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.
Monday, February 25, 2008
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.
Ease
This advertisement papers was mostly on the easy side for me. I chose a subject a like which is coffee house or cafes. I also like rock music so Hard Rock Café was a perfect match for me to work on. Evaluating the picture it self was interesting as I have passion for finding how an advertisement can target a specific group of audience. The exciting part was choosing my own advertisement and even creates it. This is exciting because it opens up the opportunity for imagination and innovation which is not always granted when evaluating and advertisement. I tried to find something I have passion for and that’s why I chose Hard Rock Café. I took this picture on a trip to Niagara Falls in Buffalo. I was not very lucky as it was cloudy so I ended up changing the picture to improve the sky color and allow a space for the eye to rest on. The empty space also directs the focus on the message of the advertisement, Hard Rock Café.
My favorite part was the slogan that I made up because it summarizes a strong message to targeted customers. I consulted the Design Basics chapter in the Penguin Handbook to be familiar with all of the elements that I needed to include in my advertisement. This chapter also helped me analyze the colors in the advertisement to show their importance and effects on the audience. The most important part of the advertisement was the car coming out of the brick wall. This car serves the Hard Rock concept. The classic car itself gives the advertisement and the café a sense of authenticity that touches the audience’s imagination. The slogan, “No Matter What, We’ll Get You Through”, along with the car picture, emphasizes the concept of hard rock to target the fans of hard rock and coffee. Hard Rock Café is usually available at metropolitan areas and this advertisement targets the demographics that live in such areas. The ad’s message is clear: hard rock fans come and get your coffee here. Hard Rock café is the place not only to get coffee, but also to eat, listen to great music, and hang out. I am positive that this ad serves its purpose perfectly. When customers see this add they will get the message. This project gave the opportunity to discover the artistic and innovative part in me. The fun part was adding this creativity to writing.
My favorite part was the slogan that I made up because it summarizes a strong message to targeted customers. I consulted the Design Basics chapter in the Penguin Handbook to be familiar with all of the elements that I needed to include in my advertisement. This chapter also helped me analyze the colors in the advertisement to show their importance and effects on the audience. The most important part of the advertisement was the car coming out of the brick wall. This car serves the Hard Rock concept. The classic car itself gives the advertisement and the café a sense of authenticity that touches the audience’s imagination. The slogan, “No Matter What, We’ll Get You Through”, along with the car picture, emphasizes the concept of hard rock to target the fans of hard rock and coffee. Hard Rock Café is usually available at metropolitan areas and this advertisement targets the demographics that live in such areas. The ad’s message is clear: hard rock fans come and get your coffee here. Hard Rock café is the place not only to get coffee, but also to eat, listen to great music, and hang out. I am positive that this ad serves its purpose perfectly. When customers see this add they will get the message. This project gave the opportunity to discover the artistic and innovative part in me. The fun part was adding this creativity to writing.
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