Proposal for your Genre Translation

Project Builder 3A

Often, due to the contrasting levels of comprehension between age groups, stories become hidden behind veils of an author’s judgment. An author dictates his work according to the audience to whom he wishes it presented to, be it children or adults. More often than not a writer will take into account the age group of his target audience in hopes of making his work relatable and manageable. Although a writer pours his heart and the sweat of his brow into the work that will eventually be read by his audience, I will take it upon myself to pervert the gem that has been toiled over for hours. I will take Doug Rossinow’s “The Legend of Reagan the Peacemaker”, an academic piece that opts to give a more realistic view of the president, as opposed to the nationalist's, patriot’s picture. I will deface his work and interpret it in a way that would make it attractive to the common teenager and another for the elderly. This would be especially difficult considering the stigma the Ol’ Gipper” has with the American public. He is often credited with the anti-drug movement, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and jumpstarting the economy after Jimmy Carter, the Peanut Farmer from Georgia, failed to do so. Often, the elderly idolize the President and the youth couldn’t give two shits.

The youth today are exposed to a flurry of infographic material that will sway their malleable mentalities one way or the other, and like a pendulum waiting to cast its bloody swing upon the victim of a horror film, that swinging political ideology will one day strike on the ballots of our nation. If the future generations of this country are to successfully lead this nation, then they must be educated beyond the patriotic veil. They must realize the truth of the horrors of our nation, but just as much the moments when the term American Exceptionalism truly fits. If the youth were exposed to an opposing portrait of President Reagan then they may be able to compare both and engender their own ideas. I propose a drawing of president Reagan, a hyperbolic piece of art that screams all his discrepancies against those he as affected. The piece would include flashy, bold colors that would attract the attention of those that would see it, as opposed to conservative tones of color, The flashy colors would not only attract attention, but they would also underscore the distance the artist is trying to create between himself and the conservative establishment. The piece would have reagan’s bust floating alone, connected solely with his tie. The bust would stare down and at his bare tongue where there is what appears to be a pill, but is really a warhead. The warhead pill suggests that constant war is what feeds the reagan in the picture. The tie would also be a war head, suggesting his business is war. From the tie roots will protrude and appear throughout the picture underneath reagan, hinting at his policy to outspend the USSR and his almost complete reverence for capitalism. These aspects of the picture will be absorbed much like a reader absorbs the rhetorical strategies of an author. They are discreet, but effective.

If I were to create something that an elderly person would find relatable, I would not use an illustration to convey the Reagan presidency. I would use something that is more quaint in nature, like a silly mug. The elderly drink tea, or at least my grandmother does, therefore a mug would seem like the perfect means to reach the elderly. The mug would be comical, as it would don a pun alluding to Reagan’s record as a peacemaker. The mug would be a simple white ceramic mug which would read I remember my death star. The mug would be alluding to Reagan’s defense plan to curb any attempts for Soviet Russia to attack the United States. Ironically enough, these strategies for defense were banned because both countries feared their enemy having such a defense mechanism would give the enemy the upper hand. Other than the letters, Ronald Reagan would be cloaked like the emperor from the Star Wars Franchise. The allusion to a film series adds a comical effect due to the nefarious nature of the Emperor contrasting Reagan’s appearance as a conservative elderly man. Not to mention the strange contrast between politics and a 1970s Sci-fi film. The cup would serve as a means of curiosity for some, as they will ask the owner what his mug means to say. Those that are curious may even search for more on the subject then relay that information to friends. The object acts as an abstract source of information, too abstract to get the whole idea, therefore prompting others to research it.

Translating a piece of peer reviewed work into something that could be accepted by adults and by the elderly, respectfully, is a true challenge to an author’s ability to use rhetorical strategies. An author has an entire arsenal to use in his attempt to get in your head, yet he can only employ so little. The means by which a writer attracts your attention may go unnoticed, and may eve ne devalued, yet it is what the author has labored so hard over.

Writing Project Two

Analyzing and Evaluating Genres Across Scholarly and Non-Academic Contexts

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Gun safety is, for some reason, a very controversial subject in the United States that begs hours of debate every year. To supply those who would dissent, and those that would affirm, gun safety regulation, there exists a swath of information, biased and leveled. Because this matter will eventually either save lives or doom others, the information used must be accurate, articulate, and available. For those that make it their job to inform others, organizing the information they have created, either through studies or by other means, for the appropriate audience becomes a very important task. To target audiences at different intellectual tiers, from the uppity academic to the challenged layman, a person reporting on gun safety will use different means and moves to reach the desired readers, as can be seen by the two contrasting pieces “ ‘Is There a Gun in the Home?’ Assessing the Risks of Gun Ownership in Older Adults” by Ellen M. Pinholt, MD, Joshua D. Mitchell, MD,  Jane H. Butler, RN, and Harjinder Kumar, MD and “Firearms Safety -- 10 Rules of Safe Gun Ownership” on the National Shooting Sports Foundation website.

Both pieces have the same objective in mind, to inform the reader of the dangers of owning a gun, but do so through different means. The reader that would be searching for information on the subject may be affected equally by both pieces, as they come to the same conclusion. Spoiler alert, guns are dangerous. The reader will choose one piece over the other due to the genre the authors have chosen to format their articles in. Ellen M. Pinholt, MD and all those included chose to organize their information using the style of the scholarly article. By doing so the authors have gained the highest level of legitimacy possible adding weight to the validity of their paper. This sort of elitist style attracts those within the academic community, professors, scientists, researchers, etc. who have an understanding of the jargon, prose, and format. While the rigorous standards of a peer reviewed scholarly paper are preferred in the academic community,  a layman may feel overwhelmed by the academic jargon and may choose something akin to  “Firearms Safety -- 10 Rules of Safe Gun Ownership.” The genre used by the National Shooting Sports Foundation is an informative list that is both interactive and informative, and along with the language of the paper, it is an easier approach for the reader.

The genres of both articles are at opposite ends of the intellectual spectrum and as such the actual devices used are much different. The most stunning contrast between both articles is the use of pictures. The National Shooting Sports Foundation attempts to humanize guns by adding dozens of pictures of people handling guns while wearing safety equipment. A reader using this website for information may be inclined to believe that guns are safe if the correct precautions are used by falling victim to a bandwagon approach. Often the characters in the pictures are seen in confident poses, which would influence a reader’s judgment on the use of guns making them believe they too can achieve confidence by handling weapons. The academic paper does not depend on pictures to convince the reader to handle guns. Instead, it’s use of illustrations falls short of the dozens of pictures on the website, opting for two pictures which prove to be informative rather than propaganda-ish. The pictures demonstrate a weapon with a trigger lock and another weapon with a cable lock. The pictures prove to be completely objective unlike the pictures from the website that  carry an objective. The use of pictures in each article is very different and demonstrates the tone of their article.

The direction of both articles, due to the genre chosen by their authors and the audience it is directed towards, have different tones. Naturally, the academic paper would carry a tone of objectivity because it must abide to the academic genre, after all, “The words you choose for an argument help define its style - and yours”(Style and Presentation in Arguments, 310). The academic genre utilizes the objective tone to hide any biases the researches may hold. The tone must be objective at all times, including when the authors give their opinion,”Older adults owning firearms are a public health concern. There are no easy answers, but there are “red flags” that move senior gun ownership out of the abstract and into daily practice in the clinic and certainly home health.” (Is There a Gun in the Home?” Assessing the Risks of Gun Ownership in Older Adults). The quote is completely objective as it lacks any sign of personal intervention. There are no “I”s or “we”s which demonstrates a reliance on facts rather than opinions. The website carries a more conversational tone which is a manner of reaching the layman. The jargon is not a comprehensive, it refers to the audience specifically,”You must assume the serious responsibility of using only the correct ammunition for your firearm. Read and heed all warnings.”  This conversational tone was used to make the article more engaging for a reader and more relatable. It does not speak in the manners of high society. This manner of writing makes the author seem more relatable, creating ethos, and establishes a connection with the reader. Because the author of the website article utilizes a very non-specific genre, he is able to choose the tone of his article, allowing him to be relatable. The academic piece does not have that luxury and must abide by the strict code of academic papers and the tone of logical objectivity. Both have their advantages when aiming for an  audience.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation organizes itself in a manner that is both interactive and simplistic, a list. The manner in which it was written allows the reader to search for the information that is deemed most important for their purpose which may create bias. As Dana Lynn Driscoll, a critic in writing style, mentions, “There is little point in collecting data...if you already know the answer”(Driscoll, 156) meaning bias only affirms beliefs, not challenge them. The fashion in which it was formatted is non-academic, which facilitates a readers search for enlightenment on the issue. On the other hand, the academic article is not allowed the simplicity the website is allowed because the website is dedicated to the subject of guns and the need for safety. Therefore, it does not need to cite the information it gives as it is an deemed an established leader in the subject. The academic paper must cite everything in order to abide by its conventions. The manner in which it is organized follows a very parallel format throughout, having rhetorical questions as headings,”Is the Operator Feeling “LOW?””,”Are LITTLE Children Present?”(Is There a Gun in the Home?” Assessing the Risks of Gun Ownership in Older Adults), etc, followed by case reports. These headings become the basis for their recommendations that are summarized towards the end of the article. While both articles carry a heading followed by a paragraph about the heading, they both use the format differently. The academic article uses them as a way of questioning the reader to better inform them while the website uses the headings as a way to give the reader a quick summary of what the rest of the article is about like, “Firearms Should Be Unloaded When Not Actually In Use”. Although it is simple to read, it seems that a person may lose information if the reader is allowed to read what ever that person deemed most important.

The academic paper does something the website does not and that is bring two personal accounts. The personal accounts establish legitimacy for the article as it is a way to display the need for cautions for gun safety. The article also brings in statistics which also help ferment the article into a very logical piece that is also held by relatable accounts, “The suicide rate for men aged 80 and older from 2005 to 2010 was 41.11 per 100,000 (80% using a firearm), more than double the national average.”(Is There a Gun in the Home?” Assessing the Risks of Gun Ownership in Older Adults). The authors utilized a logos and ethos approach in this way, something that was not done by the website. Because the website is already deemed an expert on the subject of gun safety, it is not completely necessary for the article to establish the relations the academic piece created. The name of the website carries a lot of the legitimizing that the academic piece had to site information for. The website does not use any cases because it attempts to convince others using guns is safe. A case where someone was injured would be detrimental to that argument. In this case, the academic paper gives the best account of what occurs when using guns and is the most reliable source. The lack of bias is a necessary objective when informing an audience about the realities of dangerous weapons.

Both articles attempt to give a person information concerning gun safety and do so through different means. They both utilize moves specific to their genre or moves that they use themselves to convince the reader of what they say. The author’s formatting must be tasteful to the audience, but because the author can not create an article to a general audience, the author must choose a specific set of readers. Moves are just as important to writers as they are to readers because they are used as a means of subliminal communication.

Works Cited

"Firearms Safety | 10 Rules of Safe Gun Handling." Firearms Safety | 10 Rules of Safe Gun Handling. Web. 13 Feb. 2015. .

Lowe, Charles, and Pavel Zemliansky. Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. West Lafayette, IN: Parlor, 2010. Print.

"UC-eLinks Direct Link." UC-eLinks Direct Link. Web. 18 Feb. 2015. .

Edwar Hernandez

Writing 2

TA: Zack de Piero

Due: February 9th, 2015

Moves

Writing Project #2: Project Builder 2B

The moves that are adopted by writers overtime demonstrate the works of authors that have inspired them. By combining the sets of moves that have been compiled overtime a writer can create a set of moves unique to them. Therefore, recognizing moves and their effects on an argument is important for any writer that is attempting to better his skill. Moves are present in any writer’s work, as can be seen in the articles Navigating Genres by Kerry Dirk and Murder! (Rhetorically Speaking) by Janet Boyd. Both authors utilize different moves in their writing to make their work clearer and more interesting for an audience that may not find English to be a very interesting subject. Both Dirk and Boyd have compiled their own set of moves which they have compiled into their articles.

Boyd and Dirk both begin their essays by relating to their audience, a use of ethos, thus establishing a relation. They do so through different means, though, as Boyd uses a personal story to gain the audience’s trust,”The college where I first started teaching writing called its freshman composition course ‘Logic and Rhetoric’ “, and Kirk simply utilizes a joke, “Q: What do you get when you rewind a country song? A: You get your wife back, your job back, your dog back”. Both have chosen to begin their articles by relating to an audience that may otherwise believe english to be just some college credit. Because the audience may not feel invested in learning english it is their job to gain the attention of the audience as fast as they can. If attention is lost, then the author’s risk being thrown into the black nexus of “boring uppity college articles” college students dislike so much. By beginning with a joke or personal experience the authors distance themselves from those college articles and make it slightly more interesting for those that may have to use their essays as a tool for some assignment.

Both authors realize their audience is a very particular one, worried about other subjects and classes, therefore reading the articles may be done in a rushed manner. In order to facilitate the reading for the audience, especially when the audience has to come back and search for something they once read, they both use different methods to save the audience some time. Boyd, because of his use of different examples throughout his essay, uses small headlines throughout his work,”Getting in touch with your inner detective...cultivating your inner coroner, etc”. This creates an easy reference for those that may need to look back and find the text they are looking for. Dirk, on the other hand, utilizes bullet points and examples which are kept separate from the body paragraphs. By doing so he summarizes points that may have otherwise become lost in the sea of body paragraphs. Also, by keeping it separate from the rest of the paragraphs, it becomes a marker for the reader that may recall that those bullets are tied in with something, thus serving a similar purpose like Boyd’s headlines. They both facilitate the essay for their readers in a manner that allows them to read and come back and find what they are looking for quickly. Both authors realize the importance of not making this too wordy, too formal, and too academic.

While both essays offer literary insight into the world of english by using similar means they do fail in some respects to argue for their subject. In the article Murder (Rhetorically Speaking) by Janet Boyd, the author does a great job of giving examples. So much so that she waters down her entire essay with four examples that weren't all that necessary. While her objective is to make the essay funny and relatable, by the second paragraph the reader has a clear grasp on what she is trying to explain and how. This is not particularly be poor English, but it does demonstrate a failure to recognize when to stop. Still, it can be argued that the other examples are used to solidify the ideas in the readers mind, something that is actually a good thing. Therefore, the number of examples is not actually completely bad and in fact is subject to reader bias, it is subjective.

Both essays offer insight into English, its struggles, its strengths, and genre. Both have a strong grasp on what they talk about and demonstrate their knowledge through the moves they use to the advantage of the argument. The use of an suthors moves and their effectiveness are often subjectective as not every person will learn the same. As a writer, that just happens to write in English, it is beneficial to argue, internally at least, whether or not a move used by an author was effective. Sorting the effective approaches allows an aspiring writer, or just the recreational writer, to become more effective in the use of language. The adoption of “moves” is not plagiarism, it is a manner of maturing one’s language.

Comparing and Contrasting the Art of the Snobbish Article

Project Builder 2A: Comparing Genres: “SCIgen” and a Scholarly Source

The scholarly article is a noteworthy genre due to the rhetorical devices that it utilizes to become legitimate and reputable. The scholarly article must follow the rules of its genre or be rejected by its target audience, obviously not the laymen, the academic community. Through its rhetorical devices it must establish a hypothesis and the author(s) must prove the hypothesis using facts, all the while proving facts. The genre’s qualifications are quite stringent, therefore, it is important for a person who dabbles in the academic community to recognize the key features. Through the SCIgen model and the article Force Measurements with the Atomic Force Microscope: Technique, Interpretation, and Applications readers can identify the key conventions and rhetorical devices that become prevalent in both.

If we start in a chronological manner, we can see that the most obvious convention in both articles is the title. The title of this article is starkly different from titles of many other genres, especially common novels, because its objective is not to attract attention. The title of the article is used in a more clerical manner; it is what the introductory paragraph is to an essay. It categorizes the article and informs the reader, more likely researcher, using jargon specific to the field. Again, the target audience is not the average reader, rather those who have become experts in their field of study. Force Measurements with the Atomic Force Microscope: Technique, Interpretation, and Applications  is the title of the text - and it is quite a mouthful - but is not done to perturb the average reader. It does so to categorize the text and make it readily available for anyone looking to use it for their own work. The titles in both the SCIgen model and the article have put the article above the rest of the text in bold making it easy to view.

The organization of the genre is clerical too, as it separates the different sections of the essay using sub headings. Much like the title of the entire essay, the subheadings hover over the paragraph they relate to until challenged by another subheading. These subheadings help the reader find the aspects of the text that they need, like the abstract which informs the reader of the hypothesis and what they hope to achieve. In the text Force Measurements with the Atomic Force Microscope: Technique, Interpretation, and Applications, and the SCIgen model the abstract model appears at the beginning, followed by an explanation of what they hope to achieve and context. This fashion of writing is very blunt, especially considering the manner in which a rhetorical essay is written. Rhetorical essays organize themselves in a manner in which one paragraph slips into the other, creating a fluidity about the writing. The academic essay uses subheadings, eradicating completely the need to be clever about writing and facilitating the transition from idea to idea using subheadings. The reader’s mental strain is also eased as the author’s will often add a subheading indicating the symbols they will be using. Such a use of subheading is representative of its use; not only are they used for introducing ideas to the reader before they begin the reading, but they also work as a reference which makes it easy for someone to come back and find something they were looking for. In this manner the writers have followed the conventions of their genre and in doing so they have done away with clever closing sentences which conjoin one paragraph to the next, on the other hand they adhere to a basic, simplistic model which eases the reading for a person who already has to work through a sea of complicated jargon.

Both models have a series of charts and diagrams which further facilitate the text for a person who has the misfortune of having to journey through a mess of academic jargon. The diagrams vary from pictures of the experiment to graphs displaying aspects of the experiment. In the Force Measurements with the Atomic Force Microscope: Technique, Interpretation, and Applications text,  a picture is shown of the experiment displaying and titling aspects of the experiment. These picture resolve any confusion a reader may have had about the experiment.  Although the SCIgen model is not based on actual information, it display graphs and pictures just the same for the sake of the argument. Underneath the pictures or diagrams there is a title that explains the function of the picture. A major aspect of the text seems to be easing the text for the reader.

A very important aspect of both the texts is the objective tone all the authors adopt throughout the entire text. The objective tone is important because it displays a lack of passion for their craft. Although this sounds counter intuitive when attempting to convince others to believe what you believe, it is actually the more prudent alternative. By sounding objective they have created an atmosphere without pathos, an appeal to emotion, in a community that values facts and logic over emotions. Without pathos the article carries an atmosphere of logos, an appeal to reason. Because this paper is based on charts, statistics, and research, or in other words, empirical data, logos is the most logical approach (no pun intended)

Although the academic community may appear uppity, for lack of a better word that displays the great intellectual divide between them and the laymen, a lot of the conventions in the text serve to ease the reader through the text. The graphs, subheadings, and tone all serve to facilitate the reading. The genre is unique for its style and contrasts greatly a lot of the other genres.