Report on My Interviews

Tumisu. "Interview". 11/2015 via pixabay.
CC0 Public Domain.

In this Blog post I'll be giving a report on how my interview(s) went!

At this point I have only done one but I will report on the second interview when I have done it.

Interview 1               Interview 2

Becky Black (BB):           Janelle Krause (JK):

1. What are the most significant or interesting genres that you learned about from your interviewees? Please identify at least THREE specific genres from your discipline/field of study that your interview subjects discussed writing within. 

BB: Lesson Plans, Art History Articles for Publication, Gallery Reviews

JK: Lesson Plans, Blog posts, Journal Entries

2. How do these genres differ from one another? Think about things like genre convention, content, purpose, audience, message, and context as you describe these differences.

BB: Lesson Plans/Powerpoint slides are purely used for teaching. They are used as a mix of writing and visual art to give the students the information they need to learn and be successful in Mrs. Black's classes. The articles written for publication surprised me because I've always thought of "published articles" being a very analytical thing and art is not analytical. Mrs. Black said that just like any other profession getting published in art is a big deal. Gallery reviews are just that, usually written for the Gallery owner a review lets them know what they should fix or could do better to increase viewing pleasure.
JK: Lesson plans are directed at a cohort of students. The students she writes plans for are often completely oblivious to the artistic concepts she is introducing so the plans need to be very informational and contain a lot of specific information. Blogs are much different, Janelle says she blogs mostly for herself. She puts it online so others can see it if they are interested but she says the writing she does is mostly for herself. Journaling is all for her. It is not public and she uses it simply to gather her ideas together for herself.

3. Based on the information you gathered in your interviews, what is challenging and/or difficult about writing within these genres (from a professional's point of view)?

BB: Mrs. Black said that she deals with the same writing issues as any other writer but her main issue is writers block. She said that when writing any of the above genres her main struggle is with determining what to say next.
JK: Putting ideas on paper. As a studio artist Janelle struggles with getting all of her ideas and thoughts on paper in a cohesive way. She struggles with getting her hands to agree with her brain. She also, because the majority of her writing is personal, struggles with writing formally. 

4. Based on the information you gathered in your interviews, what is exciting and/or rewarding about writing within these genres (from a professional's point of view)?

BB: Mrs. Black loves writing articles and blog posts about her graduate work/dissertation. She said the most exciting part is writing about something you're passionate about and having others respond favorably.

JK: Janelle says the most satisfying portion is being done. She loves looking back at jumbled notes and ideas and being able to see where that jumbled info led and where it was able to take her despite the messiness.

5. Where in mass media - popular, academic, and/or social - can examples of this genre be found? If genre examples cannot be found within mass media easily, where can genre examples be found/located?

BB: I have not been able to find any examples of Mrs. Black's work but her articles can be found in the respective journals they have been posted in. I have emailed her to see if I can access some of those! Will update this post when she responds.
Here is a link to her info (she emailed me back)
JK: Janelle posts blogs infrequently but that is the only public form of writing she has because everything is meant to be just for her. However if you are in one of Janelle's classes you will also see her lesson plans, they just do not happen to be online.

From Academia to Social Media

nominalize. "Social Media Blocks". 10/21/2014 via pixabay.
CC0 Public Domain.

In this Blog post I will be showing/analyzing the use of social media by people who are prominent professionals in my field. I have selected one author from my last blog post to look at from a social media point of view.


1.What is the name of the author (from the academic journal) that you selected and which social media networks were you able to find her/him on?

Cathy Cavanaugh
LinkedIn
Twitter
You can find videos of Dr. Cavanaugh on youtube but she does not appear to have an account.

2. How would you describe the author's social media presence? What kinds of things are they talking about or sharing on social media? Write a brief description of what you learned about them through the listed social media feeds.

All of her social media is VERY business oriented. Her twitter is used to share scholarly articles. Her tweets contain links and headlines but no pictures or conversations. She has few followers for being as prominent in her field as she is. Her LinkedIn account is well done and very full, she has lots of education and experience and her LinkedIn makes that very apparent.


3. How does their persona on social media differ from their persona in the pages of the academic journal?

In the academic Journal Cavanaugh talks about art and its use in special education but there is no mention of art on her twitter feed or LinkedIn. She is definitely more of an educator than anything else. She also shares articles that are not about education but are about other topics related to schooling and public issues. The writings shared are not always her own.

Academic Discourse and Genre

Linforth, Pete. "Question Mark". 02/2015 via pixabay.
CC0 Public Domain.

? picture = What are the Genres??? 

In this blog post I will be further analyzing the Journal I introduced in my last blog post. I will be analyzing more than just the basic info and will be covering content just a bit more.

1. How many different kinds of genres seem to be published in this particular issue of the journal you selected? 

It appears as though 4 distinct genres are used.

 2. Identify at least three different genres within the journal issue and describe the significant formal differences between the three genres.

1. Lists: Literal bullet pointed lists that explain materials that will be needed, or people that a certain project would benefit. Very straight forward.

2. Directions/Instructions: Directions on how to do a project. Kinda like a recipe. Large but very directed paragraphs that are without a doubt meant to inform.

3. Reference Photos: Photos that show what the project, art or technology, should look like at different phases. Could be used as a reference point.

4. Explanation: Usually before all of the other genres but some after. Longer, less direct paragraphs that explain how the projects could help but also just explain and talk about the issues that surround special ed teaching.

3. Define each genre.

Lists: sequence of words or objects written one below the other.

Directions/Instructions: Detailed information telling how something should be done

Reference Photos: Photos used to explain or demonstrate a written idea

Explanation:  A statement that makes something more clear

Rhetorical Analysis of Academic Journal

Julia Davenport, 03/02/2016, via My Laptop

In this blog post I will be analyzing Arts and Crafts are More Than Fun in Special Education. The issue is a special edition publication from the Journal of Special Education Technology. The most recent publication was copy written 2013.

1.
It would seem as though this Journal includes 15 different Authors. The three most referenced authors are Cathy Cavanaugh, Dave Schleppenbach, and Candice Southhall. The authors are identified in the Table of Contents but are not directly cited in the work. All 3 writers that I mentioned earlier are educators who have received their Doctoral degrees in special education or education technologies. They are all considered experts in their field and it was VERY easy to find information on each writer because of their prominent status.


2.
The intended audience seems to be other educators. Though the diction is understandable to me, a non educator, the topics covered are very much geared toward actual teaching. They cover things such as how video modeling and verbal reinforcements are used to make special education more accessible to teachers. As well as how crafts and other visual things con encourage students who struggle. The topics are interesting to people like me but not necessarily useful.


3.
This issue is print so all of the "technology" they talk about is not linked or hyperlinked for convenience so if I have a question about it I have to look myself. The authors are very well versed in their topic but seem to have a very loose association to Art itself which I find a bit weird since they're writing about Art as an outlet. The journal is also 3 years old and therefore a bit out of date.


4.
The message is to inform teachers, specifically Special Education Educators, how to use art to teach. I determined this by the content used. Many pages include pictures and lists of materials needed as well as the purpose each project serves. As a non-educator that information is not necessary for me so I assume it is written to help and inform other teachers.


5.
The journal is trying to make Special Education easier. It is no secret that teaching students with learning disabilities takes extra patience and extra skill and this journal aims to facilitate that process through educating teachers on how to utilize modern technology and art to help kids gain confidence and knowledge. 

My Field of Study

Davenport, Julia. (2015). Hidden [Film Photograph]. Albuquerque, NM: Albuquerque Museum.

In this post I will be giving a bit of background information on my desired field of study. (For this project I will be focusing on art as opposed to business).

1. What do students in your program or department learn how to do?

Students in my department learn how to create works and express themselves freely. Depending on focus students will learn techniques in painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, print making, or design. I will be focusing on Photography, preferably film photo with a hint of digital. (The included photo is my own). I will learn how to use the photo equipment as well as learn how to develop my own photos, mix my own chemicals, and edit and adjust photos as needed.

2. What do people who get degrees in this field usually go on to do for work?

This is a loaded question. What do you do with an art degree? If you ask my mom she'll say you become a bar tender but that's not entirely true. Art majors, especially photo majors, often go into journalism. Other's work in galleries, open galleries and sell and display their own work, many go back to school to become a teacher of art. I am double majoring and will be pursuing a career in advertising or a career as a Museum Curator.

3.What drew you to this field?

Without a doubt I was drawn to this field because of my passion for design, beauty, and expression. I entered college as a Pre-Engineering major but quickly changed because I was not excited for my future in engineering, I was only excited bout the prospect of money. I am passionate about photography. I started doing film in the 10th grade, I learned how to take photos using my moms Olympia film camera that she has from high school, I then learned how to mix chemicals to develop the film and then learned how to develop the actual photos in the dark room. I am passionate most of all about portraiture and the human body.

4. Name three of the leaders/most exciting people involved in this field right now in 2016. Why are they interesting or exciting to you? These could be individual people or specific companies, organizations, businesses or non-profits. Hyperlink us to a homepage professional website for each person, if possible.

Annie Leibovitz: a fashion photographer for Vogue Leibovitz is renowned for her portraiture and portrayal of the human body. She is Vogues most popular and famous photographer.

Cindy Sherman: Sherman focuses on portraiture in a way that questions women's role in society. As you probably know from the last project I am very into equality for all, namely gender equality. Sherman photographs subjects not for photojournalism but instead to create art.

Nick Brandt: Brandt uses film!!! As opposed to the much easier to use digital cameras and hot shoe flashes today Brandt uses no zoom black and white or color film cameras to capture his images. Digital cameras are not only easier to use but photographs can be easily perfected using computer programs, film photography is much more skillful so I have the up-most respect for Nick Brandt.

5. What are the names of three leading academic/scholarly journals in your field? Where are they published? Give us the names and locations of at least 3.

1. International Journal of Art & Design Education

    - Published by NSEAD (the National Society for Education in Art and Design)

2. Leonardo

   - Published online and in print. visit online resource.

3. Philosophy of Photography

   - Published by Intellect Ltd., a UK based academic journal

My Interviewees on Social Media

Ben-Avraham, Yoel. "SocialMedialconCollage". 09/13/2013 via flickr.
CC0 Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic.

In this blog post I will be searching for and commenting on

1. Janelle Krause:

Twitter

LinkedIn

Unable to find other networks under the name Janelle Krause

2. The twitter feed is definitely treated as much more personal and not so much used as a professional tool at this point. She tweets at her friends and posts funny cat pictures and selfies but does not do a whole lot of professional tweeting. Her linkedin is very helpful, however. It has links to blogs and seems to be maintained as her entire resume is visible on her homepage.

3. Her professional writing is mainly within that of blog posts. She posts about fashion, design, retail, and art. Her social media reflects a more free spirited, cat loving side but is still very appropriate. As a first year grad student it seems as though Ms. Krause has yet to expand into many networks and develope an extensive online professional persona.

1. Becky Black

Twitter

Facebook

Unable to find any other networks under the names Becky Black or Rebecca Black

2. Her facebook profile is private so I don't know whats on there but her pictures seem a bit out of date so I assume she does not use Facebook as a main network. Her twitter is mostly links to blog posts written about art history, her field of study. Her twitter is more professional but offers very little information about her.

3. Mrs. Black writes about art history. Much of her written work is in the form of lectures as an undergraduate TA at the university of Arizona. Her twitter backs up her interests in art and art history as well as art culture. 

My Interviewees as Professional Writers

Banalities. "Books/1". 09/05/2007 via fkickr.
CC0 Attribution 2.0.

In this blog post I will be reporting on my interviewees public writing. I will be briefly describing both the content and form that my interview subjects utilize to write.

1. 

Becky: Becky writes educational articles centered around the theme of art History. Her works, instead of being observational type pieces, question the ideas that people may have about work. She seems to focus on gender roles and other rights issues primarily. She has not created anything recently however. Here is a link to her article archive.

Janelle: Janelle writes blog posts, primarily. They are all accompanied by a drawing or painting that she created and some post are located within a blog magazine called Murmurations Magazine. She also writes for her classroom work as a FYE art teacher here at the U of A. She writes project write ups and descriptions and even as a teacher her writing is very friendly and informal.

2.

Becky: Artice 1, Article 2

Janelle: Blog Post 1, Blog Post 2

Becky writes Op-Ed and educational articles while Janelle tends to write more fun, inspired blogs. Janelle creates art and then writes about it. Why did she make it, what purpose does it serve, was it worth it, that kind of thing. She takes the more artsy rode and instead of talking about art in a educational sense she writes about it from the artists perspective. Becky does the opposite. Her writing, first and foremost is analytical. She does not write about the art she makes or that kind of thing but instead comments on and questions art that has been created by others. She writes op-ed articles on movies, old art pieces, and other works but all commentary is based on modern issues such as the issues of war and gender equality.

3.

Becky: Becky's articles are not very recent. Her most recent article was written in April of 2012 so almost 4 years ago. All of her articles are published on the British Scholar. The British Scholar has lost of articles form many contributors but most articles are split into categories of Op-Ed, Art, Book Reviews, or Uncategorized. The website is a database for articles written for and by very intelligent people who care about reading, writing, art and education.

Janelle: Janelle's writing is more for herself than for anyone else, she even said so in her interview. She writes about the art she has already made and in some cases says that she made what she made simply because she could, she says this specifically in her procrastination piece. Her writing is friendly and gives the reader a pretty good idea of Janelle's personality. Her writing is not to be analytical or informative but instead is done to expand on an idea that she is having in the moment. Her tea post makes this very clear, she was stressed thinking about Tea and thus created the death by tea drawing and wrote a piece to go along with it.

4.

Becky:

Piece 1- This article takes a look at how gender is portrayed in art. The portraits she refers to look like men but are dressed like women and vice versa. She comments on the gender roles and how they are represented even in olden art. The title of this article claims to be an Op-Ed as she is oposing other opinions on gender representation.

Piece 2- The overall message of this piece is mostly informative and a bit on the contradictory opinion side. Becky writes on the anniversary of the Titanic (british so it makes sense on the british website) about how photography and film misrepresent and romanticize this horrendous occasion in history.

Janelle:

Piece 1- This piece basically outlines types of tea and what they should be used for when consuming them. She made a small drawing to go along with the friendly little piece. This blog makes me giggle a little because I know Janelle and this post truly embodies her free spirit, cutesy, friendly side.

Piece 2- This blog post is is just about procrastination. It's genuinely an account of what she's done instead of writing her term paper as she claims she should. She instead drew a cute little house and talks about the significance and reason she drew it.

5.

Becky:

Piece 1- The purpose of this article is to make readers think about the use of gender, even in the early 1900's and now in the modern world. Have gender roles changed us much as we think they have? This article questions whether gender relationships are any different.

Piece 2- The purpose of this article is to inform the reader of the issues in representation of film ad photo and provided a clearer and more accurate view of the tragedies that happened in April in Britain. 

Janelle:

Piece 1- The purpose of this piece isto unform the reader of the uses and differences between the teas in a cutesy way. Instead of reading science-y accounts on the effects of tea Janelle gave more personal accounts of what the teas do to her body.

Piece 2- This blog post, at least for me, fulfilled the purpose of making me feel less bad about my procrastination. Janelle writes about ignoring her term paper to draw childhood memories and it seems like she might be trying to comfort herself over it too. 

My interview subjects

In this blog post I'll be providing a little bit of background info on my two interview subjects.

Krause, Janelle. "Janelle Krause Selfie". 06/29/2015 via twitter.
CC0 Public Domain.

1. Janelle Krause:

2. Name of organization: Grad student at the University of Arizona

3. Higher Education Degree: Bachelors in Visual Arts (Drawing and Painting) from the U of A, 1st year grad student perusing a degree in Visual Culture

4. # of Years in the field: Doing art since she can remember, art professional since May 2015

5. Pictures and Links: Picture is to the left, links:: Twitter, LinkedIn

6. Wednesday, March 2nd at 3:30 at the Scented Leaf on University

7. 1. You have a specific interest in Conservation art, why is that?

2. What is your desired profession after you receive your masters?

 3. How do you use writing for school as an art grad student?

4. How do you use writing in the U of A Gallery where you work?

5. How do you use writing as a teacher of FYE art courses?

6. Do you believe that your drawings and paintings could be considered a form of writing/communication?

7. What problems do you face when creating a work be it writing or art in the traditional sense?

8. It is said that many great artists cannot write because their brains are two right sided for analytical writing. Do you agree or disagree with this? 

Black, Becky. "The Art Moves Me". 11/17/2012 via twitter.
CC0 Public Domain.

1. Becky Black

2. Name of organization and job title: Doctoral Student at the University of Arizona looking to recieve a PhD in Art and Visual culture education and Graduate TA in art history courses.

3. Bachelors in Art History (U of A), Masters in Visual Culture (U of A), pursuing PhD.

4. Years active: teaching since August 2010

5. Photos and links: photo is featured to the left, links:: twitter, Facebook

6. Monday, April 22nd at 11:00 am at Mrs. Black's office in Harvil

7. 1. What genre do you write in as a teacher?

2. What genre do you work in as an art commentator and art history buff?

3. When I asked you to talk about writing in art did you think of ART as a form of writing in and of itself?

4. What is your doctoral dissertation covering?

5. do you aim to be a professor at the university or is teaching just temporary?

6. Where could one find an example of your writing/work? Is it public?

7. What was the most surprising form of writing for you as a professional?

8. What is your favorite genre of communication?

Brutally Honest Self-Assesment

Castillo, Ariapsa. "Emerald Green Hearts". 12/2015 via pixabay.
CC0 Public Domain.

A HEART FOR ME AND A HEART FOR YOU 'CAUSE I'M DONE WITH PROJECT ONE AND YOU'RE DONE TOO!!!!!!! (just a little rhyme to explain my picture)

In this blog post I will be looking back on this entire project one process.

1. How are you feeling about the project you just submitted for assessment? Give me your raw, unvarnished opinion of your own project overall.

Honestly, so proud. I am really happy with the way my QRG turned out, both visually and content wise. I really believe that it looks like a real QRG and I think, though I struggled with making it read like a QRG I overcame and produced a great Project.

2. What are the major weaknesses of the project you submitted? Explain carefully how and why you consider these elements to be weak or under-developed.

I think my biggest weakness was incorporating every stakeholder fairly. My real issue was staying unbiased throughout the process while still staying true to the issue at hand. In retrospect I wish I had added information on the media overall as I think they could be considered a stakeholder (loosely but still). I know that my QRG tells the whole story but I also know that the public at large has opinions that are not represented.

3. What are the major strengths of the project you submitted? Explain carefully how and why you consider these elements to be strong or well-developed.

I think, in my own mind at least, that the real strength of my QRG is the formatting. It looks perfect. It looks like a QRG, its cited like a QRG, I even added "read more" links at the bottom like QRG pages have. I think that overall the real winner for my project is my passion for design. 

I know that my content is good but I also know that content is only half and I think the stronger side of my QRG is the formatting/Genre Conventions.

4. What do you think of how you practiced time management for Project 1? Did you put enough time and effort into the project? Did you procrastinate and wait till the last minute to work on things? Share any major time management triumphs or fails.... 

I think I can honestly say that I struggled with time management every week. 

I underestimated how long the blog posts would take me and I REALLY underestimated how long formatting for my QRG would take. I did not procrastinate, though it probably looks like it if you look at  the time stamps on my blog posts. I would write the posts in word and then just forget to post them literally every week. However, I did get everything in on time and I did dedicate enough time in the end. I really wish that I had utilized my time better during post production so this final week would have been less stressful. 

Local Revision: Variety

McCarthy, Maeve. "Jennifer Lawrence". 07/15/2015 via Deviant Art.
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative.

1. How much variation is there in your sentence structures in the current draft? Can you spot any repetitive or redundant sentence patterns in your writing? Provide a cogent analysis of what the Rules for Writers reading tells you about your sentences.

I definitely have an obvious writing style. I like kinda choppy short sentences and it has been hard to break that habit in formal writing but lucky for me that is perfect for a QRG. I definitely have some repetitive material, however. My transitions are unique but I have needed to go through and delete whole sections because they seem to repeat exactly was was stated in the paragraph or section above. I will need to invert some of my sentences to increase variation as well.

2. What about paragraph structures, including transitions between different paragraphs (or, for video/audio projects, different sections of the project)?

This I am VERY proud of. I believe My paragraphs and sections are all very unique. I did my best to stay true to QRG formatting and variation and paragraph size is a large part of that. I think I did fairly well with varying my sections both visually and content wise.

3. What about vocabulary? Is there variety and flavor in your use of vocabulary? What are the main strengths and weaknesses of the draft's approach to vocabulary?

The Synonym link on the right mouse button drop down menu in word has always been my best friend. Initially I felt as though I had a lot of repetition and not in a good way. Part of that was redundant facts and figures but another part was diction. I utilized the synonym button as well as rewording entire sentences to avoid similarities.

Local Revision: Pronoun Usage

Marco, Peggy. "Question Mark". 06/27/2011 via pixabay.
CC0 Public Domain

In this post I will be looking at my pronoun usage in my QRG by answering the posed questions. My full list of Pronouns can be found here.

1. Based on your analysis, how effective is your pronoun usage in Project 1? What does actively examining your pronoun usage tell you about your writing style?

I used what seems like a lot of pronouns and that does have me a bit concerned. I even looked at other blog post to see how I compare and that might have actually made me feel worse! I do believe that in a list it looks like a lot but I also know that my writing style is like that, I have often used pronouns in abundance. I also don't think, as I re-read my QRG for the 1897023th time that it sounds awkward with all of the pronouns. 

2. Are there any instances in your project where you speak to or refer directly to the audience? If so, how effective are these moments at creating a bond or connection between audience and author? If not, why not? Explain why you're choosing to leave your audience out of your writing. There's nothing wrong with that, per se, but you should be able to give a sophisticated explanation of your choices.

I did not directly engage my audience as a precautionary measure. I was having trouble with staying unbiased when writing my QRG because I feel very strongly about the topic and I do have an opinion. When I tried posing questions the way I worded them felt obviously slanted to one side. I felt like I was either swaying the reader to my side or losing myself in the process of writing a direct question or statement. I instead reverted to wording subheadings as questions. I felt it was a happy medium between asking the audience (for involvement) and staying true to myself while not compromising the unbiased nature of my QRG.  

My Pronouns

Ginny. Unnamed. "06/03/2008 via flickr.
CC0 Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

In this post I will be providing a list of my pronouns and who they are refering to.

Pronouns:

Their male costars (Renner and Cooper)
Her (Patricia Arquette)
Her
Her
Her
Her
Actresses
They (Arquette and Lawrence)
Their
They
Actors (Cooper and Renner)
Her (Lawrence)
She
She
She
The actress
Her
Her
Her
She
The people (Male costars)
She (Lawrence)
Her
She
He (Cooper)
The actor (Cooper)
He
His
The Actor
He
His costar (Lawrence)
Friend (Lawrence)
Their (Lawrence and Cooper)
The actor (Cooper)
His
His
His
Him (Renner)
His
His
Wife (Pacheco)
Their (Pacheco and Renner)
His (Renner)
He
Him
His
He
His
His
His
He
His
His
He
He
His
Her (Lawrence)
Herself (Lawrence)
Her
She
Herself
The Production Company (Sony)
Her (Lawrence)
She
She
She
Her
Her
Her

Local Revision: Passive and Active Voice

OpenClipArtVectors. "Voice". 10/12/2013 via pixabay.
CC0 Public Domain.

In this post I will be listing the verbs from my last post in different groups. These groupings are done by active and passive voice. I had trouble finding passive voice as I used it as a supplement instead of as my main voice.

Active (Specific):

Paid,

Thanking

Took

Referred

Believed

Targeted

Hacked

Leaked

Indicated

Stayed

Making

Seeming

Posted

Exposed

Robbed

Affraid

Push

Graduated

Earned

Started

Landed

Starred

Producing

Advocated

Deserve

Opened

Speak

References

Think

Deny

Active (General):

Accepted

Took

Speak

Remember

Happened

Keep

Showing

Recieve

Brought

Making

Took

Know

Are

Know

Seems

Does

Is

Is

Is

Is

Passive:

Is digressing

Is improving

Is ready to fight

Has been nominated

Have worked

Is Trending

Have surfaced

1. Looking at the breakdown of your verb choices here, what do you notice about your current draft? Are the actions in your piece mostly general, vague or non-specific? Are the actions mostly vivid and specific? Are there instances of passive voice? Summarize what you learned by analyzing your verb usage in this way.

I did not use many passive verbs (passive voice) at all. So in that way I did a good job of staying more specific. I also have more specific verbs than general verbs. I think I did an overall good job on staying in the active tense but I do believe that  my usage of the passive tense is justified.

2. Based on this analysis, how could your use of verbs be improved overall in the project? Be specific and precise in explaining this.

I could use a bit more variation, maybe use more general verbs and maybe just a wider array of verbs in general. I think if anything my verb choices lack interest and could be adjusted in that way.

Local Revision: Tense Usage

"Muffin", Robbie. "Present Progressive". 09/05/2014 via WikiMedia.
CC0 Attribution-ShareAlike

Past Tense

Been floating

Are paid

Accepted

Gave

Heard

Thanking

Took

Speak

Referred

Remember

Happened

Believed

Targeted

Keep

Showing

Hacked

Leaked

Indicated

Would be receiving

Receive

Brought

Quite

Has been quoted

Stayed

Is (not) trending

Making

Seeming

Posted

Exposed

Making

Robber

Took

Afraid

Push

Graduated

Earned

Began

Started

Landed

Starred

Producing

Has been nominated

Have worked

Have

Have surfaced

Advocated

Deserve

Would Make

Opened

Present Tense 

Know

Are making

Are

Know

Are making

Seems

Does

Speak

References

Think

Is

Is

Is

Is

Deny

Is digressing

Is improving

Future Tense 

Is ready to fight

In this blog post I will be looking at the verb tenses used in my QRG and examining how that effects the overall product

1. Which tense is the most prevalent in your draft?

The Past tense is most prevalent. Because I'm writing about an issue that has already happened much of my QRG is in the past tense.

2. What effect or tone/quality does the current usage of tense have on the reader/viewer/listener?

It makes the work more informative. Because it is known that the event has already happened and the piece is written in the past tense the reader knows that the work is purely informative.

3. If you're using more than one tense in the draft (which is not a bad thing at all), do the shifts between different tenses in the piece make sense? How do they flow? Are there any jarring or dischordant shifts in tense?

I think the shifts are smooth. The tense changes do not occur in chunks, like my paragraphs aren't all one tense and then the next paragraph is a different tense. The tense changes flow depending on topic and what I am trying to convey. If I am saying what is currently happening:present,if its about JLaw's letter:past.

4. If you have not employed any present tense verbs in your piece - why not? Are there any moments of crescendo or dramatic action in the story you're telling that could benefit from being described or told in the present tense? Remember, present tense has an immediacy to it. It puts the audience right into the story as it is unfolding. It's a powerful technique. Could your piece benefit from that technique? How and why?

I used the present tense throughout the piece. I used the present to convey a sense that the issue, though already done, has not been resolved. The present tense brings the reader back to reality so they will realize the issue at hand and make an informed decision on what they'd like to do about it. Using the present makes a hard to relate to story a bit more relate-able.

My Verbs

Turnauckas, Mark. "Verbs Territory". 07/01/2012via flickr.
CC0 Attribution 2.0 Generic.

Has
Float
Paid
Accepted
Gave
Heard
Thank
Took
Speak
Refer
Call
Put
Know
Make
Are
Know
Make
Remember
Happened
Believed
Targeted
Keep
Show
Hacked
Leaked
Leaked
Indicated
Receive
Receive
Seem
Brought
Say
Stay
Does
Speak
Trend
Make
Seem
Post
Exposed
Reference
Make
Thank
Rob
Took
Push
Approach
Graduated
Earned
Started
Landed
Starred
Produce
Starred
Nominated
Is
Is
Worked
Have
Is
Surfaced
Deny
Advocated
Deserve
Fight
Stated
Believe
Sit
Speak
Become
Decided
Support
Scrutinized
Support
Support
Is
Stay
Believe
Appear
Was
Study
Realized
Left
Study
Married
Split
Share
Played
Earned
Was
Stars
Nominated
Excelled
Said
Starred
Make
Say
Be
Involved
Be
Involved
Released
Released
Absolved
Put
Claim
Claimed
Failed
Made
Allow
Made
Had
Make
Made
Made
Move
Digress
Improve
Lay
Make
Include
Make
Hold
Is
Stated
Felt
Speak
Is
Is
Is
Solved
Offered
Sparked
Opened
Has
Passed'Demand
Pay
Do
Report
Is

Know(2), Make(6), Leaked(2), Receive(2), Is(9), Support(3), Speak(3), Stay(2), Starred(3), Believe(3), Was(3), Study(2), Nominated(2), Be(2), Involved(2), Released(2), Claim(2), Made(4)

Local Revision: Wordiness

Stinging Eyes. "Lost For Words". 06/12/2007 via flickr.
CC0 Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.

In this post I will be editing and analyzing my wordiest paragraph. I chose to do a QRG so I need my paragraphs to be quick and concise.

This is directly from my QRG:

Remember the Sony hacks that happened a few years back in November of 2014? It is believed that North Korea targeted Sony’s interface in order to keep the production company from showing the movie The Interview. When the servers were hacked much of Sony’s secret information such as scripts, pay and employment information, and emails were leaked to the public. One leaked email in particular referenced the pay and commission of the leading actresses and actors in the film American Hustle. The movie stars Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, and Jeremy Renner in lead positions. The email included information that indicated Jennifer Lawrence would be receiving 7% of the box office sales while two of her male costars would each receive 9%. To the general public this seems like a minor percentage discrepancy but because the film brought in a whopping $150,117,807 according to boxofficemojo.com the pay disparity between Lawrence and her male costars was over 3 million dollars. Click Here to Read More About the Sony Hacks

Re-written and reformatted:

Remember the Sony hacks that happened a few years back in November of 2014? 

It is believed that North Korea targeted Sony’s interface in order to keep the production company from showing the movie The Interview. When the servers were hacked much of Sony’s secret information was leaked to the public. One leaked email spelled out the pay and commission of each of the leading actresses and actors in the film American Hustle. The email indicated that Jennifer Lawrence would be receiving 7% of the profit while her male costars would each receive 9%. 


To the general public this seems like a minor percentage discrepancy but because the film brought in a whopping $150,117,807 according to boxofficemojo.com the pay disparity between Lawrence and her male costars was over 3 million dollars. Click Here to Read More About the Sony Hacks 

Because we didn't have class on Thursday...

Ulloa, Javier. "It Sucks to be Sick". 06/27/2012 via Diviant Art.
CC0 Public Domain. 

Because Mr. Botai is feeling under the weather I will be posting 2 peer reviews of students in different classes on here! The 1st review is of a student who also utilized the QRG genre and another who used a different genre.

Review 1:

Sarah's QRG can be found here.

My Peer Review for Sarah can be found here.

My Grade Rubric for Sarah can be found here.

Review 2:

David's Video Essay Can be found here.

My Peer Review for David can be found here.

My Grade Rubric for David can be found here.

Reflection Questions:

1. What did you learn about your own project (or the project in general) by comparing drafts of the same project in different genres?

When looking at the QRG I learned that I still have quite a bit to work at though I have been working on it over the week but I also learned that it's okay to still have work to do as many of us have not yet perfected our projects. I now have an appreciation for our ability to choose our own topic as it comes through in the projects. People are interested in what they are presenting and it makes both creating and listening/watching/reading them much more interesting.

2. I want you to plan on doing revision between now and our next class meeting on Tuesday. Tell me the top three issues or problems with your draft in its current form and what you plan on doing over the weekend to address those issues.

1. I need to add photos that are relevant and interesting. I plan on pinpointing what photos I'd like to use and then incorporating them into my QRG (playing with the format).

2. I need to add more insightful information concerning my stakeholders. I already know the information so I do not need to do more research but I now realize that in trying to make my QRG "quick" I made it vague. I will be working on writing a more complete profile for each stakeholder,

3. Overall editing. As I said in one of the first posts I am a heavy reviser. This weekend I want to go through and fine tune everything so that if I add more I will be able to revise that individually to keep from creating A LOT of editing work next week.

3. Tell me the top three strengths of your draft. How/why are these things strengths? How will you build on them to make the rest of the draft as strong?

1. Content. I have read my stuff and therefore I know my stuff. I read upwards of 18 articles and therefore I have all the information I need. My QRG is accurate and informative and because I understand my topic I have been able to keep it "quick"

2. Neatness. Some of the QRG's I've looked at got so wrapped into formatting like all the other QRG examples that they have become jumbled and messy. The idea is to keep it sleek so that the reader can look at it quickly but when it has 15 sub headings, sidebars on every side and pictures all over it becomes messy. I was able to avoid that in my QRG.

3. Organization. I was able to organize my QRG in a way that flows. Instead of referencing all over the place my information goes in order both chronologically and in importance. I feel as though in flows in a way that makes all of the information memorable.

Peer Review 1

McPhee, Nic. "I tend to scribble a lot". 01/26/2008 via Flickr.
CC0 Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.

I peer reviewed Emily Sutton's QRG draft. Her draft can be found here and my edits and scores can be found here.


After looking at Emily's QRG (which I chose strategically because I did a QRG) I realized how much I still have to do. I knew that I still needed pictures but I now realize that I have some formatting things to fix as well. Emily did a really good job of integrating the format in a way that is visually pleasing and I need to work on that same thing. Emily, however, used a lot of pictures, more than the "right amount" in my opinion and they begin to distract from the overall QRG. My challenge now will be adding more info about stakeholders to make it all more clear and adding relevant photos while still keeping the formatting correct.

Draft of Project One

Vaughan, James. "please-stand-by". 02/02/2010 via Flickr.
CC0 Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.

Currently trying to figure out how to put my QRG on here! I tried copy and pasting but the pictures don't transfer correctly and some of them not at all... I'm working on fixing it and I will post it ASAP! Might just end up reformatting.

Free YouTube Stuff. "A Few Moments Later". 12/03/2015 via YouTube.
Creative Commons Attribution License

Alright, I've reformatted it, mostly by copying and pasting things in small chunks.

To the peer who is reviewing my work:

My QRG is centered around the Jennifer Lawrence pay disparity controversy. It has recently become public knowledge that female actresses in Hollywood are making considerably less money than their male co-stars. Because of this Lawrence wrote a letter expressing her anger and disgust about the issue. The backlash was anything but neutral. Many co-stars, both men and women, support Lawrence but some believe that the discrepancy is not gender related and is instead a plea for more money. 

My project is a work in progress. I still need to work on the formatting, add citations (whatever form those may be in), and add pictures. However I do believe my content is all there. Please give me any ideas or fixes you see fit! Thank you :)

PS: I use the words "women" and "woman" A LOT in here... Please look out and make sure I used the right ones!

My QRG:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oGM6ndGrs135AhUVkCKKEmq4fbsnUv0K2kEWK63OxaY/edit?usp=sharing 

PS: In my actual word document the quotes are graphics and look much better than they do on this google Doc

The Time Period

Herrera, Chuck. "Clock". 09/09/2014 via Pixabay.
CC0 Public Domain.

My controversy is fairly current, October 12th, 2015, just under half a year ago. In this post I will be looking for other events that happened in Los Angeles on October 12th.

Local:

http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-cal-state-watts-20151012-story.html

http://www.latimes.com/sports/usc/la-sp-usc-sarkisian-20151012-story.html

National:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-obama-60-minutes-syria-isis-2016-presidential-race/

http://www.occupydemocrats.com/2015/10/12/family-of-oregon-massacre-victim-obamas-visit-brought-us-peace-was-not-political-2/

Global:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/isis-is-leading-suspect-in-deadly-terrorist-attack-in-turkey-tensions-and-fear-of-violence-remains/

http://www.mintpressnews.com/israeli-airstrike-kills-pregnant-woman-2-year-old-in-gaza/210274/

On October 12th, 2015 there was a lot of murder and mayhem, as my dad would say, going on in the world. Obama met with 60 minutes and tried to defend himself on the issue of Syria. Meanwhile, in Turkey ISIS was believed to be tied to a deadly terrorist attack in Turkey. There was also an Israeli Airstrike that killed a pregnant woman and her 2 year old son. In California however, the most dramatic news I found was about reforming the education system and USC's football coach being deemed too ill to coach his team. I am not here to say that the issue with USC's coaches health isn't important but in the grand scheme of things, LA was in fairly good shape on October 12th.

The Setting

OpenClipartVectors. "California". 10/08/2013 via Pixabay.
CC0 Public Domain.

Every good story has to have a setting and a controversy is no different. In this blog post I will be outlining the setting for my controversy.

My Controversy is based more on an event than on a place and unfortunately my event isn't a riot or a speech but instead is a letter. Or rather the writing of a letter. And that of course makes writing a post based on setting a little bit more difficult. With That being said my story still has a setting its just a bit more abstract. Jennifer Lawrence wrote the letter that ignited the controversy after the Sony server was hacked leaking private emails and information that detailed the pay gaps bewteen men and women actors, namely Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, and Jeremy Renner who all stared together in "American Hustle". Lawrence did not speak out about the issue until almost a year later when Jenni, a co-owner of the online newsletter Lenny.com, asked Jennifer Lawrence to write a newsletter on her feelings about the wage issue. Lawrence, who is known for her mild manner and overall pleasant personality did not hold back in the letter. She was obviously angry about the issue and as many people do when safe behind a screen she let it all out. Sony head quarters is in California. As is Lawrence's home where she sat at her computer and wrote the letter so I suppose you could say the setting is California but that seems a bit broad to me. I believe that the true setting of this controversy is the internet. Without the internet the information never would have been sent
via email. Without internet Korea never would have intercepted the server, because there would be no server. And without internet there would be no newsletter. Just as without Troy there'd be no Trojan hourse, without the internet there would be no wage gap controversy. However, because this is a Hollywood controversy I will be using LA as the setting for my next blog post.

Stakeholder #3

Rinaldi, Eva. "Jeremy Renner". 08/07/2012 via Flickr.
CC0 Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic.

Jeremy Renner is my third stakeholder. Renner has not opposed woman actresses earning more money, per say, but he definitely hasn't backed it up either. He is the only stakeholder who has not taken pity on women, or Lawrence as a whole.

1. Who is the stakeholder?

Jeremy Renner is the oldest of  seven siblings. His parents married young and co-owned a bowling alley in their hometown, Modesto, California. Renner's parents filed for divorce when he was 10 years old. Renner is a well educated man holding 2 degrees in various, and rather random fields, including criminology and world religion. Renner is also educated in martial arts and general contracting. When Renner is not acting he runs a small contracting/house renovating company with his best friend. Renner is about 5'10" with a muscular build. He is 41 years of age with purposefully messy hair, signature 5 o' clock shadow, and brown eyes. The handsome actor was married for a short time to a lovely model, the two have a son together and have shared custody since their divorce after one year of marriage. Renner often plays action characters or superhero's. Some of his most popular films are marvel. Jeremy's acting career began to really take off in 2008, prior to that he had had small TV roles and minute movie script roles but in 2008 his most popular movie, "The Hurt Locker" came out and was a huge successs. Renner was nominated for a series of awards for that film and his progression has not stopped yet as he continues to produce more popular films.

2. 3 Specific Claims

1. Men do not make more because of Gender.
   - "Adding he fully supports actresses receiving equal pay as actors, he said he’s more focused on his craft than what everyone is making."

2. If women want more money they have to get it themselves.
   - "Renner went on to say that he does not deal with money matters in general"

3. It is not the male costars job to negotiate for the actress.
   -"not an actor’s duty to participate in salary negotiations."

3. How Credible are these Claims?

1. Claim one comes from a reputable but potentially baised page. The article uses phrases like "clearer mind" when comparing Renner to Cooper a sign of potential bias.

2.This claim seems valid. Renner has stated that he has no issue with women being paid fairly he just does not care to get involved. Because the issue of pay for his colleagues in not inherently his issue I understand his point.

3. This is also a valid claim. No one wants to take less money, obviously. Cooper proposes that all major stars in a movie discuss salary with the company but Renner disagrees. The money is his to keep unless they take it from him and Renner does not necessarily have an obligation to give the money to his costars, that is the production companies call.

4. How do these claims compare to the other stakeholders?

These claims are the complete opposite from the others. The other two stakeholders are working towards fixing the issue while Renner is truly letting others take care of it. He believes that the equality of pay is not his responsibility but is the actresses and the production company's (Sony). The two approaches could not be more different.

Stakeholder #2

Kali. "Wester Star". 07/08/2011 via Deviant Art.
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0

Stake Holder number two is Bradley Cooper. Cooper is on the same side of the controversy as Jennifer Lawrence but he has a different point of view.

1. Who is the stakeholder?

Bradley Cooper is a 41 year old actor born and raised in Philadelphia. This handsome actor with his blue eyes and deep voice often plays action characters in his movies, and if not action characters they are still always strong. In the movie, "Silver Linings Playbook" Cooper plays a mentally distraught man who cannot control his emotions, especially anger but strives to overcome his mental illness with the help of his also mentally ill friend played by Jennifer Lawrence. Cooper has been acting for years and has accumulated over 20 awards and received just short of 70 nominations. The actor was named People Magazine's Sexiest man alive in 2011, he's a fit and muscular 6 feet 1 inch in height, with piercing ice blue eyes and brown wavy hair. Despite the actor reaching "middle age"he still play the characters of much younger men. Despite Cooper's dashing looks he's not just a pretty face. Cooper also has a Bachelors degree from Georgetown University and an MFA in acting from The New School. Cooper's Hollywood acting career began in 2002 and he has been acting ever since

2. 3 Specific Claims

1. Actors should stand up and defend their female co-stars.

   - "Bradley Cooper has proposed sharing his salary details with his female co-stars prior to production in future projects as a way to help address Hollywood’s gender pay gap."

2. Men should be willing to take a pay cut in order for women to make the same money as them.

   - "Cooper called it “embarrassing” that he earned a significantly higher rate than Lawrence and co-star Amy Adams in Hustle, saying they earned “nothing.'"

3. Actors should potentially negotiate equal pay for women.

   - "That’s where men like Cooper might have a role to play, by lending their voices to the demand for equal wages."

3. How Credible are these Claims?

1. This claim comes from an article that I believe could be biased because of the location and age of the author. With that being said however, this claim is mostly centered around Cooper's opinions and therefore cannot necessarily be wrong.

 

2. This claim comes from the same potentially biased article as the first one but is backed up by a second article making the claim appear more justified.

3. This claim is the most outrageous of them all if you ask me but it is, once again, mentioned in multiple articles. Cooper seems to be interested in teaching his female co-stars ho to negotiate.

 

4. How do these claims compare to the other stakeholders?

 Lawrence never says anything about needing men to back her up so these, while they do not appose those of Jennifer Lawrence, do not necessarily agree either. These completely contradict those of co-star Jeremy Renner who believes that woman should really figure it out for themselves.

Stakeholder #1

Laakkonen, Tiina. "Dior ads with Jennifer Lawrence". 12/18/2013 via Flickr.
CC0 Atribution 2.0 Generic.

Jennifer Lawrence is my main stakeholder. As one of the most popular actresses of our time Lawrence pulls a lot of weight in popular culture. As a usually mild mannered girl her anger related to this subject shows how much she truly cares.

1. Who is the stakeholder?

Everybody knows a little something about Jennifer Lawrence. Be it her role as Katniss Everdeen in “The Hunger Games” or her part in “Silver Linings Playbook” Lawrence is thought to be one of the most talented and famous actresses of our generation. Jennifer Lawrence was born in Louisville, Kentucky but she never fit in. As Lawrence grew up children picked on the lovely blue eyed, brown haired girl who never did well in school. Lawrence was “special” as she calls herself, she had A.D.D. as well as A.D.H.D. and was never able to focus in a classroom, when she turned 14 she convinced her mom to take her to New York for a shot at becoming a movie star. On the first day in New York a man, a modeling agent saw Lawrence and quickly scooped her up as he saw her raw talent. She soon climbed the ladder and moved from photos, to commercials, to motion pictures. Lawrence thrived in the acting world, her compulsive and emotional nature was now not considered a hindrance or oddity but instead was instrumental to her career. Lawrence’s goofy personality, beautiful long brown hair, bright blue eyes and Kentucky charm did her well and she soon obtained the role as Katniss Everdeen in “The Hunger Games” series. In this movies Lawrence showed a range and talent that many actresses do not possess. Lawrence can sing, act, think, and maintain character in a way that is intoxicating for the viewer. Lawrence is now, 10 years after her move from Kentucky, an Oscar winning actress who still has her wits and charm about her.

2. 3 Specific Claims

1. She was paid less than her male counterparts.
    - "...the lower profit participation paid to Lawrence, which was disclosed in the leak of stolen emails from Sony Pictures Entertainment last year, exposed how women are routinely paid less than men in Hollywood."
2. She does not ask for more money at the cost of seeming greedy, unladylike or rude.
    - "I  would be lying if I didn't say there was an element of wanting to be liked that influenced my decision to close the deal without a real fight. I didn't want to seem "difficult" or "spoiled'."
3. Actresses deserve and can earn just as much as male actors.
    - "Pratt will earn $12m for the film, while Lawrence will net $20m upfront or 30% of the film’s profits."

3. How Credible are these Claims?

1. Claim one is completely verified as it comes from the production company’s server directly. In this case Lawrence is not using emotions or logic but instead is basing her claim on information from a different, credible source: Sony.
2. This claim is inherently fueled by emotion. Lawrence makes this claim as she feels that this is the true reason for her low pay. She believes she is being taken advantage of because she is a woman. This claim is most likely biased because the quote is from Lawrence but is also valid because she knows herself best.
3. This claim feels obvious to me. I think that any levelheaded American would agree that both women and men should have the ability to earn the same amount as men. This claim is stated and backed up in all of the pro-equal wage articles.

4. How do these claims compare to the other stakeholders?

These claims agree with Bradley Cooper, a male co-star who has been advocating equal pay for his female co-stars. Sony has not spoken out on the issue but actions speak louder than words and the company has recently been offering Lawrence larger sums for her talent. Finally, Jeremy Renner. These claims do not match up with Renner. Renner believes that women who have been asking or complaining for more are greedy. Additionally Renner believes that women who are main characters but have less screen time that the male characters have no right to make as much as the men.

The Big Event

Giakkas, Christos. "Red Theater Curtain". 08/29/2014 via pixabay.
CC0 Public Domain.

For it to be a controversy there has to be a jumping off point, the point where something went wrong and some one or some group got angry. In this post I will be outlining the big even of my controversy.

Monday, November 24th 2014 Sony headquarters in Culver City, California experienced something strange; an image of a skull with long red bony fingers flashed on every computer simultaneously along with a message warning them to cooperate. The Sony platform had been hacked, presumably by North Korea as an attempt to keep Sony from releasing their newest movie, “The Interview”. As a result of this hack that lasted nearly a month much of Sony’s secret information: pay logs, employment records, manuscripts, emails, etcetera, was no longer hidden from the private eye.  On December 12th 2014 emails regarding the pay for actors starring in the Sony picture “American Hustle” surfaced. Many reporters wrote adaptations on the issue but the actors stayed quiet as they examined the issue themselves. 

Flash forward to October 12th, 2015. After actresses of all caliber have been speaking out against wage gaps between men and women, like Patricia Arquette at the 2015 Oscars, Jennifer Lawrence publishes a newsletter using Lenny.com. In her letter she explains that she feels taken advantage of and mistreated by the wage issues that she has faced. She describes what was outlined in the leaked emails, Lawrence the co-star of Bradley Cooper in American Hustle made 7% commission while Cooper pocketed 9%. Lawrence’s letter has reignited the debate; do women actresses deserve to make as much as men?