I believe Yancey’s text was different, by this I mean that it was able to keep my attention. It wasn’t the same outline all the way through, She changed her style up multiple times which kept me intrigued and wanting to know more. The addition of pictures to sway your mind from all the words was a nice touch as well, giving people time to soak up her writing and maybe even hitting people with different learning capabilities. Her marginalia was also interesting, she was able to explain her writing in these places if they weren’t as simple to understand.

I would describe knowledge as information that you are given that is then able to be retained and used for future use. Knowledge is something that you learn from information, it actually sticks with you and can impact your beliefs that you may have already implemented in your brain. One piece of information can change your whole mentality which is why many people have different beliefs when they are asked about something compared to many other people.

After reading Swales’ piece, I’d like for you to consider a discourse community that you belong to. Describe how this discourse community meets each of the six characteristics that Swales describes (i.e. shared goals, lexis, genres, etc).

A discourse community I personally belong to would be my German class. A goal shared amongst other members of the discourse community would be to pass the class and obtain knowledge of a foreign language to be able to communicate with other cultures in real life. We recognize the course as a German class therefore we are required to speak, read, and write in German while in the class which can enables this discourse community to be categorized with a genre.

Next, consider a time when you participated in a discourse community but were not assimilated into it or resisted it. What happened, and why?

A discourse community that I was a part of that I could say I resisted to it would be a former basketball team I was a part of. I didn’t particularly like the sport so I didn’t share the same interest as my teammate which would lead to not having the same characteristics as everyone else on the team such as goals of winning games.

How does Bitzer define the rhetorical situation, and what key terms does he associate with his definition? How do you define rhetorical situation in your own words? Find an example of a rhetorical situation and analyze it using the key terms that Bitzer defines. (NB: you can use our assigned course texts or locate a text online or around campus.)

 Bitzer describes a rhetorical situation as an issue that produces change or preforms some task which ultimately requires a solution. In the reading Bitzer brings up the term exigence, he explains that this term is rhetorical when it’s capable of change, specifically positive change, and when the positive change can be assisted by discourse. I would describe rhetorical situation as changes which are needed to be implemented because of a given reason.

Now, looking back to your writing and our discussion of genre, explain how rhetorical situation connects to genre.

I believe that rhetorical situation may be the cause for genres, in a way that rhetorical situation is able to develop a piece of writing which is then able to be categorized by their structure into a genre. 

Define audience. How will you define it as a group? Audience is basically the community of people you are aiming to connect with. It can also vary based on who actually reads your writing. You are intentionally aiming for a specific audience but then again there is your unintentional audience which include the people you may have never considered.

Find key passages in text that seem to speak to an audience? “Change, euolucion, enriquecimienio de palabras nuevas por invención o adopcion have created variants of Chicano Spanish, un nuevo lenguaje. Un lenguaje que corresponde a un modo de vivir. Chicano Spanish is not incorrect, it is a living language” (Anzaldua). This section is from Anzaldua’s writing, from the start she already has an audience in mind the she is specifically aiming to which can include bilingual readers.

find key passages in text that seem to speak to another audience or to the first audience in a different way. Implications? I believe the same piece above can be used for this as well. This passage ended up reaching our English class and I don’t think many people were able to comprehend the Spanish writing which would be an implication for a different audience she might not have been wanting to reach intentionally.

Audience: Whoever read your writing whether intentional or unintentional 

Rhetorical situation: An issue which requires a solution

Genre: How writing is able to be categorized based on features the piece may have

Reflection: an overview of 

Discourse community: a group that has a common goal or has something in common 

Knowledge: information that is able to be retained

Comfort Level with Bazerman’s text? I was overwhelmed with the text, but I was able to understand the reading.

Approach to reading Bazerman’s text? I was open minded to what he had to say about different types of genres and how they are and can be categorized.

Response to Bazerman’s text? It’s interesting how pieces of writing can be sectioned off into multiple kinds of genres and can also be included in multiple genres.

Group Discussion:

These acts are carried out in patterned, typical, and therefore intelligible textual forms or genres, which are related to other texts and genres that occur in related circumstances. In creating typified forms or genres, we also come to typify the situations we find ourselves in. If we recognize that when a guest in someone else’s house comments about bodily discomfort, the host typically understands that as an obligation to make the guest feel comfortable, then we can adjust our comments so as not to say things that would mistakenly put our host in a state of obligation. Page 316, second paragraph Page 318, Genre set, Genre systems

Blog Entry #2

Genre in my opinion is basically the form or style of a piece of writing or music. Each genre has they’re strongpoints that the writer puts more emphasis on in order to somewhat fit a category or genre. An example of a genre would be fiction, everything included in this genre would be telling a story about something that is fake or fictional; for example, you wouldn’t find someone’s autobiography in the fiction section of a library because the piece would be telling the writers life story not about dragons, cartoons, or things of that nature.

Bazerman says that genres are able to be determined by the language or speech acts, and how they are carried out and also able to be sectioned off based on their relation to texts by the related circumstances various pieces of writing hold.

The main similarity between commencement addresses is the uplifting and motivational energy the writing is able to depict for listeners and readers. They focus a lot on telling everyone to focus on themselves and they’re potential to impact the world in a major way. A commencement speech I came across was Barack Obama’s at Howard University in 2016; During his speech Obama said, “So don’t try to shit folks out, don’t try to shut them down, no matter how much you might disagree with them.” In my perspective this makes me feel like he is trying to promote coming to peace with everyone and influence us to stand together to remove violence from the world. Another speech I came across was Ellen DeGeneres at Tulane University in 2009, during the event DeGeneres said, “It was so important for me to lose everything because I found what the most important thing is. The most important thing is to be true to yourself.” Once again DeGeneres has focused on inspiring others to help themselves to find the true meaning to life and what should be important to these graduates. 

Obama and DeGeneres commencement addresses: https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/g3344/best-commencement-speeches-of-all-time/

What is writing?

Writing is a way to express your beliefs, thoughts, or ideas, in your point of view. 

What defines successful writing for you?

In my opinion writing is successful when someone is able to walk away from your work with an understanding of the point/topic you are trying to make or talk about.

What type of writer do you see yourself as and why?

I believe I am a persuasive type of writer, when writing about a subject I’ll talk about why I feel this way and why it should be this way. I am open to changes, but I am normally fixed to a certain view on subjects, and I try to relate to others as best I can to be able to influence their opinions.

Key Terms that define writing:

• Word choice 
• Presentation 
• Tone
• Sentence fluency 
• Organization

What do we learn about writing from this text?

Imagery is a very powerful aspect of writing, one that can be overlooked by many. The writer was able to give the audience a more in depth look at life, not to just live day by day as an individual living on earth but to actually look around and see that we are apart of something greater that many seem to overlook.

Is this text “successful” according to the criteria you defined earlier? If so, how? If not, why not?

I believe this text was a successful piece of writing because I’m actually taking some of his words into consideration, and thinking deeper about life than the normal duties that are assigned to me every day. Made me think to stop and look around at what I’m actually doing, and what I’m striving to work for.

Do you want to revise your list of key terms based on this reading? Explain what you would revise (or not) and why (not).

I would like to add purpose to my list of key terms. I feel like writing should have a purpose behind it, a meaning, a message to give to the audience. It makes the piece more impactful and the reader/listener will be able to relate to the piece in some way or another.