Lydia's Story Response Questions 1 - 4

1.  Brideau’s main point of the story is informing us about the hardships Lydia and many others faced in the first and second storms (hurricane “Katrina” and “Rita”). Not only hardships but the strength, hope, and determination that is is essential in times of disaster. Brideau doesn’t mention her main point until the end of the piece on page 131, but is supported throughout the story.

2. The primary point of view is told in first person, making the piece more personal. When she moves on to Lydia’s story she changes to a third person view. Doing this is she makes the narrative more captivating and moving. It impacts the reader by provoking emotions that make you sympathize with Lydia.

3. Brideau makes her narrative “come alive” by describing in detail of the setting as you begin to read the piece. Words she uses to describe the setting and the characters are: struck, chemical odor, toxic, cackle, bulky, windowless, slender, strength, resolve, proud, tender. All descriptive words that helped evoke emotions from the reader.

4. The audience intended for this piece is anyone in the medical field, or someone interested of the effects of the storms. The tone she uses is grim yet hopeful in the end. At the end of the narrative she does acknowledge Lydia and others of the hardships and stress that they went through. Brideau used words like toxic, cackle, bulky, strength, resolve, proud, and tender to create the tone of the narrative.

My Rhetorical Situations

Writing I have done this past week:

Sending emails to the Kitsap County Treasurer - Texting my friends - Texting my parents and boss - Tweeted about not enjoying Friday’s - Writing for English 101- Taking notes in Political Science - Writing up a student fundraiser report.

Student Leadership report:

The genre of this reading would be a report. My intent for this piece was to present the data I had collected on the costs and profits of this fundraising to the school account and supervisors. Since I am the student in charge I am highly supportive of the fundraiser and promoted all the great aspects of the fundraiser. I had to follow a form, so I wrote in a formal tone following the report.  In the report I used numbers that supported the fundraiser. This writing piece I had to stay formal and follow guide lines, but accomplished my goal of presenting the data.

Texting my friends:

When texting my friends I do not have to follow any guidelines, I am able to speak freely. I enjoy being able to communicate with my friends, I text freely but also make sure that I appeal to things they enjoy also.  Communicating with friends is very easy, if they are similar in personality with you, but it is import to keep a conversation going and keep them and yourself interested in the topic! Snapchat is a great way to communicate to friends and is mainly how I chat with my friends. To make sure there aren’t any miscommunications, it is very easy to send a photo or an emoji to ensure the message is clear.

Taking notes in Political Science:
Note taking is something I enjoy, in that I can write what I find important down, so later on I can be more successful in studying. Since I take notes for my self I have to consider what will benefit me later, so I like to remain factual and straight to the point. The purpose of taking notes, for me, is to use them to study or reference them in a paper. I will include anything that is important including any visuals or quotes. I also remember to draw doodles on the side!

Writers, Authors, and Genres

2. Between the three of us, all of our writings say essentially the same thing in different ways. We all agree that today, the definition of an author is blurred with the introduction and popularity of the internet. The creative process has been boosted immensely, because we are given access to a wealth of information, stories and opinions. It is easy to reach a wide audience in minutes, because on the internet, nothing is hidden, and anyone can publish anything instantly.

4.                   

Writers:	Authors:
Can write privately - like in a diary	Authors must publish their work to be an “author”
Based off an original idea that fuels the literary piece.	Original work (plot, concepts, content)
Writing can be completely individual, or shared with a specified audience. (writer's choice)	On the flipside, publishing yields your work available to anyone.
Writers may try to hide their work from the public eye or protect it from any possibility of that happening, like a diary or top secret document.	Sometimes people become authors inadvertently, the perfect example of this would be Tamim Ansary’s email sent to a few friends went public.
Disconnected from the critique of others.	Work is public, therefore open for discussion.

5.

Type of Writing:	Why you Enjoy/Despise it:
Poetry	Creating flow and rhythm is satisfying. It can be difficult to express real meaning in poetry, and hard to have the writing flow smoothly.
Personal Narrative	Gives author the ability to express his/her own experiences
Persuasive Writing	Requires rhetorical listening, researching, learning, and writing. Takes more time, but is satisfying when you’re successful in making your point.
Original Fictional Story	It is difficult to create your own original ideas, but it is rewarding when accomplished.
Letter	Can be somewhat informal, but also sincere. sometimes difficult to write formal letters.
(Shopping) Lists	Simple and to the point, assures thoroughness

6.

Letter:

Dear Johnny,

    I’m writing to you regarding the party next Saturday, and was hoping you maybe lend me a hand (you're invited of course). So far I've gathered some plastic utensils, plates and cups (for easy clean up), but have not bought any food. I was hoping you could make your famous spaghetti and garlic bread ;). I sent out the invitations that say the party starts at 4:00, but I was hoping you could show up around 2:30-3:00 to help set up the decorations. Speaking of which… could you bring your boombox and TLC mixtape? Also ask your daughter if she would be interested in babysitting the kids for the night. If you think of anything else don’t hesitate to ask.

    Thanks Johnny!

• Loui

List: Things for party - Will you buy utensils, plates and cups at Party City? - Can you help me set up the chip table? - I need help cutting the watermelon in star shapes. - Tie the balloons Bob’s chair, please! - I will put the candles on the chocolate cake, if you will cut the cake after we sing “Happy Birthday.” - Thanks for your help! :)

Shopping Haikus: Hello, John. Please buy Forks, spoons, knives, plates, and napkins. Thank you very much. Please go get flowers From the flower shop for Bob They are red roses To Party City For balloons and confetti It smells weird in there Stop by Sluy’s for cake Bob likes gooey chocolate cake Thanks for doing this.

Is Everyone an Author?

The definition of an author has undergone great change since the introduction of the Internet, email, and social media. With access to a computer or smart phone, an author is no longer limited to publishing in print. Connection to the Internet has changed the way a small writing piece, such as a Facebook status update or blog post, can influence a wide audience. I believe that everyone has his or her own opinions, thoughts, and stories to tell. The way they choose express those thoughts be it through novel or social media update, they are the authors of their own writing. Ultimately classifying anyone who shares their stories with friends or publishes writing for others to read as an author.   

I believe that anyone can be an author with time and dedication to expressing their own thoughts. Increased use of social media and the Internet have fueled a demand for short articles of writing, such as social media updates or posts, that leave a lasting impression on the reader. Therefore increasing the demand for authors, such as the average person, that express and stand by his or her opinions that appeal to varying audiences. Concluding with the question…What makes a good author? 

Collaborative Writing on Writing

For people our age, the most common form of writing would have to be school papers and writing assignments, however smaller things like sending an informal text message or a social media post seem to dominate out of school writing. The persona swings pretty dramatically between formal literature and informal communication, with a massive consideration for the audience at hand. Our writing style is adaptive to the variety of audiences we write for to make our work appropriate. Writing a paper for your english teacher differs drastically from sending a quick text to your friend. Tying these two polar writing styles together is the “personal narrative” style, meaning writing where the author uses “I” and “you” freely throughout the paper to seemingly blur the lines between formal literature and informal communication. What we have gathered through our years of school is that if you can somehow weave in tone and voice into a formal piece, then it becomes second nature in everyday writing.