Reflection on Project 3

Ah reflection, here we come. In this post I will be reflecting on Project 3 by answering the questions posed in WPL. In honor of Thanksgiving, enjoy the turkey comics. 

Firestone, Herb "Thanksgiving Day Humor"
11/22/13 via pinterest

1. What specifically was revised from one draft to the other?

Specifically my main revision was the fact that I included the importance of Koko's Kitten as far as the function it fills in teaching children about death. Also I worked on making it so that the emotional appeals were definitely there working their magic, but they weren't so blatantly obvious. 

2. Global changes: How did you reconsider thesis and organization?

I kept my overall argument the same throughout revision, since I think it was pretty clear what I was trying to do with the project. But I changed around the organization a little bit so that I had relevant information that led up to Robin Williams' death concerning Koko's Kitten and it was helpful to my argument. 

3. What led to these changes?

I basically changed this to better achieve the purpose I was trying to fulfill. I wanted my audience to feel nostalgic and be led to my way of thinking through this nostalgia, and so I made changes to make this more possible.

4. How do these changes affect your credibility as a writer?

I think that they don't necessarily impact my credibility. I was trying to do it in a way that wasn't too obvious to my reader, but I feel like maybe by making a stronger case for myself I made myself more credible. 

5. How will these changes better address the audience?

Again it's how I went for the nostalgic feel. I think that considering the generation that I was catering towards, I needed to make these connections to their personal pasts to make my piece more poignant to them. 

Firestone, Herb "Thanksgiving Humor"
11/22/14 via pinterest.

6. Local changes: How did you reconsider sentence structure and style?

I worked on making sure that I was conversational and casual in my sentence structure because this is a convention of my genre. I also liked utilizing the pretty sounding sentence structure that is used in the genre. 

7. How will these changes assist your audience in understanding your purpose?

I think that this will for one make  it seem less like I am trying to shove my argument down their throats and more like I a just having a conversation with them. The way that I present my argument isn't very overwhelming and so hopefully this would lead to my audience not feeling attacked. I just want to show them of this different perspective, not change their entire belief system or anything. 

8. Did you have to reconsider the conventions of the genre?

I had to for the title. It seems like a really dumb long title, but believe me, that's what they like in this genre. So I had to find a way to emulate that which was sort of difficult. Also since the genre varies in tone and structure, I had to find and consider the one that would most likely be used for this kind of piece. 

9. How did reflection help you consider your identity as a writer?

It actually makes me feel pretty insightful as a writer to be able to justify my reasoning for what I did or didn't do with this process. I think that reflecting on this makes me feel better about my own writing, because it makes it clear that I wasn't just arbitrarily pounding on keys, I had a plan. And I really like that I am able to consider the reader's needs and change my writing accordingly. 

Publishing Public Argument

The conclusion! The last big project before the final! And it can be found in this very blog post! Here is the link to my Project 3. 

Mattox, Bailey "Puppy" 11/22/15

1. Mark with an "x" where you feel your target audience currently stands on the issue (before reading/watching/hearing your argument) below:

←---------------------------------------x-------------|--------------------------------------------------------->

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly

agree                                                                                                                          disagree

2. Now mark with an "x" where you feel your target audience should be (after they've read/watched/heard your argument) below:

←-----------x-----------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------->

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly

agree                                                                                                                          disagree

3. Check one (and only one) of the argument types below for your public argument:

         ___x____ My public argument establishes an original pro position on an issue of debate.

         _______ My public argument establishes an original con position on an issue of debate.

         _______ My public argument clarifies the causes for a problem that is being debated.

         _______ My public argument prooposes a solution for a problem that is being debated.

         _______ My public argument positively evaluate a specific solution or policy under debate (and clearly identifies the idea I'm supporting).

         _______ My public argument openly refutes a specific solution or policy under debate (and clearly identifies the idea I'm refuting).

4. Briefly explain how your public argument doesn’t simply restate information from other sources, but provides original context and insight into the situation:

By providing a personal insight using the stories about my mother and how Koko has affected my life, I provide original material. But really this topic has not been traditionally covered by looking at the emotional side of the debate. Most of the time people either have their hearts warmed by this story or they argue the facts and logic of the situation: can Koko really understand and repeat human communication. So by focusing on the emotional benefits, I give a side that can be seen in the public has not been reported on or explicitly talked about. 

5. Identify the specific rhetorical appeals you believe you've employed in your public argument below:

Ethical or credibility-establishing appeals

                    ___x__ Telling personal stories that establish a credible point-of-view

                    ___x__ Referring to credible sources (established journalism, credentialed experts, etc.)

                    _____ Employing carefully chosen key words or phrases that demonstrate you are credible (proper terminology, strong but clear vocabulary, etc.)

                    _____ Adopting a tone that is inviting and trustworthy rather than distancing or alienating

                    ___x__ Arranging visual elements properly (not employing watermarked images, cropping images carefully, avoiding sloppy presentation)

                    _____ Establishing your own public image in an inviting way (using an appropriate images of yourself, if you appear on camera dressing in a warm or friendly or professional manner, appearing against a background that’s welcoming or credibility-establishing)

                    ___x__ Sharing any personal expertise you may possess about the subject (your identity as a student in your discipline affords you some authority here)

                    ___x__ Openly acknowledging counterarguments and refuting them intelligently

                    ___x__ Appealing openly to the values and beliefs shared by the audience (remember that the website/platform/YouTube channel your argument is designed for helps determine the kind of audience who will encounter your piece)

                    _____ Other: 

Emotional appeals

                    ___x__ Telling personal stories that create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    ___x__ Telling emotionally compelling narratives drawn from history and/or the current culture

                    ___x__ Employing the repetition of key words or phrases that create an appropriate emotional impact

                    ___x__ Employing an appropriate level of formality for the subject matter (through appearance, formatting, style of language, etc.)

                    _____ Appropriate use of humor for subject matter, platform/website, audience

                    _____ Use of “shocking” statistics in order to underline a specific point

                    ___x__ Use of imagery to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    _____ Employing an attractive color palette that sets an appropriate emotional tone (no clashing or ‘ugly’ colors, no overuse of too many variant colors, etc.)

                    _____ Use of music to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    _____ Use of sound effects to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    ____ Employing an engaging and appropriate tone of voice for the debate

                    __x___ Other: Connecting back to the audience's own childhood/personal life to create nostalgic feeling

Logical or rational appeals

                    _____ Using historical records from credible sources in order to establish precedents, trends, or patterns

                    _____ Using statistics from credible sources in order to establish precedents, trends, or patterns

                    _____ Using interviews from stakeholders that help affirm your stance or position

                    _____ Using expert opinions that help affirm your stance or position

                    __x___ Effective organization of elements, images, text, etc.

                    __x___ Clear transitions between different sections of the argument (by using title cards, interstitial music, voiceover, etc.)

                    __x___ Crafted sequencing of images/text/content in order to make linear arguments

                    _____ Intentional emphasis on specific images/text/content in order to strengthen argument

                    _____ Careful design of size/color relationships between objects to effectively direct the viewer’s attention/gaze (for visual arguments)

                    _____ Other: 

6. Below, provide us with working hyperlinks to THREE good examples of the genre you've chosen to write in. These examples can come from Blog Post 11.3 or they can be new examples. But they should all come from the same specific website/platform and should demonstrate the conventions for your piece:

http://www.avclub.com/article/ghosts-and-monsters-were-least-scary-part-goosebum-226431

http://www.avclub.com/article/25-years-later-teen-witch-still-fun-yet-little-rid-210843

http://www.avclub.com/article/despite-dystopia-lit-burnout-giver-keeps-giving-208176

Reflection on Project 3 Draft

For my peer reivew, I looked at Michaela and Grace's drafts. The review sheets can be found here: MICHAELA'S REVIEW SHEET, GRACE'S REVIEW SHEET.

Now that Draft 3 is complete, I am going to take this post to evaluate the process I have undergone thus far in Project 3.

Mattox, Bailey "Sammy" 11/15/15

Grace reviewed my project 3 rough draft. Since I had just done an outline of sorts for my draft and where I was going to put evidence and had not yet added all of the specific evidence, most of her advice was stuff I was already going to do. I thought it was a bit confusing that she told me to make separate paragraphs for rebuttal arguments because that's what I thought I had already done. But I did like her advice about appealing directly to the audience, and was able to use that in revision.

I think that I need to focus in a little on what my purpose is and achieving my purpose, as well as my argumentation. I think that with another revision of two I could add in some extra phrases and ideas that could help strengthen these.

After peer review and conferences I am feeling pretty confident about the direction I want to take in my draft. I think that the advice I received will really help to make this project successful and really make my audience think the way I want them to.

Draft of Public Argument

Now that I have composed my draft, I have a few requests of my peer reviewers. First of all, this draft is quite rough and will hopefully be getting significantly better in the coming week. What I'm really hoping you'll keep in mind is my audience. Do you think that it creates the desired affect in my reader, the nostalgia and all? If you have any advice on the matter please let me know. Also do you think my conclusion is strong enough? In the past I have had a hard time getting out of the high school "summarize and wrap up the essay rut. So if you could watch out for those things it would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance for the peer review! Here is my draft.

Stockman, Daniel "Corgi Puppies 95" 05/28/11 via flickr. Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

Considering Visual Elements

In this post I will be assessing and deciding on the visual elements I could utilize in my project to make it more effective to my audience. I hope to make it pretty enough to where part of my rhetorical job is already done before I even begin writing. And because its nice when the final piece is visually pleasing.

Sission, Cari "For the Love of Goats" 11/06/14 via pinterest

• What color choices best represent the visual/rhetorical tone of my project?

I think that for this genre I should just stick with a standard black font and a white background. I haven't found any of the posts on the Memory Wipe section of the website that don't follow this convention so I think it would be weird for me to change that. Adding different colors could help me play on the emotions of the audience (red is shown to produce feelings of anger etc) but I think overall the benefits of black and white overpower the benefits of color.I think that I will be able to keep my audience focused on what I am saying and not the "pretty swirly font" by doing this.

• How might I use font in my project to create emphasis?

I want to definitely use a big bold font for my title. This will be used to state in a bold and clear way what my plans are for my writing. Since there aren't headings in this genre, I think the best thing to do would be to stick with a standard size (12 point Times New Roman for example) font that will fit the conventions of the genre. If I make it bigger or smaller it might negatively impact the overall readability of my piece and I wouldn't want to risk compromising my audience's interest by doing something like that.

• Is the theme or association the image produces relevant to the theme of my argument?

I plan on using an image of the front of the Koko's Kitten book at the beginning of my piece. This is again one of the conventions of the genre. I think this works well to create the desired affect since what I am largely going after is the nostalgic impact. I think that seeing this opening image my audience would already be falling into my rhetorical (for lack of a better word) trap of pathos. I can imagine someone looking at the opening picture and going "Aw" nostalgically and being tempted into reading the whole thing. Plus the cover of Koko's Kitten is like uber cute, I mean who doesn't want to see a gorilla cuddling a kitten, amiright? I also think that a closing image of Koko and her kitten would be effective at the end of my piece. 

• Is the feeling or tone associated with the picture invocative of the visual rhetorical tone of my argument?

Yes, definitely. I think that by starting off the piece with this picture I already get my audience in the right frame of mind for reading my writing. They will be feeling the nostalgic tone before I even start writing and I think that will be really helpful. And the picture at the end would be a sort of mic drop effect where its just like "now think about THAT" which would be really cool I think. I'm all for the mic drops. 

• Do your eyes more easily from section to section in the order you intended?

At least in my outline, yes this is true. I want to break this piece up into small to medium sized paragraphs since this is one of the conventions of this genre. I think this will help create the desired flow of information in my project. If I was to make my paragraphs too long in a project like this my audience might be easily lost or bored in the sheer volume of the text. 

• Do the different visual and textual elements come together as a whole?

I think all of the different visual aspects of my project will come together nicely to create the desired effect. I think by putting the pictures at the beginning and end of my piece and perhaps even a few in the middle, I am interspersing more pathos into my piece, It will also be a way to sort of spice up the black and white text and background. This combined with the paragraph length will help to keep my audience engaged for the duration of my argument.

• Are the imaged placed and sequenced in the most convincing way?

I think that the organization I have planned is actually very strategic. I will be sure to put certain pictures at certain intense moments in my piece for maximum impact and the pictures at the beginning and end will serve as sort of introductions and conclusions in themselves. I mean of course I will include a real intro and conclusion as well but the images will get my audience in the right frame of mind as I guide their emotions (dance for me puppets!). They will be an intro to the intro and sub-conclusion if you will, and the middle images will be sort of focusing pictures. I think that these images will be a very subtle way of guiding my audience to what I am trying to say in my argument. 

Project 3 Outline

Using the book's advice on public arguments, I will now construct an outline of Project 3. I am also going to take into account my experience with my Project 2 outline and how the more I put in the outline the easier the draft is to write. FUNNY FACT: When I was looking for evidence just now, my  blog popped up as a search result :P

"Gorillas Fighting" via 9gag.com

I would like to take a moment to appreciate that in the comments under this picture, r0rsch4ch took the time to say "fake gorillas aren't real".  No problem with the lightsabers, but by golly gee you guys those gorilla are the problem with this picture. Anyways, moving on...

INTRODUCTION: CONNECT THE ISSUE TO THE AUDIENCE'S WORLD VIEW

I think due to the personal and emotional manner I will be presenting this subject, this would be the best introduction method. I want to make the reader look back to their past and how it affects THEM as a generation. What I want to do in my introduction is introduce how this generation of people was affected by Koko the gorilla and her story. I want to start off my claim by saying how science has made it all about the logical proof and overlooked the emotional impact on the American people. I will use the context of the corrupt America today to state why this is important in the lives of my audience. Also I will briefly outline how feeling connected to another species can bring a oneness with the world that can be very beneficial. Then I will state my thesis about how the emotional impact of Koko the gorilla's communication and story is just as important as the logical proof.



BODY

Supporting Arguments

• The articles about Robin Williams' death and Koko's reaction- public reaction to story
• Koko the kitten reviews- people talking about feeling connected
• Comments on YouTube videos about it being heartwarming
• Comments on articles about story being heartwarming/cute
• Articles about connection to Koko emotionally

Criticisms

• People that don't believe in Koko's "communication skill"
• "What Do Talking Apes Really Tell Us?" article
• People who condemn believers
• Scientists that just look for straightforward evidence
• People that believe Koko's skill is due to selective interpretation and to earn money
• Comments on YouTube/Articles about it being stupid/fake
• People that think the whole thing is pointless/dumb

Key Support 

• Articles about Robin Williams' death- this is important to putting this into a context of today's world and how it helped the nation cope and grieve and not feel alone after the tragedy (http://www.today.com/pets/robin-williams-mourned-koko-gorilla-1D80056867)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOVS9zotSqM
• Comments on articles/videos-These are interesting and important insight into the public's opinion of Koko and the emotional impact her story has made ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOVS9zotSqM)                           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teB-Icrog6E (comment about being just like humans and "soft"
• Koko's Kitten reviews- This is important to putting it into a past cultural perspective, or when my audience was growing up. This will also create the nostalgic affect that will help create the effect I want (mention Mom and her experiences) http://www.amazon.com/Kitten-Reading-Rainbow-Francine-Patterson/product-reviews/0590444255                  http://boingboing.net/2011/07/27/kokos-kitten-a-classic-kids-book.html

Rebuttal Points

• People that think it is all for monetary gain or from selective interpretation-I can address this viewpoint while also strengthening my point when I point out what the people who believe have gained and the emotional deficits of those that have this viewpoint (Include "What Do Talking Apes Really Tell Us?" article). I will also want to point out what the revenues from the gorilla foundation go to, and how the selective interpretation is not detrimental to society.
• Scientists looking for straightforward evidence- I need to address why this is also important in the grand scheme of things. The whole goal of my project is to make the audience see why straightforward facts are not the only important part of this story, so I will have to address the viewpoint several times throughout the "heartwarming tale" but skeptics are more wise.article. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/08/koko_kanzi_and_ape_language_research_criticism_of_working_conditions_and.html quote about how 
• People that don't believe Koko's communication skill- I will use this viewpoint to address the fact that they can think this AND see the emotional benefits at the same time. This will also be a main part of my argument and so I will have to address the fact that this is an opinion. This will actually be helpful to my argument whether people agree with this viewpoint or not, because it will give me credibility as an author and draw my audience closer to me. http://sguforums.com/index.php?topic=1494.105

Tentative Topic Sentences For KEY SUPPORT

• In fact, stories about Koko the gorilla helped the American people through a recent tragedy: the death of Robin Williams in 2014. 
• One of the most candid ways of seeing the public's reaction to Koko's stories is in the comments left on articles and videos by individuals touched by the stories. 
• Koko first stole the public's heart in 1987, when the book Koko's Kitten was published. That was the point at which the name "Koko" began to become a household name. (I had to include that second sentence because otherwise I'll forget it).

Tentative Topic Sentences for REBUTTAL POINTS

• Although some might argue that this is all a ploy for monetary gain, the revenue has been put to noble use by the Gorilla Foundation. (talk about how Koko was the start of the foundation and all the good that has come from it) (again, I had to include that or I would forget).
• Koko has been the result of leaps and bounds in the field of animal communication, however as a result the positive emotional impact on America has been largely overlooked.
• Without a doubt the degree of Koko's communication skill is still up in the air, but what isn't are the emotional benefits in spite of the logical uncertainty. 

Popplet

The link to the Popplet of the outline of my argument can be found here. I tried a different platform for my web so its a little ugly but it should be alright to follow.

CONCLUSION: POSITIVE CONSEQUENCES

In my conclusion I am going to talk about the positive effect of all the emotions and happenings that I have talked about in my article. It isn't necessarily a positive PHYSICAL action that will create the positive affects, but a positive mental action. I will talk about how keeping in mind the other outcomes of this controversy can make it so no matter the scientific outcome, something morally good has come from it. I will talk about how Koko's story is still developing and will be continuing to inspire positive emotional out pours if the public is willing to look past the bare logic of the situation.



REFLECTION

For my reflection I looked at the visual elements Olivia and Grace planned on using for their projects. I really want to be able to look a things from my audience's point of view like Olivia can, and I think that this skill will be really effective for her project. I also noticed that Grace is going to take (what is in my opinion) the harder route by trying to stay unbiased. Its cool how she's trying to challenge herself like that, and I think her use of call-outs in the text will be really effective. Also Lia's comment on my post made me feel pretty confident about my own project's visuals. I'm excited to implement these plans and see how they work out!

Analyzing My Genre

I have decided that the genre for my public speech act will be a newspaper article, more of an op-ed piece in a newspaper like the LA Times or the New York Times. Five examples of this genre are:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/opinion/the-concealed-carry-fantasy.html?_r=0

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-morrison-lythcott-haims-20151028-column.html

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-galperin-environmental-desperation-20151029-story.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/07/24/my-son-has-been-suspended-five-times-hes-3/?tid=pm_opinions_pop_b

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-proposition-47-hammer-drug-felonies-20151026-story.html

Now I will answer the questions posed in the Writing Public Lives reading about this genre.

• SOCIAL CONTEXT

This genre is typically set in the setting of a newspaper like the LA Times or the New York Times, in this case an online newspaper.

The subject of the genre can be literally anything. Any opinion anyone wants to share, but generally opinions that are more emotional and pathos packed are shared in the op-eds.

Typically it is readers of the newspaper that write into the newspaper or the editorial board. I will be adhering more to the editorial board side because I feel like they have more credibility than writing as some random person.

The genre is used across from the editorial page and is used to give opinions and personal stories on the subject matter. This needs to be excluded in other genres to stay unbiased but in this genre my approach would fit right in. The people who read these get a personal opinion instead of a formal article, and the people who write these get to share their own opinion on the matter in an acceptable setting.

• RHETORICAL PATTERNS OF THE GENRE

Usually the personal opinion of the writer is included in the piece. This includes anything from scathing remarks to personal narratives. Also there are a lot of facts on the topic included to strengthen their case. There usually are only one or two pictures, so I would say that aspect is excluded for the most part. 

Albrighton, Tom "Strong Opinions"
03/12/12 via abccopywriting.com

There is a lot of emotional (pathos) appeal used in these pieces. Since they are using personal stories there isn't much ethos associated with this genre, but there is plenty of pathos. They try to elicit emotional reactions from the reader. There is also a lot of logic (logos) interspersed in the pieces to back up their point. There also seems to be a trend with opening with a strong emotional statement or personal story and emotional title followed by some background and some facts, after which there is mostly pathos but also logos strategically mixed in. The articles tend to close with really loaded statements that are very thought provoking for the reader. It is more common for there to be shorter sections of text and not bulky paragraphs.

There are typically a lot of complex and "nice sounding" (more wordy and poetic) sentences. There are also occasional short and bold statements used to catch the reader's attention as a contrast from the other wordier sentences. There are a lot of declarative sentences, not so many questions or exclamatory sentences.

I think that overall there seems to be a lot of more "pretty" sounding words included in these articles. A lot of adjectives are used to make the sentence more flowy. There is some of the reader's own slang included in  the piece since it is an opinion article and pretty informal. But while it is informal there is still a certain distance that the author keeps from the reader, and they don't actively address the reader. There also tends to be quite a bit of sarcasm at times, which is a big YAY for me because I exude sarcasm naturally. 

• ANALYZING WHAT THOSE PATTERNS REVEAL ABOUT THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF THE GENRE

The genre excludes those that are just looking for hard core FACTS on the matter and an unbiased opinion. It caters more towards those that want to hear a different perspective from a personal side of the controversy. 

The genre encourages the writers to be the informants and personal insight on the matter. The readers however are encouraged to listen and think about the writer's opinion, and be more of a spectator, but also they are encouraged to search their own feelings on the matter. 

This genre encourages people that value the opinion of others to read a personal perspective. The people who read this genre are automatically going to most likely be people that believe that there are other opinions besides their own that might be valid. 

The genre treats personal insight and stories as very valuable. This genre is basically composed of people that want to share their opinion. The genre treats credibility as probably the least important, just because the articles are so opinionated and in many cases they come from just ordinary readers, not anyone especially esteemed.




REFLECTION:

After reading Chris and Jon's blog posts I have a different understanding of the video based option for this project. They both seem to have a very clear idea of what they want to do and their projects sound really interesting. Both of their genres have very clear conventions and I think looking at theirs makes it a little more clear to me how to find more of the specific conventions of my own chosen platform.