Thursday, June 9, 2016
Sunday, May 29, 2016
WP3
The article I chose to transform for WP3 is "Whose Film Is It Anyway? Canonicity and
Authority in Star Wars Fandom" written by John C. Lyden in the Journal of the American
Academy of Religion. This article discusses the fact that many dedicated fans of the Star Wars films have claimed to believe in the religion of "Jediism" and that their reactions to the
films have led to a new "religious experience" for them. The article begins by describing what
"Jediism" is and how fans have created a community with a strong online presence to back their
opinions and claims about the films. The article also explains how intense these fans can be in
their desire for the "canon" of the series to stay intact within the original trilogy. Lyden cites
specific examples for instances in which the fans have been at odds with the creator of the series,
George Lucas, for this very reason and how conspiracy theories have even arisen claiming that
he is trying to prevent fans from seeing the "true" films.
For my younger audience transformation, I chose to create an article from a website called Oh My Disney. This website is part of a series of official blogging sites created by the Walt Disney Company for fans of their films and products. The site is geared towards teenagers and young adults and often times includes articles titled “Things You Didn’t Know About...” which usually describe fun facts that fans might not already know about a well-known film or other Disney-related thing. Therefore, I wrote my article “8 Things You Didn’t Know About Star Wars” using the main facts presented in the original scholarly article and modeled it after similar articles found on the Oh My Disney website. The goal of these types of articles, as usually stated at the beginning of each one, is to provide a list of interesting facts and knowledge that fans can then surprise and impress their friends with.
For my younger audience transformation, I chose to create an article from a website called Oh My Disney. This website is part of a series of official blogging sites created by the Walt Disney Company for fans of their films and products. The site is geared towards teenagers and young adults and often times includes articles titled “Things You Didn’t Know About...” which usually describe fun facts that fans might not already know about a well-known film or other Disney-related thing. Therefore, I wrote my article “8 Things You Didn’t Know About Star Wars” using the main facts presented in the original scholarly article and modeled it after similar articles found on the Oh My Disney website. The goal of these types of articles, as usually stated at the beginning of each one, is to provide a list of interesting facts and knowledge that fans can then surprise and impress their friends with.
When young Disney fans visit the website, they expect the articles to be fun and
informative, but also to follow the same general pattern that is common in the articles posted
there. Thus, I decided to have my article follow the same structural format and make it look like
it came straight from the website so that my audiences can make use of visual literacy—the
ability “to read the different elements of a visual text” (Losh and Alexander). The articles begin
with a large image related to the topic of the article, followed by the title and author of the piece.
For this type of article that includes a list of fun facts about something, they are often written by
the staff at Oh My Disney collectively, rather than a single author. Thus, I included the typical
symbol and byline format of the editorial staff as a whole, along with the profile image related to
“Oh My Disney” as a contributor.
The main body of the article is written as a numbered list. One sentence about the fact is followed by an image relating to it. For example, for my first fact I wrote “The fandom associated with the Star Wars movies can be referred to as a ‘religion’” and inserted an image associated with Jediism directly underneath it. Below that, a short description of the fact is written to clarify and provide more information about it in case the readers want to know more. All of this text is written in an informal and friendly tone, so as to appeal to teenagers who are interested in reading something quick and interesting about a topic they probably already know of. These articles often use phrases such as “of course” and “in fact” in order to demonstrate the informality of their tone. This demonstrates the fact that “different social spaces affect how we communicate, what is said, what is not said, and how our messages are received, understood, and acted upon” (Losh and Alexander). The social space where the article is located influenced my decisions to write in a more informal tone and to only include quick fun facts about Star Wars rather than longer analyses of the films and fandom that were part of the original article.
The main body of the article is written as a numbered list. One sentence about the fact is followed by an image relating to it. For example, for my first fact I wrote “The fandom associated with the Star Wars movies can be referred to as a ‘religion’” and inserted an image associated with Jediism directly underneath it. Below that, a short description of the fact is written to clarify and provide more information about it in case the readers want to know more. All of this text is written in an informal and friendly tone, so as to appeal to teenagers who are interested in reading something quick and interesting about a topic they probably already know of. These articles often use phrases such as “of course” and “in fact” in order to demonstrate the informality of their tone. This demonstrates the fact that “different social spaces affect how we communicate, what is said, what is not said, and how our messages are received, understood, and acted upon” (Losh and Alexander). The social space where the article is located influenced my decisions to write in a more informal tone and to only include quick fun facts about Star Wars rather than longer analyses of the films and fandom that were part of the original article.
For my transformation geared towards an older audience, I chose to create a religious
brochure promoting “Jediism.” Often times my family has received pamphlets with information
about a certain religion and encouraging its readers to join and learn more about it. These
brochures are usually passed out on street corners or handed out when older members of the
religion go door-to-door in their attempts to get others to convert to their religion. Therefore, I
used the information the scholarly article provided about “Jediism” to create a religious brochure
I modeled after the ones my parents have received in the past. The goal of the pamphlet is to get
the readers to consider converting to “Jediism” by presenting them with information about the
religious teachings, people involved in the fandom, and where to go for even more details about
the Jedi Church. The purpose of the brochure was influenced by the fact that “writing means
always changing—changing to meet the needs of different audiences” (Losh and Alexander).
When this type of religious propaganda is passed out it is meant to demonstrate to its readers and
persuade them to convert to the religion in order to lead a better life and feel at peace with their
own spiritual beliefs.
I began my brochure with a simple front cover that includes the title of “Jediism,” an image related to the Jedi Church, and a short phrase (“Join others who have felt the pull of the Force”) meant to entice people to read further into the pamphlet. The next section, titled “What is Jediism?”, includes facts about the religion that were stated in the beginning of the original article by Lyden. For example, “a number of people around the world have identified their religion as Jediism...as calculated by the 2001 census” is meant to demonstrate to its readers how widespread the religion already is throughout the world and to build ethos—which “refers to the credibility of the rhetor” (Carroll)—for the religion by quoting an official source. The first section when the brochure is completely opened describes the official Jedi Church, its beliefs, and an invitation to join the Jedi religion—“All you have to do is quiet you mind and listen to the Force within you!” This is meant to persuade its readers to become members of Jediism so that they can be around others who have felt similar connections to the natural world.
I began my brochure with a simple front cover that includes the title of “Jediism,” an image related to the Jedi Church, and a short phrase (“Join others who have felt the pull of the Force”) meant to entice people to read further into the pamphlet. The next section, titled “What is Jediism?”, includes facts about the religion that were stated in the beginning of the original article by Lyden. For example, “a number of people around the world have identified their religion as Jediism...as calculated by the 2001 census” is meant to demonstrate to its readers how widespread the religion already is throughout the world and to build ethos—which “refers to the credibility of the rhetor” (Carroll)—for the religion by quoting an official source. The first section when the brochure is completely opened describes the official Jedi Church, its beliefs, and an invitation to join the Jedi religion—“All you have to do is quiet you mind and listen to the Force within you!” This is meant to persuade its readers to become members of Jediism so that they can be around others who have felt similar connections to the natural world.
The next two sections of the brochure describe important elements of the fandom that the
article spent a while discussing. “Star Wars Uncut” and “George Lucas” are meant to
demonstrate the good and the bad of the Jedi religion, respectively. I wrote that Casey Pugh and
his film Star Wars Uncut “has helped in the spreading of the ideals of Jediism to a larger and
more interactive audience” in an effort to get the readers to see what they can be capable of once
they too convert to Jediism. The segment on George Lucas educates the readers about the
founder of Jediism and the differences between the original and re-released films. By stating that
people who have not seen the original releases “have yet to be fully educated in the ways of the
Jedi religion,” the brochure is able to encourage the readers to look into more information about
Jediism and to even consider contacting the Jedi Church.
The pamphlet ends with a section encouraging its readers to visit other websites (those listed within the article as fan websites) for more information on the benefits and process of converting to "Jediism" and joining the ever-growing community. This is a common convention of religious brochures because if the readers decide they are interested in learning more about the religion or joining the church, they need to know how to do so. I also included images in every section of the brochure in order to avoid overwhelming the audience with too many words and to keep them interested in what I had to say. As McCloud states, the goal of word choice is to “clearly and persuasively communicate ideas...in seamless combination with images.” Adding the pictures to the pamphlet (and the blog article) allowed me to communicate better with my audiences and provide them with an interesting visual medium relating to what the content of the writing included.
The pamphlet ends with a section encouraging its readers to visit other websites (those listed within the article as fan websites) for more information on the benefits and process of converting to "Jediism" and joining the ever-growing community. This is a common convention of religious brochures because if the readers decide they are interested in learning more about the religion or joining the church, they need to know how to do so. I also included images in every section of the brochure in order to avoid overwhelming the audience with too many words and to keep them interested in what I had to say. As McCloud states, the goal of word choice is to “clearly and persuasively communicate ideas...in seamless combination with images.” Adding the pictures to the pamphlet (and the blog article) allowed me to communicate better with my audiences and provide them with an interesting visual medium relating to what the content of the writing included.
I transformed an article from the Journal of the American Academy of Religion titled
"Whose Film Is It Anyway? Canonicity and Authority in Star Wars Fandom" by John C. Lyden
into an article on the Oh My Disney website for younger audiences and a religious brochure for
older audiences. I made use of various moves and conventions of each of these genres in order to
ensure that my transformations accurately portrayed what the original scholarly article discussed
in a way that was tailored to each of my new audiences. This project was an interesting way to
practice writing in different genres and making moves in order to achieve the different purposes
of each individual genre.
Works Cited
Carroll, Laura Bolin. "Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis." Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Ed. Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky. 2010. Print.Losh, Elizabeth, and Jonathan Alexander. "Spaces for Writing." Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. Print.
Losh, Elizabeth, and Jonathan Alexander. “Writing Identities." Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. Print.
Lyden, John C. "Whose Film Is It, Anyway? Canonicity and Authority in Star Wars Fandom." Journal of the American Academy of Religion 80.3 (2012): 775-86. Print.
McCloud, Scott. "Writing with Pictures." Making Comics. New York: Harper, 2006. 8-57. Print.
Monday, May 23, 2016
Thlog #8
This week, we worked on coming up with ideas for WP3 and reviewing different moves and decisions that artists make, as seen in our readings. On Monday, we came up with a list of ideas for sub-genres within magazines. Even though I've read magazines before, I wouldn't have thought that some of these were considered to be different genres. I had considered them all to be articles and hadn't really noticed that there are significant differences, even between very similar segments like political interviews and Q & A with politicians.
Next, we discussed conventions within the genre of children's books. The convention of talking animals, which I thought was very common, didn't show up in any of the books that we looked at. I thought this was really interesting because it proves that even though something might be a convention of a genre, it doesn't mean that it is necessarily used in every example of that genre. We also looked at an example of something that included many conventions of a children's book, yet it was not geared towards children at all.
On Wednesday, we started class with a journal about summaries, why we use them, and what's included in them. Student 4 wrote that "we summarize to get out the juicy parts of a larger picture" and student 3 wrote that "you can summarize an author’s main argument." I thought that these descriptions were very accurate because a summary is meant to describe the main ideas of the original into a piece of writing that is shorter and maybe even easier to understand.
We then practiced using visual literacy when we reviewed the reading by McCloud. We summarized the important elements of this article, including the big ideas of moment, frame, image, word, and flow. Later, we looked at sample WP3s and these examples helped me think of other ideas I could use in my WP3. I think seeing some previous WP3s allowed me to better understand the assignment and what is expected of us when we actually turn in our final drafts.
On Wednesday, we started class with a journal about summaries, why we use them, and what's included in them. Student 4 wrote that "we summarize to get out the juicy parts of a larger picture" and student 3 wrote that "you can summarize an author’s main argument." I thought that these descriptions were very accurate because a summary is meant to describe the main ideas of the original into a piece of writing that is shorter and maybe even easier to understand.
We then practiced using visual literacy when we reviewed the reading by McCloud. We summarized the important elements of this article, including the big ideas of moment, frame, image, word, and flow. Later, we looked at sample WP3s and these examples helped me think of other ideas I could use in my WP3. I think seeing some previous WP3s allowed me to better understand the assignment and what is expected of us when we actually turn in our final drafts.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
PB3A
Summary/Background
The article I chose to transform for WP3 is "Whose Film Is It Anyway? Canonicity and Authority in Star Wars Fandom" written by John C. Lyden in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion. The article discusses how many dedicated fans of the Star Wars films have claimed to believe in the religion of "Jediism" and that their reactions to the films have led to this new "religious experience" for them. The article begins by describing what "Jediism" is and how fans have created a community with a strong online presence to back their opinions and claims about the films. The article also explains how intense these fans can be in their desire for the "canon" of the series to stay intact within the original trilogy. Lyden cites specific examples for instances in which the fans have been at odds with the creator of the series, George Lucas, for this very reason and how conspiracy theories have even arisen claiming that he is trying to prevent fans from seeing the "true" films.
Younger Audience Genre
Since the article lists specific elements of the films that fans have strong opinions on, I was thinking to use each of these issues as topics for a series of nursery rhymes for children. Most of the debated ideas within the article are in response to decisions made having to do with a specific character or scene in the films, so each rhyme would tell a short version of what happened in a certain scene or a description of how the fans see a certain character. The article also discusses George Lucas and fan reactions towards him and his recent changes/additions to the film series, so this could be another topic for one of the rhymes. The rhymes would need to be relatively short and have a catchy rhythm to them, as they are geared towards young children (pre-school through early elementary school ages). They would also need to include simple and up-beat language, since children would not be interested in learning about the serious ongoing debate, but rather be much more interested in the fantastical characters and occurrences in the films.
Older Audience Genre
For the genre geared toward an older audience, I thought to do a sort of religious brochure/pamphlet explaining why people should convert to "Jediism." The article begins with facts about what "Jediism" is and how many people in the world believe in it according to a recent census survey. These facts are similar to the kinds of things listed in the beginnings of such a pamphlet when describing what the religion is and how widespread it is throughout the world. The next section in the brochure would include accounts of people who have "converted" and had life-changing "religious experiences" after viewing the films, as well as what they have done for the religious community since their "conversion." This would be based on the information the article provides about they different ways in which people have responded to George Lucas and the idea of the "true" original trilogy. The pamphlet would end with a section encouraging its readers to visit other websites (those listed within the article as fan websites) for more information on the benefits and process of converting to "Jediism" and joining the ever-growing community.
The article I chose to transform for WP3 is "Whose Film Is It Anyway? Canonicity and Authority in Star Wars Fandom" written by John C. Lyden in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion. The article discusses how many dedicated fans of the Star Wars films have claimed to believe in the religion of "Jediism" and that their reactions to the films have led to this new "religious experience" for them. The article begins by describing what "Jediism" is and how fans have created a community with a strong online presence to back their opinions and claims about the films. The article also explains how intense these fans can be in their desire for the "canon" of the series to stay intact within the original trilogy. Lyden cites specific examples for instances in which the fans have been at odds with the creator of the series, George Lucas, for this very reason and how conspiracy theories have even arisen claiming that he is trying to prevent fans from seeing the "true" films.
Younger Audience Genre
Since the article lists specific elements of the films that fans have strong opinions on, I was thinking to use each of these issues as topics for a series of nursery rhymes for children. Most of the debated ideas within the article are in response to decisions made having to do with a specific character or scene in the films, so each rhyme would tell a short version of what happened in a certain scene or a description of how the fans see a certain character. The article also discusses George Lucas and fan reactions towards him and his recent changes/additions to the film series, so this could be another topic for one of the rhymes. The rhymes would need to be relatively short and have a catchy rhythm to them, as they are geared towards young children (pre-school through early elementary school ages). They would also need to include simple and up-beat language, since children would not be interested in learning about the serious ongoing debate, but rather be much more interested in the fantastical characters and occurrences in the films.
Older Audience Genre
For the genre geared toward an older audience, I thought to do a sort of religious brochure/pamphlet explaining why people should convert to "Jediism." The article begins with facts about what "Jediism" is and how many people in the world believe in it according to a recent census survey. These facts are similar to the kinds of things listed in the beginnings of such a pamphlet when describing what the religion is and how widespread it is throughout the world. The next section in the brochure would include accounts of people who have "converted" and had life-changing "religious experiences" after viewing the films, as well as what they have done for the religious community since their "conversion." This would be based on the information the article provides about they different ways in which people have responded to George Lucas and the idea of the "true" original trilogy. The pamphlet would end with a section encouraging its readers to visit other websites (those listed within the article as fan websites) for more information on the benefits and process of converting to "Jediism" and joining the ever-growing community.
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Thlog #7
This week, we finished up with WP2 and began looking at the WP3 assignment. On Monday, we discussed how our drafts for WP2 went and focused mainly on peer reviews to prepare for our final drafts that were due on Wednesday. For the journal, we had to write down what we thought our strengths and struggles were, in addition to what specific things we thought we improved on from WP1. Student 6 wrote "I struggled with including more quotes from our readings" and student 8 said they struggled with "finding good evidence from readings to back up" their argument. I thought it was interesting that multiple students had the same issue I did, and thought it was very helpful that Zack told us to not worry so much about using exact quotes because paraphrasing also counts as evidence from the readings.
On Wednesday, we had our class online. It was an interesting experience, but I do prefer meeting in class. I thought it was harder to stay on track with the schedule this way and I found myself not timing things properly. For our journals, we wrote about our WP2s and some of the most helpful comments we received in our peer reviews on Monday. I wrote about a comment that suggested I could expand my argument by looking into how bias plays a role in the way my non-academic article was written and how that is different than the scholarly pieces I chose. This was great because it helped me add more analysis to my paper that I had not thought of before. After discussing final thoughts on WP2, we moved on to learning about WP3 and watching videos of how different artists paint and the moves they make. I thought the videos were pretty interesting to watch because each painter was so unique in both their style and what they focused on within their paintings.
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Video Reflection
Bob Ross describes what he is doing in ways that are detailed so that the audience knows what they should be doing if they want to reproduce the painting themselves. He constantly draws attention to not only his canvas, but also what he is doing with the paints on his palette. He chooses to bring the audience in closer to demonstrate the importance of not only what goes on in the painting, but also how he prepares for his great work. He uses this "move" in order to show his audience how important it is for them to have the right brush, to mix the right paints properly, and to ensure that the brush has just the right amount of paint on it. He is trying to eliminate any sort of error for them so that they will be pleased with the outcome of their own attempts at the techniques he is demonstrating. Bob Ross has a very soothing and mellow voice, and his style allows the audience to feel comfortable and relaxed while watching his videos.
The first Disney painter focused most of his attention on the geometry and architectural aspects of the tree. He directed the audience to see how he used straight lines and exact geometric shapes to create what he believed was an accurate representation of the tree. The second artist thought of the tree as having more of a living personality and wanted to get his first impression down on the canvas very quickly. His attention was more focused on what makes the tree unique and what gives it life, just as he described in his tale about the tree being inhabited by spirits. The third painter focuses entirely on the trunk of the tree, which he believes is the most important part of the tree. He is determined to paint a detailed representation of the tree and brings the audience's attention to this element of nature. The fourth artist believes the three-dimensional quality of the tree is most important to draw attention to, so he uses materials that will create this quality within his painting. Each of them are painting the same tree, but have their own unique styles and are able to lead the audience to focus on different qualities of that tree.
The first Disney painter focused most of his attention on the geometry and architectural aspects of the tree. He directed the audience to see how he used straight lines and exact geometric shapes to create what he believed was an accurate representation of the tree. The second artist thought of the tree as having more of a living personality and wanted to get his first impression down on the canvas very quickly. His attention was more focused on what makes the tree unique and what gives it life, just as he described in his tale about the tree being inhabited by spirits. The third painter focuses entirely on the trunk of the tree, which he believes is the most important part of the tree. He is determined to paint a detailed representation of the tree and brings the audience's attention to this element of nature. The fourth artist believes the three-dimensional quality of the tree is most important to draw attention to, so he uses materials that will create this quality within his painting. Each of them are painting the same tree, but have their own unique styles and are able to lead the audience to focus on different qualities of that tree.
Journal 7.2
Q1. So, in the end, how’d your WP2 paper go? What were you
happy with? What weren’t you? Why? Be specific!
I think in the end my paper went better than I initially expected. Once I found a topic I was interested in, the paper was a lot easier to write. I was happy with my topic and the amount of evidence I was able to use and information I was able to cover from the three articles. I found it pretty hard to limit myself and decide which information was more important to talk about because I felt that the assignment was so broad and there was so much that I could discuss.
Q2. Which 2 or 3 comments that you received yesterday were the most helpful for you? Why?
A helpful comment I received was about one of the sentences I wrote in my conclusion. It was pointed out to me that it might be more useful to include it in one of my body paragraphs, since it was more along the lines of evidence rather than a key element to my argument. Another helpful comment suggested that I could expand my argument by looking into how bias plays a role in the way the non-academic article was written and how that is different than the scholarly pieces. This was great because it helped me add more analysis to my paper that I had not thought of before.
I think in the end my paper went better than I initially expected. Once I found a topic I was interested in, the paper was a lot easier to write. I was happy with my topic and the amount of evidence I was able to use and information I was able to cover from the three articles. I found it pretty hard to limit myself and decide which information was more important to talk about because I felt that the assignment was so broad and there was so much that I could discuss.
Q2. Which 2 or 3 comments that you received yesterday were the most helpful for you? Why?
A helpful comment I received was about one of the sentences I wrote in my conclusion. It was pointed out to me that it might be more useful to include it in one of my body paragraphs, since it was more along the lines of evidence rather than a key element to my argument. Another helpful comment suggested that I could expand my argument by looking into how bias plays a role in the way the non-academic article was written and how that is different than the scholarly pieces. This was great because it helped me add more analysis to my paper that I had not thought of before.
Monday, May 9, 2016
Thlog #6
This week we worked on getting ready to write our WP2s and coming up with ideas for possible topics to write on. On Monday we learned some helpful writing tips about other words that we can use instead of "says" and when to use hedged or qualified language. By making a list of words that can be substituted for "says" we now have a comprehensive set of words that can help us avoid repeating "the author says" over and over again in our writing. We also learned that different words can be used under different circumstances, such as "questions" being used when the author is unsure rather than when they are making a statement of certainty. Hedged claims are considered to be safer because they prevent the author from "over-generalizing." This kind of language is often used in the social sciences because they are essentially studying people and it is very difficult to know exactly what is going on in everyone's minds.
For our journals on Wednesday, we had to discuss the differences between conventions and moves, and student 14 wrote "conventions are common features of a genre, whereas 'moves' are choices that each specific author decides to use in their own writing. In order to write in a specific genre, you don't have to make use of all of the conventions, so choosing to use certain conventions and not others is a 'move' within itself." I thought this was very interesting because I had not thought that the selection of using a convention could be a move in itself. I had previously thought of moves and conventions as two separate ideas without any overlap. We also learned about parallelism and that it consists of the "similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses." We practiced making sure that sentences include parallelism, and I am now more conscious of ensuring that my writing has this structure so that I can ensure that it is easier to read for my audience.
For our journals on Wednesday, we had to discuss the differences between conventions and moves, and student 14 wrote "conventions are common features of a genre, whereas 'moves' are choices that each specific author decides to use in their own writing. In order to write in a specific genre, you don't have to make use of all of the conventions, so choosing to use certain conventions and not others is a 'move' within itself." I thought this was very interesting because I had not thought that the selection of using a convention could be a move in itself. I had previously thought of moves and conventions as two separate ideas without any overlap. We also learned about parallelism and that it consists of the "similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses." We practiced making sure that sentences include parallelism, and I am now more conscious of ensuring that my writing has this structure so that I can ensure that it is easier to read for my audience.
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Thlog #5
We began this week by reviewing how we did on our WP1s and reflecting on which of the comments from Zack we thought were most helpful for us. For the journal on Monday, student 17 wrote "the comment about another way to possibly restructure my essay was really insightful because I was definitely struggling with how to structure and that comment showed me another way that I could have done it which would have been more efficient for the reader." I noticed that a few of us were having trouble with the organization of our papers and I agree that the comments I got from Zack about this topic were really useful. I had not thought that the way my paper was structured might be a bit confusing to the reader or maybe not as effective for my argument as it could be. Now I know that while writing my paper, I need to actively be thinking about how clear it will be for my audience to read and understand.
We learned about the concept of IMRAD, what it stands for, and how it is the usual structure for many "empirically-driven, peer-reviewed, 'scholarly' research articles." At first, I was confused about what IMRAD meant, but once we began to discuss it in detail I was able to understand how it applies to many research papers. I found it helpful that we talked about what features belong within each section because now I can relate this clear structure to any research articles I may read in the future. On Wednesday, we learned about "moves" and how they apply to writing. "Moves" are any choice that a writer makes within their papers in order to achieve a specific purpose. Now that I know what "moves" are and how to identify them in others' writing, I can begin to make use of them in my own writing assignments in the future.
We learned about the concept of IMRAD, what it stands for, and how it is the usual structure for many "empirically-driven, peer-reviewed, 'scholarly' research articles." At first, I was confused about what IMRAD meant, but once we began to discuss it in detail I was able to understand how it applies to many research papers. I found it helpful that we talked about what features belong within each section because now I can relate this clear structure to any research articles I may read in the future. On Wednesday, we learned about "moves" and how they apply to writing. "Moves" are any choice that a writer makes within their papers in order to achieve a specific purpose. Now that I know what "moves" are and how to identify them in others' writing, I can begin to make use of them in my own writing assignments in the future.
PB2B
In writing, a "move" is known as a specific decision the writer makes in order to achieve a certain purpose within their paper. It is often done in an effort to make the text clearer for the reader or to emphasize a certain idea or concept. The audience also affects which "moves" the writer decides to make use of because different "moves" are more effective with a different set of readers.
In "Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis" Laura Bolin Carroll uses the "Capturing Authorial Action" move when she states that "Lloyd Bitzer argues that there are three parts to understanding the context of a rhetorical moment." In doing so, Carroll is able to use evidence from another author in order to provide the readers with examples from other published authors, rather than just herself. This is effective because showing that others have the same claims as she does makes her argument stronger.
In "As a Result" the author makes use of the "Adding Metacommentary" move by stating "What makes such writers so hard to read, in other words, is that they never gesture back to..." By using this move, the author is able to repeat their point in another way, thus making it clearer to the reader. This is effective because it provides another way for the readers to understand what the author is saying, in case they did not understand the first time.
In "How to Read Like a Writer" Mike Bunn uses the "Making What 'They Say' Something You Say" move when he says "I came to realize that all writing consists of a series of choices." He is able to use his own life experience to explain a fact that others believe to be true. This in an effective move because it allows the reader to see the importance behind Bunn's point and allows them to feel like they can relate to what he is saying.
In "Teaching Two Kinds of Thinking by Teaching Writing" Peter Elbow makes use of the "Introducing 'Standard Views'" move when he states that "because the history of our culture is often experienced as..." By providing this claim, he is able to help the audience understand why first-order thinking has been universally thought of as inferior to second-order thinking. This is effective because this explains why most of the readers have probably been told to avoid first-order thinking, which makes his point more personal to them.
In "Murder! (Rhetorically Speaking)" Janet Boyd uses the "Introducing Quotations" move when stating that "Ilya Imyanitov starts his report with: "My partner and I..." With this move, Boyd effectively makes it evident to the readers that she is about to quote from a report by Imyanitov. By doing so, the audience has a clear understanding of what was said by the author and what has been taken from other sources of writing.
In "Responding--Really Responding--to Other Students' Writing" Richard Straub makes use of "The Questionnaire" move. This consists of titling every section of the article as a question that the readers can ask of themselves when thinking about their own responses to others' writing. Straub does this in order to make the topic of each individual section clear to the reader and to make his points more relatable. I think this was very effective because he is able to answer his own questions within the section, thus ensuring that he stays on track and covers everything the readers may need to know.
In "Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis" Laura Bolin Carroll uses the "Basic Bullet" move. She makes use of this in order to write clear lists of questions or examples that are obviously separated from the rest of the article. This allows the reader to understand these concepts more clearly and to notice the importance of them since they were set apart from the rest. I think this choice was effective because it made it easier to read the article and to comprehend what she was saying based on these examples she provided.
In "So What? Who Cares?" the author makes use of the "Repeating Reminder" move. In this move, the author constantly reminds the reader of the two main questions they need to be thinking of throughout their own writing. Thus, the author repeats the "So what?" and "Who cares?" questions many times within the article, effectively making the reader aware of the importance of these two questions.
In "Murder! (Rhetorically Speaking)" Janet Boyd uses the "Student Support" move. Boyd adds specific examples of her own students' writing to support what she is discussing in her article. She is describing a project that she does with her classes and makes use of some of her students' responses as evidence for how the assignment is helpful in understanding different genres and their conventions. I think this is an effective move because it helps the reader understand better what her point is by bringing in examples that were written by people just like them.
In "Navigating Genres" Kerry Dirk makes use of the "Common Knowledge Case" move. By stating characteristics and examples that most people are already familiar with, the author is able to get her point across in an easier and more effective manner. The reader can better understand genres and their conventions when provided with current examples they know well, rather than being told about it through a more academic case that is not very relatable to the common person.
In "Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis" Laura Bolin Carroll uses the "Capturing Authorial Action" move when she states that "Lloyd Bitzer argues that there are three parts to understanding the context of a rhetorical moment." In doing so, Carroll is able to use evidence from another author in order to provide the readers with examples from other published authors, rather than just herself. This is effective because showing that others have the same claims as she does makes her argument stronger.
In "As a Result" the author makes use of the "Adding Metacommentary" move by stating "What makes such writers so hard to read, in other words, is that they never gesture back to..." By using this move, the author is able to repeat their point in another way, thus making it clearer to the reader. This is effective because it provides another way for the readers to understand what the author is saying, in case they did not understand the first time.
In "How to Read Like a Writer" Mike Bunn uses the "Making What 'They Say' Something You Say" move when he says "I came to realize that all writing consists of a series of choices." He is able to use his own life experience to explain a fact that others believe to be true. This in an effective move because it allows the reader to see the importance behind Bunn's point and allows them to feel like they can relate to what he is saying.
In "Teaching Two Kinds of Thinking by Teaching Writing" Peter Elbow makes use of the "Introducing 'Standard Views'" move when he states that "because the history of our culture is often experienced as..." By providing this claim, he is able to help the audience understand why first-order thinking has been universally thought of as inferior to second-order thinking. This is effective because this explains why most of the readers have probably been told to avoid first-order thinking, which makes his point more personal to them.
In "Murder! (Rhetorically Speaking)" Janet Boyd uses the "Introducing Quotations" move when stating that "Ilya Imyanitov starts his report with: "My partner and I..." With this move, Boyd effectively makes it evident to the readers that she is about to quote from a report by Imyanitov. By doing so, the audience has a clear understanding of what was said by the author and what has been taken from other sources of writing.
In "Responding--Really Responding--to Other Students' Writing" Richard Straub makes use of "The Questionnaire" move. This consists of titling every section of the article as a question that the readers can ask of themselves when thinking about their own responses to others' writing. Straub does this in order to make the topic of each individual section clear to the reader and to make his points more relatable. I think this was very effective because he is able to answer his own questions within the section, thus ensuring that he stays on track and covers everything the readers may need to know.
In "Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis" Laura Bolin Carroll uses the "Basic Bullet" move. She makes use of this in order to write clear lists of questions or examples that are obviously separated from the rest of the article. This allows the reader to understand these concepts more clearly and to notice the importance of them since they were set apart from the rest. I think this choice was effective because it made it easier to read the article and to comprehend what she was saying based on these examples she provided.
In "So What? Who Cares?" the author makes use of the "Repeating Reminder" move. In this move, the author constantly reminds the reader of the two main questions they need to be thinking of throughout their own writing. Thus, the author repeats the "So what?" and "Who cares?" questions many times within the article, effectively making the reader aware of the importance of these two questions.
In "Murder! (Rhetorically Speaking)" Janet Boyd uses the "Student Support" move. Boyd adds specific examples of her own students' writing to support what she is discussing in her article. She is describing a project that she does with her classes and makes use of some of her students' responses as evidence for how the assignment is helpful in understanding different genres and their conventions. I think this is an effective move because it helps the reader understand better what her point is by bringing in examples that were written by people just like them.
In "Navigating Genres" Kerry Dirk makes use of the "Common Knowledge Case" move. By stating characteristics and examples that most people are already familiar with, the author is able to get her point across in an easier and more effective manner. The reader can better understand genres and their conventions when provided with current examples they know well, rather than being told about it through a more academic case that is not very relatable to the common person.
Monday, April 25, 2016
Thlog #4
This week we started looking at WP2 and talked about how people in different majors can think of and understand the same event or concept in different ways. For the journal on Wednesday, we had to write down some questions we could ask based on a scenario of walking down the beach and seeing a bonfire with a half-melted bottle next to it. I thought it was very interesting to see what kinds of questions people asked because I had not even thought of asking some of the ones that other people did. For example, student 13 asked "How hot does the fire have to be to melt the glass?" This is a very scientific-type question, so it does not surprise me that the majors people guessed for this person were chemistry, biology, biological anthropology, and bio-psychology.
We also looked at what elements go into writing a paper by thinking of it as a lab dissection. I found that categorizing what is necessary to have in a paper into higher-order and lower-order concerns makes it easier to ensure that you have taken care of all of these necessities because once the higher-order concerns have been dealt with, the lower-order ones should follow.
I enjoyed the activity we did with the murder scenario because it helped me to see how different people writing in different genres affect how the same information can be communicated. I thought it was interesting that even between similar genres, such as a two news reports, the style and the content of the pieces were very different. The local news report was a lot more personal and involved more details about the victim and his family, whereas the national news report looked at how this specific murder happened and how it affects people on a national level.
We also looked at what elements go into writing a paper by thinking of it as a lab dissection. I found that categorizing what is necessary to have in a paper into higher-order and lower-order concerns makes it easier to ensure that you have taken care of all of these necessities because once the higher-order concerns have been dealt with, the lower-order ones should follow.
I enjoyed the activity we did with the murder scenario because it helped me to see how different people writing in different genres affect how the same information can be communicated. I thought it was interesting that even between similar genres, such as a two news reports, the style and the content of the pieces were very different. The local news report was a lot more personal and involved more details about the victim and his family, whereas the national news report looked at how this specific murder happened and how it affects people on a national level.
Sunday, April 24, 2016
PB2A
I was interested in learning more about the possibility of time travel, since I have recently been watching movies and TV shows which involve this concept. When I searched for academic articles describing the concept of time travel, I came across an article titled "The Principal Paradox of Time Travel" and decided that this would be a good way to learn more about the idea of time travel and what would prevent it from being possible. The author of the article wrote it with the purpose of explaining to his audience of fellow scientists why he thinks that the previously accepted idea of the time travel paradox preventing time travel to the past from even being possible is actually untrue. He believes that time travel to the past is possible and that the paradox instead explains why the traveller is unable to change anything of importance in their lives, even if they do travel back in time. The article includes the typical convention of scholarly articles to begin with an abstract, explaining why the author chose to write the article and what they are going to discuss throughout it. This is followed by an introduction, which defines "time travel" and makes use of evidence from other famous scientists--like Stephen Hawking--to explain the author's ideas about whether or not time travel to the past is logically possible. The next few sections of the article discuss what the paradox of time travel is--"if
something could travel to an earlier time and prevent the very
departure by virtue of which it can stop its own departure to that
earlier time"--and how it poses a problem, as well as some potential ways to resolve the issue. The article concludes with a section explaining how this is relevant and important in the "global" context, thus answering the "So what? Who cares?" questions which we have learned are crucial to writing any good paper.
The author makes use of various diagrams to help his readers understand any scientific concepts he is discussing or facts he is presenting through logos that may be difficult for the audience to understand. The article also includes footnotes used to cite any sources that the author uses as evidence to help support his argument and provide him with credibility through ethos. A very important part of this article is the author's use of a scenario in order to explain the possibilities and constraints of time travel to the past and the paradox associated with it. The author uses the idea created by scientist David Lewis, "which is considered by many philosophers as providing the solution to the Principal Paradox." Lewis describes a time-traveller named Tim who goes back to the past in order to attempt to shoot and kill his own grandfather. The author makes use of this concept as a way to exemplify the reasons as to why one can go to the past but not have the ability to logically be able to change anything in the past that has to do with their own future. Thus, Tim could travel back in time and encounter his grandfather, but would be unable to kill him at any time before Tim's father was conceived. Tim would be able to seriously injure his grandfather and could potentially even manage to shoot him multiple times. Yet, every time, there would always be something preventing the shot from being fatal, thus clearly supporting the author's theory of time travel to the past and its paradox.
Riggs, Peter J. "The Principal Paradox Of Time Travel." Ratio 10.1 (1997): 48. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
The author makes use of various diagrams to help his readers understand any scientific concepts he is discussing or facts he is presenting through logos that may be difficult for the audience to understand. The article also includes footnotes used to cite any sources that the author uses as evidence to help support his argument and provide him with credibility through ethos. A very important part of this article is the author's use of a scenario in order to explain the possibilities and constraints of time travel to the past and the paradox associated with it. The author uses the idea created by scientist David Lewis, "which is considered by many philosophers as providing the solution to the Principal Paradox." Lewis describes a time-traveller named Tim who goes back to the past in order to attempt to shoot and kill his own grandfather. The author makes use of this concept as a way to exemplify the reasons as to why one can go to the past but not have the ability to logically be able to change anything in the past that has to do with their own future. Thus, Tim could travel back in time and encounter his grandfather, but would be unable to kill him at any time before Tim's father was conceived. Tim would be able to seriously injure his grandfather and could potentially even manage to shoot him multiple times. Yet, every time, there would always be something preventing the shot from being fatal, thus clearly supporting the author's theory of time travel to the past and its paradox.
Riggs, Peter J. "The Principal Paradox Of Time Travel." Ratio 10.1 (1997): 48. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Thlog #3
This week we did a peer/reader review in class so that we could get some constructive feedback on our WP1s before turning them in. The fact that it was called a peer/reader review was different than what most of us have gotten used to, but it makes sense. Zack was able to explain to us how important it is to give good feedback and to not just correct grammar and spelling mistakes. In high school I was never taught how to give constructive feedback, and I hardly received any from my classmates. Thus, I used to think of peer reviews as a waste of time, and I now understand why they were never useful for me. In order to give a good review it is important to ask questions of the author and provide reasoning for our critiques. It is also important to praise what they did well in addition to giving them constructive criticism on what they can improve. With this knowledge I hope to become better at giving feedback on other people's papers and hopefully I can get better feedback myself.
We also worked on coming up with solid arguments and writing good thesis statements for our papers. We learned about the "arguability test" and that in order for a thesis to be a good one, there needs to be an opposite perspective to the argument that can be proven wrong. You could write a really detailed sentence about the topic your paper is on, but if someone can't read it and come up with a counterargument for what you're saying then it's not really a thesis. For our journals on Wednesday we wrote down what we liked about our WP1s so far and what we struggled with. Quite a few of us had trouble with our arguments and thesis statements, as evidenced by student 19's response: "I found it difficult to form an argument and continue to stay on topic throughout my essay. I felt like there was a lot to talk about but hard to tie everything together in order to be in favor of my argument." After talking about them in class and discussing the difference between a thesis statement and a "working" thesis statement, I feel more comfortable with my argument and know that my thesis doesn't have to be set-in-stone until I'm done with my final draft.
We also worked on coming up with solid arguments and writing good thesis statements for our papers. We learned about the "arguability test" and that in order for a thesis to be a good one, there needs to be an opposite perspective to the argument that can be proven wrong. You could write a really detailed sentence about the topic your paper is on, but if someone can't read it and come up with a counterargument for what you're saying then it's not really a thesis. For our journals on Wednesday we wrote down what we liked about our WP1s so far and what we struggled with. Quite a few of us had trouble with our arguments and thesis statements, as evidenced by student 19's response: "I found it difficult to form an argument and continue to stay on topic throughout my essay. I felt like there was a lot to talk about but hard to tie everything together in order to be in favor of my argument." After talking about them in class and discussing the difference between a thesis statement and a "working" thesis statement, I feel more comfortable with my argument and know that my thesis doesn't have to be set-in-stone until I'm done with my final draft.
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Thlog #2
This week we worked a lot on preparing for our first Writing Project. Our journal on Monday was all about what we learned while writing our PB1A and how we went about doing it. I thought it was very interesting that student 18 wrote that they learned "it's much easier to write when you put a creative spin on things." This student said that they basically followed the pattern of using first order thinking to get things started, which made the process less dry and easier to get done, and then they moved on to second order thinking when they revised their work. Through most of my schooling I have been so worried about writing well and getting good grades that I never really thought about it being fun. However, I agree with student 18 in that I actually did enjoy writing this time, mainly because I chose a topic that I was interested in for my PB1A. It took me a while to decide which genre to write about, but as soon as I got started it became a lot easier than I was expecting it to be.
I had a bit of a harder time writing my PB1B because the genres we looked at were not ones that I was already too familiar with. It took a while for me to come up with some conventions for each genre generator, and I know I wasn't nearly as specific as I was in my PB1A. I was able to think of more conventions that had to do with the organization of these genres, rather than the content of them. I also found it difficult to write about the possible purposes of each convention in the grand scheme of the genre and what they provide for the audience. I'm usually not very good at analyzing things and coming up with potential reasons for certain choices, but I am hoping that through the rest of this class I can gain the skills needed to improve at it.
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
PB1B
A research paper produced by the generator begins with an abstract that describes what the goal of the experiment is. This section is then followed by a Table of Contents, which contains an extensive introduction explaining the reasoning behind the experiment and the step-by-step process for completing it. After the introduction, comes the related work section, which is divided into its own subgroups. This is then followed by architecture, implementation, results (also with its own specific subsections), a very short conclusion, and a long list of references cited in a similar style. Another convention is that different diagrams and graphs are often used in order to make the experiment more clear and to easily demonstrate the results of it to the reader.
Conventions of the comic strip generator include cartoon characters (usually no more than two) with short dialogue boxes combined to tell a story. The facial expressions of the characters are often clearly overdone in order to show the audience a specific reaction to something said or done by another character or to lead into what will happen in the next box of the strip. These and other physical actions done by the characters of the comic are often humorous and assist in the main purpose of the strip: to entertain the readers and to make them laugh.
Memes are usually sarcastic and are often used as a quick way to get a laugh. One convention of memes is the fact that they use a combination of pictures and text to get their point across. The picture is often of a famous person or a well-known movie or television show, and the words usually relate to the image on some level. The text of the meme is often written in large, white font in order to stand out from the picture and to be read easily by the audience. The image is usually of a person with a funny facial expression or someone doing something funny that can express how the readers may feel about or react to the what the meme is saying.
Another online genre generator I found is one that creates lyrics for different types of songs, and I looked specifically at the love songs it creates. For these songs, the generator asks you to fill in specific things about your relationship and the person you love. Some of the questions include what you love most about the other person, what your favorite feature about them is, how long you think your relationship will last, what your favorite time spent together was, a description of your past relationships, and what your idea of a perfect date is. With all of this information, the generator is able to fill in additional lines, which include other words that have to do with love and happiness, in an attempt to create a catchy love song.
These generator websites are all able to show easy examples of what fits into each specific genre. They can format the information properly or request details that are commonly found within the genre in order to create a "plug-and-chug" pattern for people to follow. This can help people begin to understand the conventions of these genres, so it would be beneficial for people to look at these websites when they are first learning about a genre in order to get a feel for what they would need to include in it. By creating different examples of pieces within the genre, these websites are able to show the patterns and general conventions of it and give people ideas for what they would need to include in their own writing of the genre.
Conventions of the comic strip generator include cartoon characters (usually no more than two) with short dialogue boxes combined to tell a story. The facial expressions of the characters are often clearly overdone in order to show the audience a specific reaction to something said or done by another character or to lead into what will happen in the next box of the strip. These and other physical actions done by the characters of the comic are often humorous and assist in the main purpose of the strip: to entertain the readers and to make them laugh.
Memes are usually sarcastic and are often used as a quick way to get a laugh. One convention of memes is the fact that they use a combination of pictures and text to get their point across. The picture is often of a famous person or a well-known movie or television show, and the words usually relate to the image on some level. The text of the meme is often written in large, white font in order to stand out from the picture and to be read easily by the audience. The image is usually of a person with a funny facial expression or someone doing something funny that can express how the readers may feel about or react to the what the meme is saying.
Another online genre generator I found is one that creates lyrics for different types of songs, and I looked specifically at the love songs it creates. For these songs, the generator asks you to fill in specific things about your relationship and the person you love. Some of the questions include what you love most about the other person, what your favorite feature about them is, how long you think your relationship will last, what your favorite time spent together was, a description of your past relationships, and what your idea of a perfect date is. With all of this information, the generator is able to fill in additional lines, which include other words that have to do with love and happiness, in an attempt to create a catchy love song.
These generator websites are all able to show easy examples of what fits into each specific genre. They can format the information properly or request details that are commonly found within the genre in order to create a "plug-and-chug" pattern for people to follow. This can help people begin to understand the conventions of these genres, so it would be beneficial for people to look at these websites when they are first learning about a genre in order to get a feel for what they would need to include in it. By creating different examples of pieces within the genre, these websites are able to show the patterns and general conventions of it and give people ideas for what they would need to include in their own writing of the genre.
Saturday, April 2, 2016
PB1A
A textual genre we have not discussed in class is that of an Elizabethan-era comedy play, written by such famous playwrights as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. These plays were often written for entertainment purposes, especially for the common people. Even though the commoners were usually the main audience in the theaters at this time, these comedy plays were meant to entertain people of all sorts. Queen Elizabeth herself was a fan of these plays, and frequently invited theater companies to perform them for her. The tone of a comedy play is light-hearted and fun, as the purpose of such a play was to amuse the audiences enjoying it. At this time, crimes in England were often met with cruel and violent punishments, which were frequently witnessed by hundreds of people. Thus, going to see a play at the theater became a way for the people to escape their troubles and become immersed in a world other than their own. The written style of these plays was very distinct. They were usually written in a mixture of verse and prose in order to denote the social standing of each of the characters. Common characters spoke in prose, while nobles would use a particular form of poetic meter known as iambic pentameter.
One of the common conventions of Elizabethan-era comedy plays is the idea of mistaken identities, which is sometimes intentionally used by the villain as a part of their evil plot. For example, in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, Don Jon is able to trick Claudio into believing that the woman he loves has been unfaithful through the use of mistaken identity. Another commonly used form of mistaken identity is that of female characters disguising themselves as male characters. This can be seen in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, where Viola pretends to be a young man named Cesario in order to become a part of the Duke Orsino's court. A second common element of comedy plays is the appearance of an extremely silly character. This type of character usually makes the rest of the events in the play seem normal in comparison, even though they are nowhere near ordinary. In A Midsummer Night's Dream this character takes the form of Nick Bottom, an actor who gets turned into a donkey halfway through the play.
Another convention of these plays is that the comedy of them is often conveyed through the clever word play, metaphors, and insults written into the dialogue by the playwright. This can be seen in the interactions between characters such as Katherine and Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew and Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. Throughout each of these plays, the conversations between these characters turns into a sort of sparring match to see who can better insult the other. An additional component of these comedy plays is often a plot that seems very complex and convoluted, but always ends the same. The climax tends to occur in the third act of the play and the final scene usually has a celebratory feel and shows the lovers finally declaring their love for each other. This is exemplified in A Midsummer Night's Dream, in which four young Athenians accidentally fall in love with the wrong people due to a mishap with a magical flower. Due to the twists and turns that happen when the lovers are in the woods, a hilarious adventure ensues, and the play eventually ends with everything being corrected and each character being in love with whoever they are supposed to end up with.
One of the common conventions of Elizabethan-era comedy plays is the idea of mistaken identities, which is sometimes intentionally used by the villain as a part of their evil plot. For example, in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, Don Jon is able to trick Claudio into believing that the woman he loves has been unfaithful through the use of mistaken identity. Another commonly used form of mistaken identity is that of female characters disguising themselves as male characters. This can be seen in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, where Viola pretends to be a young man named Cesario in order to become a part of the Duke Orsino's court. A second common element of comedy plays is the appearance of an extremely silly character. This type of character usually makes the rest of the events in the play seem normal in comparison, even though they are nowhere near ordinary. In A Midsummer Night's Dream this character takes the form of Nick Bottom, an actor who gets turned into a donkey halfway through the play.
Another convention of these plays is that the comedy of them is often conveyed through the clever word play, metaphors, and insults written into the dialogue by the playwright. This can be seen in the interactions between characters such as Katherine and Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew and Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. Throughout each of these plays, the conversations between these characters turns into a sort of sparring match to see who can better insult the other. An additional component of these comedy plays is often a plot that seems very complex and convoluted, but always ends the same. The climax tends to occur in the third act of the play and the final scene usually has a celebratory feel and shows the lovers finally declaring their love for each other. This is exemplified in A Midsummer Night's Dream, in which four young Athenians accidentally fall in love with the wrong people due to a mishap with a magical flower. Due to the twists and turns that happen when the lovers are in the woods, a hilarious adventure ensues, and the play eventually ends with everything being corrected and each character being in love with whoever they are supposed to end up with.
Friday, April 1, 2016
Thlog #1
This week in class we talked a lot about different genres and some of their typical conventions. I thought it was very interesting how when we talked about country music as a genre we realized that quite a few of the conventions we originally suggested could be broadened to be applied to even more country songs. When we started thinking in terms of more broad characteristics, such as going from banjos and lap steel guitars to string instruments in general, our ideas began to connect with more songs. For the journal responses this week we wrote about which genres we are familiar with, and one of the students wrote that the genres they are familiar with are novels, short stories, poems, research papers, and argumentative essays. A few of the other journal entries also suggested similar categories, and I think many of us in the class did not realize that these "genres" we know are very broad. After the explanation that Zack gave about the Russian nesting dolls, I know that in order to accurately understand and identify the conventions and characteristics of a genre we have to be as specific as we can be. We learned that certain genres can fit within even larger categories in a sort of hierarchy and discussed the example of academic writing being a broad category that research papers can fit into, which chemistry lab reports are then a part of, and that chemistry lab reports about certain topics (such as thermodynamics) is an even more specific genre within the rest. Another topic we talked about this week was the difference between first order and second order thinking. We discussed how first order is much more creative and unfiltered, whereas second order is more structured and controlled. First order thinking is a good way to get your thoughts onto the paper without feeling pressure, and we learned it is a good idea to use this method to brainstorm when starting a more formal paper. This basically goes against what a lot of us have been taught to use in school for most of our lives. We are usually told to use second order thinking so that we can be rationalize and outline a structured paper rather than just using it to review and revise our papers later. I think it will be an interesting change to practice using this method in my future papers.
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
About Me
My name is Catharine Cea. I'm nineteen years old and a first-year student at UC Santa Barbara. I'm an extremely indecisive person, so my major is currently undeclared. I'm an only child from La Cañada (a small town in southern California near Los Angeles). My family is from Brazil and El Salvador, so in addition to English, I grew up speaking both Portuguese and Spanish. My family is really close and we frequently get together to have family dinners at my grandmother's house. I played soccer for about ten years and still really enjoy watching the sport (my favorite team being the Los Angeles Galaxy). I was also on my high school's track and field team for four years, and the events I ran were the hurdles and the relays.
I'm a huge Disney fan. I love watching the movies and listening to the music, and I even have an annual pass to Disneyland. I also love comic books, and my favorite superheroes are Captain America, Hawkeye, and the Flash. I can't wait to see the movie Captain America: Civil War (go team Cap!). My favorite tv shows include The Flash, Supergirl, Agents of SHIELD, Agent Carter, and Scorpion. My bucket list consists of only one item: go to ComicCon. I love old music. The Beatles are my favorite band, and I think the best era of music as a whole was the '80s. I also think '80s movies are awesome (John Hughes was a genius) and basically just wish I could travel back in time and live in the '80s.
I'm a huge Disney fan. I love watching the movies and listening to the music, and I even have an annual pass to Disneyland. I also love comic books, and my favorite superheroes are Captain America, Hawkeye, and the Flash. I can't wait to see the movie Captain America: Civil War (go team Cap!). My favorite tv shows include The Flash, Supergirl, Agents of SHIELD, Agent Carter, and Scorpion. My bucket list consists of only one item: go to ComicCon. I love old music. The Beatles are my favorite band, and I think the best era of music as a whole was the '80s. I also think '80s movies are awesome (John Hughes was a genius) and basically just wish I could travel back in time and live in the '80s.
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