Blog 24

I have attached my research essay.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5VHUtxmolOHemU1Y1M3OXRiNE0/edit?usp=sharing

Blog 23

Conclusion:

Findings:
     Through a careful analysis of the research conducted, an assumption can be made that women and men do have different views towards communication when it comes to texting. The excerpts from the transcript were able to show a newer and more modern study, in relation to the research done by Susan Herring. Instead of men "flaming" through text, the term flaming is perceived in the sense of ignoring situations and conversations, because women might take more time and thought into what they say. According to Herring, the research conducted from the interview actually agrees to the research and point Herring made; men don't like when women "flame", which is exactly what the participant, S, did! The data analysis went into great detail to further this new research according to the different views men and women share with texting.

Interpretations:
     As I conducted this research, it would have been really useful to interview a male to get his actual side. Yes the transcript went into great detail about both sides, and was actually pretty good at not being biased, a better look at the "other side" would have been wonderful. However, a clear point was made from the research to relate to Herring, and that was fabulous. As nothing was proved, an assumption was definitely made that can further this research.

blog 22

I have attached part of my research essay
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5VHUtxmolOHZS1TdkRpRTFTeEE/edit?usp=sharing

Blog 21

Memos in Class today:

This is a slight modification on my introduction.

 Communication, in relation to technology and gender, has changed drastically over the past decade(s) and even just short years. People communicate over email, phone call, and of course through text messaging. Within the last 10 to 14 years, people have really gravitated towards communicating through text messaging rather than phone calls. In relation to this more advanced and modern approach, the way we communicate effects the way someone on the other end relays emotion. Through all the implementations and modifications through technology and communication, researchers have studied in the past how men and women come across communication through technology. However, researchers such as Susan Herring, have not viewed the way emotions are relayed presently. In particular men felt very strongly about people writing too much on forums over the internet in the past, while women were very nice and calm about it . Have times changed? This particular research studies the similarities that I have researched, but the overall outcomes are different. Through a strict analysis of the research I conducted, I will be able to compare how modern gender communication is similar to the way it was in the (add year the research was conducted), yet show the differences that men and women communicate and most importantly relay emotions in this modern day.

This part below are just memos for the first part of the body of my paper.

Excerpt I am using:

  1. S: …So I said to him one day I understand you’re not a fan of texting but if I had a dollar for every time you don’t respond, every minute, I’d be rich. And he’ll give me an excuse like oh I wasn’t paying attention to my phone or oh this – and it made me very angry.

1. She agrees with my study not contradict. He doesn’t flame but what S is doing is driving the way Herring is stating  how men communicate.  “gender assumptions”

                Men flame easily on the computer and specifically on a forum because they can just go on and on. However on a cell phone, they are reluctant because they are speaking ot just one person. Herring states that men are direct and women are “polite” in the sense that they are indirect. In my excerpt,  S goes on and on and it seems that her boyfriend just doesn’t want to hear it. This relates how men just say whatever they feel to possibly end a conversation. Whereas if the conversation was in a forum he would flame.

Blog 20

 Statement:
My focus revolves around the study that men and women communicate differently through texting. I am focusing heavily on emotion and basically how it is relayed. 


1. Value:
 A: did you ever have a text exchange that made you very angry? Laughing-

S:laughing- yes plenty of times

A: Can you describe one?

S: um (7:30) does it have to be does it have to be- an angry situation or can it be the context of a text that got me mad?

A: it can be any. If you weren’t getting the right feeback emotion-?

S: Well the other day I had a text conversation with my lovely boyfriend on how long he takes to write back to my text messages and Im the kinda person where if im home and im not busy my phone is always on me- and with me all the time all the time. So hes the complete opposite and it takes him a long time to write back to me. So I said to him one day I understand youre not a fan of texting but if I had a dollar for every time, every minute, I’d be rich. And hell give me an excuse like oh I wasn’t paying attention to my phone or oh this – and it made me very angry.

2. Flaming: 

A:Okay good let’s see are there any other stories that you’d like to say about texting? How about this do you think that your boyfriend doesn’t get the emotion that you are trying to explain. You seem to be ‘cause you seem to be um you know really good at reading emotion but do you think he can? (5:05)

S:  Um I don’t think I don’t think he can and it’s probably a guy thing.

A: Oh okay

S: Its probably a factor um you know a factor that I’m a girl and he’s a guy, But I don’t think he’s as good at reading emotion as I can. There’s times where hell say something very short and to the point and then in turn you know I’ll ask what wrong you know because I think it’s something serious he’s not saying lol he’ll say nothing is wrong just, he’s just texting.

3. Emotion -women?

A: Oh okay so you don’t, so okay let me see if I understand. You say you can read emotion through text, but at the same time youre saying that you can’t? (4:09)

S: There’s instances where where I where, I think that you can definitely relay emotions through texts if you tell someone I’m crying I’m so hurt, they will understand. But in situations where you shouldn’t be having the conversation over text that it should be by face its, I think, its it is better. It’s not where you can, I think you can, you can get emotion through text it’s the matter of doing the right thing and having certain conversations face to face. (4:43)

A: So you would say it’s more for the respect-

S: Yes it’s a respect factor.

Blog 19

Here is just an idea of what I came up with for an introduction.


Introduction

     Communication, in relation to technology and gender, has changed drastically over the past decade(s) and even just short years. People communicate over email, phone call, and of course through text messaging. The way we communicate effects the way someone on the other end relays emotion. Through all the implementations and modifications through technology and communication, researchers have studied in the past how men and women come across communication through technology. However, researchers such as Susan Herring, have not viewed the way emotions are relayed presently. In particular men felt very strongly about people writing too much on forums over the internet in the past, while women were very nice and calm about it. Have times changed? This particular research studies the similarities that I have researched, but the overall outcomes are different. Through a strict analysis of the research I conducted, I will be able to compare how modern gender communication is similar to the way it was in the (add year the research was conducted), yet show the differences that men and women communicate and most importantly relay emotions in this modern day.

Questions:

• Should I expand more on the research in this introduction, or keep it brief?
• Should I expand more on my data?

Blog 18

I am attaching my revised excerpts with memos. I also have the link to the research essay in there. I'm not really sure if I did it correctly, but I did a main chunk of what I want to focus on.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5VHUtxmolOHLTktMVg3aDlYWm8/edit?usp=sharing

Blog 17

Transcript data:

1. S: …So I said to him one day I understand you’re not a fan of texting but if I had a dollar for every time you don’t respond, every minute, I’d be rich. And he’ll give me an excuse like oh I wasn’t paying attention to my phone or oh this – and it made me very angry.


2. A: Oh okay so you don’t, so okay let me see if I understand. You say you can read emotion through text, but at the same time youre saying that you can’t? (4:09)

S: There’s instances where where I where, I think that you can definitely relay emotions through texts if you tell someone I’m crying I’m so hurt, they will understand. But in situations where you shouldn’t be having the conversation over text that it should be by face its, I think, its it is better. It’s not where you can, I think you can, you can get emotion through text it’s the matter of doing the right thing and having certain conversations face to face. (4:43)

A: So you would say it’s more for the respect-

S: Yes it’s a respect factor.

3.. A:Okay good let’s see are there any other stories that you’d like to say about texting? How about this do you think that your boyfriend doesn’t get the emotion that you are trying to explain. You seem to be ‘cause you seem to be um you know really good at reading emotion  but do you think he can? (5:05)

S:  Um I don’t think I don’t think he can and it’s probably a guy thing.

A: Oh okay

S: Its probably a factor um you know a factor that I’m a girl and hes a guy, But I don’t think he’s as good at reading emotion as I can. Tehres times where hell say something very short and to the point and then in turn you know I’ll ask what wrong you know because I think it’s something serious hes not saying lol he’ll say nothing is wrong just, he’s just texting.

     I chose to use some of the same quotes from my short analysis project, just because I strongly believe that they fit perfectly into "answering"my questions. I didn't see a point in not using them because from the feedback I recieved, I am gethering ideas in my head to expand on the data and of course back it up to the article I have.

Blog 16

Statement of Purpose
I am hoping to show and discover that texting, in relation to emotion, does have different outcomes for different conversations. What I mean by this is that when looking at the language used in texting, emotion plays a huge role and given different circumstances between men and women, the feedback and outcome from the "other phone" may be different, if not always. I am exploring the perspective of a young woman. She is a wonderful candidate since she goes in depth about conversations with her boyfriend. She bounces back and forth with her perspective but is also not biased and looks at the perspective of a male. My interviewee will actually contribute valuable examples and life stories to show my focus. This is important to help backup my focus as well!

• Does texting within a certain conversation predict wrong responses?
• Under certain situations, can two people, such as a boyfriend and a girlfriend, display different emotions and views of texting through their actions without complications? (mostly this one)
• What are the different patterns men and women, that are close, seem to display through texting? (maybe this one too-link to emotion?)

Statement of Research Questions

1. Does my data show enough examples to justify under certain situations through texting, men and women, close couple, have a different way of displaying emotions or views?
2. What kind of language does "S" use to justify her answers?
3. When does "s" feel uncomfortable about something, can it relate to the focus?
4. Do the stories "S" give relate to the cultural stories about texting:emotion,relationships,gender difference ect.?
5. Does "s" show her real thoughts and ideas by going off and ignoring what I said?-Yes

List of Information

• My data is sufficent for this research project
• I really need writing samples/ other research to validate my points

Sources

Because my focus kept changing I might need help finding an article or another piece of writing to help me with this project. SO far, I have the article you sent me that contradicts my focus. The point in this article is to say that there isn't a problem communicationg emotions through computers (texting). Here is the link once again: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5VHUtxmolOHN1RMRnFNM1g0Yjd0NjNMcDh6VUxSYnlZVnZF/edit?usp=sharing

My only concern is if this article is sufficient enough for my focus?

Blog 15- Short Analysis: Rough Draft

I have attached the rough draft to my short analysis. Link is below:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5VHUtxmolOHSWxqcF85Q0I1S28/edit?usp=sharing

Blog 14- Short analysis ideas

From doing the interview, it seems that once again my focus has changed! Originally I really wanted to focus on how people relay emotions over texting since I personally feel that texting is just an awful source to relay your true emotions. Through my interview, this was led to be slightly true. However some of the major focuses I received from the interview once I analyzed it are the following:

1. Some people take texting more serious than others.
2. People tend to project an answer from the person that they are texting before they receive a reply.
3. People spend time to put emotion through text, and soemtimes it is not received correctly.
4. It is possible, that women and men value/talk/ and relate differently through text or language.

I want to incorporate the three pieces I took apart from my transcript. My question is do I only need to focus on one, or can I focus on on two excerpts if not all of them if they relate to my focus? For the short analysis project, do we also need to back up our claims from other sources? If so, I will be a little stuck on that since my focus has recently changed.

Blog 13- Cultural Stories

Transcript 1:

A: did you ever have a text exchange that made you very angry? Laughing-

S:laughing- yes plenty of times

A: Can you describe one?

S: um (7:30) does it have to be does it have to be- an angry situation or can it be the context of a text that got me mad?

A: it can be any. If you weren’t getting the right feedback emotion-?

S: Well the L other day I had a text conversation with my lovely boyfriend on how long he takes to write back to my text messages and S- Im the kinda person where if im home and im not busy my phone is always on me- and with me all the time all the time. So hes the complet opposite and it takes him a long time to write back to me. So I L said to him one day I understand youre not a fan of texting but if I had a dollar for every time, every minute, I’d be rich. And hell give me an excuse like oh I wasn’t paying attention to my phone or oh this – and it made me very angry.

1. key:

L- stands for language being changed, participant refers to a "time"

green (Causality)- sequence of story

blue- Switch on inside of voice

red- cause an effect of situation

2. Cultural story:

In general, some people take texting much more serious than others, and time plays a factor.

3. Focus:

 From this excerpt, I may use it to point out that time means everything when it comes to texting, or simply nothing. Some value it to the point in which they can get angry if the person they are texting doesn't view it as they do. Down to the point, time and texting can cause problems.

 

Transcript 2:

A: Is there anything we didn’t talk about that youd like to mention about that? What about it didn’t go the way you wanted it to?

S: all the time, L all the time. I feel like people I fee like um people  that text often they kinda before they get a reply from whoever they are talking to they kinda make up the conversation in your head of how they would want it to go (11:57)

A: okay

S: And 90 percent of the time the response isn’t what you though it would be. So a lot of the times  L you know youll get a feeling, you know not a good feeling, you know youll look at your phone and you’ll expect a certain response to a certain text from a certain person. Like maybe,  L (maybe you told your boyfriend oh I love you so much and you expect back oh I love you too with a smiley face and a heart but all you get is love you too (12:25)

1. Key:

L- stands for language being changed, participant makes a point in tone

green (Causality)- sequence of story

red- cause an effect of situation

purple- participant makes an inference, but itsn't fully sure

2. Cultural Story:

People generally have an idea on what the other person is going to say, before they say it.

3. Focus:

The focus of this transcript is people generally have an idea of what the other person behind the other cell phone is going to say. However, they also realize that most of the time they thought wrong. Texters can get worked up over expectations, but also realize the reality.

Transcript 3:

A: Okay so it has nothing to do with emotions over text?

S: I think L um it would be easier to experience the emotions with breaking up with someone and other serious conversations like that in person, just so they can see how you really feel. And it’s not just words there’s tone of voice there’s physical. L Like you can’t cry over a text message. You could put a sad face with a tear but the person doesn’t actually see your pain and stuff. (3:52)

A: Oh okay so you don’t, so okay let me see if I understand. You say you can read emotion through text, but at the same time youre saying that you can’t? (4:09)

S: There’s instances where L where  where I, L I think that you can definitely relay emotions through texts if you tell someone I’m crying I’m so hurt, they will understand. But in situations where you shouldn’t be having the conversation over text than it should be by face its, I think, its L it is better. It’s not where you can,L I think you can, you can get emotion through text it’s the matter of doing the right thing and having certain conversations face to face. (4:43)

1. key:

L- stands for language being changed, participant refers to a "time"

green (Causality)- sequence of story

blue- Switch on inside of voice

red- cause an effect of situation

purple- personal feeling

2. Cultural Story:

People can relay emotion through text to a certain extent.

People can’t relay emotion through text if it’s a serious conversation

3. Focus:

From this transcript, I can relay that to a certain extent, people can relay emotions through text but only to a certain point if they write word to word how they feel. However, it is much easier to see someone face to face. You can see physical gestures and hear the tone of that person’s voice. Overall, if a conversation is serious, people generally feel that it should be done face to face out of having respect.

Blog 12- Transcript

I placed the file below that contains my entire transcript!

Trasncript

Date: 3/11/14

Time: 7 p.m.

Duration: About 20 minutes (actual times in transcript)

**Participant signed all consent forms!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5VHUtxmolOHVGNxd0lGMEZBWEE/edit?usp=sharing

Blog 11

Final Protocol

        My topics reflects upon the question: with the age group of college students, are you able to grasp the correct emotion and point of view of the person behind the other cell phone?

 These will be my questions (subject to change through actual interview)

1. How old were you when you started texting?
2. Can you tell me what that was like?
3. Do you text often?
4. Do you enjoy to text?
5. Do you text differently to different people? How?
6. What was is like when you had a basic flip phone?
7. Can you talk about texting with different phones?
8. Are you the kind of person that prefers to talk in person or through media?
9. Do you think that there are problems with texting? 
10. Could you tell me about displaying emotions through text?
11. Are you able to grasp point of view from the other person?
12. Do you have any experiences in which texting was rough for you?
13. Describe some of the relationships you have where you use texting the most
14. Describe the different purposes you use texting for.  Who are the people you text most frequently and what is the purpose of those texts?
15. Did you ever have a text exchange that made you really angry? Describe.
16. How do you feel about getting straight to the point?
17. Have you ever sent a text where someone misunderstood you?  Tell me about it.
18. Was there ever a time when you blew off on a text?
19. Did you ever have a text exchange that made you really angry? Describe.
20. Can you tell me a story about when you really wanted to go on and on in a text but only said maybe a sentence or a word?
21. Have you ever broken up over text?
22. Can you tell me any related stories?
23. Do you prefer to text through a conversation that isn't easy, rather than over phone or in person?
24. Would you like to share any other personal stories?
25. What was that like for you?
26. Would you have rather seen physical emotions to get through that conversation better?
27. Talk about tone through text?
28. Can you talk about a situation where you used texting as an easy way out?

Overall and in general- Do you think you have had more frustrating or satisfying experiences through texting, given emotion and the stories you have told me? How do you really feel when someone doesn't reply back, or your text is misunderstood?

***Note- the subject I am interviewing is a very close friends, so it will be easy to dig into stories and elaborate, that's why I mentioned earlier that some of these questions may change when I actually do the interview.

Blog 10

Cultural Stories:
My topic pertains to, in general, texting and emotions. There are so many ways you can go on texting, but some cultural stories that I have come up with are:

Cultural stories: emotions behind texting

 

1. Texting lacks emotion

• You can't understand sarcasm all the time
• People can get confused

2. Texting is used as an easy access for conversation

• Many people are afraid of confronting someone in person.
• Texting is a fast an easy way to send a message on instinct.

3. Texting doesn’t display correct POV

• You can't always understand someone's point of view.

4. When texting, it is hard to see how someone reacts to your text.

• You cant see facial expressions.
• You cant hear tone, (shouty capitals don't count)
• You cant grasp body gestures
• All these physical expressions lack in texting
• But is this a good thing sometimes?...

I'm not exactly sure if all these points are correct under, "cultural stories," but these were the vibes I got from my particular topic on writing studies.

blog 9

        My topics reflects upon the question: with the age group of college students, are you able to grasp the correct emotion and point of view of the person behind the other cell phone?

So far, I have developed the following questions:

1. How old were you when you started texting?
2. Can you tell me what that was like?
3. Do you text often?
4. Do you enjoy to text?
5. Do you text differently to different people? How?
6. What was is like when you had a basic flip phone?
7. Can you talk about texting with different phones?
8. Are you the kind of person that prefers to talk in person or through media?
9. Do you think that there are problems with texting? 
10. Could you tell me about displaying emotions through text?
11. Are you able to grasp point of view from the other person?
12. Do you have any experiences in which texting was rough for you?
13. How do you feel about getting straight to the point?
14. Was there ever a time when you blew off on a text?
15. Can you tell me a story about when you really wanted to go on and on in a text but only said maybe a sentence or a word?
16. Have you ever brokenup over text?
17. Can you tell me any related stories?
18. Do you prefer to text through a conversation that isnt easy, rather than over phone or in person?
19. Would you like to share any other personal stories?
20. What was that like for you?
21. Would you have rather seen physical emotions to get through that conversation better?
22. Talk about tone through text?
23. Can you talk about people using texting as an easy way out?
24. Can you give me an example in which you've done so?

These are just some of my questions, for the most part. I have contacted my subject and she is up for the the project!

Blog 8

Statement of Purpose
What I hope to discover within my topic Texting: are there visible emotions and points of view?,  are do people that text, specifically with the age group of college students, able to grasp the correct emotion and point of view of the person behind the other cell phone?

Detailed Statement of Research Question
When I conduct my research, my focus will revolve around my main question if texting produces sustainable emotion and such. there are so many ways to go off this question. I will interview people on whether or not through their experiences if texting has ever cause conflict. Also, are valid points really made if you cannot see the emotion on a person's face , see body gestures, or even the tone of a voice? Do people also use this to an advantage for them? For instance, if you are avoiding an important conversation, is it easier to just text it away?

List of Information I Need to Gather:

• is my question true
• are the responses valid to my opinion
• does previous research back up my claim?
• what do other writers think of texting?
• awkward social situations?
• how clear points are made to others
• people to interview

Preliminary List of Sources

1. College students
2. Academic writing
3. A Better Pencil, Denis Baron

Gather of Information

1. I will be studying how college students translate texting when it comes to emotion, point of view, and for argument sake.
2. I will collect my information from Kean University students, and or other universities. particular maybe 2-3 people, and students whose ages range from 20-21.
3. I will study 2-3 people
4. Interviews and textual analysis will be my methods.

Blog 7

     For the valentine's day interview, I interviewed with Melanie from class. As I was listening to the recording of the interview, I noticed that the entire interview itself was about four minutes for both os us. Even though it seems very short, all questions were answered and there was room for conversation.

      One thing I noticed was that in the beginning of the interview, I noticed how awkward it felt and I can even quote myself saying that this is a little "awkward." However, as the interview progressed I noticed that the questions didn't really seem like questions. The questions turned more into like a base for a casual conversation that we began to have about valentine's day.

       I noticed that Melanie and I both felt the same about valentine's day, which made the interview run smooth and easy. I liked that I was able to view it more as just a conversation rather than an interview. I hope to take this into the future when I do my interviews for my project. Having a flow seems imperative within an interview in order to avoid gaps and the feeling of awkwardness.

Blog 6

In the beginning of the semester I had planned to do my research on how school teachers (elementary) communicated differently between students, faculty, and parents. In all honesty, I would love to do my research on that since it falls right in my major, but I am being realistic and I know that I will not be able to collect enough data from those specific outside sources, given my time frame. I have now decided to base my research around college students-media writing/academic writing

Topic
My topic will cover how college students are affected my media writing and academic:

• text messaging
• blogging
• social networking
• email
• etc.

compared to:

• academic writing

Focus
I want to focus specifically on whether or not college students, given the amount of education they have already obtained, can make a balance on what is appropriate for maybe an English paper, a text message, or an email to a friend.

• is there a major difference
• which media relates more to academic writing
• etc.

What I Want to Do
     I basically want to interview a variety of college students. I want to see if their academic writing is reflected upon how they communicate when using different sources. It is an interesting topic since many people have different opinions on how they feel about communication.

Blog 5

The following are my Ethnographic Notes of my Eng 3029 class.

Jottings

• Jessica- Red hoodie and glasses
• Briana- with Jessica (bun in hair)
• Brenda- classmate from Eng 2020 last semester
• Amanda- very quiet, blonde hair
• John- talkative, taller man in the class with the beard
• The teacher knows all names of students
• The teacher holds direction
• The teacher tells people to move
• Nervous/ Arms Cross/ All Taking Notes

Head Notes

I met with  Jessica, Briana, Brenda, Amanda, and John

 

Jessica

•  Red hoodie
• Glasses
• Observes while writes(all around

Briana

•  From other writing class on Monday and Wednesday nights

Brenda

• From writing class last semester
• Also an education major
• Bilingual specifically
• Applying to be a sub in Elizabeth

Amanda

• Blonde
• Very quiet 
• Kind of just smiles and looks around

John

•  Taller man in the class with beard.
• Very enthusiastic when speaking
• Moves around a lot to get to know the entire class

The class as a whole through this study

1.       People seem nervous and put in an awkward position since they are being forced to speak to someone, just to get to know them?

2.       Arms are crossed for a sense of comfort

3.       People are standing in the same spots

4.       Only maybe two or three want to move around to get out of comfort zone?

5.       Small talks

6.       One thing leads to another

7.       Smart phones

8.    7 minutes

Things I Remembered After

• Everyone was pretty much the same
• People really didn't want to move
• It was kind of difficult to focus on everyone else, my notes, and the people I was talking to all at the same time
• I found myself remembering people by what they were wearing, which made it so much easier to remember what they told me rather than to write it down

Specifics

• A lot of education majors
• Many are Elementary/Middle
• Not so many just "writing" majors
• People tend to first mention their major, after they re state their name
• At first we all gravitated towards the people we sat behind

 

 

Field Notes

 

     As a class, we did an ethnographic study/research or our class. The entire things took about seven minutes. First, our instructor told us to get up and have an inconspicuous device to jot down notes.  The first thing I noticed is everyone took out their smart phones. Dr. Chandler stood in the front of the class for most of the period, and briefly walking through when she wanted others to engage with each other.After, we were told to talk to someone we don't really know. I first spoke to the two ladies that sit in front of me. I found out that their names are Jessica and Briana. Jessica wore a red hoodie which made her easy to remember, and Briana had a bun in her hair, which was also easy for recognition. The first thing I really noticed was how awkward everyone felt; arms crossed and limited speaking. Jessica was very focused "all around," as in she was talking to us, but also very aware of her surroundings. Briana was as well, but more focused on just our group and close area, not the whole class. We then stayed talking in out little group and didn't really leave until the instructor told us to move; I noticed everyone else did the same thing and didn't want to leave their comfort zones. After, Brenda and Amanda came to where I was standing and it was more of a casual conversation, since we were all getting use to this activity. Brenda and I clicked quickly because we had a class together last semester so the conversation was much easier and it flowed nicely. I don't remember what Brenda wore, but it doesn't matter since I had class with her before. Amanda on the other hand I do not really know. She is blonde and seems kind of shy. She comes off as shy but seems friendly and was engaging in the conversation. I began to notice that people were talking more and getting more comfortable; I don't remember if arms were still crossed for most people. John came to talk to us towards the end, he was very talkative. Dr. Chandler dismissed up to go back to our seats soon after John came to speak to us, so I don't really know much about him.

  

     What I noticed between conversations were the same thing; name, major, and talking briefly about the activity we were currently involved in. I really wanted to focus on the class as a whole, but it was difficult with all the different conversations going on as a whole.

 



Blog 4

John Swales goes into detail about what should make up a discourse community. He has a crucial setup of six simple statements that would determine if whether or not a group is considered a discourse community. First, a discourse community simply put, is a group of specific "identities" that all share the same and specific purpose. Some examples are:

• teachers
• doctors
• fans
• class
• etc.

According to Swales "Concept of Discourse Community," his writing contains a basic format:

1. Connects to researcher(s)
2. Give definition
3. The purpose of the paper
4. Distinguish

The format is what breaks apart discourse community. In my group which consisted of me, Adrian, Florie, and Sara, we were able to take apart Swales' six statements to determine whether or not our research class is considered a "Discourse Class";discourse community:

1. "A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals"-Yes
• In our class, we all have the same syllabus, use a blog to input our thoughts and research on either data or readings, we collaborate together, and our ultimate goal is to compile a research paper.
2. "A discourse community has mechanisms of intercommunication among
   its members."- Yes
• Within our collaborations, we battle different ideas and often have debates, nothing too serious but more of a way to get different ideas and points mentioned.
3. "A discourse community uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to
   provide information and feedback."-Yes
• Our blog! We use a blog to mention our research and receive feedback. This tool is a simple platform for our class
4. "A discourse community utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres
   in the communicative furtherance of its aims."-Yes
• We have topics that all revolve around researching and incorporating a writing study into a project.
5. "In addition to owning genres, a discourse community has acquired some
   specific lexis."-Yes
• some specific language we use in our class are:
• formal
• questions
• language use
• behavior
• value/perspective
• rhetoric
• rhetorical situation
• analysis
• rhetorical analysis
6. "A discourse community has a threshold level of members with a suitable
   degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise."-Yes
• In our class, we are all certified to do research, according to the NIH.
• We are all studying writing
• We are all working together to enhance what we know about discourse and rhetorical analysis

        These six statements all contain reasonable answers to why our group felt that our class would be considered a "Discourse Class," however, I personally feel that we are not fully there yet, but we are building to that common goal.
        As mentioned in statement five above, there are specific lexis within our class. With that said, the teacher and student discourse affects our discourse community, to some extent. Keeping it simple, the teacher holds the following:

• formal
• questions
• higher level
• form discussion

The students hold the following:

• responsive to teacher
• seated
• discussion
• answers
• collaboration

I'd like to say that teacher and student discourse work together, which is crucial. Together we form the discourse community, or "class". It is a mechanism that would fail without each other. What is a teacher without a class? Together they shape to form or modify a discourse community.

 

Blog 3

There are numerous terms that come into play when it comes to "Language Analysis". First, I'd like to give an example of a situation in which we would use language analysis and the conditions that may follow. For example, in a research classroom setting, you would consider this as "Classroom Discourse". the elements that may follow are:

• Formal
• questions
• mostly asked by instructor and developed thorugh students
• language use
• behaviors
• values/persepectives
• time
• context
• group setting
• LEXIS- (language within a specific disocourse; in this case, a research classroom.)

With that said, in a research class there is much analysis that is done alone but also as a whole group. When analyzing language there are many terms that can be used. Some of the terms and a simple definition are as followed:

1. discourse
• language in use
• letters
• words
• sentences
• patterns
2. lexis
• language within a discourse
3. rhetorical situations
• a situation where you are persuading, in this case verbally/text, an audience by making relations to them, yet also informing
4. conventions
• groups that relate to eachother
5. discourse community
• a specific group of people talking about/researching the same thing and using the same elements
6. social view
• how others/society views the situation and the points you were able to relate to them

There are also steps that should be taken when analyzing anything:

1. Define the situation
2. Identify
3. Pose a theory
4. Test

These steps above are more of just a general guideline when making any analysis, but most definitely work in play with language!

Blog 2

For the shaggy dog stories, I will refer most of my examples to shaggy dog example two, the one with the punch line, "Giant Panda, lives in China, eats shoots and leaves."

1. The language within the shaggy dog stories seem to be very exaggerated and contain words that one person wouldn't normally use every day. The characters within the stories are also very random. For example, in the second shaggy story the main characters consisted of a panda, a maître d', a few customers, and a detective. The language is also very sarcastic and literal! For instance, after the panda eats and shoots he asks the maître d' "what do I look like to you?"

2. For the reader to get the joke of the shaggy dog story, he/ she must grasp the connection of what happened within the short story. First, the panda was served. Second, he ate, Next, he pulled out a gun and started shooting people, and last, he left. The punch line at the end says, once the detective looks its up, "Giant Panda, lives in China, eats shoots and leaves." The reader must know that giant pandas literally have a diet where "shoots and leaves" are what they eat. Of course the point of the story was to take that line in a different literal way, which makes it humorous.

3. The shaggy dog stories relate to other spoken or written forms in numerous ways, but I believe mostly to get a simple joke out in a unique way by flipping the normal and boring story. Like other written forms, some of the main purposes are to persuade, entertain, and inform the audience. The shaggy dog stories fall directly under these categories, with just a flip.

4. These particular stories fall under s pattern, with the pattern being "organization". In simple terms, all the shaggy dog stories I have read all start off with a situation that is repeated throughout the story, characters that someone would not normally choose to write about, and a direct conclusion that answers the situation within the text. Also, word choices play a main key into these stories. Sometimes you may fine that the words don't really fit in at first, but the do in the end.

Research Ideas?

I don't really have a set and exact focus on what I would like to do my research project on, but it does revolve around communication within elementary school teachers. I have come up with the idea that maybe I can research how elementary school teachers communicate differently with different groups of people that they are constantly surrounded by within their field:

• Students
• Parents
• Supervisors
• Principles/Vice
• Superintendent
• etc.

There are also different resources, more for the parents and supervisors, which I'd like to research to see which would be more appropriate, under certain situations:

• Telephone
• Email
• Written letters
• In person
• etc.

 The writing study that this falls under is "characterizing discourses by audience." As a future teacher, it is important to me to have a balance within everyone I will be communicating with on a daily/weekly basis. I'd like to get a better feel on how these grammar school teachers communicate differently, given their circumstances.
Any feedback would be great:)