Readers Response #24

In the article, “Tllili Tlapalli: The Path of the Red and Black Ink”, Gloria Andzaldua informs her readers on what kind of sacrifice and the importance writing has on her. She describes writing as “her whole life”, starting from a very young age.

Andzaldua’s article can be related to Berger’s “Ways of Seeing”. Both authors focus in some part on art and history and further apply that to writing. Reading Andzaldua’s article, I can also relate it to many other authors’ concept of identity.

QD:

1. Andzaldua defines Western Art as dead objects instead, while nature of tribal art work has an identity. I think with the technology established today, art is becoming a lot more communal rather than individual.

2. I do not think it should have been written in any other way. Despite being aimed towards creative writing, it is also good to be exposed to many different types of writing.

I wasn’t really engaged in this piece; for the most part I thought it was boring. Not too hard to comprehend but discussed a lot of different topics outside of writing.

Readers Response #23

In the article “Viewpoint the Laugh of the Medusa,” Helene Cixous argues that women should use their own voice in their writing, rather than the voice of others. Cixous also covers the negative aspects that have come over women’s writing, such as men’s writing forcing women to not write with their voice.

I can really relate Cixous’ article to Flynn’s article. Both authors discover the difference of women and men’s writings. Although, Cixous focuses more on the negative aspect that men have on women while Flynn focuses on the differences between the two.

QD:

1. This piece made me a bit uncomfortable. Cixous made it very clear her opinion on men and it wasn’t a good one. I don’t think she attempted to create discomfort. I believe she spoke her mind with no filter.

2. I think that she wants women to write in their own voice despite of the image men have put on female writers. I think she suggests that writing can help you find yourself and form your own identity.

I didn’t mind this article. Although, it was very confusing at some points, I can’t really relate to her argument about identity and her opinion that men influence how a woman writes.

Reading Response #22

In the article, Transgender Rhetoric’s: (Re) Composing Narratives of the Gendered Body, Jonathon Alexander explores the concept of transgendered theories. He exams samples by students prompted with transgendered theories to prove the point that transgender theories inspire feminist compositionist pedagogical approaches to seeing gender as a social construct.

I think this article can be related to Smitherman’s article on Black English. They are both sort of trying to get their own race, gender, and way of writing across to the readers. Both authors are trying to teach these topics in the classroom.

3. According to Alexander teaching trans pedagogy in the classroom results in exposure to gender roles, social norms, and the intersections between gender and politics, although, he only exposes this to white college students.

4. I think he considers gender a construct because he explains it as a “tricky word to define” (200). Being that transgendered is merely a category for a wide range of many different genders. Alexander quotes Feinburg stating “Millions of females and millions of males in this country do not fit the cramped compartments of gender that we have taught to be “natural”… (200)”, when describing the implications of this construct being both “personal” and “political”. Alexander believes that being knowledgeable of such a construct is not only useful for better understandings, but to help interrogate the contracts of gender we are familiar with.

Reading this article, I didn’t really think the article was that effective or persuasive. I do not agree with the concept of teaching transgender topics to students as helping them be more well-rounded and knowledgeable.

Readers Response #21

In the article, “God Don’t Never Change”, Geneva Smitherman discusses racism in writing. She believes that white grammar and black grammar differs, and how black people write should be considered as a separate style. Because of that black people should not be graded incorrectly because grammar.

Smitherman’s article can be related to Gee, Wardel, Flynn and many others. I believe what they have most in common is how someone’s identity shapes the way they write and how they are viewed to others. They also both cover that how someone is brought up, has a huge influence on their writing.

QD:

2. Smitherman uses Black Idiom rhetorically by providing many different examples of Black English throughout her article.

3. I believe that language supplies power for many different races and classes because how you speak reflects your character and personality and being knowledgeable can bring power.

I personally didn’t like this article. I thought that it wasn’t well supported, I personally don’t believe in white and black’s having separate and specific uses of language.

Readers Response #20

In the article, Composing as a Woman, Elizabeth Flynn explores the concept of the role gender plays in writing. She argues that most of the writing that is acknowledged and given credit for comes from men. She explains the intellectual difference between men and women.

I can relate this article to Gee’s article with the concept of identity. Also, many other articles we have read about how identity shapes your writing. It’s very relative to the concept that Flynn is trying to explore but also with a different topic.

Before You Read:

1. I have never seen much gender role difference when it comes to the public school I have attended all of my life. I believe that the teachers in my school treated both genders the same.

 QD:

1. I believe that Flynn has acknowledged the fact that most of the time a woman’s input or opinion, even as a scholar is often ignored and not seen as a figure of authority when it comes to writing. This relates to the marginalization of other minorities because the diversity of opinion is what valued in today’s world.

I enjoyed reading the article. It didn’t relate to other articles that we have explored too much, it was nice to cover different topics. I also thought the topic was interesting.

Readers Response #19

In the article, Memoria Is a Friend of Ours: On the Discourse of Color, Victor Villanueva introduces a new look at discourse. His main concern is that he is an “uneasy mix of races that make for no race at all yet find themselves victim to racism” (176). He believes that his discourse should reflect that he is an American, from Brooklyn, jazz and rock ‘n’ roll, with an ancestry dating back before the Europeans, a person of color and an academic.

Victor Villanueva’s article can be related to Gee’s concept of primary and secondary discourse. Villanueva suggests that he was born into a primary discourse by prejudice. He believes that there should be a discourse for all of his interests having nothing to do with the color of his skin.

QD: 7. I believe that Villanueva was born into the Discourse of being Puerto Rican. I believe that his secondary Discourse included the things that he liked or hobbies, although they weren’t the same as other people his race. I think it is more complex than Gee’s article accounted for. There is always more to a person than the race they are born into.

I think that Villanueva is making a very good point about discourse communities. Almost every discourse communities come along with a certain social view or stereotype. I liked the examples provided to back up what Villanueva was trying to accomplish.

Readers Response #18

In the article, Autism and Rhetoric, by Paul Heilker and Melanie Yergeau, they introduce the concept of autism being rhetoric. They explore the definition of rhetoric, stating “most definitions of rhetoric focus on the role of communication in social interaction” (262). They then proceed by stating the definition of autism. “… The way that autism presents itself in the world, per the medical establishment, have to do with communication in the social realm.” (262) They discover that, with two like definitions, autism is a rhetorical phenomenon.

Heilker and Yergeau, unlike most professionals, “contend that autism is a rhetoric, a way of being in the world through language, a rhetoric we may not have encountered or recognized frequently in rhetoric…” (262) Swales believes that the role of communication in social interaction is bound only by his six characteristics.

I enjoyed reading this article, because it was about a topic I never really explored. I think that the way these scholars think is fascinating. I respect the kind of connection Heilker and Yergeau made between rhetoric and autism.

Project #3 Intro and Conversation

James Porter describes a discourse community as, “A group of individuals bound by a common interest who communicate through approved channels and whose discourse is regulated.”(91) A discourse community shares the same assumptions about what is appropriate and what is not within the community.

Discourse communities are often studied by professionals and have many different views. James Paul Gee views discourse communities as an “identity kit”. He thinks that with a discourse community comes along an appropriate costume, instructions on how to act, talk, and write. He believes in the concept of having a primary discourse, the one you were born into, and every discourse after that is considered to be secondary. “Our primary Discourse constitutes our original and home-based sense of identity, and” Gee believes, “it can be seen whenever we are interacting with “inmates” in totally casual (unmonitored) social interaction.” He refers to the discourses to the social institutions that have a demand and command a secondary Discourse.

John Swales, however, has a very different view of what a discourse community is or the characteristics of one. Swales’ gives us six defining characteristics of what a community must acquire to be considered a discourse community. These characteristics are as followed:

“1. A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals. 2. A discourse community has mechanisms of intercommunication among its members. 3. A discourse community uses it participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback. 4. A discourse community utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims. 5. In addition to owning genres, a discourse community has required a specific lexis. 6. A discourse community has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise.”(471-473)

Swales’ also introduces the concept of genre. “Genres are types of texts that are recognizable to readers and writers, and that meet the needs of the rhetorical situations in which they function.”(467) Swales’ believes that genre, in a discourse community, is very evident.

                Amy J. Devitt states, “Contemporary genre analysis focuses on the actual use of texts, in all their messiness and with all their potential consequences”, when introducing genre analysis. (99) Genre analysis is used to tie together actual language to bits of language that have underlying idea. This analysis makes the conflict between discourse communities evident. Although people of other discourses try to make the information understandable to everyone, genre analysis reveals the fact that the users have different beliefs, purposes and interests. “The communal agendas of those who create genres may conflict with the interests of those who use them – users who would ideally reproduce the ideologies and agendas of the legal community, but who do not.”(103)

                Elizabeth Wardle takes a different approach to deciphering the many possibilities a discourse community has. Although many authors can agree on one thing, the definition of a discourse community, they all add their own unique niche within the conversation. Wardle’s niche is identity and the concept of someone being a “tool” to the discourse community, rather than a member. Wardle does a study on Alan, a new employee, fresh out of college. In her study she discovers that, unlike Gee, Alan was never really apart of the discourse community, but just a “tool”. Because he saw himself as such a high position in his work place, he decided that he would not change his writing habits, or email habits, just because of the specific discourse community he was in. This resulted in a change in his identity. He was not looked at as a higher position, more like a tool to the company. Wardle wraps her argument by stating:

“Allan’s example illustrates that learning to write in new communities entails more than learning discrete sets of skills or improving cognitive abilities. It is a process of involvement in communities, of identifying with certain groups, of choosing certain practices over others; a process strongly influenced by power relationships – a process, in effect, bound up tightly with identity, authority, and experience.”(533)

Despite all of the ongoing conversation about discourse communities I believe that, to further the concept of a discourse community, we need to discuss the negative impact stereo types can have on such discourses. Many people like to think that cheerleading isn’t classified as a sport or to be a cheerleader you need to be ditzy. Sean Branick states, “The world of…” in my case, cheerleading, “…is more complicated than it may seem to the public eye”.(571)

Readers Response #17

In the article, Identity, Authority, and Learning to Write in New Workplaces, Elizabeth Wardle introduces the concept of tools when it comes to discourse communities. She does a study on a new employee, Alan, fresh out of college, trying to communicate in his new workplace that sees himself above everyone else. How he perceives himself has a lot to do with discourse community, because he feels as if he doesn’t need to change his habits to fit this specific discourse community. Alan illustrates that some people are not perceived as members, just tools.

Wardle’s article can be compared to Swales, Gee, and Devitt et al. Like Swales, Wardle identifies and defines what a discourse community is. She also covers the concept of genre when it comes to discourse community like Gee. Wardle is very like these authors when it comes to the role discourse communities play. But she is also very different than them. She introduces the concept of tools. She says “In reality, he was hired in a support staff position, as a “tool” to fix things the faultly needed”. (528) Also, Alan’s identity had a lot to do with this factor. Because he viewed himself as higher authority he refused to change the way he wrote emails and the other staff saw him as unimportant and was oblivious to the work he actually did accomplish. This also relates to Gee’s statement that you cannot “more or less” a discourse. Wardle goes against that by saying you are not either in or out of a discourse, but you can be used as a tool to the discourse community.

Readers Response #16

In the article “Materiality and Genre in the Study of Discourse Communities” by Amy J Deviit, Anis Bawarshi, and Mary Jo Reiff they all contribute their own ideas to make the claim that genre analysis can help students that are trying to comprehend the different discourse communities there are. Genre analysis not only allows better comprehension but it also helps students become more familiar with the genre that comes along with the discourse community.

I can relate this article to many articles that we have written. Such as Swales and Baron, all three articles deal with the concept of what a discourse community means to them. They also cover the fact that there are many other factors that come along with discourse communities. Like Devitt, Bawarshi, and Reiff, Swales introduces the idea of genre to us in his article.

I thought that reading this article was help prior to the starting of project three. I think it is very helpful to discover all the possible claims made about a discourse community. This will help further understand and clarify what exactly a discourse community is. It can also help with picking what specific discourse to study.

Project #3 Topic Proposal

A discourse community is often looked to be a certain community that has its own set of rules that often differ from other communities. The discourse community I choose to study is cheerleading. This fits the six defining characteristics of a discourse community perfectly.

1. A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals. With being a cheerleading, comes great responsibility. Prior to the season starting, each cheerleader is required to read and sign a set of rules, before they can even get handed a uniform, go to a practice, or basically be a part of the squad. These rules entitle how a cheerleader is expected to act in public as a leader. It includes what the purpose of being a cheerleader is, how a cheerleader is supposed to be presented, and what kind of person they expect you to be.

2. A discourse community has mechanisms of intercommunication among its members. Although there is a captain of the squad, each cheerleader has the right to voice her opinion. The squad usually makes decisions as a squad. This can include decisions about what uniform or outfit to purchase, what routine to perform, or even what cheer is called out next.

3. A discourse community uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback. Every squad has a captain for that exact reason. Although everyone has almost an equal amount of input, the captain provides information to the coach for feedback.  The captain often makes the routines, and the coach gives feedback on what is working and what needs worked on.

4. A discourse community utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of it aims. As a cheerleader you had to not only cheer your team on to victory, but compete with other squads and just be a role model for other students in the school. A cheerleader has many jobs outside of just cheerleading and puts in a lot of time and commitment.

5. In addition to owning genres, a discourse community has acquired some specific lexis. Something lexical that outsiders wouldn’t understand is the words associated with cheerleading movements and dances. We often use this terminology that others wouldn’t understand such as: High V, Low V, Daggers, Touchdown, T, Checkmark, etc., when referring to specific movements.

6. A discourse community has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise. Every year in the cheerleading community there is a try out process. This process is very important to cheerleaders. One bad try out could cost your position on the squad. During try outs the top seven or so cheerleaders with the highest score make the squad. You go through a three day camp and learn the material that you will be judged on at try outs. During try outs you perform the material to the best of your ability. You will be judged on not only the material, but your appearance as well.

I am very interested to share my knowledge about cheerleading being a discourse community. I am very well informed about this certain discourse community because I have been a cheerleader for seven years, including captain for three of those years. I am curious about not only sharing the information that I know, but learning and looking at cheerleading in such a different way. I was thinking I could interview my very own high school coach and possibly a fellow cheerleader or myself if possible. A text that I can analyze would include the cheerleading handbook which includes the mission statement, goals, expectations, and regulations.

Readers Response #15

In the article “Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction” by James Paul Gee introduces his definition of a discourse. He argues that you cannot “more or less” a discourse, you are either viewed as a member or you aren’t one at all.

Gee’s article can relate to Swales article “The Concept of Discourse Community”. Both authors make it their main point to give their own definition of what a discourse truly is. Swales has his clear six characteristics of what a discourse is and Gee takes a different approach by introducing the fact that everyone is born into a discourse and any after that is only secondary.

Before You Read:

1. Two activities that I take part in that are very different are yearbook and a hobby of mine, following certain television shows. I think they both differ when it comes to relation. There can always be a possibility that a popular television show can be brought up in yearbook or be covered as a story.

QD:

1. When Gee says that you can speak perfect grammar and yet be wrong I believe he is trying to explain that perfect grammar can differ with your location or the discourse community that you are a part of. I think this does for the most part conflict with what we are taught in school. Educators teach only one side and to them that is the only real “right way”.

Overall, I really enjoyed Gee’s argument. I think that in a way he has a good point to make. I think that there will never be a set “right way” even if it has been portrayed that way. I thought the article was very interesting and liked the stand that Gee took.

Reader's Response #14

In the article, “The Concept of Discourse Community” by John Swales is as the title explains it. Swales’ redefines what a discourse community is to him. Swales’ comes up with six characteristics that a discourse community has to have. He also demonstrates that discourse communities all use genres.

I can relate “The Concept of Discourse Community” by John Swales to James Porter’s “Intertexuality and the Discourse Community” because they both mention how the discourse community has an impact on writing. Porter argues that what we write is shaped by our specific discourse community and Swales challenges that a little bit with his definition of a discourse community.

Before You Read:

2. I come from a city where there are so many Greeks; we get off of school for their holidays. I remember going to a Greek fest, and although being friends with many Greeks in my town, I felt a little out of place. They have never made me felt this way, but being the only one of color in a whole building can cause some discomfort.

QD:

5. As silly as it sounds, the only discourse community I can relate to is being a cheerleader. As a cheerleader, you must sign an agreement of public goals, or expectations. As for participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback I was captain of the squad and that position not only meant leading, but providing info and feedback to my coach. The different genre’s I was exposed to on the squad was that being a cheerleader you were held up to a certain expectation as a leader. A specific lexis that was required was creating different and various routines. Lastly, the threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise would be the try out process.

I enjoyed the article, “The Concept of Discourse Community” by John Swales. I really liked the concept of the six characteristics of what makes a discourse community. I can easily relate what Swales was presenting to discourse communities that I have been apart of.

Readers Response #13

In the article, “The Sticky Embrace of Beauty”, Anne Frances Wysocki questions the way that we see beauty and what deciphers beautiful from not beautiful. Wysocki believes the conflict to be the fact that we often link social views to our individual views. She explains the effect visual advertisements have on the eye.

I can relate Anne Frances Wysocki’s “The Sticky Embrace of Beauty” to Stephan Bernhardt “Seeing the Text” tremendously. Both authors focus on the way a text is presented and the effect that it has on its readers. They both introduce the idea that the visible features of written text have an impact on how students comprehend or understand what they are reading.

QD:

2. Wysocki sets up her article very different than most. She has various headers, bolded texts, underlined texts, highlighted texts, and often uses her own format when writing. I think the way she presents the article helps me, as a reader, feel more interested to what she is saying. As Bernhardt would explain it, this text is not a low-visual text. It has more characteristics as a visually informative text. Wysocki includes a variety in mood and syntactic patterning, emphasis controlled by visual stress of layout, type, size, spacing, and headings, and it is also localized; each section is its own locale with its own pattern of development by arresting reader’s attention.

3. The Peek advertisement does interest me a bit. It has a very scandalous and interesting look to it that would draw me in. I wouldn’t personally want to read a book including erotic and sexual photographs.

AE:

2. I believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I don’t think that beauty is determined universally, many people have many different opinions that vary by the person. Wysocki introduces the idea that beauty is something that we construct together but forced by social forces to think otherwise. I agree with Wysocki’s idea that if we build the qualities of beauty, then we can potentially see the beauty.

MM:

1. I believe that Wysocki’s statement, "There is no question that there is a certain necessity to effective visual composition because a design must fit a viewer's expectation if it is to make sense… but if design is to have any sense of possibility—of freedom—to it, then it must also push against the conventions, the horizon, of those expectations" (97), applies to her article because the readers have specific details draw them into a text. I believe it applies to many other visual arts because presentation has a lot to do with who will be interested in it.

I enjoyed reading “The Sticky Embrace of Beauty”. It is always refreshing to read an article that isn’t the same format as the rest. I think that it helped Wysocki’s argument and helped understand what she was trying to present a lot more with how she presented the text itself.

Readers Response #12

 In the article, “From Pencils to Pixels: The Stages of Literacy Technologies” by Dennis Baron focuses on the effect that technology has on literacy. Baron does research on the history of different writing technologies. He introduces the fact that even pencils can be considered as technology and that writing never lacked technology. Baron shows the reader how technology and literacy intersects.

I can relate Baron’s article to Debrah Brandt’s “Sponsors of Literacy”. Both authors introduce the fact that literacy has a big impact on what resources you have and what social background you come from.

Before You Read:

2. My definition of technology is basically a new and faster version of something. Some examples include books to kindles, computers to laptops, and landline phones to cell phones. I think anything that is an upgrade of something else can be considered technology.

QD:

2. I agree with the fact new technology changes and shape the nature of writing. I believe as the world’s technologies grow the concepts and resources make writing a lot easier and more available to a wider audience. I do agree with this fact, technology is growing rapidly every day and is a lot different now than from when I was kid.

I really enjoyed this article about the effects technology has on literacy. It made me want to redefine what exactly I thought technology was. It also made me really think about what were actually doing when we write.

Readers Response #11

In the article, “Sponsors of Literacy” Deborah Brandt introduces the ideas that people can’t become literate on their own. She portrays that literacy is “sponsored” by people, institutions, and circumstances. Brandt discovers after interviewing a large amount of people, literary sponsors are everywhere. She also talks about the fact that people “misappropriate” literary sponsor’s intentions by using the literacy for their own reasons rather than the sponsors, portraying tensions between the two.

I can really connect Deborah Brandt’s “Sponsors of Literacy” to James Porters “Intertextuality and the Discourse Community”. Porter introduces the idea that every text has a trace of another text. I think that really connects to the fact that although people often have their own personality, who they become has a lot to do with who their sponsor was while they were growing, and that has a big effect on them.

Before You Read:

2. I have seen U.S. culture and my own local community encourage and emphasize reading in many different ways. Growing up, our teachers stress the importance of reading. In today’s world you can rarely get a job without knowing how to read. Teachers as well as parents stress to kids about the importance of reading.

AE:

1. My literacy history compared to those of Branch and Lopez were quite different. I would say I was somewhere in the middle of the two. Growing up in a middle class family I went to a public school and learned to read and write through school. I had early education, plenty of access to books and computers, and a lot of parental support. My primary literacy sources would have been the teachers that taught me to read and write. I think I definitely had an adequate amount of access provided by my sponsors, and I took advantage of that. I think I have had access to all the literacies I could even hope for growing up.

I really enjoyed Brandt’s article, I never really thought about all the advantages I have had when it comes to previous schooling. Unknowingly, literacy sponsors have a lot of effect on you as a person which is a topic most people don’t even usually acknowledge.

Readers Response #10

In the article “Good English and Bad” Bill Bryson explains how the rules of grammar are simply fading. He starts with the history of English, explaining its complexity. He talks about the fact that since there are not grammar police, the rules have been broken. Bryson believes that this problem was created because of how we teach grammar.

When Reading Bryson’s article “Good English and Bad” I could really relate it to James Porter’s article about the discourse community. Although different topics, they both touched on the idea of having to fit into a certain community with their writing. They both realized that what we write depends on the community you are in and whether it’s there or not determines if you follow the “rules”.

Before You Read:

1. I would consider good English from bad English depending on the usage of words, variety of vocabulary, and sentence structure. Bad English would be more considered as simple and full of error. I think this because growing up our teachers would show us clips of good writing and bad.

QD:

1. Bryson is challenging grammar. Bryson states “Consider the parts of speech. In Latin, the verb has up to 120 inflections. In English it never has more than five…” when explaining how watered down the complex language really is. He also mentions “We seldom stop to think about it, but some of the most basic concepts in English are naggingly difficult to find” and explains the fact that the definition of a sentence is a lot different than how we use it.

AE:

2. I think what Bryson means when he says the English is fluid and democratic is that it is always changing with the popular crowd. I have seen this in writing because it is always changing and writers sort of change their style with the popular demand at the time.

MM:  Verb. Noun. Adjective. When I write I am never really thinking about the part if speech. You learn about parts of speech in middle school. I think when your younger knowing the parts of speech does help you with writing. It’s what shapes the sentence and helps you get a better understanding of it. I think as you get older you don’t really think about the parts of speech when you’re actually writing it just happens.

I thought Bryon’s article was kind of interesting. Grammar is something that’s not so important to people more so now a days. I really think grammar needs to be enforced a little more. Grammar is something we deal with in everyday life whether realizing it or not.

Project 1 Intro/Conversation

When defining plagiarism, one might say: an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author, or without the fancy terms, cheating. What do we really do to avoid plagiarism? What is the real purpose of plagiarism rules? If I were to rewrite the rules of plagiarism I would make sure to separate the people who aren’t guilty to the actual cheaters.

In today’s academic world, plagiarism is something that can ruin someone’s life if you’re not informed of it properly. Plagiarism is often misconceived as something easy to avoid because of paraphrasing, but what it really is to writers is a burden. When trying to inform someone about the facts of a topic, the last thing you want to do is rearrange the words to make the statement less efficient. But hasn’t it all been said before? While were busy paraphrasing someone else’s words to make it our own, how do we know that the same combination of words we are using haven’t been used before? We don’t. Writing has been around for hundreds of years. Every combination of all the words in the English language has been used once before. This takes originality to a whole other level. It questions if originality can even exists in today’s writing. More people struggle with trying to watch how they re-word a sentence so there not considered “cheaters” rather than focusing on how to draw in their audience with facts. There is a fine line between someone who has their motive set out to copy someone else’s writing, to put their name on the top of it, versus someone who just wants to get facts out there.

James Porter draws out the idea of intertexuality when it comes to plagiarism. He proposes the idea that every text has a “trace” of other texts. He also touches on the fact that every text draws some ideas from other texts. So who is given credit for being original?

Darise Bowden describes plagiarism “On the one hand, plagiarism is a nasty, venal, and immoral crime that needs to be eradicated while, on the other, plagiarism cannot be a problem--sharing and borrowing is inherent in the nature of language”, explaining the many sides plagiarism can be looked at. But can plagiarism be taken so lightly as to not have a set definition?

Readers Response #9

In the article "Seeing the Text”, Stephen Bernhardt discusses the concept of how a text is presented and its effect on who picks the text up. Visual appearance has a lot to do with how appealing it is to certain people. One of the most important ways to draw someone into text is through images or the certain way the text is set up. In most of the advertisement, resumes, and many other documents we use a mixture of images and words to make it look presentable to the reader. In this article, Bernhardt shows us that these work together when it comes to how it is portrayed.

This article is really in a way connected to McCloud’s. They both introduce the way that people unknowingly connect images to different symbols and in this case presence. Without realizing it, how you present a text has a lot to do with the attraction people have to the text.

Before You Read:

2. With a text heavy advertisement I am most drawn to the image. I think the text emphasizes the image by drawing your eyes to the image. Being the only image, your eyes are horizontally drawn to the image.

QD:

4. I think you are supposed to write an essay in a specific format to make it easier to understand. Unknowingly your eyes are drawn to specific things when it comes to

AE:

4. A website I visit often is the Ohio University home page. It guides me by having a directory bar on the side of the page. I think the website does a good job at guiding someone to finding what they’re looking for. They also have a search bar to help with guidance.

After You Read:

1. I think that McCloud would have represented this argument just like Bernhardt. They both cover the concept that by taking first look at something you associate it with other things and presence can draw someone into a text.

MM:  In all the formal writing assignments in this course I think that questioning constructs requires the most visual thinking about presentation for text. In order to complete this assignment you have to really think outside the box about how a construct is constructed.

I really enjoyed this article. I can relate to seeing a magazine or text that appeals to me so I end up picking it up and taking a look. I also think that presentation can go a long way with how successful something turns out to be.

Readers Respons #8

James Porter in “Intertexuality and the Discourse Community” covers a major point in writing. He starts with questioning the construct of originality. What is originality when every text has a “trace” of plagiarism? He believes that everyone is guilty of drawing some ideas from another text. He is questioning how we should even define plagiarism when originality is so hard to find.

Porter’s article to me has a different purpose than previous articles that we have read. You can, however link it to Kantz’s article. They both pertain to the usage of sources, but have a very different meaning and audience.

Before You Read:

2. I get help from various books, websites, friends, and teachers when it comes to my writing. I explore different views on the subject in order to take my own stand.

QD:

4. I agree with Porter. I believe that when it comes to evaluating writing they key focus should be on its “acceptability” rather than its sources. Porter states “…choosing the “right” topic, applying the appropriate critical methodology, adhering to standards for evidence and validity…” when explaining what really is important in writing (96). I think that this relates to the writing I have done in the past because the teachers are so focused on how good I reworded the text than the actual text itself.

5. I think his own work reflects on the principles he’s writing on very well. He’s explaining that nothing is really original! The fact that everyone gets these ideas from somewhere just supports the claim that he is trying to make.

AE:

2. I think they should rewrite plagiarism by telling students you can’t copy a paper or take credit for work that isn’t your own. I don’t think as a student is writing a research paper they need to re-word every sentence that they come about in their research. I also don’t think the way you word a sentence is crucial to plagiarism because hasn’t it all been worded before? This differs than the original definition of plagiarism by eliminating the need to change every word you come in counter with and just get your point across without worrying about getting kicked out of school because you forgot to paraphrase.

MM:

1. Porter’s idea has not changed the way I view writers. I never really thought that good writers come up with brilliant ideas without any help or all by their selves. Adopting his notion might be a relief to me. It won’t necessarily change the way I write a lot, but I will be more comfortable presenting ideas in the way they were meant to be written and not paraphrase so much that it takes away from its own meaning.

I liked Porter’s argument, it made a lot of sense to me and I support his ideas. I think that plagiarism is sort of a wall put up between the writer and the information. If someone is going to steal someone else’s work they should suffer the consequences, but don’t hold everyone’s work accountable. Let the cheaters be aside from the writers who want to get their point across.