1. For this first project, I am going to commit to the Quick Reference Guide. This genre is one that I feel would be the most useful to my story because it allows a quick but precise re-telling of what happened and it allows me to hit a lot of information, without boring the reader with too much reading. They can get just the facts and none of the other fluff or non-sense that would distract form the facts.
2. I will definitely plan on developing the images and links part of the conventions associated with a Quick Reference guide. I want images that really depict what happened and draw the reader in and quick links in the guide that allow the reader to further research if they want to become an expert on the topic.
3. I feel pretty good about my topic and my genre honestly. My biggest challenge I feel will probably be jamming a ton of information into a shorter, neater, more easily readable guide for a reader. I tend to be very explanatory and creative when I write, so creating a quick reference guide that needs to be quick and concise I feel will be a little bit difficult for me.
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Cluster of Stakeholders
Although there were many people involved with the attack on the U.S. consulate, there are only a numbered amount of people which it directly impacts and creates questions and issues for. So for this cluster, I only added the key players to the situation and who is dealing mostly with the aftermath of the attack and the investigation of the attack. Of course, President Obama and Hillary Clinton who was Secretary of State at the time, are directly involved, as well as a few other officials and diplomats which played a key part in the outcome of the attack.
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1LvmzQP1dFIVz3xCv6X9GlM4fei7qb5S4ijFt13n2Ums/edit
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1LvmzQP1dFIVz3xCv6X9GlM4fei7qb5S4ijFt13n2Ums/edit
Evaluation of General Sources
Source 1: NPR
-http://www.npr.org/2012/11/30/166243318/chronology-the-benghazi-attack-and-the-fallout
-Erica Ryan, yes.
-12/20/2012, yes.
-Explain chronological order of the attack on Benghazi, what actually happened.
-None, more of a re-telling of what happened.
-Yes, they are a series of lonks throughout to other sources which go more in depth for each topic. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/10/198791.htm
Source 2: New York Times
-Commercial URL, but well-known and respected news media outlet.
-Three known, common authors of politics and news.
-Does not show last updated.
-No opinion, re-telling of other's opinions.
-Graphics are shown from the attack.
-Links throughout to further information.
-http://www.npr.org/2012/11/30/166243318/chronology-the-benghazi-attack-and-the-fallout
-Erica Ryan, yes.
-12/20/2012, yes.
-Explain chronological order of the attack on Benghazi, what actually happened.
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Getty Images. An armed man waves his rifle as buildings and cars are engulfed in flames after being set on fire inside the U.S. Consulate compound in Benghazi late on Sept. 11. AFP via NPR. 12/19/2012. Attibution 2.0 Generic license.
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-Yes, they are a series of lonks throughout to other sources which go more in depth for each topic. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/10/198791.htm
Source 2: New York Times
-Commercial URL, but well-known and respected news media outlet.
-Three known, common authors of politics and news.
-Does not show last updated.
-No opinion, re-telling of other's opinions.
-Graphics are shown from the attack.
-Links throughout to further information.
Reddit and What I Found There
Story 1: DNC caves, Agrees to sanction more Democratic presidential debates
-Most of the stories I have seen recently have been pertaining to the Republican debate, which lends the question, why haven't we seen more Democratic debates? So that's exactly what we're getting. The public has demanded to see more of the Democratic candidates and the Democratic National Committee has finally caved. Most of the stories on this forum are pretty much just following the presidential race. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jan/31/democratic-national-committee-sanction-more-debate/
-Most interesting things: Most of the stories found seem to be about Trump and the Republican candidates, this was probably one of the first to actually talk about more of the Democratic candidates than just Hillary Clinton.
-Overall, people are VERY opinionated, especially when it comes to politics and they are not afraid to show it. Presidential races always make people a little crazier and more on edge, so the political sphere is really buzzing right now.
Story 2: Poll-Who won the Fox News Republican Debate?
-I thought it was very interesting that on the Reddit forum website, there was actually a live poll being conducted discussing who won the most recent Republican debate. Trump, who didn't even show up and held his own rally in Iowa instead, is apparently the clear winner with 37% of the vote.
-Most interesting things from this story: Even though Trump is shown as the bad guy across pretty much every news outlet, which he does to himself most of the time, he is still the front-running candidate for the Republican side according to many of the polls out there.
-Overall, this is what I kind of expect to see from many Republican polls now, and I am not sure whether to take them seriously, or if it is some kind of fluke. Either way, the general consensus is that Trump is making a rather large statement and there are plenty of people who are ready to pounce on the opportunity to comment on it.
-Most of the stories I have seen recently have been pertaining to the Republican debate, which lends the question, why haven't we seen more Democratic debates? So that's exactly what we're getting. The public has demanded to see more of the Democratic candidates and the Democratic National Committee has finally caved. Most of the stories on this forum are pretty much just following the presidential race. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jan/31/democratic-national-committee-sanction-more-debate/
-Most interesting things: Most of the stories found seem to be about Trump and the Republican candidates, this was probably one of the first to actually talk about more of the Democratic candidates than just Hillary Clinton.
-Overall, people are VERY opinionated, especially when it comes to politics and they are not afraid to show it. Presidential races always make people a little crazier and more on edge, so the political sphere is really buzzing right now.
Story 2: Poll-Who won the Fox News Republican Debate?
-I thought it was very interesting that on the Reddit forum website, there was actually a live poll being conducted discussing who won the most recent Republican debate. Trump, who didn't even show up and held his own rally in Iowa instead, is apparently the clear winner with 37% of the vote.
-Most interesting things from this story: Even though Trump is shown as the bad guy across pretty much every news outlet, which he does to himself most of the time, he is still the front-running candidate for the Republican side according to many of the polls out there.
-Overall, this is what I kind of expect to see from many Republican polls now, and I am not sure whether to take them seriously, or if it is some kind of fluke. Either way, the general consensus is that Trump is making a rather large statement and there are plenty of people who are ready to pounce on the opportunity to comment on it.
Evaluation of News Magazine Stories
Story 1: Trump, Cruz Trade Jabs as Iowa Contest Approaches
-This is distinctly a debate between the two front-runners of the Republican party for the presidential election. More specifically, these two, as described in the title of the piece, have been going at each other with the Iowa primary elections coming up on Monday, and who will win the vote for the primary election.
-Good guy: Definitely Ted Cruz. Although he's not the crowd favorite as far as the elections are going, he is seen more as the underdog that people want to root for.
-Bad guy: Donald Trump of course. Trump has been a field day for the news outlets recently and he will continue to be as long as he keeps talking and making comments that send everyone into a tizzy about how bad they were.
-This is distinctly a debate between the two front-runners of the Republican party for the presidential election. More specifically, these two, as described in the title of the piece, have been going at each other with the Iowa primary elections coming up on Monday, and who will win the vote for the primary election.
-Good guy: Definitely Ted Cruz. Although he's not the crowd favorite as far as the elections are going, he is seen more as the underdog that people want to root for.
-Bad guy: Donald Trump of course. Trump has been a field day for the news outlets recently and he will continue to be as long as he keeps talking and making comments that send everyone into a tizzy about how bad they were.
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Kaup, Dave. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz signs an autograph as he arrives for a campaign event in Ida Grove, Iowa January 30. 1/31/16 via Reuters. Attribution 2.0 Generic License.
Story 2: The Republican Establishment's Delegate Problem
-Yet another problem and debate between Republican candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. However this time, its between Republicans. The problem is that the party usually backs up a more "establishment-type" candidate, but with Trump being the front-runner in the polls, they may end up backing an anti-establishment candidate.
-Good guy: Again Ted Cruz. He is the most moderate, safe option besides maybe Jeb Bush the Republican side has right now.
-Bad guy: Donald Trump, yet again. His anti-establishment sentiment has gotten him noticed by quit a few people and it making the Republican party nervous.
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Twitter and What I Found There
1st Page: @ezraklein
-This twitter account, created by Ezra Klein, the founder of vox.com is your basic slightly biased news and politics-based Twitter feed. Vox is a news website that focuses on not only telling the news but also explaining it, it's described as a "news website for the 21st century". The general focus of this twitter feed is mostly the political debates, scandals, and talks about the upcoming presidential election. Election year is always a frenzy for news outlets and this one is no different with notable jabs at the media's favorite candidate to pick on, Donald Trump.
-The two most interesting stories being discussed to me are the continued debate over Hillary Clinton's classified emails from Benghazi and the dispute over how effective President Obama's healthcare plan has been. Of course, these are ever-hot topics, two of which I follow and keep a keen eye on. I think what I find so interesting is that we are still finding out new information about each and testing out how well healthcare.gov has actually managed in its short time being active.
-Honestly, this is what I usually see from Twitter feeds surrounding politics. I already follow a few twitter accounts based on politics and they seem to generally be the same; providing opinions on the current political sphere and in this case, presidential candidates, with a sprinkling of whitty comments in the mix to make it a more digestible read.
-This twitter account, created by Ezra Klein, the founder of vox.com is your basic slightly biased news and politics-based Twitter feed. Vox is a news website that focuses on not only telling the news but also explaining it, it's described as a "news website for the 21st century". The general focus of this twitter feed is mostly the political debates, scandals, and talks about the upcoming presidential election. Election year is always a frenzy for news outlets and this one is no different with notable jabs at the media's favorite candidate to pick on, Donald Trump.
-The two most interesting stories being discussed to me are the continued debate over Hillary Clinton's classified emails from Benghazi and the dispute over how effective President Obama's healthcare plan has been. Of course, these are ever-hot topics, two of which I follow and keep a keen eye on. I think what I find so interesting is that we are still finding out new information about each and testing out how well healthcare.gov has actually managed in its short time being active.
-Honestly, this is what I usually see from Twitter feeds surrounding politics. I already follow a few twitter accounts based on politics and they seem to generally be the same; providing opinions on the current political sphere and in this case, presidential candidates, with a sprinkling of whitty comments in the mix to make it a more digestible read.
Wright, Monty. Problems with Political Parties. 10/19/2012 via Wordpress. Attribution 2.0 Generic License.
2nd Page: @politicalwire
-This Twitter feed is almost completely devoted to following the presidential campaign, in fact I don't think I found one story that was not about one of the candidates or the results from the most recent Republican debate. However, although this account is still somewhat biased, it is not as biased as some I have seen. Then again, the man that runs this twitter has his own blog as well, where he is much more biased and opinionated about the topics he discusses.
-To me, the two most interesting stories are the ones about the "swing vote" in Iowa and the hundreds of stories about Trump, mostly because they are rather entertaining.
-Again, this twitter feed was pretty predictable as far as political news feeds go, especially with the looming presidential debate. I'm not sure if it is one I would follow myself since I typically see these same stories everyday, but it is definitely worth a browse through to familiarize yourself with all of the drama and debates surrounding the presidential election.
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Evaluation of New York Times Stories
Story 1: In Iowa, Voters on the Edges may Set Tone for Primaries
-I guess the main character to this story would be the voters of Iowa. Despite the belief that this wouldn't be a crucial state at the beginning of the presidential race, it has become quite vital in deciding which candidates will make it past the primaries. This state is so crucial because it is viewed as a swing state, meaning many voters have not chosen their candidate, and they don't typically vote one way or the other.
-The events in this story mainly take place in the state of Iowa, or the voting polls of the state.
-The main debate in this story is over who the voters will vote for in the primary election and because there is a lot of anti-Washington, anti-establishment sentiment in the state, the media is not sure which side the vote will swing for.
Story 2: Microsoft Plumbs Ocean's Depths to Test Underwater Data Center
-The main character in this story would be the company of Microsoft.
-The setting would be Redmond, Washington because the story is an explanation of an interview held between the writer and the researchers of Microsoft. The researchers are explaining their plans to the writer and even show him a prototype of the device they are building.
-There is not so much a big debate or problem, more of a few concerns about building the underwater data center like how it will affect Marine life.
-I guess the main character to this story would be the voters of Iowa. Despite the belief that this wouldn't be a crucial state at the beginning of the presidential race, it has become quite vital in deciding which candidates will make it past the primaries. This state is so crucial because it is viewed as a swing state, meaning many voters have not chosen their candidate, and they don't typically vote one way or the other.
-The events in this story mainly take place in the state of Iowa, or the voting polls of the state.
-The main debate in this story is over who the voters will vote for in the primary election and because there is a lot of anti-Washington, anti-establishment sentiment in the state, the media is not sure which side the vote will swing for.
Story 2: Microsoft Plumbs Ocean's Depths to Test Underwater Data Center
-The main character in this story would be the company of Microsoft.
-The setting would be Redmond, Washington because the story is an explanation of an interview held between the writer and the researchers of Microsoft. The researchers are explaining their plans to the writer and even show him a prototype of the device they are building.
-There is not so much a big debate or problem, more of a few concerns about building the underwater data center like how it will affect Marine life.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Course Projects: Understanding the Ins and Outs
Firth, Katherine. The Different Stages of the Writing Process. 12/3/2013 via Wordpress. Attribution 2.0 Generic License.
English 109H I expect to be a rather challenging but rewarding course, with a little of fun sprinkled in along the way. Here are just a few of my questions/expectations.
What I find confusing or what makes me nervous:
- I am not so much about these projects as I am nervous as heck to deal with non-conventional genres! I have never constructed a quick-reference guide, made a video essay, or even thought about constructing a postmortem. The video essay especially I expect to be my most challenging project, no matter the project.
Interested in/Excited about:
- I am the type of person that LOVES to argue my point, not that I have to always be right, okay maybe I'm lying, but I love getting into a nice heated debate over something I am especially passionate about. And I am actually really excited abut the video essay even though I find it rather intimidating.
Planning Ahead:
-I will definitely need to plan ahead for every project to RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH. The worst thing you can do going into any one of these projects is not having enough sound research to really back up your claims. I know right now that will be challenging for me because I sometimes tend to forget this aspect.
Skills:
- One skill I have which I feel relatively confident about is like I said before, my ability to argue. One English teacher I had in high school made us study and write rhetorical essay upon rhetorical essay and it made me really good at becoming an expert on a subject and finding a point of view that I could either completely build up or completely tear apart. The latter I find more appealing. However, this class structure is very different from any I have ever experienced.
Questions:
-As of right now, I do not necessarily have any question regarding the projects, but I am sure as I begin working on them and seeing what will take more time and what I find challenging as I'm working on them, I'm sure I will have a hundred questions.
Reflection: Kathryn Russell Payton Leahy After reading a couple other students post about what they expect or are worried about in the course, I realized that we are all pretty much on the same page for each of our concerns, doubts, comments, etc. One thing we all mentioned was how this course will be very different and challenging compared to other English courses we have taken. We are also each a little concerned about some of the specific projects because coming from a traditional English background, we haven't really been exposed to some of these genres or project types yet and it is always going to be scary dealing with new material. Basically, I know now I'm not the only one slightly freaking out that I don't know much about some of these projects or genres and I at least have some company that will be eager to learn with me! |
Investigating Genres
In investigating genres, I chose to investigate the one which intrigues me the most, which is the video essay. I have heard of this genre and concept before and I have even seen it before, but I never recognized it as being a video essay. Due to the media and technology of today, the video essay has taken rise among major social media outlets such as YouTube. Many of the video essays I have seen before, including some of those included in the chosen examples were posted to YouTube for view by the general public.
Many of the examples I viewed were arguments discussing the deeper meaning behind different mediums of media, especially that spread through movies, T.V., radio, etc. Because of the nature of this specific genre, it is especially easy to evaluate and analyze the media and the types of ideas they are trying to showcase to the public. By this means, many of these video essays come at the audience as a sort of explanation, or in-depth analysis of a certain topic. The "author" of the video essay chooses a certain stance on the topic and through the use of video, still images and voice over, they use the media to prove their point,
Many of the examples I viewed were arguments discussing the deeper meaning behind different mediums of media, especially that spread through movies, T.V., radio, etc. Because of the nature of this specific genre, it is especially easy to evaluate and analyze the media and the types of ideas they are trying to showcase to the public. By this means, many of these video essays come at the audience as a sort of explanation, or in-depth analysis of a certain topic. The "author" of the video essay chooses a certain stance on the topic and through the use of video, still images and voice over, they use the media to prove their point,
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Lee, See-ming. Mixed Media Installation. 5/23/2013 via Flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic License.
In a nutshell, this a very unique genre, simply because of the nature of it. It has several key elements which lend to this uniqueness and make it ideal for today's generation.
Purpose:
Dispute or otherwise stir up conversation concerning a common issue or idea.
Intended Audience:
Those who keep up with social media and technology that want to keep a keen eye on the constant images they are fed everyday or what they mean.
Key Features:
Combination of different mediums, one narrator that provides their point of view on the topic, a strong overall topic up for discussion/dispute.
What actually is a Video Essay?
After careful review of several examples, to me, a video essay is a way for an author to not only argue their point through rhetoric devices, but do so in a visual way that captures the audience and provides strong visual aid to prove the author's point.
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Reflection:
From each of the blogs I read, I realized that I wrote this specific post slightly different from some of the other students. Where I answered the questions in a more essay format throughout the blog and then with bullets at the end, they approached the questions by simply writing them out and answering them directly. I used my post more as an analysis and discussion for myself before telling my audience my actual opinion about the genre I discussed.
My Writing Process
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McPhee, Nic. Editing. 1/26/2008 via Flickr. Attribution-ShareALike 2.0 Generic License.
To be completely honest, writing has never been one of my strong suits and because of that, it's something I tend to try to put off until I absolutely have to do it. Now in high school, the procrastinator technique was still acceptable and I would only stay up a few hours late to complete a paper at the last minute. But in college, I can't squeak by just writing the paper the night before because there is often so much more planning and research involved in writing a college paper versus a simple five page paper in high school that needed maybe 3 citations.
So about halfway through my freshman year of college, I realized I needed a different approach to my writing process, or I was going to crumble real quick. The technique I developed is most similar to the Heavy Reviser approach. Whenever I dive into a paper, I hardly ever have a clear idea of exactly what I want to talk about, and if I do pre-plan my paper, I end up hating the way the paper turns out. Pre-planning has always reminded me of my elementary school days when my teachers forced us to create a specific written-out plan before we ever started our paper. It always made me feel like my papers were much too formulaic and I felt like I really didn't have the freedom to express my ideas as they came to me.
Because of this, I have turned to the Heavy Reviser approach. This approach has proven to be incredibly beneficial to me so far in my college career. It allows me to just get my ideas out, even if they aren't completely polished or in the correct order at first, and then go back through and read my paper, editing for more proper grammar, better organization and a more polished and clean paper overall. Sometime, this is more difficult, especially if the paper is a longer one, because I start to run out of ideas about half- way through, in which case I have to edit the first half to my liking, and then continue writing.
I guess I could try going back to planning out more of my paper before starting it, especially for the longer papers, but the thing that bothers e the most about that approach is that I feel like I have to have every detail of my paper planned out before writing, For some writers, this is absolutely necessary, but I find that some of my best ideas come from starting to write a paper and then having a compilation of ideas build up together, until I reach one strong, focused argument. Sometimes this approach can take a little bit longer because I have thrown out half a paper before simply because of the fact that I hated the way it sounded read out loud. However, in the end, this harsh criticism of my paper ends up working in my favor. I always tell people I am my hardest critic, because I really am. This technique works so well for me I think because I am very hard on myself, and I will change an entire paper if I don't like the way the first draft turns out.
At least for now, this approach works really well for me and I always end up with a paper that I am very satisfied with. Not only does this prevent me from procrastinating my paper, but it also forces me to criticize and analyze my own work constantly, which I think is completely necessary for a writer's development.
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