This week we read about rhetorical
writing in Praxis. We learned about the importance of recognizing
the rhetorical situation, and how to respond in each situation. Social media, op-ed, and research paper all
create different rhetorical situations.
We have already talked a lot about research papers in this class so I am
going to focus on social media and op-ed.
Social media
is something we all use every day, but I believe that we take for granted the
different outlets in which we can express our opinion.Social media can be a
more laid back, casual platform, or a very professional platform. With all the different sources, there are so
many ways to express yourself. For example,
Facebook allows you to make longer posts about personal topics; they tend to be
more opinionated. LinkedIn is more professional
and allows you to share your work experience and skills. Social media gets a bad reputation sometimes
among writers and more professional people.
However, it allows individuals to strengthen their flexibility in
writing styles. Laura Klocinski writes, “By
using multiple platforms and becoming fluent in a number of styles, you will
have an easier time switching gears for different writing assignments” (Clark
167). The more platforms you write on, the
more rhetorical situations you will be able to understand and respond to.
Another rhetorical
situation is the Op-Ed. Op-Eds create
opportunities for everyday people to articulate and share their opinions on
different media outlets. Most of the
time these are written by men, which is what the Op-Ed Project addresses. The project is meant to cultivate and teach
different writing skills so more women get published in major media
sources. The Op-Ed Project gives six
tips to write Op-Eds. The first tip is
to own your expertise. Understand why your
experience and knowledge makes you an expert.
Second, stay current by following the local, national, and international
news. The third tip is that perfect is
the enemy of the good. Don’t worry about
making your argument perfect. With hot-button
issues, you may only have a limited time to get your opinion in. In this case, good is good enough. Fourth, cultivate a flexible mind by looking
out for other news hooks that may help you make connections. The fifth tip is to use plain language. This allows you to get your point across
quickly and efficiently, and it also makes it easier for your readers to
understand. The last tip is to respect
your reader. It can be difficult to not
underestimate your reader’s intelligence, yet not overestimate you reader’s
level of information. It is your job to
be the expert on the topic and to make a compelling argument to your readers.
Chelsea, I completely agree with your analysis of Social Media. I believe that our use of social media is "laid back" and a "casual platform." The ability to consistently release our personal opinions about a subject matter to the public is incredible. As Chelsea says, it allows writers to "strengthen their flexibility in writing styles" which I believe is quite true. When it comes writing different pieces, it can be hard to "switch gears" and with Social Media outlets, this becomes easier and easier everyday.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to Op-Ed's, Chelsea lists great advice from the passage. The first piece she talks about is "owning your expertise." I feel most writers don't do this quite as often as people would like, especially with Social Media prevalence, people feel they can throw their opinion in anything and be right, with no expertise in the field. The six tips provided in the reading are extremely useful for writing rhetorically, and I believe that all of us should take these into account when writing in general. Respecting your reader, and making your argument easier for people to understand is extremely useful.
Overall, I feel Chelsea does a great job of pulling in the majority of the information presented to us this week. Her analysis of the situations was phenomenal and we can use the tips she lists to make us better writers rhetorically.