PB2A

Scoping Out a Women’s Studies Scholarly Sources

The scholarly paper that I chose to analyze is, “THE CASE OF BEATRIZ: AN OUTCRY TO AMEND EL SALVADOR’S ABORTION BAN” I searched women’s rights in El Salvador using the scholarly search engine and I found an interesting article on the first try. The article focuses on women’s reproductive rights in El Salvador and the ban that is placed in El Salvador that makes all abortion illegal under the law.

The introduction commences with the general information of the situation of El Salvador. It is important to lay out the basics for people that are not familiar with the situation. Also, the author includes a thesis with an argument of what her research is focused on supporting. He states, “This Note examines the evolution of El Salvador’s exist- ing penal code, specifically focusing on the abortion legislation. Further, it examines the significance of The Case of Beatriz and it suggests reform for El Salvador’s government to include exceptions in their penal code, similar to exceptions available in the United States, to provide women with access to safe abortions in extreme circumstances”. The footnotes clear up facts that clarify certain keynotes such as the fact that women that have abortions are charged with aggravated homicide. His tone throughout is a mix of strictly factual but also includes a passionate tone towards women’s health.

The rest of the paper is divided into individual parts that reinforce the argument such as II. Survivors of Illegal Abortion. The section focuses on the stories of two women that were not able to get abortions based on the law that is in place in El Salvador. The author calls the women, “victims” to reinforce the injustice that is taking place. Other parts of the essay include, III. History: El Salvador’s Abortion Plan, IV. SALVADORIAN ABORTION BAN VIOLATES NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS, V. THE CASE OF BEATRIZ, THE INTER-AMERICAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS RESOLUTION AND THEIR SIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON ABORTION REFORM, VI. THE RECIPE FOR REFORM: MODEL PENAL CODE’S JUSTIFIABLE ABORTION IDEOLOGY, and VI. THE RECIPE FOR REFORM: MODEL PENAL CODE’S JUSTIFIABLE ABORTION IDEOLOGies and VII. Conclusion. The headings distinctly outline what each section is going to talk about. It begins with an introduction, then a history, then it talks more about the details of the Beatriz case, it wraps it up with answers to the issues brought up and it closes with a reiteration of the most important points.

I think that the most effective part of the article is the combination of pathos, logos, and ethos. The breakdown of the different laws and parts of the Constitution that the abortion ban was breaking was a clear way to appeal to the logical and lawful side of a person’s opinion. The mention of personal stories and individual people that were and continue to be affected appeal to the emotional side of the reader. Also, it was beneficial that the author includes solutions to the problems as well. The paper does use some political and law jargon, but most of it is explained so wider audience can be informed on the subject matter.

Thlog 4

This week we finally concluded writing project one. I was not overly thrilled with my end result, because I felt like I had edited and read it so many times that I just wanted to be done with it by the end. With that being said, I do think that it was a great way to exercise and incorporate what we’ve been reviewing in class in an essay format. I need to work on incorporating specific readings within my writing though. In high school I was used to my teacher’s giving out example essays and grading rubrics that went along with it and I feel like I felt a little lost without that sense of direction. Also, the activity in which we highlighted each part of our essays was really helpful. I realized I was missing some components within my paper that I probably would have missed without the activity.

It was interesting to see what different categories subjects and majors fall under. Although, I am still confused as to what category my own major would be considered. Film and Media Studies dissect the interaction between humans and media currently and over the ages so I’m not sure if it falls under humanities or social sciences. I think labels can be very helpful but also quite restricting when describing a genre or a type of something.

Mark Smith’s Murder (Rhetorically) was a cool activity. I think that it’s helpful to see how information can be written about differently depending on the situation and the audience. The differences were made especially clear when contrasting mediums such as the facebook posts and the news outlets. It would definitely seem out of place if a facebook post by a family member used the same tone as a CNN reporter that wasn’t close with the victim.

Thlog 3

      Week 3 mostly consisted of more work towards WP1. Throughout the process of writing WP1 I have noticed how hard it is more me to focus on one topic while I'm writing. I lose my interest extremely quickly in every day things, and I guess that habit follows me into my writing world. Choosing what I was going to write about took a while because all of the ideas that I thought of would only interest me for a bit. Once I began writing all of my ideas seemed rather unoriginal. When I finally chose my topic I remembered how much I did not like writing introductions. Analyzing the captions I chose wasn't too difficult, but finding an argument that tied them all together was. I am still working on it. This thlog is my break from my WP1 revising.

      I think that the introduction activity helped a lot, because it helped me realize how different of an experience each reader has with an introduction. When my partners and I read the introduction we all agreed that we didn't think that the thesis was strong. A couple of people around us agreed as well, but there were others that found the thesis was easy to identify. Also, I found it comforting that other people were also struggling with the thesis, and to hear what they thought about mine. I enjoy discussing strategies about writing, and trying to adapt them in my writing. I still find my essay boring in comparison to other informal writing, but I know that for this assignment my requirement is not to entertain. I am now working on reinforcing my argument.
      The Writing tip that was the most helpful for me I think was writing tip #1. I often leave a big chunk of time to do my work, but now I'm dividing it up a bit more, and I think I'm catching more of my writing mistakes than before. The thing that I find hard about this though is that it takes me a bit to get into my "writing groove", but I'm working on it.

Thlog 2

    The second week of Writing two has involved more writing and creative conversations within the open in-class environment. As a class we have worked on finding convections within the genre realm and analyzing them. Our PB1B expanded on the ideas of particular convections based on online generators. After reading over my work I realized how general I was in my writing. I think what I am lacking is specific examples in my writing. There a tons of examples floating around my head when I write but they disappear as soon as I write a sentence down, and I move onto the next idea. I hate re-reading my work, because most of the time I just want to re-wrtie everything. I need to work on being critical of my writing, but not overly critical to the point that I can't complete an assignment.
      For PB1A I chose to write about birthday cards. To be completely honest I did not think my idea was that unique. I just knew that I didn't want to write about a genre that I'm used to writing essays about. I enjoy being able to write with an open mind and less restraint in comparison to the essay topics I was given in high school. I enjoy listening to the examples that people gave in class about different genres. I liked the Instagram celebrity caption topic. It's so obvious to me that a majority of celebrities are trying to sell a product or boost their popularity through social media, but I often forget that the reason why their posts are so effective is because they attract the vulnerable. It is easy to fall into the trap of wanting to be glamorous like a celebrity, so I am glad someone brought that up.
     

PB1B

The genre generators exemplify the method of writing for a specific genre. There are ways for different situations to provide informations in the most appropriate manner so people can read through them and attain the most information out of them. The generators showed how there is a formula to writing genres. Sometimes even just following the conventions make the piece of writing convincing enough to pass as a piece that is part of genre. Although the content of it the pieces are also important though, and that’s when original thought comes into play. The process of writing involves using creative thought in a structured way. In other words both second and first order thinking are necessary to write a productive piece of writing.

The first CS generator includes the same elements in all of the different versions of the paper that it produces. There is an introduction, a numbered breakdown of the paper, graphs, a conclusion, and the references. The references appeal to the logos, because of how people assume that a paper is more credible with sources. Even though a paper may seem credible it is important to check the sources, because if the sources are not credible then the paper uses credibility as well. There are a total of twenty-eight sources on the generated in the papers, the more resources that the paper seems more trustworthy. The generator also adds graphs and numbers. Numbers are a logical and scientific part of life. It is easier to argue with the words that people are saying than it is to argue with the numbers that they produced from an experiment without retesting out the experiment. Quite frankly, I don’t know what the paper is talking about. I am not familiar with the material that the paper is emphasizing, but the words that are used are confusing/complicated enough to seem convincing. I am not the audience that the paper is directed for, the correct audience would have an understanding of computer science.

The comic generator highlighted components that appeal to visual literacy. Each time the website generated a strip of three different comic book scenes. Each scene contained a different picture that either had writing or not. If the comic strip did not have words the reader must attain the meaning of the strip from the picture itself, such as the gestures the person is making or their facial expressions. Whilst reading or creating a comic strip it is important to use all visual clues to draw understanding from the comic. It helps to read the title, all of the words, and pay attention the smallest details even what the people in the comic are wearing. Sometimes there are headings to help indicate that time has passed between the strips and they will say something like, “thirty minutes” later. After a while the generator started to reuse some of the strips, but it changed the order. When the order changes it also changes the meaning of the strip so it’s important to place the strips in the order that they are going to be read.

The meme generator is formatted differently than the other websites. There are an array of already made memes on the homepage along with what they believe a meme is and instructions on how to make one. The website states, “Memes are a way to say what you think in a funny, sharp, immediate and realistic way”. They follow up by stating that “Life is too crazy and too short to be described with a ton of words”. Both of the mottos are clearly exhibited in the memes. The website allows you to use the images they already have an add words to them. The images are all images that have been floating around the web for the past few years and their meanings are well understood within popular media. Even if people did not know what the meme of the celebratory baby meant, the conclusion can be drawn from the facial and hand gestures that the baby is making. I went ahead and tried to make a meme and whilst making it the website has an option of making memes in different languages. The images used in memes are universal and they display well known emotions. The meme’s white bold writing emphasizes the reason why the picture was chosen in the first place. Memes are popular on social media websites and they are often spread around through the “sharing” feature on facebook.

All in all the components of the different genres became more visible through the use of the generators. Every meme contains a picture and a caption for the picture. Comic strips generally use images and captions as well, but they use the images to tell a story. The research CS generator highlighted how many different sections each paper has and how much information goes into them.

PB1A

           I want to look particularly at the conventions of a Birthday Card. Birthday cards can either be extremely personal or on the more unattached side of the spectrum. It really depends on who the birthday card is for, and the relationship between the writer and the recipient. There are also store bought options for birthday cards for people that prefer not to write their own. In general, all of the cards usually contain the phrase “Happy Birthday” or some variations of the word happy that still manage to express a feeling of joy. It is also respectful to include your name and the name of the person receiving the present.

            On the Hallmark shelf there are different sections according to the varying relationships with the birthday person. There are sections mom, dad, sister, cousin, and the list goes on. The “Happy Birthday to Mom” cards usually contain flowers and a message about how important moms are. The card also features a section where it is possible to leave a short personalized note. The content of the personalized message varies on how close the writer is to their mother. Usually the note will end with “I love you” so that the mother receiving the message remembers on their special day that they are loved.

            An impersonal example of the birthday can be anything from “roommates sister sorta friend” to “that one cousin you see once a year on Christmas”. The relationship may not be so intimate and common so there will not be a section for this card on Hallmark. To the less personal relationships it is customary to wish them health and a happy birthday. The card will still show that some thought has gone into the situation, but relationship is not developed enough to buy an expensive and over the top card. The tone will be friendly, and show that the person is special enough for you to get them a card.

            If the card is for someone that you see on a regular basis and that you share plenty of memories with then the card can be personalized more. For example, if it’s for a best friend that you have an inside joke with about goats and you happen to find a card with a goat on it that will be appropriate for the situation. It is also appropriate to include a personalized message about that one time you almost bought a goat, but it bit you instead. If you happen to get the card for someone that has an ill goat, then the card is no longer appropriate. When gifting to an almost stranger it is safer to go for a generic card that contain nothing offensive. Balloons and puppies are a safe option.

            Either way a birthday card is used to express happiness and celebration for someone’s birthday. Once the relationship is accessed the birthday card writing or purchasing is more achievable. Each card carries a different tone so it is important to read the card as if you were the person receiving it, so you can access how you think the other person will feel about the card. A birthday card has the power to convey tone, emotions, and style. 

Thlog Week 1

    This week has primarily been focused on genre. Normally, I associate genres with the labels in the library that categorize different books and make it easier to find materials. I know that genre encompasses more than that though. The article, “Navigating Genres” explains the functions of genres and how important understanding different genres can be. The article highlighted how genres can help writers when they are trying to compose a new piece. The ransom letter example that Dirk uses was effective at displaying how knowing the components of a genre are beneficial for creating the desired effects for the textual piece.

            Also, I was reminded again how important it is to write appropriately according to the audience. For example, if I am writing a letter to my employer my tone will be professional because of the relationship I have with him/her. I wouldn’t want to get fired for bringing up sensitive topics or using a threatening tone. On the other hand, if I were to be writing a ransom note then a threatening tone can be more beneficial to receive the desired outcomes. The primary idea that the article portrays is that writing style shifts according to the situation and the audience that the writing is for.

            The two genres we analyzed in class were country and horror movies. I have written an essay for one of my film classes about horror films, so it was really interesting to see such a wide variety of opinions on what horror movies mean to them. I don’t listen to a lot of country, but discussing the elements of country in class brought attention to all the similarities that the genre shares with other genres. The in class activity that involved breaking down country songs and country lyrics emphasized how important it is to be observant about the overlooked qualities such as the use of the slap steel guitar.