Project 1 Intro/Conversation

     For long periods of time, any kind of personal writing within an academic text has been looked down upon. Teachers have been teaching their students to avoid the use of words such as I, me, you, we, us, they, they’re, their, and other terms that show possession. These possessive terms suggest a much more personal form of writing and one that is much more opinionated as well. However, many rhetorical texts feed off of these personal opinions and ideas. They are just written in a way that seem less opinion-oriented and are not as obvious to readers. Rhetorical research papers are not limited to simply looking up information and putting it into the paper as “evidence.” Many articles have been written as arguments and conversations between the writer and the audience. These arguments require the writer to look into different perspectives and sides of a topic. The writer’s purpose is to argue their point, and also discuss and detail other thoughts and ideas about the same topic. They can show their own point of view without being nailed down to something specific. Writers can even give both ideas a “winning” chance by representing every idea in a positive way. They don’t argue that one idea is “right” over another; they research opposing ideas to discover the argument in a construct. The argument comes from past ideas and conversations. People come up with ideas and viewpoints based on these past conversations and arguments over a topic. Every argument is brought up by another argument.

     The reality is that writers cannot avoid at least some kind of personal writing within a text. Even if it is a research paper, research that is found has most likely somehow been formed because of a past construct or idea of the same or a similar matter. Writing, even in an academic setting, has personal attributes and reflects certain values, virtues, and emotions. These types of researched writings and argumentative texts tend to have some kind of effect on its readers, whether it be emotional, logical, social, or even economical. Overall, these effects are quite personal and any type of research has the ability to create further arguments and conversation, which is what these texts are within themselves.

     Stuart Greene’s article, “Argument as Conversation: The Role of Inquiry in Writing a Research Assignment,” explains some of these concepts according to this particular writing construct. Greene’s focus lies on arguments and writing in terms of conversations. He claims that “…you need to demonstrate to readers that you understand the conversation: what others have said in the past, what the context is, and what you anticipate is the direction this conversation might take” (19).

     In other words, context is everything.  For example, in sociology, context is very important and is viewed on very personal levels. Every person sees some kind of behavioral or societal concept in a different way based on their own personal experiences and their own culture in the society. This is similar in writing. The difference being that the contexts are taken and formed into language to be put into words, all for an audience to read, interpret, analyze, and think about themselves. It is all very much provoked by thought and emotion. Context is important in writing because for a successful conversation, a writer must take on opposing views and try to understand the conflict at hand. The point is not to know immediately what to research or to only research one aspect. Truthfully, a writer or researcher finds out much new information during the research process, learning more about the topic itself and discovering completely new arguments that can cause even more debate and controversy. This all has some kind of personal basis.
     Donald Murray also discusses the concept of personality in writing with his article, “All Writing Is Autobiography.” He claims that, “…the texts we create in our own minds while we read—or just after we read—become part of the life we believe we lived.” Murray thinks that person experience plays a large role in reading and writing. People read and write what interests them or about things that they can relate to. A person would not read or write something they did not enjoy unless they were required to. People’s own lives typically revolve around what they choose to read and write during their time.

     Voice is another term that can be used with this writing construct. Peter Elbow writes about voice in his article, “Voice in Writing Again: Embracing Contraries.” Voice is a clear expression of who we are in our writing. With the person elements through voice, Elbow also discusses the importance of “embracing contraries” and thinking about both sides to something. Two opposing views can have a very personal basis and reasoning, which can be connected with our own voices in writing.