Reading Reviews- Week #3

Backpacks Vs. Briefcases:

This was a very interesting read for me because it discussed a=our instant impressions we have on others even when we don’t mean to. We make first impressions on people simply based on what they’re wearing, how they accessorize, to even how their hair is done. As a society we come to make conclusions on people’s personality without even knowing them at all. I thought this was very appealing to me because I know that every one of us do it, but these impressions can instantly change as we start to get to know this person better and better. Rhetoric is a way of persuasion that can be used through media that we see everywhere such as Twitter, online web pages, text messages, to even TV shows. These types of media of rhetoric can be very persuasive to us all and sometimes not in a very healthy way. Lloyd Bitzger stated that there are three parts of understanding a rhetorical moment; exigence, audience, and constraints. Each one of these are very crucial in understanding rhetorical persuasion and how it affects us all as a society. Also asking questions can be very important here because it can determine if it is a credible source and a persuasion that is worth considering. Understanding rhetorical analysis is very important for us all and can lead to a great impact on our world.  

Finding Evidence:

It was important to read that the main sources that students will use on most academic arguments are from books, articles, films, and even documentaries. This is a very true analysis because these sources are what I most likely use when I am doing research, especially, when finding academic arguments. It was also very interesting to read that the most important way to begin an academic argument is making the simple trip to the library and having a thorough discussion with the librarian or even your teacher. I thought this was very critical because I find that the best sources can be from these professionals because they can always steer you in the right direction and give you very beneficial advice. It was also appealing to read that a lot of academic sources today are though online databases, which are only available though the library’s system. These type of sources are very useful because are a guide of important journal and magazine articles, as well as databases of useful new stories and statistics. Keywords are critical when using online databases because it is a way to narrow down your specific topic and argument you are trying to obtain. Also collecting data on your own can be useful such as performing experiments, making observations, conducting interviews and surveys are very beneficial when collecting data as well.

Readings- Week #2

Murder! (Rhetorically Speaking):

I thought this reading was really interesting and very much kept me involved! I really enjoyed how Janet Boyd was able to tie a long a murder case to her main point; rhetorical skills. It was very interesting to me that she was able to come up with this exercise to test our rhetorical skills that we already posses. I honestly did not think I would be that great at being a rhetorical writer in this type of genre, but Boyd was able to put my skills to the ultimate test. It was compelling to me that she gave us a scenario of a murder with only 5 simple facts that we could use. With these facts, we were supposed to write up the case being different personas such as being the detective, coroner, eulogist, and even the lawyer. This allowed me to dive into rhetoric from all different situations and it guided me to understand that I can be quite effective if I put my mind into it through even jargons and the right tone.

Writing Identities:

This reading was very compelling to me. It discussed how rhetoric is about representing a character that their readers can trust in any given situation. It dives into how we can play certain social roles when writing and how we put on that identity in a professional manner. I started thinking of my own rhetorical situations and how I can play those certain identities in my writing. Recently I applied for an internship and for the body of the email I had to prove myself in a strong appealing way. I got help from my career counselor and she helped me write a very effective and professional email, which lead me to get their attention and asked me to interview with them this week! Very exciting!