Reflection on Open Letter Draft

This blog post includes links to the drafts of open letters that I reviewed, as well as a reflection based on the feedback I received from my peers.

Oh, Mathias. "Arizona Swim and Dive Happy Holidays." 12/10/15

For peer review I looked at Grace and Stef's open letters.

1. I definitely demonstrated that I can analyze myself as a writer, and I believe that my assessment of myself throughout the drafting process was accurate.

2. I included specific answers to concepts I have learned, and addressed what parts of my writing have strengthened throughout my time in English.

3. I included direct quotes as well as hyperlinks to blog posts from my own work.

4. I did not explain certain choices that I made, but I don't feel I discussed any choices of my writing process or style.

5. I got specific with certain aspects of writing that I learned about and considered more fully throughout the class.

Draft of Open Letter

This blog post contains a link to my draft of my open letter, as well as some information for peer editors.

Oh, Mathias. "Bear Down!" 11/28/15 via Photos

I'm still working on this. I would love some feedback on what I have currently, just keep in mind I plan on adding more down the road. For now, I'd love to know what you thin of my writing, and how it fits the "open letter" genre, based on your personal opinion/knowledge.

Reflecting More on My Writing Experience

This blog post contains further reflection on my experience and process throughout English 109h.

Oh, Mathias. "Cutest Dog Ever pt. 2." 11/28/15 via Photos

1. Initially the biggest challenge I had was making sure I satisfied requirements, especially small things. Getting the process of blogging down was initially a struggle, but this became second nature as the semester kept going.

2. Most of the time management I learned was just good habits. Getting into a routine that balanced school and athletics was key, and I feel I did that. Writing wise, I learned a lot about drafting and revision, as well as process work towards larger projects that helped me tackle large assignments piece by piece.

3. Genre is the style/format that shapes a project. Learning about genre, and how to most effectively use genres, has been one of the most important ideas in this class. First, using your genre to reach your intended audience is very important, and second, making sure your work follows the conventions of a genre precisely will help make your writing and communication more effective.

4. One of the most important skills I learned that I will definitely use in future is how to carefully consider an audience, and how to plan to effectively communicate with them.

5. I think (for the most part) class time was extremely effective for me personally, and I feel I learned a lot in the classroom.

6. I think the least effective portion was some of the blogging, for example the punctuation revision, which seemed a little bit like busy work.

Revisiting My Writing Process

This blog post contains a personal reflection on my original blog posts which discussed time management and my writing style.

"Corgi" 11/27/15 via Daily Mail

I think clearly the biggest thing that has changed in my writing style is my process. Much of this has to do with the individual deadlines, and all the blog posts and process work we were required to do for each project. Unlike before, where I would only work on drafts and finals, I had to do outlining, and extensive background work, that led up to drafts and projects. Some of it felt like busy work, but a majority of it translated into my final products, making them generally more solid. Also, this process work helped me seriously consider aspects of writing I didn't spend as much time thinking about, such as audience and genre, making my writing not necessarily better, but more effective.

At the end of the day, nothing has changed about my time management. Although I do procrastinate, and tend to push things towards the end of their due dates, I only had one or two late assignment, and did everything for the class, as well as all my other classes. I don't think my work suffered in terms of quality because it was rushed sometimes. Moving forwards, I can see myself procrastinating less later in college, especially in grad school, as I have more time to work with when I am no longer swimming, and still not working full time. As far as I can tell from this class, I will be fine with any workload in any future class. The work skills I learned translate to my future more than the actual writing, as I don't see myself doing a ton of writing down the road. However the

Reflection on Project 3

This blog post contains a personal reflection on my third project, according to questions in Writing Public Lives.

Oh, Mathias "Cutest Dog Ever?" 12/11/12 via Photos

1. My primary revisions had to do with adding more content, as well as working in some visuals, which was much harder than I had anticipated.

2. Nothing about my thesis or organization changed. I had an outline already set out, and simply followed this pre-decided order and organization.

3. Not a lot of my changes had to do with reconsidering anything important like audience or purpose, but some of the small tweaks I made simply aimed at strengthening my argument.

4. I think the changes more had to do with clarifying my ideas to the audience than adding personal credibility.

5. The changes that I made just made it easier to track my train of thought and follow the logic behind my ideas.

6. For the most part my sentence structure and style remained similar after revision, the main changes just had to do with organization or adding where I felt was lacking.

7. Because my sentence structure changes were so limited, I don't feel they assisted in helping my audience understand my purpose any more fully.

8. Yes, I reconsidered the conventions of my genre throughout. Initially I expected to have a more visually based argument, but the conventions of the genre involved more logically organized text based arguments.

9. Ultimately, reflecting on my writing and revision process helps me to realize the shaping of my style throughout this class, and how it differs over time, and from genre to genre.

Publishing Public Argument

This blog post contains a link to my third project, as well as a great deal of information regarding my goals for this argument.

Glogner, Christopher "Finally Done." 11/22/15 via Medizinische Universitat Wien

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

←-----------------------x----------------------------|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:

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

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly

agree                                                                                                                          disagree

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

         ___x____ My public argument 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.

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

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

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

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

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.)

                    ___x__ 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

                    _____ 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

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

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

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

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

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

                    __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

                    _____ 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.

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

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

                    ___x__ 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: 

6. Below, provide us with working hyperlinks to THREE good examples of the genre you've chosen to write in. These examples can come from Blog Post 11.3 or they can be new examples. But they should all come from the same specific website/platform and should demonstrate the conventions for your piece:

Example 1:
Example 2:
Example 3:

Reflection on Project 3 Draft

This blog post includes two links to the peer reviews that I did, and then a reflection based on feedback I received in the peer review process.

Schoenly, Lorry. "Peer Review." 11/14/15 via Wordpress

1. Grace reviewed my draft.

2. The feedback I received was very straightforwards and clear. I understood everything that was included. I thought it was accurate, and I would've given myself similar scores.

3. For the most part my argument needs the most work. Most of my work so far has to do with genre and context, which is aimed towards setting up the audience. However, I still need to add a ton of content related to argument.

4. I feel like I have solid direction moving forwards, and have a good idea of what needs to be added to strengthen my project.