Summary:
In the article "Identity, Authority, and Learning to Write in New Workplaces," Elizabeth Wardle discusses the hardships that can occur when being introduced to new, different discourse communities. She studies conflict and struggles among new employees, for example. She gives the example of her study on Alan, who has just gotten out of college and is having problems trying to adjust and fit in to his new workplace. Alan does not feel like he belongs in the discourse community he is thrust into. The story of Alan helps readers understand and comprehend the idea that belonging to a discourse community has much more to do than just gaining the necessary skills that go along with it.
Synthesis:
Wardle's article relates to the most recent articles we have read regarding discourse communities. Each author has had something different to say about discourse communities. Wardle has her own thoughts about discourse communities, yet she also agrees with Swales as far as the six characteristics for discourse communities. Wardle relates to Gee because they each find a way to identify with discourse communities and define them. The idea of genre analysis from the Devitt et al. can trace back to Wardle because of the idea that discourse communities exist along lines of similar thoughts, goals, and ideas.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Project #3 Proposal
For Project #3, I would like to write about the discourse community of choral departments. I have been in choruses and singing groups since fifth grade, so it is very familiar to me and I have learned a lot about the similarities and differences between choirs and groups outside of the choral department. Many people might not think so, but choirs and other singing groups have their own set ways of doing things. It is, without a doubt, a discourse community.
Choirs and singing groups have their own set of common goals. As singers, we want to improve our voices and vocal ranges. We also want to work well together, sound good, have fun, and in more competitive groups, win titles.
The choral department has its own language and ways of communication. We communicate through music, and our love of singing. We have to be able to sight-sing and read music. A basic understanding of music theory is necessary. We use music terms that many people would not understand if they were not in the choral department. Performances also go along with the communication and language. In order to keep things organized, we all need to know what's going on and stay "in tune" with one another, in every way possible.
People in choral groups are expected to help each other and be kind to one another. In order to make it as a group, teamwork and cooperation is extremely important. A successful choir or singing group cannot happen without the cooperation of each and every member.
Some choirs do not require auditions, but many do. It is not just about talent. It is about hard work and a desire to sing and improve, and to be part of a group of others who share the same characteristics and desires. You cannot simply be "born into" the choral department. Even the best of singers have to work hard to be accepted.
For this project, I may interview individuals in choral groups, as well as choral advisors or directors. I am interested in this discourse community because it is something I have grown up with and that I love dearly. Singing has been a huge passion of mine ever since I was very little. The choral department is a world all its own, even though many might not see how. I want to show people how truly different it is, yet how similar it is to other common discourse communities as far as Swales' six characteristics go.
Choirs and singing groups have their own set of common goals. As singers, we want to improve our voices and vocal ranges. We also want to work well together, sound good, have fun, and in more competitive groups, win titles.
The choral department has its own language and ways of communication. We communicate through music, and our love of singing. We have to be able to sight-sing and read music. A basic understanding of music theory is necessary. We use music terms that many people would not understand if they were not in the choral department. Performances also go along with the communication and language. In order to keep things organized, we all need to know what's going on and stay "in tune" with one another, in every way possible.
People in choral groups are expected to help each other and be kind to one another. In order to make it as a group, teamwork and cooperation is extremely important. A successful choir or singing group cannot happen without the cooperation of each and every member.
Some choirs do not require auditions, but many do. It is not just about talent. It is about hard work and a desire to sing and improve, and to be part of a group of others who share the same characteristics and desires. You cannot simply be "born into" the choral department. Even the best of singers have to work hard to be accepted.
For this project, I may interview individuals in choral groups, as well as choral advisors or directors. I am interested in this discourse community because it is something I have grown up with and that I love dearly. Singing has been a huge passion of mine ever since I was very little. The choral department is a world all its own, even though many might not see how. I want to show people how truly different it is, yet how similar it is to other common discourse communities as far as Swales' six characteristics go.
Reading Response #16
Summary and Synthesis:
In "Materiality and Genre in the Study of Discourse Communities" by Amy J. Devitt et al., there are a collaboration of three essays by three different authors. The main point is to show readers how genre analysis is directly related to the study of ethnomethodology, which contributes to the understanding and overall comprehension of discourse communities. Genre analysis relates to language, which is a huge part of discourse communities; they all have a specific language and way of communication.
These essays relate to the Swales and Gee articles. All articles focus directly on discourse communities and seem to all be saying something slightly different from one another. They each expand on the idea and try to make sense of it so that it can be comprehended by students.
My thoughts:
I enjoyed this article much more than the Swales and Gee articles. Not only was it shorter, it was also easier to comprehend. Some of the ideas were somewhat complicated, but it was refreshing to have a few of other writers' ideas and writing styles within one article. All of the articles are helping me to understand more about discourse communities, which will in turn help me with the next project.
In "Materiality and Genre in the Study of Discourse Communities" by Amy J. Devitt et al., there are a collaboration of three essays by three different authors. The main point is to show readers how genre analysis is directly related to the study of ethnomethodology, which contributes to the understanding and overall comprehension of discourse communities. Genre analysis relates to language, which is a huge part of discourse communities; they all have a specific language and way of communication.
These essays relate to the Swales and Gee articles. All articles focus directly on discourse communities and seem to all be saying something slightly different from one another. They each expand on the idea and try to make sense of it so that it can be comprehended by students.
My thoughts:
I enjoyed this article much more than the Swales and Gee articles. Not only was it shorter, it was also easier to comprehend. Some of the ideas were somewhat complicated, but it was refreshing to have a few of other writers' ideas and writing styles within one article. All of the articles are helping me to understand more about discourse communities, which will in turn help me with the next project.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Reading Response #15
Summary and Synthesis:
In "Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics," written by James Paul Gee, Gee examines discourse and comes up with his own definition of the term. He discusses and differentiates between language and grammar and also makes a point to show how a discourse is not just a thing, it is a way of being, and in turn a way of life.
Gee's article relates to Swales' article. Both authors discusses discourse and its importance. They each give their own definitions and examples of discourse and how it plays out in the literary world.
Getting Ready to Read:
Two activities that I take part in are playing the guitar and playing lacrosse. These two activities are very separate. For instance, one is a sport and the other is strictly from the music world. When it comes to playing the guitar, there is in a way a distinct "language." Music is a language within itself. It is a skill and a way of reading and writing that must be learned and mastered. People who are unfamiliar with music theory or with instruments will likely have trouble understanding exactly how it works.
With lacrosse, the team speaks to each other in certain ways. Players communicate and say specific words or phrases that must be interpreted by the other teammates in order to understand what exactly is going on and what should be done. This is also a language within itself.
These two activities do not really influence each other. I use certain specific skills and languages with both. They remain separate and do not have much of an impact on one another.
Questions for Discussion and Journaling;
1. Gee is trying to say that even if your grammar is essentially "perfect," it depends largely on how you say something. In school, I was always taught that grammar was everything and that it had to be near perfect, and that if it wasn't we were not very good writers. It is sad because we know now that this isn't true. Grammar does not have to be perfect, and even the best of grammar doesn't necessarily equate for a good piece of written work.
My thoughts:
I definitely enjoyed this piece more than Swales' article. It was a lot easier to understand and much more interesting. I felt like I could relate to it on a whole different level, and I did not feel this way with Swales'.
In "Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics," written by James Paul Gee, Gee examines discourse and comes up with his own definition of the term. He discusses and differentiates between language and grammar and also makes a point to show how a discourse is not just a thing, it is a way of being, and in turn a way of life.
Gee's article relates to Swales' article. Both authors discusses discourse and its importance. They each give their own definitions and examples of discourse and how it plays out in the literary world.
Getting Ready to Read:
Two activities that I take part in are playing the guitar and playing lacrosse. These two activities are very separate. For instance, one is a sport and the other is strictly from the music world. When it comes to playing the guitar, there is in a way a distinct "language." Music is a language within itself. It is a skill and a way of reading and writing that must be learned and mastered. People who are unfamiliar with music theory or with instruments will likely have trouble understanding exactly how it works.
With lacrosse, the team speaks to each other in certain ways. Players communicate and say specific words or phrases that must be interpreted by the other teammates in order to understand what exactly is going on and what should be done. This is also a language within itself.
These two activities do not really influence each other. I use certain specific skills and languages with both. They remain separate and do not have much of an impact on one another.
Questions for Discussion and Journaling;
1. Gee is trying to say that even if your grammar is essentially "perfect," it depends largely on how you say something. In school, I was always taught that grammar was everything and that it had to be near perfect, and that if it wasn't we were not very good writers. It is sad because we know now that this isn't true. Grammar does not have to be perfect, and even the best of grammar doesn't necessarily equate for a good piece of written work.
My thoughts:
I definitely enjoyed this piece more than Swales' article. It was a lot easier to understand and much more interesting. I felt like I could relate to it on a whole different level, and I did not feel this way with Swales'.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Reading Response #14
Summary/Synthesis (Swales):
In John Swales' article, "The Concept of the Discourse Community," Swales introduces the term of "discourse community" and its importance within the society--as far as writing goes. He gives many different examples to describe discourse communities to his readers and talks about the difference between a discourse community and a "speech community." Swales has his own six characteristics for discourse communities. He brings to light the idea that no one really fully knows or understands what a discourse community is; there is no true, set-in-stone definition. Swales also discusses several specific issues that remain within discourse communities and tries to give them some kind of explanation.
Swales' article reminds me of the entire semester so far of the ENG 1510 class. "Discourse community" is a topic we have talked about, read about, and applied to the work we have done all semester. I can't think of any specific articles, but I remember having read about discourse communities in past articles a few times. Clearly, they are an important aspect in the writing world and set certain "guidelines" when we write.
Getting Ready to Read:
A time I have felt out of place was when I went to Miami University for a college visit about a year or so ago. I felt out of place because I could tell it was very preppy and academically challenging. The other high schoolers in my tour group seemed extremely smart and sure that Miami was the school for them, and that they--if they hadn't already--would get accepted. I on the other hand was on the edge, worrying about whether or not I would get accepted because I didn't have the best grades in high school. I was also trying to picture myself being a student, and I couldn't. I felt much more comfortable when I visited OU, which is why I'm here now. My experience at Miami made me feel like I wasn't good enough, and that I had no place to even visit because there was no chance I would belong.
My thoughts:
I thought this article was okay. I liked how Swales made a point to sort of introduce the term "discourse community" at the beginning. However, it threw me off a little when he started naming all of areas the term could be traced back to. I realize he did his research and wanted readers to see that, but he could have left it for quotes or his works cited at the end. It's too much to throw all of that information out suddenly, especially in one small section all clumped together. It honestly annoyed me and made me not want to continue as much as I would have wanted to otherwise.
The rest of the article was kind of difficult to understand due to Swales' formal way of writing and use of vocabulary. The times where I did understood what he was trying to say, it didn't last very long. Plus, I had already been lost within the text previously, so it got confusing over and over again.
The length wasn't an issue. I personally think it was mainly the way he wrote and used his own literacy. While I was reading, I was thinking how obvious it was that he wanted readers to see his literacy, and while I could tell he wanted to share that with people, it wasn't very effective. He doesn't appeal to a larger range of readers.
Questions for Discussion and Journaling:
5. Our own ENG 1510 class is a good example of discourse community. We are not all English majors, but the majority of us are. We have common desires and goals within the language and within our writing. The majority of us want to be largely successful with writing. When we step into the classroom, the general world becomes the writing world. Reality and our own personal lives are a huge factor in our writing, but in the classroom setting, a lot of our everyday routine is far from our minds. We are forced to think in new ways that many others may not understand, and as English majors, most of us already have a knack for writing and a personal desire to make it a career, whereas many people likely would not be able to stand even the idea of writing for a living. We're all different, yet alike in the ways we think and want to think about writing and the world of English.
In John Swales' article, "The Concept of the Discourse Community," Swales introduces the term of "discourse community" and its importance within the society--as far as writing goes. He gives many different examples to describe discourse communities to his readers and talks about the difference between a discourse community and a "speech community." Swales has his own six characteristics for discourse communities. He brings to light the idea that no one really fully knows or understands what a discourse community is; there is no true, set-in-stone definition. Swales also discusses several specific issues that remain within discourse communities and tries to give them some kind of explanation.
Swales' article reminds me of the entire semester so far of the ENG 1510 class. "Discourse community" is a topic we have talked about, read about, and applied to the work we have done all semester. I can't think of any specific articles, but I remember having read about discourse communities in past articles a few times. Clearly, they are an important aspect in the writing world and set certain "guidelines" when we write.
Getting Ready to Read:
A time I have felt out of place was when I went to Miami University for a college visit about a year or so ago. I felt out of place because I could tell it was very preppy and academically challenging. The other high schoolers in my tour group seemed extremely smart and sure that Miami was the school for them, and that they--if they hadn't already--would get accepted. I on the other hand was on the edge, worrying about whether or not I would get accepted because I didn't have the best grades in high school. I was also trying to picture myself being a student, and I couldn't. I felt much more comfortable when I visited OU, which is why I'm here now. My experience at Miami made me feel like I wasn't good enough, and that I had no place to even visit because there was no chance I would belong.
My thoughts:
I thought this article was okay. I liked how Swales made a point to sort of introduce the term "discourse community" at the beginning. However, it threw me off a little when he started naming all of areas the term could be traced back to. I realize he did his research and wanted readers to see that, but he could have left it for quotes or his works cited at the end. It's too much to throw all of that information out suddenly, especially in one small section all clumped together. It honestly annoyed me and made me not want to continue as much as I would have wanted to otherwise.
The rest of the article was kind of difficult to understand due to Swales' formal way of writing and use of vocabulary. The times where I did understood what he was trying to say, it didn't last very long. Plus, I had already been lost within the text previously, so it got confusing over and over again.
The length wasn't an issue. I personally think it was mainly the way he wrote and used his own literacy. While I was reading, I was thinking how obvious it was that he wanted readers to see his literacy, and while I could tell he wanted to share that with people, it wasn't very effective. He doesn't appeal to a larger range of readers.
Questions for Discussion and Journaling:
5. Our own ENG 1510 class is a good example of discourse community. We are not all English majors, but the majority of us are. We have common desires and goals within the language and within our writing. The majority of us want to be largely successful with writing. When we step into the classroom, the general world becomes the writing world. Reality and our own personal lives are a huge factor in our writing, but in the classroom setting, a lot of our everyday routine is far from our minds. We are forced to think in new ways that many others may not understand, and as English majors, most of us already have a knack for writing and a personal desire to make it a career, whereas many people likely would not be able to stand even the idea of writing for a living. We're all different, yet alike in the ways we think and want to think about writing and the world of English.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Reading Response #13
Summary and Synthesis:
In "The Sticky Embrace of Beauty," Anne Frances Wysocki discusses the visual forms in texts and how they effect readers and draw attention in certain ways. She mentions a specific advertisement and layout and how it pleasures her yet makes her angry. The social notions of beauty are also largely related to these topics in this article. It looks at what is considered to be beautiful, and what is not.
Wysocki says, "...the principles and guidelines that I've discussed for analyzing and giving visual form to texts are not neutral or universal.... They too arise out of and then in turn help shape our senses of who we are and what we are capable of doing (or not) in the world."
The separations as well as relations of form and content are brought up in the text. Wysocki also discusses how Kant believes that "the beautiful is that which pleases universally."
Wysocki's article relates to past articles we have read because in a few places, she talks about teaching skills and the ways that visual forms and content in texts should be taught. Many of the articles we have read have at least had an underlying, if not straightforward, motive to teach students something new and helpful about writing. Both of our textbooks, in fact, were written for the benefit of college students. Even though Wysocki's article may not be solely focused on teaching practices, it still has something to say about it and has some kind of teaching purpose.
Pre-reading:
Questions for Discussion and Journaling:
2. Wysocki has a very interesting way of setting up and formatting her text. She highlights a few different areas of the text, adds a few images to present specific examples, and has different headings and font structures. These all make the text quite visual and present it in a different way than many writers. Bernhardt would not explain it as a low-visual text because it is quite informative and has many visual aspects that may not be perfectly apparent at first.
3. I can see what Wysocki means when she discusses the Peek ad. When she referenced the shapes and the lightest area of the ad and how it draws attention to those who look at it, I understood exactly what she was saying. My eyes were drawn to the lightest shape, which is also centralized in the ad. Personally, though, it doesn't do much for me. It doesn't exactly capture my interest. While looking at it, your eyes are drawn to certain things, but I would not want to purchase the book nor learn more about it. People do a good job of capturing readers' attention through advertisements, but if a person were not specifically interested in what the ad had to show, it would not necessarily affect them very much.
Applying and Exploring Ideas:
2. I definitely think that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There are some ways that I can understand what Kant is saying, but I mostly disagree with those ideas. I agree with Wysocki on the subject. Society plays a huge role in what is considered beautiful. We are usually told what is beautiful and what isn't. Many people follow these "rules," but many people do not. Everyone thinks differently of what is beautiful. We all have our own personal notions of beauty and are visually pleased in different ways. What is beautiful to one person may be "ugly" to another. There are some things that the majority of people find beautiful or pleasing, but there will always be a handful of people who see a completely opposite side to it and have no interest. Society, and our own personal views, are the basics to what is considered beautiful and what isn't. Yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Meta Moment:
This statement applies to Wysocki's article because it is basically saying there are different ways that visual texts affect readers, and each person is entranced by a visual in their own way by certain aspects of it. This also applies to other visual art forms. Writers and artists usually know exactly how to pull in their readers/viewers and focus on certain areas of their work. However, some things may not work for everyone; some things affect people in separate ways.
My thoughts:
I thought the topic of this article was interesting, but at times confusing. It was especially confusing when she delved more into the work of Kant. All of the structure diagrams and the whole concept itself didn't completely click with me as to how it related to the rest of the article. It was also kind of difficult to understand right away exactly what point Wysocki was trying to make. However, it made more sense toward the end and it was a refreshing article, even though it was quite long. It was slightly different than a lot of the articles we usually read.
It's interesting because I just did an assignment on the social notions of beauty, so this is a topic that has recently peaked my interest and has been in the back of my mind. It was also interesting to me how Kant believes that beauty is universal and we all think of the same things as beautiful. I disagree with this because everyone has different ideas of what is beautiful and what isn't.
In "The Sticky Embrace of Beauty," Anne Frances Wysocki discusses the visual forms in texts and how they effect readers and draw attention in certain ways. She mentions a specific advertisement and layout and how it pleasures her yet makes her angry. The social notions of beauty are also largely related to these topics in this article. It looks at what is considered to be beautiful, and what is not.
Wysocki says, "...the principles and guidelines that I've discussed for analyzing and giving visual form to texts are not neutral or universal.... They too arise out of and then in turn help shape our senses of who we are and what we are capable of doing (or not) in the world."
The separations as well as relations of form and content are brought up in the text. Wysocki also discusses how Kant believes that "the beautiful is that which pleases universally."
Wysocki's article relates to past articles we have read because in a few places, she talks about teaching skills and the ways that visual forms and content in texts should be taught. Many of the articles we have read have at least had an underlying, if not straightforward, motive to teach students something new and helpful about writing. Both of our textbooks, in fact, were written for the benefit of college students. Even though Wysocki's article may not be solely focused on teaching practices, it still has something to say about it and has some kind of teaching purpose.
Pre-reading:
This is a magazine cover which advertises many different things within the issue, mostly dealing with sex. Personally, I look up to Demi Lovato and I am a big fan of her and her music. I like the fact that the magazine has a story about her, which is clearly meant to be inspiring because it shares the story of everything she went through. What makes me angry, however, is that this cover is associating her with all of the sexual topics as well, and even though she is just the cover girl, she is not meant to be part of those stories. As the cover girl, the headline for her story should be much bigger, but they made it so that the sexual topics' headings are the largest ones on the page. They are the first thing people see besides the image of Demi, and therefore most people will typically be more drawn to those topics and want to buy the magazine solely for those reasons.
Questions for Discussion and Journaling:
2. Wysocki has a very interesting way of setting up and formatting her text. She highlights a few different areas of the text, adds a few images to present specific examples, and has different headings and font structures. These all make the text quite visual and present it in a different way than many writers. Bernhardt would not explain it as a low-visual text because it is quite informative and has many visual aspects that may not be perfectly apparent at first.
3. I can see what Wysocki means when she discusses the Peek ad. When she referenced the shapes and the lightest area of the ad and how it draws attention to those who look at it, I understood exactly what she was saying. My eyes were drawn to the lightest shape, which is also centralized in the ad. Personally, though, it doesn't do much for me. It doesn't exactly capture my interest. While looking at it, your eyes are drawn to certain things, but I would not want to purchase the book nor learn more about it. People do a good job of capturing readers' attention through advertisements, but if a person were not specifically interested in what the ad had to show, it would not necessarily affect them very much.
Applying and Exploring Ideas:
2. I definitely think that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There are some ways that I can understand what Kant is saying, but I mostly disagree with those ideas. I agree with Wysocki on the subject. Society plays a huge role in what is considered beautiful. We are usually told what is beautiful and what isn't. Many people follow these "rules," but many people do not. Everyone thinks differently of what is beautiful. We all have our own personal notions of beauty and are visually pleased in different ways. What is beautiful to one person may be "ugly" to another. There are some things that the majority of people find beautiful or pleasing, but there will always be a handful of people who see a completely opposite side to it and have no interest. Society, and our own personal views, are the basics to what is considered beautiful and what isn't. Yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Meta Moment:
This statement applies to Wysocki's article because it is basically saying there are different ways that visual texts affect readers, and each person is entranced by a visual in their own way by certain aspects of it. This also applies to other visual art forms. Writers and artists usually know exactly how to pull in their readers/viewers and focus on certain areas of their work. However, some things may not work for everyone; some things affect people in separate ways.
My thoughts:
I thought the topic of this article was interesting, but at times confusing. It was especially confusing when she delved more into the work of Kant. All of the structure diagrams and the whole concept itself didn't completely click with me as to how it related to the rest of the article. It was also kind of difficult to understand right away exactly what point Wysocki was trying to make. However, it made more sense toward the end and it was a refreshing article, even though it was quite long. It was slightly different than a lot of the articles we usually read.
It's interesting because I just did an assignment on the social notions of beauty, so this is a topic that has recently peaked my interest and has been in the back of my mind. It was also interesting to me how Kant believes that beauty is universal and we all think of the same things as beautiful. I disagree with this because everyone has different ideas of what is beautiful and what isn't.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Reading Response #12
Summary and Synthesis:
In "From Pencils to Pixels: The Stages of Literacy Technologies" by Dennis Baron, the relevance between literacy and technology and the importance of the two in the writing world is discussed. Baron believes that all writing is technological; it is "a way of engineering materials in order to accomplish an end." His point begins with the development of the pencil. He explains how even though a pencil is more simple than a computer, it is still a complicated piece of technology. After discussing the advancements of the pencil, Baron adds that "the first writing technology was writing itself."Baron also discusses the history of technology and writing utensils--i.e. the pencil--and its purposes in the past. They were first used to record, instead of for communication.
The topic of originality and fraud is discussed in Baron's essay, making it easy to compare to other articles we have read. Past articles have discussed plagiarism and originality within a text, and how it is easy to copy someone else's ideas. Baron furthers these topics and explains how the computer and other aspects of writing technologies make it hard to prove credibility and authentication.
Pre-reading:
Technology, by my definition, are kinds of advanced tools used to make a task easier and to serve a helpful purpose to those who use them. For example, we have cell phones, computers, televisions, and digital cameras. Technology is always being improved and people are always trying to find new ways to make it more efficient for people.
Questions for Discussion and Journaling:
2. I do not think that Baron is trying to give this message in his essay. Baron explains the way writing technologies have changed and how they have affected the way people read and write. I think that he carries this throughout his essay. It seems to be implied that, even though he himself is uncertain, the nature of writing will forever be developing and changing over time with the advancements of technologies.
My thoughts:
I really enjoyed Baron's essay. It caused me to really think about technology. It was a completely different take on writing and in turn was refreshing to read. Although it was a longer piece, I liked how Baron broke each topic down into subheadings. It was easier to read than past articles we have read, and Baron made a lot of sense. It was pretty simple and easy to understand.
In "From Pencils to Pixels: The Stages of Literacy Technologies" by Dennis Baron, the relevance between literacy and technology and the importance of the two in the writing world is discussed. Baron believes that all writing is technological; it is "a way of engineering materials in order to accomplish an end." His point begins with the development of the pencil. He explains how even though a pencil is more simple than a computer, it is still a complicated piece of technology. After discussing the advancements of the pencil, Baron adds that "the first writing technology was writing itself."Baron also discusses the history of technology and writing utensils--i.e. the pencil--and its purposes in the past. They were first used to record, instead of for communication.
The topic of originality and fraud is discussed in Baron's essay, making it easy to compare to other articles we have read. Past articles have discussed plagiarism and originality within a text, and how it is easy to copy someone else's ideas. Baron furthers these topics and explains how the computer and other aspects of writing technologies make it hard to prove credibility and authentication.
Pre-reading:
Technology, by my definition, are kinds of advanced tools used to make a task easier and to serve a helpful purpose to those who use them. For example, we have cell phones, computers, televisions, and digital cameras. Technology is always being improved and people are always trying to find new ways to make it more efficient for people.
Questions for Discussion and Journaling:
2. I do not think that Baron is trying to give this message in his essay. Baron explains the way writing technologies have changed and how they have affected the way people read and write. I think that he carries this throughout his essay. It seems to be implied that, even though he himself is uncertain, the nature of writing will forever be developing and changing over time with the advancements of technologies.
My thoughts:
I really enjoyed Baron's essay. It caused me to really think about technology. It was a completely different take on writing and in turn was refreshing to read. Although it was a longer piece, I liked how Baron broke each topic down into subheadings. It was easier to read than past articles we have read, and Baron made a lot of sense. It was pretty simple and easy to understand.
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