Reflection on Open letter draft

In the following blog post I reflect on the feedback I got from my peer editors in my open letter draft.

I peer reviewed Mehruba and Ayra's drafts

Screenshot by Dylan Cotter '12/10/15' "you're sexy" Public Domain Usage

1. Did you demonstrate an ability to think about your writing and yourself as a writer?

I believe I did show that in this letter. Having never been asked to do something like reflecting on my own writing before I took this course, having done it already was incredibly helpful. In the conclusion of the letter I note that my writing process has changed styles and how I came to changing styles, so I think that shows my thinking about my writing. I think about myself as a writer by acknowledging how my writing usually goes in the body paragraphs as well. 

I think both of these thing show my thinking about myself as a writer and also thinking about my writing. 

2. Did you provide analysis of your experiences, writing assignments, or concepts you have learned?

Yes I believe I do. I draw from my first blog post about my writing process. Talk about projects two and three. Reference multiple past blog posts and the whole essay is about the three most important skills I learned from the course so I believe I have adequately displayed this. 

3. Did you provide concrete examples from your own writing (either quotes from your writing or rich descriptions of your writing process)? 

Yes I quote from more than three posts and even a comment that one of my peers made on my writing process in person. They all go into how I have changed as a writer and how my process has changed throughout the year. 

4. Did you explain why you made certain choices and whether those choices were effective?

I am assuming that this means like word choice or use of mediums and yes I did. I describe how using the rhetorical situation can lead to the use of different mediums for communication and how that lead to my using scripted video and different word choices for different assignments. 

5. Did you use specific terms and concepts relating to writing and the writing process?

I employ rhetorical analysis, the use of rhetoric and the use of research and expand on this in the body paragraphs. 

My blog just needs word choices and grammatical edits. Thank you to my peer reviewers fro their feedback!

New Open Letter

In the following blog post I start my final

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE NEWEST VERSION

I want my peer reviewers to focus on my potential in this letter. My intro and if it seems to formal or not. I want to specifically focus on how the skills that have been taught to us in this course will benefit us down the road. Even if you can't see how right away. Kinda like when you ask a math teacher 'when are we ever gunna use this?" My thesis statement still needs some work but the overall message and the argument in it will remain the same. Thank you .


An open letter to the professors and the students of 109H,

To those whom it may concern. The courses you take in college will actually become important later on in your life. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but sometime real soon. Eventually everyone will need to write a paper on something, a summary of the work they have been doing, an annual report or all kinds of work. So the skills taught in this class will be vital to that.

English 109H has been the most challenging but also the best English class that I have ever taken. It has caused me to change my writing style and also how I handle time and assignments. A lot of the skills that I needed to develop will translate to the real world hugely.

Time management skills- all courses and careers.

Rhetorical situation- Using the contest audience and author to judge how to write a paper and how to assess the credibility of a work.

Researching papers- Researching credible sources to include in my projects.

thank you

I peer review Ayra and Mehruba's posts

Reflecting more on my writing process

In the following blog post I reflect further on my writing process

screenshot by Dylan Cotter "vinny" 12/5/15 Public domain Usage

1. What were the biggest challenges you faced this semester overall?

My biggest challenge was absolutely the time management of this class. The amount of work is substantial for this course and getting it all done is a big challenge so using my time to my advantage is a key skill so that was the biggest challenge by far. But also the keeping up with the work trying not to fall behind.

2. What did you learn this semester about your own time management and editorial skills?

I learned that my skills mainly fall in the actual writing process. Not the planning, thats not my strong suit, and not in the revision process. But the actual writing and ideas I have a good time in. My editorial skills lack because I am too in my own head and I know what the sentence should say... but i end up passing it by.

3. What do you know about the concept of genre?

Genre is the form of writing that the are in. Much like country songs vs rap songs vs alternative songs. Its like an essay, vs a blog, vs an article. The kind of genre that you are writing in can have a huge impact on how you write.

4. What kind of skills can you take forward for future courses?

Obviously time management skills are paramount for all courses. But researching genre, considering audience, and the rhetorical situations were all huge in this course and can all be transferred to future courses easily and will improve my writing there.

5. What was your most effective moment?

I think that my project three was my most effective moment. I put a lot of work into it and used all of the skills that the class has taught me. The grade I received reflects the work that I put in, I used more than one of the media genres to portray my point.

6. What was your least effective moment?

I think my annotated bibliography was my least effective moment. Even though I received full marks for it, I never really used it too much after the assignment and I probably should have because it would have been helpful.

Revisiting my writing process

In the following blog post I reflect on my calendar and writing process.

Screenshot by Dylan Cotter "meg" 12/5/15 Public Domain Usage

I was a naive little child back then. At the beginning of the year when I didn't know anything about what college was going to be like. My calendar is just making sure that I get all my stuff done. I don't have a strict time slot and set for everything. I get dinner, when the sun goes down. I eat lunch, when I can. I do my homework, before the deadline. Thats my schedule. However my gym regime hasn't changed. My writing process hasn't changed too much, I have a lot more planning in my process but other than that I haven't changed that much, my time management skills have gotten significantly better. This will lead to my continued academic success during my next few years at college and my career. It will make me a better planner and be able to write nice reports. Good things will come of this.

Reflection on project three

In the following blog post I reflect on project three

Screenshot by Dylan Cotter 11/22/2015 Public Domain Usage

1. What was changed from one draft to the other.

The biggest change was that I added video interviews and switched out many of the pictures. Some formatting changes were made. I originally had "then he usually gets what he wants. I propose that..." as one continues paragraph, but instead I broke it up into two separate paragraphs.

2. Point to global changes

My project doesn't have a thesis because of the informal nature of the article. I never restructured my article that much from the beginning. The most global change was the addition of the videos which gave it my personal touch for my public argument.

3. What led you to these changes?

My peer reviewers, my redrafting of how the essay was written (3rd person to first person) and also my reconsidering of audience. Both digital and film filmmakers should read this and therefore I need to consider the pros and cons of both sides.

4. How do these changes affect your credibility as an author?

Being able to draft and redraft only adds to my credibility as an author. Also how I am able to draw from my experiences of working on both sides of the spectrum, adds to my credibility again. This is a deep and meaningful topic to me and I really wanted to do it right.

5. How will these changes better address the audience or the venue?

Hopefully these changes will make the audience take my argument more seriously and make them take my point to heart. Also my just focusing on my opinions and my experiences it comes from a place of experience and not of judgement.

6. Point to local changes, structure and style.

Most of the local revisions were just sentence structures and grammatical revisions. Simple formatting changes.

7. How did these changes assist your audience in understanding your purpose?

Because the document has all the words spelled correctly and grammatically correct structures, they will know that this article wasn't written by a five year old. And that it has a degree of professionalism to it.

8. Did you have to reconsider the conventions of the genre when you were writing in?

Not really, I had to consider the amount of pictures to include as conventionally there isn't as many pictures as I put, but I considered against it as pictures were needed for this argument.

9. Finally how does the process of reflection help you consider your identity as a writer?

Revision is important part of the writing process because eventually you get so caught up in what you are writing that you won't notice the mistakes or if something is not explained correctly. Revision can help you catch these mistakes and make the strength of the paper better.

Publishing public argument

In the following blog post I publish my final draft of my public argument. 

Here is my final draft of my public argument

1. Mark with an "x" where you feel your target audience currently stands on the issue (before reading/watcing/hearing your argument) below: My audience has their way or doing things and refuses all other ways of doing things, they either agree or disagree strongly depending on what side of the debate you are on. So they are on both sides of the spectrum, hence the two X's

←X----------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------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: My aim is to get them to see the benefits of embracing both mediums and how there isn't just one way of doing things. This brings them more into the middle. 

←----------------------------X------------------------|-----------------------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 etablishes 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 prooposes 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 argument contains interview clips where I talk about my personal experiences with both shooting mediums. I discuss the pros and cons of both methods and then give my take on them. Then at the end I offer up a solution to the debate that I believe can end this debate. Therefore my argument provides my own, original insight to the debate from my experiences. And then, instead of trying to convince my readers of one way of doing things, I provide a neutral solution to the problem and don't take sides, which is a new context in this debate. 

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

Ethical or credibility-establishing appeals

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

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

                    ___x__ 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)

                    __x___ 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)

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

                    ___x__ 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)

                    ___x__ Other: I have an entire video segment listing my credits and experiences which gives me the ability to talk about this topic intelligently and without bias. 

Emotional appeals

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

                    __x___ 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.)

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

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

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

                    ___x__ 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

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

                    _____ Other: 

Logical or rational appeals

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

                    _____ 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)

                    ___x__ Other: Listing both the pros and cons of shooting with both mediums and discussing my experiences with both the pros and cons

Below link to three examples of you're genre:

Film vs Digital

Oscars: Inside the Film vs Digital Divide

Film vs. Digital 2

Reflection on Project 3 draft

In the following blog post I reflect on my project three draft.

Isabel Faul did my peer review of my rough draft

Her comments were valuable to me. As she was there when I was describing how I wanted to do my final draft, she knows better than most how it is going to work. Her opinions and thoughts on the pictures and the solution paragraph were very valuable and I will take them into heavy consideration during my revision process.

My process or argumentation needs the most work going forward. I need to include more pictures and also film and edit the videos which will be the the most work, but also a lot of fun.

After the conferences I am feeling really good because professor Bottai said he liked the idea and how I have it planned out. I am looking forward to the final draft, I think I will be proud of it.

Screenshot by Dylan Cotter "meg" 11/15/2015 Public Domain usage