Reflection on Project 3

In this blog post I will be answering questions from Writing Public Lives in order to reflect on project 3.

Daniel, Brandon. "Baby Elephant Running". 6/19/09 via Flickr. CC Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

1. From the first draft to my final draft, I addressed the "how" and "so what" questions much more in depth  based on the feedback I got from Stef in her peer review of my draft.

2. I didn't really have to reconsider either my thesis nor the order my paragraphs and ideas went.

3. I did reconsider my audience and their background knowledge a bit when revising my rough draft and felt that adding more statistics would help them to better understand the greater issue at hand than just hydraulic fracking.

4. I think the changes I made made me more credible because it forced me to add more evidence to back up my argument.

5. The changes will help them understand the world energy issue I was mainly discussing.

6. I split a lot of sentences up to better convey the point I was trying to make.

7. To me, I feel like short sentences are straight and to the point so the readers don't get lost in the words or phrasing, so that helps make my points more efficiently.

8. I reconsidered some conventions of a letter and had to remind myself to keep things casual and don't act like I'm writing a paper because an essay and a letter are two very different things.

9. Reflecting on what I did to get to my final draft for project 3 forced me to go over what I was thinking when making the changes I had to make. It helped me understand how I process and fix things for writing assignments.

Publishing Public Argument

In this blog post, I will be publishing my public argument for project 3 as well as filling out the following information regarding it.

Suzor, Nicolas. "Kittens". 5/22/08 via Flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

Here is the link to my final draft.

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

←------------------------------------x----------------|--------------------------------------------------------->

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly

agree                                                                                                                          disagree

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

←--------x--------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------->

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly

agree                                                                                                                          disagree

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

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

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

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

         ____x___ My public argument proposes a solution for a problem that is being debated.

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

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

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

The debate on hydrofracking never brought up the fact that this wouldn't be an issue if people were more environmentally conscious and conservative of the energy and water they used. My argument is original because it gets down to the root of the problem which is in fact us.

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

Ethical or credibility-establishing appeals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                    __x___ Openly acknowledging counterarguments and refuting them intelligently

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

                    _____ Other: 

Emotional appeals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                    _____ Other: 

Logical or rational appeals

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

                    __x___ Using statistics from credible sources in order to establish precedents, trends, or patterns

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

                    _____ Using expert opinions that help affirm your stance or position

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

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

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

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

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

                    _____ Other: 

Reflection on Project 3 Draft

In this blog post, I will be discussing not only my own draft but the drafts that I peer reviewed as well.

I peer reviewed Stef's and Joy's drafts. The links will take you to the peer review worksheet I had completed for each of them.

"Examination Homework Correction Red Pencil Marks". 2013 via Pixabay. Creative Commons Public Domain License.

1. Stef reviewed my rough draft for project 3.

2. She gave me pretty good advice as to when I should expand on some ideas I had towards the end of my letter. Also, she answered the question I was looking for which was regarding the length of my letter and her feedback about that was helpful. Other common things like confusing sentences were also recognized that I wouldn't have notice on my own.

3. I think argumentation will need the most work for me because I didn't expand on all the ideas I had and they all just kind of ended up mentioned but nothing more than that.

4. I feel a lot better after Stef peer reviewed my draft, it's always nice getting feedback on something I wasn't too sure about. I know what I need to do to improve and that was the whole point.

Draft of Public Argument

Here is the link for my ROUGH draft for project 3.

I'd like some feedback on the length and amount of content and whether you guys think I need to say more or provide more evidence which supports my argument. Thanks!

"Cute Animal". 8/28/12 via Deviant Art. CC Attribution 3.0 License.

Considering Visual Types

In this post, I will be exploring the visual effects I might be using in project 3 by answering 6 questions from Writing Public Lives.

"Rainbow Eyes". 7/13/08 via Deviant Art. CC Attribution 3.0 License.

The background for my project could very well just be plain white because it is a letter.
 I feel like I'm pretty limited with my visual choices because of the genre I'm writing in.

I think I might include pictures of graphs or other relevant items in my letter anyways even though they usually aren't included in them.

Blocks of text will split up the images included.

The images will be in very close proximity to the argument because some might even serve as solid evidence if they are graphs.

I hadn't really thought about image sequencing, but I just plan on putting them right before or after I've discussed the relevance of it.

The theme produced by the images could be relevant to the theme as a whole depending on what images I decide to use. If there are graphs, that wouldn't really fit with the rhetorical element I chose to focus on which is pathos, but it would be very relevant information and important for my audience to know.

Project 3 Outline

In this blog post, I will be creating an outline for project 3 using the book as guidelines.

Introduction
I will be connecting the issue at hand to my audience's world view. I'm going to be arguing that hydraulic fracturing would not be such an issue if fossil fuels-like the natural gas that they're drilling for-weren't in as high of demand. They wouldn't be in this high of a demand if every single person in the world only used the amount of energy/power they needed. I will continue on to encourage my audience to advocate saving energy and 'going green' thoughtfully and carefully because once we run out of fossil fuels, they can't come back or be renewed.

"Light Bulb, Idea, Concepts". via Pixabay. Public Domain License.

Body

Major Supporting Arguments

• reasons for hydrofracking 
• demand for renewable vs. nonrenewable energy sources 
• applications of nonrenewable energy sources
• statistics on how much energy is wasted/not used efficiently

Major Criticisms

• How will these companies stay afloat and make money without this?
• people should use alternate energy sources for day to day things
• people who don't care about the environment

Key Support Points

• Energy use graphs and statistics (increasing more than it should be) 
• Enormous dependence on fossil fuels (a nonrenewable energy source that also causes tons of air and water pollution) in the United States
• Low energy efficiency
• Basic facts and main 2 sides of hydrofracking issue

Rebuttal Points

• Solar and wind energy as alternative for those who are against the use of fossil fuels by hydrofracking
• Many could say that what sort of energy you use is a personal choice and based on what you personally believe. In other words, the type of energy you use only effects you but I need to prove why this is not true, so I'll talk about how every household contributes to the energy crisis we are having today. We are kind of all in it together; if we are still so dependent on fossil fuels and they run out in time, they'll run out for all of us.
• Many could say that we don't need to worry about this issue now because fossil fuels won't run out in the next 20 years. I need to bring up our future generations and how our actions right now affect the entire world and the future of it.

Topic Sentences for Key Support Points

• Our perception of how much energy we are using is quite different from how much we are actually using, and beyond that the efficiency of the energy we do use is only at about 60%. This means that 40% of a large amount of energy in every single household is being wasted.
• Nonrenewable energy sources, like the fossil fuels that are dug up through hydraulic fracturing, are being used for virtually every main component of our lives: transportation, businesses, heating and cooling systems, and more.
• Hydraulic fracturing puts the lives of people living in the areas it is happening in danger for natural gas and has become more popular because the demand for it is so high. 

Topic Sentences for Rebuttal Points

• Although many people believe that solar and wind energy are reasonable alternatives for fossil fuels, the processes in how to capture a significant amount of this kind of energy have not been perfected yet, so in the meantime we need to do something about the problem at hand now.
• I'm sure a lot of people think that one person or family won't make much difference if they change how they use energy, but they are wrong.
• The energy crisis needs to be confronted and resolved for the sake of the future, and sometimes it's hard for us to think longterm but if we go at the rate we are at right now, our grandchildren will definitely not have as bright a world as we do now.

Evidence was included in the form of hyperlinks in the key support and rebuttal points sections.

Conclusion

For my conclusion, I will be calling my audience to take action and change how they use energy in their residence and businesses. The whole purpose of this was to get people to do something about the crisis at hand and then stop the high demand for fossil fuels through hydraulic fracturing.

Follow this link to view my cluster map.

Reflection
I read Hunter's and Olivia's outlines and they were helpful because they were both really strong outlines so I could compare it to see how strong mine was afterwards. I liked how we had to make cluster maps because it provided a better visual and was easier to read.

Analyzing My Genre

In this blog post, I will be answering questions specific to the genre (a letter format) I will be writing in for project 3.

Forsyth, Ellen. "Fiction/genre Sign". 6/4/11 via Flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

Examples of my Genre:

Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Example 4
Example 5
Example 6


Social Context

• This genre is typically set in magazines and journals.
• The subject of the genre is specific to the individual letters, but a clear format is usually followed. 
• Individuals and organized groups of people typically use this genre.
• This genre is used as a form of communication like talking on the phone and also to address a group of people or subject of issue.

Rhetorical Patterns of the Genre

• The type of content included is specific to the purpose of the letter. Usually opinions and personal thoughts are included across the board.
• Pathos would be the rhetorical appeal most commonly used because it is personal.
• Letters start with "Dear..." and then are divided into separate paragraphs like an essay. They are signed at the bottom. 
• Sentence pattern is specific to who is writing the letter and what they are writing about.
• Conversational, casual word choice is commonly used in letters, so slang could easily be included. However, it could get more formal depending on the purpose of the letter.

Rhetorical Pattern Analysis

• The genre includes whoever the letter is addressed to.
• It encourages personal expression and opinions for other writers.
• Values of this genre could be to respect others' beliefs but still forming responses to them.
• Forming responses to others' opinions is the most valuable while respecting them is the least valuable.

Reflection

I read Bailey's and Hunter's blog posts analyzing their genres. They are both doing different genres than me so it was interesting reading about them. Both have a clear idea of the conventions of their genres and look to be in good shape for project 3 right now.