Susan Kleimann Readin

How does she describe the setting, what kinds of details does she provide?

1. The General Accounting Office (GAO) is located in Washington D.C.
2. GAO is providing research reports for members of Congress (testimonials, offered legal opinions, etc.)
3. 5000 employees in 14 regions (2 overseas)
4. Primarily educated in accounting.
5. GAO is broken down into multiple departments. Each one reading and revising drafts of the others.
6. Speak as the voice of the agency who hires them.

The section entitled "Setting" in Kleimann's report is to educate the reader about the background, organization, codependency, and nature of the work done by the GAO. Kleimann wants readers to know these kinds of details to let the reader know what the GAO is. Many people never heard of the GAO before (I know i hadn't). This is important because the GAO works with Government agencies and wants people to feel the GAO work is important for the organization and stability of the Government and Country. It is like when I do a report on a novel. I give background information on the author and the time they lived in so people will know about the inspiration behind the novel. If I was not to do that then the reader of my report will have a harder time connecting with the topics I discussed.

Why break things down?

Sorting through 3000 or so suggestions is important to Kleimann because organization is important and lets her know how to approach and clarify the weakness and strength of the project. It is structured a similar way to the GAO structure.

Detail from observation

Types of Details we observed were:

1. Roles, how each was performed
2. Specific embodied activities - typing, reading, etc.
3. Speech - tone, topics, etc.
4. Other Activities - drinking, sitting, standing, smoking, etc.
5. Clothing
6. Arrangement of work area



Notes from the NY graffiti circa of 1983:




Observational:

+ One person in charge like a foreman.
+ Explaining process to camera and co-workers, but foreman focus is on one guy.
+ NY accent with slang terms and gestures
+ Casual dress (jeans and coats)
+ Some spontaneity

Theoretical:

+ Legal graffiti (Paid/influenced)
+ Pre-planned (may have been OKed by 3rd party)

Methodological:

+ What difference did it make where the bottom of the piece started?

Reflect on your data recording practices. How did your placement affect the data you collected? How would your positioning somewhere else have affected the data you collect? How did you data collection shift as the activity evolved.

The first thing I would note was the scale I would need to observe. I was watching two of my classmates type a letter for a few minutes before I reflect on it. This amount of time for both them and me meant that I would not need to take any notes. The information was still fresh in my mind. If the project was going to be lone, like the Ethnographic project, I would have had notes.

In-Class Observation and Writing

What I saw

When the two were writing to the fake high-school senior, I saw:

1. No Research.
2. Formal sentence structure, paragraph structure, and vocabulary.
3. Talked about their individual experiences and future projects.

How I write

To Mr. High school senior,

(Personal Experiences with classes, class mates, and teachers.)

In order to be a PWE major here at WVU the class you will want to take consider are:

1. Technical Writing classes
+ Rhetorical analysis
+ Editing
+ Mulit-media and business

2. Litureate classes
+ American litureate
+ World liturate
+ Hitory of English
+ Study of the English Language

3. Electives
+ Journalism
+ Advertising
+ intermediate swimming

The skills that you will need and can develop thourgh our formal education are:

1. Observation (onsight and class room)
2. Attention to detail
3. Analysising ideas using various sources (both academic and literary)
4. Proper formatting in busniess and professional writing (including citation)
5. Modern technological abilities in a class room.


The future you can gain with a degree from the PWE program at WVU include:

1. Publishing
2. Editor
3. Lawyer
4. Doctor
5. Free-lance
6. Article writer (News, magazine, etc.)

(We would format this information in a more formal letter with paragraphs, as well as list).

Sincerely,
Mallory and Jesse

The Power of Observation

Observation and Field Notes

Attention to detail and asking questions using that information is key. While viewing this picture on eCampus,

I observed:

+ They are about the same age as me.
+ They are using computers, books, notebooks, and a white board.
+ They are meeting in a public place, like our Mt. Lair.
+ Semi-circle seating.
+ Non-professional dress.

I can inference:
+ It is a school project.
+ They are being tutored.
+ It is best they meet during the daytime.
+ One member is currently leading a thought.
+ Eye contact and focus.

I can concluded:
+ There is a one person in charge, for now.
+ People have different tasks.

Question I can ask:
+ "Hey guys, what are you up to?"
+ "Why did you seat in a semi-circle?"
+ "Whats the division of labor here?"

Alyson Murphy Article

Stasis Theory with Alyson Murphy

Everyone in this country is entitled to voice their opinion. When dealing with an audience, you must examine their opinions, assumptions, attitudes, values, and beliefs. Alyson Murphy's topic of her article is getting young people more political participation. She used ROCKtheVOTE.com as and example of how politicians use music and pop culture to increase voter turn out. She is asks if young adults should participate in the political process. This is valued because young people may or may not understand the full issues at stake.

It is a more specific argument because she is targeting the young people. She wonders if they are qualified to vote in this historical election, spanning race and gender. This is kind of argument has theoretical and practical elements. Theoretical argument has an abstract idea and asks "can." Practical argument wonders "should" a person do the action or specific activities.

Theoretical:
+ Should youth participate in politics?
+ Is voting the right way to decide a communities direction?

Practical:
+ Should youth voe in the 2008 election?

What is IT and does this article have IT?

Asking questions about the purpose of the subject is important to understanding the strengths and weaknesses of an argument:

(p. 88-89)

Conjecture Q's:
+ Why do you think political parties are targeting young voters?
+ Is it because they care about their opinion or do they just want their numbers?
+ Are they participating at the right time?

Definition Q's:
+ Does ROCKtheVOTE.com inform the youth about the the important issues?
+ Will ROCKtheVOTE.com still care two years from now?
+ What does it mean to vote and participate? Privilege or responsibility.

Quality Q's:
+ Should we still support the winning candidate if we did not vote for him?
+ Should you still vote even if you don't know the issues?

Policy Q's:

ARCS p, 113 activity 3

The Increasing American Waist

While searching online, I came across an editorial in the Daily Athenaeum about the obesity problem in America (http://www.da.wvu.edu/archives/990411/news/990411,05,01.html). The argument this person is getting at is at Americans should be happy with the way they look and not worry about all the studies people put on the news to make you loose weight. The writer of this editorial claims that the 18% of people in America who are 30% overweight can live normal and healthy lives.

This is the writers opinion and not based on any true fact. Weight gain is a slippery slope and extra weight can lead to high blood pressure. High blood pressure, caused by obesity, is the number one killer in the United States. However, the writer is not arguing against the fact that obesity can lead to health risks. What the writer really is arguing is that all the articles and studies about fat just lower our self-esteem. The writer is also attacking modern medicines non-ability to solve this problem.

The writer is almost claiming that having unhealthy weight is better then feeling bad about it. You can feel good about your weight all you want, but it will not save you from a heart attack. That is the responsibility for modern medicine. Both my parents suffered heart attacks in the same month and now they eat healthy and exercise regularly. I would have much rather had TIME magazine scare my parents into losing weight than surviving a heart attack.

I am sure that stasis can be reached with the author of this article. It never accrues to the author that it may be the fat that is lower the populations self-esteem and not TIME. Americans are eating better and working out to be healthy. The article claims people are trying to look like Kate Moss do to some unrealistic Hollywood image, but contradicts him/herself by stating Cindy Crawford is a successful model. This is just not a well developed argument and requires more research.

Q's

How can I present myself and the project as being beneficial to my subject?

Will I need to get in front of the class and teach for a day?

Can we see examples of completed Ethnographic projects?

Where does the rhetoric come in to play with the project and interview? The subject may not like hearing the word rhetoric. Our class has a different understand of rhetoric then regular people.

How can I make the subject understand that I am not just a shadow for a day?

What if the subject will not give me the time for a visit to their office to observe the workspace?

My subject published a book about the editing and publishing process. What if my subject tells me to simply buy the book?

What should I do if the subject wants to meet before I complete my research proposal?

Paul Prior Process

Why Study the Writing Process?

You want to know what is and what is not a successful text. Its important to know what it looks like, how it is arranged, and what goals that the text meet. How to interpret the assignment is important for knowing how to move along in the process.

We want to be able to answer questions like: How do the writers establish ethos and/or karios?

What Kind of Information can we take from the Thrasher Inc. Handout?

One thing we can take away from the handout is the proper formatting. The assignment requirements helps writers know how to order the information and what to make more prevalent. Including the advertisement for the internship lets the writer know what the company and not just what the teacher is looking for. Including multiple drafts lets us know how the authors choose to edit.

On pages 19 to 21 learn about the strengthens the author feels he/she has, how they have applied it, and how they can apply them for the future. This lead into the writers psyche and choice of tone. Writers looking for a job must be eager, but not desperate; confident, but not arrogant. Including the comments by the teacher tells us how writers can change opinions and work with authority. This also tells us about how the writer views his/her audience and deals with general criticism.

Other general information that we can take from the whole packet include the writers ability to conduct research, present him/her self in a professional setting, and choice in vocabulary.

Tracing Process (WWD p 197 act. 1)

Consider a paper you have recently written. Make a drawing that represents the key concrete activities you engaged in as part of this writing process. Be sure to include activities involved in invention (like reading, talking to others, coming up with ideas about the paper-wherever that might happen) as well as inscription (like the actual production of the text, your drafts and notes). Then draw another visual representation in which you create a visual metaphor (or metaphors) that represents key elements of your process of writing the paper. Compare the two representations. Do they tell you different things about the process? What does each include? What does each exclude?

The work I picked was a paper analysing a Samuel Adams commercial from the Super Bowl of my Advertising class. The first picture I drew was me sitting at my desk with my textbook, notes, and computer. On the computer is Microsoft Word and my research from the Internet. I am asking my "why?" The metaphor for the writing process I choice was shooting free throws Dr. J style.

Each one is designed to represent how ideas come to me for writing. I generate as many ideas as i can and then try them out. Some work, some don't, and some I don't use. Its like shooting basketball. Some times the ball will go in and other times I'll miss (Just like ideas). They differ in the writing process because I can take an idea that does not really work or I don't fully understand and still fit in somewhere somehow. Each drawing includes me trying to work out a way my many ideas can fit into my writing. Sometime I just go with my first idea and develop it all the way. This is because too many ideas can lead to confusion and lack of focus. They differ in the fact that the computer can help. Using the internet, I can look up articles, interviews, and fellow students opinions to help change and develop an idea. On the basketball court I am alone.

Discourse Community

Examining my Community

One community I belong to is the WVU English department. Through this community I have learned to read, write, and critically examine different workers from the western world through formal instruction. The language I use changes, especially about rhetoric, from the language I use with my friends. A few of my friends are psychology majors and we find ourselves studying and reviewing the same topics. We talked about androgyny the other day and they studied it scientifically while I examined it in 19th and 20th century British literature. And we both ended up engaging in the old "Nature vs. Nurture" debate in our final paper we submitted to our teachers.

The only way to be part of a discourse comment is if there is at least one other type of discourse community. Otherwise everyone would the same.

To be part of the WVU English department, focusing on editing, I need to know if what the writer means is what the writer has writing, if its the best way to have written it, and if it will reach the target audience. This means it is more appropriate to talk about the writers style, than the writers feelings about his writing.

How does the social perspective apply to my work as a professional writer?

1) The m0st important suggestion for a professional writer in the social perspective, using the suggestion proposed by Faigley, is how to make the meaning of the writers text match the meaning the social community will take from it. I like to think back to Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ" and how Nazis used to show early versions in Nazi Germany to bring anti-Jewish feelings to the community. The writer can inspire action within the community, such as Karl Marx, but the community can bring in their own interpretation, like how the USSR did. The audience is in more control of what is and is not approprate than the writer.