Reflection on Project 3

Below are the answers to questions asked on page 520 of Writing Public Lives. This is my reflection on Project 3.

deSousa, Joe, "The Thinker" 06/30/2011 via flickr.com Public Domain Dedication

• What was specifically revised from one draft to another?

I really changed my entire style from my rough draft to my final draft. I picked a different website to emulate and along with that came a different style of writing. I had to focus on speaking my mind in an implicit way in my final draft while not falling into a research paper style which is associated with the style of my rough draft. Shorter paragraphs were also a change I had to make and I did this separating my evidence from my analysis. One paragraph would focus on the evidence I gathered to back myself up and my next paragraph would focus on my analysis.

• Point to global changes how did you reconsider your thesis or organization

I focused on a problem nuclear fusion faces and then proposed a solution to it. In my rough draft, I focused on the cause of nuclear fusions struggles and how a company in the private sector is avoiding all those struggles. This led to mixing of arguments. I focused on a solution for nuclear fusion in my final draft which powered my thesis.

• What led you to these changes? A reconsideration of audience? A shift in purpose?

A shift in purpose led to my changes. I saw my argument not fitting my style of writing and that it was becoming to convoluted to understand. I wanted to simplify so I changed what I was arguing.

• How do these changes affect your credibility as an author?

These changes affected my credibility only slightly. I am well versed in the subject due to my research but I did cite the sources I drew directly from. I find my credibility to credible although I feel I could have used more direct quotes to back my opinions up.

• How will these changes better address the audience or venue?

The final product was a more direct approach compared to the long winded version my rough draft had. This way my audience jumped right into why nuclear fusion is important, how it hasn't been funded properly and where that money should come from.

• Point to local changes: how did you reconsider sentences structure and style?

I used complex sentences to convey my complex ideas and used compound sentences to link ideas together that were important. I used sentence structure to convey my ideas and to fit within the conventions of my chosen genre.

• How will these changes assist your audience in understanding your purpose?

They assist the audience because they get to the information more quickly and it helps communicate the complex ideas I am conveying to them. Using compound sentences links ideas that the audience should understand in tandem or affect one another. The different sentence styles draw the audiences attention to different points which is my intention.

• Did you have to reconsider the conventions of the particular genre in which you are writing?

I didn't have to reconsider any genres but I did have to insert titles and subtitles as well as tailor my paragraphs to fit the conventions of the website. Also, the conventions of my style didn't use a lot of pictures but graphs and large quotes so I relied on those to be the visuals of my argument.

• Finally, how does the process of reflection help you reconsider your identity as a writer?

It helps show me that I am very flexible when it comes to writing but still end up in that rut of finding evidence and then explaining that evidence. I need to branch out and learn how tie things together from all portions of the essay to make a cohesive and intelligible piece of writing.

Publishing Public Argument

Here is a link to my final draft of my public argument. Below is some relevant information regarding my public argument, my topic and how I argued my topic.

Rawlinson, Jon "celebration of light 2007 - vancouver, canada, fireworks" 07/25/2007 via flickr.com Attribution 2.0 Generic

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

←----------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------X------------------------->

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly

agree                                                                                                                          disagree

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

←----------------------X------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------->

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly

agree                                                                                                                          disagree

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

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

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

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

___X___ My public argument proposes a solution for a problem that is being debated.

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

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

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

My topic focuses on how more funding from the United States government allocated from the defense R&D budget can allow humanity to relieve itself from its addiction to fossil fuels and provide a cleaner and more efficient energy source to draw its power from.

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

Ethical or credibility-establishing appeals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

_____ Openly acknowledging counterarguments and refuting them intelligently

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

_____ Other: 

Emotional appeals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

_____ Other: 

Logical or rational appeals

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

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

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

_____ Using expert opinions that help affirm your stance or position

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

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

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

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

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

_____ Other: 

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

1. Example 1
2. Example 2
3. Example 3

Reflections on Project 3 Draft

I reviewed Clay and Ann Emilie drafts. My draft needs quite a bit of work and some graphical design that is fitting for an Economist.com article. Below are my answers to reflection questions.

mcsporran, john "Reflections in the Mist" 04/17/2015 via flickr.com Attribution 2.0 Generic

• Who reviewed your Project 3 draft?

Awaiting Feedback

• What did you think and/or feel about the feedback you received?

Awaiting Feedback

• What aspects of Project 3 need to most work going forward? How do you plan on addressing these areas? 

The work that needs to be done the most is focusing on an evaluative argument instead of leading my paper with a casual argument which is confusing and makes my article read like a research paper. Next, I need to create or research more graphs that explain the amount of money spent on nuclear fusion research to compliment my evaluative argument. Finally, some aesthetic choices that match the Economist.com website is necessary to complete my article.

• How are you feeling overall about the direction of your project after peer review and/or instructor conferences this week?

After meeting with my instructor, I felt confident that I can complete my paper in a way that is fitting and reflects my abilities as a writer. The amount of research that I still need to complete is substantial but further analysis of my argument style and specific subject will lessen the amount of total research I need. 

Draft of Public Argument

Here is the link to my rough draft of my public argument. Please remember this is a rough draft and not representative of its final form. For a few days it will remain in outline form to help me organize my ideas. However, I would greatly appreciate it if you could look for any grammar mistakes or could point to sentence that either repeat themselves or make no sense. Thank you for taking a look at my draft.

Gallagher, Joe "borat-thumbs-up" 05/20/2013 via flickr.com Attribution-NonCommericial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic

Considering Visual Elements

My genre uses limited amount of images usually one at the beginning and some graphs or charts used throughout the article to give context or explain various numbers referenced in the article. The questions below helped me consider adding these visual elements into my project.

Lowe, Glyn, "Northern Lights- designer Jesper Kongshaug" 02/21/2013 via flickr.com Attribution 2.0 Generic

Creating Visual Coherence-

• What color choices?
• My article will be written on white paper with black text. The only other color will be in the visual images which will have appropriately colored graphs and be aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
• What font choices?
• I will use times new roman and use a larger text size for the title. The main body of the article will use 12 point font so that it is easily readable.

Creating Visual Salience-

• Image Selection?
• The images I choose for my article will relate to the subject of nuclear fusion. More specifically I will use a picture of Tri Alpha Energy as the leading image and graphs of data I wish to show throughout the paper where it makes the most sense to paste them. This will validate my logos style argument and bring my audience into complete understand of my topic. The opening image is used to say a thousand words because giving a visual of the main example of my subject is most important.

Creating Visual Organization-

• Text?
• My paragraphs will be medium length with complex sentences because I want the audience to gain as much information as possible in a limited amount of space. However, I will double space my text because it makes the text easier to read. There will however be limited space in between paragraphs to conform to the conventions of the genre.
• Images?
• I plan on have 3 or 4 graphs explaining various numerical points and one opening image that really encapsulates the main example my subject will be based on. I am using this limited amount of images to conform to the conventions of a short length to my paper that both articles in the economist and editorials in the New York Times typically conform too.

Creating Visual Impact-

• Placing an image at the topic engages the reader right away and if the image is striking enough will draw them to read the article. Also, it gives a visual reference to the people and the company my subject will be exemplifying. The graphs are there to show visually and numerically points that need to be emphasized such as how much money is being spent on nuclear fusion project, how much total these nuclear fusion project cost and so on. Furthermore, the use of graphs adds credibility if properly cited.

Project 3 Outline

Below is my Project 3 outline. The outline below may not resemble my final paper but I am using it as a launching pad for my project 3 paper.

Seattle Municipal Archives, "Engineering drafting room, 1962" 09/18/1962 via flickr.com Attribution 2.0 Generic

Introduction- Frame the Consequences

• Grabber
• Nuclear fusion has the potential to provide unlimited amounts of clean carbon dioxide free energy for generations but due to a lack of global long term vision its reserach has been severely underfunded.
• Thesis
• For the past 60 years, nuclear fusion research has been significantly underfunded due to political policy and a lack of long term vision. Due to this lack of funds, nuclear fusion research has been set back decades but new small startups are gaining ground on the lost research due to relatively small amount of capitol needed to create nuclear fusion now. One of these startups is Tri Alpha Energy and they are going to bring nuclear fusion to fruition.

Body Paragraph-

• Topic Sentence
• The United States Government's budget over the past 50 to 70 years has had decreasing amounts of funds set aside for nuclear fusion research.
• Evidence
• Need to insert a graph here regarding the downward trend of government spending on nuclear fusion. Also, need to insert quotes from one of my sources regarding how much money needs to be spent each year for nuclear fusion to become possible.
• Analysis
• Analyze the evidence above.

Body Paragraph-

• Topic Sentence
• The ITER global nuclear fusion project has been riddled with money concerns and a lack of funding since its conception in the late 90's but this has been a common occurrence for all large scale nuclear fusion projects.
• Evidence
• Speak about ITER's financial concerns in the mid 2000's and provide some evidence about abandoned nuclear fusion projects in the 70's specifically in the United States.
• Analysis
• Analyze the point that large scale projects have failed and have not yielded the data needed to make nuclear fusion a sustained energy source.

Body Paragraph-

• Topic Sentence
• Tri Alpha Energy and another half a dozen nuclear fusion energy startups have sprung up in the past decade with the intention of using enhanced computer technology to refine abandoned ideas about how to create a sustained nuclear fusion reactions.
• Evidence
• Speak about what Tri Alpha Energy and other startups are doing differently than other global government funded experiments. Also mention who is funding these startups such a the founder of Paypal and Microsoft.
• Analysis
• Analyze the difference between the large government expierments and what these nuclear fusion startups are doing.

Conclusion

• Concluding Strategy
• My concluding strategy is to speak about the positive consequence of funding nuclear fusion and that a way to fund nuclear fusion more effectively is to give money to these startups because they can work specifically on these various styles of nuclear fusion reactors.

Analyzing My Genre

I took a look at two similar genres as possiblities of the style my public argument would be written in. I think I will write a mixture of the super formal, in depth, factually written that the articles in the Economist resemble and the slightly less formal, more personable writing of the New York Times editorial section. These two genres are fitting for my style of writing and I want to emulate two genres that have produced a lot of good writing and important subjects.

Purwanto, Yan Arief. "Journalist on duty" 09/19/2007 via flickr.com Attribution-Alike 2.0 Generic

Example 1.

Example 2.

Example 3.

Example 4.

Example 5.

Social Context:

• The genre is typically set in a news driven and fact based world. The editorial portions of the New York Times is written to provide opinions from respected individuals about divisive topics. While the Economists writes analytical articles about important political and economic leaders, events that have an impact on on the economy and any future events that may impact economic security.
• The subject of the New York Times can be anything but is typically regulated to US news, World news, Political news, Economic news and topics concerning science. While the Economist speaks about all the subjects above it puts an economic analytical spin on their articles.
• This genre is used by journalists to get their work out to the masses. The readers are informed, educated, educated individuals interested in the news and the economy.
• This genre is used on a monthly to daily basis to convey the news to its readers. The people who reader the New York Times and the Economist are using to be more informed and in some cases make investment decisions based off of a subject they read about in the two mediums.

Rhetorical Patterns of the Genre

• The content included is a mixture of facts from both sides of the argument, quotes from leaders of the different factions involved in the argument and analysis of the situation through the viewpoint of the author or authors. What is typically excluded is uninformed opinions about the topic for example there is little mention of social media posts from insignificant people about a certain subject.
• The most prevalent rhetorical appeal in the Economist is logos. The articles are shaped around providing factual evidence to convince the reader of a certain analysis of a situation. Little emotional appeal is used probably due to the English writing style. The New York Times editorials, however, the style and rhetorical appeals that are used in the writing really depends on the writer and their is a lot of variation between editorials.
• In both genres the text open up in a similar way. They present the subject and delve into the meat of the subject and their opinion or analysis of the subject. The conclusion in the New York Times articles is a little more pronounced and long winded for the most part while the Economist has simple, concise conclusions to the articles.
• The sentences obviously vary throughout all the examples. Simple, complex and complex compound sentences are used by the authors of both genres to convey their point. So not a lot of difference in style between the two. The New York Times editorials is for the most part active in telling the reader their opinion; while, the analysis of the Economist uses is subdued and implicit. There is a lack of exclamation points and rhetorical questions in both genres do to the professional tone both institutions demand from their writing.
• The word choice is professional but easy to understand. There is definitely a lack of ten dollar words which makes it easy for a casual reader to understand even though the sentence structure can be complex. The word choice is formal but not academic in the Economist and in the New York Times the editorials can be humorous at times but formal as well. 

Analyze What those Patterns Reveal about the Social Context of the Genre

• Both genres include world news events in the political, economic and scientific realms of life but for the most exclude popular culture analysis or opinions and only on rare occasions do an article on a pop star.
• The writers encourage analysis, understanding and want their readers to engage in the text especially in the editorials for the New York Times.
• There is a knowledge of economic understanding assumed when reading the Economist and the New York Times editorials can assume the reader agrees with their political views depending on the writer those views can be different but it is mostly a liberal lean.
• The most valuable content for the Economist is economic policy and political policy changing to affect the economy. The least valuable is pop culture happenings such Ariana Grande dumps her boyfriend, etc. The most valuable content for the New York Times is any political, economic, social or any other type of problem that is important and an individual needs to write an opinion piece about. Again, unimportant pop culture happenings are rarely written about as they are not important.