Two Artefacts

Discussion board post #3:

    By far the trickiest part was (and still is as I am revising my essay) choosing what to include and not to include. I chose a narrow topic I had already done research on in the past so I knew a niche within it to research and what I would need to construct my essay. The problem I had was too much stuff to write about and too much closely related scholarly research, without much research on the specific topic. As a result I have been somewhat stuck between trying to build a data based essay around the related research or to build a more theoretical argument and use the data I found as a compliment to the theoretical argument. I felt that the conference and the workshop were very helpful as they allowed me to get another opinion on my work. I felt that I had overwritten on what I already had, when in fact there were a few areas I should have covered in a bit more depth. I think the biggest thing I have learned from this is that it is okay to have a lot of background information and a well defined topic but not be able to complete an essay to my own satisfaction due to a lack of sources.

Discussion board post #5:

My three chosen genres are satire news article (in the style of The Onion), a letter to the editor, and a Twitter thread. My topic is the relationship between affordable housing and luxury housing construction.

My first genre is a satire news article. I think the biggest limitation of the genre is its satirical nature. My argument and the message of the speaker are different, so while to many readers the irony would be fairly clear, others may not pick up on it. Because of that, they would miss the point of the satire: portraying the issues of the opposing argument in a comedic fashion. Since it is a satire piece, I would not be using much if any real evidence. Much like The Onion I would have factual information and possibly cite some sources, but the main information would be fabricated. I have to balance the serious and formal style of news articles with enough breaks in style to indicate satire, without compromising the satirical element and not compromising the news style.

My second genre is letter to the editor. I will write the letter as a member of the community expressing his opinion on the topic. Similar to the satire piece, the letter will make limited or any citation of sources, and most evidence will be presented in an informal fashion. This makes the logos based argument within weaker than in academic writing, but also presents it in a way that reflects how people feel about topics and could be useful in persuading members of the general public. The factual arguments will largely consist of anecdotal evidence and hypothetical logical arguments. Combining the casual nature of letters to the editor and overall colloquial style of the genre lends itself well to ethos and pathos based appeals.

My third genre is a Twitter thread. It will consist of a fictitious local politician announcing policy he has supported and providing an argument in favor of his decision. Even though Twitter is an informal platform, there will be heavier use of evidence in this piece than the other two. Citation will be given in a more informal manner than in academic writing. Sources will be cited in a style mimicking speech. The open and often chaotic nature of twitter will distract and maybe become the main focus of the original tweet, which will be a major limitation to the argument.

 

Notes: I changed my third genre from a twitter thread to a poster.