Blog week 14

On this last essay we were assigned, we were given the instructions to write an essay about how to write an essay. The beginning is the introduction, in which I state what the rest of the essay is going to be about. After that comes the body. The first point covered there are the importance of rhetorical tools. I also state which elements will be discussed in the following paragraphs. The first one I go over compare and contrast. The next is cause and effect. The final one is division and classification. It then starts talking about the importance of writing the body first, for it allows you to freely put down all the information gathered for the essay. Then it talks about the introduction, and how to use it to draw in the audience and inform them on what is to come. Finally the proper way to write a conclusion is described. The final thing in the essay is how important it is to get someone to proofread your work. Then I simply recap on everything above in my conclusion.

Blog Week 12B

Before starting this class, I had never even heard the word rhetoric, let alone knew how to use them. I've always considered myself a halfway decent writer, but that doesn't mean I didn't pick up a few tricks from this class. The first one was the depth that went into Cause and Effect. This helped me see just how important this tool could be, and how to effectively use it. The Cause and Effect essay we did is probably the one that challenged me most, but working through it helped me see how it could be used to distinguish between two things, and to to relay my observations to someone else through the use of writing. Another tool that I had never really used before was Classification and Division. Though I had seen it used before, it had never dawned on me how easy it was to inform the audience while using this tool. It really helps me focus on areas of research, and what needed to be emphasized in my writing. For these reasons, Cause and Effect as well as Classification and Division would have to be the tools that have helped me expand my writing skills the most, and to get a deeper understanding of what a rhetoric tool truly meant.

Blog Week 12A

When writing an essay, the first step is obvious. You must know what it is you will be writing about. You must conduct research, and gather as much information as possible. Once this is done, the next step is to piece this knowledge together, and make the body of the essay. You do the body first, just so that you can get all the information out there while it is fresh in your mind. It also allows free roam, when you are not restricted by guidelines put forward in the conclusion. After you get all the information down and organized, its time to conclude the essay. You simply boil down the body, and go over the key points discussed in it. Then you do pretty much the same thing to create the introduction. You give the reader an idea of what they are going to be reading, and enough information to set them up for the essay. The final step after this is to get a fresh pair of eyes on the paper. This process is peer review, and allows mistakes that would of otherwise been overlooked to be pointed out. If these steps are followed, then the end product should be a well written  essay.

Blog Week 10A

The importance of an introduction to any essay can't be overstated. It's what draws your audience in. It sets the scene, allowing them to have some basic knowledge on what you are going to discuss, without going in to so much detail all at once and overwhelming the audience. It allows people to sample the writing style and the contents of the paper in order to decide if they would really like to continue reading without wasting their time.
These things can only be accomplish through an effective introduction. The perfect introduction should always have some key attributes to it, regardless of the situation. The first being, that it has to deal with what you are going to talk about. It can't be misleading, or else it will confuse the audience once they start getting into the actual meat of the writing. The only instance that it can be different, is when it ties into the body through proper transition, such as comparing one well known subject to the one that will be discussed. Secondly, it must be entertaining. First appearances are the most important, as it sets the mood the reader will be in for the remainder of the material. If you want to persuade them into something, you should glorify it in every possible way, while still being able to support your claims. If it's to be an exciting fast paced article, then the introduction should be similar. Without the proper tone of introduction, the reader may not even be a reader. They may be deterred by boring, insulting, or simply confusing introductions. The final thing it should have is a strong, sturdy structure. It makes the rest of the paper more credible sounding, and more forceful if done right. This sturdiness is lessened through the use of phrases similar to "I think" or "I feel", therefore they should be avoided at all costs.

Blog week 9A

The term classification and division is pretty self explanatory. It's the process of breaking something down into smaller sections, and further explaining each section. Many people aren't aware that they naturally do this throughout their lives. It takes place in school, when transitioning from sophomore  junior, and senior. It happens with our friends, we have our close friends, school friends, work friends, and acquaintance.
The same basic concept applies when we are writing with this tool. We break down subjects into categories.  We then go into further detail with those categories.It allows the audience to follow along better with the material, since the categories are usually ideas, phrases, or words that aren't very common knowledge. This is a very simple concept to pick up, but it can go a long way as far as getting the message across.

Blog Week 8B

While reading "Britain Refuses to Extradite Computer Hacker sought in U.S.", an article from the New York Times, I noticed a few phrases that could have an extended definition. This means that it can be elaborated to show exactly what it is they mean, without being to vague or giving a generalized definition.
One of the phrases was "British authorities on Tuesday blocked a longstanding demand for the extradition of Gary McKinnon, a computer hacker wanted in the United States to face charges of intruding into Pentagon Computer networks in a case that has become a touchstone of the delicate jurisdictional balance between the two countries since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001". This very long sentence has several subjects in it that can, and probably should be elaborated upon. The part I'm mainly concerned with is the ending discussing the delicate jurisdictional balance between the UK and the US. Why is it so delicate? This is explained later in the article. The US and the UK made a treaty in 2003 that deals with the process of extraditing people from the UK to the US. The reason it is such rocky ground is because it has faced a lot of opposition. One of the critiques of it is that it is a one sided deal. The US reaps all the rewards without returning any sort of benefit to the UK. And on top of that, many British critics feel that since the treaty doesn't clearly distinguish between a major and minor offense, the US has taken advantage by extraditing people that didn't threaten our national security.
Another phrase found within the article is "American officials have described his actions as "the Biggest military computer hack of all time."" What exactly is it that makes this hack such a major issue? The answer lays within various parts of the article. The main reason is that he hacked into a very large amount of high security computers in a relatively short amount of time. Within only 13 months, he managed to gain unlawful access to 97 government computers. And not only that, but he also caused $566,000 in damages while doing it.
The final bit of information found within the article that required further explanation was Ms. May saying "Mr. McKinnon is accused of serious crimes, but there is also no doubt that his seriously ill. He has Asperger syndrome, and suffers from depressive illness. The legal question before me is now whether the extent of that illness is sufficient to preclude extradition." The piece that mainly needed further explanation was the part about his illness, and how that should effect their decision to extradite him. Their main concern for this is that the severity of his depression could be to such an extent that he would commit suicide if extradited. Their argument is that to put forth such a risk would go against his human rights.

Blog Week 8A

What is the definition to a definition? Well, there are really two answers to this. There is the dictionary definition, which state or describe the nature, scope, or meaning of. This is straight to the point, and doesn't necessarily allude to what it really means. If we were to use the extended definition, we can start to get into the actual characteristics of it. A definition can be portrayed through examples, much like this one, in order to let the audience better understand what it is they're reading. It can be hinted at through the context. It can even be furthered through the use of visual rhetorics. We can use many different things to get our point across, that without defining things would be unclear.

In the article "Britain Refuses to Extradite Computer Hacker Sought in U.S." definitions help make sense of the material. They define what kind of crimes Gary McKinnon has allegedly been charged with. Without this information, that article would have much less of an impact, because the audience wouldn't be able to judge the severity of his crimes. It also describes a treaty that the U.S. has with Britain, that gives the article another angle. It makes the point that this may be in violation with the treaty. It finally helps describe the reasoning as to why they won't send him back, and that is that he suffers from Asperger Syndrome. They give some insight to this disease by saying that it causes him to suffer from depression, and to send him would increase the likely hood of him committing suicide.

Blog Week 7A

Whenever people want to get their point across, they use many subject specific rhetorical terms to do so. These tools can be effective on their own, or can be combined in order to make people react in the sought after way. If these things are used correctly, they can help portray one way in a better light than the other, making it the more desirable choice. They can call people to action, or simply inform them on what the author wants to discuss. A few of the terms that are used to describe their technique are as follows:
persuasive themes
Persuasive themes are used all the time within both text and visual media. It's an important tool used to persuade a large amount of people into thinking or acting a certain way. In order to reach the largest amount of people possible, these themes are generally shared across the globe. This can be anything as subtle as a child holding a puppy in an add, or as dramatic as a starving African child being shown while someone is asking for donations. These images give everyone a similar feeling of either happiness, or a feeling that they are responsible to help the starving children.
Master narratives
A master narrative is a story shared across a specific culture or tradition. They are usually used to promote that cultures way of life, giving the people in it a sense of pride. One example of this is the American dream. The thought that with some hard work, you can rise above poverty, is a rather uplifting thought that gives off a positive message of America. They can have an adverse effect however, such as the view of middle eastern nations within the general population of America.
National gaze
These are very similar to master narratives, but rather than a whole story it is generally one picture, word, smell, or any of the other senses that set off the reflection. Much like the master narratives, they are usually things shared across one culture rather than globally. One example of a national gaze is 9/11. The US certainly views this on a completely different level as any other nation, and therefore it provokes that specific feeling only within our nation. 
Content & Technical signatures
The contents of a piece of visual media determine how the audience views and feels towards that picture. Different colors, for example, evoke different emotions. Bright florescent colors can evoke happiness, excitement, or anger. While dark colors and shading tend to evoke feelings of depression, fear, or anxiety. If someone were to view a picture of a beach with a sunset in the background, then one of the same beach being tormented by a hurricane, the few content changes give the viewer a whole new reaction. 
audience resonance & effects
That reaction can then be observed, and even measured through audience resonance & effects. By judging how people react to a certain image, people can start to develop a method to which kind of images they will use. People shopping for dog food will tend to go for the brand that has the healthiest and happiest looking dog on it. We know this, because time and time again it has been proven true through people consistently making that choice.

Blog Week 6A

Comparing one thing to another is something that we do in our daily lives, sometimes without even knowing it. We are drawn to similarities that we have taken a liking to. That's because they help show how things are linked, and if we like one thing, chances are we'll like something similar. That is if they don't have differences that you don't like in the similar thing. Though things are similar, they always have differences. This contrast allows you to distinguish between two similar things, and allow you to make decisions such as your preference.
In order to start comparing two things you first must establish a basis of comparison. Some things are much easier to compare than others, simply because they share a major attribute. The two things being compared may be a song, and a remake or cover of that same song. Sometimes however you have to go even farther back to find the basis of comparison. The two things may be two completely different songs, but their both songs nonetheless. But once you find that basis you can really start to compare and contrast them. This comes in handy particularly when you are able to compare something your audience isn't familiar with to something they know well. Or to be able to give them an example of a polar opposite example to give them some sort of an idea of what you're talking about.

Blog Week 5A

There are quite a few rhetorical gazes, and each one is used to reach a certain audience. They help link some memory, idea, or even feeling by giving you an image related to that memory, idea, or feeling. One of the gazes is the familial gaze. These remind us of a moment that we share with a tight group of people. These people can range from family to friends, but always include people we know. Another one of the gazes is the national gaze, which isn't as intimate. This one is shared on a national level, such as 9/11. The next gaze is a global gaze, which can easily be inferred that it's shared on a global level. Then you have the consumer gaze, which is used to target a certain customer base. This is very present within stores, where bright colors on packaging is used. Or how the sugary things are more likely to be in the line of sight of children, and the healthier shelf items are usually placed higher up. Then there's the travel gaze. An example of this one is a picture of a smiling kid standing next to mickey mouse, which makes people want to take a trip to Disney Land. And finally there is the political gaze, which can be used to promote something or slander another. It's not likely that someone looking at a picture of President Obama wouldn't have the thought of Romney enter their mind.

Blog Week 4A

Cause and effect can be a valuable tool in order to reach an audience. It helps show not only how something happens, but analyses why something happens. It bridges related ideas in order to make them more comprehensible. It puts things in a chronological order, and allows the audience to easily follow along. It paints a background to the current event, rather than just jumping into it which can get rather confusing. It allows people to sometimes analyse characters reasoning and thought process based upon their actions and decisions. Also, by seeing how they have gotten to that point allows people to predict what will happen in the future based upon how you think the characters will react to the causes.

Blog Week 3B

Peer reviewing is a very important part of the writing process. One of the main reasons is that it gives you a chance to monitor other peoples reactions to your story. Its a chance to either get positive reinforement, or to get constructive criticism. The latter however only matters if your willing to listen to what people have to say, and to put what they say into action. Another important aspect is that its a fresh pair of eyes. When you proof read your own work, you tend to have a bias towards it. You want your paper to be flawless, and that tends to make the mistakes not stand out quite like they should. Bringing someone new in eliminates this problem. They will also be more likely to point out mistakes that you honestly thought were correct.

Blog Week 3A

        In Zambreno's article, she uses many rhetoric skills, and does so effectively. One thing that she did was to make the thesis statement very clear about what she would be discussing. She then put it in chronological order in order to give you a little history of Aurthurian literature. This too makes it fairly easy to follow along with what she is discussing. She also executes her transitions very smoothly. In one instance she simply stated that she would be moving on from past Aurthurian literature to present Aurthurian literature.
         Another significant thing she does is go into further detail about some possibly confusing parts. She even went as far as to describe words that she used such as piecemeal. This is very important when using words not very well known, or that have some sort of back story to them.

2A - Narratives

Understanding narratives is an important part of English. They allow people to logically go from one point to another in a reasonable order. Without this chronological fashion its hard to comprehend what it is being discussed through not only text but speech. It's important to teach students how to comprehend these things so that they are able to do it on their own. If they understand it better, then they'll also have a deeper understanding of what is being presented to them. This also makes it easier to produce their own work.
when they do start to take these skills to their own works, it will show on how they present their ideas based upon whose on the receiving end. If their going to be arguing for a point, it makes their argument much more convincing if they use information that is relative to the subject. Even if it's not for an argument, it helps develop more complex aspects of stories. This makes it easier to relate them to the readers life, and to interpret them in their own way. It thickens the plot, makes the characters more believable, the theme more relevant, and the setting more real.