Acting and Thinking Rhetorically

          What do I believe the definition of acting, and thinking rhetorically is? What I've learned, and learned to believe is that acting rhetorically is the power to convey an effective voice when stating something like a report, debate, or article. While thinking rhetorically is the act of listening to others, trying to understand their ideas, and processing that into bettering one’s own stance on the idea. It is the ability to try to truly research further into a topic, so that you are well informed of what it actually is, and then try to understand why others in the audience have different perspectives on that topic then form your own arguments based on the information you've obtained. Speaking of audience, another piece of acting rhetorically is knowing who you’re presenting to, and how you want them to react to the knowledge you've researched. For example let’s say you were in an interview with the president of a major corporation compared to sharing a new epic story book to a classroom. When trying to present yourself to the corporation one would persuade them by sharing their experiences in a serious, but informative tone. In this case you would want the corporation to believe that you’re a well-mannered, driven, and desirable man (or woman) for the job! With the story book a person would again be informative, but express some enthusiasm on why the story is an epic read for the class. In this scenario you would want the audience to feel awed, entertained, and interested to read the book themselves.

            It's through knowing our audience, understanding our topic, letting our imaginations manifest, and using the right tone that makes ones words powerful whether they're biased, or unbiased. It is through rhetorically thinking, and acting that captures readers, listeners, journalists, bosses, professors, or even an individuals family. Then creating their own opinion from the facts they've gathered from you, and stating why that is to the audience they want come across to next.

            

In Class Lab: Rhetorical Situations---Narratives

Rhetorical Situations---Narratives

2. We all agreed that Lydia's story was inspirational, and showed triumph and bravery, as she was very determined to stay alive.  Lydia showed her strength of will and what it can do.  We disagreed on the purpose of the article, some of us believed it was written to inspire, others thought it was written to show the experience of the victims of the storm.  Another difference was that some of us felt that we were different characters in the story.  One of us thought we were Lydia, another felt as if they were the interviewer.  The third felt as though they were looking through a window at Lydia's life.  We all agreed the story had an impact on us that made us empathize with Lydia, and we were almost able to feel her emotions through the text.  We all agreed the audience was targeted at the United States, the medical field, and the victims of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.  Lydia, the main character, seemed to be a soft-spoken, kind woman which made her triumph feel even more victorious.

3. The writing we have done in our life has mostly included writing stories and essays.  The tone of Lydia's story was essentially a personal narrative which felt as though it was being told by a friend.  She uses words such as "slender" and "neat" to describe the character, giving a clear image of her.  It's a personal experience which differs from a generic interview or essay, because it includes more emotion than facts.  This story teaches us about rhetoric because it gives us a clear idea of the effects of tone, stance, etc...

4/5/6. "Think About"

*Stories my mom tells me at breakfast (or during the morning)

*Stories my brother shares about school

*Stories my friends tell me at school

*Text messages

*Stories on the Bainbridge Islanders Facebook page

*Telling someone a story from your life

*Telling your parents about your day at school

*Parents tell you about their day at school

*Stories from books, magazines & TV

7. We all re-tell our day, and share stories with the people in our lives.  We are also told stories by our parents and siblings.  All of us read books on a daily basis with narratives.  There are also other types of stories we experience that vary day by day.

8/9.  The "It Gets Better Project"

I personally find videos to be more personal, because you can see the person's emotions through the films.  However, there is a beauty to written narratives as the reader can better put themselves in the victim's shoes.

10. We can all agree that both are powerful mediums of narrative.  We all feel that videos are more effective at delivering a message because of the extra sensory information you receive.  To a certain extent, written stories can be meaningful, but videos can be more easily shared.

11/12.

*Newspaper Articles and YouTube videos (compare and contrast)

Newspaper articles are straight to the point and give factual information in terms most can understand.  There is little visual accompaniment, and it is more strictly formatted.  YouTube videos have equal part visual representation with the information they are relaying.  They are more stimulating due to the extra sensory information.  YouTube videos also can cover a wider variety of topics, and people are more freely able to give feedback via the comment section.  However, online videos are not always as directly informative as newspapers.  In addition, YouTube videos are more easily shared within areas that have internet access.  Despite the difference between YouTube videos and newspaper articles, they are used to communicate, and often have advertisements within them.  They both are used to share information and ideas.

Chapter 2 (Page 23)

Rhetorical Situations of the Past 7 Days:

Texting

Notes (1)

Essays (2)

Facebook Posting (3)

Emailing

Blogging

1.) Throughout the week I tend to write notes specifically for myself, so generally the audience is just me. I’ll grab a piece a paper with pen in hand, and write out bullet points with facts I deem to be important for current, or future work. Note-taking keeps me on my toes with the lessons, and helps me understand the teachings, so that I’m not facing massive confusion later on, or I could fall back on my notes if I don’t recall a topic.

2.) Last week I had to write an essay on what I hoped to learn about myself from the class, and then post it on the class forums, so the audience in this case is still the class. In order for me to answer this I had to state my purpose for being in that subject, and how I thought it could better myself. When I had a good idea of what to write I did it in a casual, but direct tone. That way the reader would understand what I seek through the lessons as well as my goals in the class.

3.) I’m being honest when I say I use Facebook daily for a bit of posting, sharing, browsing, or messaging. Mostly my audience consists of friends, family, strangers, buddies, or acquaintances, so the tone varies indefinitely. However for these past 7 days I’ve been commenting on other people’s posts whether they were factual, opinion based, or comical just to give my ”two cents” about it. The tone is usually casual because I like to set myself an image of how I want others to see me as a person, so I also keep my stance on things pretty neutral.

"Lydia's Story"

   1.  What is Brideau’s main point, and where in the essay is it indicated?

Throughout “Lydia’s Story” up in till it end I believe the main point is to describe the tragic event of Hurricane Katrina, and its affects on the people falling victim to its wrath. The author wanted us to see what people had to go through to survive such a fate, and for what they lost such as there home’s. Jan Brideau makes this very clear in her last paragraph when she writes “For me, the enormity of the double hurricanes became clear only after witnessing so many people left without their homes.”

   2.  What is the primary point of view from which Brideau narrates “Lydia’s Story”? What impact does that point of view have on you as a reader?

The primary point of view from which Brideau narrates is third person. Honestly the reading impacted me by making me feel a sense of dread, and determination. The reason is while yes a third person point of view is looking over “Lydia’s” events, I could also put myself in her place if it were me. The loss of control of things around a person as well as losing things they deem valuable is terrible, but the will to keep one’s self alive despite dire circumstances is brave.

   3. How does Brideau make her narrative “come alive”? Make a list of words she uses to describe the setting and the characters. How do they appeal to the readers emotions?

While reading this narrative I could see that Brideau used words in the second and third paragraph to make the reader get an idea of the circumstances that were about to be retold.  Describing the current setting as seemingly to have a “toxic odor”, and tell us that the inside of the VFW fall was “uncomfortably cold” already showed us that conditions were very poor. Then when the author was used words such as “soft-spoken”, “eager”, “waxed”, “waned”, and “tender” to describe “Lydia” as to what she is like. Through those words I can get the feel that she was a kind elderly women suffering some uncomfortable pains after her past trials. I get the idea of what tragedy befell her, and through the words in the reading get a better idea of how the events played out.

   4. Who would be the audience for this piece, and how does Brideau’s tone suit those readers? Point to specific words, and phrases that create that tone.

The audience in this case would be in the country this event occurred which in this case would be the people of the United States. Through the serious, but informative story I could tell the author was trying to provide the idea through the effective experience “Lydia” of what Hurricane Katrina was for the people who fell victim to it. Again by describing the tale of how heavy homes were being “swept up” by the strong currents, and to describe the sheer force of what the storm brought forth to the people who weren’t there. Using words like “precarious” to tell how challenging it was to evade the harsh water levels, and “spurted” to describe how rapidly the water was gorging in the home’s such as “Lydia’s” were used to point out how dangerous the storm truly was. It was through “Lydia’s Story” that people can see the hardships people faced just trying to stay alive, what they lost, and how the aftermath was still a long hard road of recovery.

In Class Lab: Writers, Authors, and Genres

Similarities:  

    We can agree that being an author is sharing information to one another.

    We can agree that there are different levels of being an author.

    Writing is a form of expression, and communication.

     Everyone has the possibly of being an author if they have a way to broadcast               there writing to an audience.

Differences:

     Some of us see Facebook posts as a way of being an author at any given time,       but some believe there is a divine line.

     Texting was torn with being counted as an actual author, or not.

  

Writers:	Authors:
Private (Journal, Diary)	Share(Books, Articles, Newspaper)
Only have to learn about themselves.	Have to learn their audience.
Writers don’t need a filter.	Authors need to be careful with what they say.
Writers don’t need citations.	Authors need to cite there sources.

Type of Writing:	Why I Enjoy/Despite:
Blog Posts	Sharing with ease with friends, and family. In developed cases.
Guides	Sometimes can it be too complicated, or not enough information.
Shopping List	There organized, and to the point.
Letter		Usually friendly, or with an objective.

  (By Tori) To-Do List   

Please help me get ready for our costume party by doing these things

1.      Buy cake, napkins, décor and CD’s

2.      Send invitations

3.      Decorate the interior of the apartment

4.      Set up candy for the trick-or-treaters

(By Jacob Smith) LETTER

           Dear Bob,

          I am of need of your assistance. There is party coming late this October, and the event is a costume gathering, but there’s a problem. The supplies we currently hold aren’t enough to provide to the people who are attending. What I need is for you to gather food, and hire a DJ for some hot jams. As well as candy for the children who happen to approach the door that late night, but before all that I really need you to send out invitations to everyone in the state. If you can do all this, I would be very much if your debt. Thank you.

                                                                                      -Jacob

(By Ælfhild Wiklund) Peotry

Friend of mine, friend dear

Please help me with the party on the darkest day of the year,

Follow me to fetch pumpkins from the squash field

Several stalks of corn from this year’s yield

The wood to build the bonfire bright

And help me fill the cider jug to pour the toasts of the night,

Then dance with me around the burning fire

That our combined efforts have built higher

Communiques: Shopping list is simple and to the point, the letter is friendly and the poem is focused on the words lending its form to tell a story.

“Is everyone an author?” (9/25/2015)

          Is everyone an author? First off if I break down the meaning of what an author is I would get other words like writer, publisher, or creator. With these synonyms in mind almost anyone would believe they were a writer strictly because they text written paragraphs to others, email, send letters, or even post subjects on Facebook. However does that really make everyone an author? I would say yes. Allow me to level with you (the reader); when you create a written piece of work of nearly any kind, and post, send, or publish it- you’re an author. Why? Well what do people normally think an author is associated writing? Books. They are normally read by individuals who may choose to share it with friends, parents, or the world around them. People in today’s society do the exact same thing when they have information to spare on Google+, a story to tell on their blog, or a conversation to uphold on their phones (texting). They’ll share what they have learned with others, or continue writing back, and forth on the subject if any.

          They’ll of course fall into different levels of what an author is, or go by other names. Some will post on their blogs with small paragraphs to answer a question, and then be called bloggers. Others will write pages among pages of their story, or of another in a leather binding, and be called writers. No matter what the case, or name they are all authors. Everyone is an author.

Collaborative Writing on Writing

What is Writing?

·       Expressing your opinion.

·       A form of communication.

·       Can be debatable.

·       Answers questions.

What kind of writing do we do?

·       Write about ourselves, and academic writings.

·       Recording facts, or notes.

·       Different genres such as fantasy, fiction, and nonfiction; specific formats such as poetry or stories, applications or essays.

How does your persona (tone, level of formality, etc.) shift depending on your audience?

Why?

·       Your persona is more relaxed in comfortable situations such as a letter to your parents, you allow more of your personality and a wider range of tone to show.  However when you are applying for a scholarship you use a more formal tone and only allow the most appropriate side of your personality to show.  Fictional writing is more influenced by the author’s personality whereas nonfiction is more factual.

·       You shift tones depending on the impression you wish to make, so they will perceive you in the most appropriate fashion, with sufficient clarity and suitable humor to drive home the point.