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maddys-writing-portfolio-blog · 6 years ago

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Writing History

Early Life:

have always loved writing. More often than not, I have loved writing more so than reading. This deep, deep, love for writing initially derived from my grandmother (on my father’s side, whom I refer to as “Grammy”). She was a politician for our small community in Los Alamitos, California. She served on city council, and intermittently as the mayor. Since I was little, she would include me in her service projects all throughout the community. When I got a bit older, she would often read her project proposals and speeches to me as she worked on them. It was a unique experience— to see her working hard in the mornings to polish her speeches only to later watch her deliver them perfectly that night on the television. In all honesty, at that age, I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about, but I knew she spoke with a cadence. She wanted her audience to grip onto what she was saying, and follow her words as if it was indeed a riveting fairy tale. I adored how she spoke and formulated her speeches. As I got older, this carried on into my own writing experiences. I typically write and utilize punctuation as a guide for how my written pieces should be read either internally or externally. I often add commas where they shouldn’t be, simply because I feel that there should be a rhetorically purposeful pause there. This is equated with my love for parallel structure and metaphors. I love to write as if my words are going to be read in a poetic or narrative fashion. I aim to write as if I was painting a picture.

In School:

These traits, while introduced through my grandmother, were not entirely instilled into me until my sophomore year of high school. The year's focus was poetry analysis— paired with dynamic poetry readings, annotations, and nonfiction novel readings. I adored that class, and even more so, I adored my experience with it. My teacher for the course also happened to be the Junior Varsity coach for my lacrosse team. Since I was the Junior Varsity Captain, we collaborated a lot together. More often than not, this relationship would leak into my classroom experience. If no one was willing to answer a critical thinking question or provide an analysis of the material in class— she would ask me, whether I raised my hand or not. Looking back at the two impactful experiences of my grandmother and my sophomore class, I believe my grandmother’s speaking gave me a taste of some of my favorite rhetorical ingredients, and this class provided me with the recipe to create the meal. During my sophomore year, I had begun to notice patterns that I really liked— metaphors, alliteration, parallel structure, asyndeton— that had previously gone unnamed to me. Since that moment, I've integrated them into my writing.

My biggest writing struggle so far:

By the end of that year, I was determined to seek out a college degree in writing. I often utilized the elements I had been exposed to, felt brilliant bouts of inspiration, and overall received good feedback on my papers and reports. This all changed the moment I began my senior year of high school. I had decided to take AP Language and Composition— and to this day, it has been both one of my biggest regrets and most monumental learning opportunity. Saying I was humbled in that class, is a severe understatement. In the course, we were often tasked with writing one of three types of written works — a rhetorical analysis (analyzing a written document by another author), a persuasive essay (choosing a one of two sides and using personal anecdotes to defend it), or a synthesis essay (A persuasive essay, however, I must use evidence provided). These prompts were known as “timed writes” and were similar to the types of drafts we would be required to write on the AP Exam. We were given 40 minutes to address these prompts in a first and final draft. The grading scale ranged from a 1 to an 8. To this day, I am amazed at my own consistency. In the vast number of times I had to complete a quick write— the majority of the time I scored a 5, with a few 4’s, a couple 6’s and one 8. I struggled severely in that class— and for a long time, I didn’t know why. I was doing the same thing I had always done— fancy verbiage, heavily applied rhetorical strategies, and the same writing structure I had always applied. In feedback, I learned that my structure was one of my biggest problems. I was following the explicit and linear five-paragraph essay format— and this class was something like the training wheels for college writing. We had some structure— a bulleted list of things we were required to cover— but at the same time, no structure at all. We had rules like — don’t explicitly mention a rhetorical choice, don’t make an explicit and bulleted thesis, make sure each point has substantial commentary. These rules often made me feel blind with my writing. In my drafting, I was never sure if what I was saying was too structured, to ill-structured, or violating the established class rules. In reading other drafts in peer grading, I wasn’t sure what kind of grade my fellow students should receive. That class left me completely and utterly blind.

At the time, I struggled severely in that class. However, looking back at that time, I have a better understanding of that course. As soon as the AP exam passed, so did the “Timed Writes”. The small rules and keyword structures suddenly made sense. Those writing exercises were made to help us pass the AP exam, and those specific rules were preferred by the exam proctors. Thus, it was heavily encouraged in our classes. Nowadays, especially in college, I am beginning to see what my instructors were trying to expose us to in terms of writing structure and organization in that class my senior year. In my current courses, the gaps from that AP course are beginning to be filled. My senior year AP language and composition class gave me a taste of college writing structure, however, since that class— I have struggled with pressure, limited time writing, and I often try to write my first draft like it is my final one— thus leaving me staring at the page more so than writing on it. While I certainly did struggle in my AP Language and Composition class, it introduced me to certain writing elements essential for college writing.

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maddys-writing-portfolio-blog · 6 years ago

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My Writing Analysis

In order to gain a better understanding of who I am as a writer, and gain knowledge about what I write day to day, I decided to keep track of my writing over the course of a week. My research started on Monday, November 25th and concluded on Friday, November 30th. Over the course of this process, my data concluded that in total I spent almost 10 hours writing, sent 167 texts, and academically wrote 1,842 words. After gathering and analyzing this data, I've found that one of my biggest code-switching tendencies revolves around how close I feel-- relationship wise-- to an individual.

Overall, I've spent 9hrs 59 minutes writing:

In order to understand how much I write, I observed all of my written material, from texts to emails over the course of five days-- Starting on Monday, November 25th and ending on Friday, November 30th. In analyzing the amount of time I've spent writing, one thing I noticed initially was how much of my writing consisted of academic assignments, especially in regards to time. In the chart above, I examined the overall time I spent texting, emailing, and academically writing and revising over a five day period. Of these 9 hours and 59 minutes, I spent...

9 hours academically writing 51 minutes texting 3 minutes emailing

Of the time I spent writing academically, I've written 1,842 words:

When looking at my academic writing, I measured the amount of which I wrote by word count. The majority of my 9 hours of writing for the week were spent drafting my persuasive speech for my communication class. It ultimately took me around 6 hours to complete-- and I drafted 1,507 words. The rest of my writing was during the revision process for my first draft of this project. In which I spent roughly three hours, and revised and wrote 165 words.

Of the time I spent texting, I've sent 167 Texts:

When looking at who I've messaged over the course of the week, I've found that I text a broad range of people-- from both college, back home, and organizations I am involved in. Of these text messages, the majority of them were sent to my family and my boyfriend. In the course of five days, I sent 48 texts to my mother, 65 to my boyfriend, 13 to my roommates, 6 to my team leader, 11 to my Discipleship Guide, 9 to my close family friend living in the area, and 5 to my Assistant League Recycling Apprentice from back home. Of the 167 text messages, I had sent...

65 to my boyfriend 48 to my mother and family 13 to my roommates 11 to my discipleship guide 9 to my local family friend 6 to my honor’s house leader 5 to my Assistance League Apprentice back home

When it comes to my rhetorical strategies within my text messaging-- its very apparent that I text differently depending on who my recipients are. In terms of the rhetorical situation, I hold the audience and my relationship to them as most important. I've found that the closer I am with someone, the fewer words I will use. In re-reading all of my texts, it almost seems like-- in regards to rhetorical strategies-- I have a set of metaphorical rings around me. My nuclear family is held within the closest ring, followed by my roommates and friends, and in my most outer circle, I hold my superiors and acquaintances. For example, I send my mother, my boyfriend, and my roommates maybe 5 texts per message, and I usually ignore proper punctuation. If I am texting my discipleship guide, I often use emojis, longer messages, proper punctuation, and smiley faces. This is due to the fact that I'm not very close with her, and I aim to be friendly and likable. This concept is also true with my family friend living nearby and my team leader. I am a bit closer with each of them, however, I still always convey a friendly and polite tone. When it comes to my apprentice, I take on a friendly and formal tone. Typically my messages to her are long since I am usually giving her advice or offering her recommendations.

My mother VS. My apprentice

My Mother:

When I text my mother, I often restrict my sentence length, employ relaxed diction, and disregard punctuation. This is because she knows me well I don't have to convince her of my credibility or utilize common rhetorical choices to reach her as my primary audience.

My Apprentice:

When I message my apprentice, I make sure to maintain good punctuation while also conveying an enthusiastic and friendly tone. I also make sure to provide her with as much information as possible. I employ my favorite rhetorical choices, like dashes and run on sentences. I keep my sentences long and try my best to maintain a semi-formal semi-friendly tone. When I consider her my primary audience, I often try my best to remain as helpful, credible, and informative as possible. Thus, writing to her makes me codeswitch to a more professional yet friendly tone, syntax, and set of diction.

My boyfriend VS. My discipleship Leader

My boyfriend:

My boyfriend and I talk on a regular basis, so more often than not, our text messages aren't essential to communication between the two of us. Therefore, we often discuss nonimportant topics and utilize relaxed diction, grammar, and punctuation. I often don't even spell correctly when I text him. This is because, like my mother, he knows me. When he is my primary audience, I don't have to make an effort to relate or reach him because he already understands who I am and what my motives are.

My Discipleship Leader:

My discipleship leader and I only physically talk on Wednesdays, therefore text communication is essential for the two of us. When I text her, I often use proper grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and sentence length. I add more content when I message her and also employ emojis or smiley faces to try and maintain a friendly tone. Since our relationship is primarily faith and support based, when I want to reach her as a primary audience, I want to put forth an underlying tone of friendliness and support.

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maddys-writing-portfolio-blog · 6 years ago

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Writing Environments

Throughout this research process, I've learned a significant amount of information in regards to what writing environments positively and negatively impact my writing. To be honest, the results had me surprised. I thought I knew what writing and working environments were ideal for me. However, after experimenting with differences in regards to setting, noise, company, and time constraints--I've made some unsuspected findings.

My Bed vs My Desk:

In regards to setting, I've found that I can write more comfortably when I am in a cozy environment such as in my bed, or on the couch. I feel that I can really get into a "writing mood" by putting myself in these types of situations. However, If I need to focus, this isn't necessarily the best place for me to be. I enjoy writing on my bed, curled up in warm blankets, but I am able to focus far more intensely if I am sitting upright at a desk. So far, my best writing moments have been either when I was typing away at my desk or sitting on an airplane. I think this may be due to tot the fact that when I am in a cozy environment, it's easier for me to be more distracted. Whereas if I am forced to sit down for long periods of time (like on an airplane) or choosing to sit down and complete a task at my desk, It is harder for me to get distracted. I've put myself in a situation where essentially, I have nothing to do but write.

Sound vs Silence:

In terms of noise, I've found a similar trend. I constantly have to find a balance between work environments that are comfortable for me and beneficial to my writing. There are times when I like to listen to soft music or songs that don't contain strong lyrics or vocals. Having some type of background music really inspires me, and can fuel my writing. It also makes me feel more comfortable. I enjoy writing in this manner, and I've found it this type of environment to either be one that is created in my room or found at my local coffee shop. With that said, too much music or noise can produce an entirely different effect on my writing. Music with strong lyrics and distinct vocals will often leave me distracted and unable to focus. This is also true for noise produced by people. I enjoy a little background television or conversation-- however, if it's too loud, it will result in me struggling to focus.

Through my experimentation, I've found that my absolute best writing environment in terms of noise and sound-- is silence. I write my best in absolute quiet, and after doing some reflection, I think I know why. I hate silence. At a very young age, I was diagnosed with severe OCD and anxiety. Through clinical tests, it was found that when I am busy or occupied, my anxiety and overall thought process is more manageable. However, when I am unoccupied or sitting in a quiet room-- my mind will run rapid. Writing in silence is uncomfortable for me, but the actual process of writing-- thinking in my head, and typing it on paper-- keeps my anxiety at bay. I am able to fill the silence with my own thoughts, and additionally, utilize my overactive frontal lobe for something productive. Instead of my mind being full of pointless stressful thoughts, it can become a place where I can build thoughts, Ideas, and develop arguments.

Time Constraints:

When it comes to writing, to me, time is a four letter word. I absolutely hate time constraints when I am writing. With that said, due dates are a different story. It's one thing to have to write a paper over the course of a week or a few days-- but 40-minute essays or moments when I get a bit too close to an 11:59 PM deadline are absolutely devastating for me. In those moments, I freeze up, my mind draws a blank, and I am literally overcome with dread. Some people work extremely well under time pressure--I, however, do not.

Company:

youtube

I hate being alone when I am writing. Being alone gives me more opportunities to get distracted. With that said, too many people around me are distracting in their own sense. Ideally, I love writing when there are one or two people in the room-- whether they are friends, family, or strangers. There is something comforting about having people around me, I also tend to feel more accountable. Referring back to my airplane experience, there were a number of strangers on the plane with me. I should have been absolutely distracted by that number of people, however, I wasn't. If anything, it gave off the same effect of only having a couple of people near me. There wasn't the same amount of movement and volume that would occur if the same number of people were all in a room. So, at that moment, I felt extremely productive and accountable. For me, I write my absolute best when I am near a small group of people.

To me, time is a four letter word. I absolutely hate time constraints when I am writing. With that said, due dates are a different story. It's one thing to have to write a paper over the course of a week or a few days-- but 40-minute essays or moments when I get a bit too close to an 11:59 PM deadline are absolutely devastating for me. In those moments, I freeze up, my mind draws a blank, and I am literally overcome with dread. Some people work extremely well under time pressure--I, however, do not. (moved)

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maddys-writing-portfolio-blog · 6 years ago

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What Activates Me?

Going into this project, I had assumed that I would be most rhetorically activated by reading articles and news about some of my education-based passions like psychology, anthropology, genetics, or history. However, upon surfing the web for things to respond too– I found myself desperately shoving a square peg into a round hole. These subjects inspire me, to an unbearable level. Often, after reading these articles or being introduced to similar prompts in class– I felt inspired to write, ask questions, and research. However, I didn’t know what I wanted to write about. I just knew that I loved the topic and wanted to discuss its much as possible. Therefore, I wasn't so much struck with rhetorical activation-- but inspiration. It wasn’t until I stumbled upon an article by Treehugger.com that composed an article titled “What Kind of Awful Person Thinks Its Fun to Kill an Elephant?”. Immediately, I was interested, however– I didn’t feel rhetorically activated until reading a comment to the blog post.

The article itself was primarily composed of strong emotional appeals. The article detailed all of the interesting and endearing facts surrounding the animals. However, it only mentioned poaching in the introduction, as a form of a rhetorical question. If anything, the article was composed with the intentions to build up empathy for the animals.

A user by the name of Reinie Denner proposed, and almost aggressively so, the concept that Elephants were overpopulated and putting other animals at risk. In my UF 100: Economic Decision Making and the Environment, we had discussed the cost and benefits of population control, endangered species, and extinction. Almost immediately a light bulb went off, and I was writing.

The Comment

“I think you should get your facts right!” (Denner).

“What is more, some species like the Southern ground hornbill are currently facing extinction, all because of an elephant overpopulation” (Denner).

“In the case of overpopulation of elephants, they cause havoc and --have an extremely adverse impact on the biodiversity of the environment” (Denner).

“What you fail to recognize is that such trophy hunts are sometimes necessary” (Denner).

“Why don’t you rather focus on the poaching of elephants, take it out on poachers for the brutal way elephants are butchered and slaughtered?”

“I see no outcry to highlight the plight of the ground hornbill on social media and the internet. Is it because they are considered ‘ugly’, not being fantasized in Disney movies like Jumbo and Bambi have been?” (Denner).

My Response

Hi Rienie Denner, I'd like to thank you for addressing a very valid point. It truly is crucial to understand the carrying capacity of the natural environment when it comes to both endangered species and overpopulation. Most of the time, especially from an economic and ecology based perspective, it is important to weigh out the cost and benefits of poaching and population control. In certain parts of the US, especially in Idaho, Canadian Geese have become a severe problem. So much so, that a necessary "killing" was issued in Seattle Washington in 2000 in order to combat the migrations and overpopulation of these birds. However, please note that this was issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (historylink.org). This action was a legal although necessary evil issued by the government. Where, in Africa, Elephant poaching is neither legal nor population control focused. I agree that if some species are truly being put at risk, there should be population control put in place--- HOWEVER, this should not be put into the hands of poachers. The article written above is one of pathological appeal to a reader's emotions to elicit empathy for the animals. Notice how the majority of the content makes one want to say "awww!', "how clever!", or "I didn't know that." This article's purpose seems to be geared towards creating both empathy and sympathy for a species that is being hunted for their ivory. Not so much on taking a stance-- although that is implied.

“a necessary "killing” was issued in Seattle Washington in 2000 in order to combat the migrations and overpopulation of these birds. However, please note that this was issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (historylink.org). This action was a legal although necessary evil issued by the government. Where, in Africa, Elephant poaching is neither legal nor population control focused” (Poe).

“the majority of the content makes one want to say ‘awww!’, ‘how clever!’, or ‘I didn’t know that’ This article’s purpose seems to be geared towards creating both empathy and sympathy for a species that is being hunted for their ivory.” (Poe).

Analysis

Initially, since Denner was reading the blog, it appeared that the commenter was well informed on the matter– However, is Denner’s credibility slowly declined when they composed hasty generalizations like “What is more, some species like the Southern ground hornbill are currently facing extinction, all because of an elephant overpopulation” (Denner), and “In the case of overpopulation of elephants, they cause havoc and --have an extremely adverse impact on the biodiversity of the environment” (Denner). These claims are valid, however, Denner fell short in backing them up with external sources or statistics. In addition, the commenter’s argument began to fall apart. Denner would contradict their claims, warrants, and commentaries. At one moment, they would express that “What you fail to recognize is that such trophy hunts are sometimes necessary” (Denner). Yet at another moment, say, “Why don’t you rather focus on the poaching of elephants, take it out on poachers for the brutal way elephants are butchered and slaughtered?” (Denner). In a way, I understand what Denner was trying to express: how poaching is necessary but brutal, however his lack of credibility and fallacies of argument obscured his point. On top of this, he created digressions that destroyed his own credibility, such as, “I see no outcry to highlight the plight of the ground hornbill on social media and the internet. Is it because they are considered ‘ugly’, not being fantasized in Disney movies like Jumbo and Bambi have been?” (Denner). Reinie Denner, while providing an alternative perspective, failed to communicate their point due to unnecessary digressions and assumptions with little to no facts.

I believe this may also be why I wanted to respond to him. I saw several fallacies in their argument and would have respectfully liked to have seen what information was backing his statements. I wanted to compose my reply as a form of an invitation to discussion. I valued his point and made sure to contribute to it with my own experiences. I explained to him that “ a necessary "killing” was issued in Seattle Washington in 2000 in order to combat the migrations and overpopulation of these birds. However, please note that this was issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (historylink.org). This action was a legal although necessary evil issued by the government. Where, in Africa, Elephant poaching is neither legal nor population control focused.” I also offered him a small amount of rhetorical analysis on the actual article, explaining to him that the articles main purpose was targetted more so on the emotional appeal to the endearment of the animal, not the need for poachers to be stopped. I wanted him to notice how “the majority of the content makes one want to say ‘awww!’, ‘how clever!’, or ‘I didn’t know that.’ This article’s purpose seems to be geared towards creating both empathy and sympathy for a species that is being hunted for their ivory.”

When examining what aspects of the rhetorical situation I used, and what appeals I strategically employed, I believe that my biggest focus was on accurately responding to the exigence at hand. I wanted to address my call to writing-- which was a comment that sparked a need for discussion. In answering this exigence, I worked to appeal to both logos and ethos with my use of quotes. This was done to both provide information that I could use to logically explain my position and bolster my credibility. I wanted to make it evident that I knew what I was talking about and had done research on the topic. My purpose was to explain to the commenter how his argument may be valid, although poaching is illegal and must be enforced by law. Population control and poaching are two entirely different concepts that sadly overlap. We must find a defined line to prevent these two concepts from entangling with one another.

Taking this experience, I believe I become most rhetorically activated when I feel I can contribute to a subject. I enjoyed being able to apply my growing knowledge of environmental economics. Upon first reading the comment, and how Denner depicted population control as a necessity. I had an “OH! I know that!’ type of moment. I felt impassioned to respond to his argument, and supply the knowledge I have learned in my college classes. It is something that I believe will be both noticed and applied in my future writing and reading endeavors.

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maddys-writing-portfolio-blog · 6 years ago

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Relating Text to an Initiating Text

Assignment 1: Final Project ( May 2018)

AP Language and Composition

Prompt: “A common psychological debate is whether individuals are more controlled by “nature” (the inherited traits over which we have no control such as eye color, disease, etc.) or “nurture” (the upbringing by our parents and family members). Discuss nature and nurture as it relates to either Dick or Perry and draws a conclusion in which you support which is more important.

*A 400-500 word paragraph *Must incorporate at least two direct citations from the novel *Must incorporate at least two direct citations from your Outside Research”

“Argument Disputes over nature’s predispositions and nurturing influences, and of which held the greatest contribution to the development of the human psyche, has been an argument that has served perennial throughout the decades.”

“Perry Smith wasn’t necessarily a witness to these behaviors either, he was a victim.”

“ Essentially, it is the nurturing care that shapes an individual, and natural genetics that express to what possible extent.”

Analysis:

The genre of this assignment was very specific– An academic argument, in the form of a paragraph. In this argument, we were to apply the knowledge we obtained from the novel, obtain outside research, and utilize both as evidence for our claim. When I first saw this assignment, I felt a sense of dread. The whole year, we had focused on the persuasive, synthesis, and rhetorical analysis based timed writes. This prompt was essentially the same as any other persuasive argument– except we were able to conduct outside research and had a longer time frame to complete the task. That, to some extent, made me relieved. I do believe though, that due to the intimidation, I wrote with the most sophisticated diction possible. Because I was required to write two citations for each, that was what I did. However, I feel as though I would have benefited more if I also included a number of indirect citations to bolster my claims even further. I do believe though, due to how intimidated I was, my writing was sincerely restrained. Near the beginning of my argument, I explained how “Argument Disputes over nature’s predispositions and nurturing influences, and of which held the greatest contribution to the development of the human psyche, has been an argument that has served perennial throughout the decades.” In this explanation, I believe that I wrote with the intention to please my primary audience-- which was my teacher. I feel this may have inhibited me because I kept my diction, tone, and overall argument academic, refrained, and distant. Since this is a topic that can become quite an emotional one-- I feel that I have fallen short in this aspect. In answering the exigence of this assignment, I had the perfect opportunity to fully adress the underlying topic that comes with the prompt-- child abuse, child neglect, and how it may affect kids. I touched base on it, by supplying commentary such as “Perry Smith wasn’t necessarily a witness to these behaviors either, he was a victim,” and “Essentially, it is the nurturing care that shapes an individual, and natural genetics that express to what possible extent,” but I never quite hit home. If I was to readdress this assignment, I would have employed heavy appeals to pathos, in order to answer to the prompt and its underlying topics completely.

Assignment 2: This I Believe Essay (October 2018)

Honors 198

Tell a story about you: Be specific. Take your belief out of the ether and ground it in the events that have shaped your core values. Consider moments when belief was formed or tested or changed. Think of your own experience, work, and family, and tell of the things you know that no one else does. Your story need not be heart-warming or gut-wrenching—it can even be funny—but it should be real. Make sure your story ties to the essence of your daily life philosophy and the shaping of your beliefs.

Be brief: Your statement should be under 500 words.

“Diamonds are one of the hardest materials in our world, yet most are littered imperfections. Despite their nicks and scratches, these lustrous rocks still shine bright. This naturally occurring concept is one that I apply to my view on the world— and more specifically, on people.”

“At first glance it seems that I was a girl in denial of her childhood bully. However, I know that wasn’t the case”

Analysis:

While this prompt had a similar word constraint as the previous, the genre is almost entirely different. This I Believe Essays have a genre of their own-- they are written by people all over the world, and often published and broadcasted. Therefore, this assignment was an informative essay on one of my own individual beliefs. Initially, when I viewed the prompt, I had no idea where I could begin. In all honesty, at that moment, I wasn’t aware of any strong beliefs that I had. For this assignment, I really had to dig deep to uncover the backbone of my morals. Because this essay was centered around my own beliefs, I decided to take on a more personal diction. I felt a bit more relaxed and less rigid with my writing. As a writer, I truly do favor a narrative style, so for this assignment, I felt that I was really truly able to embrace that side to my writing. I was telling a story. My story. In addressing the prompt, felt that in order to best answer the exigence, which was an invitation to express one of my own core beliefs, I needed to pour my heart out. So, I aimed towards heavily appealing to pathos all throughout my writing. This is evident when I explained that “At first glance, it seems that I was a girl in denial of her childhood bully. However, I know that wasn’t the case”. By utilizing italics, I wanted to express the stress I would have vocally placed on the word “know” if I was telling this story physically. I wanted my audience to pick up on my deep connotation of the word. I wanted them to feel it. I feel like this, paired with the story of my childhood bully, was the best way to stir up emotions in my audience at this time-- which were adults and fellow students. In an effort to perpetuate my appeal to pathos, I wanted to really focus on a narrative style. This is something I started from the very beginning, by employing a metaphor that would remain consistent throughout my piece. At the beginning of my paper, I explained how “Diamonds are one of the hardest materials in our world, yet most are littered imperfections. Despite their nicks and scratches, these lustrous rocks still shine brightly. This naturally occurring concept is one that I apply to my view of the world— and more specifically, on people.” This diamond metaphor carried on throughout my paper, till the very end. If I was to rewrite this assignment, I feel that I would have liked to utilize italics more, and continuously refer back to it throughout my piece. Upon re-reading it, I feel that I touched on it in the beginning, and didn't refer back to it until the very end. I could have been more effective If I would have made the metaphor more apparent.

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maddys-writing-portfolio-blog · 6 years ago

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My Writing Process

15 Minutes Timelapsed:

(https://youtu.be/22M-3ycpy2Y)

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Interpreting the process of writing has always been somewhat of a struggle for me. When I write, my inner perfectionist really comes out. I often try to write my first draft as if it was my last. So, most often, I spend more time staring at my cursor than typing words– and a one hour paper turns out to be three. Before I had conducted research on my writing process, I assumed I was just a slow writer, who wanted to get every word right. However, after recording myself on video in several different settings, I began to notice some trends with my own writing process.

youtube

(https://youtu.be/iEp7cd-BBIo)

I write with almost a tempo. As I write, I typically ride from one word to the other– and then, I have these moments of clarity and inspiration, and my writing speeds up. Then, I typically come to a halt, trying to restart the whole process. Essentially, when I write, its like I am going on a run. I jog at a steady pace, bolt as I near my finish, and stop to regain my energy. I feel that my own writing process is similar to lighting fireworks. I have to light the match, let the rocket launch into the sky, let it build altitude and momentum, before bursting into a vast array of bright colors. Then, the colors fade and I have to strike the match again.

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maddys-writing-portfolio-blog · 6 years ago

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What will I Write?

Writing in Biology:

I had always known that I wanted to major in biology. With that said, I still have no idea what field I will want to enter after I graduate. Part of me is leaning towards the pre-med track, and another part of me is favoring ecology. At this moment, I would really love to add an Ecology and Evolution Behavior emphasis to my Biology degree. However, this may change later on. Despite this, I know that whichever field I end up choosing will still require me to do a decent amount of writing on the subject of biology. In all honesty, I had no idea what that genre of writing looked like. Thankfully, After some research, I came across a guide to writing in the Biology field, produced by South Western University’s Dr. Romi Burks and Maria Todd. According to them, “Quality writing exemplifies the basic skills expected of a trained biologist: organization, attention to detail, evidence-based decision making and critical analysis” (Burks and Todd, “Guide for Writing in Biology”). Their guide provides insight into the types of writing I will compose in my academic future and the differences that come with writing in this scientific field.

In my field, I will be writing for a number of different tasks and answering several different exigences, but the real difference seen in writing for biology will be apparent in how I will be writing them. While there are a number of guidelines that may seem to compose a genre for writing in biology, in actuality “no one society or organization dictates the standards of writing in biology” (Burks and Todd, “Guide for Writing in Biology”). So, in a sense, there is no general genre for Biology based writing. Each prompt answers an exigence differently and is a genre is and of its own. Even more so, according to Burks and Todd, “The face of biology writing continues to change with the increase in the interdisciplinary nature of science”(Burks and Todd,“Guide for Writing in Biology”). Which essentially means that as new specialized fields and emphasizes, the types and styles of writing between different fields will grow more diverse. With this said, there are some light guidelines that stretch across the broad category of what is biological writing. Some of these include the strong emphasis on applying to the third person, a tendency to rarely include direct quotes (Bursk and Todd,“Guide for Writing in Biology”).

What Kind of Writing?

Initially, I hadn’t thought that my major would include a large amount of writing. I was deeply mistaken. According to Dr. Burks and Dr. Todd, As a student and future biologist, I will have to maintain a lab notebook, compose lab reports, create project proposals, and synthesize both primary and secondary literature. Secondary literature is mostly a compilation of review papers– which are written about research that was previously conducted and published– and primary literature are the composed research manuscripts that reflect the data retrieved from an experiment or series of experiments (Burks and Todd, “Guide for Writing in Biology”). The guide also references the necessity for me to draft project proposals. Reading this, I couldn’t help but remember the conversation I shared with my father over Thanksgiving break. He graduated from the University of California Los Angeles with a double major in psychology and biology. According to him, grant and project proposals made up a large portion of his writing, so he could seek funding for his own research (Poe, William).

Writing as a Bio Student:

In regards to what I will mostly be writing in the process of pursuing my own degree, I decided to ask a student who has similar academic interests and goals. Ana Velásquez, a Boise State junior, expressed to me that “besides the regular textbooks and lab manuals, I have been mostly exposed to journal articles. The first writing [within biology] experience I had was for my bio 191 lab, I was asked to conduct a lab and a field experiment of my choice and write a short paper about each of them following standard scientific article formatting”(Velásquez, Ana). According to her, as a student, I will be regularly writing in lab manuals and both reading and composing articles.

Secondary Literature:

In my future, it seems apparent that I will be writing and working with a large number of secondary pieces of literature. As these are stepping stones to one-day drafting or contributing to a research manuscript. In my research, I found a piece of secondary literature that analyzed primary literature composed by Fisheries all over and compiled a review. The article is titled “Whale shark (Rhincodon typus) biology and ecology: A review of the primary literature”.

Analysis:

When looking at this piece’s abstract, it is clear that the purpose of the review is not only to provide information on the waning whale shark but also to promote more research on the species. In regards to the rhetorical situation, it seems that Stevens is choosing his diction carefully to work around the length constraint in his abstract. This is evident in the topical summary he provides in his abstract. It provides enough information, but not nearly as much as the actual review. In addition, it seems he is targeting a primary audience of those studying the topic and a secondary audience of those who possibly have the resources to conduct more research. This is most evident when he explains that “ While some further understanding of whale shark reproduction and age and growth has resulted, our knowledge of the species’ biology and ecology is still poor” (Stevens, “Whale shark (Rhincodon typus) biology and ecology: A review of the primary literature”).

Project Proposals:

In addition to secondary literature, I will eventually need to conduct an experiment or project of my own-- and to do this I will need to write a project proposal. In my research, I found a project being supervised by Kirsten S. Christoffersen and supported by the University of Copenhagen Department of Biology. It is titled “Biodiversity and food chain interactions in arctic lakes”.

Analysis:

In looking at this project proposal, it seems as though the supervisor of the project, Christofferson, is primarily focused on the audience within the rhetorical situation. The project needs backing and support, therefore, reaching a primary audience of interested students, faculty, and possible donors is necessary. This is evident in the project description when Christofferson assures her audience that “Nevertheless, lots of activities are taken place in lake and pond during the short artci summer, as plankton populations must reproduce efficiently in order to secure the survival of the species” (Christofferson, Biodiversity and Food Chain Interactions in Arctic Lakes). In saying this, she is assuring that neither funding nor efforts will go to waste due to low activity.

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maddys-writing-portfolio-blog · 6 years ago

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Conclusion

When I had begun this writing project, I was dead-set on finding my writing Identity. In a sense, I did. However not in the way I thought I would. Through analyzing my writing process, my writing history, my writing environments, and what rhetorically activates me, I've found a number of trends. I love to utilize rhythm and parallel structure, I write my best in silence, and the process of writing for me revolves around momentum. Yet, I felt that none of these discoveries formed any kind of distinct or concrete identity. It wasn't until I analyzed my last podcast reviewed my podcasts that I discovered that right now, as a writer, I am constantly changing. The changes are small, however, over time I know they will uncover a more consistent and concrete identity.

In the past, I wrote blindly. I was neither rhetorically aware of the rhetorical situation or my own writing strategies. Purposeful writing, strategic rhetorical devices, and appeals where never on my mind when I composed previous writing pieces. At least, not to the degree that they are now. As a writer, I feel that I've become rhetorically aware, and in the future, this will help me uncover more facets of my writing identity.

In the future, I see myself honing in on my writing identity-- especially as I start to write more specialized pieces and in more precise genres for my future discipline. Reflecting on my own writing has given me this subconscious Through this reflection process. Through this process, I’ve developed this need to rhetorically analyze my own writing-- something I've never quite considered before. I believe in the future this will become a habit that will be key to the success of my future writing. Whether I am conducting a speech for my brother’s wedding or drafting a secondary literature for the Biology field-- I know that self-reflecting on my writing and rhetorical awareness will aid me in effectively achieving my purpose-- whatever that may be.

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