Thlog 9

This week Zack really helped us with our WP 3s. I was pretty confused when I first read the assignment and when I started to brainstorm, but the work that we did this week really helped me see my way through it. I had a lot of trouble coming up with ideas for my translations and when Zack showed us the examples on Monday it really helped get my mind on the right track.

I believe that the peer review was incredibly helpful and that I noticed quite a few weak points in my analysis and translations. The feedback that I received was insightful and allowed me to see my own work through another pair of eyes. I was told where things were unclear and where I needed to fix some stuff up, but I was also told where I was doing well. Such as in my TV analysis my peers thought that it was not quite there, but they thought the live-tweet was pretty good. I thought about my approach to each one and realized that I just need to go about each translation in the same manner, by looking at examples. To do this I watched a few more TV intros and I think I was able to really improve my work as a whole. I also heavily edited my self-analysis to make it more clear what I was saying and to incorporate more of the course readings. As always I got excellent feedback and was able to really improve my WP as a whole.

WP3 - Translations

Description Of Article

Mike Bunn’s Motivation and Connection: Teaching Reading (and Writing) in the Composition Classroom is all about how to motivate students to write. He basically places the blame on the instructor, writing that creating motivation starts from the beginning of the writing process - with the initial reading of the prompt and course readings. The truth is that most students do not enjoy the writing process, but that at a college level students value the ability to write and realize that it is an essential skill in life. So it is easier to motivate college students, but to further motivate them you have to give them an incentive to write from the very beginning. One way to motivate writers is to make explicit connections between the readings and the writing prompts. Bunn explains that it’s important to think about your own writing style while reading the writing prompt to write more effectively. The best way to read is to think about the techniques the writer is using and how you can apply that to your own writing as well as reading the text as an example of how you should be writing. Bunn claims that reading is one of the best ways to improve your writing, but only if the reading is directly applicable to what it is you are writing about. All in all the best way to motivate students to write is to get them interested in what they are reading and then give assignments that directly draw from that reading.

Self-Analysis

For my piece intended for a younger audience I decided to do something similar to an episode recap at the beginning of a TV show, such as in The Walking Dead the narrator begins with “Previously on The Walking Dead” and then shows scenes from previous episodes. The way that I came up with this was actually through doing some procrastination and watching some TV. I had it in the back of my head that I still needed to come up the ideas for my genre transformation and as I was watching the show The Walking Dead and listening to the intro I thought that I could use the intro to a TV show as my transformation for a younger audience. I figured that a lot of young people watch more TV than people who are older and don’t have as much time to watch TV. To make it applicable to my target audience, someone who is younger than me, I decided it would be a good idea to make the TV show an educational show about writing that airs on PBS.

The way that I went about doing translating the article, is I treated the article as if it was a TV show and I recapped some early concepts in the article as if they were presented last week or earlier on the TV show. The show is titled Motivation and Connection and is played on PBS and is an educational TV show about how to be motivated about writing. It is intended for kids middle school to high school age who want to improve their writing skills (or kids whose parents are forcing them to watch so they can learn to be a better writer).

I think that some of the main conventions and moves of this genre are to orient the viewer/listener so that if they missed something from the last segment or previous week that they can still feel caught up; since it is educational and not suspenseful I think that it is important to give a brief overview of what the current episode will go over just to introduce the audience to the concepts; emphasis of certain words/phrases; and not being overly wordy to the point where I could lose the audience’s attention. To do this I covered the “appropriate and effective” aspects of the article (Bunn, 90). Some of these topics were the ideas Bunn had to motivate students, the research that he conducted, and how to think about the writing process while reading the prompt. While the original purpose of the article was to inform teachers, I adjusted the wording and put it in a way that it would be relatable to students. To do this I had to really think about Bunn’s initial purpose as an author and think about how I could transform that purpose without transforming the information (Bunn, 91).

For my older audience I chose to create a fake live-tweet from a teaching convention that I have dubbed teacher con. I thought of this after I saw a series of ESPN live-tweets of a basketball game. The person whose account I will be tweeting from is Luke Johnson, your average-Joe teacher who is just totally stoked to learn about writing. In fact, he’s so stoked that he thinks he needs to share his favorite presenter, Mike Bunn, with anyone who wasn’t able to attend the conference. I decided that the presentation would be 45 minutes long with Luke tweeting about every 3-5 minutes so that there would be some time for him to actually listen to what the presenter has to say in between tweets. I attempted to get down the main points of the article through the tweets and I figured that I would throw in a general comment every now and then like when he tweeted “only FIVE minutes left…” to make him seem more human.

This was actually a very easy genre to translate to. Tweets tend to be very short and to-the-point because of the 140 character limit, which in some cases made it difficult to fit everything I had to say into one tweet. For this genre I payed attention to my rhetoric and how it would create my tone, because as Janey Boyd puts it how you use rhetoric creates your tone (Boyd, 72). Rhetoric was especially important to attend to in this piece because each tweet is so short that each word carries more impact than if each tweet was an entire paragraph. Some of the conventions I tried to follow were the unwarranted use of hashtags in just about every tweet; adding a timestamp to each tweet to give the reader a sense of the order of how everything went down; in many instances skipping out on certain diction choices and writing in incomplete sentences; that rhetoric is what helped create the casual, but informative tone of the tweets (Boyd, 72).

In each of these pieces I followed Richard Straub’s advice to making a mental checklist of what I was searching for before I even began reading. This made it much easier to follow the prompt because I thought about things like what “the writer [wanted] to accomplish” and then was able to put it into a whole new genre, but still accomplish the writer’s original goals (Straub, 59). While Straub was referring to responding to a peer’s writing it was still applicable in this situation, because I had to find what Bunn’s purpose in the article was to translate it well into a new genre. In writing each piece I did my best to be aware of all the influences going into my writing, whether it be from the tone of the genre I used, the diction, or the format; each one affects how a reader/listener interprets the message I, as a writer, was sending them (Losh, 6). I believe that this in turn helped the framing and overall composition of my piece I had to pay much attention to how I was going to “show” the information to my audience in a different way than Bunn had (Losh, 14).

TV Intro

Previously on Motivation and Connection with Mike Bunn... Mike told us all about how students see writing as a chore, but that it is a necessary skill to learn. Writing is a “necessary evil” to reach your goals in life. While you might not enjoy writing very much or the writing classes that you are in, you will enjoy the benefits of being a great writer. Last week’s guest-host Dana Driscoll told us that writing is a lifelong skill that you will always be working on. That’s right folks, writing isn’t something you’ll just be working on in school. It’s going to stick with you for the rest of your life, so pay attention!

Mike explained to us that one of the most important ways in which you learn and engage in the writing process is how you listen to your teacher; you need to be engaged in the material, not just the subject. By doing this you will make yourself a better writer!

Mike also told us how readers construct reading by bringing their past experiences with them. This led into how reading is like an unspoken conversation between the reader and the writer. Meaning on the page and meaning in your mind interact with each other as you read to create a new, shared meaning. We called this “negotiated meaning.” To make that more relatable to you youngsters think about how your perception of a park is affected by your memories or lack of memories at that park.

Today Mike is going to explain connection between the reading and writing process, the good things that will come of knowing this connection, and how to look at example texts and mold your writing to be like the examples you see.

Live Tweet

“This is Luke Johnson signing on to live-tweet Mike Bunn @ #Teachercon2016” 2/28/16 2:50 PM

“T-minus 5 minutes until Bunn takes the stage #stoked #writing #Teachercon2016” 2/28/16 2:55 PM

“Tune in now for updates on Bunn’s presentation 3:00-3:45 #Teachercon2016” 2/28/16 2:59 PM

“And here is ladies and gentlemen pic.twitter.com/H9cm4q893NFa #Bunn #Teachercon2016” 2/28/16 3:01 PM

“Bunn tells it how it is ‘college students see writing courses as a chore’ #brilliant #Teachercon2016“ 2/28/16 3:03 PM

“Just because students aren’t enjoying writing doesn’t mean they don’t value it says Bunn #Teachercon2016” 2/28/16 3:09 PM

“Bunn blames teachers for not engaging students in reading/writing process ‘motivate them to read in our classes’ #deep #Teachercon2016” 2/28/16 3:11 PM

“‘It’s not always the case that good readers are good writers it’s our job as teachers to show them the way #Teachercon2016” 2/28/16 3:19 PM

“The best way to teach a reading/writing connection is to make explicit connections between assigned reading and writing assignments #Teachercon2016” 2/28/16 3:24 PM

“Halfway done and I already feel like I’ve gained a lot from this brilliant man @mikebunn #beast #Teachercon2016” 2/28/16 3:25 PM

“Last 15 minutes if you’re just tuning in now! #Teachercon2016” 2/28/16 3:30 PM

“Bunn says it’s important to teach students to read prompts ‘with an eye toward their own writing’ #neverthoughtofthat #Teachercon2016” 2/28/16 3:32 PM

(this tweet is in response to the one above)

“@writerluke 82% of students agree that this helps improve their writing #Teachercon2016” 2/28/16 3:33 PM

“Model teacher Tawnya gives writing assignments with #dualpurpose reading for techniques and reading the text as an example #Teachercon2016” 2/28/16 3:38 PM

“there is an ‘apparent need for instructors to teach reading-writing connections’ if we want to improve the writing of our youth #Teachercon2016” 2/28/16 3:40 PM

“Only FIVE minutes left, tune in now if you want to hear @mikebunn closing and conclusion! #Teachercon2016” 2/28/16 3:40 PM

“to increase student success in reading and writing you have to #motivate them #Teachercon2016” 2/28/16 3:43 PM

“Reading improves writing make sure that you are #teaching in a way that you are #motivating students to read and write well #Teachercon2016” 2/28/16 3:45 PM

“Such a wonderful speech! So many insightful comments and suggestions! Can’t wait to see what's in store for the rest of #Teachercon2016” 2/28/16 3:47

“@writerluke signing off now. Glad I could share my experience with all my beautiful followers #Teachercon2016”

Works Cited

Boyd, Janet. "Murder! (Rhetorically Speaking)." Goleta, CA: SB Printer, 2016. 64-77. Print.

Bunn, Mike. "How To Read Like A Writer." Goleta, CA: SB Printer, 2016. 80-94. Print.

Losh, Eliabeth. "Spaces For Writing." Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing. Ed. Jonathan Alexander. Goleta, CA: SB Printer, 2016. 4-15. Print.

Straub, Richard. "Responding - Really Responding - to Other Students' Writing." Goleta, CA: SB Printer, 2016. 58-62. Print.

Thlog 8

This week really helped me understand how to go about writing WP3. When we read the assignment I felt totally confused and had no idea where to go with the prompt, but after this past week I realized I just had to sit down and really think about what genres people use. After brainstorming for a while and with the push from class I was able to come up with two really good ideas to use for the project and I think that the words will just flow out. I think this project is the most important one in learning how to write in genres, because the last few writing projects we have simply been picking apart what makes genres. For this project we are actually writing in a new genre, which takes a true talent to be able to dissect a genre and be able to write in it.

I think that by learning what conventions create genre my writing has improved all around, I have even noticed that my writing has greatly improved this quarter in my other classes that I have had to write essays for. While this class may not have been the most enjoyable (simply because writing is not that fun) I have truly learned a lot about how to be a better writer. This week's exercises really helped me notice that because as Zack was asking the journal questions I was able to get out some long, full answers, whereas at the beginning of the quarter I was having trouble being able to jot down just one sentence. Now I feel as if I can express my ideas more fully and clearly to a reader. I am actively thinking about how a reader will be interpreting my writing, how each decision I make affects tone, credibility, clarity, etc…, and how to tie every paragraph to my thesis statement.

PB 3A

For my writing project I will be translating Mike Bunn’s Motivation and Connection: Teaching Reading (and Writing) In the Composition Classroom into two different genres. One genre will be something that is viewed by a younger audience than myself and one that is viewed by an older audience than myself. For the genre that is viewed by someone who is younger than myself I am going to write the opening script to a television show. For example at the beginning of an episode the narrator says “Previously on The Walking Dead…” but instead I will be writing as if the show is educational show for younger children on PBS or a similar channel. I will begin with “Previously on Motivation and Connection with Mike Bunn, we discussed how most students believe that writing is one of the most essential skills to learn, that writing is a lifelong skill that takes practice…” I will write 2-3 of these depending on how long each one turns out. I will not only go over what was previously covered on the fictitious show, but also give a short preview of what to expect in the new show; for example: “Today you will be learning about how teaching practices affect writing, how readers construct reading…” In each of the openings I will cover some of the main concepts of the article and attempt to do so in a simple and understandable manner, since it is intended for a younger audience.

As for the piece that is going to be read by someone who is older than myself I plan to do a live-tweet as if Mike Bunn is reading this essay at a teaching conference. I will compose several tweets that will cover most of the main points of the article. I will begin with something like “Only 15 more minutes until Bunn takes the stage! #Teachercon2016” and continue in such a manner until Bunn has actually arrived on stage. Then I will make fake tweets as if he is reading a speech for instance “Bunn says students believe writing is important but don’t like it so teachers have to make it more interesting #Brilliant #Teachercon2016” I will do all of this and still stay within the 140 character limit of twitter, even if I have to chain responses to get a full thought out. As of right now, I am not sure how many tweets I will compose because I am not sure how much information I can fit into just 140 characters. I plan on using conventions from each of these genres such as the opening of the TV show starting with “Previously on…” and foreshadowing; as well as hashtags and emoticons in tweets.

The TV show opening I believe is a good example of something someone younger than me would see because kids are always watching TV and an educational program about writing is something that a strict parent might force their child to watch to improve his/her writing. The live tweet works well for an audience older than myself because even though Twitter is mainly used by the millennial generation the people typically looking at live-tweets from something like teachercon would be teachers older than me (especially because I am still a student). I plan on using each of these to display how I can pick apart multiple genres and apply the concepts of this class to not only dissecting, but creating genre as well.

Thlog 7

I think the peer review this week improved my WP2 in a major way. Before the review I thought that my paper was just about finished, but afterwards I realized that there were some major revisions that needed to be made. Such as including more detail on my sources, having a more present argument in all of my paragraphs, and based on my feedback it was unclear where and what my thesis was. After receiving that feedback I was able to go back and restructure my argument without very much work. Just adding a sentence here and there to make my argument clearer to the reader and deleting a few redundant sentences to prevent the reader from getting sidetracked. I believe that all of this greatly improved my writing and I think that this version of peer reviewing was much more effective than the last time around. I was able to ask questions about aspects that I was unsure of, but also got feedback on aspects that I thought were fine but really weren’t. By having such a diverse amount of feedback I was able to improve my project much more than I was able to after the last peer review.

Thlog 6

This week we took a look at what it is that makes a move. I think doing that really helped me identify my own moves and exactly what my intentions are behind them. Now that I am consciously thinking about the moves that I am making in my writing and how they add to the work as a whole I think that I am more effectively using these moves. Such as instead of using “says” to quote a writer using another adjective like writes, proves, or states. This is a move to be more articulate and by consciously thinking about that move instead of just writing away in the future I will be able to come up with a more descriptive word than just “says.”

Another useful tip that Zach gave us this week was how to effectively use hedged language. Hedged language allows you to make generalizations that may not completely support your argument, but cover you if what you are saying is only speculation. Like writing “Conner is happy when he plays video games” as opposed to “Conner seems to be happy when he plays video games.” This is going to be especially useful in WP 2 because we will be analyzing an article that could be from a social science which tend to theorize about what people think, and when stating what people think it is important to use hedges because you could always be wrong.

PB 2B

Every author makes “moves” to get their point across. Moves are devices that either keep the reader engaged or present information in a clear, concise manner. By “reading like a writer” it is easy to notice the moves a writer makes as you read and you can even name them. Some moves are more common among writers, and others are unique to certain writers.

• “Introducing Standardized Views:” Bringing a standardized view into your writing to bring extra credibility to your argument. By introducing an idea the reader that they are already familiar with, and hopefully accept, you force them to entertain your argument. Mike Bunn consistently uses standardized views to do this in Reading Like a Writer to increase the strength of his argument. For example, when he writes “instead of reading for content or to better understand the ideas in writing…” he is stating a pretty standard view on how most students read assigned text. By stating this commonly held way of reading Bunn is contrasting it to his way of reading and attempting to tell the reader why his way is better.
• “Making What They Say Something You Say:” When you take something someone else has said and make it part of your argument to create validity. When you make someone else’s words into your own you are using their argument to strengthen your own. Such as when Bunn puts in examples of his students writing and uses that as support for his main argument. For Instance, in one of the student’s quotations she writes “how did the writer get me to feel…” Bunn goes on to talk tell ways to look for what devices and moves a writer uses to make a reader feel.
• “Capturing Authorial Action:” A move that writers use to emphasize or point out a move that an author has made. Bunn utilizes this move by using a quotations; in one instance, “see the choices the writer has made… how the writer has coped with the consequences of those choices…” Bunn captures the actions the author uses and you cannot only easily relay them to your reader, but you can also learn to develop those actions into your own arguments.
• “Introducing Quotations:” Gives credibility to your argument. Using a quotation is like saying “Here is someone who is published and has the same argument/opinion as me.” By using quotations you show your reader that not only are you knowledgeable and have researched your topic but that there is validity to what you are saying because someone who has been published has voiced the same argument/opinion as you. Bunn uses this move often by quoting student responses/essays that support his ideas.
• “Explaining Quotations:” This normally directly follows a quotation. By explaining a quotation you are giving your reader a more understandable interpretation of that quote. Sometimes quotations include a lot of heavy information so by explaining what that all means you can make it more understandable to your reader and in doing so also tie the quote into your argument. Bunn does this after every student quotation he uses; he presents a quote and then uses points the quote brings up as his argument or to build upon it.
• “Bullets:” The use of bullets to display important information. Bunn uses bullet points to separate his more important ideas from the main text. As an illustration, in one of the bullets Bunn writes “do you know the author’s purpose for this piece of writing?” in another he writes, “Do you know who the intended audience is for this piece of writing?” These are some of the main points throughout Bunn’s article and he emphasizes them by separating them from the main text.
• “Headers:” Bunn gives each of his sections headers that are in bold such as “What are some questions to ask before you start reading?” or “Why learn to read like a writer?” By using a header Bunn is showing his reader what to look for in his own writing. This gives the reader a sense of direction and prevents them from being distracted by the less important aspects of each section.
• “Relatable Sources:” In Bunn’s article he uses quotations from other students to create familiarity and understanding to his article. By using student quotations Bunn is presenting the information in a way that is relatable to his audience. When using this move it is important to take into account context, because it would be inappropriate to use a student quote in a research essay because a student is not credible to a professor.
• “Reader Shoutout:” In the article Bunn consistently calls the reader “you” and by doing so makes you, the reader, familiar with him. This move makes the writing seem almost like a conversation and sets an easygoing tone. This move is effective especially in Bunn’s article because he is trying to reach out to an easygoing college student who is probably taking a mandatory writing class, and he wants to maintain their interest.
• “Personal Anecdote:” This is another technique to relate to the reader. Bunn begins the article with a short story about how he learned what it meant to “read like a writer.” He begins by writing that he was a “recent college graduate” and goes on to tell his experience. This is an obvious effort to relate to the reader, since the intended audience is college students. By using this move of relating to the audience you can bring a sense of closeness or even friendliness with your reader and hopefully earn their attention.