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

Draft of public argument

In the following blog post I share my argument draft

Dear Peer reviewers,

All I ask of you is to read the few short paragraphs that I have written here. I ask you to tell me if the paragraphs are clear and use the picture of the film vs digital compression well. If you can see the differences and if my solution makes sense. Also if you can clearly tell what type of argument I am making. I will be including videos hopefully in this so they will expand more on it. thank you very much

Here is my draft

Considering visual elements

In the following post I consider my visual elements

Screenshot taken by Dylan Cotter 11/7/2015 "Coldplay" Public Domain Usage

1. What color tone reflects the visual rhetoric of my project

• A blue color tone would reflect the peaceful objective of my paper 
• I would stay away from red or  any confrontational colors

2. How might I vary the fonts and for emphasis, such as the title?

• I will use some bold and italics for both formatting issues and impact. For names drops and evidence highlights

3. Is the feeling or tone that the image invokes appropriate to the visual-rhetoric of my argument?

• All of the images I am using are actually part of my article so yes they do exactly what I want them to do. 
• Pictures of the different types of cameras could be interesting, but it wouldn't be distracting so thats good. 

4. Is the image in close proximity to the issue or is it illustrating?

•  The image is in close proximity and also helps illustrate the point that I am trying to make. 

5.  If you're project contains lines or large blocks of text, could they be broken up into text boxes or something?

• I plan on using video elements so thats how the large texts boxes will be broken up. 

6.  If you are calling your audience to take action, are the consequences of not taking action expressed?

•  I am calling for my audience to take action and the consequences of not taking action are illustrated already because of the state that the industry is in, the good things about taking action are expressed 

Reflection:

I read Savannah's and Morgan's blog posts and found that they both had thought about their choices on visual images and elements very deeply. This will make their projects look good but will pay off because it will subconsciously draw their readers into their arguments. 

Project three outline

In the following blog post I outline my strategies for project three

Introduction

• Connect to the audiences world view.
• Everyone watches movies and knows big Hollywood stars, so that is a good place to start.
• All of y readers will have a substantial interest in movies so relating to them and appeals shouldn't be a problem. But convincing them will be.

Body

• Major supporting argument against film
• The progressive modernization and catching up of digital 
• the economic reasoning of digital
• The decreasing number of film producers
• All of these can be good evidence for embracing digital
• Major supporting arguments for film
• The traditional feeling and texture of film
• More life like
• The psychological effect of only having so much room to shoot
• All of these can be considered good evidence for shooting on film still
• Major criticisms of film
• It is now un reasonable to be spending all the money to get a film reel
• It takes more time than it should
• It isn't progressing fast enough
• All of these can support a switch to digital
• Major criticisms of digital
• Cant' do the things that film does
• doesn't give that cinema feel
• ruining the psychological feel of digital 
• All of these can support a continuation of film
• Key points and rebuttals 
• Points to support my solution 
• Producer make directors justify locations and equipment based on character, story or techniques
• People don't want to fight
• Key points against my solution 
• Film should be unified and standard
• People need to be on the same page
• Potential topic sentence for each support paragraph 
• "Digital provides a rapidly progressing and economically reasonable medium for filmmakers to shoot on, along with a distinct look and feel to the shots."
• Paragraph explaining digital filmmaking 
• "Film still holds that classic texture and feel that people are used to seeing, plus it still has the capabilities that digital doesn't."
• Paragraph explaining shooting on film
• Potential topic sentence for each rebuttal paragraph
• "While it is true that digital doesn't have the abilities that film does yet, it is advancing so quickly and it is so much cheaper that it has to be embraced".
• Paragraph for those opposing digital 
• "Movies are all about visuals, so since film has the most pleasing look, then it shouldn't be tossed out and it should be shot on more."
• Paragraph for those apposing film
• Gathering evidence
• Since this will just be my opinion and knowledge I won't be using any outside sources but my own brain.
• Mapping the argument

• Here is my coggle map 

Conclusion 

• Future of the debate
• This debate reached a boiling point but will soon be irrelevant because of the progression of digital 

Analyzing my genre

In the following blog post I analyze my genre of writing

Five examples:

1. The Hollywood Reporter example 1

The author uses a more informal/ QRG style of writing but is also informative with the information he is projecting across. This is ethos and logos.

1. The Hollywood Reporter example 2

This is another informal article style work that uses a real working cinematographer and DP to get its point across. The is logos and ethos.

1. The Hollywood Reporter example 3

This article is the most like that which I am trying to write in. It doesn't use subheadings or any conventions but is still written in an informal way. 

1. DSLR lounge article 

This article uses the first person writing style that I want to employ for my article, since I will be giving my opinion on this topic, I will need to use "I" in at least one section of the article. 

1. Digital photography school article

I cited this article because it showcases the visual comparisons that I intend to use for my article, showing both the film and digital versions of pictures. 

Screenshot by Dylan Cotter 11/4/15 "Army guys" Public domain usage

Social context:

Where is the genre typically set?

• This genre is in magazines and online articles such as the ones that I have hyperlinked above, The Hollywood Reporter is the biggest magazine that would host these articles. 

What is the subject of the genre?

• The subject of my genre is to inform people about the continuing evolution of a debate, and then to show them how this conflict can be resolved. 

Who uses this genre?

• Anyone who has an opinion on something and can spell, reasonably well can use this genre. However the best examples are written by those who have prior work or experience in the field they are writing on.

When and why is the genre used?

• Being the most versatile genre out there, anyone can use this genre. It can be used to update, argue, persuade, vent, and even plead with people to adopt puppies from battered homes. 

Rhetorical patterns of the Genre:

What type of content is usually included and excluded?

• When used to update people in an informative article, then a timeline is normally found, pictures, and quotes are included. Occasionally even a video link can be included. 
• Scholarly conventions are excluded, so there isn't a formal forward or anything like that, other than that most information is included in this. 

What rhetorical appeals are used most often?

• Since it is an informative article, ethos and logos are used a lot. However because it is an informal style of writing pathos can also be used in the form of opinions or personal anecdotes. 
• With film, most people take personal anecdotes the best, but the other two help out as well. 

How are the texts organized? Do they open in similar ways?

• I have found that they tend to be vastly different in their style. Just as filmmakers can take a scene and shoot it in a million different ways, you can appeal to filmmakers in a million different ways and won't even please everyone, unless you make The Godfather. 
• There seems to always be a rhetorical question though, or one that doesn't have a concrete answer. 

What type of word choice is used? Do they fit in a particular category of slang?

• There is not a lot of slang used, sometimes you will find film lingo such as an "abbey singer shot" or a "martini" but that is about the extent of slang, as far as word choice is it very open and so it solely depends on the writer, there isn't really a common string. 

What do those patterns reveal about the social context of that genre?

Who does the genre include and who does it exclude?

• The genre includes filmmakers and those who care about the inner workings of filmmaking. 
• It excludes those who don't care about that sort of thing, and who aren't reading these articles. 

What roles for writers and readers does the genre inspire?

• If the article is a position argument then it will strengthen the feelings of those whose side it is taking. 
• If it is an informative article then it aims to make their readers more knowledgable. 

What values are assumed or encouraged from the users of the genre?

• The authors assume that the readers already know a certain amount and are caught up on the latest developments in their issue that they are writing about. 
• The readers assume that the article will take a side, which is where my article will differ from others. 

What content does the genre treat as most valuable?

• These articles are for filmmakers, short attentions spans, visually oriented and highly creative. So those that can get their point across quickly and keep their readers attention. 

Reflection:

I read Morgan's blog and her amount of understanding and her amount of knowledge really helped me understand what I needed to know for my own project. It really helped me know what to write about and how my post was supposed to look. I read Savannah's blog and found that she had a good understanding of her audience as well and that her choice to do a blog post was perfect for her genre and topic.

My Rhetorical action plan

In the following blog post I analyze my plan of action for project 3

Audience:

What does the audience know about this topic, text or idea? Do they have opinions that you need to address?

• My audience will most likely be people who only care about the technical aspects of filmmaking or those who like to keep up with what is happening at the center of the industry. 
• The whole argument is opinion based and every audience member of mine will have an opinion. 

What do you know about the values that members of the audience might hold?

• Most of these filmmakers will have began their careers shooting on one medium or the other. 
• whether their careers are young or have many accolades already piled up, they grew up and started on either film or digital so it will be hard to get them to switch sides so abruptly. 

What type of research or evidence will be persuasive to your audience? 

• Showing the technical side and the advantages of one medium or the other and the capabilities of them.
• Also showing the economical consequences of shooting on either digital or film
• Then I believe a timeline and projection of what digital will be able to do in 10 years will be persuasive. 

What visual images or elements might your audience respond to?

• Side by side visual comparisons of scenes shot on digital and film will be very helpful, also graphs of costs and equipment needed for one or the other will be helpful

Why is your audience reading or listening to your argument? Are they trying to broaden their horizons?

• I believe they would listen to my argument because I claim to have a solution to this issue.
• I think that, like me, people are tired of hearing about this struggle and want to just get back to making movies
• Also I think they value another opinion of someone else on this issue
• I am trying to show them that there isn't a need for all this un-needed quarreling over this topic
• I hope that by providing an unbiased look and also a lot of evidence to both sides, I can motivate people to use what they thing will make their film the best

Screenshot taken by Dylan Cotter 10/31/2015 "I'm gossip girl" Public Domain Usage

Genre:

Genre 1- Article written by me for elements of film magazine

1. Here is a perfect article for this website, it shows both sides and will be perfect to present evidence and also persuade people 

2. This is also a good article of similar type of article, It has more anecdotal evidence and also more personal touches. 

What is the function of this genre? 

• This genre is supposed to present information in a clear cut way to people so that it is easy to understand and unbiased. 
• i chose this because it is the easier of the genres to present both sides of information without seeming biased. 

What is the setting of the genre?

• Hopefully in a big film industry magazine read by people who care about how films are made, like the hollywood reporter or something 

How might you use the themes we have discussed in class to your advantage?

• Given the fact that this is purely personal preference, emotional appeals and logical appeals will be most effective in persuading my audience. 

What types of visual elements can be used?

• As I already said, graphs and side by side comparisons will be most effective. 

What type of style will you use in this genre?

• Personal and emotional appeals will start out my argument strong. Then, adding in logical appeals with visual evidence and graphs will strengthen it even the more. A proposal argument will be most effective and will bring the whole argument to a nice close. 

Genre 2: Video

Here is a great example of a debate style video that would do really well for my argument. 

Here is a side by side compression video that presents the differences side by side for people to see. 

What is the function of this genre. why did you choose it?

• Film people are visual learners, as we are visual people, so a video would be very natural and easy for people to understand. 

What is the setting?

• YouTube is the most obvious but also a show like AMC movie talk or something like that. 

How might you use rhetorical appeals?

• I can still use emotional appeals in this particular genre, however logic and numbers and visual compression would be much more effective in this such case. 

What type of visual elements can be used?

• It's a video, it has to have visuals

What type of style would you use in this genre?

• This genre could be more informal and debate like, as both sides need to be presented, a pro/con argument would be effective here. 

Responses/ Actions:

Positive responses-

• People realize there is no need for a big fight on this issue, and they leave people alone to shoot on what they want. 
• people understand that film is completely subjective and don't chastise people for not liking their method

Negative responses-

• "I don't care, film is still better and always will be and digital is killing filmmaking!" Well, good luck shooting things in the future there bud
• "You have only ever shot on digital how would you know?" This is true however I have work on project that were shot on film so I saw how it makes people act differently. 
• "Film rules!" Ok then. 

Considering type

In the following blog post I evaluate which type of argument would be useful for my argument.

Screenshot Taken by Dylan Cotter "fish" 10/29/2015 Public domain usage

Postion argument:

This will be the most effective argument type for my position. Also known as the pro/con argument, this is exactly how to persuade someone of a change of mind or opinion. Showing the pros and cons of each side and then presenting my position would serve almost as showing my side as a compromise and easier to accept.

Proposal argument:

This type of argument would be almost as effective as the position argument, and in fact you could almost combine these two and make a super effective argument, but for the purposes of this assignment I can't do that. This argument shows the solution that would propose a solution after analyzing the argument, however it doesn't specifically say that i would explore the pros and cons of an argument, which is why it is the second most effective.

Refutal argument:

This would not be an effective argument type since it is actually not proposing a solution and there hasn't been a solution proposed already for this argument to refute. I could use this argument to refute both sides but that seems like a very pessimistic view this issue.

Evaluative argument:

This argument states that is evaluates "the successfulness of a current policy, idea, or solution to a problem". Since there hasn't been a solution proposed or anything that i can evaluate the successfulness of, this is tied for the least effective argument type for this assignment for my argument.

Casual Argument:

I only list this last because I can not think of anything to write for this one. I have to list the reasons that this is a controversy or problem and then why they could lead to the problem itself. This is a purely opinionated question and so I don't know if I can even write anything for this one.

Analyzing purpose

I created a coggle cluster for me controversy

Screenshot taken by Dylan Cotter 10/29/2015 Public Domain Usage

Here is a link as well for larger viewing

Analyzing Context

In the following blog post I analyze the key questions about context.

Screenshot taken by Dylan Cotter "meg" 10/29/2015 Public Domain Usage

1. What are the key perspectives in your controversy?

There are two key thought groups in this controversy

The first one is that film is and always will be superior. Those who support this claim will point to the look and texture of film, also the technical ability to have a wider dynamic range.

The people who support film will most likely point to the cost effectiveness of it and the rapidly progressing abilities of shooting on digital.

2. What are the major points of contention or disagreement between the perspectives?

The argument is which is better to shoot your film on.

There are technical aspects that give film a slight advantage but that is rapidly changing. As digital is catching up with the advancement of programs and cameras. People know that soon digital and film will be equal and since digital is cheaper then people should be getting used to digital.

3. What are the possible points of agreement between these two standpoints?

The two standpoints agree on the fact that the two are now so similar that it is just a matter of opinion which you shoot on. However they argue on which opinion is right.

4. What are the ideological differences?

There doesn't seem to be a lot of differences based on ideology. Religion isn't ever mentioned. Level of education doesn't matter, neither does race. The only one that might comes into it is economic background, if they are able to afford film so that they can make the choice of shooting on film or digital.

5. What specific actions do their perspectives or texts ask their audience to take?

This is a fairly simple answer. Those who believe that film is the way to shoot, want their audience to continue to shoot on film. Those who believe in digital, want their audience to move with the times and shoot on digital

6. What perspectives are most useful in supporting your claim?

Personal stories and preferences are most useful in supporting my claim. Also timelines of the progression of digital and the differences in cost will be effective for my argument.

7. Which do you think threaten your argument?

The fact that this is a matter of opinion will make it hard to change people's minds. This is a question where there is no correct answer, but it doesn't have to be an all out war, so to speak, in the film industry.

Reflection:

I read Morgan's blog and Kelly's blog, Morgan and I's context are similar in that it is based off of people opinions and stubbornness, Kelly has science to work with which helps her out massively. IT was interesting seeing how different our contexts were and thinking about what I would do if I were in her shoes.

Audience and Genre

In the following blog post I analyze my audience and genre for project 3

My debate is over digital vs traditional filmmaking. Regardless of audience I will be doing this as a personal, anecdotal opinion piece.

Audience 1 (upcoming filmmakers)
Genre 1: Film people are video people, so a YouTube video would be the most logical choice. I would provide examples of what film vs digital looks like and also get interviews with DP's (directors of photography)

Example 1: Here is an example of the kind of video I would do, including interview style and the type of people I would hope to interview. I know a few small time DP's and could get their opinion on this debate for sure.

Example 2: I could, instead of having the video be the interview, use the interview and put the quotes on he screen like picture-in-picture style, sort of like this.

Screenshot taken by Dylan Cotter 10/24/2015 "Meg's our daughter" Public Domain Usage

Genre 2: Personnal article article written for TheHollywoodReporter

Example 1: Here is a solid example of the type of article I would write. Using both personal anecdotal evidence and also quotes and contextual evidence.

Example 2: Here is an example from TheHollywoodReporter of the exact type of article I would write. This employs everything from box office numbers to award season success.

Audience 2 (current filmmakers)
Genre 1: Interview, Since my family happens to be well into this business, talking to big name people in the business now could be an option for me.

Example: Here is the interview style and the caliber of person I would hope to interview, it is the Quentin Tarantino interview from the last project we did.
Example: A different interview style that I could conduct. This could lead to some interesting points and debates. Here

Genre 2: Personal stories, this could be especially effective on a reading/chat forum like reddit.

Example: Here is a reddit thread that is exactly what I was talking about. Personal evidence and anecdotal stores.
Example: Here is another type of the same genre of rhetoric. However, this is a response to a question posted by a user, lots of people stating why they prefer one over the other.

Extended Annotated Bibliography

I did not gather to many sources for my project two, I had to find all new ones for this project.

Screenshot Taken by Dylan Cotter 10/24/2015 Public Domain Usage

Here is the link to my Extended Annotated Bibliography.

Narrowing my focus

In the following blog post I analyze two questions from the previous blog post.

Screen shot by Dylan Cotter 10/24/2015 "Cheers" Public Domain usage

1. Which side is fighting harder?

• This is an important question to answer because it could be both a sing of strength for the select sides point and argument, but also a sign of desperation as to be heard or keep their beloved tradition alive. Examining if their points have hard evidence or what their arguments are based on is also important.

1. What are the newspapers and magazines that cover this issue most? What is their demographic?

• If the magazines are those like TheHollywoodReporter and the SAG-AFTRA magazine, then their demographic is very focused and specific. However, if People magazine or US Weekly are giving this as much coverage as Kim Kardashians hair, then the audience is wider. Each answer tells us something. 

1. Who is very active in the media about this?

• Since my whole essay was on Quentin Tarantino, who falls into the category of very active, finding other examples would be imperative to this argument. 

Questions about controversy

In the following blog post I ask questions I still need answers to for project three.

Screenshot taken by Dylan Cotter 10/24/2015 "sneaky" Public Domain Usage

Who is involved in the controversy?

1. Who was the first major pioneer of digital filmmaking?
2. Who was the first to come out against it?
3. Who was the company to make digital filmmaking into what it is today?

What is being debated?

1. Which side is fighting harder?
2. Which side has a greater following, from what point in the industry?
3. What are the trends and numbers showing?

What is the time period of the controversy?

1. When did digital filmmaking take off?
2. When was the first film shot entirely on digital made?
3. When will film become too expensive?

Where has this controversy unfolded?

1. What is the trend and numbers in Hollywood? Bollywood? 
2. What is the media coverage about this issue? Are they taking sides?
3. What areas are seeing cultural changes because of this?

How has this controversy unfolded in the media?

1. What are the newspapers and magazines that cover this issue most? What is their demographic?
2. Who is very active in the media about this? who isn't?
3. Do the media seem to be taking sides? If so, what side are they taking. 

Reflection on project two

In the following blog post I reflect on project two

1. What was specifically changed from one draft to another?

I changed the conclusion and the introduction to the essay, also after the infamous Thursday class I changed the focus of my writing which led to a much more organized and focused essay

2. Point to global changes, how did you rework your thesis?

I was writing about the actual controversy itself, without even noticing it. Then, again after the infamous Thursday class, I realized I needed to work on the actual topic of the assignment, that lead to the reworking of my thesis and intro and conclusion. 

Screenshot taken by Dylan Cotter 10/24/2015 "ART" Public Domain Usage

3. What lead you to these changes?

Again that Thursday class, actually turned out to be pretty darn helpful, lead me to these changes. Revisiting the assignment topic and then realizing what needed to be fixed.

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

The fact that I actually wrote on the prompt adds to my credibility as an author, if I promise to write on one thing and don't then people won't read my stuff again. So writing on the topic actually was a good idea, weird. 

5. How will these changes affect your audience?

Well, now that I actually wrote on the topic, my audience will get more out of the essay than they would have had I continued on the path I was on. Hopefully this will also help my grade.

6. Point to local revisions

My local revisions came in the form of changing word choices and adding an argumentative side. After Mr. Bottai recommended adding the part about shaming people into shooting on film, I decided to put it in the body of the essay as well. Hopefully this makes my argument even stronger 

7. How will these changes help assist your audience in understanding your purpose. 

Since the purpose of this paper is to teach and inform people in my discipline, sticking to conventions of an informative essay will help them understand what they should get out of this paper. Also this will keep me from sounding like I am insulting their intellect. 

8. Did you have to reconsider the conventions of the particular genre in which you were writing.

Having written my fill of papers over my academic career, I felt like I knew most of what I had to do. However, after starting out wrong completely, I took a look back at what I was doing and did end up reconsidering a lot of things, however I didn't end up changing how I wrote the essay, just what the essay was about. 

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

The overwhelming theme in this reflection is that I need to know what I am writing about before I write. Having done all the work and then having to scrap it wasn't fun at all, so I aim not to do that again. 

I read Alyssa and Morgan's reflection and we all seemed to have a similar trend in that we all wanted to go back and start writing on the actual topic the first time. That would have been incredibly helpful and saved us all a lot of heartache and work. 

Project 2 Final Draft

Here is the link to my final draft of my essay for project two

Screenshot taken by Dylan Cotter "A+" 10/23/2015 Public Domain Usage

Here is the link please enjoy.

Punctuation Pt 2

In the following blog I respond to three more topic about punctuation.

Screenshot taken by Dylan Cotter "Murray is trash" 10/22/15 Public Domain Usage

The apostrophe:

Whenever I type out or write "it's" I always say in my head "it is" that way I find that I never really mess up "its" and "it's". Also your and you're, the most commonly pointed out error on social media, I never found that I ever had trouble with

• Mack was singing about how “there’s gold in them hills!”
• This excerpt from my essay shows how the apostrophe in There's abbreviates "there is"

Quotation marks:

This section added a little bit of humor to this homework session. Not from the text itself but from the use of what the text is talking about. The sarcasm that quotes can infer came me chuckle a little bit. As far as using quotation marks, I have sometimes had trouble with it, but this helped clear it up for me.

• When the interviewer asks Tarantino what he believes about film vs digital, he says passionately says “I think it’s the death key… I think it’s the death rattle”.
• This is a good example of how I use quotes in my essay.

Other punctuation marks:

The only part of tis sections that is even relevant to my situation and rhetorical analysis is the brackets and ellipses marks. An ellipses is a way to show that the author has eliminated words from the quote that they are employing. Also brackets can be helpful in that they can show that an author has replaced or added a word to the quote in order to clarify or imply something.

Paragraph analysis 2

In the following blog post I include a link to the paragraph analysis for my essay draft

Screenshot taken by Dylan Cotter 10/17/15 "analysis" Public Domain Usage

Here is the link to my essay with the paragraph analysis.

Doing the following exercise I learned the following about my Essay

Strengths:

After revising my essay's intro and conclusions they have become a strength of my paper.

The main points of my paragraphs are clear and present

The presentation of ethos and pathos are clear and present in the paragraphs.

the explanations of the issue and why Tarantino's strategies are helpful or not helpful are good and clear.

Weaknesses

My main weakness is paragraph length, I struggled with the length of the explanation of the controversy, it was too long and had too many un--needed sentences and repeat phrases. Then the explanation of pathos is too short a paragraph and needs more explanation.

Revised Conclusion

In the following blog post I revise my conclusion and compare it to the old conclusion I had.

Here is the link to the draft of the essay with the new conclusion.

Here is the link to the essay with the old conclusion.

This new conclusion sums up the essay perfectly in my opinion. And more specifically it answers the "so what" question that the previous one does not. This makes the conclusion much more relevant and it makes it service the topic more than the last one.

Screenshot taken by Dylan Cotter 10/17/15 "conclusion" Public Domain Usage

Revised introduction

In the following blog post I link my new introduction for my essay.

I totally deleted my entire thesis and intro after the class on Thursday. I needed to rethink the topic and make my essay more focused on the topic. This intro is a lot more focused and is much more about the topic than the last one. It focuses a lot more on what the topic and the assignment is.

Here is the link to the new and improved intro.

Here is the link to the old and boring intro.

Reflection on Project 2 Draft

I peer reviewed Nick and Carter's Essays

Screenshot taken by Dylan Cotter 10/16/15 "pathos" Public Domain Usage

Do you have an identifiable thesis? Does it point into the rhetorical strategies you analyze?

My thesis is clear and apparent to the readers. However after class yesterday I do need to rework it and make it more about the actual topic of the assignment and make it clearer.

How did you decide to organize your essay? Is it supported with evidence?

I organized my essay into 3 paragraphs. The first one is some background information about the controversy. The second examines the use of Pathos and the third paragraph examines the use of Ethos.

Yes they are supported with evidence, there is plenty of evidence for the two techniques in this text. And I feel like I did a solid job of finding evidence but I think I can strengthen it.

Did you clearly identify and analyze several important elements of the text's rhetorical strategy?

In the essay I identify and discuss the authors credibility, their expertise, their use of pathos and ethos, also their use of expert opinions and appeal to emotion. I used evidence and analysis to discuss how each part is either helpful or hurtful to the argument.

Did you explain how and why certain rhetorical strategies were employed? Did you discuss what effects these strategies have on the intended audience and the overall effectiveness of the text?

Honestly I could defiantly do better at this one. I discuss of they are affective or not, but I lack in why they were employed or what effects it has on the audience. 

Are you thoughtfully using evidence in each paragraph? Do yo mention specific examples from the text and explain why they are relevant? 

In sort, yes. I believe I did and I think I used it effectively. I made an effort to use specific examples and believe that this is necessary for this assignment and so I believe I did this effectively. 

When a quote is employed, I summarized and provide contextual evidence to why this was necessary and effective or harmful to the argument. 

Do you leave your reader wanting more? Do you answer the so what question in your conclusion?

I believe my paper covers all the bullets on this assignment and would provide exactly what the professor was looking for in this fictional world where I was asked to complete this assignment. Then my conclusion will address that so what question and why Tarantino's lack of logos hurt his argument when I revise it. 

punctuation part 1

In the following blog post I analyze the points outlined in my Rules for Writers book.

Screenshot taken by Dylan Cotter "punctuation" 10/14/2015 Public Domain Usage

Unnecessary commas:

Sometimes you are just on an absolute tear of a sentence and you have so much to add to it and you never want it to stop and, and, and... Commas are your friend, but only until a certain point. The examples that they provide in the book make it clear that if the part after the comma could be a sentence, it should be sentence. Those examples of independent clauses make sense to me and hopefully will help me avoid the run ons in the future.

Extra or Other punctuation marks

Using punctuation marks like dashes or slashes can add some flare and personality to your writing, as well as serving a literary purpose. However I include this part in this post because i found out some weird facts that I never knew nor have even been corrected on. For example if you are going to use a dash (-) in your writing, you actually need to use two of them (--) for some reason. Interesting.

End Punctuation

Finishing a sentence is an art form. If you include an exclamation mark, you could be forever branded as that guy who uses that exclamation mark. I don't know why, but it is frowned upon in an academic setting. My mother uses exclamation marks all the time in her texts which makes it seem like she is always yelling at me, so I can see how this would be a bad thing to do in an academic paper. The book reinforces this, as well as pointing out that ending sentence with a question mark can be bad, can't it?

Reflection:

I did a peer review of Nick and Carter's essay drafts. I found that the un--needed commas were the biggest problem in most of their drafts as well as mine. It causes run on sentences and makes the reader lose interest because of the length of the sentences. From Nicks essay "Nevertheless, for those interested in the topic of geoengineering, namely “solar geoengineering” (as Keith calls it), or those in support of the methods, the ideas presented by Keith in the interview may be solid evidence of reliable and credible information." While this is a solid sentence, the commas make it way to long. Also for end punctuation section of this blog post, the question marks in their posts work well, unlike what the book said. From Carter's essay "The requirements are supreme and the dedication is plenty too much, but is the payout worth it?" It punctuates it nicely and gets his point across.