Britt's Responds May 11

Brittany Crockett

May 11, 2011

               After reading the articles let me get a little grip on what is needed for me from this last assignment. It’s funny how Kantz described Shirley’s problem, which is probly similar to a lot of students here in this class. I think I am complete opposite in a way.  I don’t think I am a good writer I think I do what needs to be done to get along. I don’t like to read nor write. I especially hate writing on something that I have no idea what I am talking about or if I simple don’t like the subject. Shirley was a good writer and made common mistakes. I seem to make a lot of mistakes with writing assignments. Reading this gave me more confidence though I see that I am not the only person who struggles with writing assignments. One main problem for me is that I will work super hard on an assignment I would think I would get a nice grade on it and come to find out I didn’t do that good at all.

               The first article by Swales gives strategies and suggestions on what to do before and while you are reading to help readers think about what to question to put in their own paper. I do question a lot of readings rather the statements are facts or claims. I may just only see one way and that way being if what I am reading feels right to me even though I wasn’t there in that time. When I write I seem to always go against the writer because it gives me more opportunity to speak how I want and express my feelings, if I agree with everything the writer says then I feel I have no voice and that the paper would just be a second edition of the book or article I read before.

               I do agree that facts and claims are totally different. Facts are something that can be proven and claims are something that is guessed and is most likely true. I feel like claims are bias and is one sided.

               I know that what I read from my articles or sources that I can question what I read to make a better paper and argument. But one thing about that is I feel like I may question the sources so much that the source is not credible.

Genre Analysis

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1Lks0GWBzPR1CvENR-mB20ybXIWoI2ZtEueSynoh8WEo

Britt's Response for April 27

Brittany Crockett

Response to Blackboard reading

April 27, 2011

After reading each article on Blackboard it made me a bit confused, I feel like these reading gave different aspects of genre and I could not connect them. The first article by Bawarshi told me many different definitions of what genre can be or is and it really gave me ideas about my genre analysis project that maybe I wasn’t looking in depth about my genre I am just focused on the writing aspect and it is more than just writing when it comes to genre’s.

“genre as artificial forms or arbitrary classification systems for organizing and defining kinds of text… but also ways of organizing and defining kinds of social actions, social actions that genres rhetorically make possible.” (Bawarshi 71) this line is important to me because I really thought just like the first part of the quote that genre is only in text but described shortly afterwards texts is not only words you read it is language body actions and social involvement.

I cannot be too sure on  what the second article by Allen was talking about I felt like that article was out of place and that is was very hard to read. I really had no connection with that reading. I guess it was a genre analysis and I know this because of the title. I just do not like the way the format is the subject was extremely boring and felt like it was dry and dull. I do not think this example will help me on my analysis.

The third article was a little better even though it was the same format as article two but the subject was a bit more interesting. The way she approached her genre analysis was good she differed with the author where she got her research form and that is interesting on it’s on. Let’s be honest we as readers tend to be attracted to drama of a disagreement because readers wants to her both sides and make a judgment of their own. I do agree with Magee when she tries to  explain that the generalization of gender roles are totally off well at least in her case and I believe in many other different cases as well.

I think we read these articles to help us with our own genre analysis that we have to do shortly the last two articles were undergraduate writers doing their analysis. The only thing that was a negative about reading these articles is that it can lead people a little lost if there research is nothing like what we read and they may feel like they have to change their genre now. I think I might have to change what I want to do a genre on.

Response to Dirk and Devitt

Brittany Crockett

English 384J

April 25, 2011

Response to Blackboard readings

After reading the two articles my mind honestly didn’t change about genre because I wasn’t so sure on what genre actually was. The first article by Dirk explained in a great way what genre was and how we apply it to our everyday lives without even realizing it. The second article by Devitt gave me new concepts and thoughts about genre. Both articles explaining in depth what genre is provided me with a good acknowledgement for genre. “You are probably already familiar with many genres, although you may not know them as such; perhaps your knowledge of genres is limited to types of books, whether mystery, horror, action, etc.”(Dirk 250)  I believe that the author already knew that genre is a misinterpret subject.

Genre is the underline format of something. It could be how you talk to someone the way you talk to them. As an example I would not talk to my boss at work the same way I would talk to my friends. Everyone does this in their own ways without even realizing it. Language changes; appearance and your demeanor would change when you’re talking to someone on a superior level. Genre is something that is used on a everyday basis and is needed in this society to show a form of respect and placement. I do think that genre is important in life because genre is history or things that happened before and is a learned habit. Taking two endpoint and falling in-between and knowing the grange that you should abide by.

Britt's Response to Writing like a Writer April 20th

Brittany Crockett

English 384J

April 20, 2011

Writing about writing

From reading these two articles both and John and Harris challenge the idea of discourse by being the most different type of articles we have already read in this class. The reason why they are different is because they give   negative and positives points on being in a community.  

In John’s article he provides examples on what should be involved when picking or wanting to be a part of a community or group. “ …First, many people have chosen to be members of one discourse communities, groups with whom they share social, political, professional, recreational interest” (John) This is important to me because a lot of people feel like they must be in a community where their family is or were a part of, even if they themselves has no interest in or desire. I feel someone’s environment should not determine what community or group they should be involved in it should matter on what they are interested in and want to be a part of.

In Harris’s article he as well gives positives and negatives attribute to being a part of a community and he also comments on how being a part of a group of community  may not be all that it is cracked up to be. “There seem to me two warnings here. The first is that, since it has no “positive opposing” term, community can soon become empty and sentimental word.” (Harris) This part stuck out to me because other articles that we had to read made it seem as if being a part of a community and help you socially and academically and personally, but this shows that sometimes it’s not that great or that there is other things that come to with being a part of something.

This change my mind about discourse communities a little because I never thought about the negative side and the reactions that can be established after being a part and involved with the community. Leaders taking charge rebels and arguments and many other reasons to separate a group can happen. I believe people do not think about those conflicts when they really want to be a part  I think we spent so much time on these articles because our professor really wants us to understand what discourse community means and the different sides and opinions on the subject. To fully understand things you have to know the pro and cons of it.