Diego Mendez

For this weeks reading response, I chose to read CH. 9 in the NFG book that talked about Media/Design. Media/Design is very important when trying to expose information from one person to another. We can communicate with others by using many types of communication, those being through media, verbally and nonverbally, through body language and well through other forms such as handwriting, print, telephone etc. Some things that the chapter also talks about is how a text’s design affects the way that it is received and understood. For example, pie charts and bar graphs are an easier way to show statistics and data rather than doing it in the form of paragraphs. It offers a much easier visual to the audience, while still containing important information.

Some questions that you should ask yourself when thinking about media are what medium are you using? Print? Electronic? Visual? Also, how does using the medium affect your overall organization? How does it affect the language and modes of expression? These questions are some of the things to keep in mind when making media. However, you must also think of the design. Things like the use of appropriate fonts, visuals, headings, and formats, such as APA or MLA, must also be considered.

The way that this relates to my major is that throughout my academic career, I am going to need to communicate with many people, using different types of communication. As a student that’s going into the medical field, communication is key, not only because you need to effectively communicate with others, but also because there will be many forms in which you will have to communicate by. 

I found it very interesting how the visual can be interpreted differently through the use of a certain medium. When someone searches a picture in their phone, it was because of curiosity. When someone prints a picture, it’s because they like it. But when someone goes to a museum, and they stare at a painting, it’s because they admire it. I understand how the medium of a visual can affect the perception of the viewer. Although we must keep it appropriate through the use of formats, and also following certain guidelines, like you stated. 

This week I decided to read over design text in the NFG book. What it primarily talks about is how to grab the audience’s attention and how to help it achieve a purpose, depending on what is being presented. The chapter also talks about some principles of design, some of which are recommended to keep in mind while working on a specific design. Those principles are to keep the design simple, be consistent, keep it balanced, use color and contrast carefully, and be creative! It also talks about fonts may affect the audience, for example, if it’s hard to read or not, and also briefly talks of ways that font provokes a certain tone to your presentation.

The way this reading relates to me is by keeping everything simple and chill. Some people fake who they are just to fit in into today’s society, but I say just be you and don’t care what others think. To me, the simpler the better. I want to be creative with my life and have some color in it. keep it balanced and consistent! In fact, life can be seen as a design if you think about it. It is up to you to structure that design and make it unique! This reading helped me understand how to make a good design on the current Infographic we are working on and offered some tips on how to do so.

I must say that I couldn’t agree more with you with simplicity being the best. A few years ago I participated in a photography contest and my presentation had to do with the aspects of simplicity. There’s just something really appealing about simplicity, and people throughout the years have made everything more complicated. I grew up in a world where everything had to be done in a certain way, and I also attended to a private school in my high school years. There were rules in everything I did, and even the way I had to dress. I had to dress “fancy” everyday to school, but in all honesty I didn’t like it as much as keeping it simple. I seriously loved your response. Also keep enjoying every moment, and never stop being creative.

I found ethos in particularly very interesting, as it focuses on the credibility of the topic. In my opinion the credibility is one of the most important aspects of writing, due to the fact that you need it in order to trust what one is reading.

I found pathos the most useful, like I mentioned, is struggle expressing my ideas. Pathos focuses on the emotion. Pathos allowed me to analyze a topic and dissect all the emotion in a step by step manner. It allowed me to express my ideas more fluently, and effective. In fact, one of the things that really broke the threshold was how pathos really shows you how the author engages the audience in an emotional way; when analyzing pathos; something so simple can reflect a whole story.

I noticed how you explained ethos too, and I agree with your opinions. While analyzing a text or anything in general, the reader has to have an idea of who the author is. I liked your response about some of the rhetorical strategies you found interesting. The only thing that I wonder is what do you think of logos. Besides that I liked and found interesting your views of pathos and ethos.

This article mainly talks about the understanding of activity systems or the activity theory. What is activity theory it is, ”an originally a psychological theory that sees all aspects of activity and shapes by peoples social interaction with each other and tools that they use.”Donna Kain and Elizabeth Wardle actually wrote this article for their own students because they found it was a helpful lens for thinking about writing.This article helps give you a better understanding of text that people and groups of people use in school,preffesional, extracurricular lives etc.Giving you a more broad idea of how and why people of different communities carry their activities,text ,and lives the way they do so differently but all trying to reach the same goal.

This article actually opens my eyes and makes me understand a little better why  there is so much diversity in my college which is college of engineering. Not only in engineering itself which there is quite an amount such as, electrical, civil industrial, mechanical, environmental, etc.It helps me understand how even though we are all in the same college how we use different tools, rues,and motives with each proffesion. Being able to understand this better gives you a sense of patients knowing that something that might make sense to a mechanical engineer can be like another language to civil or industrial engineering, yet were all headed to the same goal which is innovating the world around us.

You defined the activity theory as “Originally a psychological theory that sees all aspects of activity and shapes by peoples social interaction with each other and tools that they use”. Activity systems is a group of different people working towards the same goal, and now I can see how they can both work together. Based on my understanding of your response, an activity theory is an activity system using tools to accomplish their goal. What I mean is that different people are working for the same goal, while using different tools. For example an engineer creating the tools for a surgeon to save lives.

Happy Spring Everyone! My name is Audrey, I am your instructor and I’m excited to get to know all of you. This Intro Post assignment is the first step in that direction and here’s a chance for you to get to know a little about me as well.

I’m an El Paso native, born and raised in EPT/Ciudad Juarez, and I love it here. I have a son—Daniel, who is the smartest, kindest, sweetest, funniest, most handsome thing to arrive on planet earth. Through him, I’ve also learned that the best kind of entertainment is the kind you get when people think no one is watching. For example…

Much of my life surrounds school and Danny—aka Peanut. (He acts like he hates that I call him that, but I know he loves it). But I try and make space for me: I run regularly and lift often.

I salsa! #Salsera #Dancetilyoudrop

And I love soccer. Liga MX, La Liga, English Premier League, Champions League, Bundesliga, Serie A, MLS, and so on and so on and so on.

I strive to achieve life GOALS, estilo Neymar Jr.

I have a BA in Political Science, an MA in Rhetoric and Writing, a Graduate Certificate in Intelligence and National Security, and I’m wrapping up my PhD in Rhetoric and Composition.

My humanitarian and activists efforts center on freedom and justice for Palestine. #EndTheOccupation #PeaceforPalestine

In my time here as a PhD student, I have focused on rhetoric and resistance. I’m currently researching big data and social impact—think Twitter conversations and what they mean to society, people, governments, and social movements. I argue that the discourse happening on social media gives us the chance to understand real people, real desires, and can offer lots of opportunities for shared knowledge and lead the way to diplomatic, counterinsurgency, and peace building efforts worldwide. So I’m basically trying to be this guy.

I’m also researching issues of diversity and disparity among marginalized populations in various ways, like diversity among minorities and women in Higher Education. I ask questions like who’s in power, where is our voice, our place in our fields, in our jobs, in our societies, and why does it all matter?