In class on Wednesday, I was excited to hear that we would be watching the Pilot episode of Lost on Netflix. One may ask: what does Lost, the TV show, have anything to do with a writing class? But it does in fact have a lot to do with writing.
We took notes during the viewing of the show. We were guided to pay attention to potential categories for the TV show and what kind of show we thought it was. This has everything to do with the writing that went into the script before the show was directed. I would think that the script was written in a suspenseful way that makes the show very serious and intense. The show began with a plane crash in which resulted in the passengers being stranded on an island. In my opinion, it also as aspects of mystery to it pertaining to a creature they created that is killing people off. The creature is a mystery to the viewers within the first episode.
I have been taking trips on airplanes since I was very young and have continued to do so at least once a year for family vacations. With that in consideration, my next sentence may make absolutely no sense. I still have such a great fear every time it comes time for me to step onto that airplane. There is just something about how something could go wrong in a matter of seconds and it could cause the plane to go down. This may sound ridiculous to people who do not even bat an eye while stepping onto an airplane. I realize this, but this show seemed to heighten that fear for me. The plane crash is very similar to what I could imagine happening. The viewing of this show came at a not so convenient time for me and my fear considering my mom is getting on a plane today. She is doing this the day after watching this show. She is heading to California. There, she will have a great time visiting my cousins who just had baby #2 which is super exciting yet; I cannot help but to have this show in the back of my mind. Yes, I know it is a made up story for the sake of a suspenseful TV show, but I suppose that is just how my brain works.
I have not watched this show before the class viewing although, I do see it having a great story line with the potential to form into a great show. I can tell the writers did a wonderful job of making sure this is a show that viewers will want to binge watch for the desire of wanting to find out what happens next.
Friday, January 29, 2016
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Entry 1 Style Guide
In class on Wednesday, our professor had us break into groups to discuss an article within our field.
Our goal was to discuss the following:
1) who the intended audience is
2) identify purpose/goal
3) style and tone of the writing
The article I looked at with my partner was about new moms and the use of face negotiation theory. Face negotiation theory is a communication theory that I learned about in my Special Topics class last semester. The theory goes into how people chose to save "face" pertaining to certain situations. I found it very interesting because it talked about women's attitudes towards motherhood and seeking acceptance.
We decided that the intended audience would be new moms and/or those who are studying something involving face negotiation theory or parenthood. The purpose/goal was to inform readers about results of a study as to how new moms use face negotiation theory to save "face" and why. I found it particularly interesting that these new moms claimed they do not seek to maintain "good mother face" around friends or strangers yet, when they admitted to seeking acceptance and approval from others regarding their parenting style. The last thing we were asked to discuss was the tone and style of the article itself. The article also talked about how the new moms will say they're doing good or fine when in reality they could be struggling and not be "good." Some new moms will not admit to this or to any kind of emotional turbulence. This article does a great job of showing women's identities involving motherhood and what it means to be a mother. As far as style is concerned, the article is set up with subheadings to keep all the information organized since it is a pretty lengthy article. The article also is set up with a decent size font to make it easily accessible to most people. It is set up in a particularly complex and active style. I believe the attitude in which the piece is written by the author is not meant to be insulting in any way and in my opinion did not come off this way.
From this article, I learned some new little tricks when working with a lengthy article that has a lot of valuable information to be put into it. I also gained knowledge about rhetorical awareness using purpose, audience, stakeholders, and context of a piece of writing. This article also dealt with my field of communication and also something that interests me regarding face negotiation theory.
If this article sparked an interest, it can be found at the following link:
http://www-tandfonline-com.pitt.idm.oclc.org/doi/full/10.1080/01463370802448246
Our goal was to discuss the following:
1) who the intended audience is
2) identify purpose/goal
3) style and tone of the writing
The article I looked at with my partner was about new moms and the use of face negotiation theory. Face negotiation theory is a communication theory that I learned about in my Special Topics class last semester. The theory goes into how people chose to save "face" pertaining to certain situations. I found it very interesting because it talked about women's attitudes towards motherhood and seeking acceptance.
We decided that the intended audience would be new moms and/or those who are studying something involving face negotiation theory or parenthood. The purpose/goal was to inform readers about results of a study as to how new moms use face negotiation theory to save "face" and why. I found it particularly interesting that these new moms claimed they do not seek to maintain "good mother face" around friends or strangers yet, when they admitted to seeking acceptance and approval from others regarding their parenting style. The last thing we were asked to discuss was the tone and style of the article itself. The article also talked about how the new moms will say they're doing good or fine when in reality they could be struggling and not be "good." Some new moms will not admit to this or to any kind of emotional turbulence. This article does a great job of showing women's identities involving motherhood and what it means to be a mother. As far as style is concerned, the article is set up with subheadings to keep all the information organized since it is a pretty lengthy article. The article also is set up with a decent size font to make it easily accessible to most people. It is set up in a particularly complex and active style. I believe the attitude in which the piece is written by the author is not meant to be insulting in any way and in my opinion did not come off this way.
From this article, I learned some new little tricks when working with a lengthy article that has a lot of valuable information to be put into it. I also gained knowledge about rhetorical awareness using purpose, audience, stakeholders, and context of a piece of writing. This article also dealt with my field of communication and also something that interests me regarding face negotiation theory.
If this article sparked an interest, it can be found at the following link:
http://www-tandfonline-com.pitt.idm.oclc.org/doi/full/10.1080/01463370802448246
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Interview Assignment Plans
So I've received my first assignment for my Introduction to Professional Writing course. This is one that I'm surprisingly not dreading because it could potentially help me decide what I wanted to use my major for in terms of career choice. I have not yet decided what exactly I want to do with my communication major and writing minor that I am going to graduate with.
In my class today, we discussed our assignment and decided who we wanted to interview for the assignment. The person we choose to interview should be someone in our future career field. The first person that came to my mind was my cousin because he graduated from IUP with a major in communication media. He informed me that he isn't using his major for his current job. My next thought was to ask one of my communication professors that I've looked up to over my years here at UPJ. This is what I am planning to do. In class today, we put ourselves in groups similar to our major to discuss possible questions that we could ask during our interviews. We came up with some pretty good questions in my opinion, for example:
What was your deciding factor that made you want to get involved in the communication field?
Who is your career role model and why?
What are your connections with other people in the communication field, besides other professors?
What types of writing is involved within your career?
Would you say your writing skills sharpened since you've been involved in your career? If so, how?
I really think this interview should help me in giving me some ideas that maybe I have not yet considered as career options for my future.
In my class today, we discussed our assignment and decided who we wanted to interview for the assignment. The person we choose to interview should be someone in our future career field. The first person that came to my mind was my cousin because he graduated from IUP with a major in communication media. He informed me that he isn't using his major for his current job. My next thought was to ask one of my communication professors that I've looked up to over my years here at UPJ. This is what I am planning to do. In class today, we put ourselves in groups similar to our major to discuss possible questions that we could ask during our interviews. We came up with some pretty good questions in my opinion, for example:
What was your deciding factor that made you want to get involved in the communication field?
Who is your career role model and why?
What are your connections with other people in the communication field, besides other professors?
What types of writing is involved within your career?
Would you say your writing skills sharpened since you've been involved in your career? If so, how?
I really think this interview should help me in giving me some ideas that maybe I have not yet considered as career options for my future.
Monday, January 11, 2016
Beginner Post
This blog thing is new to me but I will admit it has been an idea that always interested me. I follow some people that I went to high school with on Instagram and some of them have been posting links to their new blogs. They post the links with the purpose of getting their page out there and gaining followers. I have not thought about following them until I have set up a blog for myself. When I first saw these posts, I never actually went to check out their pages but I think I might now. It seems to be something I am noticing a lot more of now.
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