PB3A, Composition/Writing Studies Journals, and WP3

Writing 2rs,

Here's a list of our in-class lottery results from Wednesday's class so you can remember which article you landed and, if there's still space, which ones you could swap.  (Remember: no more than 3 people can pick the same piece, please.)  If you wanna swap, shoot me an email and I'll update the list as soon as I can.

If you're still not satisfied with the options in the list I provided, that's totally cool -- you can choose other scholarly pieces from the composition/Writing Studies field.  Make sure, though, you shoot me an email just so I can give you a thumb's up on your pick.  Here's a super-useful link to a site that provides a comprehensive list of the journals in my field.  Below is a more curated list of some of the more popular journals -- at least the ones I'm most familiar with -- that you can find within that aforementioned link.  The ones that aren't hyperlinked aren't "open access" -- they require a library-authenticated sign-in.

• College Composition and Communication
• College English  
• Across the Disciplines 
• Written Communication
• Kairos

Lastly, as far as PB3A goes, try not to over-think it or psych yourself out toooooo much: your only job at this point is to pitch your WP3 Genre Transformation idea.  Tell us (your classmates and I) what your scholarly piece is all about, then describe which two genres (one to/for an older audience, and one to/for a younger audience) you're planning on creating and why.  Then: what will you do in the transformed genres?  What ideas from the scholarly piece will you "foreground" and why?  As always, be as specific as possible.  On Tuesday (the day after PB3A is due), I'm going to provide some feedback to your ideas.  Also, as I mentioned in class, I'd like you to finish commenting on each other's PB3A blog posts by 8pm on that Tuesday.  (I'll be commenting throughout the morning/afternoon on Tuesday, so if you hold off til Tuesday afternoon, you'll be able to get a glimpse into my thought process in the comments that I leave on everybody's PB3A posts.)

Okey dokey, artichokeys.  That's all for now.  Hang in there and keep working hard -- the quarter's almost over.  :)

Z

"Painting Trees" with Bob Ross and Disney Artists

These videos can help us get at “rhetorical decisions” and “moves.”  They show artists describing their composing process—the artists lead us through their thoughts and their actions.  No matter which option you choose for WP3, I want you to lead me through your moves in your follow-up self-analysis, so while you watch these videos, I want you to consider:

• What are some "moves" you see in these videos? 
• How do these artists describe what they’re doing?  What do the artists refer to while they describe their work?  What do they talk about?  What do they direct our attention towards?  
• How would you characterize each artist's style, and what impact does their style have on you (a viewer/audience member)?  How have these artists chosen to portray their subject matter?  

Bob Ross and His "Happy Trees"

4 (Disney) Artists Paint One Tree

Prepping for WP2: Pop Culture-y Sources on the Web

Here's a list of possible pop culture-y (non-academic) publications.  Please know that they don't all represent the same standards for "journalistic integrity" and/or objectivity -- these sites focus on a wide range of content and perspectives, tailored to different audiences.

Poke around and find something you like!

• ESPN
• Esquire
• Vogue
• GQ
• Rolling Stone
• The Atlantic
• Slate
• Vice
• Harper's Bazaar
• Politico
• Huffington Post
• Drudge Report
• SB Independent
• Ed Hat
• LA Times
• NY Times
• Washington Post
• Philly News
• Wall Street Journal
• Mother Jones

On-Campus Presentations/Readings Relating to Writers and Their Writing

Writing 2rs,

I've been asked to pass along these two tidbits of on-campus presentations/readings relating to writers and their writing.  I'll consider tossing you a modest amount of extra credit if you attend, take notes on what you see/hear/think, and then reflect on it all.  More details to come in class on Monday, but I thought I'd give you a heads up in advance.

Hope you're all having a great start to the weekend.

Z

"Moves"

I.  Love.  This.  Lesson.
#omfg
#truestory

Whether you realized it or not -- and whether I, the writer, realized it or not -- I made some "moves" right there.  I tapped into my pop culture resources and used some informal conventions of the modern "millenial" generation to (1) reach you, my target audience, by writing a somewhat unusual teacher-to-student "hook" in the beginning (2) let you know that I'm honestly juiced up to teach this lesson... perhaps my enthusiasm for this will be contagious, and (3) let my hair down for a change.

Some other moves I made right there?

• put the key buzzword in boldface for added emphasis
• #'d that list so you realized that there were only a few things you had to get through
• #'d that list so that my punctuation (commas) would come across more clearly -- the #s allowed me to separate each "thing" without using commas.  By using #s, I can save my commas within each item/thing so you (probably) wouldn't confuse them as an additional unit/thing
• used the "rule of 3" (a cheap trick that most readers seem to enjoy)
• finished the list with a joke.  If I started that list with my "long hair joke," would it have been as effective?  Probably not -- punchlines usually work best at the end.

OK, so Writing Project #2 is coming up, which requires you to analyze and evaluate what's gained/lost between scholarly and non-academic texts.  To most effectively do this, I'd like you to consider each writer's moves -- what they're doing, how they're doing it, and whether you believe that it was effective.

By studying this, my hope is that you'll be able to detect writers' moves more clearly and, in doing so, consider adapting what you find to be effective.  Think of this as a way to open up your tool kit.

Ever hear of two musicians "jamming out"?  Well, this is essentially what you're doing as a (good) reader.  You're listening to what the writer/musician is trying to communicate, and if you like what they've done, feel free to "borrow that lick."  (But remember: if you're borrowing their ideas/research, you need to attribute that work to them in a citation!)

Blah blah blah.  Here are some videos that can help us start thinking about "moves."

#thisissocool

Click here for the MJ video on Vimeo.