Journal 7

1. What is the writer trying to find out more about through their research (what research question guides their work)?

The journal discussed how professional editors perform the art of editing. In other words, the writer attempted to explain exactly how editors go about really improving the work of others.

2. What is the research methodology of this article (how do they collect their information, and how do they analyze the information they collect)?

The bulk of the research was conducting a case study in an office setting. The case study was also coupled with the use of interview data.

3. How does professional editing differ from how students revise their own work?

In professional editing, the editor is not going to change the style of writing or the information conveyed, rather they are going to stick to just editing the grammar and flow of the piece of writing. Unlike a student who revises because they need to take out a weak point, an editor is going to leave the thoughts intact. They will leave the subject matter alone and work on form and effectiveness.

Journal 6

1. What does Bitzer not mean by “rhetorical situation”?

Bitzer does not mean ignoring who you are, what your lifetime experiences have been, and forgetting who your audience is when you are writing. He does not want you to lose focus when you are writing and what is prompting you (the reason) why you are even writing in the first place. He wants you to avoid writing aimlessly and to write as if you can change the world.

2. In other words, how does his view differ from past views that readers might compare to his?

His view may differ from theorists who write in terms of hypotheticals, possibilities and that which is unknown. His view may also differ from those who do not believe that writing can bring about change, that a purpose cannot be achieved through writing, that expression through written language cannot persuade someone to act or change their mind.

3. What does Bitzer mean by “rhetorical situation”?

He means writing with a purpose, exposing your character, writing for your audience, and writing based upon reflection of your personal situations and experience.

4. Explain what “exigence” is. Give your own example of an exigence someone could respond to in writing.

I think that Bitzer means that the exigence is the problem that the writer is trying to solve through persuasion. Exigence is the thing the person is attacking in the piece of writing. A sample is that President Obama was trying to persuade people that the complexion in Washington and of course the highest office in our land has changed. In his speech the exigence is the problem of changing people’s minds to accept a black President. The exigence is both the reason for prompting why he wrote the speech the way he did and it is also the situation that he needed to overcome by writing effectively and changing people’s minds.

Journal 5

In the 1970's teachers began teaching the test rather than to allow students and educators to explore linguistics and written communication freely. Under the cloud of performance quotas teaching became restricted, tight, and over-regulated. Not only was the sense of wonder and romance of language lost, but teaching was reduced to "accountability" (McComiskey, 2006, citing Nelms) p. 20. Educating children in composition became mechanical. Instructors systematically followed a checklist like a manufacturing plant that was certain to abandon individual thought.

In the 70s the trend shifted to standardized testing. The pressure to produce good results took on a life of its own and did nothing to inspire future writers. It satisfied administrators and politicians but the classroom suffered as creativity was destroyed. English became boring, robotic, and automated. Nevertheless, teachers were required to show they can get the job done. Testing provided assurance that proficiency was been achieved.

Two parties with significant interests in the outcome of teaching English composition during this period were children and teachers. Children were taught to become better test takers. Teachers settled on teaching only what was covered on a test. The door was closed on endless possibilities through written expression as a child bubbled in one test question after another. Both were sold short.

Journal 4

Michelle Kuecks
Journal #4
January 22, 2009
COMP 2000

In the Introduction to They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein provide templates designed to ________.
Specifically, Graff and Birkenstein argue that the types of writing templates they offer simplify writing. As the authors themselves put it, “all writers rely on certain stock formulas that they themselves didn’t invent...” Although some people believe that templates create robotic writers Graff and Birkenstein insist that templates help students improve their writing and their comprehension by getting them off to the right start at communicating ideas. In sum, hen, their view is that templates are clues to prompt students to write with substance.

I agree with Graff and Birkenstein. In my view, the types of templates that the authors recommend guide my thoughts succinctly and with a general purpose. For instance, templates help organize the main point a writer is going to make. A writer does not have to circle the block several times: he just crosses straight through by taking the most direct route. In addition, the templates require the writer to state their opinion and own it. At the same time, the template guides the writer to reflect upon views of others. Some might object, of course, on the grounds that templates are very straightforward and they have problems recognizing that the templates are just teasers to get the appetite of the writer rolling. Yet I would argue that the hardest part of writing is always getting started. Templates help get me started. Overall, then, I believe Graff and Birkenstein lay out the templates so that writers have purpose, direction, and a meaningful connection to what they create. This is an important point to make given that factual dissertations are boring – what makes a piece of writing is interjecting the “why” behind what one writes about.

Journal #3

Journal #3

What does Bartholomae mean when he says that students must “invent the university” when they write in college?

Students must be like chameleons: they must adapt to their surroundings at school, and write for the purpose of the class, subject, audience and professor. In a way, Bartholomae is asking a student to immerse himself in a subject, and through writing show that he has absorbed information.

What does Bartholomae suggest is a way for students to become “insiders” within academic discourse?

When Bartholomae described students as insiders, he implied that students must enter areas which are largely unfamiliar, yet they must write as if they have gained knowledge and command the subject matter. Another way to put it is that by the term insiders he means college students are writers who want to belong to a club of experts. The experts really know the subject whereas the student does not. Nevertheless, through proper record cites and giving credit to those experts, the student can express themselves as having pierced a little knowledge, and in doing so, temporarily become an insider.

Summarize some of the differences between the two examples of student writing that Bartholomae examines, and Bartholomae’s opinion of these examples.

One difference in the two writing styles that Bartholomae highlights is the interpretation of creativity. He summarizes one writer as plain vanilla, or white socks, and sharply contrasts this with the song writer, whom he depicts as introspective, complex, and Rocky Road with sprinkles as compared to plain vanilla. Taking the two writing styles a bit further, much of the focus centers around ownership of the essay, or writing with a personal connection. The second author is well-complimented; the first is not. Bartholomae encourages students to show that creativity is more than just coming up with a new idea. Being creative can also mean expressing oneself as opposed to telling.

Michelle Kuecks
COMP 2000 – 31341
January 8, 2008
Journal Entry #2

Claim:

In this article, the claim “In modern Washington, trillion is the new billion” which appears in the first paragraph, sets the tone and is the main point that the author attempts to convey.

Data:

Throughout the article, several figures are spewed out as examples of prior government spending on specific projects. In other words, data is used to show how the government is a well-oiled wheel when it comes to spending millions and even billions of dollars.

Warrant:

One example that the writer assumes the reader has is:
“The human mind is not well equipped to fathom a number that large. A check for $1 trillion -- a million million dollars -- would have 12 zeros to the left of the decimal point.”

Grounds:

Well, Thomas Jefferson purchased Louisiana for $15 million in 1803. In today's dollars, that'd be about $261 million; rescaled as a share of the current economy, it'd still be a steal at $409 billion.

Backing:

“From an historical perspective, $1 trillion is far more than the signature expenditures over the life of American government, the ones the politicians and columnists cite when they say we need another moon shot, Manhattan Project or [insert cliché here] for this or that priority.”

Qualifier:

What about other big-ticket items?

Conditions or Rebuttal:

“Leave it to Mr. Obama and Congress to make even WWII seem like a relative bargain.”

References

(2009). Feels like a trillion bucks. Retrieved January 6, 2009, from The Wall Street Journal. Website http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123120542333456031.html
(2009). The Toulmin Model of Argument. Retreived January 8, 2009, from The University of Oklahoma. Website http://students.ou.edu/S/Charles.R.Swadley-1/argumentation.htm

Michelle Kuecks
COMP 2000 – 31341
January 6, 2008
Journal Entry #1 - revised for formatting

Claim:

In modern Washington, trillion is the new billion. (“Feels Like a Trillion Bucks”, 2009)

Type of Claim:

This claim deals with policy. In an attempt to call attention to the current upward trend
of the federal budget the claim calls for action and a change in policy. In Washington
today, a change in vocabulary is warranted, from billion to trillion, like a hot new fashion
trend that is the latest craze. Specifically, the aim of the claim is to call attention to the
federal budget reaching towards a trillion dollars. Although one can spin this claim off in
many different directions and call it a factually oriented claim, if one takes a few steps
back and analyses the whole point of the claim, it is to call attention to what we should do
about our policymakers in Washington.

Some of the appeal of this claim is supported by the intentions of President-Elect Barack
Obama, whose proposed economic stimulus package over a very short two-year period
just under $1 billion dollars. To set this figure into context, it is pinned against other
claims of government spending that pale by comparison. Additionally, the author breaks
down what exactly is a trillion dollars, so that the reader can attempt to get a visual
concept of this previously elusive figure which is now fast becoming a reality. While
these points added strength to the original claim, perhaps the strongest evidence comes
from a quote from a United States Senator. His words pretty much summed up how
comfortable politicians are with the way they describe money in words. In the beginning
of the article Senator Everett Dirksen displayed his loose concept of money, “A billion
here, a billion there…”, like it was a game of monopoly. (Wall Street Journal, 2009).

Reference

(2009). Feels like a trillion bucks. Retrieved January 6, 2009, from The Wall Street
Journal. Website http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123120542333456031.html

Journal #1

Michelle Kuecks
COMP 2000 – 31341
January 6, 2008
Journal Entry #1

Claim:

In modern Washington, trillion is the new billion. (“Feels Like a Trillion Bucks”, 2009)

Type of Claim:

This claim deals with policy. In an attempt to call attention to the current upward trend
of the federal budget the claim calls for action and a change in policy. In Washington
today, a change in vocabulary is warranted, from billion to trillion, like a hot new fashion
trend that is the latest craze. Specifically, the aim of the claim is to call attention to the
federal budget reaching towards a trillion dollars. Although one can spin this claim off in
many different directions and call it a factually oriented claim, if one takes a few steps
back and analyses the whole point of the claim, it is to call attention to what we should do
about our policymakers in Washington.
Some of the appeal of this claim is supported by the intentions of President-Elect Barack
Obama, whose proposed economic stimulus package over a very short two-year period
just under $1 billion dollars. To set this figure into context, it is pinned against other
claims of government spending that pale by comparison. Additionally, the author breaks
down what exactly is a trillion dollars, so that the reader can attempt to get a visual
concept of this previously elusive figure which is now fast becoming a reality. While
these points added strength to the original claim, perhaps the strongest evidence comes
from a quote from a United States Senator. His words pretty much summed up how
comfortable politicians are with the way they describe money in words. In the beginning
of the article Senator Everett Dirksen displayed his loose concept of money, “A billion
here, a billion there…”, like it was a game of monopoly. (Wall Street Journal, 2009).

Reference

(2009). Feels like a trillion bucks. Retrieved January 6, 2009, from The Wall Street
Journal. Website http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123120542333456031.html