Lydia's Story

1. Brideau seeks to inform her audience of events that happened surrounding Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Her purpose for telling this particular story, which she describes as the one that 'stays with (her) most', was 'probably because it represents the essence of hope and determination in the face of terrible adversity', which she states in the final sentence of her piece. She wished to share a personal and inspiring experience with others.

2. The author narrates her story in the third person, allowing the reader the opportunity to clearly visualize the story in their head. Taking on an omniscient trait, Birdeau feels inclined to share Lydia's feelings with the reader as the story progresses. As she describes Lydia's actions and thoughts, the narrative takes on a film-like quality in the reader's mind.

3. Birdeau chooses to include many descriptor words in her piece. Involving more of the audiences senses will allow her to story to have more of a resounding affect on the reader. She makes sure to include details that will feel familiar to a wide range of audiences- 'the cackle of a television', 'uncomfortably cold from air conditioning', 'chemical odor', 'fluorescent lighting'; these are all things that she assumes many people have experienced. From the very beginning she essentially helps her audience place themselves at the scene.

4. The narrative is more formal than many you may happen across. Using many concise sentences and including step by step actions add a certain amount of formality; 'She positioned the stool in front of her linen closet, propping one foot on the stool and the other on the doorknob; then she climbed to the top shelf of her linen closet'. Birdeau portrays Lydia as a very level headed woman, someone that the audience of a research and policy magazine may feel more inclined towards. The author uses words like 'strength and resolve' to describe her main character. Finally, Birdeau describes medical procedure that, to an audience of people who do not practice a medical profession, could be boring or confusing.

Chapter 2 Page 23 Prompt- Rhetorical Situation

This past week I have written a critical thinking essay for my psychology class, texted my grandma, and jotted down a short personal bio. When it comes to rhetorical situation, each case deserved thoughtful consideration in a lot of different aspects.

Critical Thinking Essay
I was prompted to form an argument or opinion about a current world issue. My genre was clearly stated in the prompt. My tone was academic, and for this paper I organized it in the form of a short essay. My audience was my instructor, who I assume knows a considerable amount about the topic (seeing as he assigned it and all). I knew he expected a short, well informed and opinionated paper. I did my best to write it in my truest writing style, as it was my first assignment for this particular class and I wanted my professor to get a sense of my abilities. My motivation was to simply complete the assignment on time to aid myself in getting a good grade. I think he was probably not surprised by the stance I took- this particular issue has two pretty clear sides to it and I argued one. Because he was only expecting a short essay, I decided to simply print it, and I did not add any visuals or other media.

Texting Grandma
My purpose for this particular text conversation was to ask my grandma a favor. I outlined clear steps that needed to be taken (my purse is on the stairs, my wallet is in my purse...) and decided on an informative tone. Because I know my grandma so well, I didn't feel like there were any expectations surrounding how I should communicate. I chose to text her, as I was in a quiet study section on campus and felt calling was not the best way to go. She did not know much about my purse, so I made sure to include plenty of information to help her accomplish the task. In order to get the task done a quickly as possible, I was very straightforward in outlining steps that she should take.

Short Personal Bio
I was asked to write a short personal biography for my English class. I decided the best way to order this would be in chronological order. I took an informal tone with this particular paper, and tried to write it like I would have said it. My audience, my professor, holds considerable authority over me so I decided to leave out details that didn't make my personality sparkle like sunshine and rainbows. I chose to print my biography as I knew it was quite an informal assignment and was probably going to be thrown away in a matter of minutes. My audience did not know anything about the topic, so I just wrote about rather large ideas. My primary goal was to fulfill the prompt and provide a genral understanding of my life thus far.

In conclusion: I never knew I thought this hard when I texted my grandma.

In Class Lab- Writers, Authors, and Genres

2.

Differences in Arguments:

Simple internet posts don’t make you an author- you have to go deeper

VERSUS

Creativity is the basis of the definition of an author- original thoughts are the main requirement

It’s hard to think of people such as bloggers with the title of ‘author’

VERSUS

Anyone who makes a contribution to a conversation, global or local, is an author

Similarities in Arguments:

When you write for the internet you are writing for a large variety of audiences

Writing is the most fundamental form of global communication

Anyone can be a writer.

3 & 4.

Writers:                                                                       Authors:

Anyone with basic understanding of language	Require critical thinking
Have to	Want to
Are impartial to recognition	Wish to be acknowledged
Aren’t too invested in having others read their work	Often times seek to be published

5.

Type of Writing:       Why You Enjoy/Despise it:

Poetry	Don’t like it- it’s hard to have such a strong grasp on rhythm, rhyme, flow
Plays	So fun! You get to include body language, which helps bring the writing to a whole new level
To Do Lists	YES. It feels so good to check things off!

6.

Genre: To Do List

• Drive to the store
• Pitch in money
• Help collect supplies
• Help write invitations

Genre: Poem

    Will you please drive to the store,

    And pitch in ten dollars (or more).

    I need help collecting supplies,

    And inviting all the guys.

    All of this needs to get done,

    But in the end the party will be fun!

Genre: Song/Rap Lyrics

    I need some help, will you please lend an ear

    While I spit some things ya’ll need to hear

    I need a car to drive to the store

    Pitch in some money, we’ll score

    Big time, I swear!

    Find something to wear

    For the turn up tonight!

    We’ll need some supplies

    Can we collect them all with our might?

    Lastly, please help me, please, please, please

    With writing some invitations

    We can do this wit ease

    And have a great time at the party tonight

    We’ll turn up with all our might

7. The to do list allowed the author to be extremely straightforward, and was very simple and easy to understand for the reader. But To Do lists aren’t nearly as fun as our other genres! The poem and rap combine rhythm and rhyme to make the list more memorable (and more entertaining for the author to write). The drawback to these genres is that they are not as straightforward and contain some information that is not necessary to the reader.

Is Everyone An Author?

In this day and age, everyone is much more than they seem. Throw out the stereotypical starving artist perception of an author (you know, the mid twenty year old, rugged guy or gal who lives in a tiny studio apartment and spends their days aimlessly walking the streets of New York searching for inspiration to rekindle their creative fire) and you're left with a pretty remarkable idea. Everyone is an author. With access to internet, it's easier than ever to communicate through writing. At it's very core, writing is a method of communicating knowledge. We make Facebook posts, publish blogs, ask questions on Yahoo Answers. Even these little things contribute to the worlds accumulated knowledge. At the moment, our world is learning things like never before. Every day there are new studies, discoveries, and stories to be shared. Without any communication we would not be able to take these leaps in knowledge, let alone share them globally. Movie scripts, oral stories, posters, murals, advertisements- we need writing for much more than we consider when we merely look at the surface. Writing is so much more than simply publishing novels, and the title of 'author' can no longer be reserved for only those individuals that do.

Collaborative Writing on Writing

Writing is...
A way to express oneself.
An unlimited opportunity for creativity.
An expression of style.
Thoughts arranged as stories.
A way to connect and inform others.

What types of writing do you do?
Journalism, creative writing, poetry, song writing, formal research papers, informative, comedic, children's story books.

How does your persona shift depending on your audience and why?
Language changes with your audience- play to the tones of your readers.
The more relatable you are to your audience, the more your writing will appeal.
Your tone changes the meaning of your writing.