Thlog #6

This week to me was a bit of “tidying up” and taking a step back from learning entirely new concepts, but rather refining those that we have previously learned. I think in one class period, the word “style” was emphasized—which is quite an accurate representation of what the week consisted of. Working through several of the concepts, in particular on parallelism and words other than “says,” it became clear to me that these are facets of papers that can often be overlooked if skimmed over too quickly, as as a writer, you assume that you are doing them correctly. For example, theoretically if you were to tell someone “Hey, before you cite a quote make sure that you use a variety of words instead of always saying ‘X says…’” he or she would probably look at you with a face that screams “well… duh.” But then when you get down to writing the paper itself, that same word “says” is likely what first pops into a writer’s mind. It’s similar with parallelism. It is something that as a writer you recognize should be in place, and assume that you automatically do it. Sure, this is not to say that as a writer I always forget to use these rules, but I also don’t always consciously remember to check for them, as I assume that I do them. I think one of the biggest takeaways from this week stems from the last point I made—proofreading is critical, and to be done well it takes time. It shouldn’t consist of a check for any red or green squiggly lines beneath words or phrases, but rather a thorough read to ensure your paper is both containing variety in diction, as well as following grammatical rules.

PB2B

The idea of “moves” can be seen in a variety of contexts, such as sporting events, concerts, everyday mannerisms, writing, and much more. Regardless of their location and usage, moves share the fact that they are the most preferred option for one reason or another. Another shared feature is that moves can often be broken down into more specific pieces if one digs a bit deeper than an initial glance. For example, in a concert a performer may bounce around the stage with some particular dance, call it a “signature spin” per say. Now this could be thought of as a move, but the motion from the left to right of the stage, the foot that is initially stepped on, the hair twirl, the clapping of the hands, and so on and so forth also exhibit the concept of moves—each of these movements were intentional to make up what the audience views as one fluid dance move. This idea can likewise be applied in the field of writing, despite the fact that it may seem slightly less conventional. The moves that a writer makes may be done so in hopes of accomplishing a specific of his or her particular work.

            The book They Say, I Say includes an appendix titled Index of Templates which consists of various examples of sentence structures under a common header or “move.” The first listed, as an example, is “Introducing What ‘They Say’.” Below the title are several template-sentences that are frequently used to accomplish the particular move of introducing what “they” say. Let’s explore some of these moves within the context of previously visited texts.

Adding Metacommentary

Kerry Dirk—Navigating Genres

“In other words, Bitzer is saying that when something new happens that requires a response, someone must first create that response” (Dirk 252).

Adding metacommentary can more simply be thought of as adding one’s own explanation. This move would likely be used by a writer if perhaps the information that he had previously cited was particularly challenging to understand, the information was somewhat extensive and a reader could benefit from a summary, or perhaps he felt as if he could phrase the information in a more effective way. Any of these reasons, among many others could be reason to necessitate the use of this type of sentence structure. If what was stated before the writer said “in other words” was confusing, then this move could be very effective, though if the writer simply repeats what was just said it seems unnecessary.

Signaling Who is Saying What

Kerry Dirk—Navigating Genres

“Carolyn Miller, a leading professor in the field of technical communication, argues that ‘a rhetorically sound definition of genre must be centered…on the action it is used to accomplish’” (Dirk 252).

This move is more of a clarification than anything else, which is particularly important at first mention of a new speaker. It can be confusing, and thus often distracting, to read a paper where it is unclear who is speaking. Therefore, it is necessary to denote who is “saying what” in order to ensure clarity. As with the case of adding metacommentary, this move could be overused if a writer continually points out who the speaker is if he or she is not changing.

Capturing Authorial Action

Laura Bolin Carroll—Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis

“In an article called ‘The Rhetorical Situation,’ Lloyd Bitzer argues that there are three parts to understanding the context of a rhetorical moment: exigence, audience and constraints” (Carroll 48).

The emphasis of this move is the verb following the speaker’s name, in this case “argues.” This could be seen as what differentiates a good writer from a great writer. Instead of using the same verb, such as “says” perhaps, a writer can strengthen his paper by using more descriptive vocabulary. This move can be seen as especially effective in increasing the interest level of diction in a paper.

Introducing Quotations

Laura Bolin Carroll—Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis

“In fact, according to rhetorician Kenneth Burke, rhetoric is everywhere: ‘wherever there is persuasion, there is rhetoric. And wherever there is ‘meaning’, there is ‘persuasion’…” (Carroll 47).

The introduction of quotations, similar “signaling who is saying what” helps to clarify the speaker, as well as distinguish the author’s own work from that of others. The introduction of quotations also can serve to help to provide fluidity. The move is rather essential in writing, as it pertains to both the speaker and structure of the content.

Explaining Quotations

Julia Nguyen—The Disciplines of Love

“In other words, James’s findings simulated further research on how emotions and social bonds are interconnected” (Nguyen).

Sometimes quotations, particularly those pertaining to research, are extremely complex and not suitable for the average reader’s knowledge. It is the job of the writer to recognize when this move is necessary, which requires knowledge of the target audience’s intellectual level. In order to be effective, a writer must be able to simplify, but yet not over-simplify, the given information.

While They Say, I Say provides a solid list of “moves” that writers often use, the entire list spans immensely wider. These are a few of the moves that I identified throughout course readings.

“Block Star”

Several of the texts that we’ve read have made use of block quotes, which are essentially a paragraph in themselves. In Murder! (Rhetorically Speaking) the use of this elongated quote is somewhat necessary, as the author is providing an example of what a specific genre of text would look like. Extracting only a line or two the source would be less beneficial to the reader, which seems to imply that the move, in this context, is effective.

“Can I ask you a question?”

In How to Read like a Writer, Mike Bunn utilizes this move of posing thought-provoking questions prior to an informational paragraph. From an author’s perspective, I would guess that Bunn’s intentions were to guide readers in a specific direction, which is successfully accomplished by asking readers what to think about ahead of time.

“Did you say ______?”

They Say, I Say as well as So What? Who Cares? use placeholders to leave room for specific information to be added. This helps to emphasize the sentence’s structure, rather than its content, which is the purpose of these sentences. Thus, the usage of these placeholders seems to be effective in explaining to the reader that what these sentences say is irrelevant compared to how the sentence is written.

“Get the [bullet] point”

Bullet points were used in several of the texts we have looked at in class, and act as a structural feature of papers. Often times, it seems that bullet points are effective when listing examples of the previously mentioned topic, or possibly also to pose questions as in the case of the move “can I ask you a question.” Bullet points also help to distinguish whatever information is written with them from the rest of the body of text. The effectiveness of this move depends on the intentions of the writer.

“Lean on me”

Murder! (Rhetorically Speaking) emphasizes the importance of particular words or phrases by italicizing them. In this reading in particular, many (if not most) of the italicized words are “keywords” which have been defined and discussed in earlier portions of the text. I found that the move would have been more effective has the author used it less frequently, as the last few pages of the paper were filled with italics.

Thlog #5

This week moved us right up to the halfway mark of the quarter, and also began mention of what seems to be a rather important concept—moves. Approaching this topic, I was a bit confused of what it really meant to say the least. Moves meaning dance moves…or the moves you put on someone to try to get their attention? I learned that it’s much broader than I had initially thought—you can find moves anywhere. I also learned that you have to dig a bit deeper than your initial thoughts to determine one’s moves, as they are decisions consciously made by the writer which may not reflected on surface level. I’ve realized that the idea of moves can be very closely related to the essay we read titled “Reading like a Writer.” While moves don’t have to be signature, per say, they are in place for a specific reason, and it is interesting to try to think through that reason. Why was the choice of dotted paragraph breaks preferable to any other type of breaks, if any at all? How does posing questions before paragraphs benefit the reader? Did the writer consider any other options, and if so why were they not chosen? All of these questions which can be posed by reading like a writer can help explain the usage of moves. I want to go through my own writing, or even everyday actions to try to determine my own “moves.” I think I would find that a lot of the things I do often and to accomplish some similar goal are things that I wouldn’t consciously notice that I do. I’ve transitioned from viewing moves solely as something that is representative of “signature moves” (i.e. The Rock’s People’s Elbow), to moves perhaps being these glaringly obvious signature moves, but also possibly the smallest of details.