Thlog #5

Well here is this weeks thlog. This week we worked talked about “moves” again in order to prepare us for our PB1B as well as writing project 2. We also talked about different disciplines since that is what wp2 calls for. Two scholarly articles from different disciplines. I found the They Say, I say appendix useful because it helped me with my WP2 with finding some common moves that authors make now. I found searching for moves in the scholarly articles somewhat difficult because the way they are set-up so formally makes it difficult to read. The moves tend to get lost within the article and it is a hassle to go through the article extremely slowly in order to find them. The wp2 did connect with me in real life because I chose family abuse as my topic. My family actually experienced family abuse at the hands of my mother, more so my two younger sisters. My mother would neglect them and threaten them if they did something she did not like. She would also force my sister to go to the hospital for no reason and be injected with different things probably getting her actually sick since she did not need the meds. SO this writing project hit home because I chose a topic that my family personally experienced. I found on article interesting though for my writing project by the LA Times, which said a study done in 1986 showed that most women murderers experienced some form family abuse. Be it while they were a child or in an abusive relationship.

PB1B

When one reads a piece of writing one usually just reads it and just points out the major parts of the piece. What one usually fails to notice are the little things that make up most of the piece, these little “moves” can sometimes set up a major part of the writing and cause a major effect that one will not know was caused by the “move”. “Moves” are things writers say or do that can cause an effect or set the direction for a piece whether it is good or bad is up to the writer. While some moves may belong to to only certain writers, other more generalized “moves” can be found in the appendix of the book They Say, I Say.

            One such move is introducing quotations. An example of this is, “Anne Friedman, a specialist in genre theory, points out that…” (Dirk 251). This example is found in the article Navigating Genres by Kerry Dirk. The author most likely used this to show that people from other fields hold similar views as him. This is pretty effective since it does increase the support for his statements. Another move that is shown in Dirk’s article is introducing stand views. This includes things like “You probably…”, “Americans today”, and things along those lines. An example from Dirk’s piece is “You are probably familiar with…” (Dirk 250). Dirk most likely used this as way to get readers comfortable with what he has to say. It is effective because it can cause readers to read on believing what he has to say applies to what we normally do. Another commonly used “move” is explaining quotations. Yeah who knew that could be one huh? This “move” usually starts off with “in other words” or similar phrase. An example is, “In other words, most of our…” (Carroll 48). There really is no reason why a writer should not explain a quotation. The writer’s explanation can make a quote easier to understand and also show the writer’s stance. This example is from Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis by Laura Bolin Carroll. Another “move” is introducing what “they say”. In Alex Reid’s Why Blog? Searching for Writing on the Web he starts off his article with this move. It is shown in the phrase “As Malcolm Gladwell and others have observed…” (Reid 302). Reid most likely uses this since it is a fairly easy way to start of a piece of writing with some support right off the back. One final move that I will describe from the appendix is introducing something implied or assumed. In the article SO What? Who Cares? by Saying Why it Matters contains an example of this. The example is, “What Grady implicitly says here…” (Matters 98). He most likely uses this to clear up any confusion for readers who may have read the quote and not know what it is saying.

            One “move” I saw in Navigating Genres by Kerry Dirk is one that I call the “joke beginning”. This move basically starts a piece off with a joke or something funny to catch a reader’s eye. An example is “What do you get when you rewind a country song?” “You get your wife back, your job back and your dog back…” (Dirk 249). Dirk most likely used this in order to easily grab a reader’s attention since it pokes fun at country music. It is effective because the funny start will make a reader believe the rest of the article will be just as entertaining as the beginning. Another “move” that I saw is what I call the “bullet list”. I found an example of this “move” in Dirk’s article where a statement is then followed by a bulleted list. I believe the author chose to use bullet points to make the list because bullet points make everything seem much more defined. It is also easier to understand and read each part. This effective as the use of bullet points allows the writer to list off things in a clear and defined manner. One “move” I saw in Alex Reid’s Why Blog? Searching for Writing on the We, is one that I call “giving me them facts”. For example, “According to the 2008 National Survey of Student Engagement, the typical first year student writes 92 pages…” (Reid 302). He is giving statistical facts and numbers. Which is why I called the “move”, “giving me them facts.” The writer most likely used this to not only inform the reader but also give some sort of support for their argument. It is effective in this case because a student may read this and be like “Wow that’s a lot of writing, I don’t like writing…” so it entices readers to continue on to see what this article is about. Another “move” I found in Reid’s article is the “guiding light of rhetorical questions” “move”. This move essentially gives a list of rhetorical questions which serve as a guide on how to write what the article is talking about, in this case a how to write a blog. Reid most likely uses this in order to persuade people in to starting a blog and then gives them some guiding questions if they choose to write a blog. It is effective because people like to have example of something that is similar to what they are about to write. So, people will most likely come back to the list of rhetorical questions for help. The final “move” I found in my readings is what I call “paragraph titles”. That pretty much sums up the move. An example of this is found in Richard Straub’s article, Responding–Really Responding–to Other Students’ Writing is, “What Are Your Goals” (Straub 17). This “move” basically tells a reader what the paragraph is going to be about. This gives the reader a sense of familiarity when reading the article. Straub most likely uses this “move” in order to give the reader an idea what each paragraph is about and to show separation. He shows that each paragraph while all adding up to the same topic are all their own individual part. It is very effective because it keeps me informed and in the know instead out in the blue.

            “Moves” make up writing. They are the things writers do in order to elicit different effects on the reader. A small phrase can make the piece seem like it was written by a reborn Shakespeare or if it was written by a one-year-old. “Moves” can be found every where we just have to read like a writer would read. So to sum it up “Movesssssssssssssssssss” yeah.

Thlog # 4

Well here is this weeks thlog. The reading that stood out to me was How to Read Like a Writer by Mike Bunn. I found it interesting how Bunn goes into depth how one word can affect readers. These choice can leave a huge impression on readers and whether it is bad or good is entirely up to the choice that the writer makes. What I also found interesting is that it gives subtle hints on what a writer can do to improve their writing like going back and reading the paper to see their writing choices. After reading the paper the writer can then imagine what they could have done differently and how it could effect the reader. This reading actually helps with understanding the concept of “moves”. It describes the choices or the things that writers do in their writing. These “moves” can either make the paper a literary masterpiece or a piece of garbage that should never see the light of day. What I also found interesting is a part where it says “reading won’t help you much unless you learn to read like a writer.” This grabbed my attention because in college most of the stuff you read is somehow related to your academics. Especially, for a writing class where you might have to write papers on a another writers work. If you can read like a writer, you can break down what makes the piece of writing itself. If you can read like a writer, you can get into the woodworks of a piece of writing and in turn improve you own paper.