Writing 2018

DIRECTOR OF SALES AND MARKETING WANTED - Montage Hotels

Here at Montage Hotels and Resorts, we value growth, humility, and leadership.  We are looking for an individual who is able to oversee and manage properties around the United States.  It is important that this person has strong communication skills, flexibility, and experience in the hospitality industry!  Additionally, an outstanding candidate will have exceptional writing skills; this requires professional business writing such as proposals, emails, and progress reports.  The pieces must be able to fully encompass our company’s values while evaluating the performance of other departments.  As Director of Sales and Marketing, it is crucial to be innovative and creative in problem solving.  Qualifications include detail-oriented, excellent follow through, and exceptional communication skills both verbal and written.

Reflection

After reading my first attempt at creating a Theory of Writing, I believe most of my ideas are the same.  I spoke about how writing is unique to every individual and reflective of one’s personality.  This belief governs the way I write.  When I am given a writing assignment, I am not concerned with whether it is right or wrong, rather, I just take the opportunity to voice my opinions and write about my perspective.  If I were to change anything, I think that I would just expand my theory of writing.  Although I have been writing for the majority of my life, I don’t think I have enough experience to make a solid definition for myself.  Most of my writing is academic and I am told what to write.  I hardly ever write for myself or for leisure so I’m not sure if my writing would change if I had more freedom.  I also enjoy talking more than writing so most of my opinions comes verbally through conversations instead of on paper.

Writing was created for the purpose of communicating ideas between one another.  Regardless of the genre, there is always a story that is being told in response to some rhetorical situation.  Context, one of the most important aspects of writing, governs the tone of the piece.  Additionally, since all writing is in response to something, it is crucial that it is fitting to the audience who is reading it.  Strong rhetoric should spark change in it’s audience, meaning that it inspires or persuades them to the view of the author.  On the other hand, writing should also be very personal and unique to the author.  For me, I use writing as a tool to translate my ideas, concerns, beliefs, and perspectives to others.  Whether the people reading my work know me or not, the writing should be self-explanatory enough to stand on its own.  I want my audience to feel connected through emotion, view points, and my word choice.  An aspect of writing that I really admire is how versatile it is.  Writing is used in everyday life and in almost every career.  Although the genres vary, writing is necessary in business, education, medicine, art, theater, science, and math.  It is one of the most useful skills one can learn because it represents self-expression, as well as intelligence.  In today’s society, we value education, creativity, and identity, which are all key elements of writing.  After seeing all of the tragedy’s due to gun violence in America over the past couple years, it is amazing to see how people can come together with their rhetoric.  Their rhetoric is making a difference for the people around them; through speeches, posters, and debates, it all comes back to rhetorical discourse.  I think that writing is everlasting yet ever changing.  It is constantly growing and adapting to modern times, but continues to follow the same thread of truth.

For my written map, I included the key terms of Context, Grammar and Spelling, Voice, Argument and Evidence, Audience, and Proof-Reading.  After thinking about where to go for my walking map, I began on my quest around campus.  First, I went to the library to capture Context; since there is so much information that can be found in the books, people, and computers there, I thought that this would be the perfect place.  This provides context to most situations.  Next, for Grammar and Spelling I went to the Writing Center.  They can help fix small errors which improve writing tremendously.  For my voice, I took a picture of the polaroids on my wall.  These experiences have shaped who I am as a person and therefore have a huge impact on my voice and perspectives.  For argument and evidence, I took a picture of Sturm.  Since this is where most of our classes are, we learn lots of concepts which shape our arguments and provide us with more evidence.  Lastly, for audience I took a picture of the Bookstore.  Audience was difficult to capture but I just assumed that DU and greater Denver community served as my audience.

Between Map 1 and Map 2, there are many similarities and a few differences.  A lot of my key terms were the same; the only thing I changed was Fitting Response to Audience.  My two maps help me understand my writing by making my process tangible.  It was also useful to apply these key terms in the real world by finding where they occur on campus.

The first moment I had in this course was when we began reading Mark Manson’s book.  I heavily related with a lot of the concepts that were explained because that is usually how I live my life.  I believe that I have a pretty good perception of people when I first meet them, and for this reason I tend to stay away from drama.  Throughout this class, I was really able to solidify my ideologies about stress, college, and my happiness.  Personally, I think that everyone’s happiness and mental health should come before anything else.  After listening to Mark Manson’s beliefs, I felt reassured since I wasn’t the only one who felt this way.  The act of not giving a fuck isn’t as dismissing as it may sound, rather its just making choices carefully and choosing the most beneficial option.

My second moment came when we read Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”.  This was a very powerful realization because I finally understand how effective rhetoric can be.  I have always admired MLK but never really took the time to study his writing.  The way he wrote was so persuasive, emotional, and educated for the time he grew up in.  After reading his letter, I understood the importance of context, audience, and rhetorical situation.  These three things will continue to shape my writing throughout my college career.

The third and most recent moment I have had in class was during our activity of creating questions to stump our classmates.  Though this was more of a personal recognition, I realized how much my peers have to offer.  College is such a social and transformative time for all of us, and I think that we can all learn a lot just by having conversations with the people next to us.  At the beginning of the course, many of us were very quiet and reserved, but after getting to know some of my classmates better, I realized how beneficial these relationships can be.  I am excited to meet and network with more people throughout my college career.

1.  Mark Smith, 48-year-old caucasian male, was found brutally murdered at 10:37 PM on June 6th.  The body, covered in stab wounds, was discovered in the parking garage of his apartment complex.  To our extent, the only suspect thus far is his wife, Carrie Smith, who called police after Smith had been missing for a few hours, but evacuated the scene upon arrival.  According to neighbors, Anna and Fredrick Robinson, the couple had been fighting over the past few days.  We are still looking for Ms. Smith and encourage anyone to come forward with any additional information.

2.  Mark Smith, 48-year-old caucasian male, lays cold on the metal examination table.  As I pull back the white sheet which covers his body, I examine the multiple stab wounds the victim sustained.  There are three stab wounds located on his back, indicating that the victim was walking or running away when he was attacked, and one on his thigh.  Additionally, there are noticeable cuts along his hand and arms which could be a sign of struggle.  Based on these few observations, it is evident that Smith died from bleeding out.  I will have to examine the rest of the organs to see if there were any other altercations which could have caused his demise.

3.   Mark Smith, my English teacher from high school, was a kind and generous man.  He would always offer to listen to personal problems and give me the best advice.  I never knew Mr. Smith to be mean or judgmental to anyone.  He would often stay with me after class to help me understand the prompt of an assignment, and even opened up his home to me when my family was in distress.  Mr. Smith will always be remembered as the loving, forgiving, and funny person he was.  We miss you and love you so much.

4.  Today on 15th day of June, we listen to case number 27 in which Mark Smith was brutally stabbed to death in a parking garage.  The defendant, Ms. Carrie Smith, is accused of murdering her husband after a fight the couple had regarding Mr. Smith’s affair with another women.  Their neighbors, Anna and Fredrick Robinson, have testified against Ms. Smith, recounting many instances of the couple threatening each other along with reports of physical abuse.  Ms. Smith has pleaded not guilty but the substantial evidence is final.  There were traces of Ms. Smith’s DNA on the murder weapon, including strands of her hair and drops of her blood on the victim’s clothing.  I hereby rule Carrie Smith guilty of murdering Mark Smith on June 6th.  She will serve 75 years to life in prison; case closed.

Discussion

1.  I found the first prompt to be the easiest to write.  Since I was already given the facts of the case, I just needed to incorporate them into a cohesive piece.  However, I did notice that I approached this genre as more of a newspaper article rather than a detective report.  My audience was the general community of wherever the death took place.

2.  I found the fourth prompt to be the hardest to write.  I don’t watch too many crime shows, have much experience with writing to a jury, nor have I actually been to court, so this prompt was very confusing to me.  I didn’t know what style to write it in or what vocabulary would sound credible as a judge.  After reading the examples in the article, I am not sure if I completed the prompt entirely but ultimately I just decided if the defendant was guilty or not.

Argument 1

1. Abby’s first argument talks about how puppy mills are bad and corrupt and that a better alternative would be to adopt instead.  I can tell because of her photos and statistics.

2. There was not enough work done to establish ethos, pathos, and logos.  Once all the ideas are fully developed, I believe that ethos will be a big part because seeing how poorly animals are treated would be heartbreaking to anyone.

3. Yes, I believe the writer.  Many large corporations are corrupt and do many sketchy things beneath the surface.  Puppy mills would not be an exception to this because there are obviously things that occur within the business that they would not want the public to know.

4. Abby uses lots of photos are descriptions to relate to her audience.  By visualizing the harsh treatments of the animals, the audience will experience sympathy and empathy toward her topic.

5.  I would recommend just completing the draft fully.  The ideas are established but need to be developed more to be credible.  On the other hand, I really enjoy this topic because I feel like it is a under recognized industry and it is very relatable.

Argument 2

1.  Abby’s second argument raises awareness for the overall picture of the problem.

2.  She still needs to work on her ethos, pathos, and logos but I think that her logos will be very strong with all her statistics.  She will also tie in ethos by making the audience empathic and feel somewhat guilty for their purchases.

3.  Yes, I believe Abby in that puppy mills are a big problem.  Personally, I don’t know much about the whole situation so the data and facts were helpful to understand the overarching picture.

4.  She will reach her audience by making it relatable.  In our consumeristic society, we often to think twice about where our items come from or how they were produced.  By exposing the dark side of puppy mills, she will raise awareness and make the audience aware of the treatment of the animals.

To me, revision takes place towards the end of the drafting process and is meant to improve the original version of the writing.  Unlike the students in the case study, I typically do not rewrite an entire essay when revising because I already have the work in front of me.  Why create more work when I can just make the first one better?  If I were to rewrite an essay over again, then I would essentially just have two first drafts.  Obviously, one of the drafts would be more thought out since I had already established a foundation to grow off of, but the concepts and connections within the paper itself could be just as bad as the original draft.

Generally, after submitting a first draft, I have people read over it and give me feedback.  This helps me locate what parts of the essay need to be developed more.  I make sure that the piece flows well and all the ideas are in line with the thesis statement.  Another helpful strategy I have learned when editing my assignments is to read them out loud before submitting them.  This helps be catch any small errors that may have been overlooked by my eyes.  I can physically hear how the words flow and how ideas transition.  As Sommers mentions, I can choose more specific words and rearrange sentences.  This is a powerful tool when revising because word choice can really affect how a piece is interpreted by an audience.

1. Take 1

My theory is writing that writing allows me to communicate my thoughts, emotions, and concerns with those around me.  Whether they know who I am or don’t, they will hopefully be able to receive and understand the messages within the writing itself.  Personally, writing is a form of self-expression.  Although it may be academic or informal, it embodies one’s personality and identity.  The tone of the piece often changes depending on the audience, but the voice is the same regardless.  My process of writing is traditional in the sense that I formulate and organize my ideas before I begin.  I intertwine the context of the prompt into my evidence to support my argument.  According to Bitzer, context is one of the most important aspects of good writing.  I agree because without knowing the situation and the factors which affect it, it will be very difficult to write a compelling argument.  This also coincides with Martin Luther King’s speech.  MLK used the context of the situation to inspire change in his audience.  Rhetoric should spark a common interest or belief in those who read it.  I also really believe in correct writing; this means accurate spelling and grammar--the simple things.  Writing is within the control of the author and it is important to use that power to convey your ideas in the best way possible.  Writing is a process; it requires multiple drafts and constant revision.  Writing can be very powerful as well, if it is used correctly.

2. Take 2

Writing is self-expression

It is in constant progression

Others become empathetic

Even if they are not genetic

We use writing in all kinds of ways

In every day of the year

Even holidays

Do not interfere

Don’t be scared

That you will be compared

Writing is unique

And does not require much technique

Although there are many layers to good writing

The journey is very exciting

Go and begin the process

You are sure to be a success

3. Video

The Drafting Process is Crucial to Good Writing

Like anything, good writing is established through a drafting process.  Typically, this looks like a writer sitting down and getting all his or her thoughts out on paper before beginning an assignment.  I would consider this a first draft because it was given genuine thought and the second draft will be able to build off of those ideas.  “The Rough Draft” essentially contains all the main points the writer wants to argue throughout the piece.  Although they may know what they want to argue, they may not have all the information or evidence yet to fully support those claims.  That’s completely fine!  This is where the beauty of the drafting process takes place.

After the rough draft is finished, the writer can begin to revise and refine his or her ideas.  Through revision, reflection, and proof-reading, the writer can solidify hypotheses into truths.  This process also allows the writer to digest the entirety of the context and manipulate it to better fit the genre and audience.  Through drafting, the final product is bound to be thoughtful and provocative, given an adequate amount of time to revise.

Another effective example of drafting is peer-editing.  By allowing other people to read and review one’s work, other opinions and suggestions are brought into play.  While only viewing your own work, it is easy to be blind to small errors.  However, when people who have a different background with writing review your work, they can catch the mistakes which you may be unfamiliar with.