Thlog #5- Making moves

 While looking ahead at the WP2 instructions a few days ago, I remember coming across the word "moves" a lot. I hoped that it wouldn't be some super complex writing concept that would be extremely difficult topic to write about. I am glad that it is an extension of what we have been doing in analyzing conventions. It also seems interesting to analyze the viewpoint of a writer and why they make the decisions they do which will impact their reader.

So far, I haven't thought much about what I will write about in my PB2B, but I know that moves will be made. It is an interesting point of view to think about when discussing why the writer decided to write something. For example, why am I writing the way I'm writing?

Hopefully by analyzing different writers I will be able to copy some of their moves and use them in my own writing(it is the goal of the whole assignment). For example, changing the tone of my writing can achieve different goals, like making a casual and conversational relationship with the reader, or making a didactic and informative relationship with the reader, all depending on my word choice. Just like I did when I was a kid watching youtube videos of college lacrosse players to copy their moves on the field, I will now do the same when reading to enhance my own writing. Although I won't be able to mimic the exact Michael Jordan floating layup in my writing, hopefully I'll be able to perform some sort of layup of my own. 

I was especially inspired by Josue's example in class about his roommate's signature move, the "There's plenty of time" response to being late. This stuck in my mind because something so simple like those four words contain such a large impact. His specific move not only impacted Josue, but also impacted our class. Writers can achieve this same effect by using rhetorical features like tone, word choice, and ethos/pathos/logos. I will strive to achieve multiple signature "moves" in my next piece of writing to enhance it and achieve the goal of that specific move. Whether it be scoring two points like Michael Jordan, or connecting better to college-age students like Bunn.

This thlog marks the midway point of this class, so I will discuss how I feel the class has gone so far, and what I could do to enhance my experience in the class. I feel that the class has been beneficial to my writing and I can only hope it continues to improve. The only way to do this is to use the writing tips we learned in class and to be as specific as possible. Also, a focus on each topic to make the best product of writing possible is a very important notion that would also greatly enhance my writing. I have written before that specificity was one of my weak points in writing, and I think it only continues to improve.

PB2A- Silicone Implants

To some, silicone breast implants may be considered sexy and too others, they may be considered disgusting, regardless, Japanese scientists conducted an experiment to measure the amount of silicone leakage in these types of implants, when placed in a liquid solution. This experimental analysis, co-authored by six Japanese scientists from Nippon, Japan, contained various detailed segments that reported their findings. The various segments-- breakdown of analysis by heading, introducing key words, and the use of graphs-- comprised the specific conventions and rhetorical features of this scholarly publication.

Each convention has its purpose-- in any given genre-- and in this analysis, the use of headings for each section was to clarify the topic of the writing which followed it and define the scientific method/process that the scientists proceeded with. A total of five headings were included within the publishing-- abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, and discussions-- and the placement of each of these headings(mentioned in chronological order) also played a role in its purpose. The abstract was mentioned first because it contains the most basic, non-scientific language which an ordinary person could understand. It also summarizes the rest of the analysis very well and comforts the reader in a way to not be distraught by the content matter. The discussion was the last heading and it functioned just like a conclusion, it contained analysis from the scientists who explained why their experiment showed no signs of silicone leakage. The headings clarified and gave details about the project to make it more comprehensible and less awkward for not only ordinary, non-scientific persons, but scientists as well.

Although very concise, the analysis contained a list of keywords which was in bold directly following the abstract. These words were included for the reader to familiarize themselves with them so that they would know exactly what the scientists are talking about when they repeatedly mention them throughout the paper. An alternative purpose for the list of keywords is that the scientists refrained from using high-level vocabulary throughout the rest of the paper-- which they are most likely familiar with-- so that they could attract a wider audience.

Lastly, the inclusion of graphs was an essential part of this experimental analysis. This struck me as the second-most important piece because of the raw data it provides for the reader. The graphs, which measure the concentration of silicone in the solution surrounding the implants, were the exact same throughout each testing period. The scientists tested many different types of implants and none of them showed any signs of leakage. Sending a shocking visual, the graphs portray the facts that silicone leakage does not happen in the lab although the scientists may think that it is due to the absence of accurate environmental conditions, which could not be achieved in the lab. This brings me to the most interesting part of the analysis. In the discussion, it is mentioned that the results found are not accurate because the scientists could not replicate a real-life situation without using humans. This struck me as most interesting, because it is not mentioned until the end of the paper that the findings should not be trusted. Why waste the time of the readers by not saying that their findings are not accurate in the first place?

Although misleading, this analysis does a great job in explaining their method, purpose, and results. While it is a bit of an awkward, controversial, and trending topic, the authors do a great job in presenting the details and removing any non-scientific anxieties. The conventions of the paper led it in a way to remove those anxieties to anyone worried about reading the text.

Thlog #4- Highlighters

Who knew highlighting could be so useful? No, I'm not talking about those bulky pens that end up at the bottom of your backpack after the teacher told you you'll need 4 different colors for the school year. I'm talking about highlighting within a Word Document, or Google Doc in this case. During class on Monday, we were asked to highlight sentences within our WP1 drafts in different colors. We differentiated the highlights by main topics of each paragraph, quotes used from sources, citations from the required readings, and our own analysis.

Seeing my once dull, white and black paper light up with all these different colors on my screen in front of me truly inspired me to go above and beyond for this paper. I got so obsessed with the highlights that I found myself straying away from the lesson plan and adding comments within my Google Doc to help enhance my paper later that night when I would revise it. I asked myself questions like "Does this relate to your thesis?" and "How does this connect to the rest of the paper?". When I found myself answering these questions and saying "No, this makes no sense" I would write a new sentence to tie everything together or just scrap the sentence and delete it.

This writing activity was extremely helpful and illustrated in my mind how the writing process can come along and how some aspects of writing can be just glossed over, which is ultimately detrimental to the final product. I am ever thankful of Zack for making us do this activity, which at first was obscure, but I think truly made me become a better writer.

Obviously doing this one highlighting activity is not going to win me a writing award or make me the next famous author. I can say that I will keep the activity in the back of my mind as I write my PB2A and WP2, and I'll sure as hell be highlighting the shit out of the rest of my papers to come.

Thlog #3-King Kendrick

Well, so far this writing 2 class is turning into my outpouring of love for Kendrick Lamar. For my WP1, I wanted to pick a genre that was of an extreme interest to me so I would be that much more motivated to write it. Although chemistry syllabi may be interesting for some, I could not imagine myself sitting at a computer and writing 4 to 5 pages on that topic(no offense). While writing my WP1, I tried to explore with the first order thinking idea and let my ideas flow out of me through my fingertips onto the keyboard and into my introduction. I figured that my second order thinking would clean up silly mistakes and clarify things that my first order brain messed up. My outcome was varied sentence structure with words I never even thought about writing with. I guess my hyper-active brain saved me this time, as I felt my introduction was the best part of the whole paper. Whether that is because I talked the least about conventions and rhetorical features in the introduction or that the rest of my paper was ass, I have no idea. As I am writing my thlog now, I am thinking of even more ideas to better and refine my paper, which I will soon do. I tried my best to write a thesis that would fully represent my work, but what I really came up with was a working thesis that needs some edits. Editing papers might be my favorite part of the writing process not only because I think it is fun, but it shapes the paper into the final product right before your eyes. It's almost like you start with a Toyota Corolla and piece by piece soup it up to make it a super car. Hopefully my paper turns into a super car.

Thlog #2- Details

After receiving feedback on both of my PB's I thought a lot about detail and its relation to the writing process. I often find myself reading pieces of work written by successful writers and being in awe of the sheer detail they write about and describe. It often amazes me their ability to combine a simple detail that is necessary in their writing with their incredible grasp of the English language to truly expand the readers experience while including something medial to the text.

The youtube video that illustrates the writing process also inspired this thought log. I thought about how long it took to actually produce that video. All of the drawings combined with the editing must have been tedious. The raw footage of the drawings were also sped up throughout the video and had to be matched to the audio that made the video complete. All of these details were integral to the composition of the video. Although some of the drawings may have been unnecessary, each one enhanced the video.

In my next piece of writing, I will have that video in the back of my mind and think of all the details and tedious work it took to produce it. Including more detail on writing, or even magnifying your writing perspective is no where near as difficult as the video editing. The more detail included will easily enhance my own work as more detail enhances writing in general. What I mean by writing perspective is to focus writing on the most specific thing possible. For example, while I talked about the cartoon generator in PB1B, I was not nearly descriptive enough about what made the cartoon funny and why.

PB1B- Thunderous Genius

While examining different types of writing, one may come across certain characteristics or conventions that are particular to a specific genre. For example, mystery novels have a character who is solving for something unknown and children’s books most likely will contain pictures. These examples are incredibly basic and conventions are not always that straight-forward. Genre generator websites are able to create a piece of work within their given genre by using the unique conventions of that genre. Although some genre generators work better than others, they are distinguishable from one another by their individual conventions and patterns that they produce.

           

The first genre generator inspected was a Computer Science Research Paper generator. The conventions within this generator were extremely obvious, as it would be quite difficult to make a generator that creates distinct research papers for anyone who can type their name into an entry field. Each paper that it generated followed the same exact format, only using different words and diagrams. The paper included a complex scientific title followed by the author’s name. The fancy title assures readers that what they are about to delve into will be of academic merit. The structure of the paper was divided into sub-sections with a clearly labeled heading which noted the topic of that section. An introduction commenced each paper, followed by sections of related work, descriptions of the design of the experiment, how the design was carried out, and an evaluation of the results found within the experiment. Different figures and graphs were also included within the paper, and were labeled “Figure 1,2,3….”. A conclusion at the end of the paper was followed by a list of references that were cited throughout. The language in the paper is academic and its tone is informative, just how a research paper should be. The structure, word choice, and conventions mentioned give the paper a professional and credible look even though the content is absolute poppycock.

Conventions stretch across all genres of writing. Just as a mystery novel and a children’s book contains certain characteristics other pieces of writing contain them as well. A comic strip generating website, pandyland.net, creates a random three picture comic strip every time the “generate” button is clicked. Each comic generated contained three colorful pictures, all with the same two characters. The comic also contained speech bubbles for every time there was dialogue between the two characters. The comics were also colored vibrantly to add a pleasing visual effect. The three boxes were interactions between the two characters or an action with just one of the characters. Each of these individual scenes were completely random, and when put together make no sense. Some contained humorous content, as most comics do, but when they were compiled with the other random scenes, the jokes seemed out of place and often times awkward. Obviously this is expected with a comic generator. The conventions of comics were visibly shown in the comic generator even though the comedic effect was absent.

Memes are another type of genre that contains visuals, like comic strips. Memes contain one picture, whether it be Spongebob or Willy Wonka, with writing embedded over the top of the picture, usually to provide humor to the audience. This new type of genre has seen an increase in popularity due to the internet and more specifically social media. Due to the accessibility of memes through social media, recurring pictures are often used with the same start to the joke, followed by different punchlines. This is done so the reader draws humor from the recognizable picture and the first line, but is then surprised by the punchline which can be changed for each scenario a meme is needed. For example, a picture of Sean Bean from Lord of the Rings is a popular meme which starts with the phrase, “One does not simply” and ends with whatever the meme creator wants to write. The beginning of the joke is almost always placed at the top of the picture while the new content is placed at the bottom of the image. All memes are supposed to be funny but recently memes have been used for informative purposes as well. For example, a Sean Bean meme could be created that says, “One does not simply forget the Oxford Comma”. Whether or not the meme is used for comedic or informative purposes, all memes contain an image, with horizontal writing at the top and bottom.

The last genre generator examined was a Wu-Tang Clan name generator. Originally popularized by Donald Glover who found his current stage name, Childish Gambino, using the generator, it is now used for enjoyment of Wu-Tang fans looking for a nickname for themselves or a friend. Although this generator only produces two words, it still contains its own specific conventions. The first word of the nickname that it produces is always an adjective followed by a noun. The adjective is usually one that is powerful, cool, or eccentric and the noun is usually positive. For example, my Wu-Tang name is Thunderous Genius and Respected Overlord was the name produced for Zack De Piero. The adjective is powerful and the noun, genius, is positive. The generator never creates a nickname like Scared Ant or Weak Unicorn, because those words do not fall under the conventions of a Wu-Tang name. This generator was successful as I was very pleased with my Thunderous Genius nickname and I will now only refer to myself as that.

Genre generators produce content that contains its genre’s conventions in plain sight. Although each genre had entirely different content, after enough random generations, conventions were easily identifiable and were put in plain sight. These websites are designed by their conventions and someone trying to better understand a certain genre can look to one of these generators for help. After a few random generations of any given genre, the viewer can quickly catch on to the formula that is behind the website, and any patterns shown can be immediately recognize them as the conventions of that given genre.

PB1A - Kobe Says Bye to the Celtics

Sports writing is a large genre of writing in itself which contains many different sub-genres within it like player biographies, season previews and recaps, free agency/trade rumor articles, coach firings and hirings, and individual game previews and summaries. To be specific, I will analyze the conventions and rhetorical features of the NBA game recap between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers which took place on April 3, 2016. The conventions of this specific genre include an overall summary of the game including the final score, noting the leading scorers from both games, how each team is doing in the current season, details about one important play that happened during the game, and most specific to Lakers post-game reports: which celebrities were in attendance. Each of these conventions play their own role in achieving different rhetorical features which will be explored in this project builder.

In the post-game article published on espn.com, the author immediately mentions, “Isaiah Thomas scored 26 points and the Boston Celtics clinched a playoff berth... with a 107-100 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.” With this first sentence, the author directly achieves its purpose of informing their readers of the final outcome of the game, while mentioning the winning team’s leading scorer. This is done because most readers only care for the final score and who scored the most points which is conveniently why it is the first sentence of the article. The author then notes the leading scorer from the losing team, Kobe Bryant, who “scored 34 points in his final showdown with the Lakers' historic rivals, putting up the second highest-scoring performance of his farewell season.” This year’s Laker season has been nostalgic, showed in the tone of the article, because it is Kobe Bryant’s last of 20 years of playing before retirement.

The author then includes brief recaps of how each team’s season is doing to provide background on the greater impact of this specific game. Boston’s season has been more successful than the Lakers’ as, “Boston clinched a playoff berth while...the Lakers recorded a Western Conference worst of 60 losses this season.” This information gives context to the reader that this game is of no matter to the Lakers because they are incapable of making the playoffs while the Celtics qualified for the playoffs with this key victory. Another convention is seen as a key play was detailed within the article as they mention Kobe making a shot with 54 seconds left in the game but not being able to make two other shots in the waning minutes of the game. The inclusion of a key play in the article gives readers a feeling of more than just reading the post-game summary, they now feel like they know of the integral play that may have swayed the game one direction or another. Lastly, something that is almost never in a postgame report of any other NBA regular season game is a list of the celebrities that were in attendance. It included the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr., David Beckham, Casey Affleck, and Yasiel Puig. This would only be included in a Lakers recap because the Staples Center, where the game was played, is one of the only arenas that attracts celebrities consistently. It is also included because most readers of the article who are Los Angeles fans, also have an interest in celebrities, solely due to the fact they live in Los Angeles, home to many celebrities.