Professor Joshua Belknap | Co Req ML | Fall 2023

11/8/23: Writing Activity

Itā€™s Unit 3: Writing in a New Genre time! Hereā€™s what we should be thinking/writing about for this freewrite: Reflect upon the major unit activities weā€™ve worked on this semester, the Education Narrative, the RAB (Reflective Annotated Bibliography) and now the final genre research project. As you write, think about and answer the following questions:

-How do you think the major unit projects fit together? How are they related? Be specific and use examples from each (not direct quotations from your work, but the themes and ideas). Try to draw connections between your narrative, bibliography and now your research project.

-Explain the rationale behind what (and how!) you plan on writing about for your research project. If you are choosing to write a conventional research essayā€”which some of you mightā€”for your final project, explain specifically why. Think about it! Of all the options you have (TedTalk, podcast, video essay, etc.), justify your decision to write a research paper. Why is it the most effective way to reach the audience you intend to address?

-What do you think you might have done differently in your projects so far, and what might you do differently in the future? This kind of reflection will be included in your ā€œartist statementā€ in the final project, so really thinking and writing about this today will mean you can include it in your draft of the project. Also included will be:

  1. Context: Give us the background for this project. Remind us how you became interested in the topic.
  2. Rhetorical Situation and Related Choices: Tell us the ā€œwhyā€ of your project. What was your purpose for making this project? What audience did you want to direct this information to? Why that audience specifically? Where did you see your piece being shown or distributed to your audience? What appeals did you decide to use (which, of course, may have changed later): facts (logos), emotion (pathos), the credibility of you or someone you talk about (ethos)?
  3. Genre Considerations: Why did you chose the genre you did? What made you think that genre would be the best one for your audience? For example, if you did a brochure, what made a brochure the best way to get the information to your chosen audience ā€” that is, you knew you had a place to distribute it so that seemed logical?

Doing the project: Walk us chronologically through the process you went through to get it done: this, then this, then thisā€¦ What did you have to change and when? Did you throw out your original idea altogether, and if so, why? Who/where did you turn to for help? When did you panic (if you did) and what did you do about it?

Post here in the comment section.

12 Comments

  1. Jguarango21

    Writing Activity

    1.   Context: Give us the background for this project. Remind us how you became interested in the topic.

    So, it all started as a kid when I saw this news about a country at war or attack. All I saw was a donated car and from there on out so many things came to mind. When I grew older, I was able to access the internet on my own and watch anything. My friend presented me with a series on Netflix ā€œNarcosā€. It was about the infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar. Once I watched it I became very interested in these types of people and began learning about them,

    2.   Rhetorical Situation and Related Choices: Tell us the ā€œwhyā€ of your project. What was your purpose for making this project? What audience did you want to direct this information to? Why that audience specifically? Where did you see your piece being shown or distributed to your audience? What appeals did you decide to use (which, of course, may have changed later): facts (logos), emotion (pathos), the credibility of you or someone you talk about (ethos)?

    I am going to give a presentation about this topic like a ā€œTED talkā€ but less formal. I decided it would be best to inform my audience about this type of person and what kind of ways they obtain power. That includes the U.S.A. as well. My audience in this case would be my peers. The reason is because they are in my class. I can see myself in front of the classroom presenting my ideas and informing them. The only one I used is an Ethos appeal for a thorough investigation.

    3.   Genre Considerations: Why did you choose the genre you did? What made you think that genre would be the best one for your audience? For example, if you did a brochure, what made it the best way to get the information to your chosen audience ā€” that is, you knew you had a place to distribute it so that seemed logical?

    I decided to choose this genre because I am already prepared for a speech with my visual aids and notes. I could say itā€™s the best as there isnā€™t any reading involved. Itā€™s easier to inform as well and with a presentation they can be educated about this type of crime.

    • Joshua Belknap

      Joann,

      You say a TedTalk but less formal. That sounds great, but I’m unclear as to the exact genre. Are you going to create a video presentation? Or a speech in class, with visual aids?

      Also, in your first paragraph above, you mention something about a donated car. I’m not sure I understand that. Can you explain in more detail? Thanks.

      • Jguarango21

        Yes, a TED talk is less formal as I am not used to giving speeches, but I will try my best to give one. It would be a speech with visual aids. I will try and use PowerPoint and primary sources as examples.

        And yes, I misspelled ā€œdetonateā€. It was not supposed to be donated. I apologize. 

        • Joshua Belknap

          Okay, so this will be a class presentation. Why do you think that a Power Point slideshow will be the most effective way to reach your audience? Can you identify your specific audience? What are the rhetorical features that make the slideshow the most effective method to augment your (informal) Ted Talk presentation?

  2. Fairlay

    The major unit projects fit together because in unit 3 we are writing about the research we did in Unit 2. Unit 3 is kind of the continuation of unit 2 because we have to talk about our thought process when we made the decision to choose the topic that we did in unit 2. Some connections between my narrative, bibliography and now my research is that we have to talk about something we care about in all of them. I plan on writing about my research project with a slideshow. I want to do my research project with a slideshow because I feel like it would be the most effective. I donā€™t think thereā€™s anything I mightā€™ve done differently in my projects so far. Iā€™m happy with what Iā€™ve done in my projects up to this point. 

    • Joshua Belknap

      Fairlay,

      Now is the time to formulate a research question. What is your topic, and what will be your specific research question? Also, you mention that you want to do a slideshow, and that you think a slideshow will be effective. You need to mention why you think a slideshow will be more effective than, say, a video presentation or a podcast/audio, or a photo essay. What audience are you trying to reach with your research question/topic? How will a slideshow be the best way to reach that audience? Explain.

  3. Daria

    • How do you think the major unit projects fit together? How are they related? Be specific and use examples from each (not direct quotations from your work, but the themes and ideas. Try to draw connections between your narrative, bibliography and now your research project.

    I think Unit 2 and 3 fit together because in Unit 3 I am going to talk about the same idea that I worked on in Unit 2: How Social Media Influences Customer Behavior.

    As for module 1, I don’t think so because it had a different topic and writing style.

    • Explain the rationale behind what (and howl) you plan on writing about for your research project. If you are choosing to write a conventional research essay-which some of you might- for your final project, explain specifically why. Think about it! Of all the options you have (LedIalk, podcast, video essay, etc.), justify your decision to write a research paper. Why is it the most effective way to reach the audience you intend to address? 

    in my case, the best option for my topic would be a video. As a plan B, I can use a podcast. But I think I’ll focus on the video. I believe that this is the most effective and entertaining way to convey information to my audience, which consists of people of different professions, ages from 16 to 50, who want to grow their business through social media 

    • What do you think you might have done differently in your projects so far, and what might you do differently in the future? This kind of reflection will be included in your

    “artist statementĀ® in the final project, so really thinking and writing about this today will mean you can include it in your draft of the project. Also included will be:

    1.   Context. Give us the background for this project. Remind us how you became interested in the topic. – I have always been interested in social media , and now I am really interested in marketing, and I believe that if a person has his own business (and in the future I also want to have my own business), then he needs to use the services of influencers and marketers, because in our time, social media  bring in the most money for small businesses.
    2.   Rhetorical Situation and Related Choices: Tell us the why of your project. What was your purpose for making this project? What audience did you want to direct this information to? Why that audience specifically? Where did you see your piece being shown or distributed to your audience? What appeals did you decide to use (which, of course, may have changed later): facts (logos), emotion (pathos), the credibility of you or someone you talk about (ethos)? – in the first question I already made it clear a little what the purpose of my project is, but a separate category in unit 2 was the beauty industry, since this is also what I am interested in. My research lists all sources of information and people who worked on those projects, information and figures that are important for business. I think that the results of my work could be broadcast on YouTube or as a separate article on how to attract clients, which schemes work, and which influencers to work with. 
    3.   Genre Considerations: Why did you chose the genre you did? What made you  think that genre would be the best one for your audience? For example, if you did a brochure, what made a brochure the best way to get the information to your chosen audience – that is, you knew you had a place to distribute it so that seemed logical?- as I already said, my audience is those people who want to promote their business using social networks, so something like a video will be in a language they understand and in a format they understand. This will make the information less boring and more accessible to the brain for processing.

    Doing the project: Walk us chronologically through the process you went through to get it done: this, then this, then this..

    What did you have to change and when? Did you

    throw out your original idea altogether, and if so, why? Who/where did you turn to for help? When did you panic (if you did) and what did you do about it?

    my initial idea was a research on the topic of psychology. But for a person like me, I didnā€™t have enough time to implement my plan, so I chose a simpler topic (so to speak) in a different field, but not too far from psychology. To be honest, I didnā€™t have a specific vision of what the final result should look like, so my unit 3 is not related to the final project.

  4. MD Azizur

    I chose that my next research project would be artificial intelligence (AI), which is the most popular nowadays. This helps us to solve critical math calculations, computer high-level language coding, and create a quick, formal, and graphical solution. And many more solutions and guidance it provides. It is really interesting to me to research this topic. Though it was invented a few years ago, it is not popular or familiar to everyone. I mean, how to use it the right way, but it still helps people solve the problem, certainly. I hope its use will increase very soon for every person for convenience in the research of their project.

    Now, software engineers have invented a couple of AI tools, and ChatGPT is the most popular one, which was founded by OpenAI. Microsoft doesn’t own ChatGPT, nor does the chatbot’s founding company, OpenAI. However, the two companies have been partnered commercially since 2016, and Microsoft continues to be the company’s largest investor. OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research company, created ChatGPT and launched the tool in November 2022. It was founded by a group of entrepreneurs and researchers, including Elon Musk and Sam Altman, in 2015. OpenAI is backed by several investors, with Microsoft being the most notable. They are also working day-to-day to improve and modify.

    There are so many AI tools that have been invented so far. Shortly, I will do a deep dive into it.

    The best AI productivity tools by category

    1. Chatbots (ChatGPT, Bard, and HuggingChat)
    2. Content creation (Jasper, Copy.ai, Anyword)
    3. Grammar checkers and rewording tools (Grammarly, Wordtune, ProWritingAid)
    4. Video creation (Descript, Wondershare Filmora, Runway)
    5. Image generation (DALLĀ·E 2, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion)
    6. Note-taking (Mem)
    7. Transcription and meeting assistants (Fireflies, Airgram, Krisp)
    8. Scheduling (Reclaim, Clockwise, Motion)
    9. Email inbox management (SaneBox, EmailTree)
    10. Slide decks and presentations (Decktopus, Beautiful.ai, Slidesgo)
    11. Research (Genei, Aomni)
    12. 3D modeling (Spline AI, 3DFY.ai, Meshcapade)
    13. AI agents (AI Agent, AgentGPT, HyperWrite) and automation (Zapier)

    I chose this topic as my final project because I hope it will have a better future for the next generation. To accomplish solving critical problems in a single click. How amazing would that be? It will connect the people in their hands to solve any problem at any time. So my interest is growing day by day to know much about it.

    I hope this project will help other people gather knowledge of what artificial intelligence is and how it helps them accomplish their tasks in a very easy way.

    Artificial intelligence is a recurrent theme in science fiction, whether utopian, emphasizing the potential benefits, or dystopian, emphasizing the dangers. Artificial intelligence (AI) is the part of computer science concerned with designing intelligent computer systems, that is, systems that exhibit characteristics we associate with intelligence in human behavior, such as understanding language. Learning. Reasoning.

    Some of these types of AI aren’t even scientifically possible right now. According to the current system of classification, there are four primary AI types: reactive, limited memory, theory of mind, and self-aware.

    AI leads to transformative applications within a series of industrial, intellectual, and social applications, far beyond those caused by previous industrial revolutions. Furthermore, AI has proven to be superior to human decision-making in certain areas.

  5. Rojina

    1. Context: Give us the background for this project. Remind us how you became interested in the topic. I pick teenagers effect by texting positively and negatively. The reason that I pick this topic Overall, I have mentored many young adults, specifically teenagers and seen how at times responding to texts can feel more urgent than prioritizing their physical, emotional, and mental wellness. I have seen firsthand teenagers lose sleep to stay up texting, or communicating on social media.
    2. Rhetorical Situation and Related Choices: Tell us the ā€œwhyā€ of your project. What was your purpose for making this project? What audience did you want to direct this information to? Why that audience specifically? Where did you see your piece being shown or distributed to your audience? What appeals did you decide to use (which, of course, may have changed later): facts (logos), emotion (pathos), the credibility of you or someone you talk about (ethos)? Texting has a definite impact on teens, which can lead to many underlying issues including sleep problems, health problems, as well as leaving them extremely vulnerable. Also, since we are all accustomed to teenagers using their phones frequently, no one is thinking critically about the long-term effects this can have on young people. Many experts on texting and its long-term effects, the positive effects that texting can have on Teenagers, however, require criticism of the ways in which teens constantly text, which also suggests that it affects other aspects of their lives. Overall, I think texting can have a positive impact on teens, but it should be done in moderation. Things like sleep are essential for teenagers ‘ developmental , and should not be jeopardized especially at a vulnerable point in their lives. Iā€™m trying to be communcate with teenage and to be aware of them.
    3. Genre Considerations: Why did you chose the genre you did? What made you think that genre would be the best one for your audience? For example, if you did a brochure, what made a brochure the best way to get the information to your chosen audience ā€” that is, you knew you had a place to distribute it so that seemed logical? I need to make a paper research and ted talk because to commmunicate to teenager categories is it really not easy to let them only see what I wrote to then could be more influenced to them.
  6. Jimin Yoon

    1. Context: Give us the background for this project. Remind us how you became interested in the topic.

    I will keep building up information with my Unit 2 project which is Pharmaceutical Industries who give hospitals drugs, and the prescription says it isnā€™t addictive. However, people get addicted to those medications and their lives fall apart, and some people die because of overdose.

    2. Rhetorical Situation and Related Choices: Tell us the ā€œwhyā€ of your project. What was your purpose for making this project? What audience did you want to direct this information to? Why that audience specifically? Where did you see your piece being shown or distributed to your audience? What appeals did you decide to use (which, of course, may have changed later): facts (logos), emotion (pathos), the credibility of you or someone you talk about (ethos)?

    I decided to research this topic and show people how the medicine that doctors give you can be addictive and could ruin your life so we always have to check the information and do some research about it. And the audience is for like us people who donā€™t know anything about medicines.

    3. Genre Considerations: Why did you choose the genre you did? What made you think that genre would be the best one for your audience? For example, if you did a brochure, what made it the best way to get the information to your chosen audience ā€” that is, you knew you had a place to distribute it so that seemed logical?

    I chose this topic because it might help people. It could help them realize how dangerous are medicines which are all drugs and any medicine if you take an overdose can kill you, and it’s very addictive.

     

  7. marylin

    Based on these assignments and projects combined has its differences and similarities where it involves oneā€™s perspective and research, however it all has its differences. So far on this unit 3 project since it involves research essays it would make sense to have research as the main purpose for this unit, especially regarding the my topic which still relates the use of technology especially when we are all surrounded by technology till this current time as it is one of the relevant topic till this day, along with the purpose of how it relates to this current time and somehow affects ourselves with the usage of technology as a society. Based on the genre, an idea I came up with for this research project is using an article style ( the ones youā€™ll see online ) which makes sense as this is aiming towards an audience that uses technology and considering itā€™s tech related.

  8. Anja Rrasa

    Connection Between Projects:

    So, we did three big projects this semester – a personal story, a bibliography, and now a final research thing. They fit together like puzzle pieces. In my story, I talked about how childhood problems affected me. The bibliography had smart people’s research about it. I’m making a TikTok to share my story and the critical facts.

    Why TikTok?

    I picked TikTok because it’s a fun way to share stuff. Young people like it, and it’s short and snappy. I want to talk about tough childhood times and how it messes with our minds, but I don’t want it to be boring. TikTok helps me do that.

    Why Childhood Trauma?

    I care about this because I went through hard stuff as a kid. It made me want to understand it better. For my TikTok, I’m talking to people my age or younger who might have gone through the same things. I want them to know they’re not alone and it’s okay to discuss it.

    How I’m Doing It:

    First, I came up with ideas. Then, I wrote a script. I kept changing it to make it better. I asked my friends what they thought and fixed things based on their words. Sometimes, I got a bit stressed, especially when squeezing a big idea into a short video. But I worked through it, got creative, and made something that felt right.

    What I’d Do Different:

    Next time, I’d start planning earlier and ask more people for their thoughts. I want my stuff to be better for everyone. Learning from this, I know it’s well to plan early and get opinions from many different folks.

    Why Childhood Trauma Matters:

    I’m talking about this because it’s personal to me. I want to reach people who might be going through the same things. TikTok seems the best way to do it because it’s quick and grabs attention.

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