Reading Response 6

“Annoying Ways People Use Sources” was another good read, and definitely helpful considering that we’re at the late stages of our research paper. Citing and using sources correctly is definitely a skill that takes practice, and also takes a solid understanding of the rules of the style you’re using. The reading made me consider how easily it would be to lose my credibility in the eyes of a reader if I were to cite incorrectly or confuse the reader with bad quotes. I’m much more familiar with MLA than in APA, so in my 2^nd draft of the essay I don’t think I correctly in-text cited. So for the 3^rd draft, I definitely have to redo a few things and I also still have to create my reference page following APA guidelines.

The reading also helped me to remember the importance or transitions. Good quotes can be ruined if you don’t include an adequate transition that not only leads into the quote, but also ties the quote into the larger argument of the paper. Transitions truly are just as important as the quotes themselves, and they can sometimes be tricky. 

Words of Steel: 2nd draft

They say ‘a picture is worth a thousand words,’ but what if those thousand words create a more beautiful, vivid image than the picture itself?  What if those words could pack more meaning and detail within them and paint a picture so detailed that even the most gorgeous of photos wouldn’t even come close in comparison?

Language allows you to think outside of the boundaries of what your eyes can see, opening up the opportunity to discover what your mind can see. There is a reason that we’ve all heard people say ‘the book was way better than the movie!’ It’s the same reason that typically only children’s books have illustrations along with text: because once you gain an understanding of words and their meanings, your imagination becomes the only illustrator you need—giving you the freedom and the ability to create your own mental images, tailored exactly to your own interpretations.

Within our language, which—according to Merriam Webster dictionaries—consists of nearly half a million unique words, the possibilities are seemingly endless. The palette of colors with which we may paint our pictures pales in comparison to the combinations of words we may use to describe the beauty of said pictures, or ones we create in our minds.  Humans are very visual creatures, but due to the vastness of language and the endless ways to use words and figurative language, I believe words can be just as strong—if not stronger—than images.

The transition from the beginning of language to the vast vocabulary we now have was definitely not a quick one. Research from Ira Spar (2004) shows that thousands of years ago, written language came about in its earliest form: the pictograph. These pictographs were typically created using sticks on damp clay or wood, and served as literal representations of everyday things—such as fish, grain, and animals. They also, as sophistication increased, served as a means of record keeping for economic and bureaucratic reasons. Spar’s research also indicates that these early forms of written language trace back to the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia—which is the present day Middle-Eastern region consisting of Iraq, Syria, and Kuwait—dating back as early as the middle of the fourth millennium B.C.

These archaic forms of written language serve as the foundation for what we have today: very modern and sophisticated languages filled with many, many words and many, many ways to use them. Not everyone realizes how truly remarkable the transition from pictographs and early record-keeping of early humans to what we have now is: more than 7,000 active languages world-wide (Noack & Gamio, 2015) each with their own unique set of words and rules to make up the breadth of that particular language. In addition to this, there are countless concepts pertaining to writing that also help to create strong messages and visuals—such as the use of rhetoric, which is described in “Understand Rhetoric” as “the spaces in which we write, converse, debate, and share ideas,” as well as ethos, pathos, and logos: writing which appeals to authoritative, emotional, and logical arguments in writing, respectively. Understanding and utilizing these concepts arms one with the necessary tools to create strong, vivid images using words.

Within the 7,000+ languages on the planet and all of the words within each—as well as the rules and concepts that allow you to use words in many different ways—language is not only powerful but also fascinating. The history that went into the development and creation of modern writing and language is also very special. The amount of time it took to build language as we know it serves as proof itself as to how important, necessary, and useful words are. Much like how many children are introduced to reading and writing with accompanying pictures, the history of our world languages began on a similar note, but transformed into what we have today.

Another important aspect of language is figurative language—which includes the simile, metaphor, hyperbole, and personification, in addition to several other devices. Figurative language allows you to describe in a non-literal sense; using words to not only tell, but also to show.

 For example, when telling somebody about a warm day at the beach, one may simply say the sun was shining and the water was cold. But for those who realize the true power of words, one may choose something a little more descriptive to paint a picture, such as: my skin was scorching from the intrusive rays of the beaming, golden sun, but the crisp, cerulean ocean water was refreshing and cool like a tall glass of lemonade.

Once you harness the power of language and learn to use it to the best of your abilities, you’ll soon realize that words are extremely powerful, and they empower you to not only tell a story, but to also create images that may rival those of beautiful photographs or drawings.

Despite humans being very visual creatures, we live in a world dominated by words, and many choose to learn early on the many amazing ways to use them and further themselves and their passions with them. In “Everything’s an Argument,” the chapter on research and arguments states that “some evidence is best obtained through direct interviews. If you can talk with an expert—in person, on the phone, or online—you might obtain information you couldn’t have gotten through any other type of research (404).” So, what better way is there to understand the power of words and writing than to discuss the topic with somebody who has a solid foundation in it?

Anne-Marie Charest, an educator, author, and all-around knowledge-seeker, has a strong background in marketing, psychology, and education, as well as more abstract areas such as spirituality, mindfulness, and meditation. With her degrees in Therapeutic Recreation, Gerontology, Clinical Psychology, as well as Transpersonal Psychology, her endeavors are great to say the least. Her expansive knowledge has taken her in many different directions—from a marketing career, to conducting research on mindfulness in schools, to authoring her book titled “InnerU Ocean Adventures, Embodied Mindfulness,” to teaching at Antioch University Santa Barbara: all of which have somehow been furthered by the power of words, and writing.

When asked about her background in writing with respect to the many different kinds of writing she has experience with, she had this to say:

“Writing is like any other skill: it’s the same thing as learning how to ride a bike, or learning how to skate. At first, it’s a little bit challenging and you’re all over the map, and you fall, and it looks pretty clumsy. And the more you practice your skill, the more you’re polishing yourself up and gaining the inner writing muscle in order to do it in a good way, and become more eloquent at writing.”

The beginning of Anne-Marie’s career was in marketing—as a Director of Marketing for several large corporations in the fields of telecom, beverages, as well as non-profit organizations. She experienced first-hand one of the many ways words can be just as strong as images: advertising. She described this form of writing within marketing and communications as “drier” than other forms of writing she has done, including academic writing and authoring.

“At first, it was the drier approach with marketing and communications—that was            impersonal. I feel like the academic writing solidified another dimension of that. You’re             making points; instead of selling points, you’re making arguments. Where in marketing           you’re saying, ‘Hey, look at this product! This is why it’s so cool.’ The other dimension            would be, as an author, you’re talking from more of a personal voice. It’s a different            language. Each has a different feel to it. You’re learning to be comfortable just by doing       it. It all goes hand in hand: if you’re writing and doing a brochure, or writing a poem, or          writing a song—they’re all facets of expression that emerge from within yourself.”

Anne-Marie’s career is a testament to the power of language, and also to the fact that not only are words powerful tools, yet they are also the foundation of several industries which—including marketing—further prove that words are, in fact, just as strong as images.

Another industry that utilizes the power of words is journalism. When scanning a newspaper or magazine article—or even listening to the radio or watching it on television—the stories are told, and not shown. The headline must be sufficient enough to not only engage the reader, but to also allow the reader to create a mental image of what the news story is going to tell them. Then, when reading the actual articles, it takes good story-telling and a strong understand of writing to not only tell, but to show what is going on. Even when articles or news broadcasts are accompanied by a visual, the main attraction is the words: you are given the facts and the details of a given situation, and it is up to you—the reader—to create mental images to go along with the words you are reading. If the writer has cultivated enough writing skills, the end result is a clear, vivid mental image of what happened, all without having to be shown. Your mind is the illustrator, and is the only tool you need to visualize. Strong words create strong images.

If words are not as strong as images, one must question how journalism, marketing, poetry, and every other writing-dominant field successfully conveys images through words without excessive use of images. When analyzing artifacts for the artifact analysis—which included television news scripts and newspapers—it became evident that one convention of this kind of writing style was the use of powerful words to create powerful images.

In “Navigating Genres” by Kerry Dirk, Carolyn Miller states that “a rhetorically sound definition of genre must be centered…on the action it is used to accomplish.” When it comes to journalism and the genre itself, the goal is always to tell a story and to allow the reader to be presented with enough facts and evidence to create mental images in an effort to form an opinion about the relevant news story. The reader is given information, context, quotes, and details which allow the reader to paint pictures within their minds and turn the text into images. Unlike a children’s storybook, the text isn’t reliant on an image or illustration to complete the idea: the words suffice.

The words will always suffice. When you take into context the amount of time it took for language to transition from pictographs on clay to the sophisticated language of today, in addition to the different word and language-dominant industries present in the world, as well as the plethora of ways and methods you can use words to not only tell, but to also describe and to show—you’ll understand that words, when used effectively, can in fact be just as strong—if not stronger—than images.

Reading Response 5

This week’s reading, Understanding Rhetoric and They Say, I Say, were meant to help us better understand what goes into developing a thesis statement and how to most effectively argue this thesis using relevant arguments. Understanding Rhetoric is always a great, informative read and this chapter was no exception. I always appreciate how the information is relevant in more than just one way. “Arguable Assertions” went into why arguments are necessary for explaining something, and how treating them more like conversations will help your core argument as a whole.  By forming a thesis based off of evidence (or grounds) and covering both sides of the argument, our arguments will seem more credible and help the readers understand where our argument comes from. The ‘what, how, who, why’ section explained how our evidence should be in some way answering these questions. The evidence is very important—considering it serves as the basis for the argument—but also very important is connecting the dots between the argument and the evidence gathered, so the reader gains a better understanding of why the evidence supports the thesis.

I found They Say, I Say super helpful in attempting to form my thesis statements and supporting evidence, as well as gaining an understanding of how to answer ‘who cares?’ and ‘why does this matter?’ in the paper. I didn’t fully realize how important it is to establish to the reader why they should care until I read this reading! I also love how they included the section with fill-in-the-blank templates to understand how easy it is to give this important information.

I definitely understand why Zack has said from the beginning to do the readings BEFORE the assignment for the week, and I’m glad he gives us readings that are actually relevant to what we’re doing! Now, off to go work on those thesis statements…

Interview Questions

Interview Questions (Draft)

1. Have you always been passionate about education? Or has that passion grown over time?

2. What made you want to pursue a career in marketing?  

3. How was the experience of being a Director of Marketing? Do you miss the marketing field?

4. Given your accomplishments, degrees, and research, what are some of the highlights of your career?

5. How large of a role has writing played in your careers?

6. Given your background in different fields, what made you want to pursue each one?

7. How do your areas of interest and knowledge relate to each other?

8. How was the experience of writing your book and mindfulness program?

9. Do you plan to author any more books?

10. Given you are an author, what would you say is the most important aspect of writing?

11. What forms of writing do you have experience with? What are your favorites/least favorites?

12. What is your favorite part about writing, and the writing experience?

Reading Response 4

After reading “How to Read Like a Writer” and “Introduction to Primary Research,” I feel I’ve gained a better understanding on how to read more effectively, and how to use research and reading in ways to better my own writing. An example that helped me understand the important relationship between reading and writing (in terms of using reading to better writing) was in the “How to Read Like a Writer” excerpt where Bunn explained that when you RLW, instead of reading for knowledge on the topic of whatever you’re reading, you’re trying to get knowledge and an understanding about the ‘writerly techniques’ used by the writer. The text itself—along with the decisions made by the writer that made the piece what it is—are what we’re not only reading, but trying to understand.

I still find it kind of confusing, but this week’s readings helped me get a better understanding of the concept. I definitely do understand the benefits of being able to read like a writer, and I understand how that can easily translate to becoming a better writer overall. Also, it helped me to realize that reading like a writer also means thinking about decisions I would make had it been me writing the piece. Also, knowing the context of the writing and what it’s about helps to gain a better understanding of some of the choices the writer makes.

Driscoll’s excerpt was very informative as well, but I would have to say I got more out of the Bunn’s. The information about sources and about how to effectively conduct surveys and interviews were great to read about before our actual interviews take place!

Artifact Analysis

One potential field I’m considering pursuing a career in is the media/news field. So, I thought that a few scripts and articles would be great artifacts to analyze for this project. I chose three broadcast news scripts, one teleprompter script for a news anchor, and one newspaper (a campus newspaper from the school I transferred from) where I plan to analyze a few articles within, as well as the newspaper as a whole.

            First things first, all of these artifacts fall within the same [general] genre: news, information, “story-telling” to some degree. Even though news can be told in print, broadcast, and multimedia form, it’s usually very easy to distinguish something in the news genre. News, in contrast with many other genres, usually doesn’t care too much about the author’s personal opinion, instead using quotes and facts to tell the story.

            Newspaper articles, television and radio scripts, as well as teleprompter scripts all have the same purpose, regardless of whether the audience is reading, listening, or watching. Though my artifacts all serve the same general purpose, there are a few differences worth discussing for the sake of analyzing. The scripts are, generally, meant to not only inform, but engage the viewer and get them interested in the topic enough to wait for the actual segment to be aired. For example, one of my scripts is a news anchor’s introduction: “Tonight on the Channel 4 news……..” This introduction serves as the starter to the news segment, much like a newspaper’s front page. Their purpose is to inform, engage the readers/listeners/viewers, and present them with facts, and not opinion unless it’s an opinion piece of news or a talk show. In contrast with creative writing or work of fiction where the purpose can be to inform but is usually more for entertainment/leisure, news writing’s purpose is to inform and engage, as well as forming a bond with the audience to ensure they are loyal.

            Next, the audience within the artifacts can vary. In the case of my artifacts, the television scripts are intended for the news crew who will translate the script for the television audience, while the newspaper is intended for a different kind of audience. Some people like to read their news, some people like to listen/watch their news. What these audiences have in common is they are choosing to be informed by news, not a short-story, or book of poetry; the audience wants information of some kind. Another key aspect of the news rhetoric is the inevitable fact that most publications/news stations rely heavily on viewers and readers to keep their organizations afloat, so it’s important that viewers get what they expect: which, again, is information, even if it’s told in an entertaining way.

            My artifacts all definitely have conventions which follow the news writing genre. Firstly, due to the nature of news, the ethos concept is extremely relevant to the entire genre. To establish the ethos credibility, newspapers boldly display the name of the publication on the front cover, and also provide bylines which tell the name of the author and other relevant information, such as date and time of publication. In addition, my script artifacts all do the same: the news anchor script immediately lets the viewers know what news station they are watching, which establishes the ethos concept.

            In addition to the convention of establishing credibility, the artifacts all adhere to a more-formal style of writing. The conventions of news writing greatly differ from other forms of writing based off of this alone; the omission of opinion in articles and segments, replaced with quotes and factual figures, are a convention not many genres of writing use, although definitely not exclusive to news writing. Also, the ‘story-telling’ involved with scripts and articles is conventional, as is the use of descriptive and vivid language.

            Another convention of news-writing is the use of attribution. Because news-writing is the telling of facts to tell the story, it’s crucial to state where this information is coming from, because it usually isn’t coming directly from the writer/anchor.

            The tone of my artifacts all definitely have something in common: they may be playful and engaging depending on the audience and type of news, but the tone screams purpose, and formality. Like I stated earlier, news-writing typically takes on a more-formal tone, and within my artifacts this is expressed by the diction and syntax. Most of the language used in my artifacts is authoritative; it’s less colloquial and casual, but proper and systematic. You instantly recognize you’re reading something that somebody had to be trained and conditioned on, as opposed to reading a blog post which is more relaxed and casual. The syntax adheres to conventional news-writing styles, which is one aspect of news-writing that makes it so recognizable. The scripts are laid out in two/three column displays, indicating which words are meant to be spoken by the on-air anchor, or meant to be performed by those behind the scenes (director, producer, technical director, etc).

Reading Response 3

After reading Chapter 17 in Everything’s an Argument and the “From Backpacks to Briefcases” excerpt, I can honestly say I do better understand what it really means to analyze rhetoric, and also how being able to recognize rhetorical styles can help writing skills overall. What really helped me begin to see the big picture is the part in “From Backpacks to Briefcases” where Carroll begins by explaining how we quickly analyze people and form quick judgements based off of what we see, much like we are learning to notice rhetoric styles in different forms of writing. It really does make sense: when I pick up a newspaper, I know pretty much what to expect because most newspapers follow very similar conventions, and on the other hand I know not to compare the writing in a newspaper with the writing in a children’s book or a non-fiction piece.

For example, on the first day of our writing class, I saw that Zack was dressed casually and wearing sandals—based off of these initial observations, I came to a quick conclusion that he must be a laid-back guy, and that the class would probably be more of a laid-back and open environment. If, on the other hand, Zack walked in wearing a suit and tie, fancy dress shoes, and a briefcase, my judgement might have been that he prefers a more formal classroom environment. This week’s readings helped me to understand that eventually we’ll all get to a point where we can notice written rhetoric, and understand the greater implications of these findings and apply them to our own writing. 

Reading Response 2

After reading another issue in “Understanding Rhetoric” and “Murder! (Rhetorically Speaking),” I once again am left with a lot more to consider and factor into my writing to achieve my goal of becoming a more effective writer! The benefits and ways of using identities in writing, another in-depth explanation about why it’s so important to always be aware of your audience and what you’re ultimately trying to argue in your writing, as well as the discussion about jargon and slang are probably my favorite parts of this week's reading. I also enjoyed the detective-writing exercise from Janet Boyd.

After reading the part about jargon and slang in “Murder! (Rhetorically Speaking),” I immediately realized that I had been subconsciously using some of these concepts. For example, a lot of my writing experience is from high school when I was writing for the school newspaper and discovering my interest in journalism. Even back then, for example, I realized the words and rhetoric I would use to convey the tone and my identity would be completely different in an article for the newspaper compared to an essay for English class. Even when discussing the same exact event or topic, the rhetoric will depend on the genre and intended audience.

I also found the fashion/clothing metaphor in “Understanding Rhetoric” extremely helpful in understanding the idea of identity in writing—just as you probably wouldn’t dress the same going to church, school, and the bar, the way you present yourself in your writing shouldn’t be one size fits all. For example, for the e-mail assignment, I’m very much aware that the way I would be writing it would be much different if I was sending it to a family member, old teacher, friend, etc, but the fact is I’m sending it to a professional person in a career that I’m interested in so my tone, identity, and rhetoric all need to reflect that.

Reading Reponse 1

Before I began reading the assigned reading material for the week, I kind of thought I knew a lot about writing already—which I later discovered to not be the whole truth. I learned that just because I have some experience with writing in a few different styles, I have only begun to brush the surface; I may know how to write a paper or write an article, but I realize I don’t completely grasp writing as a whole. What I mean by that is that I’ve pretty much just been going through the motions, not truly grasping the fundamental ideas and underlying concepts of writing. I’m very excited to see how many ways this writing class will help me become a better writer.

All three of the assigned readings in some way managed to get me thinking, but I’m blown away by the ‘Understanding Rhetoric’ readings. I love how it immediately made me realize that writing is much more than simply WHAT you’re writing about, and I also appreciate the comic-style. What really hit the nail on the head was the discussion of ethos, pathos, and logos, and how all writing is arguing something. I loved the example of social media: how something as seemingly simple as posting a status update on Facebook about the loss of a pet is applying the pathos concept. It’s fascinating when you realize that all writing has a purpose and concepts that make it what it is, even if you don’t realize it.

I’m excited to build a more solid understanding of these concepts, and learn the ways to apply them in each and every writing style/situation.

About Me!

Hey guys! My name is Damon Hickman, I’m 23 and I was born and raised in our beautiful state’s capitol, Sacramento. Despite Sacramento lacking Santa Barbara’s natural beauty and all-around charm, I do miss my home, but at the same time I feel very lucky that I was given the opportunity to study here at Antioch. I am a taking the Communication and Media concentration, and have been very interested in journalism, writing, the media and people for as long as I can remember. Back in high school I wrote for the campus newspaper, and my senior year I was lucky enough to serve as editor! Though that was years ago, I learned a lot of my journalism foundation back then and discovered that I’m passionate enough about the subject to pursue a career in it. During my first few college years, before transferring to Antioch, I continued to take journalism and broadcasting classes which even further confirmed that this is the direction I want to take for my future. I love reading, writing, and the English language, but I feel that the career path I wish to take after college will be more of the broadcast/multimedia path. It’s a sad fact that print journalism (in many ways) is greatly suffering as a result of our amazing technological advances, but I still hope that it won’t completely go extinct.

In addition to journalism and media, I am very interested in psychology, sociology, and philosophy—I think studying these fields can only help you better understand people, as well as give you a better understanding about our world. I am very, very close with my family--they are a huge support system and inspirations in my life, and I’m very thankful that I grew up in such a close-knit and loving family. I love nature, music, art, and walking as much as I can!

I look forward to getting to know all of you, and I also look forward to crossing paths throughout our journeys here at Antioch. Here’s to a great quarter, and a great school year! J