Evaluation of Rhetorical Situations

Libraries and eSociety

Bolt, Nate "Who Needs Books?" (9/22/2011) via Flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License

In this post, I have gathered three different opinionated public speech acts that relate to my potential research questions for Project 2. I have analyzed the rhetoric of each article in the table below.

	A Long Way From Wax Cylinders, Library Of Congress Slowly Joins The Digital Age	The Next Step in Librarianship: Is The Traditional Library Dead?	Those kinds of books: religion and spirituality in young adult literature
Author / Speaker	Brian Naylor is a Washington Desk Correspondent for NPR. He has previously served as White House Correspondent, congressional correspondent, foreign correspondent, and newscaster. Naylor has filled in as a host for many NPR programs. His reporting contributed to NPR’s 1996 Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Journalism award for political reporting. He has a BA of Arts from the University of Maine. Naylor’s experience makes me feel comfortable trusting his report. From his experience and cadence I can tell that he cares about integrity of information, journalism, and the availability of information to the public.	L.A. Ogunsola is the Deputy University Librarian at Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria. He has written multiple articles on the subject of libraries for various journals. This author is particularly difficult to find any other information on. He believes that traditional libraries can interact with, and even partially become, digital libraries. He makes this clear throughout the text.	Margaret Auguste has not only written scholarly articles, but has also authored a book called “A VOYA Guide to  Intellectual Freedom for Teens” which discusses different forms of censorship that can negatively impact youths. She is a VOYA Press author, a school librarian, and a contributor (blogger) for Literary Mama. Literary Mama publishes about the many faces of motherhood. Auguste’s reputation and speech in this text illustrate her belief that librarians should focus on good stories and content, and that they should never prevent a child from reading a book.
Audience	Listeners of NPR tend to be interested in the world around them and how it is changing. This story is specifically focused on listeners with an interest in information, the digital age, and libraries. He creates this audience by genuinely praising how “awesome” the Library of Congress is. This automatically eliminates anyone who isn’t enthusiastic or interested in the Library.	The audience of this article is academic, and the article (as well as the journal it’s published in) is geared towards a Librarian or library-oriented audience. The journal is called “Library Philosophy and Practice” and is most likely not immediately available to anyone through general media sources.	The audience of this article is mainly other librarians or other individuals in the fields of Library and Information Science. The opening line, “Are you sure it is okay to have those kinds of books in the library?” automatically makes it clear what the article is about. This line also puts the focus on the banning of religious books, which may narrow her audience even more.
Context	This story was published on May 7th, 2015 in both podcast and article form. The podcasts includes relevant sound bites, and the article is properly titled and formatted. This story was created in response to the digital age, and analyzes how the Library of Congress is embracing the digital age.	This article was published on May 1st, 2011 in a scholarly journal. It focuses on the differences between digital and traditional libraries, and comes to the conclusion that traditional libraries are partially embracing the digital library model. He recommends using digital methods of production to cut down on costs and increase use.	This article was published in July, 2013 in the Young Adult Library Services journal. It focuses on the taboo in libraries, especially school libraries, against using any kind of ‘religious’ book with children. Auguste argues that librarians shouldn’t be nitpicking at what children read, but should merely encourage them to read fascinating books, no matter if they are controversial or not.

Reflection: After reading Scott and Ann's Evaluations, I realized that while my evaluation was well-developed, it lacked some amazing components that they had incorporated. Scott hyperlinked to other sources that showed the author's credibility and gave more in-depth context for each subject. Ann included specific examples of other works produced by the author that really tied the content of the source to the author's experience and interests. This added to the situational context of the issue, giving a more complete background on the source. Scott's sources were a tad bit short, so they didn't really allow me to compare my sources, but a link in one of his articles led to a potentially better one. Anne's sources were all pretty great, but she had an article that incorporated examples, opinion, and length. My sources are all pretty good, but I wish I had found a source like that!

Developing a Research Question

Libraries and Digital Media

Wassermann, Fabienne "CREATING the FUTURE for LIBRARIES - NOW" (5/6/2009) via Flickr
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License

For Project 2, I looked at what controversies were happening in the field of eSociety, but that also applied to my interest in pursuing Library Science. I have come up with three potential research questions.

How are traditional libraries being challenged by digital libraries?

I have noticed a trend of digital libraries and online creative commons popping up. As someone who is hoping to work in a library, I am curious about how the 'new' system might be challenging the 'old'.

Why is book-banning still a threat to libraries?

I searched for library controversy in Google, and an article in the Chicago Tribune about book banning popped up that was only a month old. This is concerning to me, because it seems to me that this should have stopped being an issue quite a while ago. I wonder why it's still a problem?

What can libraries do to fight censorship in the digital age?

One of the reasons that I want to pursue a position in the library is that I love the idea of all information being equal. I cherish every scrap of data even if it makes no sense, because all content is created for a reason. 

Reflection on Project 1

What Have I Done?

OpenClipartVectors "Exhausted, Tired, Sad, Stickman" (2014) via Pixabay. CC0 Public Domain License

This first project has left me completely exhausted. In this post, I will look back on my process of creating Project 1, compare it to past schoolwork, and analyze what I have learned.

Challenges
While writing my QRG, my major challenge was time management. I had multiple family emergencies and financial pitfalls - not to mention my laptop broke. These unexpectedly interfered with the time that I had scheduled to work on my project. I ended up doing at least half of my project either last minute, or in the wee hours of the morning because that was my only available time. (In other words, this project was brought to you by Red Bull) I have also never had to invest much time into projects until I encountered this one. I imagine that this will be setting the trend for the rest of my college experience.

Successes
I completed the project! Along the way, I also learned a lot about how I write, and how I can improve as a writer. The clarity exercises and peer editing specifically gave me fantastic insight. I was able to use my understanding of my personal writing weaknesses as a strength. These exercises allowed me to go back and edit my QRG with a clearer idea of what to look for and aspire to.

Effective strategies
I found that my large image in the beginning of my QRG was compelling enough to immediately draw readers in, and decided to carry that idea throughout my QRG. Almost each section has a corresponding image or embedded media. I also found it helpful for myself to use small paragraphs, some as long as one or two sentences, to illustrate major points.

Ineffective strategies
I found that longer paragraphs, even conclusions, are not a good move in a QRG. Usually, I was told to use my conclusion to carry an essay home, but this project was slightly different. The conclusion still did that same thing, but it could be broken up into more than one paragraph. At first, I was very hesitant to do this, but once I changed it and read my project over, it made much more sense.

Similarities to past writings
This was similar in purpose to an essay for me. I see this project as an essay on steroids. It might look prettier and be easy to navigate, but it still is a text that has a 'thesis' and a 'conclusion' which help the audience understand a concept. When I thought of the QRG in this manner, it was a lot easier to approach using my normal writing process.

Differences from past writings
Some major steps that I had to add to my writing process due to this project were: research, and the triple-check. I had to find images and sources along the way, whereas in essays you are handed sources at the beginning. I also had to go back after publishing it and make sure all of my media and links worked. There is no such equivalent in essay writing.

Did I gain any useful skills?
This project has allowed me to broaden my definition of  a writing for school. I feel as though I will be able to more easily adjust to whatever genre of text I encounter. My writing process has also become malleable, which will also allow me to quickly adjust to our next genre of writing. Overall, this has given me a perspective of writing that I never had before: I now look for purpose, conventions, and other examples whenever I encounter a new genre.

Reflection: After reading Jessi and Cynthia's reflections, I realized just how much we all weren't ready to manage our time properly. Whether it was due to procrastination or just plain random events, lack of time seemed to be an issue for us. I also noticed that we each struggled in our own way with this project. While I mainly struggled with finding time, others had more trouble conforming to the QRG genre. Overall, we all overcame our struggles and created Project 1. Woohoo!

Explaining How Social Media Impacts Society

A Quick Reference Guide

by Rose Kowalski

Fagen, Adam 'Texting Congress" (4/8/2013) via Flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial Share-Alike 2.0 Generic License

Introduction

The social media debate is mainly centered around defining social networking as good or bad: some see social media and the best thing since sliced bread, others see it as a time-waster and a potential harmful influence on people.

Social media usually conjures images of Facebook and Twitter, but it has a multitude of facets - you may be using it more than you think.

Social media is a constant in today's connected life; it influences everyone who interacts with it, and can change certain groups for better or worse. A variety of these groups have increasingly been using social media to influence users.

The bottom line is that no matter who you are, if social media is part of your life, it's changing how you communicate, how you present yourself, and how you process information.

Is social media good or bad?

Individuals tend to see social media as a positive or negative influence on society.

Pew Research Center "Technologyuse and 
awareness of stressfulevents in others' lives"
 (1/15//2015) via Pew Research Center.

Slate staff writer Lily Newman suggests in her blog post that 
Social media allows people to keep closer tabs on most of the people they know, and just as this raises awareness of good things…, it also increases exposure to bad things... These tragedies weigh heavily, and technology users are more aware of them than nonusers.
Newman sees the connections social media creates between people as real and beneficial to users. She argues that individuals become more aware of issues affecting people that they care about over social media that they would if they were connecting in the real world.

In his short film Look Up, spoken-word writer Gary Turk argues,

this media we call social, is anything but... All this technology we have, it’s just an illusion, / of community, companionship, a sense of inclusion / yet when you step away from this device of delusion, / you awaken to see, a world of confusion.

Turk implies that social media gives people a pretense of connection; real-life interactions with others tell you more about who they are and what is happening in their lives. He emphasizes that real world connections that can be life-changing are passed by when we choose to substitute actual connection with social media.

Our values determine how we can view social media: those who value interactions in real life tend to see social media as replacing this personal communication, while those who value any kind of human connection see how social media has made people easier to get in touch with. 

How individuals view the impacts and uses of social media is all in the eye of the beholder.

How do we use social media?

JESS3 and Solis, Brian "The Conversation Prism 2.0" (8/5/2008) via Wikimedia Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic License

Connect

Social media has made it possible to connect with various people, businesses, organizations, scholars, and governments. In a scholarly article about organizations and Millennials building relationships over Facebook, the main incentives behind why and how we connect are explained:

Millennials are making a conscious choice about what they want to receive when they log on to Facebook. The highest motivator for Millennials most likely lies in… the need for integration and social interaction. They are able to connect with family and friends, are able to maintain regular conversations despite distances, and they can reinforce their sense of belonging to peer groups. Further, Facebook can provide Millennials with information about their friends, about their interests and current events (Hargittai, 2007).

We all use social media to connect with friends and family. For those of us who find it difficult to blend in and connect with other people, social media can make it easier to find friends and gain a sense of belonging.

Create

Users can foster political participation, give rise to movements, and create content in social media outlets. People can use different sites to create multiple media types: GIFs, videos, blogs, interactive stories, etc. Some creations are as insignificant as a cute little doodle posted on Instragram, or a snapshot of someone's meal at McDonalds. Larger creations can be something like a national stand against terrorism.

Who can influence us?

When people use social media, they are in turn being used by a myriad of influencers. Businesses use social media to reach out to consumers, governments try to get their citizens involved and gauge their interests, movements are always looking for membership and support, scholars are debating and researching, and other individuals are hoping to connect and fulfill their own desires.

Businesses

Messina, Chris "Facebook | Fare Sale" (3/28/2008) via Flickr
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License

Businesses see social media as a global billboard with infinite spaces and mediums for ensnaring customers. They use social media to connect with potential customers, make them identify with their brand, and influence their buying habits. When it comes down to it, businesses use social media as a tool to increase sales and spread their presence. This leads to a change in online purchasing trends and consumer use of social media.

Other individuals

kid-josh "Cyberbullying, would you do it?" (1/29/2012) via Flickr 
Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License

Other individuals use social media to say and do things they would never be able to do in real life. The issue of cyberbullying and internet stalking has always been a contentious topic among parents and teenagers. Teens seem to be especially susceptible to the allure of power that social media can bring, because "Cyberbullying is the perfect way for bullies to remain anonymous." according to STOMP Out Bulllying. An NPR story interviewed social scientist Dana Boyd to understand why teens behave this way online: "For the most part, Boyd says, teenagers are doing online what they've always done. The difference now is that - if that teenager isn't careful - the world can see it." Cyberbullying has caused considerable trauma for kids and teens on social media. In extreme cases, this has led to suicides, depression, and self-abuse in the affected parties. Legislation has been passed in multiple states to act against this online abuse.

Scholars

N., Sivasothi "Twitter / aarontay:@sivasothi..." (10/24/2012) via Flickr
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License

Scholars use social media as their own space for ongoing colloquiums. Recently, scholars have been using social media venues to collaborate, post projects, and conduct research. They also use outlets to post content, create research opportunities, and track how their content is being used. Many scholars have found that generic methods of seeing how their creations are used have become unhelpful; as social media becomes more prominent in society, it modifies how we research, cite, and use information from scholars. Academics have found it easier to use social media centered methods to keep track of their information.

Groups and movements

Blue, Fibonacci "Nekima Levy-Pounds at Black Lives MatterMarch" 
(4/17/2015)  via Wikimedia. Attribution 2.0 Generic License

Movements such as #BlackLivesMatter are taking social media by storm.  The Black Lives Matter movement is centered around violent racial discrimination in the police force. They speak out against police brutality towards African Americans. This movement mainly uses Facebook to reach out to people, plan events, and connect with like-minded groups. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube have become major resources for most organizations that want to connect with individuals and spread their message. Social media has the power to let individuals form groups despite physical boundaries. This can lead to worldwide change.

Extremist and terrorist movements also want to spread their influence via social media. They use these platforms to connect with individuals with a main purpose of recruiting more sympathizers and extremists into their ranks. This trend may endanger the world as we know it.

Gillespie, John "UN Social Media Day, 2015" (1/30/2015) via Flickr
Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License

Governments

The U.S. government alone has Facebook profiles for almost all of its departments. This includes the famous FBI Facebook account. The main reason that governments set up these accounts is to inform the public of their actions and current agenda. The fact that they are sharing this information over social media allows concerned individuals to immediately respond to governmental action and ideologies.

Why should we care?

Social media use has real and lasting effects on us - as a society and as individuals. Gil Pizano, a leader in business intelligence, explains that because of social media, "Society today is on the verge of a new way of existing that it's never experienced before."

Social media is a reflection of society and an influencer of society. Social media sites, apps, and programs hold the world's thoughts, beliefs, and values. We catalogue our actions for anyone and everyone to see. By sharing our beliefs and values, we can influence those of others. Not only can people cultivate change through social media sites, but social media sites can cultivate change within its users.

Social media has created a culture of openness and sharing. We can now communicate with speed and versatility in almost any format. This can lead to a gross over-sharing of obtuse details in the everyday lives of people - you know, that one person that always posts pictures of their McDonald's or Starbucks - as well as a greater connection between individuals despite their physical divide.

Overall, social media has shaped our society to become simultaneously ridiculous and phenomenal.

How will you choose to use social media?

Clarity, Part 2

Understanding & Revising

Hampel, Matt "EDIT>" (10/4/2008) via Flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic Creative Commons License

After reading four new sections of the Rules for Writers Handbook, I have encountered new aspects of my writing which I can improve upon. Once I revised my QRG using these as a guideline, I learned and understood more about these Clarity topics. I will outline each section, and explain what I learned about each.

Find the Exact Words

• Select words with appropriate connotations
• I tend to insert words when I am not entirely sure of their definitions. I didn't see this too much in my draft, but I fixed the two words that were off-base.
• Use standard idioms
• I had no clue there was such a thing. The list of approved and unapproved idioms in the book made it very easy to go back and check my draft. Luckily, I hadn't used them incorrectly.

Replace Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

• Repair dangling modifiers
• I rarely led any of my sentences with modifiers, but when I did, it was correctly formatted. 
• Move awkwardly placed modifiers
• I found a good example of this in my draft: "A variety of groups have increasingly been using social media to influence users." Increasingly is strangely placed, and makes the sentence awkward. I fixed this sentence to make more sense.

Untangle Mixed Constructions

• Untangle the grammatical structure
• In my QRG, I have very tangled and complex sentences that sometimes lose their meaning. 
• Straighten out the logical connections
• My sentences are a little round-about on occasion. For example, I wrote "The fact that they are sharing this information over social media means that concerned citizens and individuals can immediately respond to actions the government takes, or to to political ideologies the government adopts." Near the end, this sentence begins to lose logical meaning due to its length and strange wording.

Add needed words

• Add the word that if there is any danger of misreading without it
• Looking back at my draft, I only found a few sentences that might need to have that inserted. Overall, I insert that effectively.
• Add the articles a, an, and the where necessary for grammatical completeness
• I noticed a couple sentences where I lost track halfway through revising the first time around, and I fixed them to make them grammatically correct.

Overall, I am still having issues with simplifying and clarifying my sentences. I need to invest more  time in my writing, and look closely at each sentence I produce.

Identifying Basic Grammar Patterns

How I Use Grammar

Jordan, Brett "Pause for thought" (2/8/2010) via Flickr Attribution 2.0 Generic Creative Commons License

Today, I evaluated the longest paragraph of my QRG draft. I noticed that in this paragraph, and in general, I tend to complicate sentences. By identifying basic grammar patterns in my text, I can clearly see the changes I need to make. Most of my sentences are chimeras of the five sentence patterns. This means that I need to simplify many of my sentences to follow the general patterns. This will make them far easier for readers to follow and understand. I also tend to have very few simple sentences; most of my sentences are compound, complex, or compound-complex. Overall, this exercise has shown me that I need to simplify my grammar use.

Paragraph Analysis

Are My Paragraphs Effective?

Whytock, Ken "T-shirt Slogan: "My train of thought has left the station."" (3/3/2014) via Flickr
Attribution-NonCommercial  2.0 Generic License

I have created a copy of my QRG for paragraph analysis. In this document, I analyze each paragraphs focus, development, organization, coherence, and transition. I learned my overall strengths and weaknesses in paragraph formation.


My Quick Reference Guide paragraphs almost never have a concrete transition. I honestly don't know if this is bad or good for paragraphs in QRGs. It seems to me that this shouldn't matter as much because the Guide is broken down into multiple sections that are clearly labeled, and that these sections follow a general flow. It also seems like QRGs don't heavily rely on transitions, and the idea of a concrete transition may not fit into the genre. However, I can also understand that transitions can be helpful to the reader and create a smooth flow from one section to the next.

A definite strength of my paragraphs is that they are all in the appropriate sections, and for the most part are well-formed. They all contribute to the topic of my QRG, and provide the reader with context.

Some of my paragraphs seem a bit short and may need more definite examples from sources to support their main points. This is definitely a pitfall because any paragraph should fulfill its purpose.

Reflection on Project 1 Draft

How Does My Draft Stack Up?

Gosselin, Bret "Peer Edit Picture" (7/13/2011) via Flickr Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License

I peer reviewed Sam and Lauren's drafts, and in doing so, learned more about my project. This reflection will illustrate the requirements I need to meet, and address whether I've met them or not. I will need to please my audience, and provide context.

My Audience

• Who is going to be reading this?
• This QRG could be read by anyone, but may interest people that focus on how our society works.
• For the sake of grading, this will be read by peers and the professor of my English 109H course.
• What are their values and expectations?
• The average reader will expect me to put my issue in context, to provide them with details, quotes, and opinions from both sides.
• Correct grammar, structure, and spelling are also important.
• My guide should be easy to navigate and understand.
• Readers will want to come away from my reading with a general understanding of the issue I am addressing
• I am meeting these expectations, but I will be going back to refine grammar issues.
• How much information should I give them?
• I will include quotes from credible sources to give my audience evidence.
• If my audience wants to learn more about the quote or the topic addressed by the statement, they can easily follow a provided hyperlink to the source of the quote for more information.
• What kind of language is suitable?
• The language should be clear and concise, and will not confuse the reader.
• Formal language isn't required, rather casual / conversational language (this is not slang) should be used to address the audience in a straightforward manner.
• What tone should I use?
• The Guide should be written using an informational tone
• I use this tone consistently in my QRG.

Context

• What are the formatting requirements for this assignment?
• Subheadings that separate sections of the Guide
• Visual data to enhance the reader's experience and give them another way to understand the issue
• Links to more information that the reader can choose to explore
• Points of entry should be everywhere, the guide should be easily accessible and understood no matter where the reader decides to begin
• White space allows the reader to more easily follow the flow of the text
• Concise paragraphs, as well as the Guide itself, should be clear and simple for the reader to understand and not take up too much space
• I use all of these conventions in my QRG, but I should go back and make sure my paragraphs are as concise as they should be, and will be citing my images in my final draft (until then each image becomes a link to its source).
• What are the content requirements for this assignment?
• The content of the QRG should be comprised of facts, specific examples and original ideas.
• It should inform the reader, and allow them to form their own opinion on the issue presented.
• I properly incorporate all of these to create my content, but I may need to provide more content / explanation in certain sections of my QRG.
• Does my draft reflect gained knowledge as well as my own ideas?
• Yes. I have included quotes from other sources, formatted and adjusted how I use them based on what I've learned in class, and incorporated my own thoughts and perceptions.
• Have I addressed any grammatical issues?
• I have addressed grammatical issues that have interfered with my writing in the past.
• However, it seems that wordy sentences may still be restricting my writing, so I will go back to my Draft and remedy this issue.

Clarity, Part 1

Wait, What Did I Say?

Hull, Duncan "Grammar: It's the difference between knowing your sh*t & knowing you're sh*t" (7/16/2012) via Flickr
Attribution 2.0 Generic Creative Commons License

After reading four sections in the Rules for Writers handbook, I have discovered new ways to improve my writing, and re-discovered some basic rules that I should follow while writing. For each section, I will illustrate the main points I have taken away from this reading.

Eliminate Distracting Shifts

•  Maintain consistent verb tenses
•   One mistake that I often make is the use of verbs with different tenses in the same sentence. Keeping this section in mind will allow me to check myself as I write to avoid any mishaps.
• Make the point of view consistent in person and number
• When it comes to choosing and maintaining a point of view in my papers and projects, I have a handicap. I somehow decide that I can use 2nd or even first person in a research paper at random, and don't notice it until it's in the comments of my grade. 

Emphasize Key Ideas

• Do not subordinate major ideas
• Major ideas tend to get buried in my sentences; I seem to get lost in addressing multiple ideas in a sentence instead of focusing on just one.

• Coordinate equal ideas; subordinate minor ideas
• I have never fully understood how to coordinate or subordinate ideas in general. Now that I have read this section I feel much more capable of doing so. 

Provide Some Variety

• Try inverting sentences occasionally
• My sentence structures are usually fairly uniform and don't offer readers much variety. Inverting sentences seems like a simple way to provide audiences with a mix of sentence structures.
• Vary your sentence openings
• Sentence openings are not my strongest suit. I will usually repeat sentence beginnings without even realizing it until later, or never noticing at all. This is a major comment that I receive on  anything I write. Hopefully, keeping this in mind will allow me to avoid this.

Tighten Wordy Sentences

• Cut empty or inflated phrases
• I tend to use quite a few of the inflated phrases described in the book, and I didn't even know what inflated phrases were until now! I used to see them as helpful leads, but now I will reduce their appearance in my sentences.
• Simplify the structure
• I learned that most of the verbs I use often are 'colorless' and can lead to excess words. I will strive to strengthen verbs in my sentences and use less expletives (as they can also generate wordy sentences).
• Reduce clauses to phrases, phrases to single words
• Since my sentences tend to become complex webs of thought, reducing and simplifying individual pieces systematically will definitely help me make ideas more concise and clear. 

Reflection: After reading and reviewing Lauren's and Sam's drafts, I learned that I am not the only one who struggles with sentence clarity, and found a few great examples of a concise, clear sentence:
In Sam's draft I found: 

"Uber's can provide a safe ride home after a night of drinking, prevent a DUI or even worse from happening."

This is a good example of an unclear, wordy sentence that includes a distracting shift (aka the type of sentence I usually leave at least two of in any assignment). Using the concepts I learned from my Clarity exercise, I created a more concise and consistent version of this sentence:

Ubers can provide a safe ride home after a night of drinking, prevent a DUI,  and may protect its riders from dangerous situations.

In Lauren's draft I found:

"The organization believes that there are too many benefits that are worth reaping and the system should just be revamped in order to fit today's standards."

This is a great example of a well-written sentence that conveys a specific idea with ease. While the sentence is taken out of context here, it adds perfectly to her commentary. This is the type of sentence I aspire to write, and often turn into a wordy, confusing mess.

Thoughts on Drafting

Quick Reference Guides

Graela "Todays doodlegirl brought to you by generous dontations from Al Literate, Cade Ants, and Rye Mann" (6/12/2009) via Flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
In this blog post, I will be assessing how helpful the Student's Guide is for writing in the Quick Reference Guide genre. I will illustrate ways in which the Guide's advice is helpful and not in creating a thesis, paragraph formatting, introductions, organizing the information being presented, and conclusions.

Drafting a Thesis Statement

• Yay! The questioning process is extremely helpful in the QRG genre because creating a thesis to insert in your QRG gives it a direction. While the thesis isn't a large part of a QRG, I decided to create one to offer my own perspective on the controversy at hand. Specifically, the questions for the writer to follow while writing their thesis really helped me to focus on an angle for my Quick Reference Guide.
• Is it interesting?
• Is it precise and specific?
• Is it manageable?
• Does it adequately reflect your reading and the expected shape of your paper?

PIE paragraphs

• Yay! When interpreted loosely, the PIE paragraph format has been a big help for me to insert quoted evidence into some sections of my QRG. The formatting allows me to definitely place some information in front of my audience for their consumption.
• Point
• Illustration
• Explanation
• No... One thing that the book strongly recommends is the use of in-text citations whenever another person's opinion or research is brought up. Plus, a good variety of paragraph structures is normal and desired in QRGs. While PIE formatting is occasionally helpful, it shouldn't be the format of every paragraph in a QRG - the reader would immediately lose interest and click away.
• Formatted citations
• All PIE, all the time

Introductions

• Yay! The general tips for introductions were very helpful while I was drafting my QRG. All I had to do was follow a checklist of items! I included a general introduction to my QRG to immediately give some broad context to the issue, which I plan to narrow down and describe in detail in my QRG.
• Grab the reader's attention
• Focus the direction your essay will take
• Include a thesis statement
• Avoid certain traps
• No... However, the last bullet, labeled Avoid Certain Traps included elements that are usually the norm for a QRG.
• Avoid introducing evidence
• Avoid referencing used texts

Organizing Information

• Yay! The book provides pretty useful tips about how to consider the flow of a QRG, and gave me even more handy questions to ask myself as I drafted. QRGs should be organized and easy for the reader to follow.
• Consider ways to create "flow" or connect ideas
• Why is this idea, sentence, or paragraph in this particular position?
• How does each idea relate to the content before and after it?
• What happens to the argument or the momentum if this idea, sentence, or paragraph is moved?
• What will the audience expect to see here? Should I meet their expectations, or is there a reason for not doing so?
• No... While most QRGs have a flow based on logical steps and questions of the reader, they are also meant to be accessible; the reader should be able to jump in at any section that they desire. Flow shouldn't dominate the QRG format - it's meant to help readers along in to the next section, but readers should also be able to pick up that flow in any section, so it can't be too limiting.
• Sentences and sections should build upon each other by following a strict flow

Writing Conclusions

• Yay! The tips for conclusions were pretty awesome, considering that the only conclusions I've ever written simply restated the thesis statement. QRGs are basically containers for vats of context that all have to be summed up in the end. Conclusions are crucial to any QRG, because they will help to summarize the issue the QRG is addressing.
• Answer the "So What?"
• Circle back
• Look forward
• Paint a picture
• Summarize claims

 Reflection: As I read through my peers' posts about drafting, I realized that while we all know the conventions of the QRG, we will still interpret which tips are helpful or not differently. This difference is most likely due to the differences in writing processes. Looking over the tips Addie and Breanna valued made me consider ways I should change my draft:
1. I need to refine the content of my sections and subsections to make them more straightforward for the reader. When Breanna suggested that each section be an expanded PIE, it made a lot of sense.
2.  My Quick Reference Guide may have an awkward flow / organization of sections. Once I get some comments on my draft, then I'll be able to potentially address that issue.
3. I may have to back off on my thesis statement. I don't want to influence the opinions of my audience too much, and both Breanna and Addie pointed out that the QRG should try its best to not directly imprint opinions onto its readers.

Draft of Quick Reference Guide

Kowalski, Rose. Screenshot of QRG Google Doc. (9/12/2015)

Hello peer editors! I would love your feedback on My Quick Reference Guide Draft. Please note spaces where you feel that evidence should be given to support a claim or statement that I make. Criticism of style, layout, and grammar is always welcome. My images are either going to be embedded or properly cited once I publish a more final draft. I welcome grammar criticism, organizational criticism, etc. You can comment on anything that doesn't seem like it fits. Lastly, feel free to comment with general questions you have about my topic - this will help me eventually include answers to questions that may have gone unanswered.

Practicing Quoting

Impacts of Social Media on Society

In this post, I will practice quoting from my sources. In the following paragraph I will illustrate and explain differences in opinion about the impacts of social media on society by quoting two sources. Forewarning: my quotes needed to be indented because APA format requires this if a quote is 40 words or longer.

Kowalski, Rose. Screenshot of Google Doc. (9/12/2015) 

QRGs: The Genre

Explaining Everything

Post Memes "The Ninja-Cat Guide" (5/14/2015) via Flickr
Attribution 2.0 Generic License

Today I will be looking at the Quick Reference Guide (QRG for short) Genre. In this post, I will explain the purpose, conventions, formatting, images, and audiences of QRGs. I will provide links to examples that illustrate characteristics of the genre

Purpose
Quick reference guides are created to give context to an issue. Their function is to explain an issue in its entirety to readers in an approachable and concise format. A Quick Reference Guide should address the who, what, when, where, why, and how of an issue.They must also include opinions, facts, and perspectives from all sides involved in their topic to thoroughly educate the reader.

Conventions

Subheadings

• subheadings summarize that section
• headings are usually a FAQ or answer an FAQ (ex: The Sochi Olympics Explained QRG)
• allow reader to skip info they already know and seek information they don't

Visual data

• uses variety of visuals: graphs, charts, screenshots, interactive embeds, photographs
• presents info to readers in an approachable format
• appeals to readers' emotions, makes them interested (ex. image of a girl at a demonstration in Greece's Debt Crisis Explained)
• some images can be used that seem to encompass the subject

Links

• authors provide links to sources instead of listing works cited
• allow the reader to take in more info on their own time (ex: The only guide to Gamergate you will ever need to read incorporates links into sentences)
• easy access to sources of information

Title

• show what QRG will be addressing
• usually declares that the QRG is an explanation of an event or issue
• draws readers in (ex: #BernieSoBlack QRG)

Points of Entry

• multiple ways for readers to enter the guide and take in information
• readers can jump around headings and other sections of the QRG and still be thoroughly educated (ex: sidebar in E-cigarettes and health QRG)
• allows the reader to skip information they already know and address their unanswered questions
• provides easy navigation

Formatting and Design

Authors can choose how they want to implement the conventions of the Quick Reference Guide by adding their own style. Each author's style of addressing an issue (ex: heavy subtitle organization in Sochi Olympics Explained, sections leading into another to form an image along the way in #BernieSoBlack, and the use of a central image to lead into the title in E-cigarettes and health) can emphasize the use of certain conventions and downplay others.

Images

Visuals in QRGs are related to the content and serve to give context to the issue being discussed. Whether the images be graph demonstrating an effect over time, or a photograph that evokes emotion and seems to contain the whole of an issue, they must give context to that guide. A picture of a cute puppy in a QRG about sexual harassment is of no benefit to the author or reader.  Images must convey information about the subject to the readers (ex: the photograph of a demonstration in Greece's Debt Crisis Explained) QRGs also use a myriad of images to convey different types of context: graphs provide factual information, photographs give emotional or societal context.

Audience

Quick Reference Guides cater to the general public to help average people understand certain issues and events. However, depending on the topics they are covering, and the location of the guide, QRGs will be directed to certain audiences who are interested in the topic. Some appeal to audiences that are entertainment and media focused (ex: The Sochi Olympics Explained). Many QRGs appeal to audiences that follow politics  and major news controversies (ex: #BernieSoBlack, Greece's Debt Crisis Explained, The only guide to Gamergate you will ever need to read). And still others serve to educate those interested in certain drugs or addictive products (ex: E-cigarettes and health)

Reflection: After reading Michael, Charles, and Scotts analysis of QRGs, I realized that we all have a pretty similar understanding of what QRGs are and how they work. One thing that stood out to me was that Michael had a much longer list of conventions that all made sense and seemed to appear within QRGs. It was nice to see other conventions of the QRG, because now I can look back at those and create a better Quick Reference Guide of my own based upon more guidelines. This will hopefully allow me to edit my understanding of the conventions of the QRG, but also edit my QRG.
          Resources: Michael McMillin: 109H Sec14
                              Charles Novak: Life of a Nerd
                                Scott Norrix: Scott Norrix English 109H

Cluster of My Controversy

Impacts of Social Media on Society

I have created a cluster to visually describe my controversy of how social media impacts society. This cluster shows how the major groups involved in the Ideology of My Controversy are influenced and interconnected. Categories are bolded, and basic perspectives on social media are italicized.


Reflection: As I looked at Scott and Clayton's blog posts, I immediately felt a sense of dread. My cluster is VERY intense and complex compared to theirs. Scott's cluster was organized fantastically and made the issue and opinions very clear. And Clatyon's was very similar. Each cluster used little space and few letters and drew a clear and simple picture of their issue. Mine seems way too complicated. However, as I think about it, that might not be a bad thing for me. I understand my issue so much better after creating that map, and I included points about how social media made specific changes in groups. I can tie these changes together and examine them specifically to show the overall effects of social media on society! My cluster became a cluster-planning hybrid. I separated general ideas into specific details that I could use in my QRG. While it's not as immediately readable as the clusters of others, it will certainly help me write my Quick Reference Guide.
      Resources: Scott Norrix: Scott Norrix English 109H 
                              Clayton Matheson: English 109H Blog