation consists of the follow terms: gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, questioning, and asexual. The following terms are in the gender identity category: transexual, cross-dresser, gender bender/blender, intersex (if having surgery), genderqueer, and gender non-conforming. To get a definition of all the terms discussed, refer back to pages four and five.

#24 "Queer in Turn..."

Alexander, Jonathon and David Wallace. “The Queer Turn in Composition Studies: Reviewing and

            Assessing an Emerging Scholarship.” College Composition and Communication. 61.4 

            (September 2009). W300-W320. Electronic.

Summary

            In their article, “The Queer Turn in Composition Studies: Reviewing and Assessing an Emerging Scholarship,” Alexander and Wallace argue that those in the English Department need to pay attention to queerness and try to move the idea from abstract to a normal routine. In the article, the authors point out that establishing queerness in the classroom can create much more conversation and important debates within the classroom. The authors also make it apparent that “three moves” are involved in queer composition scholarship. The first move is the need to confront homophobia. This includes teachers being open about their sexuality in the classroom. The second move is “the desire to be inclusive of LGBT people” (W305). Meaning, they should be able to partake in “hot topic” debates without feeling judged or looked down upon. The third move is the possibility of using queer theory in an effective way. Classrooms should be able to “break down the homo/hetero binary as a constraining mode of thinking about identity and agency” (W305), meaning classrooms should be able to move toward critical pedagogy on queerness.

Dialectical Notebook

In this column you RESPOND to the quotes	In this column you TYPE OUT the quote
In this quote, Alexander and Wallace distinctly state why they are writing this scholarly article. They had previously pointed out how only one out of the twenty two articles in College Composition and Communication discussed the issue of queerness. This article just so happened to be written by Jonathan Alexander himself.	“We hope that our critical reflections on this body of scholarship will demonstrate how paying attention to queerness in composition studies is much more than just including yet another set of marginalized voices in the composition classroom” (W302).
I knew right away that this article was going to be able to be compared to Berger’s article about how women are viewed in the public. Both authors discuss how their topic of choice is viewed and judged by the public, when it should be discussed and the stereotypes involving each topic need to be put to an end.	“… bringing feminism and feminist critiques to bear on composition theory and practice, showing us how the experience of gender in our culture shapes powerfully the social narratives and metaphors by which we live”(W303-W304).
I already briefly summarized the three moves of queer composition in the summary section of this reading response, but I felt that this quotes still needs to be specifically pointed out. I like to refer to this quote as an “essay map.” It was able to briefly state what each move was, but later in the section the authors went into a much more detailed description of each move.	“… three distinct theoretical and pedagogical moves in this scholarship: the need to confront homophobia, the desire to be inclusive of LGBT people, and the possibility of using queer theory to break down the homo/hetero binary as a constraining mode of thinking about identity and agency” (W305).
This quote was the opening explanation of move number one. The authors did a nice job of explaining the move and then giving an example of how tentative teachers actually are of “outing” themselves to the class. The author’s used Olivia’s experience of not coming out to her class as a way to get their point across to the audience.	“… the most basic problems related to issues of sexuality that instructors were facing in composition classes: namely, dealing with overt homophobia in students’ writing and the presence (or absence) of openly queer writing teachers” (W305-W306).
Prior to this quote, and literally right before it, the authors brought up different shows that discuss homosexual topics, such as Will & Grace. Later, the authors state that many shows make the homosexuals to seem sexless, and that most only emphasize the heterosexual relationships. I do not agree with their claim, and maybe if they were to rewrite this article now (it was written in 2009), then they would be able to point out shows such as Glee and Smash, which promote relationships among homosexuals and discuss how it can be changed in schools.	“This increased visibility has not, however, translated into an automatic acceptance of LBGT people and experiences in American society or composition classrooms” (W307).
This statement wraps up Alexander and Wallace’s ideas that in order for queerness to be accepted as a composition, we all need to help make an effort to promote the idea in school conversations. Unless everyone works for towards this common goal, the term “heteronormativity” may eventually be a unknown term, with no actual definition.	“Whether we are aware of it or not, we are all implicated in this struggle…” (W316).

5 Proposals for proj 3

5 Proposals for project 3

1) Sorority
I think that my sorority , Alpha Delta Pi, would be good for this project because I used this example in class to fill out Swale's concept of a discourse community. New members are added to the group, others leave but are always part of the DC. Chapter occurs every Sunday, which is when participants provide info and feedback to fellow members. Also, our lexis is made up of WPA, "We live for eachother," "First. Finest. Forever" and this symbol: < >

2) Learning Community
My LC consists of education majors, so we are all in an intro to education class together. At our LC/UC class, we discuss our issues, problems, and concerns will one another. As education majors, we know other terms such as "INTASC" and "Commitments." The only problem with this idea is that new members are never added to the group and after first semester, my LC groups stops attending the same classes (on purpose).

3) Sand Volleyball team
4) creative writing group
5) phi gamma nu

Blog #23 Response

Deviit, Amy J., Anis Bawarshi, and Mary Jo Reiff. “Materiality and Genre in the Study of

     Discourse Communities.” College English 65.5. 2003. Print.

Summary

            The article, “Materiality and Genre in the Study of Discourse Communities,” has three different essays put together to emphasize how genres influence a discourse community. In the first essay, “Where Communities Collide: Exploring a Legal Genre,” author Amy J. Devitt explains how different situations, such as ballot voting and jury duty, have instructions that are not necessarily implied and how language can cause miscommunication amongst the members (specialists and nonspecialists) of the community.  In the second essay, “Using Genre to access community: The Personal Medical History Genre as ‘Form of Life,’” author Anis Bawarshi attempts to show how genre and language go hand in hand. Language use and practice differentiates one discourse community from another. In the third essay, “Accessing Communities Through the Genre of Ethnography: Exploring a Pedagogical Genre,” author Mary Jo Reiff explains how students, in a way, can complete a mini ethnographic study by looking at the genres of a community and analyzing how the community composes its goals and social behaviors.

Dialectical Notebook

In this column you RESPOND to the quotes	In this column you TYPE OUT the quote
Devitt implies that discourse communities will commonly have conflicts within it. This is similar to what Wardle warned her audience (which was students) about in the article “Identity, Authority and Learning to Write in New Work Places.” Both give examples of how conflict can arise within a discourse community. Wardle uses her research on Allen as an example, while Devitt explains how the judicial system is flawed and causes conflict (specifically, the Michael Sharp case.	“Such analysis reveals the conflicts between communities that use a genre, conflicts often invisible to analysis that looks at discourse in terms of its communities alone” (99).
Throughout her essay, Devitt gives examples like ballots, jury instructions, and tax forms and how they miscommunicate. I think that her examples are one big metaphor to explain how all discourse communities, different and alike, all have miscommunications about genres. Meaning, not everything is written out word for word; some things are just implied.	“To mark a ballot seems a simple thing, but the community of election commissioners actually brings specialist knowledge to the interpretation of those ballots – knowledge not explained in the ballot genre” (100).
Devitt is explaining how, although the need for new memebers is necessary within a discourse community, it does get difficult to communicate. New members, or as she terms them “nonspecialists,” are very unfamiliar with the key words and language that the discourse community uses. It will take them time to become specialists and be able to properly give key words and exact definition.	“Part of the difficulty when specialized communities write to nonspecialist users lies in technical language, a difficulty commonly recognized and often addressed through defining key terms…” (101).
This is Anis Bawarshi thesis in her essay “Using Genre to access community: The Personal Medical History Genre as ‘Form of Life.’” She states who her audience is and why they should listen to her ideas. She is explaining how she will go into detail about how language and genre are a useful tool for her audience to understand.	“I demonstrate how genre analysis gives access to the workings of discourse communities in a way that renders the idea of a discourse community a more tangible, helpful concept for teachers, students, and researchers” (104).
This quote can relate to two articles that we have previously read. Bawarshi’s idea is similar to Swale's idea that genre is a priority that a discourse must have in order to exist. This quote also relates to Wardle’s idea that all members must learn to acquire a genre, and pick up on the language that the discourse community has. Her example of Allen proves that language barriers can exist within a discourse community and that  if not resolved, problems will arise.	“In this example, we notice the extent to which the genre becomes the site for the exchange of language and social interaction” (106).
Although this quote is very short and brief, it actually has a big meaning. Bawarshi is trying to sum up her idea into one concluding sentence. She is saying that new members will enter a discourse community, and it will change their way of thinking and they will gain knowledge. But she is also saying that the new member has the ability to change the actually community, and be an influence on his or her fellow members.	“… individuals compose in and compose discourse communities” (106).
This statement is reinforcing Swale’s idea that a discourse community must genre and language. If it does not have this, then it doesn’t have a behavior or social aspect; therefore, it ultimately does not exist. Reiff is adding (in her next sentence) to his idea by stating that how members enter this behavior is up for debate.	“Since genres embed and enact a group’s purposes, values, and assumptions, they can illuminate a community’s discursive behaviors” (106).
Reiff is literally telling her audience what a rhetorical discourse community is made up of. She is laying out the meaning of the term for them to easily understand. “Rhetorical learning” basically means to communicate and make choices; many do not realize this, but Reiff does a nice job of laying out the facts.	“… analyzing what the rhetorical patterns reveal about a community – its purposes, its participants, and its values, beliefs and ideologies” (106).
Reiff’s statement is very comparable to Bawarshi’s statement about members composing in the DC and them composing the DC. Reiff points out that changes in genre will occur throughout a discourse community and that by teaching students this concept will give them a better understanding of how discourse communities have evolved over time.	“… they also learn to use, adapt, and possibly change a variety of genres during the different processes of inquiry” (109).

Blog #22 Response

Gee - "Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction"

Rhetorical Overview
1. What is the author's exigence? Why does the author feel the article/argument needs to be made?
Gee, unlike the other authors we've read, argues that one does not automatically enter a discourse community. They have to be accepted into the community by the members in it.

2a. What discourse community is the author speaking toward for the article? WHY do you think that? Provide textual evidence (e.g., specific language, tone, publication venue, etc.,).
I think he is talking to educators or people with a higher education because he uses the term "we," and he is a professor at the University of Wisconsin Madison.

3. What is the author's thesis/argument/niche for the piece? If possible, quote specifically from the text?
"'Language' is a misleading term; it too often suggests 'grammar.' It is truism that a person can know perfectly the grammar of a language and not know to use that language" (483).

Summary

1. Write a few sentences that summarizes this article in your own words; make sure to cover the main arguments AND conclusions.

In his article,  "Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction,"  James Paul Gee argues his ideas on discourse communities. He thinks that a writer must be accepted into the community or you are not writing to a discourse community. He explains his definition of primary, secondary, dominant, and non-dominant discourses. He defines literacy as "the mastery of or fluent control over a secondary Discourse" (486). He concludes his article with a strong quote by Oscar Wilde's Lady Brackmell.

 2. Take the summary you just wrote and condense it into something “tweetable,” by which I mean a summary that is NO longer than 140 characters. Consider using the same conventions you would if tweeting, meaning abbreviations and informality in language.

There are several different Discourse communities and one must earn a spot in one.

3. Hashtags

#primarydiscourses #secondarydiscourses #dominat #nondominant

Berkaen Parlor/ Intertexuality
I think that Gee's article can be compared to any other that has discusses discourse communities, like Porter, Swales, and Glenn. Gee has a much different idea on discourse communities. Unlike the rest, he believes that one must impress the members in the community in order to be accepted into the community, where as the other authors (especially Porter), say that one automicatally has a discourse community just by writing words about a topic.

Assigned Exercise
QJD:What does Gee mean by the terms primary discourse, secondary discourse, dominant discourse, and nondominant discourse?

Primary discourse occurs early in life and is when we first “make sense of the world and interact with others” (485). Secondary discourse consists of social institutions, like church, schools, or community groups. Dominant discourse is goods like money or status, and made up from the secondary discourse. Non-dominant discourse “brings solidarity with a particular social network” (485).

AE: Gee notes that there are often conflicts and tensions between discourses…

I used my sorority as my example for a discourse community in class. Obviously, a group of all females is going to cause conflict and tension. I have not been in it long enough to experience this but from what others have told me, most of the girls settle it by talking it out. In worst case scenario, the conflict will just be ignored and everyone will move on. I think the best way would be to discuss the conflicts because usually they have to deal with beliefs and its never a bad thing to understand someone else’s perspective and beliefs.

Personal Reflection

I think Gee’s ideas on discourse communities are very different from what we have learned from previous authors. It is kind of a weird concept, but it started to make sense as the article went on, but different parts still confused me. The main thing that confused me was his idea of dominant and non-dominant discourses. I just do not think he took enough time to explain these concepts.

Any confusion or questions?

Like I said above, I don’t completely understand dominant and non-dominant discourses.

Blog #21 Response

Glenn - "Constructing Consumables and Consent: A Critical Analysis of Factory Farm Industry Discourse"

Rhetorical Overview
1. What is the author's exigence? Why does the author feel the article/argument needs to be made?
Glenn's exigence is to inform and warn audiences of doublespeak techniques and how the farm factories use it on consumers. Glenn defines doublespeak as, "...abuse of euphemism, nominaliztion, abstraction, presupposition, jargon, titles..." (147). Basically, doublespeak is a way to deceive consumers.

2a. What discourse community is the author speaking toward for the article? WHY do you think that? Provide textual evidence (e.g., specific language, tone, publication venue, etc.,).
I think the discourse community is anyone that agrees with her ideas because she consistently says "we." 

3. What is the author's thesis/argument/niche for the piece? If possible, quote specifically from the text?
Either...
"I am concerned with how that construction is accomplished and how it contributes to the ways USAmericans think about nonhuman animals confined on factory farms" (144).
Or...
 "...I focus on two common and codependent corporate discursive strategies..." (144).

Summary

1. Write a few sentences that summarizes this article in your own words; make sure to cover the main arguments AND conclusions.

In her article, "Constructing Consumables and Consent: A Critical Analysis of Factory Farm Industry Discourse," Glenn has two different, clear arguments. Her first argument is, "the widespread use of 'doublespeak' to describe particular processes internal to the [factory farm] industry" (144). Her second argument is "the creation of 'speaking' animals in the advertisements to sell the products of those industrial processes" (144). Although in this article Glenn focuses on how the factory farms use these techniques, the general idea can expand to all forms of advertisement.

2. Take the summary you just wrote and condense it into something “tweetable,” by which I mean a summary that is NO longer than 140 characters. Consider using the same conventions you would if tweeting, meaning abbreviations and informality in language.

Advertisement can deceive the discourse community.

 

 3. What hashtags (#) would you use for this article? Stated otherwise, what key terms would you use?

#doublespeak #speaking #discursivepractice #factoryfarm #deception

Burkean Parlor/Intertextuality

1. In what ways does this author and/or the ideas in this article connect with, (dis)agree with, speak to or against –I think you get the gist– previous authors and their ideas that we have encountered in this class?

 Like McCloud, Glenn emphasizes how the use of image can be used to connect with the audience. Also, Glenn's article can be compared to Swales' and Porter's because all three discuss the effects of a discourse community, but in different ways.

 

 Assigned Assignment

QJD: What, according to Glenn, are the main characteristics of "factory farm discourse"? How do those characteristics sanitize the process of factory farming? Is this type of discourse ethical? Why or why not?

A: According to Glenn, the main characteristics of "factory farm discourse" is doublespeak, or "...using sterile language to hide violence" (147). She uses many to proof how this process helps sanitize (or make the industry look clean and moral). One of her examples includes pointing out how the formula calves are fed is made from water, powdered milk and fat. "These calves frequently have 'chronic diarrhea (which is often fatal)' and suffer because of their diet..." (149). This type of discourse is obviously unethical because it provides false information to audience and is completely unfair.

 

AE: How does the language which turns animals into objects relate to the language which objectifies women (like the nude in Berger)?

In his article, Berger pointed out in that the a woman's body is amplified by different language use and begins to lose power. I did not think to even compare these two articles until I read this question. In a strange way, the do have similar ideas. Using deceptive language to hide what is really happening to the animals is lowering the animal's power. It is giving the factories more power and the animals are becoming simple parts of the factories' industries.

 

 Personal Reflection
1. How can you apply the information in this article to your own writing process? First, consider the main ideas that the author addresses, then consider other elements, such as organization, style, etc.

This article was much easier to understand than Swales. Glenn did a nice job of distinctly showing her ideas in a well structured way. I actually like how she used phrases like "In the first section I offer theoretical discussion..." (145). 

 

2. What is confusing about the article? Any questions?

She told us about how they use doublespeak, but how can I as a reader avoid using it and how can I identify it in other texts (not related to animal cruelty)?

Blog #20 Response

Swales- "The Concept of Discourse Community"

Rhetorical Overview
1. What is the author's exigence? Why does the author feel the article/argument needs to be made?
Swales' article explains his definition of discourse community. He explains this through showing how others are incorrect (on page 468 he says that research have coined the term as a "Social View"), defines it in 6 ways (page 471-473), and by examples.

2a. What discourse community is the author speaking toward for the article? WHY do you think that? Provide textual evidence (e.g., specific language, tone, publication venue, etc.,). 
I think his discourse community is educators because he refers to other articles (like Porter, even though we have read that) that some students may have not previously read.

3. What is the author's thesis/argument/niche for the piece? If possible, quote specifically from the text?
"We need then to clarify, for procedural purposes, what is to be understood by discourse community and, perhaps in the present circumstances, it is better to offer a set of criteria sufficiently narrow that will eliminate many of the marginal, blurred and controversial contenders" (469).

Summary

1. Write a few sentences that summarizes this article in your own words; make sure to cover the main arguments AND conclusions.

In his article, "The Concept of Discourse Community," Swales explains his six parts of the term discourse community. A discourse community should have common set of goals, intercommunication between each member, uses mechanisms to obtain info, contains one or more genres, acquire a specific lexis (use of language and terms), and have an equal amount content and experts within the community. He ends his argument by stating that "... [the status of] discourse communities is doubtless a matter for future study, but here it can at least be accepted that discourse communities can, over a period of time, lose as well as gain consensus..." (478). Swales means that the definition of discourse community will constantly be argued and changed over time.

2. Take the summary you just wrote and condense it into something “tweetable,” by which I mean a summary that is NO longer than 140 characters. Consider using the same conventions you would if tweeting, meaning abbreviations and informality in language.

Swales believes discourse community has six distinct parts to the term.

3. What hashtags (#) would you use for this article? Stated otherwise, what key terms would you.

#sixparts #discoursecommunity #intercommunication #lexis #contentandexperts

Burkean Parlor/Intertextuality

1. In what ways does this author and/or the ideas in this article connect with, (dis)agree with, speak to or against –I think you get the gist– previous authors and their ideas that we have encountered in this class?

Swales subject topic is the same as Porter's topic in "Intertextuality and the Discourse Community." Swales believes that by stating his six parts of discourse community will proof how Porter's ideas are not necessarily correct. Swales says, "An exclusionary list will also presumably show that the kind of disjunctive question raised by Porter is misplaced. It is likely to show that shared object of study nor common procedure nor interaction nor agreed discoursal convention will... be necessary...for the emergence of a discourse community..." (469).

Assigned Exercise
QDJ: Consider a time when you participated in a discourse community but resisted it or were not assimilated into it. What happened?
A: In my high school creative writing class, we were split up into different groups, which we would be with for the rest of the semester. The group I was put into were all close friends that constantly shared one another's writing with each other. We were supposed to read our writings to the group and have them give constructive feedback. The group, which I was thrown into, met all the requirements of Swales definition of discourse community. I tried to be assimilated nito this group but had a very difficult time doing it because they had already come up with their own common goals, lexis, and had no trouble communicating with one another. Basically, I felt like the odd man out and continued to try and connect with the group. I like to think I did by the end of the semester, but looking back I am not sure I actually was able to establish myself within the discourse community.

AE: Write 1 page letter to incoming student about discourse community...
A: I believe that a discourse community is a set audience that a writer is trying to reach out to. No matter what a student is writing about, him or her will always have a discourse community. Successfully getting his or her idea across to the discourse community is a different subject, but none the less, it will always be there. A discourse community is, as Swales and Porter can agree, have a common interest or set of goals to achieve. All discourse communities have to have something in common in order to exist.

Personal Reflection
1. How can you apply the information in this article to your own writing process? First, consider the main ideas that the author addresses, then consider other elements, such as organization, style, etc.
I think that Swales article was difficult to read. I had to look up the meaning of different words, such as lexis, because he assumed that the audience knew the definitions of all the terms he used in his article. The section that was I understood the most was section 2.3 because he listed his ideas in a list form, which made it easier to follow his ideas. 

2. What is confusing about the article?
The last paragraph is very confusing. I tried to explain to the best of my ability in the Summary section but I am not sure if I explained it correctly.

3 arguments

1. The type of literacy taught when one was a child (i.e books or computer) carries out throughout the rest of his or her life. Meaning, if someone was taught to read from a computer, they used computers as their main source of literacy for the rest of their life.

2. The love of writing usually develops at a young age.

3. One's favorite genre of writing is based on what they read growing up.

3 Things I Learned

"Web Writing Style Guide"

I am not very familiar with visual art or online webpages, so both sections in the "Web Writing Style Guide" were very informative and useful knowledge that I needed to know before starting project two. The first thing I learned comes from the first section (pg 25-39). That section tells readers to make an interesting header(s) because that is the first impression web searchers get when they see your webpage. The sub headers should be more like a conversation and the title can be catchy but only if you writing for a news publication and blogs, but stick to simple titles when writing for a business website or formal professional writing.
The second thing I learned is from the second section, and the advice given to readers is to not clutter the page. Squeezing too much information can be overwhelming for the reader and hard to follow. The third thing I learned (also from the second section) is to not go crazy with the fonts. I am a sucker for "cute" fonts, so this advice will help me not to even attempt to persuade my group into using "cool looking" fonts. I did not realize that when someone opens a page to read it, they must also have the same font as the page has. That is very helpful information that I had no idea about previous to reading this guide.

14 Questions

1. My mom read to me as a child, and would let me read every other page. Eventually I started to read to the entire book to her. Also, Reader Rabbit was a computer game that helped me to read and spell.\

2. I like to read for fun. Also, I took creative writing classes and 3 years of journalism classes in high school. That said, I've written for fun, for school, and for newspapers. Two of my articles ended up in my town's newspaper.

3. I use to write short stories, well I would start them, then for some reason I could never think of an ending for them. Academic writing isn't awful, although I think its much more fun to write for your own personal purpose and not be graded on it.

4. When I opened up my town's newspaper and saw my article(s) in there. My mom hung them up on the fridge and my teacher cut them out and taped them to the board.

5. My earliest memory of reading is when my mom would read to me every night before bed, then let me read some of the pages. My earliest memory of writing is when I would write on huge dotted line paper and try to "draw" the different letters onto the paper.

6. I got a sense of accomplishment because I was able to communicate like my mom, dad, and older siblings could.

7. I was very frustrated with reading quickly. I still am not a fast reader, but I remember always being the last one to finish reading in class. As much as it frustrated me, I felt like I always understanding the concepts of the readings better than the other students. As for writing, I have always loved to write. I always loved writing long, detailed letters to people.

8. When I was younger I would always write long letters to people, or write book reports.

9. Now, my favorite kind of writing is when I write on my own and getting a grade/ being judged on it. My favorite genre of reading is fiction.

10. I love to read, I usually read before going to bed each night. As for writing (academically), I have a hard time beginning to put my thoughts on paper. I feel like I always take a long time writing/ figuring out my intro paragraph.

11. I think the fact that my teachers have always encouraged me to write and helped me become a better writer has made writing a positive part of my life. Also, when my mom would tell me to read before bed each night made my love of reading grow.

12. My mom, my sister, my 4th grade teacher, my 7th grade teacher, the creative writing class I took and a couple of my high school English teachers.

13.  The creative writing class I took and aiding for my English teacher (I sat in on his class everyday and helped him grade tests and listen to the discussions)

14. It reminds me of how much I've grown as a reader and writer. I use to be so embarrassed being the "slow reader" but now I embrace and make sure I have enough time to read the articles.

Blog #19 Response

Wysocki - "The Sticky Embrace of Beauty"

Rhetorical Overview
1. What is the author's exigence? Why does the author feel the article/argument needs to be made?
Wysocki is informing the reader on how to view visual arts and comparing different writer's ideas on how to view visual arts.

2a. What discourse community is the author speaking toward for the article? WHY do you think that? Provide textual evidence (e.g., specific language, tone, publication venue, etc.,). 
I think her audience consists of other educators/ scholars/ teachers because she uses "we" a lot in her article.

3. What is the author's thesis/argument/niche for the piece? If possible, quote specifically from the text?
"My inability to come to a satisfactoring accounting leads me to consider how notions of beauty, developed in the late eightieth century, have been used in attempts to hold together two different orders of being and--by our time--have failed."

Summary

1. Write a few sentences that summarizes this article in your own words; make sure to cover the main arguments AND conclusions.

In her article, "The Sticky Embrace of Beauty," Wysocki shows readers how to change the way they view, interpret, and understand visual arts. She uses several examples to prove her point, like one she found in the New York Times, and how the ad gets attempts to get the message across to readers. Eventually, she concludes that all visual arts can be viewed in a rhetorical way, meaning a series of choices.

2. Take the summary you just wrote and condense it into something “tweetable,” by which I mean a summary that is NO longer than 140 characters. Consider using the same conventions you would if tweeting, meaning abbreviations and informality in language.

Viewing visual arts is a rhetorical process, made up of choices and consequence.

3. What hashtags (#) would you use for this article? Stated otherwise, what key terms would you.

#visualarts #rhetoricalway #understanding

Burkean Parlor/Intertextuality

1. In what ways does this author and/or the ideas in this article connect with, (dis)agree with, speak to or against –I think you get the gist– previous authors and their ideas that we have encountered in this class?

This article reminds me of Bernhardt's article because both discuss visual art and text. Also, both articles are aimed at teachers and how they can improve the way they teach their students. Also, this, in a way, reminds me of "Ways of Seeing" because they both use actual examples of women ads and how they are perceived by the audience.

Personal Reflection

1. How can you apply the information in this article to your own writing process? First, consider the main ideas that the author addresses, then consider other elements, such as organization, style, etc.

This article can help everyone in the class with our upcoming project. She is very specific in with her ideas, which gives the audience to a lot of detail about what she is trying to say. Although, it is going to be helpful, at times it did not keep my attention. I'm not saying it was extremely boring, just that at times I dozed off with reading.

2. What is confusing about the article?

I thought that the way she incorporated other's ideas in the article (randomly placing them it seemed like) made it difficult to follow and get a true understanding. Also, it was very long.