At the end of this class, ENG 207, I have to ask myself, what benefits did I get from it? What are the new things I’ve learned? I believe this class was very useful when it comes to writing and thinking skills. I have learned about discourse communities and how to write for a specific one. This was particularly important since when I write I tried to define my audience, but that is not easy and specific all the time. This class helped me define my audience better and in a more focused way.
Another thing was helpful is the first assignment. I think the first assignment challenges me to write a narrative. Although I write for multiple reasons, I never wrote a narrative. I feel it is too personal to be written for a class. The challenge was enjoyable after all.
This class has been filed with different styles of writing for different audience and in different methods. I enjoyed writing on the web, such as blogging and the final word press portfolio. This is a new experience for me. I believe all the experiences and techniques I used in this class will be very valuable in my career and personal life. As I said before, technology is watching. We can’t escape the concept that the medium of writing is changing rapidly. This class helped me be more familiar and oriented in this new environment of technical and rhetorical writing.
I would like to thank my great instructor, Ruiji Zhao, for help great support and deep understanding. Ruiji, you are very helpful and I wish you all the best.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Research Proposal
Approaching a research paper needs planning and organizing. I believe a research proposal can be very effective in forming the research project. Research proposal functions as a blueprint for the whole research. Planning the topic and developing other parts can improve the research and point out where more development is needed. A research proposal almost summarizes the main aspects of a research project. Starting with a research proposal can help planning the research and watch its improvements.
Stating the thesis at this early stage of work helps clarify any ambiguity about the topic or the elements of the paper. Stating the thesis helps me ignore irrelevant factors in my research and focus more on the topic itself.
Specifying the methods used in the research project is a part of the research proposal. This part is very important because it helps check on the variety of sources and their credibility.
Stating a time line for progress is also helpful in organizing the work progress in order to reach desired results on time. The time line helps checking the improvement in case more time is needed or if the project is falling behind.
Chapter 20 in Faigly’s book, “Writing the Research Project,” provides many examples and tips for a research project. Its emphasis on organization draws attention to how important is having a research proposal.
Research proposal should precede a research project, but we can’t count on it to provide all details. It is a starter for us and we need to develop the writing process after that.
Research proposal is not new for me since I have used it before in other classes and I found it very useful and helpful.
I believe my research proposal helped me focus my research on a more specific subject. It also helped me as a check sheet to be sure that my research has all points required, such as examples, support and rebuttals.
Stating the thesis at this early stage of work helps clarify any ambiguity about the topic or the elements of the paper. Stating the thesis helps me ignore irrelevant factors in my research and focus more on the topic itself.
Specifying the methods used in the research project is a part of the research proposal. This part is very important because it helps check on the variety of sources and their credibility.
Stating a time line for progress is also helpful in organizing the work progress in order to reach desired results on time. The time line helps checking the improvement in case more time is needed or if the project is falling behind.
Chapter 20 in Faigly’s book, “Writing the Research Project,” provides many examples and tips for a research project. Its emphasis on organization draws attention to how important is having a research proposal.
Research proposal should precede a research project, but we can’t count on it to provide all details. It is a starter for us and we need to develop the writing process after that.
Research proposal is not new for me since I have used it before in other classes and I found it very useful and helpful.
I believe my research proposal helped me focus my research on a more specific subject. It also helped me as a check sheet to be sure that my research has all points required, such as examples, support and rebuttals.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Research Paper Development
Approaching a research paper can be demanding and frustrating just like approaching a white paper to start writing. It is always hard to answer the question “what do you have passion for?” I have passion for many things and writing is one of them. When I started to think about this research I wanted to do something from my own perspective as an international student here in BGSU. I chose the subject of immigration because social justice interests me. The idea of diversity and immigrants coming to this country to form a nation fascinates me the most. I also like to watch how these groups, discourse communities, interact on daily basis and how stereotypes play their roles in our judgments.
I revised my research topic a few times and chose the final topic with help of my instructor. The topic of my research is “Arab Immigration to the United States: Reasons and Types.” This topic will allow me to use logical and persuasive approach in convincing my audience that the most important reason for Arab to come to the United States is seeking economic growth.
The logical and persuasive approaches are very important in this topic because I can draw on human rights and equality in the United States as a logic approach. I can also use the examples of immigration from other countries, which applies on the majority of Americans, as a persuasive method. This style can be very effective because it argues with readers’ reasoning and emotions to convince them of my proposal.
Examples, quotes, and support for my paper will come from different sources. All these sources are checked for credibility using the tips in Faigly’s book. All my sources are credible and respectful; they vary on different media sources. I intend to use respectful magazines, academic sources, specialized books, interviews with relevant individuals, and historical researches.
I’m confident about this research because I have a personal experience with it and it interests me.
My only concern about this paper is time constraints. Since I changed my topic a couple of times, I am afraid I will need an extension to turn it. I am counting on my instructor kindness and understanding to provide an extension.
I revised my research topic a few times and chose the final topic with help of my instructor. The topic of my research is “Arab Immigration to the United States: Reasons and Types.” This topic will allow me to use logical and persuasive approach in convincing my audience that the most important reason for Arab to come to the United States is seeking economic growth.
The logical and persuasive approaches are very important in this topic because I can draw on human rights and equality in the United States as a logic approach. I can also use the examples of immigration from other countries, which applies on the majority of Americans, as a persuasive method. This style can be very effective because it argues with readers’ reasoning and emotions to convince them of my proposal.
Examples, quotes, and support for my paper will come from different sources. All these sources are checked for credibility using the tips in Faigly’s book. All my sources are credible and respectful; they vary on different media sources. I intend to use respectful magazines, academic sources, specialized books, interviews with relevant individuals, and historical researches.
I’m confident about this research because I have a personal experience with it and it interests me.
My only concern about this paper is time constraints. Since I changed my topic a couple of times, I am afraid I will need an extension to turn it. I am counting on my instructor kindness and understanding to provide an extension.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Support: Reasoning and Persuasion
Being a student means writing a considerable amount of papers for many classes. This includes me in a discourse community with other students and, consequently, with other writers. When writing, I need to find methods and attractions to interest my readers to read, to finish reading, and to be convinced with my proposal. I usually tend to be very logical in my proposals and analysis. My ideal thinking is when something makes sense to me; it should make sense to many others. Yet, this way of thinking doesn’t always work because humans are driven by many other things beside their thinking and understanding. People in general, and my audience in specific, might be driven by emotions, illogical thinking, or biased thinking due to external factors. Using logical approach helps me create credibility and authority. I usually follow Toulmin logic by creating a claim, grounds of data, warrants, backing, modal qualifiers, and rebuttals. This logic flows in order to establish my proposal with support to convince my readers. I am familiar with most of the forms mentioned in Laib’s capter 15 in page 294-297. Some fo these forms are new and interesting to know, such as arguing from history or from standard practices, arguing from relative advantage, and arguing from laws principles and ideology. I can use these forms arguing about my research about immigration. These forms can be implemented to argue, reasonably, about the immigration trends to the United States.
Readers need to be persuaded to follow the array of my argument in order for me to reach my goal of writing to them and convincing them. Persuasion plays a major role in rhetorical writing. Persuasion supports the writer’s proposal and provides evident and examples. Yet, the writer should be smart and cautious when choosing these examples. The support for an article should be derived from respectful and trusted sources, such as organizations, respected citizens, and experts in subject matter. Laib mentions these strategies in chapter 15. Some of these tactics are recognizable to me throughout my writings. Some of them are new and quite interesting, such as citing analogies and using representations in place of arguments. I was never introduced to such tactics in persuasion and I believe they can be very useful in my research paper about immigration. The immigration issue is a sensitive, emotional issue for many people and my audience for such paper is rather broad. Using these strategies will help me prove my points and associate them with real life, respected examples. Although I tend to use logic in my arguments, I believe using a persuasive style can be very effective in this research. I specifically enjoyed the “ideal cases and ironies as support” because I like to draw attention to ironies as a breaker of every rule.
Readers need to be persuaded to follow the array of my argument in order for me to reach my goal of writing to them and convincing them. Persuasion plays a major role in rhetorical writing. Persuasion supports the writer’s proposal and provides evident and examples. Yet, the writer should be smart and cautious when choosing these examples. The support for an article should be derived from respectful and trusted sources, such as organizations, respected citizens, and experts in subject matter. Laib mentions these strategies in chapter 15. Some of these tactics are recognizable to me throughout my writings. Some of them are new and quite interesting, such as citing analogies and using representations in place of arguments. I was never introduced to such tactics in persuasion and I believe they can be very useful in my research paper about immigration. The immigration issue is a sensitive, emotional issue for many people and my audience for such paper is rather broad. Using these strategies will help me prove my points and associate them with real life, respected examples. Although I tend to use logic in my arguments, I believe using a persuasive style can be very effective in this research. I specifically enjoyed the “ideal cases and ironies as support” because I like to draw attention to ironies as a breaker of every rule.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Technology and Identity (facebook might be watching?)
As a personal reflection on facbook.com I have to say that I do not like this web site. Am I on it? Of course I am. Do I use it? Sure I do. Am I addicted to it? Of course I am not. The question that puzzles me is: why I am on this web site? I guess I don’t have a choice. If I want to be updated and communicate with other students, I have to be a member of facebook.com. For me, it is “I need” not “I want”.
Facebook.com as a phenomena attracted great attention among almost everybody. Yet the major reason that makes me not to like it is the lack of privacy it has.
Hass article is a bit old since Facebook is open for everyone and everywhere now; it is not limited to college students anymore. This expansion reflects the need for the website to attract more members. This expansion also affects the privacy the members have since members can see what other members are doing, look at their pictures, activities, and even more specific details about their lives. Yet, our culture values personal privacy very highly and considers any breaching of it as a crime punished by the law. This leaves me with the question, who and where the line should be drawn? I believe Facebook can be a great test for the value of personal privacy on an individual level. It is a contradiction when we complain about the government getting into our data and information, regardless of the reason, yet, we are willing to expose our privacy in this manner on facebook, or any other website for that matter.
Hass mentioned in her article how Facebook became a place for political debates and recruiting; she also mentioned how Facebook was used for racial conflicts. This is shows that what we put “out there” can come back and be an evident against us. I believe the sense of personal responsibility is missing when it comes to dealing with open forums and social websites such as Facebook and My Space. As Hass states, Facebook is “changing the nature of public and private identity” and as a result of that, we should take cautions when we deal with social networks. In addition, we have to watch out for the illegal practices such as stalking and harassment. It might be interpreted that we welcome strangers and people we never met to be friends with us if we put our most private information on the website.
Facebook.com as a phenomena attracted great attention among almost everybody. Yet the major reason that makes me not to like it is the lack of privacy it has.
Hass article is a bit old since Facebook is open for everyone and everywhere now; it is not limited to college students anymore. This expansion reflects the need for the website to attract more members. This expansion also affects the privacy the members have since members can see what other members are doing, look at their pictures, activities, and even more specific details about their lives. Yet, our culture values personal privacy very highly and considers any breaching of it as a crime punished by the law. This leaves me with the question, who and where the line should be drawn? I believe Facebook can be a great test for the value of personal privacy on an individual level. It is a contradiction when we complain about the government getting into our data and information, regardless of the reason, yet, we are willing to expose our privacy in this manner on facebook, or any other website for that matter.
Hass mentioned in her article how Facebook became a place for political debates and recruiting; she also mentioned how Facebook was used for racial conflicts. This is shows that what we put “out there” can come back and be an evident against us. I believe the sense of personal responsibility is missing when it comes to dealing with open forums and social websites such as Facebook and My Space. As Hass states, Facebook is “changing the nature of public and private identity” and as a result of that, we should take cautions when we deal with social networks. In addition, we have to watch out for the illegal practices such as stalking and harassment. It might be interpreted that we welcome strangers and people we never met to be friends with us if we put our most private information on the website.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
What is an Effective Website?
An effective website should consider the following elements:
1- Audience and purpose: an effective web site should be very aware of the audience it is targeting and has a very clear purpose. If the purpose of a website is not defined appropriately, viewers will be confused and might propose the question of what purpose this site serves? The targeted audience should also be clearly defined and held in the mind of the web site designer. Targeted audience should feel that the website is designed for them and it exists to answer their questions or satisfy their needs.
2- Content: a good web site should be always updated and should have accurate information. Audience should trust the web site and feel comfortable referring to it whenever they need. The content of the website should also be revised for grammatical or style problems.
3- Readability: any effective web site should be easy to read and follow. Ideas and suggestion presented in a web site should be consistent in order to help the audience to follow up easily. Titles and text should follow the same pattern in font size, bolding, and font style in order not to confuse the readers and keep consistency.
4- Visual design: web site contents should be arranged in a sequential manner. Texts, images, and white spaces should be positioned in an appropriate way so the reader’s eyes are not tired and any reader can finds the suitable picture next to its proper text. Images should be attractive and useful yet, they should not be distracting from the main purpose of the web site.
5- Navigation: an effective web site should be easy to navigate and all links inside it should be valid and working. The content should be easy to upload and not take a long time. Pages should not be too long or too short. The web site should allow a smooth movement from one page to another without any breakage or distraction.
1- Audience and purpose: an effective web site should be very aware of the audience it is targeting and has a very clear purpose. If the purpose of a website is not defined appropriately, viewers will be confused and might propose the question of what purpose this site serves? The targeted audience should also be clearly defined and held in the mind of the web site designer. Targeted audience should feel that the website is designed for them and it exists to answer their questions or satisfy their needs.
2- Content: a good web site should be always updated and should have accurate information. Audience should trust the web site and feel comfortable referring to it whenever they need. The content of the website should also be revised for grammatical or style problems.
3- Readability: any effective web site should be easy to read and follow. Ideas and suggestion presented in a web site should be consistent in order to help the audience to follow up easily. Titles and text should follow the same pattern in font size, bolding, and font style in order not to confuse the readers and keep consistency.
4- Visual design: web site contents should be arranged in a sequential manner. Texts, images, and white spaces should be positioned in an appropriate way so the reader’s eyes are not tired and any reader can finds the suitable picture next to its proper text. Images should be attractive and useful yet, they should not be distracting from the main purpose of the web site.
5- Navigation: an effective web site should be easy to navigate and all links inside it should be valid and working. The content should be easy to upload and not take a long time. Pages should not be too long or too short. The web site should allow a smooth movement from one page to another without any breakage or distraction.
Analyze Images and Other Kinds of Visual Texts.
I believe it is smart to use the comparison between a text and a design. For the human eye, a text is usually a text. Most texts seem similar. But when we look at a design, the differences between any two designs stand clear and grab out attention. Texts, just like designs, are unique and different from each other. More importantly, each text has its own personality and identity. This personality comes from the font the text is written with, the color of this font, the size, and sometimes the layout of the text. Some fonts are used to express specific feelings such as happiness, sadness, or enthusiasm. Fonts can deliver a message about the text and give it a stronger meaning. A funny font can be used when writing a funny comment or a funny story. A strict sharp font can be used when writing a note or a formal report.
The color of the text can also be a method to pass a message. Colors such as red, orange, yellow, green, and pink are passionate color with warm welcoming message makes the reader feel at ease and more comfortable to read the text and finish it. Other colors such as blue, grey, and black are official and carry the message of formality. It has been said before that our handwriting shows our personality. There are studies on handwriting to predict the habits and personality of the writers. Today, the font we chose when writing, along with the color, font size, and the text layout can say a lot about the personality of the writer. It can also affect how the audience. There are studies on handwriting to predict the habits and personality of the writers. Today, the font we chose when writing, along with the color, font size, and the text layout can say a lot about the personality of the writer. It can also affect how the audience is going to interpret the message itself.
The color of the text can also be a method to pass a message. Colors such as red, orange, yellow, green, and pink are passionate color with warm welcoming message makes the reader feel at ease and more comfortable to read the text and finish it. Other colors such as blue, grey, and black are official and carry the message of formality. It has been said before that our handwriting shows our personality. There are studies on handwriting to predict the habits and personality of the writers. Today, the font we chose when writing, along with the color, font size, and the text layout can say a lot about the personality of the writer. It can also affect how the audience. There are studies on handwriting to predict the habits and personality of the writers. Today, the font we chose when writing, along with the color, font size, and the text layout can say a lot about the personality of the writer. It can also affect how the audience is going to interpret the message itself.
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