Document Aesthetics

Appearance is very important in almost everything we do. Advertisements and commercials are designed to catch viewers attention and draw them in. Attractive people are used as models because people would rather look at an attractive person trying to sell them something. This also applies with documents.

I never realized how much though goes into designing a web page or document until I read our assigned reading by Rundle. Nor did I realize how intricate and detail-oriented the thought process going into design was. But after reading Rundle's blog post, it does make sense that people would put so much effort into making their pages aesthetically pleasing.

I believe it is incredibly important for documents to be attractive. No one will want to read an ugly, disorganized document. Or the reader may become confused or lose interest. Good, organized documents can hold a readers interest and make them want to read it.

The Rhetoric of sXe

For my student-selected reading, I chose to read several academic journals over the straight-edge punk movement. The styles of writing and rhetoric differ from article to article, however the ideas stay the same. These journals, however biased, did not try to persuade their audience as much as inform the readers. I did not find myself more inclined to "claim edge" after reading these articles, however I did feel more knowledgeable about and had more respect for the subject.

Straightedge is a concept that began in the punk scene in the 1980's that revolves around abstaining from three main things: alcohol, drugs, and casual sex. The idea behind abstaining from these substances is to go against the rock n roll dream of sex and drugs. Straightedge has also widened its views to go so far as to support veganism, animal rights, and anti-racism and anti-homophobic views.

Since the straightedge concept is to be open and accepting, and not to condemn others for not adopting an sXe lifestyle, these articles also do not set out to convert outsiders to claim edge. Also, these articles are not written by edge claimers, just people who are interested in the culture and have conducted extensive research and interviews to learn more about the community.

The Political Game

Politicians will be politicians. Their main goal during campaigns is to win over the public and therefore get more votes. And they will stop at nearly nothing to accomplish this. This is the main cause of any misinformation given out during presidential campaigns.

Campaign ads have gotten to the point where they will boast twisted, or even completely untrue, "facts" or statistics about their opponent. Each candidate will claim that the other is spewing lies and misleading their audiences, when both do this. This has been going on since the beginning of politics, with Thomas Jefferson and John Adams attempting to get their people to believe each of their lies.

There has been an increase in fact checking during the last presidential campaign, which is a step in the right direction. However, these fact checkers cannot catch every piece of misinformation and the candidates can usually find a way to get their point across anyway.

In the end, people will believe whatever they want to believe. I'm not exactly sure if there is a solution to getting rid of the misinformation that is out in the media during campaigns. People who are loyal to their party will find ways to forgive their party's fibs.

Tech Savvy?

Technology is an incredibly important part of our everyday lives. With recent advancements such as the smartphone, tablets, and other portable, on-the-go devices, some people can get a little carried away with how hooked up they are. I know several people who cannot get their eyes off of their screen, whether they're tweeting, texting, or updating a status. We need to realize that we are in control, not our social networking profiles.
While I do not believe that technology will one day take over our lives, although it may seem that it already has, it is important to stay up to date. Smartphones are definitely replacing multiple household electronics, such as alarm clocks, calculators, cameras, etc., but I believe it's for the best. Why wouldn't you want all of your electronics to be in one device? It makes life much easier.

Essay 3

Our next assignment in this EN100 class is to prepare our third essay, an informative research paper. For this essay, we are to find a research a topic of our choice and then simply write and inform our audience. We are not supposed to pick a side or make any kind of argument. Is is stressed in the description of the assignment that we are to synthesize what we learn and turn that into a report. This means we will not necessarily have to reproduce every bit of information we learn, we should learn about our topic and then combine the bits and pieces of information we have learned into our paper.

To begin, we should summarize our topic and the information we have learned, followed by a thesis. Then we continue with the normal supporting points that stem from our thesis. The paper is to be written in MLA format and should end with a normal, yet strong, conclusion.

It is also stressed that we should find a topic that we find completely engaging, since we are to use this topic for our next and fourth essay as well. Suggested topics include any hobbies we may have, topics about our intended major or careers, and any personal interests we may have. We should be able to narrow our topic down specifically, instead of a broad topic such as "education" or "college".

Creating Conciseness

The fact of the matter is that in this blog post I will be showing what is and is not a good sentence and how it is possible to make them better and more clear.
While this may not seem like a terrible sentence, I can tell that it needs some trimming down (especially since I wrote it). By using the Paramedic Method, I can make this sentence get straight to the point. I will start by being aware of my prepositions and forms of the verb "to be". Next I will figure out where the action takes place in this sentence. I will then change the action to be more simple, get rid of any slow wind ups, and get rid of any redundancies. After doing this, my new sentence looks like this:

In this blog post I show how to make sentences better and more clear.

I went from 35 words to 14. The Paramedic Method really works. And why wouldn't we want it to? Using this method gets the point across much easier and makes papers more concise. By having more well-structured sentences, you come of as a more educated writer. This method is more reader-friendly and gets rid of any lagging passive voice.

Analysis After Analysis

     In the upcoming assignment, Rhetorical Analysis Essay, my classmates and I are to read an essay and use rhetoric to go back and analyze it. This begins by introducing the topic of our choice to familiarize it with our audience. We should summarize the essay briefly and go over the main points, and maybe even include some quotes. Then we should conclude whether or not we believe the essay we chose is successful with its argument.
     Then we move on to our main supporting points, which will take up the vast majority of the paper. We need to describe the authors use of pathos, ethos, and logos, as well as any other factors that make the essay good or bad. We may also want to do some outside research for our essay, to validate any claims the author makes. We end our essay with a strong conclusive statement which sums up the main supporting points.

    In regards to Tom Collins' essay, I believe he provided a very good analysis. He thoroughly introduced and explained his topic and connected with audience using all of pathos, ethos, and logos. He even connected it back to his won personal life in the army which connected with the reader even more. His essay is a very touching piece that is hard to argue with.

Reviewing Myself

For my writing process analysis essay, my thesis was that I can take multiple steps to improve my writing process. These three steps were, become more organized, focus more on the papers content, and attempt new writing strategies. I believe these three points will drastically help me improve my writing process and therefore make me write better papers.
My main weaknesses in my paper were vagueness among my supporting ideas, seemingly long sentences, and confusion about proper MLA formatting. I also need to add better transitions and work on the overall organization and flow of the paper. By putting more details into my paper, I will beef up the content as well as make it clearer to my audience.
I believe my paper is well thought out, I just need to go back over it and fill in where it is weak. Since I already have my thesis and main points laid out strongly, this shouldn't be a problem.

Similarities Among Writing Processes

I believe my writing process is quite similar to that of Jeniese Fox's. We both think as prewriting and then just jump into writing the paper with little or no outline or brainstorming. We both also write with our audiences as our focus for the direction of our papers. Unlike Katie Francis, I do not use and type of cluster or umbrella prewriting. However, I do agree with her that brainstorming is the hardest step in the writing process.
Although, I do follow the same process as Katie when I am starting to write the actual paper. I need to find a comfortable, quiet place to gather my thoughts and let my writing flow. I also revise as I write, as she does. Similar to Jason Ledure, I find myself procrastinating and then writing at the last minutes as thoughts come to me. The one main difference between Jason and I's process is that I need nearly complete silence to work in while he needs some sort of distracting noise.

The Big Three

 

    Ethos, Pathos, and Logos are three main ways you can convince your audience that your knowledgeable about the topic you are covering. Ethos relies on how credible you appear. Pathos plays on emotion and sympathy, while Logos acts on logic.

     Your purpose as a writer is to get your audience interested in and behind what your topic is. Ethos helps you come across in your paper however you want your audience to perceive you. Ideally, you would want your audience to see you as credible, ethical, and well-informed. Ethos is the proof you give your audience that you know what you are writing about.

     Any emotional connection you make with your audience uses pathos. Whether it is a tender-hearted story that makes them tear up, or a tale that invokes sympathy, pathos is there. Pathos increases the audience's connection to the author by way of emotion.

     Logos uses logic, plain and simple. Logos can be a quote from an outside source, statistic, or maybe an excerpt from a well-known book that proves your point. By using logos, an author who may have been discredited at first can now gain credibility from using his outside sources.

     

     

Writing Process

   

     My writing process is quite similar to a textbook example of a writing process, except I very rarely prewrite. When I do prewrite, I take a good amount of time to think and gather my thoughts before making a rough outline for the writing assignment I'm about to do. I usually just jump right into writing the introduction of my paper and see where my thoughts take me. 

     I prefer to work in a nearly silent work area when I'm writing. Since I don't usually prewrite, I keep a constant commentary going on in my head while I'm writing. If I'm writing in a loud or busy area, this makes it harder for me to focus on my thoughts. I also edit while I write, so it may take me quite a while to get just a few paragraphs until they are good enough for me to move on to the next section. 

     I also always read through my paper a couple times after I'm finished writing. This is when I usually edit my grammar and such. I do most of my revising while I'm still writing. 

How to Succeed in an Online Class

     Focusing and staying engaged in a classroom environment is a hassle for quite a few students, myself included. This is proven even more difficult in an online class setting. While online classes give students plenty of freedom with time and flexibility, it is also plenty more responsibility on the students to make sure they get the work done on time. Being able to manage time and work schedules, limiting distractions, and participating in class discussions and forums are imperative on succeeding in an online class.
     The biggest challenge I have faced so far in my online classes is time management. Instead of having a scheduled class period where I would dedicate one to two hours on schoolwork, I have had to forcibly designate time in between my hectic work schedule myself. While I enjoy being able to pick and choose when and where I do my work, it is sometimes a bit of a struggle to find a good time block everyday. With that being said, I also have to find a time and space where I will be less likely to be distracted from schoolwork.
     During the time I set aside for school, I try my best to block out all distractions. I go to a mostly quiet place or room (i.e., bedroom, library, on-campus computer lab) and focus purely on assignments. Notifications on my iPhone had been my biggest distraction, so that device was the first to be silenced. I also stay off social networking sites while doing schoolwork; however, being social in a class setting is important to success.
     Another key point I have struggled with is participating and engaging in class posts, discussions, and forums. Since my classes are all online, there is no face-to-face time with my teachers or peers. This is why it's important to for me to speak up in class forums and to interact with other students posts. In a normal on-campus class setting I would rarely participate in group discussions, but online classes give me the opportunity to think about and write out exactly what I'd like to say.
    These are the key factors that have proven to be an obstacle for me thus far in my online class journey. Hopefully these little bits of advice/insight on how I do things will help someone else. Best of luck. Ciao.

Introductions

     Hello, my name is Sierra Sides. I was born in Cape Girardeau, MO but I claim Fairfield, CA as my hometown. Currently my major is Business Administration with a minor in Criminal Justice. Before this, my major was Animal Science and Pre-Veterinary Medicine and then Early Childhood Education.
     A challenge I overcame not too long ago was moving across the country from the west coast to the mid-west. I moved from California to Missouri the summer after my freshman year of high school. I moved to a town where I knew no one outside of my family and had to build all new relationships in an unfamiliar place. I had to get used to a different home, a different school, and a totally different lifestyle. I overcame these challenges by meeting new people and making friends, and becoming used to the different lifestyles that society has here.
     My goals for this class are to become a better, more well-rounded writer, and to be able to write purposeful, intelligent papers. I believe these two skills will help me with nearly every class I take in college. These skills will also help me after college and into my career.