Reflection on Project 2

This post is to reflect on the process of writing a rhetorical analysis as whole. To do this, I will be answering questions from the book Writing Public Lives.

Silva, Samuel. Drops of Water. 08/25/2011. CC 2.0 Generic. 

1. What was specifically revised from one draft to another?

My intro really needed some help from the first draft to the next one. A lot of the substance was changed because it wasn't written to the correct audience.

2. How did I reconsider my thesis or organization.

Like I said before, My intro really needed to be revise and the included my thesis. My first one didn't have any kind of direction of rhetoric, which is what the whole paper is supposed to be about. After I went back and changed it, it helped the direction of the whole paper improve.

3. What led to these changes?

Part of the reason was the audience, but it was more that I realized the direction that the paper is supposed to go in.

4. How do these changes affect my credibility as an author?

I think this helps gain the trust of my audience. They should be able to trust that when they read my thesis, they know what I'm going to write about.

5. How will these changes better address they audience?

If the audience feels like the thesis was written for them, they should feel more interested in reading it because it applies to them.

6. How did I reconsider sentence structure and style?

I tried to diversify the sentence structure to make it interesting and not boring to read. They style was professional.

7. How will these changes help the audience understand the purpose?

The purpose is to perform analysis and an example of it. The style should be professional so that they can see they credibility behind the analysis.

8. Did I have to reconsider the conventions of this genre?

Yes. I constantly had to remind myself of who the audience was, what kind of conventions are being used, and what the purpose was.

9. What does the process of reflection help you reconsider as your identity as a writer?

As a writer, it helps me realize where I need to improve, and where I have some strengths. It encourages me to grow where I have room and to improve the strengths I have,

Final Copy of Rhetorical Analysis

Here it is. My final copy of my rhetorical analysis. Enjoy!

You can access it here

Newroz Istanbul(4). 03/19/2006. CC by 2.5 

Punctuation Part 2

This post is about more ways to improve my writing through grammar. I will talk about the 3 sections I read in Rules for Writers, the unnecessary comma, the apostrophe. and quotation marks.

MacIntosh, Scott. I want YOU to use grammar. 07/14/2011. Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution. 

The Unnecessary Comma:

I am someone who loves commas. I hate run-on sentences or even really longs ones that don't have commas. But I realize that sometimes I probably overuse them. One of the subsection that stood out to me was, not using a comma after a phrase that begins and inverted sentence. I tend to do this a lot because that is where I would naturally take a breath, but apparently its grammatically wrong.

:The Apostrophe

I remember that it took me a really long time to learn the right times to use "its" and "it's." But once I got it, I'm pretty good at it now. I saw that this section had one sentence about it, but I'm surprised that there wasn't more because this seems to be a thing that people have a really hard time catching on to.

Quotation Marks:

I"m always mixing up when to use quotation marks. For example, I use single quotes around the "its" and "it's" and went back to change them to regular quotes. I also have a hard time remembering which works of production to use quotes around verses italicize it. I know can remember that shorts works use quotes.


While revising my draft with this new knowledge, I found exactly what I talked about above. I used too many commas, my "its" were correct, and for the most part used quotes correctly when using a direct quote from the article. I'm glad I am now able to spot these because it will make future revising easier.

Paragraph Analysis 2

This post is meant to be a reflection on my own analysis of my rhetorical analysis.

The link to my Copy For Paragraph Analysis 2 is here.

This process actually really helped me. It forced me to look at my paragraphs and paper in a different light. I knew this before, but I realized how much I need to edit; I talked mostly about the controversy rather than the rhetorical analysis. I followed good flow and organization, but I need shift the topic of my paper back the rhetorical analysis.

Reflection on Project 2 Draft

This post is to reflect on the drafting process of the rhetorical analysis.

I peer edited Michael and Alex's drafts.

1. Do I have an identifiable thesis? 

Yes. My thesis is identifiable, but it definitely needs to be more specific. Michael and Alex had a thesis that was also slightly broad. They have since made theirs more specific and mention the specific ways they will talk about rhetorical analysis

2. How have I decided to organize my essay? 

I talk a lot about the credibility of the author and the appeal to logic because those are the main strategies the author uses. Some of the feedback I got was I followed the PIE format to strictly and need to flesh my paragraphs out more.

3. Did I clearly identify and analyze several important elements of the text's rhetorical situation and/or structure?

Yes. Like I said in the last point, I talks the most about credibility and appeal to logic because those were the main strategies used. Through the editing process, I realized that even though the author did not use much appeal to emotion, that I need to mention that. I plan on going back and talking about how the author could make a stronger argument if he used just a little bit of pathos. 

4. Did I explain how and why certain strategies were employed? 

no. I don't think I adequately did this. I was still stuck on the idea of writing about the controversy rather than writing about the rhetorical strategies. 

5. Am I thoughtful using evidence in each paragraph?

I do use some evidence and direct quotes but I think I can use more to improve my argument. 

6. Do I leave my reader wanting more? 

I answer the "so what" question pretty well in my conclusion. I think I can add more of the "so what" throughout my paper to make the reader aware of why it's important from the beginning. 

Revised Conclusion

This post is to examine my original conclusion and to create a more effective conclusion to wrap up my rhetorical analysis.

I think my new conclusion is more effective because it talks about the rhetorical strategies used in the article rather than the actual controversy. This conclusion is aiming to end with a "so what" wrap up. It gives one new fact about minimum wage workers because it helps show why this topic is so important.

My original conclusion: 

Minimum wage will always be something that will need to be discussed, but it is it’s not always easy to find someone who has support to back up their argument. Krueger is a great person to look to for answers in this area because of his education and career in economics. This article employs has many rhetorical strategies that it uses. The strongest method Krueger uses is his logical aspect and credibility. Through both of these rhetorical strategies, Kruger effectively conveys that an appropriate minimum wage is $12 an hour and $15 an hour is just too much.

My revised conclusion:

Krueger effectively conveys his argument of raising the minimum wage past $12/ hour would bring unnecessary risk for the American economy. His strong use of credibility and appeal to logic offer legitimate reasons for the audience to agree. Because there are around 20.6 million near minimum wage workers, this controversy is important and growing. The author addresses this wide audience as he writes with a knowledgeable yet common tone to reach his broad audience of The New York Times. The rhetorical choices made by Krueger in his article provide and effective argument on the rise of the minimum wage.

Revised Introduction

This post has the goal of coming up with a new introduction. I am throwing the old one out and coming up with a completely new one to better introduce my rhetorical analysis.

My revised introduction is more successful because it follows the points laid out in Student's Guide, and it also avoids the traps. My original intro fell into the trap of opening with a sweeping generalization. I talked too much about the controversy and not enough about the rhetorical strategies. My new intro starts with a rhetorical question to hook the reader. It gives a little bit of context about the author, forecasts what the paper will talk about, and has a strong thesis. 

My original introduction:

Because of the constant shifting of the American economy, there is always a need to examine the federal minimum wage. In the article, The Minimum Wage: How Much is too Much, Alan B. Krueger addresses the controversy of how high the minimum wage should be set. There are people in New York who are working just as much as someone in Texas, yet in New York, the minimum wage is not a livable wage because of the high living cost. Increasing the minimum wage will result in consequences. The question that needs to be addressed is, how do we fix the problem without causing more harm than good in the American economy? Looking at the positive and negative consequences of raising the federal minimum wage, Krueger uses strong rhetoric to argue that raising it to $12/ hour would be beneficial but much higher than that would cause more harm than good. This paper will address the rhetorical strategies and situations that Krueger uses to support and persuade his audience. 
My revised introduction:

How much is too much? When people in the media address the minimum wage controversy, cultural context typically fuels the emotion behind the belief. Alan B. Kreuger, an economics professor at Princeton University, writes the article, The Minimum Wage: How Much is too Much, on the New York Times to explain the controversy from the viewpoint of an economist. He argues that raising the minimum wage to $12/ hour over the course of several years will not have a negative effect on the American economy. Through the use of his credibility and logical appeals, Krueger effectively persuades his audience through rhetorical strategies and situations that raising the minimum wage higher than $12/ hour would cause more harm than good.

Punctuation, Part 1

In this post I will reflect on the reading I did in Rules for Writers about punctuation. The three sections I chose to write on are the semicolon, the colon, and other punctuation marks.

Semicolon: 

I'm someone who loves using commas, so I thought that reading about using semicolons would be good. I learned that it's good to use a semicolon in a series containing internal punctuation. I use these types of sentences a lot in my writing, so I think I will start to mix up my sentence formatting bby using semicolons.

Colon: 

I tend to avoid using colons because I ever know the proper time to use them. In the past, I have been tempted to use a colon after the words "for example," but I just learned that this is a common misuse of the colon. I don't typically see them used when quoting, but this is something that I will now to try to incorporate to switch up my formatting. 

Other Punctuation: 

The dash can also be used to introduce a list. I find it interesting how many ways there are to introduce lists but often times I notice that people tend to stick with one format that they are comfortable with.


Reflection:

Revising others' drafts really help me see how even others have a hard time with these things as well. I was able to see these punctuation marks put in use, in ways I would not normally use them. This helped me think about how I can improve my work by broadening my scope of punctuation. As silly as that sounds, repetitive sentence structure is boring to read, so it's important to diversify.

I revised Alex's draft. Below is an example of a great use of a colon.

The authors explain this more in depth when they say: “We should permit drugs that are safe, and continue to ban and monitor drugs that are unsafe.

I also revised Michael's draft. Below is an example where is was alright to use a semicolon, but it would have better to use a period.

Those who manage hedge-funds are frowned upon by the general population due to negative exposure in the media; consequently, Barro is capitalizing on this by saying that Trump denounced them and is now letting them benefit.

Rhetorical Analysis Rough Draft

This is the post for my rough draft of my rhetorical analysis.

You can access it here. 

Mind you, this is a very rough draft. Part of my process work is to just write and get my thoughts down and then go back and revise (heavy reviser). I think it finally clicked near the end of my draft, what the real goal was. I was having a hard time picturing it until I started writing.

Practicing Summary and Paraphrase

This blog post is going to identify and show examples of the difference between paraphrasing and summarizing.

This quote's original source is from the New York Times article, The Minimum Wage: How Much is too Much.

Original Source: 

I am confident that a federal minimum wage that rises to around $12 an hour over the next five years or so would not have a meaningful negative effect on United States employment. One reason for this judgment is that around 140 research projects commissioned by Britain’s independent Low Pay Commission have found that the minimum wage “has led to higher than average wage increases for the lowest paid, with little evidence of adverse effects on employment or the economy.” A $12­per­hour minimum wage in the United States phased in over several years would be in the same ballpark as Britain’s minimum wage today.

My Paraphrase of the Original Source:

Krueger states that the United States phasing in a $12/ hour federal minimum wage over the course of several years would be similar to studies done by Britain researchers. Britain's independent Low Pay Commission did many studies to show that raising the minimum wage has given lower paying jobs and increase in a wage, but does not have a negative effect in the employment or the economy. This is why Krueger is confident that raising the minimum wage in the US would not effect the employment significantly.

My Summary of the Original Source:

Comparing the US' minimum wage increase to the studies done in Britain, Krueger is confident that raising the minimum wage to $12/ hour will not have significant effects to the employment or economy.

Project 2 Outline

The following post, I will give an outline for my rhetorical analysis of the article, "The Minimum Wage: How Much is too Much?"


In my public speech act, the author uses many rhetorical strategies to persuade his audience. The goal of the text was to persuade the audience that $15/ hour minimum wage is too high and that $12/ hour would be a much more beneficial increase. The author uses lots of personal pronouns and makes the argument personal by explaining his own research. He gives two specific examples of other times or places that have raised the minimum wage where it has been successful. The purpose of this speech act is important because the economy will be highly effected by any change, and the government needs to take the course of action that will cause more good than harm.

Outline:

Intro:

The intro would talk about the value of weighing options especially when it comes to such a large group of people, all with different cultural differences.

Thesis:

Looking at the positive and negative consequences of raising the federal minimum wage, Alan B. Krueger argues that raising the minimum wage to $12/ hour would be beneficial but raising it much higher would cause more harm than good.

Body:

1.Author
    Econ Professor at Princeton
    Posts on Economix column in The New York Times
    Use of hyperlinks
    Personal story of expectations of research

2.Context/ Background
    low-wage workers story
    Risks not worth taking

3.Logistics
   Britain's minimum wage
   Past increases of minimum wage

Claim:

Krueger effectively conveys how high is too high for a minimum wage in the current day in the American economy.

Conclusion:

The conclusion would restate the thesis as well as remind the audience that there are always trade-offs in these kinds of situations. There needs to be logical thinking in order to decide the best course of action. From the research that has been done, $15/ hour would hurt the low-wage workers more than help them.


 
Reflection:

I read Swati and Samantha's posts on their outlines. Samantha's was really long and detailed. It is good that she had a lot of detail because it will help her writing process go a whole lot faster. Swati's wasn't as long and Samantha's, but hers was really well organized and still thorough. Mine didn't cover as much as theirs did. I used this outline more as a skeleton and didn't ass much flesh to it at all. This is going to make my draft slightly harder.   

Draft Thesis Statements

This post is aimed to create a working thesis statement for my rhetorical analysis of the article, The Minimum Wage: How Much is too Much?

NYC Rally to Raise Minimum Wage. 10/24/2015 via flickr. 2.0 Attribution. 

Thesis #1

Although there is viable support for raising the minimum wage and not, Alan B. Krueger, an economics professor at Princeton University, explores why raising the minimum wage to $15/ hour has more negative effects than positive and why $12/ hour would reap more positive effects than negative.

The above thesis gives a good idea of what the paper will be about. I don't think that the credibility for the author needs to be in the thesis because it will be addressed in a different part of the text.

Thesis #2

Alan B. Krueger argues that $12/ hour minimum wage would do more good than harm for low-wage workers.

This thesis is short and to the point, although I don't think it foreshadows enough of what the rest of the text will say.

Thesis #3

Looking at the positive and negative consequences of raising the federal minimum wage, Alan B. Krueger argues that raising it to $12/ hour would be beneficial but much higher than that would cause more harm than good.

This thesis is a good balance of having substance and being concise. It brings in the author, as well as addresses both sides of the argument.


Reflection:

Reading Micheal and Lawrence's posts on drafting thesis statements, they both seem to be missing the same things mine are- the addressing the rhetorical part of the paper. Reading their theses showed me that I need to bring in how my paper will talk about the rhetorical strategies the author uses and not just the controversy the author addresses. I need to work on mine to get them there.

Analyzing My Audience

This post is where I will identify the audience I am writing my project for. I will be doing this by answering the 6 bulleted questions found in A Student's Guide to First Year Writing.

Who am I writing this for?

The audience for this project is preassigned. According to the rubric, this project is written for incoming freshman in my field. The purpose is to explain to them a controversy that is going on in our field and show them how to do a rhetorical analysis.

What position might they take on the issue?

This freshman could take any position. I would guess that coming in, the freshman wouldn't know enough about the subject to take a stance on one side or the other. But most college students are working minimum wage jobs, so they might take the position of raising the federal minimum wage, even though they don't know the consequences of both sides.

What will they want to know?

They will probably want to know both sides of the argument to be able to make a decision on their belief. Because I am analyzing the rhetorical strategies and not the actual subject the article writes about, I will be giving them less about my opinion and more about how the author explains theirs. To understand this, the freshman would want to know the context and background of the article.

How might they react to my argument?

I would hope they would react in agreement with what I have to say. They also might be encouraged to ask more logical questions and do deeper research to further understand the topic.

How am I trying to relate or connect to my audience?

I'm trying to connect my audience with my point of view. I want to help them understand where I come from and why it would be the right belief.

Are there specific words, ideas, or modes of presentation that will help me relate to them in this way?

Because we are in the business field, the text should sound professional and knowledgeable. But, it also needs to be at a level that incoming freshman can understand and connect to.


Reflection:

I read Hallye and Chelsea's posts on analyzing our audience. I think a lot of people are still a little confused about who the audience is because it sounds like they are writing to explain the topic of the article rather than the rhetorical strategies. I'm still trying to keep my mind focused on the rhetorical strategies rather than the actual controversy, even though the controversy is important.

Cluster of "The Minimum Wage: How Much is too Much?"

This post is about the cluster I did on the article, "The Minimum Wage: How Much is too Much?"

The above picture is a photo of the cluster is did on the article, The Minimum Wage: How Much is too Much?. I originally started my project with a different article, so starting over was a little difficult. This cluster was a great place to start. This Coggle has 3 main branches, the rhetorical strategies, rhetorical situations, and cultural views. They are then broken down from there.

Analyzing Rhetorical Strategies in "NY Gov's $15 Minimum Wage Proposal Would Affect Millions"

In this post, I will analyze the article "NY Gov's $15 Minimum Wage Proposal Would Affect Millions" for appeal to credibility, appeal to emotion, and appeal to logic.

Appeal to Credibility and Character:

Acknowledges the counter arguments: This is one of the biggest things gives this article credibility. The article talks about different view points from all the perspectives rather than trying to convince the audience of just one view.

Tone: The tone of this article is very professional and knowledgeable. This increases the credibility because we know the way they think by the way they portray themselves as the author of the article.

Visual Arrangements: The author chose to use the white space to make the article easily skimmable. But he also used it to break it up into sections to help readers understand.

The layout of this article, the tone and overall writing is mainly what gives this article credibility. Because the author is not specifically listed, they chose not to give personal stories which in turn took away some character. But, the Associated Press is a credibly news company that is committed to honest new stories, which gives the article more credibility.

Jordan, Bri. Screenshot of WSJ on my computer. 10/2/2015

Appeal to Emotion:

Shocking Statistics: There are some stats that the author uses to emphasize the relevance of the story, like "A full-time worker in New York making minimum wage now can gross $18,000 a year. That's not enough to support a family, Cuomo argues, sketching out "typical" costs of $11,000 for housing, $9,000 for food and $6,000 for clothing.."

Repetition of relevant words: The word workers is a really key word in this article because it represents a side of the argument. The author chooses to use this word all throughout the text.

Again because there is no specific author listed, it was hard for them to tell personal stories. But, the statistics that the author chose to use really helps the audience understand the side of the worker and sympathize with them. I think it is effective to stir up emotion within someone because they are able to relate. 

Appeal to Logic:

Statistics: Once again, these stats really help appeal to the logic side as well. An example of another stat that appeals to logic is, "A $15 minimum wage equates to roughly $31,000 a year — or a raise of roughly $13,000 a year." 

Effective organization of text: The organization of this article really helps the appeal to logic. The clear sections help the audience to follow easily. The sections also help the text to flow easier. 

I think that the appeal to logic is done tactfully. I think that it is done better than any of the other sections even. It properly implies what the author is trying to say and relays it well. 


Reflection:

I read through Casey and Alex's posts on rhetorical strategies. They both laid their posts out completely different than mine. They way theirs was laid out was a lot more in depth and thorough. I feel like mine was hard to do because my author wasn't actually named. It also made it hard because the author wasn't taking an actual definite position but rather explaining the different perspectivese of the discussion of minimum wage.

Analyzing Message in "NY Gov's $15 Minimum Wage Proposal Would Affect Millions"

This post will be about analyzing the message behind the article "NY Gov's $15 Minimum Wage Proposal Would Affect Millions."

Proimos, Alex. Cinematic New York City. 7/3/2011 via Wikimedia. 2.0 Generic.

Out of the bullets on pg 181 of Students Guide, the most relevant ones portrayed in the article would be responding to a particular event and expressing an idea. The even that the author is responding to is the proposal of the minimum wage increase. There are many different sides to the discussion but the author seems to express the idea of most sides.

The bullet that was the least relevant was that the author was trying make the audience feel a certain way. I think the author was trying to persuade that audience that this is an important topic to discuss, but not to make them pick a side.

There were not many nuances that were apparent in the article. There was layering of opinions. The author bounced around to the various opinions of the works, businesses, government, and the different segregated parts of New York.

Analyzing My Own Assumptions

This post will look at my own ideas, norms, beliefs, etc. compared to the ones in the article "NY Gov's $15 Minimum Wage Proposal Would Affect Millions."

Mitchell, Nels. Minimum Wage to Living Wage. 6/26/2014 via Nels Mitchell.  

What cultural or social values, beliefs, etc. do I share with the society or culture in the text?

I think that Tucson is also a very segregated city like New York. We have north side, east side, west side, central, and South Tucson. Although there are not as drastic wage differences, there is still a separation of culture just within a city.

What cultural beliefs, values, etc. do I not share with the society in the text?

I very much disagree with the idea of raising minimum wage. I think that it's a free market and people can choose not to work at a place that has too low of a wage. I understand that people may have a hard time finding work for higher wages, but they still have a choice. They can also move to another place that doesn't have such a high cost of living. Looking at it economically, it will hurt their society more than help it.

What social or cultural values, beliefs, etc. connect or reflect my own culture? What can I not see in my own culture?

There will always be a discussion about whether or not to raise the minimum wage because the economy will always be shifting. In the society in New York, the cost of living is much higher and perhaps the wage should be slightly higher. But in Tucson, the cost of living is much lower which is one reason many people choose to live in Tucson, or in places similar. Although the cost of living is different, the free trade market still has the same effect.


Reflection:

I read Sam and Mira's posts about their assumptions. Same agreed completely with the author of her text. Her cultural setting was also the same and didn't see any differences. I was more like Mira, where there were things that I agreed with and disagreed with. I could really see the passion in Mira's post which was refreshing.

Analyzing my Text's Cultural Setting

The following analysis will be on the article,"MY Gov's $15 Minimum Wage Proposal Would Affect Millions." I will by analyzing the cultural setting around this article. The author of this article is listed as Associated Press. I actually called customer support for Associated Press to see who the author was and they told me Michael Hill was the reporter who wrote it.

Henzler, Philipp. New York Skyline. 3/9/2012 via Pexels. CC0 Domain.

What values, ideas, norm, beliefs, and even laws of the culture play an important role in the text? 

A large belief that is help by many is that the federal wage floor of $7.25/ hour is not a livable wage. There is concern that people aren't even able to live on such wages therefore the minimum wage need to increase. There are also known segregations in the city, like upstate and downstate.

Does the text address these cultural values, norms, beliefs, etc. directly or indirectly? 

This text talks about them directly. The belief of raising minimum wage is talked about from the side of the works but then also the side of the businesses. The other cultural part that the author addresses is the setup and segregation of the city with upstate vs. downstate. These cultural differences make it hard

What is the relationship of the text to the values, ideas, norms, etc.? Is it critical of these aspects of the culture? Is it supportive? Does it seek to modify these aspects of the culture in a certain way? 

This article mostly talks about the problems that is happening in NY, which is that people are not making enough to live on. But, it also addresses the problems that raising the minimum wage. At the very end of the article, the author does pose the point that by the time the minimum wage finally increases to $15/ hour, it won't be a livable wage anymore due to inflation.

Cultural Analysis of "NY Gov's $15 Minimum Wage Proposal Would Affect Millions"

In this post I will be analyzing certain cultural aspects of the article," NY gov's $15 minimum wage proposal would affect millions" This article is about the debate in New York City about raising the minimum wage. The author tried to stay away from direct cultural buzz words, but there were some that the author specifically used.

Fibonacci Blue. March for $15/hour minimum wage at the University of Minnesota.
 4/15/2015 via Flikr. Attribution 2.0 Generic.

The words I chose were "liberal-minded" and "workers". The author talks about a lot of "liberal" points of view throughout the article but only uses the word "liberal-minded" near the end when contrasting with the other side of the argument. My next one is worker. I chose this one because these are the people that are being highly effected by the minimum wage increase.

These words are woven throughout the entire article, workers more than liberal-minded. Liberal-minded in woven in indirectly but it is still an important college of thought carried out in this issue.

The basic thesis found in the article is this:
Cumo has heated up a long-running debate on the need of low-paid workers to earn a living wage verses dangers of placing potentially job-imperiling financial burdens on businesses.