While reading Identity, Authority, and Learning to Write in New Workplaces by Elizabeth Wardle she described three ways that new comers try to belong to a community: Engagement, Imagination, and Alignment. "Engagement entails a development of a common enterprise between the new comers and the alumni which will help shape the identities in relation to one another (184)." An example would be working together on a project. This can be both positive and negative. If both groups do not agree with each other, negative judgements may be formed. "Imagination, or the process of expanding, means for new comers to broaden their identity that connects to an extended identity (185)." An example would be suggesting a new idea to help better the group, but this can also be both beneficial and hurtful. "Alignment entails negotiating perspectives, finding common ground, and defining broad visions and aspirations (186-87)." An example could be a debate or argument between new comers and old-timers. This requires both creativity and acceptance of new ideas. This can however violate that person's send of self, which could lead to their identity being destroyed.
For our final paper (Project 4) the discourse community I decided to write about was Athletic Trainers, which I will also incorporate with athletes. Not only do new comers have to be accepted into the Athletic Training group, but they must also gain the respect and trust from the athlete they will be working with. You must pass all of the required classes and apply to even be a candidate for selection into the major. You must be able to work with other students and Certified Athletic Trainers, along with a variety of sports teams of all different ages. This is a major that requires members to think on their feet and react to situations immediately, because it is a medical field. It also requires a lot of time and work, meaning that this is not for everyone. Because this is such a small group of people, it is a pretty "tight-knit" group making it hard for new comers to fit in. But once a new comers has proven themselves and their accepted, it is a hard group to leave.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Post 10
While reading "From Pencils to Pixels" by Dennis Baron he admits"How the computer will eventually alter literacy practices remains to be seen" (439). Clearly at this point in time, the computer has changed the literacy practices of individuals dramatically. I think that that computers have decreased the understanding of grammar because some teenagers and other users feel that they do not have to use proper spelling or punctuation. I am also guilty of this. Another thing I think technology has effected is talking on the phone and actually having a conversation with someone. I rarely call me friends anymore and my roommates and I usually just send text messages back and forth. We actually fight over who will call and order the pizza because we avoid talking to people on the phone. My writing has also been shaped by the abbreviations used online and in text messages. For example: "lol" - laugh out loud, "nbd"- no big deal, "omg" - oh my God/gosh, and "btw" by the way, just to name a few. Sometimes I find myself putting these abbreviations into my English papers for class. In other words, technology has shaped our writing because we grew up in the "technology-age."
Another way to express meaning other than writing is through audio, video, photography, design, etc. In "The Future of Literacy" the multiple authors mention how students are composing more than just written language to express meaning. Some of the things I compose are pictures. Every time I experience something new or I am wanting to remember a memory, I take a photograph. I do this because it means more to me than words. Everyone has their own interpretation of an image, but when the image is yours then you have a personal connection to it and what it means.
Overall, technology has changed the way we write and view writing.
Another way to express meaning other than writing is through audio, video, photography, design, etc. In "The Future of Literacy" the multiple authors mention how students are composing more than just written language to express meaning. Some of the things I compose are pictures. Every time I experience something new or I am wanting to remember a memory, I take a photograph. I do this because it means more to me than words. Everyone has their own interpretation of an image, but when the image is yours then you have a personal connection to it and what it means.
Overall, technology has changed the way we write and view writing.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Post 9
A literacy event as defined by Shirley Brice Heath in her article Protean Shapes in Literacy Events: Ever-Shifting Oral and Literate Traditions is, “a conceptual tool useful in examining within particular communities of modern society the actual forms and functions of oral and literate traditions and co-existing relationships between spoken and written language." Heath also defines a literacy event as, "any occasion in which a piece of writing is integral to the nature of participants’ interactions and their interpretive processes.” (371) Heath, a professor of linguistics and English as Stanford University, studied literacy events in an African American community known as Trackton. An example that she studied was at church. Following along in the Bible as the minister preaches or singing along with the choir from a book of hymns is a great example. Many different literacy skill levels can be found at a church service, but yet they can all come together and form an expected pattern or model.
This can be applied to Sheman Alexie's literacy narrative The Joy of Reading and Writing because he is proof that literacy events are how we first learn to understand and eventually comprehend how to read. He went from looking at pictures to understanding what a paragraph was to learning how to read in school and eventually becoming a writer. Without using these tools he would not have been as advanced as he was at such a young age. He also discusses how he overcame the judgements of Indians in America and also how he thinks he is perceived by Americans. This helps the reader relate to him and get a better understanding of why it was so important that literacy events influenced his ability to read and write.
This can be applied to Sheman Alexie's literacy narrative The Joy of Reading and Writing because he is proof that literacy events are how we first learn to understand and eventually comprehend how to read. He went from looking at pictures to understanding what a paragraph was to learning how to read in school and eventually becoming a writer. Without using these tools he would not have been as advanced as he was at such a young age. He also discusses how he overcame the judgements of Indians in America and also how he thinks he is perceived by Americans. This helps the reader relate to him and get a better understanding of why it was so important that literacy events influenced his ability to read and write.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Winning isn't Everything, It's the Only Thing
Winning isn’t Everything, It’s the Only Thing
Rhetoric - the art or study of using language effectively and persuasively.
Advertisements are everywhere. We cannot read the paper, turn on the television, or even walk down the street without seeing them. They have one purpose, and that is to persuade us into purchasing their product by making their product appealing. The creators of these advertisements have many ways to try and convince us that what they are trying to sell is something essential to our lives and they use rhetoric to do just that. For this visual analysis I chose a Gatorade advertisement that is promoting the “Tiger” series.
Keith Grant-Davie defines the term rhetorical situation as, “a situation where a speaker or writer sees a need to change reality and sees that the change may be effected through rhetorical discourse.” (105) In other words it tries to get people to do something, which in this case would be to drink the Tiger series Gatorade. They use the professional golfer Tiger Woods as the promoter of this sports drink and almost everyone knows at least who he is. The first text you read when you look at this advertisement is “being a winner… takes hard work and sweat,” which then presents Tiger Woods as an example of a “winner.” In the advertisement you will see the upper half of his face with a determined look in his eyes and he appears to be sweating out Gatorade. This adds a visual to the text and helps the reader get a better understanding of the point they are trying to get across. He is obviously a very successful athlete and a role model to young golfers aspiring to do as well as him and therefore the athletic population can identify with him. The audience that this advertisement is trying to appeal to is athletes or the competitive person, someone who strives to win. Targeting this audience makes it clear as to why Gatorade is usually associated with sports. The argument here is basically saying drink this Gatorade series and you could be a “winner” like Tiger Woods.
The other famous Gatorade slogan “Is it in you?” can also be seen on this advertisement. And although the “it” is not clearly defined, we have an unconscious understanding of what we think it could be. Not only are they literally taking about consuming Gatorade’s product, but they are also implying the drive and determination to be as successful as Tiger Woods or any other athlete. And since this product is usually associated with sports it allows us to believe that competitive people have the “it” they are referring to. By using a famous athlete, like Tiger Woods or someone else that people strive to be like, it motivates the interested audience to acquire the “it” that they seem to have and that Gatorade promotes. All of these persuasive antics have one common goal, to sell Gatorade. This is the exigence, or need that is addressed by communication. With exigence also come constraints, which are factors that limit or focus the viewer’s response.
Tiger Woods’ recent actions, like the scandal with his wife, have decreased his credibility as an idol in our society. Yet they are trying to present him as a “winner.” This could constrain the appeal of this type of Gatorade. He lost a lot of fans after his incident and that could have a negative effect on the sales of this product. Another constraint could be the ratio of the population that do not work out or do not participate in competition. Not everyone can relate to a professional athlete, which makes it hard for him or her to completely understand the true meaning of this advertisement. A final constraint could be the cost of making this advertisement or the size. The creators must get their argument across, but within a certain budget and area. This could be difficult because more could be added to the advertisement in order to make it more appealing and easier to understand. Because of these constraints the creators must use certain artistic appeals, like logos, ethos, and pathos, to persuade the audience in purchasing their product.
Logos, the reason of the argument or statistics, can be found in the right corner between the two slogans. It states that Gatorade can keep the body hydrated and replenish the electrolytes, vitamins, and minerals that are lost during sweating. This helps imply that there are some scientific facts behind their reasoning for wanted to sell Gatorade, especially to athletes. Pathos, or emotional appeals, can be located in the picture of Tiger Woods and in slogans. The determination in his eyes play with our emotions by getting us to ask the questions, “Why is he so determined?” and “What is he so strong-minded about?” That is when the slogan, “being a winner…takes hard work and sweat,” helps tie our thoughts together and gets us to unconsciously make assumptions about Tiger Woods as a winner. Then it gets us to wonder whether or not we have what “it” takes, like in the slogan, “Is it in you?” Putting together the logos and pathos allows us to shape our judgment about the author’s credibility or character, which are the ethos of this advertisement. Examples of ethos are the type of appropriate language used, whether there is bias present, or if there is correct grammar. This advertisement seems to stay neutral and use effective and suitable language and grammar, allowing us to see the author as a credible source. Many different rhetorical communications go into the making of an advertisement, but they determine whether or not it is successful.
After careful analyzing of this Gatorade advertisement I think that it had the potential to be very effective, until Tiger Woods’ credibility decreased along with his athleticism. After the scandal with his wife he was on quite the losing streak. That is probably why Gatorade decided to discontinue the Tiger series in 2010 after his life and career went spiraling out of control. I believe that this advertisement and product had the potential to be very successful, but Tiger Woods’ bad decisions prevented it from even getting the chance.
References:
"Gatorade Getting Divorce from Tiger Woods; Drops Tiger Drink!" Whyfame. 9 Dec. 2009. Web. 9 Feb. 2012.
Grant-Davie, Keith. "Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents." Writing About Writing (1997): 101-19. Print.
Carroll, Laura. "Backpacks and Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis." Writing Spaces; Readings on Writing 1 (2012): 45-58. Print.
Rhetoric - the art or study of using language effectively and persuasively.
Advertisements are everywhere. We cannot read the paper, turn on the television, or even walk down the street without seeing them. They have one purpose, and that is to persuade us into purchasing their product by making their product appealing. The creators of these advertisements have many ways to try and convince us that what they are trying to sell is something essential to our lives and they use rhetoric to do just that. For this visual analysis I chose a Gatorade advertisement that is promoting the “Tiger” series.
Keith Grant-Davie defines the term rhetorical situation as, “a situation where a speaker or writer sees a need to change reality and sees that the change may be effected through rhetorical discourse.” (105) In other words it tries to get people to do something, which in this case would be to drink the Tiger series Gatorade. They use the professional golfer Tiger Woods as the promoter of this sports drink and almost everyone knows at least who he is. The first text you read when you look at this advertisement is “being a winner… takes hard work and sweat,” which then presents Tiger Woods as an example of a “winner.” In the advertisement you will see the upper half of his face with a determined look in his eyes and he appears to be sweating out Gatorade. This adds a visual to the text and helps the reader get a better understanding of the point they are trying to get across. He is obviously a very successful athlete and a role model to young golfers aspiring to do as well as him and therefore the athletic population can identify with him. The audience that this advertisement is trying to appeal to is athletes or the competitive person, someone who strives to win. Targeting this audience makes it clear as to why Gatorade is usually associated with sports. The argument here is basically saying drink this Gatorade series and you could be a “winner” like Tiger Woods.
The other famous Gatorade slogan “Is it in you?” can also be seen on this advertisement. And although the “it” is not clearly defined, we have an unconscious understanding of what we think it could be. Not only are they literally taking about consuming Gatorade’s product, but they are also implying the drive and determination to be as successful as Tiger Woods or any other athlete. And since this product is usually associated with sports it allows us to believe that competitive people have the “it” they are referring to. By using a famous athlete, like Tiger Woods or someone else that people strive to be like, it motivates the interested audience to acquire the “it” that they seem to have and that Gatorade promotes. All of these persuasive antics have one common goal, to sell Gatorade. This is the exigence, or need that is addressed by communication. With exigence also come constraints, which are factors that limit or focus the viewer’s response.
Tiger Woods’ recent actions, like the scandal with his wife, have decreased his credibility as an idol in our society. Yet they are trying to present him as a “winner.” This could constrain the appeal of this type of Gatorade. He lost a lot of fans after his incident and that could have a negative effect on the sales of this product. Another constraint could be the ratio of the population that do not work out or do not participate in competition. Not everyone can relate to a professional athlete, which makes it hard for him or her to completely understand the true meaning of this advertisement. A final constraint could be the cost of making this advertisement or the size. The creators must get their argument across, but within a certain budget and area. This could be difficult because more could be added to the advertisement in order to make it more appealing and easier to understand. Because of these constraints the creators must use certain artistic appeals, like logos, ethos, and pathos, to persuade the audience in purchasing their product.
Logos, the reason of the argument or statistics, can be found in the right corner between the two slogans. It states that Gatorade can keep the body hydrated and replenish the electrolytes, vitamins, and minerals that are lost during sweating. This helps imply that there are some scientific facts behind their reasoning for wanted to sell Gatorade, especially to athletes. Pathos, or emotional appeals, can be located in the picture of Tiger Woods and in slogans. The determination in his eyes play with our emotions by getting us to ask the questions, “Why is he so determined?” and “What is he so strong-minded about?” That is when the slogan, “being a winner…takes hard work and sweat,” helps tie our thoughts together and gets us to unconsciously make assumptions about Tiger Woods as a winner. Then it gets us to wonder whether or not we have what “it” takes, like in the slogan, “Is it in you?” Putting together the logos and pathos allows us to shape our judgment about the author’s credibility or character, which are the ethos of this advertisement. Examples of ethos are the type of appropriate language used, whether there is bias present, or if there is correct grammar. This advertisement seems to stay neutral and use effective and suitable language and grammar, allowing us to see the author as a credible source. Many different rhetorical communications go into the making of an advertisement, but they determine whether or not it is successful.
After careful analyzing of this Gatorade advertisement I think that it had the potential to be very effective, until Tiger Woods’ credibility decreased along with his athleticism. After the scandal with his wife he was on quite the losing streak. That is probably why Gatorade decided to discontinue the Tiger series in 2010 after his life and career went spiraling out of control. I believe that this advertisement and product had the potential to be very successful, but Tiger Woods’ bad decisions prevented it from even getting the chance.
References:
"Gatorade Getting Divorce from Tiger Woods; Drops Tiger Drink!" Whyfame. 9 Dec. 2009. Web. 9 Feb. 2012.
Grant-Davie, Keith. "Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents." Writing About Writing (1997): 101-19. Print.
Carroll, Laura. "Backpacks and Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis." Writing Spaces; Readings on Writing 1 (2012): 45-58. Print.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Post 8
According to Deborah Brandt in her article Sponsors of Literacy a sponsor is, "a powerful figures who were usually richer, more knowledgeable, and more entrenched than the sponsored, sponsors nevertheless enter a reciprocal relationship with those they underwrite, but also stand to gain benefits from their success." Some of the most common examples we think of are parents, teachers/professors, editors, authors, etc. A Literacy Sponsor is "someone or some institution that helps or hinders your path to becoming literate." In Malcom X's case some of his sponsors were his teacher, the Norfolk Prison Colony, Bimbi, and Elijah Muhammad. Not all sponsors have a positive effect on an individual. For example Malcom X's teacher blatantly told him that he would never become a lawyer based on his race, causing him to drop out. However, this influenced him to fight for African American rights by looking up to leaders like Bimbi, Muhammad, and the Norfolk Prison Colony. His sponsors were determined by socioeconomic conditions like race and class because that's just how it was back then. Many saw African Americans as inferior and they were therefore treated as such. His sponsors constrained him by providing limited resources and negativity toward him and his race. A person can only learn what is provided for them. Although these constraints may seem to have limited him or provide negativity, they could have been what sparked his drive or interest in fighting for justice, but that leaves us wondering what could he have been like if the discrimination was not a factor?
Monday, February 6, 2012
Rhetorical Analysis - Rough Draft
Rhetoric - the art or study of using language effectively and persuasively.
Advertisements are everywhere. We cannot read the paper, turn on the television, or even walk down the street without seeing them. They have one purpose, and that is to persuade us into purchasing their product by making their product appealing. The creators of these advertisements have many ways to try and convince us that what they are trying to sell is something essential to our lives and they use rhetoric to do just that. For this visual analysis I chose a Gatorade advertisement that is promoting the “Tiger” series.
Keith Grant-Davie defines the term rhetorical situation as, “a situation where a speaker or writer sees a need to change reality and sees that the change may be effected through rhetorical discourse.” (105) In other words it tries to get people to do something, which in this case would be to drink the Tiger series Gatorade. They use the professional golfer Tiger Woods as the promoter of this sports drink and almost everyone knows at least who he is. The first text you read when you look at this advertisement is “being a winner… takes hard work and sweat,” which then presents Tiger Woods as an example of a “winner.” In the advertisement you will see the upper half of his face with a determined look in his eyes and he appears to be sweating out Gatorade. This adds a visual to the text and helps the reader get a better understanding of the point they are trying to get across. He is obviously a very successful athlete and a role model to young golfers aspiring to do as well as him and therefore the athletic population can identify with him. The audience that this advertisement is trying to appeal to is athletes or the competitive person, someone who strives to win. This is basically saying drink this Gatorade series and you could be a “winner” like Tiger Woods.
The other famous Gatorade slogan “Is it in you?” can also be seen on this advertisement. And although the “it” is not clearly defined, we have an unconscious understanding of what we think it could be. Not only are they literally taking about consuming Gatorade, but they are also implying the drive and determination to be as successful as Tiger Woods or any other athlete. And since this product is usually associated with sports it allows us to believe that competitive people have the “it” they are referring to. By using a famous athlete, like Tiger Woods or someone else that people strive to be like, it motivates the interested audience to acquire the “it” that they seem to have and that Gatorade promotes.
However, Tiger Woods’ recent actions, like the scandal with his wife, have decreased his credibility as an idol in our society. Yet they are trying to present him as a “winner.” This could constrain the appeal of this type of Gatorade.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
The rhetorical situation of this Gatorade advertisement is to persuade viewers to buy the new "Tiger" series. Obviously almost everyone know who the golf professional Tiger Woods is, especially after the scandal with his wife went public. The rhetors of this advertisement are being or becoming a winner like Tiger Woods, who the product is based off of. The statement "...being a winner takes hard work and sweat" appeals to those who are competitive. The audience would be mainly athletes or the exercising population, because this product is usually associated with sports. Therefore the exigence of this would be the need to win. The famous slogan "Is it in you?" not only relates to Gatorade literally being consumed in you, but the drive and ability to perform like the athletes featured in their advertisements. The "it" relates to a certain trait that most athletes or competitive people have or it relates to the ability to perform at a certain level and win whatever anyone may be participating in. This does not mean however that nonathletic or noncompetitve people do not find this advertisement appealing. All different types of people consume Gatorade. The constraints however are the fact that the population that it appeals to is limited. Gatorade appeals more to a 21 year old soccer player, than it does to a 75 year old grandmother. This article by Keith Grant-Davie is very similar to "Backpacks and Briefcases" that we had to read earlier and both articles helped me understand the meaning of rhetorical situation and I feel that it will come in handy when I go to write my visual analysis.
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