Friday, April 29, 2016

Production Report B

        More of my script, very very rough sorry

Form
     Same as the other one, it's still in script form which I think fits well. I did include some sort of transition things I may want to add to give it some humor and so its not just my face people are watching in the video. It's rough but it is just right now scratch ideas.

Genre
      It fits genre conventions, because its stick with the idea that this will be generated into video format soon and its a script to read and for some formation of the other dynamics of the video

Outline Item
  Work in Different Genres

  • I have previous experience in lots of genres, conventional writing, poetry, video, podcast, blog platforms
    • Proof share? show poetry and/or other podcast?
  • This has probably helped me this semester
    • I already knew different format conventions for the different genres so I knew what to expect a little better
  • How mucbh did it helped tho?
    • I was still fucking confused

Adaptation of Outline Item

Overall I didn’t have problems with the subjects in this class that we were analyzing, I had previous experience in analysis of rhetorical situations, perhaps not in the exact way this class presented it but definitely before. In fact nearly my entire last english class was about analyzing strategies within works and it feels like that helped tie in a bunch of research in this course.
Now I want to talk to you about the different genres we did in this class, and how I think I had a bit of a leg up on it all, and that maybe that helped me overall. The different genres we had to do included a standard college essay, a podcast, a video essay and a QRG. I started off with a QRG and it went fine, but I still don’t exactly know what a QRG is.I figured with writing experience it couldn’t be that hard, having written plenty of papers, poems and blogging otherwise it couldn’t be that bad. I still don’t know where I went wrong. *slow dramatic panning over QRG with some crime show like music dramaaaaa*

The podcast for the second project went a lot better. My experience with podcasts was a lot more recent too, I had just created one the previous semester with my roommate, and while the podcast never went farther than a few episodes, combining that with my knowledge of how a podcast should sound from listening to things like Welcome to Nightvale, and Wolf359 *show cover art for both*, I was able to formulate my podcast pretty damn well. I knew how much speaking and transitional music would give it a professional quality and not distract or detract from what was being said. So I think in that instance I really had used my previous experience to my advantage in regards to conventions and the like

The third project was most comfortable to me because it was public argument *scene from Legally Blonde about being comfortable about using legal jargon in everyday* and so I did it in my most comfortable format, the essay. I’ve probably written like 200 essays in my life so it was easy to get this one out of the way and done pretty well if I do say so myself. It was a good one to do during the time period it was, with a lot of other projects and tests I was able to finish it well. It seemed like a lot of how well it went in this class was connected with how you paired the projects with a certain genre.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Production Report A

      WHoo starting in on that good ol rough draft are we, yes we are, I am exhausted but fuck it here it goes. SOmewhat

Form
        The form for this adaptation of the outline is just in script form, as I'm trying to get it done quickly so that I can film it soon. The form is very loose since I mostly just want to talk to the camera freely since it's a personal reflection and not a specific study or argument like the previous projects. I think in the genre convention sense this fits with video essay because its a script in the loose sense and there's a lot that will be up to the situation that I will be recording in. Also its very rough because I gotta figure it out as I go

Production
         The production challenge here was feeling he motivation to actually get the work done instead of just sleeping or studying for a test tomorrow or any number of things that also really need done. But whatever its coming along pretty well if I do say so myself. Creative epiphany: I may not be able to do an Elle Woods video, I can certainly include at least one clip from it.

Outline Item
Opening:
        Introduce myself and what I'm going to be talking about (me), discuss premise of the work, meaning why I'm talking about it, what exactly I'll discuss which i think will be how this helped me with time management and where/how I often worked. I don't think I'll need much to grab attention except for myself, I mean come on pretty girl (considering the Elle Woods Harvard entrance video type of video essay because wouldn't that be hilarious).

Body:

      Time management

  • Much of the work I accomplished on the weekends because of other work
    • Proves I learned scheduling
  • Working straight for 5 hours- efficient? bad? Doing most my work in a tea shop and how that probably helped or hindered
    • Socializations effects on my work and quality of work
    • studies on how much work is good at a time
  • Choosing which blog posts and the like would be done first and which I could quickest and what needed to be in certain order, weighing to pros and cons I suppose
    • Balancing work load

Adaptation of Outline Item
Intro:

Hi everyone, well it’s me, Alexis, I’m coming to you today to talk about everything that’s happened this semester in a moment of self reflection upon my different writing experiences in this English course. To start off with I’d like to say that this has been the most effort I’ve had to put in to an English class probably in years, it was a ton of work. The major points of reflection in this work include my new skill of time management, how working in different genres before all this was helpful, and how working with others throughout the course was a big deal.

Body P 1:

I came into this class like, alright I got this it's just English. And I promptly missed the first deadline. It flew by me and I practically hadn’t even noticed it until the next day and half of those awful long blog posts weren’t even close to being done. I think this course has been primarily a learning experience in time management, because balancing about 20 blog posts throughout the first couple of projects was really terribly hard with everything else, especially when I then added 10 hours of ant observation every week to the pile, the time within which I could do the necessary work for this class was shortened even more. I gave myself the weekend always, but with the 20+ blog posts it was still majorly rough. Real time management didn’t come to me until after the first project was done and most of the second project was done as well. By then post size had been halved so it was easier.

I think a main part of my time management came through that I would always work for about 5 hours straight at Scented Leaf, the tea place I spend my life at. I would go and do this nearly every Saturday and get the majority of work done. Perhaps not efficient use of time but it was how it started out. Of course this eventually morphed better where I wouldn't only take that time to do all the English work, spreading it out during the week , which was necessary because of both the workload and because I had begun to make friends at the tea house that would endlessly talk to me and my work was no longer undisturbed or efficiently done. So there were pros and cons of working there.

Another aspect of the time management for this class was trying to prioritize things like blog posts and research and writing. I had to figure out what I could get done in a certain amount of time and what could stand to be late or done in ten minutes to be redone later, better. I don’t have much to add to this yet gotta think about it. But i want to talk about it. This class overall has helped me with getting better at time mangement yeas

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Production Schedule


Opening:

  • What is to be done: Writing of script, record self. pick background intro music
  • Location: somewhere outside? woman's circle perhaps it's very pretty
  • Planned date & time: Hopefully script is written by tomorrow, video hopefully by Friday
  • Resources required: Computer, me
  • Date completed:
  • Changes made after completion & reasons why:

Body:


  • What is to be done: writing of script, recording myself, take screenshots of other work to show in this section, choose music
  • Location: Different places, probably smart to do some of it in the tea shop since I did half the work of this class there. Maybe my room, outside again
  • Planned date & time: This weekend, next week will be revision
  • Resources required: Computer, me myself and i
  • Date completed:
  • Changes made after completion & reasons why:

Closing:


  • What is to be done: writing script, recording myself, finish it off strong with some motivational music probably
  • Location: outside, or this one will be somewhere else that I haven't filmed before, somewhere to make the video seem full circle
  • Planned date & time: also this weekend, i want to have a completed rough of everything by this weekend so I can get everything else done
  • Resources required: Computer once again
  • Date completed:
  • Changes made after completion & reasons why:

Content Outline

       And now on to the final project! I'm trying to get ahead on this parts so I can begin recording because it's a video to do!

Opening:
        Introduce myself and what I'm going to be talking about (me), discuss premise of the work, meaning why I'm talking about it, what exactly I'll discuss which i think will be how this helped me with time management and where/how I often worked. I don't think I'll need much to grab attention except for myself, I mean come on pretty girl (considering the Elle Woods Harvard entrance video type of video essay because wouldn't that be hilarious).

Body:

      Time management

  • Much of the work I accomplished on the weekends because of other work
    • Proves I learned scheduling
  • Working straight for 5 hours- efficient? bad? Doing most my work in a tea shop and how that probably helped or hindered
    • Socializations effects on my work and quality of work
    • studies on how much work is good at a time
  • Choosing which blog posts and the like would be done first and which I could quickest and what needed to be in certain order, weighing to pros and cons I suppose
    • Balancing work load

      Work in Different Genres

  • I have previous experience in lots of genres, conventional writing, poetry, video, podcast, blog platforms
    • Proof share? show poetry and/or other podcast?
  • This has probably helped me this semester
    • I already knew different format conventions for the different genres so I knew what to expect a little better
  • How mucbh did it helped tho?
    • I was still fucking confused
       Working with Others
  • I worked with others a lot in this course
  • People in class on their project and teamwork for little project
    • Collaborations on podcasts for voice differences, that one time we had to make a video essay in class
  • Importance of having others check over work
    • Peer reviews helped in most cases
    • Boyfriend found like 10 instances of "quite ridiculous" in my last essay

Closing:
        Closing this project I will express my joy at being done, my enjoyment of the class and why this project was even worth doing. This all overall was important because my writing style has probably changed a lot over just this single semester and I will be surprised to see how much more it may change. This self reflection is important to see how character has changed in relation to work and how my motivation for writing is more driven now that I know I can accomplish so much in so short a time.


Monday, April 25, 2016

Peer Review for Rhiannon Bauer



Who: Rhiannon Bauer

What: Revised Post to Peer Reviewers

Activity: Copy-Editing Suggestion
        I suggested a lot of edits that would help increase her arguments impact and make her argument more clear, like changing wording and emphasizing some ideas. As well as cleaning up some of the phrasing. I did this all in direct editing or suggestions and not actually in a comment post.

Helped?
         I think I helped a lot, I gave her a bunch of suggestions to help the essay flow a little better and show her argument more clearly.

Incorporated
         The idea of specificity and clarity of argument

Admired
       She had good arguments and points, I admired her decision in choice of argument and approach.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Peer Review for Avalon Lubera

       Time to give feedback really late in the game    

Who: Avalon Lubera

What: Revised Post to Peer Reviewers

Activity: Copy Editing 
        Suggested to her to have more citations incorporated into her work to increase her credibility

Helped?
        I think I helped her so hopefully she would have more credibility in her argument so people would listen to her.

Incorporated
       Incorporated the importance of having credibility

Admire
       I admire her choice of argument, it's a pretty important topic that needs more notice


Saturday, April 23, 2016

Reflection on Two Weeks

     Not necessarily two weeks, but near enough, until the end of the school year, and isn't that terrifying.

Successes
        Well I got everything pretty done, gonna check over the fine cut once more before I turn it in, but I think overall this was a really successful essay.

Challenges
          Trying to find good arguments was the main challenge and trying to see what I could fix in the final paper  through my own eyes is hard, since I think it sounds right.

The Future 
          Well I've got busy weeks ahead and the last project still to come, so I think while stressful, its so close to the end its best to just work it through

Feelings
        I would say STRESS, is the main feel I got nowadays. But mostly not with this class

Friday, April 22, 2016

Revised Post to Peer Reviewers

Well there's been some changes in the essay but not an exorbitant amount. Hopefully you enjoy it.

Key Info
       I think I covered most the info in the last time that there was a peer review, I guess just remind people that this is a "hot topic" nowadays and very relevant.

Major Weakness
       Not something I would classify as a major weakness, but some would; I have no true personal arguments in this paper. I feel as though within this issue, it is so often that personal stories are discounted and tossed aside, so while I still used some pathos, logos and ethos are my main arguments within the paper.

Major Strengths
     A major strength within this work in my opinion is that I do have a lot of arguments to support my side while acknowledging the other side, if it is with a bit of derision for their views but whatevers.



Fine Cut

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Editorial Report B

      This editorial post is a bigger one because it's a completely newly added paragraph? Look how shiny and fresh the words and arguments are!

Selection From Rough Cut

                       
                         --------------------------------------------------------------------
                         | There's nothing here!                                                     |
                         --------------------------------------------------------------------


Re-Edited Selection
New words seem to scare people when they have to address how new they truly are, and yet they don’t realize how quickly and how often a new word or phrase will become part of everyday speech. How quickly did the use of Twitter and talking with internet lingo catch on, so quickly that words that were made only months before; “on fleek”, the concept of “Netflix and Chill” and the like were nominated along with “they” for word of the year (Guo). The reason such words catch on so quickly is popularity, the words were used en masse by some that others would become interested in and begin to repeat, to the point that it is accepted easily. If the concern is that it is “too hard” linguistically to pick up a new word with which to address someone, then it’s actually the person is unwilling to make the change; gender classifications in language are not what one would think, that there are male and female and perhaps neuter, gender classifications in language actually have very little to do with biological genders, gender classifications can be from none, to twenty different “gender classifications” (Curzan). These have nothing to do with gender, and should not be used in argument for pronouns, a linguistic argument quickly falls through when trying to find reasons against the use of a gender neutral pronoun in general, especially against the use of the pronoun “they”.

Content Change
Well this was an addition of new arguments, how new words are accepted into languages all the time and how exactly gender in linguistics does not have anything to do with pronouns or actual gender. I think it lends more logical weight to my argument

Form Change
           Well It's a new paragraph, so I added like a paragraph to the entire work, and moved everything else down like an entire page.

Editorial Report A

        The end is near.

Selection From Rough Cut
     The above interaction probably would not draw attention as being out of the ordinary in an everyday conversation. However, some people seem to think that using they as a singular pronoun is incorrect, and should not be used when referring to a person one knows. Much of this argument is rising from the surge of visibility for trans, genderqueer, and nonbinary individuals; who may not particularly like being addressed by a gendered pronoun such as he or she. The English language has no real neutral pronoun that some other languages have, like the use of "hen" in Sweden and Norway (Vindenes). So it was proposed that the pronoun "they", which is already used in daily speech to address a person of some unspecified gender, should fill this role. And yet, while generally accepted, there are still those who want to argue that it shouldn’t be used, or that we don’t even need such pronouns. My argument is that "they" should become the prescribed gender neutral pronoun used in English, and that whatever pronouns a person would like to be addressed with should be accepted and used.

Re-Edited Selection
   The above interaction probably would not draw attention as being out of the ordinary in an everyday conversation. Despite this many believe that using “they” as a singular pronoun is incorrect, and should not be used when referring to someone one knows personally. Much of this argument is rising from the surge of visibility for trans, genderqueer, and nonbinary individuals in the LGBT+ community and in the world as whole; who may not particularly like being addressed by a gendered pronoun such as “he” or “she”. The English language has no real neutral pronoun that some other languages have, like the use of "hen" in Swedish and Norwegian (Vindenes). So it was unofficially proposed that the pronoun "they", which is already used in daily speech to address a person of some unspecified gender, should fill this role in English. And yet, while generally accepted, there are still those who want to argue that it shouldn’t be used, or that we don’t even need such pronouns. My argument is that "they" should become the prescribed singular gender neutral pronoun used in English, and that whatever pronouns a person would like to be addressed with should be accepted and used.

Content Change
       The content that this went through, was a little more inclusion on who this subject effects, like yes specificaly the queer community but also the rest of people too. Also I made sure to not make it sound like there was an official proposal on the use of "they" but more of a, everyone started using it thing

Form Change
          There wasn't really any form change, still and essay and all.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Peer Review for Emily Bond


Who
      Emily Bond

What
      Open Post to Peer Reviewers

What Activity
       I made both content and form suggestions
   For form I gave her some ideas on how to make her QRG a bit more set up like a QRG, and with the content suggestion tried to give ideas on how to make her argument a bit more argumentative.

Helped?
        I think I helped fairly well since she had questions and I tried to answer them to the best of my abilities in regards to her project

Incorporation
       Incorporated the idea of specificity in her arguments

Admirable
       Emily's work was really well structured and thought out, and overall had a very finished quality to it which so early before final production is good for her with final edits.

Peer Review for Sarah Hansen


Who
      Sarah Hansen

What
      Open Post to Peer Reviewers

What Activity
          Make a content suggestion
   I made the suggestion that Sarah needed to add more credible sources to make her argument more solid, along with that trying to use less biased language so it doesn't just sound like an attack on Trump.

Helped?
        I hope so. She has good premise just needs a lot of refining

Incorporation
         Incorporated sort of the need to address counter argument and ensuring that it is not just sounding like an angry rant.

Admirable
         It's admirable that Sarah was open enough to share a very personal story within the work, it strongly increases the amount of pathos she generates as well as generally being a super brave thing to do.

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Reflection on a Surprising Lack of Stress

          I'm totally kicking ass today in getting this stuff done

Successes
        A big success again this week is actually getting things done at a good time, practically early in my scheme of work, along with that I actually think I found more usable sources to back up points made within the work.

Challenges
       Trying not to sound like a know-it-all within my writing, or being overly rude. I hope I soothe any ruffled feathers while at the same time still making a point that ruffled feathers aren't my concern.

Past the Point of No Concern
       I have so many big projects pretty much culminating in this week, as well as like, trying to have a social life. But I think since I managed everything well enough this week that next week will be just fine, if a little pressed.

Feels
      Overall, This might be my best project. Something I actually will like post elsewhere probably.

Open Post to Peer Reviewers

        Here's the Rough Copy so far, I hope you enjoy it and please, I implore you to give me feedback.

Anticipations
          Based on how much I got done this week so far, I have high hopes for how much I'll be able to get done to finished everything up as well as high hopes for how well final editing will go ultimately.

Key Info
           Information that may be important for you to know; this subject is close to my heart, as most dealing with the queer community are, I've tried not to argue from that perspective in the work, making it more about grammar and general courtesy to other humans and not something on the "gay agenda"

Weaknesses
           A weakness that may be apparent is that I have a strong opinion on the subject and worry that I have not addressed the counter arguments to this idea properly, or in depth enough, also I never truly found good sources for the counterargument side.

Strengths
            Essays are my best genre to work in, I have a god mastery on how they will sound and be read, and taken by the people reading them. Hopefully that will work for me and make it sound more credible ultimately.

                                                                  Rough Copy

Editorial Report B

           Closer and closer to being something final and usable

Selection from Rough Cut
A large part of the argument that one hears against using they as the singular third person gender neutral pronoun is that it is “grammatically incorrect”. And primarily the people arguing such things would be incorrect; they is used daily in conversation towards a single person when one does not know their gender, so why couldn’t it be moved towards when using it for someone you do know their gender, just that their gender does not fit into the binary that English seems to demand with its complete lack of regard towards a third person singular without a gender.

Re-edited Selection
A large part of the argument that one hears against using "they" as the singular third person gender neutral pronoun in English is that it is “grammatically incorrect”. And primarily the people arguing such things would be incorrect; "they" is used daily in conversation towards a single person when one does not know their gender, so why couldn’t it be moved towards when using it for someone one does know personally and their gender just does not fit into the forced binary of he and she. While sometimes using "they" can lead to ambiguity in language, so can using he or she, and contextual evidence will always lead a reader or even listener to know about who is being addressed. "They" is also not a "new fad" in any sense, in fact, historically it has been used since Shakespeare and Chaucer (Doyle). As well as being grammatical, English is actually strange for its gender system of pronouns in a linguistic sense; most languages in the family of Indo-European descent, which English resides in, have a system of neuter pronouns along with the masculine and feminine ones (Curzan). It would make more sense grammatically for the inclusion of one, whether the one we already have or a newer one, If the concern for the ambiguity of using "they" was really as much of an issue as those against the use of it make it out to be, then that would merely support the need for the acceptance of other, newer singular pronouns.

Content Change
The content that was changed in this was the inclusion of historical examples of how grammatical using "they" is, as well as linguistic examples for how the inclusion of a neutral pronoun would actually make more sense.

Form Change
               The changes in form in this case were the inclusion of sources once again for some more ethical appeal, as well as what the sources are showing is a logical appeal of linguistic and historical sense. Using also historically great, or looked up to writers, helps encourage the want of people who respect such things more likely to agree with the argument.

Editorial Report A

    Editing time! I have a lot to still write and fix but this is a real start.

Selection from Rough Cut
The above interaction probably does not draw any attention as being out of the ordinary, in fact, it could be something overheard or said personally and it would never seem out of place in day-to-day conversation. However, some people seem to think that using they as a singular pronoun is incorrect, and should not be used when referring to a person one knows. Much of this argument is rising from the surge of visibility for trans, genderqueer, and nonbinary individuals; who may not particularly like being addressed by a gendered pronoun such as he or she. The English language has no real neutral pronoun that some other languages have, and so it was naturally proposed that the pronoun ‘they’, which is already used in daily speech  in address of a person of some unspecified gender, should fill this role. And yet, while widely accepted, there are still those who want to argue that it shouldn’t be used, or that we don’t even need such pronouns.

Re-edited Selection
              The above interaction probably would not draw attention as being out of the ordinary in an everyday conversation. However, some people seem to think that using they as a singular pronoun is incorrect, and should not be used when referring to a person one knows. Much of this argument is rising from the surge of visibility for trans, genderqueer, and nonbinary individuals; who may not particularly like being addressed by a gendered pronoun such as he or she. The English language has no real neutral pronoun that some other languages have, like the use of "hen" in Sweden and Norway (Vindenes). So it was proposed that the pronoun "they", which is already used in daily speech to address a person of some unspecified gender, should fill this role. And yet, while generally accepted, there are still those who want to argue that it shouldn’t be used, or that we don’t even need such pronouns. My argument is that "they" should become the prescribed gender neutral pronoun used in English, and that whatever pronouns a person would like to be addressed with should be accepted and used.

Content Change
            The content that was changed included elaborating on what exactly my side of the argument is, as well as including better argument even within the introduction so that people would understand exactly what I'm talking about better.

Form Change
           A change in form in this section was the inclusion of a source for an argument, which enhances my credibility on the subject. Other form changes included shortening of sentences so people would not get lost in what was being said.

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Peer Review for David Klebosky

         And once again another peer review.

Who : David Klebosky

What : Production Report 11 b

Activity : Make a content suggestion
       I suggested to him that he needed another concluding paragraph to make the work a bit more complete and effective in his argument.

Helpful? :
        I hope it was helpful, I think that it will make the podcast that he is recording a bit more concise and understandable.

Incorporation :
         I have never read the book

Admirable :
         I do not agree with his argument butI do think that he is formulating his argument in a pretty good way.

Peer Review for Gaby Marty

       This seems like a weird point at which to peer review because it's not really a lot of stuff to review a person on.

Who: Gaby MArty

What: Production Report

Activity: Form Recommendation
       I commented on how in the genre conventions of the college essay she may want to be careful in word choice so she doesn't lose the people she is arguing against.

Helpful?
       I hope so? Maybe it'll help her when actually writing the rough cut

Incorporation
       I just didn't incorporate anything

Admirable
       So far from the little I can read since the posts are only like partial paragraphs of a rough copy, I really admire how Gaby is approaching the argument and she has sources to back up her work and it is all pretty admirable.

Reflection

         Time to reflect on all this first production:

Successes
       A huge personal success was that I got a lot of stuff done early! I know I've mentioned it in like all the posts this week but for me it's a very big deal which is fantastic.

Challenges
        Not exactly a lot of challenges so far, except having a really good, not too personal writing for this argument, even though as an argument it needs a lot of those appeals of emotion and personal feeling. I think challenging is while I got a lot of work done I still have much more to do and I'm not totally complete with this draft.

The Future
        I'm just getting busier and more stressed as each day passes so I hope I can keep up this good work and get this done well and quickly

Feels
      PUMPED AND READY

Production Report B

      I'm so ahead and I have never been happier. Ahead of my schedule that is, being on top of stuff is amazingly freeing feeling.

Form
      I think so far the form is keeping with the standard college essay, except for the fact it's a little too personal and doesn't have all the logic I would like to imbue it with to ensure that the subject is taken seriously.

Production
       Writing this sections weren't so bad, mostly because in my writing process I just sort of word vomit everything at once and then go and fix it and make it sound better later, and ensure that I have the necessary sources and everything else.

Outline Item
  1. Why using they is a good choice for gender neutral singular pronoun
    • Other options promoted
      • Shows how there is most definitely a need for a gender neutral pronoun, as well as a desire for one among people (Yo! Mama)

Adaptation of Outline Item

Why do we need gender neutral pronouns you may ask? Number one reason is that people do not fit into the perfect square of gender that we like to pretend exists, and it is harmful to those individuals and ridiculously rude to call them something they are not. Like a child on a playground wanting to hurt another, a person shouts the wrong name, the wrong pronoun, they misgender the person and think they may be justified in doing so. Quite a ridiculous, juvenile approach to something that merely, most people do not understand,
Some pronouns proposed seem quite ridiculous, and seem to want to emphasize how different or “other” someone must be if they want to use such pronouns; things like thon, hse, ve, hann, and hiser. Others are better and maybe more in line with the gendered pronouns already existent; e,ey,er,ze, and xe (Marritz).While better, these are new things, and if someone is not accepting of a person for their expression of gender already, it is very unlikely that they would even contemplate using a new pronoun for them.

(Dunno what happened with the spacing here)

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Production Report A

     Look at me a whole day early! And getting shit done!

Form
      The form I'm presenting this section in fits the general form of the standard college essay, an introduction paragraph in fact, the added quotes along the top are the "hook" that will hopefully make the readers interested in the rest of the what I will be saying.

Production
       The production is going fairly well for this section, I'm ahead of the schedule that I was expecting me to be on and thats a huge achievement.

Outline Item
       Explanation of what the project is about. Discussion  of what exactly pronouns are and why using a gender neutral one may be important to our society, explain why want to use they as the third person gender neutral singular pronoun. Sections want to discuss; choices of gender neutral pronouns that have been suggested and put out, why they may be most seamlessly accepted. How a gender neutral pronoun is completely acceptable and grammatically correct in English. Make a concession paragraph for counter arguments. 

Adaptation of Outline Item
My doctor told me to take it easy; they recommended only walking if I want to be active.”
“They probably know what’s best, since they’re a doctor.”

The above interaction probably does not draw any attention as being out of the ordinary, in fact, it could be something overheard or said personally and it would never seem out of place in day-to-day conversation. However, some people seem to think that using they as a singular pronoun is incorrect, and should not be used when referring to a person one knows. Much of this argument is rising from the surge of visibility for trans, genderqueer, and nonbinary individuals; who may not particularly like being addressed by a gendered pronoun such as he or she. The English language has no real neutral pronoun that some other languages have, and so it was naturally proposed that the pronoun ‘they’, which is already used in daily speech  in address of a person of some unspecified gender, should fill this role. And yet, while widely accepted, there are still those who want to argue that it shouldn’t be used, or that we don’t even need such pronouns.

Monday, April 4, 2016

Research Report

       As the project goes I definitely need to find sources with which I can back up my claims; as it is now, I think I have some sources with which I can back up my claims and arguments; I just now need to find some of the counter argument for which I can make concession statement and hopefully prove wrong. My source variety I think is pretty solid right now; I have a few mainstream media new sources and I have an academic book.

Sci-Fi’s Hottest New Writer Won’t Tell You the Sex of Her Characters

  • The source for this article is WIRED, the authors are not named but most of the information from the article is based upon a interview from the podcast "Geek's Guide to the Galaxy" from David Barr Kirtley and John Joseph Adams
  • Since the discussion is not specifically about the gender neutral pronouns but more about writing, I trust the interviewer David Kirtley as a sci-fi writer himself, and an instructor in writing. 
  • The post is definitely targeted at those more interested in the "nerdy" things. The website it's hosted on is all about modern innovations in science, but also has a lot of inclusion of pop culture things to interest the readers. Along with that the article is specifically about a sci-fi book series that either readers would want to read or already have read to want to hear more about the works use of gender neutrality in the way it does.
  • I think the main purpose for this short article is to explain something to the audience or tell them about a certain thing happening in this certain book; it's making those reading the article both curious about the how the book author used gender neutrality and about her thoughts on other conventions in sci-fi. Primarily I cite this as a reason because the author of the article primarily just references quotes from the book author in the podcast.
  • I think the source is reliable because its on the provided list of sources we should use. Also it's a good fit for this project because it shows the important of needing a gender neutral pronoun that is not associated with some gender already like the "she/her" used in the book.
  • The author for this work is Anne Curzan, the source I got the full publication from is strangely from some German google link and it seems inaccessible otherwise. But it was published by Cambridge University Press. 
  • The author for this work is very reliable; Anne Curzan is a Professor of English at the University of Michigan, and she focuses on histories of English, as well as sociolinguistics and language and gender. 
  • As the book is a book about the history of English, primarily I would assume that only those truly interested in how the English language has changed, especially in respects to gender. SO while some may read it to learn on free time, in all likelihood the book could be part of a class' required readings and so students studying in gender studies or sociolinguistics may also learn about this. The details revealing this include the detailed index for the book, with many section, giving an easy reference for finding specific sections. The language in the book is simple enough to understand but also uses larger words and helps to define them for the readers.
  • The source is quite obviously meant to teach the readers about how gender and language are connected. The books purposefully references things like great philosophers and events like choosing the "Word of the Millennium" to show how the talk of gender in language can encompass many events and time periods. Along with that any words that the reader might not know is italicized and then explained in depth.
  • This source is good for this project because it goes in depth into how gender is used through language with pronouns and how different pronouns give different feelings in regard to gender. As well as that it does not just talk about the singular they in modern culture as most of the news articles do, it gives a more extensive view to understanding this isn't just a recent idea system. 


  • The source for this article is the Washington Post, and the author is Jeff Guo.
  • Jeff Guo is the author of this source, so far I know he at least graduated from MIT, and he reports for the WP on economics, domestic policy and "everything empirical". Also specifically on this issue of the singular they pronoun, he seems to have a vocal voice for LGBT+ issues on is Twitter, meaning he would take writing the article relatively seriously.
  • The general target audience for this work is less specific than the others, though it seems targeted towards "Grammar Nerds" in a like "point proving" way, the article itself just seems generally for anyone who would want to read about the subject. Or those interested in the results of the Word of the Year results.
  • The main purpose of this passage is along the lines of wanting to relay the results of the Word of the Year results as well as detailing a bit about how grammar and new words are coming into the language of today.
  • Contextual details that shows that this article might be helpful to my arguments on the singular they, is that he talks about how it helps the discussion on gender identity that are happening in the world today. ALso discusses how the Post already amended their style of writing to include this and some of the outrage therein.

  • The authors for this source are Julie Foertsch and Morton Ann Gernsbacher, the source is the Psychological Science Journal. 
  • Julie Foertsch is trustworthy in this subject because she is an associate scientist at the University of Wisconsin- Madison focusing mostly on psychology and psychiatry, so she has the credibility to perform an experiment on the psychology of using the singular they pronoun. Morton Ann Gernsbacher is credible as well, she runs a lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, that focuses on Cognitive Neuroscience and how the brain comprehends language.
  • The target audience for this work would probably be a little less the general public since it is in a scientific journal, one can assume that those reading it seek out interesting psychological studies.
  • The main purpose of this passage is to explain how an experiment in psychology helps prove that the singular they is accepted by the brain grammatically when reading a passage,
  • A way that this article is important to the project is that it gives more scientific, empirical proof that the singular they is accepted grammatically and not just generally from people saying it is accepted.
  • The source for this article is OUT magazine and the author is Ilya Marritz. 
  • Tha author Ilya Marritz  is pretty credible because he is a trusted journalist and speaker for many sources.
  • Target audience for this work is more general, except for the fact its in a LGBT+ magazine, so its the general gay populous that this work could have been directed towards, who may have more desire in the gender neural usages.
  • This article's purpose is to delineate different terms that could be used in the singular third person, and how naturally people want to fill this role in speech so some people have come up with words like "yo" that fit this gender neutral speech.
  • This is important for my paper because the discussion of the natural usage of gender neutral pronouns supports the claims that it's not some weird thing queer people are trying to force to happen, its a real thing. Also the examples of other pronouns could be used in support of they as either a better pronoun or as substitutes if they is "too confusing because it's plural".

  • The source for this article is "Motivated Grammar: Prescriptive Must Die!" and the author is Gabe Doyle. 
  • Gabe Doyle has credibility for writing in this source because he is postdoc in Psychology in Stanford and he works primarily in psycholinguism and building models on how we acquire language.
  • The audience is people who grammar, so a bunch of fucking nerds probably and perhaps English fanatics. Maybe people who want to argue about using They find this source.
  • The purpose is to explain that they is totes grammatical
  • THis is so fucking good for my paper because it really has all the grammar stuff I would need to make a point about how they works 



  • The source for this article is JSTOR: Daily, and the author is Chi Luu.
  • Chi Luu is an experienced writer in discussing the mysteries of language, she is a computational linguist as well. She also works on dying languages so she has an idea of how past languages may have used gender neutral pronouns.
  • This article is directed more towards the academically inclined, being on JSTOR and all which is usually very scholarly. Also the title may attract the queers
  • The purpose of this is to show how gender neutral pronouns have been round for a while and also that they're just becoming more prevalent so really people should just accept that
  • This is good for my paper because history in something for some reason makes people feel better about using it, makes them feel like it all not so new and changing which really should be  good thing.
There's only 7 sources I know but I will try to add concession posts later but it is nearly 1 am and I am tired.

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Reflection on Surprisingly Less Stress

       Whoo! Week one done, and this is how it went down:

Successes
      This week I've been pretty successful achieving all the posts in time; I also think that I found my sources pretty efficiently this week and that I'll argue my argument pretty well.

Challenges
       However a large portion of my challenges this week have been with the sources and the research post. I thought I had a good amount of sources and then with some I was unable to find the author for some and had to lose them. I still haven't found a good amount of sources for the other side of the argument.

The Future
         I think based on this weeks work, next week will go relatively well. I will of course be working up until the last moment, but since I am only doing a college essay, my rough cut can be all my ideas and sources blah-ed (scientifically accurate word) onto the paper.

Feelings
       Since I have a lot to say about this project and am only doing a college essay I think I'll be pretty good in this weeks work, and doing it in a timely manner.

Peer Review of Gabby Dietrich

     Its important to help each other out in this ridiculous amount of work we have to do, peer reviews are supposed to help in that.

Who: Gabby Dietrich

What: Production Outline

Activity: Make a Resource Recommendation
       I gave her recommendations on where to film.

How I Helped: 
       Hopefully I helped her think about location and how places to film may affect the viewers of the video and their opinions on the argument she is presenting.
   
Incorporation of Readings:
       There wasn't really an inclusion of readings in this revision recommendation because it's not a content suggestion of any sort, but more an specifics of the project suggestion in the conventions of videos.

Admirable: Everything
         An admirable thing that Gabby did was just about everything. Her schedule is very organized and well thought out in what she specifically wants to achieve each day in preparation and ultimately in her work.
     

Peer Review for Ben Barnett

        Already in this project we're analyzing each others work and making comments on how it should be altered. This is practicing our editorial skills to be able to better make corrections in our own work.

Who: Ben Barnett

What: Content Outline

Activity: Making an Outline Suggestion
         I commented on the amount of detail he put into his Content Outline in regards to explanation of importance .

How I Helped: 
         I think I helped him with specificity in the outline, which hopefully down the road  will help him know what to focus on in his essay.

Incorporation of Readings:
         I have never read the book to be honest, but I think I incorporated general themes of the course into the advise I gave

Admirable:
         Ben really had everything laid out well, and had his sources laid out with where they would go in his work, and is much more put together in everything than I am. I admire his work ethic in getting shit done.

Saturday, April 2, 2016

Production Schedule

      To tackle a large project it's important to have a plan on how to schedule time and what needs to be done.

Opening:

  • Needs to be done: Writing it
  • Where: Anywhere, but best somewhere I can focus and have some silence
  • When: Since it's an introduction it could be written at the beginning, however I've heard that ultimately it's best to write an introduction once you've finished with everything else. Saturday
  • Resources: Computer
  • Completed:
  • Changes: 
Body Sections:

  • Needs to be done: Research for each section, making sure I have the necessary citations for any sort of arguments I want to make, then I can begin writing 
  • Where: Somewhere I can focus, Not the dorm room at 2 am
  • When: Soooner rather than later Hopefully by friday I will be writing this 
  • Resources: Computer, Internet for research
  • Completed:
  • Changes: 
Closing Sections:
  • Needs to be done: Citations made, deciding on a way to perfectly wrap up the subject in an emotional appeal. Writing it
  • Where: Anywhere, easiest part of the writing, sometimes best talking with people about it 
  • When: Once everything else has been done, or everything bu the intro perhaps, Saturday as well
  • Resources: Internet for citations, computer
  • Completed:
  • Changes: 

Content Outline

        It's important to outline a project before beginning, even if you don't stick to the project outline completely it gives you a good idea for how you want to go about the project as well as structuring arguments or what research you need to do.

Opening:
       Explanation of what the project is about. Discussion  of what exactly pronouns are and why using a gender neutral one may be important to our society, explain why want to use they as the third person gender neutral singular pronoun. Sections want to discuss; choices of gender neutral pronouns that have been suggested and put out, why they may be most seamlessly accepted. How a gender neutral pronoun is completely acceptable and grammatically correct in English. Make a concession paragraph for counter arguments.

Body Sections:

  1. Why using they is a good choice for gender neutral singular pronoun
    • Other options promoted
      • Shows how there is most definitely a need for a gender neutral pronoun, as well as a desire for one among people (Yo! Mama)
    • Use of 'they' already common
      • We already use the pronoun for people all the time, and yet people are against it once presented in the context of a specific person 
  2. 'They' is Grammatical
    • Used in everyday speech
      • Shows again the holdups against it don't really have to do with grammar
    • Accepted by Academics 
      • It isn't just something that people on the internet or the "millennials" solely use. It is a large part of speech in all spheres
    • Examples in Grammar
      • Experiment by Foertsch and Gernsbacher, how don't notice the changes
  3. Concessions
    • Arguments against 'they' pronoun
      • Shows that this is not a one sided argument and has actual fleshed out details 
Closing Sections:
           To close the essay I'm sure I'll connect it all back to the importance of a need for a gender neutral pronoun, using some emotional appeals, how everyone has a right to be addressed in the gender they relate to and identify as.