I didn't really want to post a picture or anything, but I just wanted to say congratulations to everyone for finishing up this summer course. I actually, somewhat, enjoyed reading some of your guys' posts and learning about issues that I didn't even know really existed. Have a wonderful rest of your summer, and I hope to see you guys around school!
I always enjoy meeting new people in person and making new friends. I am a firm believe that connections are one of the most important parts in life for happiness and success. Feel free to email me, call/text me, or whatever other source of communication there is. I am always down to meet new people and make new friends!
Good luck to you all!
GO WILDCATS, AND BEAR DOWN!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Project 4
Dear Classmates and Instructor,
In high school, going through math courses and science courses and so on, almost every single student wonders why they are learning about what they are learning and when are they ever actually going to use it in the real world. English or composition is perhaps one of the few classes in which that question is not heard often. Whether the level of the class is first year language, AP Literature, or College Composition, English class is important because it teaches us communication and allows us to understand life on a deeper level. Throughout my entire writing career, my writing was absolutely, undoubtedly, unfortunately, far below par. I was an unorganized, thoughtless, and immature seventh grader who did not understand the power of words. As the year progressed, my writing developed and I began to get a feel for who I was a writer and my abilities as a writer as well. My first year composition classes have certainly taught me a significant amount about myself as a writer, Over the years, my writing has greatly improved and has taught me a lot about myself, and this development is due to; excessive brainstorming, countless hours writing, reading, and researching (even when it seemed impossible), and reviewing and editing.
I used to think that brainstorming was pointless. I thought that I could just think about what I was going to write and then successfully write about it without jotting down any notes or anything to help my thought process move along quicker and smoother. My first-year composition courses have proven to me that brainstorming and planning is an important step in the writing process and it actually makes writing a lot easier. The lightbulb in my head flickered when we began doing brainstorming activities such as bubble maps and other things similar to that. When I first used Google Draw to create my first bubble map, Cluster of Robots Vs Humans Controversy, I was intrigued by how much the cluster aided me in my writing later on. It seemed too easy to just go back to my cluster and make sure that I was remaining on the correct track with what I was trying to accomplish in the first place. That cluster lead me to the epiphany that made me realize how important brainstorming is. Brainstorming definitely improved my writing from what it was a few years ago. When I would write without a good amount of brainstorming, I would often lose sight of what I was trying to say. I would get off topic. I would be unorganized. I would do all sorts of crazy things. Brainstorming developed me as, not only a writer, but a person as well. It emphasized to me how important planning is and how planning things ahead of time can create ease in the future.
After all of the brainstorming that goes into writing, sometimes writing can get boring, monotonous and just flat out frustrating. I feel like frustration comes to me so much quicker than anyone else when I am writing. When I spend hours and hours sitting on the computer, typing in words and hoping that I find something worth while to write about, I get sick of English class altogether. I will admit, this class gave me plenty of opportunities of frustration and boredom, but I never gave up. I was fortunate enough to have found a topic of research that interested me greatly. In my first project, Robots Vs. Humans: Who does the future belong to?, I wrote about robotics and their influence on the world. I researched this topic in great detail and had a decently enjoyable time doing it. Although I spent hours trying to find out that Miguel Valez, a student from the University of St. Thomas, said that “Robots are certain to become an ever-increasingly important part of daily life, but it will be up to society to determine the degree of acceptability of robots in the workplace and in our personal lives,” I enjoyed learning a lot about the topic (Valez 7). Because of all of this searching and writing, I learned that I need to find something worth writing about. I think I hated writing sometimes because what I was writing about was not interesting to me. Since I found something that I actually cared about and wanted to learn more, I was able to adequately research and learn about the topic without disliking it so much that I wanted to stop writing all of the time. Through my long hours of researching and writing, I have developed as a writer and I learned a lot about what I enjoy and that I find it easy to write about something that I actually enjoy.
Similar to brainstorming, the importance of reviewing and revising was not very apparent to me until taking my first year composition courses. Obviously, throughout my English classes, I have revised and edited practically all of my papers, but I never really thought that it was too important. This course especially made me realize the value of revising and editing. As I stated in Reflection on Project 3, “The main thing that I learned from this reflection is how mistakes can be made very easy, and thus, it is important to get editing done by someone else, along with multiple times yourself.” This was true for just about every one of my works of writing throughout this course. When I wrote a paper for the first time, even though I was careful, there was always something that sounds right or looks correct that really isn’t. Reviewing big projects as well as smaller assignments allowed me to see my writing with fresh eyes and try to put a new perspective on the way I was viewing a word, sentence, or paragraph. There were many times that I would find little mistakes in my writing when I went back through and re-read and revised my writing. Revising and editing developed me as a writer because it made me understand the importance of double checking and making sure that you know exactly what you are saying/writing and also exactly what you mean by it.
Since my early years of reading and writing, I have significantly developed as a reader and also as a writer. I have learned to be more careful, more evaluative, but also quicker in my thinking and my writing. I hope to continue this trend in the future so that my writing can be well above par when I begin my career and I go off into the real world. English, LIterature, and Composition are an important part of everyone's lives. Words are all around us and it is helpful to be able to read, understand, and interpret the words that we are saying. My English class experience has taught me a lot about myself in terms of my writing, but also in terms of who I am as a person. I see things differently (in a good way) than I used to, and I hope to continue to develop as a person so that I can see things in an even better and more evaluative way.
Sincerly,
Jake H. Glatting
Sources Cited
Glatting, Jake (2015). Robots Vs. Humans: Who does the future belong to? The Gladiator Blog. University of Arizona.
Velez, Miguel (2015). Current and Future Relationships Between Humans and Robots. 1-9. University of St. Thomas.
Glatting, Jake (2015). Cluster of Robots Vs Humans Controversy. The Gladiator Blog. University of Arizona.
Glatting, Jake (2015). Reflection on Project 3. The Gladiator Blog. University of Arizona.
Reflection on Open Letter Draft
Again, the two drafts that I edited and commented on are:
Brittany Newland
Jess Gonzalez
Who, specifically, is going to be reading this essay? Or who am I trying o reach with my argument? (My instructor, my classmates, members of my academic community, members of the local community, etc.)
My classmates are going to read this essay.
What biases might my readers have? Am I respecting their opinions while also achieving my own purpose?
My readers may have a couple different biases bases on their own personal experience with writing. For example, I have a bias that I like planning more than I like revising. Some people may share this bias with me or have a completely different bias all together. This was an opinionated essay, so I mostly just stated my feelings, but I think I did it in a polite enough way that my classmates will not get offended by anything that I said.
What are their values and expectations? Am I adequately meeting those expectations?
Their values are most likely similar to mine because we are all students taking English 102. Some people may value English composition a little more than I do or a little less than I do, but every one has similar values to the course. Because of the prompt, they expected me to write about my feelings towards English and how I plan to use this in the future. I adequately met these expectations by following along with the prompt.
How much information do I need to give my audience? How much background information or context should I provide for them without insulting their expertise?
Factual information is not the most important thing in this essay. The most important thing is making sure that I am explaining my own feelings and showing evidence to my claims from my past work. All of the background that my readers need is just past evidence of my own writing. I do not feel as though I insulted anyones expertise. All I did with this essay was explain my feelings towards English Composition.
What kind of language is suitable for this audience?
A casual, yet academic language is suitable for this audience. If the paper was more factual and more research based than I would need to be a little bit more formal with my writing. This paper was written for other college students who are in the same class as me. The casual, yet academic language seemed very suitable for this essay.
What tone should I use with my audience? Do I use this tone consistently throughout my draft?
I used an informative and emotional tone with my audience. I wanted to inform them of my own thoughts and feelings on the subject. I consistently used this tone throughout the entirety of my letter. I made sure to speak my mind, but I also kept my conventions and my organization in full strength.
Brittany Newland
Jess Gonzalez
Who, specifically, is going to be reading this essay? Or who am I trying o reach with my argument? (My instructor, my classmates, members of my academic community, members of the local community, etc.)
My classmates are going to read this essay.
What biases might my readers have? Am I respecting their opinions while also achieving my own purpose?
My readers may have a couple different biases bases on their own personal experience with writing. For example, I have a bias that I like planning more than I like revising. Some people may share this bias with me or have a completely different bias all together. This was an opinionated essay, so I mostly just stated my feelings, but I think I did it in a polite enough way that my classmates will not get offended by anything that I said.
What are their values and expectations? Am I adequately meeting those expectations?
Their values are most likely similar to mine because we are all students taking English 102. Some people may value English composition a little more than I do or a little less than I do, but every one has similar values to the course. Because of the prompt, they expected me to write about my feelings towards English and how I plan to use this in the future. I adequately met these expectations by following along with the prompt.
How much information do I need to give my audience? How much background information or context should I provide for them without insulting their expertise?
Factual information is not the most important thing in this essay. The most important thing is making sure that I am explaining my own feelings and showing evidence to my claims from my past work. All of the background that my readers need is just past evidence of my own writing. I do not feel as though I insulted anyones expertise. All I did with this essay was explain my feelings towards English Composition.
What kind of language is suitable for this audience?
A casual, yet academic language is suitable for this audience. If the paper was more factual and more research based than I would need to be a little bit more formal with my writing. This paper was written for other college students who are in the same class as me. The casual, yet academic language seemed very suitable for this essay.
What tone should I use with my audience? Do I use this tone consistently throughout my draft?
I used an informative and emotional tone with my audience. I wanted to inform them of my own thoughts and feelings on the subject. I consistently used this tone throughout the entirety of my letter. I made sure to speak my mind, but I also kept my conventions and my organization in full strength.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Draft of Open Letter
Here is my Draft of My Open Letter.
In this draft, I am hoping that you learn a little bit about me and where I came from as a writer. As stated in the rubric, I tried to be pretty medium about my casual-ness. I tried to speak to you as if I was just rambling on, but with obvious guidelines and organization. I would like you to keep in my mind my organization when reading this. It is one thing that I struggle on when writing casual pieces like this. I hope you are able to relate to my feelings in one way or another.
Enjoy.
In this draft, I am hoping that you learn a little bit about me and where I came from as a writer. As stated in the rubric, I tried to be pretty medium about my casual-ness. I tried to speak to you as if I was just rambling on, but with obvious guidelines and organization. I would like you to keep in my mind my organization when reading this. It is one thing that I struggle on when writing casual pieces like this. I hope you are able to relate to my feelings in one way or another.
Enjoy.
Monday, August 10, 2015
Reflecting On My Writing Experience
REFLECT ON:
1. Your assumptions and ideas about writing before taking your first-year composition courses.
Because of my Advanced Placement Literature course, I learned a lot about reading more into works of writing for what they imply and what they mean, rather than just the words on the page. I feel as though a lot of first year writing is about analyzing and understanding what an author means and why he is saying what he is saying.
2. The most important lessons you have learned as both a reader and a writer as a result of taking your first-year composition courses.
The most important lessons that I learned as a reader and writer because of my first-year composition courses mostly involve time management and making sure I keep a routine. In English 101, my scheduled consisted of full time student, full time athlete, engineering projects, etc. This was not easy to manage. For my English 102 course, I was demanded over three times the amount of course work during the week, along with a full time job working outside in the heat, with early hours and long drives, along with being an athlete and performing off-season training. This was even harder than performing English 101 in the fall. This course definitely proved to myself that I still maintain excellent time management skills, and the ability to stick to a routine and post things, on time, when the need to posted.
3. The ways you brainstormed, narrowed down topics, and worked on thesis statements.
There were a few new ways to brainstorm and make sure that my ideas were organized and developed. Using Google Draw, I was able to make bubble maps of what I wanted to discuss in my writing. This was good tool for me to use because it allowed me to visualize what I wanted to write about before I actually wrote about it. In relation to thesis statements, my biggest realization was that thesis statements do not have to be one sentence long. It is often easier to develop your thesis into two sentences so that your writing flows much more smoothly.
4. The peer-review process, including what you offered and what you received.
I felt as though my peers did a wonderful job of listening to what I was hoping for when reviewing my paper and editing accordingly. Sometimes, people can be too lenient because they don't want to hurt your feelings by saying that you some of your writing flat out stinks. I was appreciative when seeing comments that told me to change things because it wasn't very good. That type of criticism is very helpful to me because it makes me re-read and reconsider what I am writing and whether or not I like my own writing.
5. Individual or small-group conferences with your instructor.
We did not have any conferences with the instructor. I emailed back and forth with Ms. Wolfe a few times. She was relatively quick with her responses and was good with communication.
6. The discussion you had about your paper with people who were not in your class.
Most of the discussions about my paper I had with people outside of class were my parents. They were helpful in giving me advice and just discussing my topic. My parents were fascinated by my topic of controversy so it was easy to discuss with them my own thoughts and the facts about what was going on.
7. How yo approached the revision process for each essay.
I approached the revision process very simply. I read back through what I wanted my peers to see and edit on my paper and I went through my own paper just like I wanted my peers to do. I would read my papers slowly through in hopes that being slow and considerate of everything would allow me to see all of my mistakes without missing many.
8. Your understanding of reading and writing in different genres.
I learned a lot about reading and writing in different genres. I never considered the effect that writing to a specific audience can have on the quality of your writing. I thought it was really interesting to consider different genres and see how different genres are set up, how they are written, and the specific examples of different genres and their effectiveness. I feel as though I have a strong grasp on writing to specific audiences and appealing to their specific ideals and appeals.
9. What you would do differently if you were to take your first-year composition courses again.
I would not do much differently if I were to retake my first-year composition courses. To be quite honest, I would not want to take them again. I am not the biggest fan of English composition. It is sometimes cool to learn about different methods of writing and reading and analyzing, but sometimes I just get bored. I get the feeling, often, that the work that I am performing is monotonous and repetitive. I don't like to do things over and over again.
10. How college writing fits into your life now and how it will fit into your major and future career.
College writing taught me a lot, though. I am glad that I learned how to appeal to different audiences. I think that will play a really big part in my future as an engineer. Understanding how to write differently to your boss than you do to your coworkers or to the public will be crucial to my effectiveness as an engineer and my ability to get promoted and move up the rankings within my job.
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING:
11. What did you learn (from specific a writing assignment, from a specific experience, or from the semester as a whole)?
I think I took more from the semester as a whole than I did from any one particular assignment or experience from the class. I learned more about audience and how you can speak differently within the same research topic depending upon who you want to reach and how you want to reach them. As a person, as I stated before, I learned more about myself in the time management fields. It was cool to see my real life time management skills at work. There were many days that I felt like I wasn't going to be able to get everything done, but somehow I managed to prevail. I learned that I am stronger and better than I thought I was with scheduling and making sure I accomplish my goals.
12. Did the choices you made, or writing experiences you and, reinforce something you already knew about yourself or about writing?
I chose to write about robotics and their influence on the world. This was a choice that stuck with my though the entirety of the class. I learned a lot about robots and their impact. This choice certainly reinforced my appreciation for the sciences and continued to further my interest in technology and more specifically engineering.
13. If you did not gain as much from a particular project as you had hoped, what are the possible reasons for that and what might you do differently next time?
I think every project that we managed to do exceeded my expectations for what I would learn and what I would gain from it. I didn't have much of an expectation to begin with, so it wasn't difficult to beat, but everything exceeding the expectation that I had, drastically. I felt as though I actually came away with some valuable skills, knowledge, and experience that I was not expecting to have acquired.
14. Think about the course objectives listen on your syllabus as you consider you success in the class. What course objections did you meet? What objectives are you still working on?
The main course goals that are listed on the syllabus are as follows: help students write for varied audiences and situations, find and evaluate sources, make critically aware decisions about how best to achieve their purposes at the university and beyond, and to prepare students for further research and writing in their future fields of academic work. I think that I met all of these objectives throughout this course. I have noted how I have learned to write for audiences and situations. I surely learned more about finding valid sources and evaluating them for use in my own way. I definitely feel more prepared to write in my future field of academic work (engineering). This course taught me how to write better, more fluent, more organized, and more valid. Although the class was time consuming and tedious sometimes, I learned to manage my time and get things done with even more ease than I had known before. I feel accomplished with all of the goals set forth in the course syllabus.
1. Your assumptions and ideas about writing before taking your first-year composition courses.
Because of my Advanced Placement Literature course, I learned a lot about reading more into works of writing for what they imply and what they mean, rather than just the words on the page. I feel as though a lot of first year writing is about analyzing and understanding what an author means and why he is saying what he is saying.
2. The most important lessons you have learned as both a reader and a writer as a result of taking your first-year composition courses.
The most important lessons that I learned as a reader and writer because of my first-year composition courses mostly involve time management and making sure I keep a routine. In English 101, my scheduled consisted of full time student, full time athlete, engineering projects, etc. This was not easy to manage. For my English 102 course, I was demanded over three times the amount of course work during the week, along with a full time job working outside in the heat, with early hours and long drives, along with being an athlete and performing off-season training. This was even harder than performing English 101 in the fall. This course definitely proved to myself that I still maintain excellent time management skills, and the ability to stick to a routine and post things, on time, when the need to posted.
3. The ways you brainstormed, narrowed down topics, and worked on thesis statements.
There were a few new ways to brainstorm and make sure that my ideas were organized and developed. Using Google Draw, I was able to make bubble maps of what I wanted to discuss in my writing. This was good tool for me to use because it allowed me to visualize what I wanted to write about before I actually wrote about it. In relation to thesis statements, my biggest realization was that thesis statements do not have to be one sentence long. It is often easier to develop your thesis into two sentences so that your writing flows much more smoothly.
4. The peer-review process, including what you offered and what you received.
I felt as though my peers did a wonderful job of listening to what I was hoping for when reviewing my paper and editing accordingly. Sometimes, people can be too lenient because they don't want to hurt your feelings by saying that you some of your writing flat out stinks. I was appreciative when seeing comments that told me to change things because it wasn't very good. That type of criticism is very helpful to me because it makes me re-read and reconsider what I am writing and whether or not I like my own writing.
5. Individual or small-group conferences with your instructor.
We did not have any conferences with the instructor. I emailed back and forth with Ms. Wolfe a few times. She was relatively quick with her responses and was good with communication.
6. The discussion you had about your paper with people who were not in your class.
Most of the discussions about my paper I had with people outside of class were my parents. They were helpful in giving me advice and just discussing my topic. My parents were fascinated by my topic of controversy so it was easy to discuss with them my own thoughts and the facts about what was going on.
7. How yo approached the revision process for each essay.
I approached the revision process very simply. I read back through what I wanted my peers to see and edit on my paper and I went through my own paper just like I wanted my peers to do. I would read my papers slowly through in hopes that being slow and considerate of everything would allow me to see all of my mistakes without missing many.
8. Your understanding of reading and writing in different genres.
I learned a lot about reading and writing in different genres. I never considered the effect that writing to a specific audience can have on the quality of your writing. I thought it was really interesting to consider different genres and see how different genres are set up, how they are written, and the specific examples of different genres and their effectiveness. I feel as though I have a strong grasp on writing to specific audiences and appealing to their specific ideals and appeals.
9. What you would do differently if you were to take your first-year composition courses again.
I would not do much differently if I were to retake my first-year composition courses. To be quite honest, I would not want to take them again. I am not the biggest fan of English composition. It is sometimes cool to learn about different methods of writing and reading and analyzing, but sometimes I just get bored. I get the feeling, often, that the work that I am performing is monotonous and repetitive. I don't like to do things over and over again.
10. How college writing fits into your life now and how it will fit into your major and future career.
College writing taught me a lot, though. I am glad that I learned how to appeal to different audiences. I think that will play a really big part in my future as an engineer. Understanding how to write differently to your boss than you do to your coworkers or to the public will be crucial to my effectiveness as an engineer and my ability to get promoted and move up the rankings within my job.
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING:
11. What did you learn (from specific a writing assignment, from a specific experience, or from the semester as a whole)?
I think I took more from the semester as a whole than I did from any one particular assignment or experience from the class. I learned more about audience and how you can speak differently within the same research topic depending upon who you want to reach and how you want to reach them. As a person, as I stated before, I learned more about myself in the time management fields. It was cool to see my real life time management skills at work. There were many days that I felt like I wasn't going to be able to get everything done, but somehow I managed to prevail. I learned that I am stronger and better than I thought I was with scheduling and making sure I accomplish my goals.
12. Did the choices you made, or writing experiences you and, reinforce something you already knew about yourself or about writing?
I chose to write about robotics and their influence on the world. This was a choice that stuck with my though the entirety of the class. I learned a lot about robots and their impact. This choice certainly reinforced my appreciation for the sciences and continued to further my interest in technology and more specifically engineering.
13. If you did not gain as much from a particular project as you had hoped, what are the possible reasons for that and what might you do differently next time?
I think every project that we managed to do exceeded my expectations for what I would learn and what I would gain from it. I didn't have much of an expectation to begin with, so it wasn't difficult to beat, but everything exceeding the expectation that I had, drastically. I felt as though I actually came away with some valuable skills, knowledge, and experience that I was not expecting to have acquired.
14. Think about the course objectives listen on your syllabus as you consider you success in the class. What course objections did you meet? What objectives are you still working on?
The main course goals that are listed on the syllabus are as follows: help students write for varied audiences and situations, find and evaluate sources, make critically aware decisions about how best to achieve their purposes at the university and beyond, and to prepare students for further research and writing in their future fields of academic work. I think that I met all of these objectives throughout this course. I have noted how I have learned to write for audiences and situations. I surely learned more about finding valid sources and evaluating them for use in my own way. I definitely feel more prepared to write in my future field of academic work (engineering). This course taught me how to write better, more fluent, more organized, and more valid. Although the class was time consuming and tedious sometimes, I learned to manage my time and get things done with even more ease than I had known before. I feel accomplished with all of the goals set forth in the course syllabus.
Revisiting My Writing Process
In the beginning of the class, I considered myself a procrastinator and also a heavy planner. I still feel the same at this stage in the class. I procrastinate often and with almost everything that I do. That may seem bad sometimes, but when I enjoy something or when I know something needs to get done, I will get it done. Sometimes procrastinating can get stressful, but in the end, I know that what I needed to get done is done, and it's all over. I do still consider myself more of a planner than a reviser; however, I did find it very useful, throughout this class, to revise my work and to come back to pieces of my work and re-read them with fresh eyes.
In the future, I can see myself becoming more and more of a revisor. I am very organized and I like to get the bulk of the work done in the beginning (this applies to almost everything I do), but after having the opportunity to go back and re-read my work days later, I noticed how many things I wanted to change about my writing. The things that I wanted to change weren't necessarily that bad in my writing, they were just sentences that I felt could be worded better or ideas changed a little because of reflection that I was able to have after writing.
In my next two or three years of college, I would like to discontinue my habit of being a procrastinator. Although my work normally gets finished on time, sometimes school can become very stressful. I feel as though I could avoid that if I would just get ahead of the game and stay ahead the game, rather than being in catch up mode for all of my classes. I did a good job with this class about getting stuff done early, except for a few days. I felt very accomplished and successful when I would get stuff out of the way early. That will certainly be one thing that I want to focus on throughout my career as a Wildcat.
In the future, I can see myself becoming more and more of a revisor. I am very organized and I like to get the bulk of the work done in the beginning (this applies to almost everything I do), but after having the opportunity to go back and re-read my work days later, I noticed how many things I wanted to change about my writing. The things that I wanted to change weren't necessarily that bad in my writing, they were just sentences that I felt could be worded better or ideas changed a little because of reflection that I was able to have after writing.
In my next two or three years of college, I would like to discontinue my habit of being a procrastinator. Although my work normally gets finished on time, sometimes school can become very stressful. I feel as though I could avoid that if I would just get ahead of the game and stay ahead the game, rather than being in catch up mode for all of my classes. I did a good job with this class about getting stuff done early, except for a few days. I felt very accomplished and successful when I would get stuff out of the way early. That will certainly be one thing that I want to focus on throughout my career as a Wildcat.
Reflection on Project 3
1. What was specifically revised from one draft to another?
The majority of the revisions from my rough draft to my final draft were local issues such as: changing sentences to better fit their area, taking words out or adding words in to improve readability, etc. For example, "Every single person struggles with some aspect of the social game throughout life" was changed to i"Many people struggle with some aspect of the social game throughout their life" for a couple of reasons. The rough draft sentence was too much of a harsh generalization and the sound of the final copy sentence had much better flow to it.
2. Point to global changes: how did you reconsider your thesis or organization?
I did not feel the need to change my thesis or my organization. I felt as though my writing was written in an organized manner that appealed to my audience and presented the information I wanted to present in a readable and understandable way.
3. What led you to these changes? A reconsideration of audience? A shift in purpose?
Because I did not have many global changes, this question is not necessary for me. I had no reconsideration of the audience or a shift in purpose. I know who I was going to be talking to when I first the prompt of this assignment and I never thought to change my mind.
4. How do these changes affect your credibility as an author?
None of the changes negatively affected my credibility as an author. All of my changes, most of them being local changes, helped my credibility as an author because it made the paper look more clean and precise.
5. How will these changes better address the audience or venue?
These local changes will better address my audience because they allow the paper to be read easier and understood much easier as well. There were not major global changes, so global changes did not affect the audience or venue.
6. Point to local changes: how did you reconsider sentence structure and style?
Overall, there was not a major change in structure or style. All of the local changes were small changes that were mostly just replacing, adding, or deleting words or punctuation that were needed or not needed.
7. How will these changes assist your audience in understanding your purpose?
These local changes will allow my audience to understand the paper to a better extent. This, in turn, will allow my audience to be more willing to listen to what I have to say and act upon what my writing is all about.
8. Did you have to reconsider the conventions of the particular genre in which you are writing?
No. The conventions were formal, which is what almost every other academic paper is.
9. Finally, how does the process of reflection help you reconsider your identity as a writer?
The process of reflection allows me to see my mistakes and grow because of them. Not often do I come across a light bulb moment in writing and realize something about my own writing or about my own revising. This is true for project 3 as well. The main thing that I learned from this reflection is how mistakes can be made very easy, and thus, it is important to get editing done by someone else, along with multiple times yourself.
The majority of the revisions from my rough draft to my final draft were local issues such as: changing sentences to better fit their area, taking words out or adding words in to improve readability, etc. For example, "Every single person struggles with some aspect of the social game throughout life" was changed to i"Many people struggle with some aspect of the social game throughout their life" for a couple of reasons. The rough draft sentence was too much of a harsh generalization and the sound of the final copy sentence had much better flow to it.
2. Point to global changes: how did you reconsider your thesis or organization?
I did not feel the need to change my thesis or my organization. I felt as though my writing was written in an organized manner that appealed to my audience and presented the information I wanted to present in a readable and understandable way.
3. What led you to these changes? A reconsideration of audience? A shift in purpose?
Because I did not have many global changes, this question is not necessary for me. I had no reconsideration of the audience or a shift in purpose. I know who I was going to be talking to when I first the prompt of this assignment and I never thought to change my mind.
4. How do these changes affect your credibility as an author?
None of the changes negatively affected my credibility as an author. All of my changes, most of them being local changes, helped my credibility as an author because it made the paper look more clean and precise.
5. How will these changes better address the audience or venue?
These local changes will better address my audience because they allow the paper to be read easier and understood much easier as well. There were not major global changes, so global changes did not affect the audience or venue.
6. Point to local changes: how did you reconsider sentence structure and style?
Overall, there was not a major change in structure or style. All of the local changes were small changes that were mostly just replacing, adding, or deleting words or punctuation that were needed or not needed.
7. How will these changes assist your audience in understanding your purpose?
These local changes will allow my audience to understand the paper to a better extent. This, in turn, will allow my audience to be more willing to listen to what I have to say and act upon what my writing is all about.
8. Did you have to reconsider the conventions of the particular genre in which you are writing?
No. The conventions were formal, which is what almost every other academic paper is.
9. Finally, how does the process of reflection help you reconsider your identity as a writer?
The process of reflection allows me to see my mistakes and grow because of them. Not often do I come across a light bulb moment in writing and realize something about my own writing or about my own revising. This is true for project 3 as well. The main thing that I learned from this reflection is how mistakes can be made very easy, and thus, it is important to get editing done by someone else, along with multiple times yourself.
Project 3 Final Copy - Public Argument
Dear Fellow Engineers,
A new technological revolution will soon dawn upon us. What is at the head of all of the attention? Robots. Robots can do many things: They can break and they can fix, they can steal and they can replace, they can love and they can hate. Recently, with new developments in technology, it seems that robots are being built to contain emotions. Robots are becoming human-like, intelligent and free-learning, so much that humans may begin to fear a robot apocalypse. However, I do not believe that it is necessary to fear robots and the improvements that are being made to them. In fact, as a fellow engineer I encourage you to join the robot movement. Robots may be able to help the human race in many ways. In the near and distant future, robots will become more and more relevant in our everyday lives. Robots will help workers produce more with a lower cost and shortened time of creation and they will help people in their personal lives to live happier, healthier lives. Robots will not harm the human race, instead, they will greatly help us.
There are three main categories in which robots have influence in human life: work life, personal life, and intimate life. The most concerning aspect is work life. Many people are worried that robots are taking control of human jobs and creating unemployment. Although in some cases this may be true, robots are actually beginning to help humans develop product quicker, cheaper, and with greater ease. For example, robots are used in manufacturing plants in order to speed up the process of the creation of goods such as cars, appliances, weaponry, etc. According to Cynthia Breazeal, a co-writer and researcher to Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences, "Modern robots are beginning to participate as members of heterogenous teams that cooperate with people in order to achieve shared goals" (Breazeal 3528). Robots are able to perform in teams that work alongside humans in order to achieve maximum proficiency. In the cases where robots are potentially taking human jobs, most people consider car manufacturers who use robots for heavy machinery. Most people don’t realize that robots are also being used to help keep humans out of harms way. Miguel Valez, a University of St. Thomas robots expert, argues that “Robots controlled by humans have also been used to perform dangerous tasks such as exploring dangerous areas or deactivating bombs" (Valez 2). Robots aren’t harming people, they are helping people to accomplish difficult and dangerous jobs without risking their lives. In the workplace, some jobs may be able to be replaced by robots, but in reality, robots are developed to help humans complete their jobs in the most efficient way possible.
Not only can robots help people with their work endeavours, but they can also help people in their personal lives as well. Many people still have issues interacting with others. This causes depression, stress, fatigue, you name it. Robots are here to help. They may not look exactly like humans, they may have L.E.D screens and pivoting/rotational mechanical elbows and motherboards that are never seen by the people interacting with them, but robots have the potential to help people become more comfortable with their social lives. "Socially intelligent robots could have a significantly positive effect on real world challenges, such as helping elders to live independently at home longer, serving as learning companions for children and enriching learning experiences through play, serving a therapeutic role to help children with autism learn communication skills..." (Breazeal 3528), says Cynthia Breazeal. Many people struggle with some aspect of the social game throughout their life. Whether the struggle involves making new friends, keeping old ones, or having the courage to go ask out that pretty girl or handsome guy across the room that you know is way out of your league; robots can help you to gain confidence, make a new friend, and learn how to interact in all of those situations that you never thought you could. Robots are able to do all of these things because they incorporate social skills in their programming, but it is much easier and less nerve racking to have a conservation with a machine than it is to have a conversation with your dream girl or dream guy. Although some people frown upon the idea of robots used for intimacy, some people just don’t have the flirting skills or the confidence to have a human companion. For others, their busy days don’t allow them the ability to spend time on a significant other. These are the people who turn to robotics for stimulation. Valez argues that “humans want attention and contact with other human beings. If there are robots that can simulate those features realistically enough, it is not surprising to me that some would replace human contact, even sexual relations, with robot contact, in order to satisfy that need" (Valez 6). If robots have the ability to increase someone’s happiness, take some stress out of their lives, and make humans feel better, why is there any need to stop them?
Whether it is our personal, intimate, or work lives, robots have the capability to help improve every aspect of human life if we work to create more improved robotics. The issue of robots versus humans is already significant and will continue to grow every day that technology grows as well. Be a part of this revolution and inform yourselves of this so called ‘issue’. Spread the word, do your own research, learn the ins and outs of robotics, and you may just be interested in climbing aboard and making a difference for the future of the human race.
Sincerely,
Jake Glatting
Sources Cited
Velez, Miguel (2015). Current and Future Relationships Between Humans and Robots. 1-9. University of St. Thomas.
Breazeal, Cynthia (2009). Role of Expressive Behaviour for Robots That Learn from People. Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences Vol. 364, 3527-3538.
Punctuation, Part 2
The Comma
I was not aware that a comma is supposed to be used before a coordinating conjunction joining independent clauses. I always thought that when you use "and" to join clauses, the comma was not necessary. Most of the item listed for commas are basic rules that we are taught as youngsters in elementary and middle school. There wasn't much that caught my eye for this section.
Quotation Marks
I never knew that you were supposed to use quotation marks to include a quotation in your writing. Just kidding. That is the most obvious case! I always used one quotation mark to show a work of a particular slang or emphasis. According to Rules for Writers, slang words and words with emphasis are not to be surrounded by quotation marks at all.
End Punctuation
End punctuation is pretty obvious. I don't think I need to say much about this. End punctuation is taught from the time we first learn how to read and write. Sometimes, when texting and other stuff, end punctuation is not used; however, this is in a very informal setting. All other times, when writing, end punctuation is used and practiced with.
Other Punctuation Marks
I never knew why some authors will use dashes in the middle of their sentences. Now I know that the dash is used to display emphasis. Most of the other punctuation were normal stuff that I had already known. The only other example that was a good refresher was this: when poetry is being written in line form, you use slashes to show where lines of poetry would normally end.
Here are some examples of the above punctuation within my own Project 3:
"They can break and they can fix, they can steal and they can replace, they can love and they can hate."
These commas are used to separate items in a list.
Miguel Valez, a University of St. Thomas robots expert, argues that “Robots controlled by humans have also been used to perform dangerous tasks such as exploring dangerous areas or deactivating bombs" (Valez 2).
These quotation marks are used to display a quote that was taken from another source.
In my writing, I noticed that I use commas often. Whether it is to separate clauses within a sentence or to separate items in a list, commas are used quite often in my writing. Also, I realized the importance of quotation marks, especially for academic papers. It is sort of cool to look at all of the different rules and tendencies in English writing and to just think about how someone, or some people, created all of it and had to think about all of the things that are incorporated into writing. That fathoms me.
I was not aware that a comma is supposed to be used before a coordinating conjunction joining independent clauses. I always thought that when you use "and" to join clauses, the comma was not necessary. Most of the item listed for commas are basic rules that we are taught as youngsters in elementary and middle school. There wasn't much that caught my eye for this section.
Quotation Marks
I never knew that you were supposed to use quotation marks to include a quotation in your writing. Just kidding. That is the most obvious case! I always used one quotation mark to show a work of a particular slang or emphasis. According to Rules for Writers, slang words and words with emphasis are not to be surrounded by quotation marks at all.
End Punctuation
End punctuation is pretty obvious. I don't think I need to say much about this. End punctuation is taught from the time we first learn how to read and write. Sometimes, when texting and other stuff, end punctuation is not used; however, this is in a very informal setting. All other times, when writing, end punctuation is used and practiced with.
Other Punctuation Marks
I never knew why some authors will use dashes in the middle of their sentences. Now I know that the dash is used to display emphasis. Most of the other punctuation were normal stuff that I had already known. The only other example that was a good refresher was this: when poetry is being written in line form, you use slashes to show where lines of poetry would normally end.
Here are some examples of the above punctuation within my own Project 3:
"They can break and they can fix, they can steal and they can replace, they can love and they can hate."
These commas are used to separate items in a list.
Miguel Valez, a University of St. Thomas robots expert, argues that “Robots controlled by humans have also been used to perform dangerous tasks such as exploring dangerous areas or deactivating bombs" (Valez 2).
These quotation marks are used to display a quote that was taken from another source.
In my writing, I noticed that I use commas often. Whether it is to separate clauses within a sentence or to separate items in a list, commas are used quite often in my writing. Also, I realized the importance of quotation marks, especially for academic papers. It is sort of cool to look at all of the different rules and tendencies in English writing and to just think about how someone, or some people, created all of it and had to think about all of the things that are incorporated into writing. That fathoms me.
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Reflection on Project 3
I peer edited the following two authors' papers.
Adam Jatana
Helen Diane Key
1. What was the purpose and audience of your original paper? How successfully did it achieve that purpose and reach that audience.
The purpose of my paper was/is to inform people (specifically engineering students) of the importance of robotics and how robots could drastically change the fate of the future. My paper did a good job of reaching that goal. I feel as though I was able to accomplish my goal very well using the technical aspect of robotics along side my own emotional appeal.
2. Why are you revising this paper?
I am revising this paper to make sure that is is properly worded and organized so that my audience will get the best possible understanding of what I was trying to accomplish. I am also eating for conventions. Conventions also play a crucial role in allowing my audience to fully understand the paper without confusion.
3. Whom are you revising for?
As stated in number two, I was revising my paper for organization along with conventions. I wanted to make sure that the paper had the proper punctuation and good organization so that my audience could flow right through the paper and really get the best possible understanding of the subject matter that they could possibly get.
4. How will the following aspects of your paper change? Length, format, appearance, use of evidence, intro and conclusion, structure, depth.
Not much of my paper is going to change. I, along with my classmates that peer edited my paper, did not come across any global issues with the paper. There were small changes here and there that would have been confusing to read through, but the main points of the paper are all going to remain the same. The length, format, evidence, intro and conclusion, structure, and depth will not change. The appearance overall is not going to change either, but there are minor appearance changes that occurred because of small changes throughout the paper.
Adam Jatana
Helen Diane Key
1. What was the purpose and audience of your original paper? How successfully did it achieve that purpose and reach that audience.
The purpose of my paper was/is to inform people (specifically engineering students) of the importance of robotics and how robots could drastically change the fate of the future. My paper did a good job of reaching that goal. I feel as though I was able to accomplish my goal very well using the technical aspect of robotics along side my own emotional appeal.
2. Why are you revising this paper?
I am revising this paper to make sure that is is properly worded and organized so that my audience will get the best possible understanding of what I was trying to accomplish. I am also eating for conventions. Conventions also play a crucial role in allowing my audience to fully understand the paper without confusion.
3. Whom are you revising for?
As stated in number two, I was revising my paper for organization along with conventions. I wanted to make sure that the paper had the proper punctuation and good organization so that my audience could flow right through the paper and really get the best possible understanding of the subject matter that they could possibly get.
4. How will the following aspects of your paper change? Length, format, appearance, use of evidence, intro and conclusion, structure, depth.
Not much of my paper is going to change. I, along with my classmates that peer edited my paper, did not come across any global issues with the paper. There were small changes here and there that would have been confusing to read through, but the main points of the paper are all going to remain the same. The length, format, evidence, intro and conclusion, structure, and depth will not change. The appearance overall is not going to change either, but there are minor appearance changes that occurred because of small changes throughout the paper.
Punctuation, Part 1
Unnecessary Commas
I thought that I understood when to use commas very well. It turns out that is not necessarily the case. I found it interesting that they used my name for an example that I didn't understand. I thought that you always used a comma before using "but," but apparently not. I now know that you should not use a comma between compound elements that are not independent clauses. I also was not aware about the use of commas between cumulative adjectives. That was really interesting to me.
The Semi Colon
My personal biggest use of the semi colon is when I use "however" to separate to independent clauses. I know now that I can use a semi colon between closely related independent clauses not joined with a coordinating conjunction. It was also really cool to see them used in a series containing internal punctuation. That isn't something that I ever considered.
The Apostrophe
I knew the simple rules of apostrophes, such as possession and contractions, but I did not know not to use apostrophes in the plural of numbers, letters, abbreviations, and words mentioned as words. There aren't a ton of rules for apostrophes that are noted in Rules for Writers. I had a good prior knowledge of when to use and when not to use the apostrophe, but I enjoyed going through and learning when not to use apostrophes. I always used to use them when saying the plural of a number, such as: the 1920s. I would always use an apostrophe in the 1920s, but that was actually incorrect.
REFLECTION
In Adams paper, he stated "All together, this telescope is vital towards our future, and the construction." I did not feel that the comma after "future" was necessary. That was a good example of an unnecessary comma.
REFLECTION
In Adams paper, he stated "All together, this telescope is vital towards our future, and the construction." I did not feel that the comma after "future" was necessary. That was a good example of an unnecessary comma.
In Diane's paper, her title is "Stem Cell Research and it’s Benefits." The apostrophe in the title is unnecessary because she is showing that "it's" is a contraction. In this case, it is actually showing possession and the apostrophe is not needed.
By learning more about punctuation, I was able to see some of the mistakes in my own paper and my peers' papers that I would not have noticed before. I found it interesting how easy it was to mess up an apostrophe. I do it all of the time. I was glad that I was able to spot these mistakes and point them out to my classmates.
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Draft of Public Argument
I decided that the best genre to go about my public argument was a newsletter of sorts. It could be an email or something similar to that. Basically, I wanted to reach as many engineering students that I possibly could, so my argument is a letter to all of the engineering students at the U of A. The goal of my letter is to inform people that the issue or robotics is a large one and is only going to get bigger. I want people to understand how big of a controversy this issue could be and I want people to become more informed. I felt that engineers would be the perfect place to start because of their passion for technology. It takes all aspects of engineering to create robots, so I figured the general engineering population would the best way to reach people who may actually care about the issue.
As usual, this project is written after a long days work and a maybe no-so-clear head. I would love any feedback that you may have. Critique me with all that you got. My goal is to have the best paper that I can possibly have and I cannot do that without your brutal criticism. Thank you so much!
Public Argument Draft
As usual, this project is written after a long days work and a maybe no-so-clear head. I would love any feedback that you may have. Critique me with all that you got. My goal is to have the best paper that I can possibly have and I cannot do that without your brutal criticism. Thank you so much!
Public Argument Draft
Paraphrasing a Source
Both in fiction [2] and real life [11], there are many examples of robots facilitating the
work that we do by performing dangerous or repetitive tasks which allow us to improve our
productivity. However, we become concerned when robots are able to perform and improve
upon the work that we do. I believe that in the short term, being replaced by robots affects
both the people being replaced and society as this will lead to higher unemployment. How-
ever, in the long term, this allows people to abandon performing repetitive and simple tasks
and concentrate more on other jobs that are not tedious and monotonous. This also applies
to workers who are not completely replaced by robots since they would have “assistants” for
some of their tasks and would be able to work on more challenging tasks. Further, some of
the current work that robots do is not flawless. As a result, not all people will be replaced,
since companies do not want to risk losing customers due to bad service. Finally, it will take many years, or decades, for a complete work sector to be fully replaced by robots, which
will allow current and future workers of that field to anticipate and prepare for this change
if and when it occurs.
My Paraphrase
Robots do dangerous and boring things in order for humans to improve productivity; however, humans get nervous when robots are able to do things that humans do. Valez believes that robots replacing humans in jobs will cause bad things to happen in the economy. In the long term, robots taking mundane tasks allows humans to get away from repetition and boredom. Robots can also be assistant to humans and this allows humans to only get rid of the repetitive tasks while maintaining the thought provoking ones. Humans will also still be used in customer relations. Robots are not yet perfect enough to solely use them as a customer service method. It will be a long while before robots completely control any one sector or human work. (Valez p. 3-4).
My Paraphrase
Robots do dangerous and boring things in order for humans to improve productivity; however, humans get nervous when robots are able to do things that humans do. Valez believes that robots replacing humans in jobs will cause bad things to happen in the economy. In the long term, robots taking mundane tasks allows humans to get away from repetition and boredom. Robots can also be assistant to humans and this allows humans to only get rid of the repetitive tasks while maintaining the thought provoking ones. Humans will also still be used in customer relations. Robots are not yet perfect enough to solely use them as a customer service method. It will be a long while before robots completely control any one sector or human work. (Valez p. 3-4).
Outlining My Public Argument
INTRODUCTION
For my introduction, I will use the first bulleted point: Connect the Issue to Your Audience. I feel like this will be the best way to go about explaining the controversy of robots and how the effect the world. By discussing how robots will have an effect on the my audience, I think my audience will feel more emotional to the subject and be better drawn in to continuing to learn about the issue and also to act upon the issue in whatever way they deem is necessary.
SUPPORTING PARAGRAPHS
For my introduction, I will use the first bulleted point: Connect the Issue to Your Audience. I feel like this will be the best way to go about explaining the controversy of robots and how the effect the world. By discussing how robots will have an effect on the my audience, I think my audience will feel more emotional to the subject and be better drawn in to continuing to learn about the issue and also to act upon the issue in whatever way they deem is necessary.
SUPPORTING PARAGRAPHS
- Supporting Arguments
- Increase Production along side human workers
- Robots are able to do the mundane, boring, and repetitive work while the humans can focus on developing other ideas and creating even better things.
- "Robots controlled by humans have also been used to perform dangerous tasks such as exploring dangerous areas or deactivating bombs" (Valez 2).
- "Modern robots are beginning to participate as members of heterogenous teams that cooperate with people in order to achieve shared goals" (Breazeal 3528)
- Aid those in need of companionship
- Robots can help people who need companions, such as young children and also elderly people who need something to keep their spirits up. Robotics may allow for people to have companionship without the mess.
- "Socially intelligent robots could have a significantly positive effect on real world challenges, such as helping elders to live independently at home longer, serving as learning companions for children and enriching learning experiences through play, serving a therapeutic role to help children with autism learn communication skills..." (Brazil 3528).
- Help teach people without the mess of human failure and filth
- Similar to the above statement, robots produce little filth. Compared to the inconsiderate people who litter, create filth, and do not help to fight against public filth, robots could not only help clean up the earth, but also help to prevent it from getting filthier.
- Provide Alternatives for those who are not comfortable in the "dating game"
- Although some may say that it is morally wrong, people who have trouble in social settings may be able to develop skills for the real world by interacting with robots.
- "Humans want attention and contact with other human beings. If there are robots that can simulate those features realistically enough, it is not surprising to me that some would replace human contact, even sexual relations, with robot contact, in order to satisfy that need" (Valez 6).
- Major Criticisms
- Stealing Jobs
- Some say that robots are beginning to steal jobs; though some people have lost their jobs due to robotics being implemented in factories and such, robots are helping to increase the productivity of others, eventually allowing for the expansion of the economy and more jobs to be created/
- People will become too attached to technology
- It can be argued that people are already becoming too attached to the technology that they use every day. This is true in many cases; however, this may not be an issue if robots continue to grow and improve and they begin to look more and seem more like humans. Rather than a phone being over used, people will develop social skills in order to face real people in the future.
- Key Support and Rebuttal Points
- Address Supporting Arguments:
- Increase Production
- Address Major Criticisms:
- Stealing Jobs
MAP
- Intro:
- I will try to use emotion to win over my audience for my intro. I will point out how relevant this issue is with my audience and mention that the people that I am speaking to are in the front seat to what happens with robotics.
- Thesis
- In the near and distant future robots will become more and more relevant in everyday human lives. Robots will help workers produce more with a lower case and lower time of creation and they will help people in their personal lives develop skills and emotions for something. Robots will aid the human race in multiple ways.
- Support 1
- Increasing Production
- I need to focus on this point. There is a lot of evidence against it, so I need to bring up that evidence and say how it is logical, but how my feelings are more feasible.
- Support 2
- Aid those in need of a friend
- There is a lot of evidence and banter about how technology can help people gain social skills. This is where I need to talk about that.
- Support 3
- Teach people without the filth
- It is not question that people are concerned with global warming, a dirty planet, and not being able to come back and save the earth. I can argue that robots can help to do just that.
- Support 4
- Alternative to the dating game
- Most evidence against this is just in support of how it is morally wrong. If I can convince my readers that it isn't all that bad to use robotics for intimacy, I can really win over my audience all together.
- Conclusion
- A simple wrap up should suffice. Restate all of my points but discuss what can be done and what should be done in order to act on the emotions that are flowing through people after having read my paper.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Considering Types
The only viable argument for my public argument discussing robots and humans would be a position argument. A position argument is meant to "develop your own defenses of this issue." This would fit perfectly because my goal with this public argument is to discuss robotics, but then to defend how I feel that they will help human life in the future. A casual argument would not be the correct way to go about my idea because I am not really "argue[ing] for one cause of one set of causes." There really is no cause of an issue or a cause of anything in the robotics argument, so a casual argument would not be the most sufficient way to go. An evaluative argument could potentially work, but I feel as thought the issue with robotics isn't necessarily a "policy, idea, [or] solution to a problem." The issue having to do with robots is more of one that is a futuristic issue, and I am trying to raise awareness on what could potentially happen. I am not "analyze[ing] a particular problem," thus, I don't think that a proposal argument would work very well for my goals either. The same thing goes for the refutation argument. I am not refuting any idea, I am simply raising awareness and slightly portraying my own feelings for the issue. All in all, the best way of going about my public argument is to use a position argument. I will take the position that I believe in, I will create a "pro/con argument" and I will be sure to show what I believe and how that will effect others. The other types of argument do not make much sense for the argument concerning robots' involvement in human life in the future.
My Rhetorical Action Plan
1. Audience: Who are you going to try to persuade with your public argument? Describe the following aspects of your audience in a few sentences: Knowledge, Values, Standards of Arguments, Visual Elements, Purpose.
The audience will be relatively knowledgable in the technological world. They will not be ignorant on the subject, but they may not be experts. Their values will range between just about everything. The best type of research that will be reliable and persuasive will be research from other knowledgable people, whether their work is formulated on years of experience, or research being done for a undergraduate paper, other peoples knowledge will be the most persuasive research. My argument is going to be written to expand peoples knowledge on the issue. I want my audience to be more informed about robotics and the future that is possible with them.
2. Genre: What form of writing will you use? After identifying your genre list answers for the following questions:
Newsletter/Magazine OR Newspaper Article
What is the function of the genre? What is it designed to do for your readers? OR, why did you choose it?
The function is to raise awareness to what is going on in mass quantities to people who care about the subject at hand. I chose it because I want to reach a large quantity audience that has a passion for something that involves technology.
What is the setting of your genre? Where could you see it being used?
Newsletters and media articles are read everywhere. They are used everywhere from restaurants to on the toilet.
How might you use the rhetorical appeals we have studied- ethos (character), pathos (values/emotion), and logos (logical argumentation) in this genre?
I will use all three of the rhetorical appeals in this genre to portray my opinion. I will use ethos by incorporating other characters in the robotics world that have influence. I will use pathos by appealing to peoples emotions and how they feel about the issue. I will also use logic to try to explain the possibilities of what could happen in the future, depending on how humans act now.
What types of visual elements, if nay, will you use in this genre?
Pictures could be used to grab the attention of the reader. Pictures could potentially be used to illustrate how robots could effect the world, grabbing the hearts of the readers and viewers and drawing them in emotionally.
What type of style (formal, conversational, academic, etc.) will you use in this genre?
The style for this public argument will be a conversational, yet academic style. I want my audience to be aware that I am intelligent on the issue and that I know what I am talking about; however, I also want them to understand that I am a human being just like them, so I also have my own emotions and expectations.
3. Responses/Actions: Explain the possible actions you would like your audience to take after they read or view your argument.
- Positive Support - People may start to do their own research on the subject, talk to people about it, and basically raise awareness for the issue. They could take action by donating to a robotics program that would help the research and development of better robots, etc.
- Negative Rebuttal - People could become nervous and begin to take legal action against robots. This hasn't been done yet, but it is certainly possible for someone to create a law restricting the development of robots. People could also try to take matters into their own hands and begin destroying technology.
The main rebuttal that I want to refute is that robots will take over human life. I do believe that humans can become consumed by robotics and other technologies, but I do not believe that it would be possible, in the near future, for robots to become so developed that they begin to think on their own, and this thought turn into destroying human life. I don't find that reasonable, but some activists do. Thus, I want to refute that and try to show evidence of how that claim is absurd.
Analyzing Context
1. What are the key perspectives or schools of thought on the debate that you are studying?
In the three areas of focus with robotics, there is the pro-robot and against-robot sides. The three sides of the robot issue are the personal side, the intimate side, and the work side. People have the perspective to be for or against robots in each of these categories. Basically, they will think robots will help humans in these areas, or hurt humans in these areas.
2. What are the major points of contention or major disagreements among these perspective?
The major points of contention are whether or not robots can help the human race. People disagree on whether robots will become to smart for humans and then will begin to take over human life. People will argue that robots will become too much and people will start to not feel human emotion anymore.
3. What are the possible points of agreement, or the possible common ground between these perspectives?
The points of agreement for this debate are few and far between. Although, because there are three main areas of debate, people may agree on one of the areas, but strongly disagree on the other two. The only point of agreement would be in this case.
4. What are the ideological differences, if any, between th perspectives?
Ideologically, some believe that robots are just a part of life and destiny. Those people believe that robots are meant to come when they come and will help or hurt us. Others believe that technology is already to great. Those people argue that people are already developing attachments to their technological devices and it is creating havoc in the world.
5. What specific actions do their perspective or texts ask their audiences to take?
The only real action that people against robotics can do is hope to cause a law to pass that regulates robots, their usage, and their development. People advocating for robotics will just ask for funding and promotion of their company in order to continue the development and research of newer and better robots.
6. What perspectives are useful in supporting your own arguments about the issue? Why did
you choose these?
I am pro-robot if anything, so the perspective of robots aiding human life is useful in supporting my issue. I choose this because I believe that humans have the capability to use technology to its fullest ability, but manage to not get carried away and fall in love with their devices. I think people have the capacity to love other humans while using technology to aid them in their life.
7. What perspective do you think will be the greatest threat to your argument? Why so?
The greatest threat to my argument will be past experiences of robots harming humans. Sometimes technology malfunctions, and sometimes it is large technology that is working in close quarters with humans. Unfortunately, there have been a few incidents where people have been injured or even killed because a robot acted up and malfunctioned to the point of harming the humans that are close by.
In the three areas of focus with robotics, there is the pro-robot and against-robot sides. The three sides of the robot issue are the personal side, the intimate side, and the work side. People have the perspective to be for or against robots in each of these categories. Basically, they will think robots will help humans in these areas, or hurt humans in these areas.
2. What are the major points of contention or major disagreements among these perspective?
The major points of contention are whether or not robots can help the human race. People disagree on whether robots will become to smart for humans and then will begin to take over human life. People will argue that robots will become too much and people will start to not feel human emotion anymore.
3. What are the possible points of agreement, or the possible common ground between these perspectives?
The points of agreement for this debate are few and far between. Although, because there are three main areas of debate, people may agree on one of the areas, but strongly disagree on the other two. The only point of agreement would be in this case.
4. What are the ideological differences, if any, between th perspectives?
Ideologically, some believe that robots are just a part of life and destiny. Those people believe that robots are meant to come when they come and will help or hurt us. Others believe that technology is already to great. Those people argue that people are already developing attachments to their technological devices and it is creating havoc in the world.
5. What specific actions do their perspective or texts ask their audiences to take?
The only real action that people against robotics can do is hope to cause a law to pass that regulates robots, their usage, and their development. People advocating for robotics will just ask for funding and promotion of their company in order to continue the development and research of newer and better robots.
6. What perspectives are useful in supporting your own arguments about the issue? Why did
you choose these?
I am pro-robot if anything, so the perspective of robots aiding human life is useful in supporting my issue. I choose this because I believe that humans have the capability to use technology to its fullest ability, but manage to not get carried away and fall in love with their devices. I think people have the capacity to love other humans while using technology to aid them in their life.
7. What perspective do you think will be the greatest threat to your argument? Why so?
The greatest threat to my argument will be past experiences of robots harming humans. Sometimes technology malfunctions, and sometimes it is large technology that is working in close quarters with humans. Unfortunately, there have been a few incidents where people have been injured or even killed because a robot acted up and malfunctioned to the point of harming the humans that are close by.
Analyzing Purpose
1.) For my public argument, I want my readers to understand the issue about robotics developing so quickly. I want my audience to know the goods, the bad, and the uglies. I am not necessarily trying to persuade anyone to take action on the issue, for the good or bad of robots, rather, I just want to inform people what is going on so that they are knowledgable on the subject. Personally, I believe that robots will improve human life in all three senses of the issue: personal life, intimate life, and work life. There are, of course, extremes to all of those areas of human life that robots can cause discomfort and they can go a little too far, but in the bigger picture, I think humans will benefit from the greater development of robots. With that being said, if I were to make my audience think, feel, or believe a certain way, I would urge them to understand how humans can be aided by robots.
2.) Plausible Actions/Reactions - It would be plausible for people to start discussing this issue a little bit more than they already do. It would be plausible for people to research and to learn more about the robotics realm and do their own free thought development on what is occurring. It would be plausible for people to want a robot themselves. f
Not Plausible - It would not be plausible for unknowledgeable people to go out and develop their own robots. It would not be plausible for people to start striking against the development of new and improved robots. It would not be plausible for people to hate robots so much that they can't stand them, nor would it be plausible for people to go out and immediately fall in love with robots.
3.) One plausible action of reading my public argument would for people to discuss the issue more. In other words, people would raise awareness. Raising awareness might get people to take action for or against the development of robots. Raising awareness may cause some people to want there to be laws restricting the creation of new robots. Raising awareness may also cause some people to get involved more actively in the robot realm. It may interest people in robotics and that sort of technology more than they already are. In the end, raising awareness could ultimately expand or destroy the development of newer and better robots than we already have today.
4.) The people that I am most likely to reach out to, or those who would be the most interested in this issue, would be people that have some sort of a passion for technology. Obviously, this passion could be primarily in robotics; however, people with a passion in other areas of technology could be moved by knowledge of robots and the issue that is beginning to occur. This issue effects everyone in the future, but the types of people are would be most interested right now would be people that understand the technical, normal, or futuristic capabilities of robots. I will aim to talk to young adults that have some sort of passion or intelligence in the technological or mechanical world.
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Audience and Genre
- Manufacturing Company Workers - They will care about this issue because this issue could result in the loss of their jobs in the future. They may attempt to get people involved in order to try to get legislation to pass to control the usage of robots in the workplace, etc.
- Blue collar magazine - This would be in the form of an article so people would be interested in reading about it.
- MotorTrend
- Car and Driver
- The Family Handyman
- All of these magazines are aimed at blue collar workers. These workers may work in areas that robots could be implemented in in the near future.
- A specific companies employees - This would be in the form of a newsletter to try to inform the workers of the specific issue at hand.
- Volkswagen Employee (Bob King, President of International Union, UAW
- GM Employee
- The automotive industry is already greatly affected by robotics. A good way to reach these people would be to get someone from the company involved and spread the information about the upbringing of robots.
- General Engineering College Students - These students will care because robotics takes all sorts of engineering. From creation involving software engineering, to development with electrical and mechanical engineers, to production with SIE, all aspects of engineers are involved. Getting news of robots to engineering students would be successful because they would all be interested in the topic.
- Newsletter to the Engineering Students - This would be a fast way to reach many students who would be interested in the topic of robots.
- Article in the school paper - Not everyone reads the paper, but for those who do, the word about robots could spread and there may be a select few who could take action and raise even greater awareness of robots in the future.
Extended Annotated Bibliography
Breazeal, Cynthia (2009). Role of Expressive Behaviour for Robots That Learn from People. Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences Vol. 364, 3527-3538.
This article is a general discussion about the behavior of robots and how their behavior has developed through human action and thought. This article will give me some concrete evidence and an opinion on where the free-thinking robots came from and the ideology that they are based upon. I will be able to use this to evidence claims of mine that robots are becoming more and more human-like.
Dautenhahn, Kerstin (2007). Socially Intelligent Robots: Dimensions of Human-Robot Interaction. Philosophical Transaction: Biological Sciences Vol. 362, No. 1480, 679-704.
This article dives into the facts of beginning robots and how the use of sensors aided in the creation of better and more productive robots. This article goes into a little bit more of the technical aspect of the creation of robots. I will be able to use this to help discuss the first robots and how they were created. This article will also give me the ability to discuss specifics in robots and how they function.
Jager, Chris (2011). Japan Creates "thinking" Robot That Can Learn By Itself. PC Tech and Authority.
This article discusses one of the first truly free-thinking robots. The article discusses technical aspects of how it becomes free thinking (learning from prior experience). There is also a video giving more information on the robot, which is named SOINN (Self-Organizing Incremental Neural Network). This will give me a strong background on where the first free-thinking robots came from and who created them.
Roese, N., Amir, E. (2009). Human-Android Interaction in the Near and Distant Future. Perspective on Physcological Science Vol. 4, No. 4, The Next Big Questions in Phychology, 429-434.
This article focuses on the physiological aspect of robots and their futures. It mentions the near and the distant futures and how robots will continue to grow and in what (technical and emotional) ways they will grow. This will be usable for me because I will be able to discuss how the robotics community is affecting the human community and how robots may be implemented in the future. This is an expert opinion, so it will give me credibility.
This article is a general discussion about the behavior of robots and how their behavior has developed through human action and thought. This article will give me some concrete evidence and an opinion on where the free-thinking robots came from and the ideology that they are based upon. I will be able to use this to evidence claims of mine that robots are becoming more and more human-like.
Dautenhahn, Kerstin (2007). Socially Intelligent Robots: Dimensions of Human-Robot Interaction. Philosophical Transaction: Biological Sciences Vol. 362, No. 1480, 679-704.
This article dives into the facts of beginning robots and how the use of sensors aided in the creation of better and more productive robots. This article goes into a little bit more of the technical aspect of the creation of robots. I will be able to use this to help discuss the first robots and how they were created. This article will also give me the ability to discuss specifics in robots and how they function.
Jager, Chris (2011). Japan Creates "thinking" Robot That Can Learn By Itself. PC Tech and Authority.
This article discusses one of the first truly free-thinking robots. The article discusses technical aspects of how it becomes free thinking (learning from prior experience). There is also a video giving more information on the robot, which is named SOINN (Self-Organizing Incremental Neural Network). This will give me a strong background on where the first free-thinking robots came from and who created them.
Roese, N., Amir, E. (2009). Human-Android Interaction in the Near and Distant Future. Perspective on Physcological Science Vol. 4, No. 4, The Next Big Questions in Phychology, 429-434.
This article focuses on the physiological aspect of robots and their futures. It mentions the near and the distant futures and how robots will continue to grow and in what (technical and emotional) ways they will grow. This will be usable for me because I will be able to discuss how the robotics community is affecting the human community and how robots may be implemented in the future. This is an expert opinion, so it will give me credibility.
Narrowing My Focus
Who was/were the creator(s) of the first free-thinking robot?
What, if anything, is being done to limit the production of robots?
Who are the biggest advocates for limiting robot improvements?
These three questions are the most important to me because I feel as though they give me the most background in order to develop my credibility and my knowledge on this subject. Knowing the first person or the first people to create the free-thinking and self-learning will give me credibility to any audience that I may be appealing to. It will also be good to know who created the first one because I will be able to quote and reference these people to further my argument for how robots can aid human life. Knowing what is being done right now in the robot community will allow me to have more insight to the prominence of this argument. It will give ma a better understanding of who is fighting for what and how hard they are fighting and preparing for their future arguments. Along the same lines as knowing what is being done, it will also be valuable to know who the biggest advocates are, for both sides. Knowing the important figures will give me more credible sources to reference in order to adequately portray what I need to say in my paper.
Questions About Controversy
Write 5 questions in which you identify things you still need to learn about about WHO is involved in the controversy.
Write 5 questions in which you identify things you still need to learn about about WHAT is up for debate in this controversy.
- Who created the first free thinking robot?
- Who are the leaders in the creation of robots?
- Who the most prominent people involved in furthering the development of robots?
- Who are the biggest advocates for limiting robot improvements?
- Who can afford free thinking robots?
Write 5 questions in which you identify things you still need to learn about about WHAT is up for debate in this controversy.
- What is the primary debate involved with this controversy?
- In regards to robots in personal life: Are people considering age to be a factor in their appeals?
- In regards to robots in personal life: Are people considering gender to be a factory in their emotions?
- What will the focus of this controversy be in the near future?
- What is being done right now to limit production of robotics, if anything?
Write 5 questions in which you identify things you still need to learn about WHEN this controversy has unfolded (and the larger contextual details of that time period that may be relevant).
- When was the first free-thinking robot created?
- When was the first free-thinking robot being thought of?
- When did robots become an issue/scare in the work world?
- When will robots begin to be actually used in human personal life?
- When will safety regulations begin to be implemented?
Write 5 questions in which you identify things you still need to learn about WHERE this controversy has unfolded - and I mean both physical spaces and cultural spaces.
- Where were the first robots created?
- Where was the first free-thinking robot created?
- Where is there enough money to continue research and experimentation on robots?
- Where are robots being created today?
- Where will robots be most prominent in the country?
Write 5 questions in which you identify things you still need to learn about HOW this controversy has unfolded in the media (including general popular media, scholarly media and social media).
- How did information about free-thinking robots first get introduced?
- How do most people discuss this controversy.
- How are people trying to make change, for more or less robots?
- How are newly informed people gaining knowledge in the robotics world?
- How do people generally discuss this issue? (Who is leading the battle right now? For or against robots in the future?)
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