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.

Draft of Public Argument

This blog post contains a link to my project draft. This is very much a work in process, and I will be spending a lot more time in the coming week working through this project. I have a very clear idea of where I am going moving forwards, just actually putting the project together is time consuming. For this reason I'd appreciate feedback that has nothing to do with what is missing, as I most likely know, but instead I'd love some feedback on whether or not the argument is effective.

"Work in Progress." 11/08/15 via longleafalliance

Considering Visual Elements

This blog post discusses the visual aspect of project 3 according to questions posed by Writing Public Lives.

Bergsrom, Bo. "Papercut Graphic Design." 08/11/15 via Wordpress

1. Does the image inform or emphasize my argument in an important way, or does it seem superficial or unrelated to my argument?
This question is important for me to ask myself before I chose images for my project. They need to correlate well with my argument to be effective and memorable, so the answer to this question should be yes, it does inform and emphasize my argument.

2. Is the image in close proximity to the argument it is emphasizing or illustrating?
I need to ensure that my images are all on the same slide as the argument that connects to them. If not they are pretty out of context and hard to understand. For all my images the answer to this question should be yes.

3. Is the feeling or tone that the image invokes appropriate to the visual-rhetorical tone of my argument?
This is especially important for me to consider with images that are not graphs. Most of my data goes hand in hand with a logos approach, but anything that is meant to come from a pathos approach has to do with imagery. For this reason I need to ensure the answer to this question is yes, the image is appropriate to the corresponding rhetorical tone.

4. Scan your public argument or your outline. Do your eyes move easily from section to section in the order that you intended?
This question is important to consider because of the key role organization plays to my argument. I have to continually consider what the logical order and flow of information is, and make sure that the layout of my slides visually directs the audience in my intended direction.

5. Do the visual images help you move from point to point in the argument clearly?
Again, as my argument is multiple pieces, using images to move from point to point clearly will help my project be that much more effective. Answering this question yes throughout will be key.

6. Do the different visual and textual elements come together persuasively as a whole, or are there elements that seem disconnected or out of place?
Ensuring that the visual elements of my project are directly tied in to textual explanation and argument is key to the success or failure of the argument. Keeping this in mind is key throughout.



After reading Chad and Grace's posts, I realized that everyone in the class is doing very unique projects, which will be very cool to see when the end result is finalized. Ultimately, with such diversity in projects, the most important thing for every individual, including myself, is realizing how our topic and genre work together to be the most effective. Utilizing visuals as effectively as possible starts with understanding how our genre can best fit our argument and topic, which I learned from reading peers discussions of visual elements.

Project 3 Outline

This blog post discusses the outline of my project, and discusses why these ideas are fitting to my goals according to questions in Writing Public Lives.

"Outline." 11/08/15 via Outline Productions

Introduction:

1. The opening 2 or 3 slides will be context.

    a. These will include a basic overview of the general controversy, and the two main issues.

    b. They will then discuss the parties involved in the controversy.

    c. Finally, they will discuss what sides believe what about the two main issues.

What best fits my argument for the introduction is the Define or Narrow the Controversy category. This is because I need to clarify the issues at hand and the points of view on these issues. My introduction will start with broad context, and narrow in and focus on what my argument centralizes on.

Body:

1. Discuss issue one regarding Froome and doping accusations

    a. Re-state the issue

    b. State both sides, for Froome and against Froome

    c. Argue for Froome and provide data, visuals, and logic to back up my argument

    d. Provide the counterarguments against Froome, and refute these using logic and visual support

2. Discuss issue two regarding Froome and Sky and freedom of information/data

   a. Re-state the issue

   b. State both sides, Froome was in the right in his reaction to the data, and Froome was in the wrong

   c. Argue for Froome was in the wrong using logic and pathos to back up my argument

   d. Provide counterarguments against Froome being wrong and refute them using logic

Supporting arguments:
Not enough data to prove anything.
Innocent until proven guilty.
Accusations of cheating are very severe and must be substantial to be taken seriously.
Data suggests unordinary but not impossible.
Nothing is definitive.
If Froome has nothing to hide why react in such a way.
Do you really have the power or right to act in such a way over data?

Major Criticisms:
Froome is performing at a level that is inhuman, he has been under question before, and his data suggests something suspicious.
The data rightfully belonged to Sky and was illegally obtained.

Major Support and Rebuttal Points:
As there is not a ton of support or criticism I think it is easily possible that my project addresses all the points listed above.

Topic Sentences:
Ultimately, despite accusations and suspect data, there is not clear data that 100% proves the guilt of Froome.

As the rule of thumb in legal situations, so it must be said about Froome that he is innocent until proven guilty.

Accusations of cheating against Froome are very severe and must be substantial to be taken seriously and acted upon.

The data that is quoted as proving Froome's guilt suggests unordinary human performance, but nothing strictly impossible.

At the end of the day everything that has been brought up against Froome is speculation, any solid data proves nothing, and people are grasping at lose ends to try and say something definitive.

Just because Froome is performing at a level that is questionably human, he has been under question before, and his data suggests something suspicious, does not, by any means, prove something as serious as doping.

The data that Sky owned was quite possibly illegally obtained, but this does not justify or lessen suspicion regarding their reaction to its release.

Evidence:
Evidence and support for these arguments comes from many many many places, all of which are included in my annotated bibliographies.

Oh, Mathias "Screenshot of Cluster." 11/08/15 via Coggle

Conclusion:
My conclusion will mostly be a recap of the sides I am supporting, and a brief overview of my argument. It will then look at the bigger picture of the issue.

The most applicable to my conclusion is the Future of the Debate approach, and I will most likely speculate as to where the Froome controversy will go moving forwards, as well as when the cycling events are that it might resurface as an important issue.

Analyzing My Genre

This blog post includes 5 links to examples of my genre, and then answers questions related to my genre from Writing Public Lives.

"Genre." 11/05/15 via CatAids.wordpress

Example 1:
Example 2:
Example 3:
Example 4: (This is not exactly an example of the genre, but an example of where my project would be published).
Example 5:  (This example of the genre is slightly more contextual based and less argumentative).

Social Context:
1. The genre is typically set in some sort of sports or cycling specific website, such as a cycling journal or a cycling news site.
2. The subject of the genre is cycling, and specifically what is going on in competitive cycling and what arguments are being made about this occurrence.
3. Cycling fans use the genre to keep up with competitive cycling news and to explore different arguments.
4. The genre is used mostly when there are big cycling events, or some big controversy happens in the cycling world. Its main purpose it to be visually organized which communicates an argument clearly and powerfully.

Rhetorical Patterns of the Genre:
1. Typically there is an initial slide or two of context, highlighting the important pieces of the context that need to be understood for the argument to make sense.
2. For the most part the visual style of the genre highlights and leads to an emphasis in logos and pathos. The patterns in these approaches all center around use of imagery to strengthen the argument.
3. The only similar organization has to do with context. There is typically introductory context, and then the genre launches into the argument in whatever order the author finds most effective.
4. The sentences in the genre can tend to be longer, and are thus more complex. However, there are not that many trends in terms of sentence structure that are common across the board.
5. Word choice can also vary, but for the majority of content is more academic and informative. However, depending on the situation it can become more informal.

Analyzing what these patterns reveal about social context:
1. The genre includes those who have the technology to access it, but excludes those who do not. It is also very specific to cycling and sports fans, and excludes those who aren't interested.
2. The genre doesn't encourage specific roles for readers or writers. (Maybe I am misunderstanding this question.)
3. The genre values that are encouraged for users of the genre are whatever the topic's values are.
4. Visual content and organized content are the most valued by the genre. Nothing specific is considered least valuable.



After reading Stef and Bailey's posts, I am not sure if I misunderstood this assignment entirely, or if the questions were more straightforwards and required simpler answers for my specific genre. Also, I realized that for most people their genre and place of publication were the same, and mine are slightly different, so I am not sure if this played into it, or if I need to be considering the place of publication as my genre.