Backpacks vs. Briefcases

I found this weeks reading to be a very accurate depiction of every day life.  Although many people often keep their judgments to themselves, it is human nature to pass judgments, many times without even realizing it. This does not just apply to people, but media and “real life” situations as well. Rhetoric parallels this idea perfectly as it is the way these situations, encounters and forces in the media are shown. I found the example in Backpacks vs. Briefcases to be very well put as they discussed men’s deodorant. Not only do they want you to buy the product, they send messages on sexuality and how a “normal” male figure should look. In reality, you are just buying the deodorant, but the rhetoric behind the way the media presents it is completely different. This goes hand in hand with knowing your audience and the context in which you are presenting your item. This same men’s deodorant add would not be found in a children’s magazine, or on Disney channel. It would be shown during a time where the viewers buying the product would be present. For example, any sort of late night television, sports station, etc. This is not all coincidence; it is recognizing a rhetorical situation and the elements used to construct it within its genre (context, audience, etc).

This is my first time constructing and Academic Argument, so I found the Finding Evidence reading to be helpful. It broke down each area into specifics, such as; considering the rhetorical situation, using data and evidence from research sources and collecting your own date. The one I found to be most effective for me personally was using data from research sources. I am good at doing the research, but struggle with using and incorporating research from other people into my argument. By determining what kinds of sources I will need before searching for them I feel it will help in making this process less stressful. I also learned there is a large difference between an academic source and a popular source; for example a library database vs. an article from national geographic. Knowing how to look for this research, and when to ask questions will help ease my frustration when beginning my search.

Artifact Analysis

Reaching out to my interviewee was interesting for me because it was someone I know really well. This made constructing an email somewhat difficult because I did not want to sound too professional, but also wanted to get my point across. I chose to interview one of my coworkers who has an awesome health and wellness program, which I have been interested in since I met her. Her response to my email was quick, and to the point. This was great since I would rather discuss details and collect artifacts in person. After she gave me the “okay”, I took a thorough look at her website for more information. This gave me insight as to how she goes about appealing to her audience and the message she is trying to convey via social media and the web.

It was not difficult to get ahold of Lauren (my interviewee), as I see her at work and am in contact with her often. Our emails were very short, and just enough to get the job done and confirm that she would be willing to help me. The rest of our configurations of when and where to meet happened when I saw her in person. With this being said, our emails do not hold much information on the program itself, they are simply just there to signify that I am interested in learning more about what she does and why. I feel that this helped me discover the context of how the interview and future discussions would be. I had a feeling she would be easy to reach out to, but her quick and positive reply made me feel much more comfortable with continuing this assignment.

On the front page of Lauren’s website, is a clear one sentence blurb about her program. It reads, “a transformative 12 week program to unleash your inner VIXEN”. I feel this is direct, yet also leaves the viewer wanting to read more about why they should be interested in this program, over others. She then goes into detail about what being a “VIXEN” stands for. Each letter signifies an area within the program, and these areas are described in a couple quick sentences. Her bullet points are direct, and clear, causing the reader to have enough information, but not be overwhelmed with too much text in their face. On the bottom of the information page is an area to sign up for the program. The layouts of her pages are appealing to the eye and easy to understand which I believe to be the selling point to those who are interested. Personally, I would not want to spend hours trying to configure a webpage just to find out what it is about and I feel Lauren does a good job of making this easily accessible and smooth.

Through more research not only on Lauren's website, but also her Facebook page, I found various links to meal planning, mental health awareness, how to balance stress and every day life, and much more. The Facebook page appeared to be incredibly helpful, as Lauren posts to it much more often. It was also where I could find feedback from other people as to how they felt the program changed their lives. Feedback from others is very important when gaining knowledge on the program. Positive (and negative) feedback is one of the best ways to hear raw and untouched information about how something works. Lauren's page is popular, bright and full of videos, links, and pictures that show what her program is about. They also show that she is updating and posting often which is a good indicator that she is working hard and cares about what she is doing. I think reaching out on Facebook was a great decision for her as it is a quick way to gain the attention of many people at once. Social media is huge when promoting businesses and she definitely uses it to her advantage.

I am excited to meet with Lauren in person and see what more information I can gain about her program. Her use of the web and social media is huge in promoting what she loves and getting her message across. It was cool to see social media used in such a positive way, as recently I feel I have seen a lot of negativity stemming from it. Lauren knows her audience well and how to appeal to the context of the viewers that show their interest.  

Murder! (Rhetorically Speaking)

There are so many factors of rhetoric that seem to get ignored or forgotten about. What was great about these readings is they focused in on how often we base writing and communication off certain “rules” of rhetoric without even realizing it. For example, in “Murder! (Rhetorically Speaking)”, it is discussed how people tend to follow the conventions of the genre at hand, just by the process of elimination. Sometimes I find that it is easier to narrow down the context of what and how I write something, just by knowing what NOT write about and include. The term rhetoric has always been somewhat hard for me to define, and until this reading I was still not sure what exactly it meant. I loved how Boyd broke it down to something so simple as, “rhetoric is what allows you to write (and speak) appropriately for a given situation, one that is determined by the expectations of your audience, implied or acknowledged, whether you are texting, writing a love letter, or bleeding a term paper” (Boyd 100). It is defined so clearly, yet has such a profound existence and is constantly being used.

In the reading on Understanding Rhetoric, I found the metaphor of clothing styles and what they say about a person’s identity to be very helpful. For example, one would not wear sweats and a t-shirt to a business conference, nor would they wear a business suit to go work out in. This is very similar to writing genres and how they are written for a specific audience. Knowing how to address a situation properly, to a specific group can add so much power to what is being discussed. I love the way this article gives such basic examples, as they are easy to follow and get the point across very clearly.

Both these articles helped when writing my e-mail as I was able to focus in on whom I was sending it to, and the conventions that make up a professional email. I feel I was able to write my e-mail which much more confidence then I would have before reading these chapters.

Understanding Rhetoric, and Everything's an Argument

Although these readings were essentially based around the same concept, I found the first two from "Understanding Rhetoric" to be much easier (and fun to read). Through years of high school and college I have written more papers than I can count, yet there is still so much I do not know about the fundamentals of academic writing. I did not realize how many outside factors influence ones writing space, and the "rules" that are somewhat demanded by the audience in which it pertains to. Each genre of writing has its own set of "guidelines" and it is important to realize and be aware of what they are before actually sitting down and writing.

I really enjoyed learning more about ethos, pathos, and logos, as they pertain so deeply to daily life. Even though those words are rarely ever used to describe feelings or situations they are the backbone and essence of credibility, emotion, and reason. Communication and writing does not exist without these three levels of rhetoric. I also loved the example of Karios, as it is becoming more and more relevant with the fast pace of society and people feeling rushed to respond to their peers in rapid time. This can often lead to less thought out responses and loss of credibility. Timing is important, but so is the level of work being produced and sent out. The two sides of Karios - appropriateness and responsiveness - can often times clash as it is easy to lose sight of the actual message being sent when rushing to send it.

 Lastly, the reading on Academic Arguments was packed full of useful information. Often times I forget about who my audience is when writing, and that can really effect the outcome of what is being produced. Channeling papers toward a specific audience makes them more powerful and relatable to those reading them. I feel this will be incredibly important when constructing emails, job applications, resumes, etc. These skills can and will be beneficial throughout the rest of my life and it is important to understand them and their relevance.

Navigating Genres

I found this article very interesting, as I did not realize how big of role genres play in everyday life. They are the basis behind many different forms of human interaction as well as nonverbal communication. Genres can dictate the foundations of a Facebook status, a job interview, or even something as important as the State of the Union Address. Without the components of these genres there would be no direction or structure behind many simple every day actions and routines. Miller discussed that “all genres matter because they shape our every day lives”. I found his example of The Onion to be really accurate as it is designed to make the viewer laugh and come off as some sort of sarcastic joke. Yet, in order to come across this way, the writers needed to understand the context in which they were writing, the readers they were going to gain (or lose), and the overall theme that was being given to this source of news. With this being said, two texts may be able to fit into the same “genre” but look completely different. This is can come across as a sort of Venn diagram. For example there may be a genre that has many different points in common with another, but they are not exactly the same. Therefore, it is good to know the expectations behind the basis of what one will be writing or speaking about before constructing a broad genre. Before this article, I did not realize how much of our social constructs and every day norms were based around the genres that encompassed them. This will help my writing in the future when narrowing down to one subject and not looking at a topic in such a broad sense.

About Me

Hi Everyone!

My name is Annie Ewald and I am from a very small town in Northern California, roughly 12 hours from Santa Barbara. I moved here 4 years ago and have been loving it ever since. The ocean has always played a huge role in my life whether that is surfing, scuba diving or just swimming. Needless to say, the warmer weather and water in Santa Barbara caters to those hobbies a bit more than 50-degree summers in my hometown. I have an older brother who lives in San Diego, so I feel I have explored almost all of the California Coast and its vastness. I love to be outside - hiking, running, at the beach and exploring new places. I have traveled all over the world and plan on continuing that as I get older. I feel that traveling is such a great way to gain first hand knowledge and experience the lifestyle of another culture, which I find is almost always eye opening. Every city or town has something new and refreshing to offer, and that’s what I have loved about Santa Barbara so far. After moving here, I spent three years at Santa Barbara City College and am so excited to spend my last year at Antioch. I am choosing to major in communications although am still not quite sure what exactly I want to do after college.  I love interacting with others and lending a helping hand to those in need when I can. One of the reasons I am excited to be at Antioch is because I feel I will obtain the skills and support I need to find my passion and career goals. I love smaller class settings and being able to create a close relationship with my peers and teachers, so I believe this is a great fit for me. I can’t wait to see what this semester has to offer!