Considering Genre

Signing Away My Genre-Promiscuity and Marrying the QRG

As a general rule I like to think before I make decisions, but I'm sitting in the library and there is a barefoot homeless man watching me type my blog posts, and I have to pee worse than I ever have in my entire life. So I'm inclined to go with my gut and make a quick decision about what genre I'm going to choose for my first project and try to get out of here as quickly as possible.

Ramsey, Derek. "A White Gold Wedding Ring and a Single-Diamon, Gold-Banded Engagement Ring" 10/02/2004 via Wikimedia Commons. Attribution, Share-Alike License

1. I am, as of this moment, committing to a quick reference guide for my first project. I think that this genre will be the best and most efficient because a lot of people know about my topic of physician assisted suicide, but very few people know the details about the topic and about the actual controversy itself. I think that this genre will be the easiest to remain unbiased in as well because it is easier to write in an unbiased way than to speak or to perform in front of a camera.
2. I will be taking advantage of the genre conventions of a quick, and easy to read, "all about" guide to this particular controversy. Because the goal of this project is to investigate thoroughly a controversy, I believe that this genre is the best way to get a lot of information out and to present both sides of the argument.
3. I'm feeling very confident about my research going into the production phase of this project. I expect that next week my biggest challenge will be remaining unbiased in my writing, as I'm the kind of person who naturally has a very strong opinion about everything. I also anticipate the challenge of just setting aside time to write, as I have a lot going on next week. 

Cluster of Stakeholders

In the argument about physician assisted suicide becoming lawful in all states, there are many proponents and opponents of the issue. In the chart that I've created, you can see some of the main stakeholders in controversy. For each stakeholder you can see who they are, what their bias is, what they stand to lose, and what they stand to gain if assisted death is legalized across all states.

Falko, Sal. "Judge Hand with Gavel" 09/19/2006 via Flickr. Attribution-Non Commercial License

To view my chart click here.

Evaluation of General Sources

The backbone of every research project or any informed writing at all is the collection of sources that the writer uses as information to write. In the following post, I will go into more detail about a select two of my sources that I will be using for this project.

Condesign. "Books, Book Pages, Read, Literature, Browse, Light."  12/08/2015 via Pixabay. Public Domain License

"Physician Assisted Death"

• The URL for this particular website ends in ".org." This suggests that the company who runs the website is some sort of organization or non-profit, but it doesn't necessarily mean that, as anyone can purchase a ".org." Although, as a general rule, this usually means that a site is more credible, because anyone can purchase a ".org" it doesn't make it the best way to determine a site's credibility. 

• The authors of the article are Timothy E. Quill, M.D., and Jane Greenlaw, R.N. The article gives contact info and short biographies about each of the authors, that show their accomplishments, educations, and their places of work. 

• The article was last updated in January of 2016 with new information regarding the topic. There are links to related articles, other websites with information on the topic in the article, and to a timeline of the events that are discussed in the article. All of the links are working, and most of them take you to websites with supplemental information, or to other pages on this particular website.  

• This text is very informative and educational regarding the topic of physician assisted suicide. It's very objective and does not seem to be trying to convince the reader of anything, but to inform them more about the topic.

• There is one graphic that illustrates a timeline of legal events regarding the issue at hand because this issue is one that involves the law and legislation very heavily. 

• This source seems to be very unbiased and very objective. The information is very thorough and contains perspectives from both sides of the argument. At the end of the article there is a list of sources that you could check their information against if you wanted to. I have also found throughout my research that this article has much of the same information that other articles have, leading me to believe that it is true information.

• As I mentioned before, the article does have links to other information in the article. It also has a list of sources, both print and online, that you could use to do more research if you choose. 

"Debate: Should Physician Assisted Suicide be Legal?"

• The URL for this website ends in ".org" which leads me to believe that the website is trustworthy. It is also published by NPR which leads me to believe that the information is true, as the reputation of such a large company rests on it.

Esrever. "National Public Radio Logo" 12/01/2007 via Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain license 

• Because this particular source is actually a podcast that is found on the website, there is no particular author, however it lists the people who take part in the podcast. There is a list of the participants (Peter Singer, Andrew Solomon, Baroness Ilora Finlay, and Dr. Daniel Sulmasy) and a small summary about who they are: their credentials, a small biography, and their accomplishments. 

• The NPR website is updated every hour at a minimum with their hourly news. You can determine if the material is out of date by looking at the date that the particular article was published. There are links to other recent articles on the page. 

• The purpose of this web source is to inform the listener about a debate that is happening about a controversial topic. Because the format is a debate, it could be inferred that each side of the debate is trying to persuade the listener to take their side. 

• There are graphics in the description of the podcast. There are pictures of the participants of the debate. The pictures are there probably to give the listener an idea of how the debate was set up and who exactly is participating. 

• The source itself is unbiased regarding the topic, but the participants in the debate obviously have their own bias. This source shows both sides of the argument, however, so that a person can form their opinion based on viewing both sides of the argument. 

• At the bottom of the webpage there are links so that you can read more articles about the topic by searching for posts that are tagged similarly. There are no sources cited for the debate, however you can see the credentials of the people who are in the debate, and throughout the article, they reference sources of information, which can also be seen in the transcript of the debate. 

Reddit and What I Found There

I would like to begin this post by saying that when I hear the word "Reddit" I think of men in fedoras and wolf shirts who love My Little Pony way too much and call women "m'lady". All gross stereotypes aside, I was absolutely fascinated as to all of the interesting and slightly educational things that I found on Reddit. I think it's safe to say I scrolled through Reddit for way too long looking at people's gross medical conditions. Below I write about my observations.

Online Diagnoses, Cheaper Than a Doctor's Visit

Amazingly enough, most of what I found on Reddit was something along the lines of, "Hey Reddit dermatology feed! I recently noticed that I have a weird rash/pimple/growth on my (insert strange part of my body here). If anyone could just tell me what it is (I'm too cheap to see a doctor apparently), that would be great." *Insert photo of gross ailment here*. Now, I am not a doctor, but some of these things looked to be almost life threatening.

• The most meaningful exchange that I saw throughout my journey was two people arguing about whether or not something was indeed a melanoma. Neither one of them was a doctor that I know of, so at least they can't be sued for malpractice because I'm not even 10% sure that either of them had any idea what they were talking about. 

• As I continued my search throughout the internet's most notorious website, I came across a feed that actually seemed to be well moderated (meaning that there were fewer pictures of skin conditions) and had some actual educational content. Here it seemed that actual professionals were just sharing some information about important doctor things, such as "physician's burnout," which to the on-looking patient is actually terrifying. 

Oggiono, Ilmicrofono. "Bodycare, Clinic, Clipboard, Doc, Doctor, Female" 01/11/2015 via Flickr. Attribution License

My Very Interesting Finds

• By far, this was my favorite Reddit feed that I found. I especially like how this feed actually had a disclaimer about how you should probably see a doctor as none of this is actually real life medical advice. Although the post wasn't written by a professional it was kind of cool to see how someone gave this person advice based on a similar experience that they had had, and cured, thanks to a diagnosis from a medical professional. So all-in-all, I would say that this was a positive exchange that actually had a good outcome (the OP went to a doctor eventually, and was hopefully cured). 

• I thought this was also a very interesting feed. What I liked about this one (besides the disgusting photo), was the tension. Imagine: two people, arguing about whether a gross red thing on someone's finger is psoriasis or eczema. Neither is a doctor. Who will win? Turns out it was psoriasis, and it can be treated with ice and a humidifier. It's not life threatening (just itchy) so I guess I can kind of see why someone might just turn to the internet instead for a simple home remedy. 

McGuire, Ryan. "Argument, Conflict, Controversy" 01/04/2014 via Pixabay. Public Domain License

In Conclusion...

I have to say that I was sort of biased going into this particular part of my research because most of what I have heard about Reddit isn't that great. Based off of my Reddit research, I have to say that in my findings there was not a lot of professional activity. I sort of expected the people of the internet asking actual doctors for diagnoses, but instead they asked random people. I was prepared to read some gross dermatological things, however I could have never prepared myself for a picture of a penis covered in psoriasis. After this experience, I was made to realize that dermatology is not the glamorous field of treating tame things like acne and benign skin cancer that most people think it is.s 

Evaluation of News Magazine Stories

I just recently found out that online news magazines actually exist, but I guess that shouldn't surprise me as online newspapers are also a thing. The internet is an amazing place. In the following post, I pick apart two articles from two separate news magazines and talk about the argument and the characters involved in said argument in order to analyze the positions on the argument itself.

"Why Science Can't Say When a Baby's Life Begins"

• The debate highlighted in this article is when exactly a baby's life begins, and how it affects the debate on abortion. Scientists before modern technology believed that life began when the baby first kicked in the womb. With modern science, we can usually see the heartbeat of a fetus at about 20 weeks. But even with this discovery, different scientists will disagree on when a fetus's life begins. For example, if you asked a neurologist, he or she might say that life begins when the heart begins to beat. 

• The most sympathetic "character" in this particular news story is Dr. Diane Horvath-Cosper, an OB-GYN, who is quoted saying, "I have come to the conclusion that the pregnant woman gets to decide when it's a person." Because she is a doctor who specializes in babies and pregnancy, I believe that she is the most sympathetic character in this story. She has a background of knowledge in this particular field, and even though the science isn't completely clear, her voice is reasonable because of her background.

• Paul Ryan, who in this story is representative of the congressmen who believe that abortion should be outlawed completely, is the least sympathetic character in this story. Ryan's argument is that life begins at conception, but has no proof, as even scientists don't know precisely when life begins. This article presents him as unsympathetic, purely because of his lack of knowledge about the science of pregnancy.

"Why are We Paying Sales Tax on Tampons?"

• The argument in this article is why in 40 out of 50 of the United States, women have to pay tax on menstrual products, but not on food and other necessities like medicine. The main proponents of getting rid of the tax are Cosmopolitan magazine and Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, who started a petition to get legislators to write a bill to end this tax. California Assemblymembers, Cristina Garcia and Ling Ling Chang are proposing said bill to end the "tampon tax" in California to start with. Congressmen are against ending the tax because it is a source of revenue, and they argue that if they take the tax off of menstrual products they will have to remove it from other "non-essential" necessities, such as Band-Aids. 

• The sympathetic side of this argument is the women and legislators who are arguing against the tax. They point out in the article that removing the tax in California alone would save people with uteruses $20 million. This could be beneficial for women who have low income, as it would save them money on each purchase. The article also states that using these "unnecessary" hygiene products can actually prevent reproductive infection and reduce incidences of public humiliation. 

Depolo, Steven. "Money Hand Holding Bankroll Girls" 02/08/2011 via Flickr. Attribution license

• The unsympathetic side is the congressmen who believe that we should keep this tax due to the fact that these products are "unnecessary." Most of these congressmen, according to the article, are men, who do not believe that these products are necessary for day to day life. These congressmen only take into account the amount of revenue these products bring in and fail to consider the public humiliation and health issues that come from low-income women who are unable to afford menstrual products. 

Twitter and What I Found There

A Peek into the Field of Dermatology in 140 Characters or Fewer

I would like to preface this post by saying that I think Twitter is amazing. It's a website filled with vague-posting at other people, cute animal pictures, and iconic celebrity tweets. When I was asked to look into a work field using twitter, I was doubtful. I had always just assumed that Twitter was for enjoyment and I was wrong; it can be very educational as well. In the following post, I'll talk about what I found when looking through my intended field of study: pre-physiology with a pre-med intent, and more specifically and farther down the road, dermatology.

Seibert, Fred. "Twitter [Badge]" 01/04/2013 via flickr. Attribution-No Commercial-No Derivatives License

Overview of Dermatology on Twitter

• There seem to be a few main topics being discussed by dermatology experts on Twitter right now. The first one that seems to be in big debate is whether or not self-screening for cancerous spots on your skin is actually helpful. There seems to be a general consensus that the average person doesn't have a clue what to look for, so it's better to have a professional do it. The next big topic that is being discussed across multiple feeds is how patients react to having a doctor typing on a computer during a visit. It seems that most people would prefer that their doctor not use a computer at all, which isn't good for doctors, as the computer makes writing prescriptions and logging information much easier. 

Interesting Stories about Dermatology on Twitter

"How to Talk to Your Teen about Tanning"

• I thought this article was really interesting because I grew up next to the beach in South Florida, where in middle school and early high school the only thing cooler than going to the beach and getting a tan, was going to the mall and getting a Frappucino from Starbucks. This article really goes into detail about the negative consequences of tanning (the ones that actually affect your health, not when every single person you meet asks, "If you're from Florida, why are you so pale?") and how you should approach your teen and talk to them about how these consequences that may affect them for the rest of their lives. This article was basically just something I could relate to, and even though I've never been a fan of tanning, it was really interesting to read about it (and think about all my friends who are no doubt going to get skin cancer) and how it is actually an epidemic among the youth of America (but Taylor Swift doesn't think it's cool according to the article, so why would anyone tan?) that is largely caused by peer pressure and societal beauty standards. 

B., Tristan. "An Artificial Source Tanning Bed" 04/14/2004 via Wikimedia Commons. Attribution-Share Alike License

"Leishmaniasis: the Flesh-Eating, Dog-Culling, War Plague"

• First of all, the title of this article alone made me suddenly very interested in this article about a flesh eating skin parasite, not that that's a boring article anyway. Interestingly enough, experts believe that this is the "leprosy" that is referred to in the Bible. What I found most interesting about this particular article, however, is how detailed it was with the background, the symptoms, those who are at risk (don't worry, this gross disease isn't found in America), and how it is affecting society as a whole. As someone who is easily entertained by semi-gross things, I have to admit that I read the entire article and even looked at the picture slideshow. Overall, I was extremely interested at all the information that was supplied on this disease.

First Impressions

• I would say that overall I was kind of shocked at how mundane most of the stuff dermatologists tweet is. Initially I though that there would be more interesting articles and controversy, but most of it was friendly mom advice, like "Don't forget to wear sunscreen" or "10 reasons to avoid a tanning salon." I sort of anticipated that there would be talk of skin cancer, because for most people, that's the biggest skin concern they will ever have. I expected a few more gross pimple or cyst removal stories, but found none, and didn't quite expect an editorial on a flesh-eating disease. So to summarize, I would say that the dermatology Twitter both exceeded and fell short of my expectations. 

Evaluation of New York Times Stories

"California Said to target Exxon in Climate Inquiry" by John Schwartz

1. In this article, the main character, or the protagonist, is California's attorney general, Kamala Harris. Harris has been the attorney general since 2011. Harris is the "main character" of this story, because after following the example of the New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, she has been called upon to investigate ExxonMobil for lying to the public and deceiving shareholders about their predictions for climate change. 
2. This story is currently taking place in Los Angeles County, California after the Democratic Party called on Harris to begin an investigation. ExxonMobil is located in Irving, Texas. Harris was called to investigate on January 13, 2016, making this a very recent issue. Because this investigation is happening solely in California, lawmakers and politicians in California are hoping that other states will use them as an example and start their own investigations. 



Tattersfield, Minale. "Exxon" 01/29/2013 vi flickr. Attribution License

3. The disagreement in this specific story is the fact that California politicians are accusing a giant corporation, ExxonMobil, of lying to the public and shareholders about how their business affects climate change. On one side of the argument, we have the state of California and their attorney general, and against them, defending their reputation, we have ExxonMobil.

• The people of California are so invested in this argument because of how important climate change is to our future. ExxonMobil is invested in this argument because the state of California has accused them of something horrible, and they want to defend themselves and prove that they are not in the wrong. 
• If ExxonMobil were to be found guilty, their entire reputation and business could be at stake. If the state of California was wrong, they would potentially be accused of harassing the company with a lack of evidence. 

"Panel Calls for Depression Screenings During and After Pregnancy" by Pam Belluck

1. The main characters of this story are a panel of independent experts appointed by the Department of Health and Human Services who have been called to issue an updated version of depression screenings guidelines. They have called for doctors of pregnant, and recently pregnant women to screen and to help these women if they notice that they shows symptoms of depression. 
2. This story largely takes place throughout the whole United States where these new guidelines are being set. Throughout the entire United states, doctors and physicians are being called to screen pregnant women and women who have just given birth, regardless of whether or not the physician has the staff to help women with mental illness. A specific example of a woman who has suffered due to lack of screening and care takes place in The Dalles, OR. 
3. The debate that is addressed in this article is the fact that doctors are resistant to diagnose depression issues in new or expecting mothers because of the lack of psychiatric staff that they may have. The panel appointed by the Department of Health and Human Services says, in contradiction, that doctors, whether it is your OB-GYN or newborn's pediatrician should take note of all symptoms of depression and use them to either treat the mother, or in a case where they do not have proper staff, should refer the mother to a psychiatric specialist. 

• Most is at stake for the women who suffer from postpartum depression if this care and screening is not provided. In serious cases, it can cause a mother to harm herself or her child. All that the doctors have at stake is the effort and time it would take to screen women for signs of depression, and the money that it would take to employ a specialist if they chose to do that rather than to refer patients to another health care specialist.

Pohorecki, Roman. "Untitled" 05/03/2013 via Pexels. Creative Commons Zero license.

Course Projects

Fears, Hopes, and Dreams for English 109-Spring Semester

As someone who is not exactly an "English person," it is very possible that this class is my most intimidating class for the semester. I am hoping that throughout the semester, my mind will be changed about English, because I do want to like it. In the following post, I will summarize my very own fears and hopes about this class. 

library-mistress. "Worrying Solves Nothing" 06/01/2007 via flickr.  Attribution-Share Alike license

• Out of all the four main projects, the element that I am most worried about is arranging for the interviews in project two. Whenever you work with other people, things can go wrong, and when you're not very out-going in the first place, arranging an interview with a professional is literally the most terrifying thing you could ever do.

• For the upcoming semester, I am most excited to delve into controversies in the medical world. Medicine is something that has interested me ever since I saw my first episode of House, M.D., and I am very excited to look deeper into some of the more controversial issues involving human health.

•  This class involves extensive planning ahead, both on a week-to-week basis with the modules that are due each Sunday, and on a more long-term basis with the planning that has to go into each project. Each project involves something that requires you to plan ahead quite a bit, like the interviews in project 2 and research and investigations in the other projects. Planning for these aspects of the projects can take up a lot of time, and balancing them with day-to-day course work will no doubt end up being one of the greatest challenges of this course.

Diones, Albert. "Untitled" 06/20/2014 via Pixabay. Public Domain License

• As most students did, I had a very traditional English class experience in high school, where we read books and then later wrote essays about them. I would say that my high school English class prepared me for one of the four projects: the college essay. However, I feel like my English class did prepare me for critically analyzing works of writing, so even if I'm not necessarily prepared for the technology aspects of the projects, I do feel that I will be prepared for the research and preparation.

• I feel like the assignment sheets for the four main projects are very clear in summarizing exactly what we need to do for each project, and I feel that if I did have questions, then they were answered during our brief Q & A this week in class. 

Reflection from Coby Allred's Course Projects post:

Coby's post can be viewed here.

I found that reading Coby's post was extremely reassuring. Overall, we both have similar projections and fears about this course, so it's sort of nice to know that someone who is similar to me also is a little bit intimidated about the lack of directions that are given to us, as well as all of the preparation that we will have to do for our projects.

Reflection from Gabriela Marty's Course Projects Post:

Gabriela's post can be viewed here.

Gabriela's post was extremely personal and introspective. While I was reading it, I really got to thinking about this course and how it would affect me as a person. I know that its going to be a challenge, but Gabriela's post got me thinking about how it would change me for the better and hopefully make me a more organized and a more dedicated student. 

Investigating Genres

The Video Essay

For this study, we were told to choose a genre that can be used in our four main English projects that we wanted to investigate further. As someone who loves movies and Netflix binges, I decided to investigate the video essay. And so I began my research watching video essays with the essential popcorn bowl and cozy socks. Below is what I learned:

• The purpose of the video essay is to share information and to argue a point using a different medium other than the traditional essay. In a video essay, one can present visuals to help argue their point or to help get information across in a more visual way than in a standard essay.

• Usually, to find a video essay, one might search across a video hosting platform, such as YouTube, for a video relating to the information they'd like to know. However, a lot of times, although these videos are hosted by YouTube and other such sites, they are shared via social media such as Twitter, Facebook, or Tumblr so that one's followers or friends can also view them and possibly discuss them with each other.

•  The audience for this genre is obviously anyone who is interested in the topic that is being discussed, but it is probably also someone who is not an expert on the topic, but wants to either become an expert, or just wants to know more about the topic. It also has to be someone who is likely to get on a computer and watch a Youtube video. For example, my 90 year old grandmother is more likely to read an essay on paper than to watch a video, so it's likely that this genre appeals more to younger people. 

Prupert. "Grandpa Fedora Core" 11/21/2005 via flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives License

• The video essay is so special because it is exactly that: a video. What is really unique about a video essay is that allows for someone to associate visuals with their argument, which can help to drive their point home. It also allows the creator to be more personally involved in their video, either by appearing in the video or by giving the voice-over, allowing the video essay to be a combination of both sights and sounds that can help to explain things much more clearly, and in a different way than a standard essay.  

• Based on my above answers, if I had to give a definition, I would say that a video essay is an argument that is presented in a visual form, in this case via a video, that helps to argue or explain a point verbally, while using visuals related to the topic that is presented. 

Reflection from Raj Vij's Genre Investigation:

Raj's blog post can be found here. 

I really like how Raj broke down the quick reference guide into the different parts that you were likely to see in the guide. This highlighted the main points of why you would want to use a quick reference guide as your genre. It also made me think about my own genre investigation and sort of prompted me to go back and think more about the intended audience, and the purpose for creating a video essay.

Reflection from Alexis Morrison's Genre Investigation:

Alexis's blog post can be found here.

Although Alexis and Raj both had the same genre to investigate, I found that each investigation was helpful in its own way. Alexis pointed out something really important about the intended audience: that it was unlikely that someone who would read a newspaper article would also read a quick reference guide. I also found Alexis's investigation to be extremely helpful when thinking about the key features of the video essay in my own investigation. She was very specific about what made the quick reference guide so special, and that prompted me to think about what makes the video essay so special. 

My Writing Process

Confessions of a Heavy Reviser

According to Dr. Lisa Ede, there are four types of student writers. In the same way that someone might write a scarily accurate horoscope for each star sign, Dr. Ede has placed nearly all student writers into four categories. In the following blog post, I will explain why I am a heavy reviser, and wish I were a heavy planner, just as I am a Leo and constantly wish that I were a Sagittarius. 

• I consider myself to be a heavy reviser because I seem to fit the bill for this writing archetype. When I write, it's hard to know exactly what I want to say before I write it down. I do this in all aspects of my life, as I am a serial list-maker as well, who would have no idea what to do with my time if I didn't write it down on a sticky note first. After I'm done with my first draft, nothing makes me happier than reading through and editing nearly everything that I've written down so far. 

McCarthy, Kelly. "Sticky Note My World!" 6/24/2012 via flickr. Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 License

• It is possible that I also share some of the characteristics of the sequential composer because I tend to write my rough drafts based on notes and highlighting that I've done previously. Where I differ from the sequential composer, is the fact that there is no real structure to my notes, other than that I thought a certain tidbit of information might be important. Although I hate to admit it, I definitely also share characteristics with the procrastinator, though in a much lesser degree. Instead of waiting until the very last minute to write, I will put off writing until I know that if I don't write at that point I will absolutely not have the time or the means to review my work.

• My writing style seems to be relatively successful, except it definitely has its flaws. The biggest strength of my approach is that I am very dedicated to editing all of my work thoroughly and repeatedly. The biggest weakness of my work is that sometimes, because it is unplanned, my work lacks a logical flow to it. 

• I imagine that it would be very beneficial to me to be a heavy planner rather than a heavy reviser. Planning is the greatest weakness of my writing, therefore if I became a heavy planner, I firmly believe that my writing would greatly improve. Perhaps planning in all aspects of my life would even help to reduce my use of sticky-note lists.