Practicing Summary and Paraphrase

Jim Culp "4wd Mazda RX-7" July 6, 1985 via Flickr
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In this blog post, I will be following the given directions to practice summary and paraphrasing by doing these to a quote from my article to help me prepare for actually writing my rhetorical analysis.

Original Source: 

"Somewhere, somehow, there were kids getting new BMWs for their sixteenth birthday. Not among my grocery-store peer group. And somewhere, too, there were kids who would never touch a new car from their birth to their death. We were in the middle, with parents who didn't coddle us in California style but who would also silently cover things like food and insurance so we could stretch for the best car we could get and enough $1.09-a-gallon fuel to cruise past the university on Friday nights and look at the girls."

 Paraphrase of my original source:

While the author was not handed the keys to a new BMW at age 16, he was also not part of the economic group that might never get new car. Instead of spoiling him, his parents supplemented his income just enough for him to be able to just stretch what he could afford and do.

Summary of my original:

The author is reflecting on his upbringing in regard to how he was not spoiled but his parents afforded him some monetary help to just stretch what was possible for him.

Project 2 Outline

Jon Baldock "Shane van Gisbergen leading other's through the chase" October 7, 2012 via Flickr
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In this blog post I will compose an outline for my rhetorical analysis in Project 2. I will use a bulleted list with an expansion on every bullet.

• Introduction


• Hook: "Son of a bitch. He'd actually done it." Envy and admiration hits our author as he sees the brand new Mazda 323.


• Thesis: In an opinion piece written for Road & Track, Jack Baruth nostalgically reminisces about his first new car and reflects on how things have changed for youth nowadays.
• Body
• Anecdote
• Ethos
• Reflection
• Opinion
• Logos

In all the body paragraphs, I will analyse what goes on in the three sections that I am generally dividing up my article into based on the rhetorical strategies that we have discussed. I was taught to always keep rhetorical analysis in the same order that the text is in in order to make it easy to follow and not get mixed up.

• Analytical Claims
• If a car company made a new car that was cheap yet fun and somewhat desirable, they could get a lot of brand loyalty from young customers that got them as people develop attachments to the first car they have. This could help the car companies sell more expensive models to those youth when the grow up and earn money. The worst thing the could happen is that older people might like such a car as well.
• Conclusion
• Summary: Jack Baruth offers us a nostalgic anecdote from his youth to make a point. By drawing readers in with a compelling story that he then reflects on, he can effectively make his point about the effectiveness a car manufacturer would have if they once again tried to make a truly affordable good fun cars.
• Thesis restated and expanded on

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I read Chloe's and Alex's Project 2 outlines. It seems like we all tried to do something similar with a bulleted list and then explanations. I think I was unique in trying to subdivide things even further which I think was because it allowed me to be more analytical in my approach. I think this was an incredibly useful assignment because it forced us to not only consider how we were going to analyse the text but also how we are going to organize and structure that analysis. From what I read, I think neither Chloe and Alex nor myself should have too much difficulty creating a good rhetorical analysis.

Draft Thesis Statements

Design_Ex "Image_9381-1" January 24, 2015 via Flickr
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In this blog post, I will draft out several possible thesis statements for my project and reflect on each one.

In Jack Baruth's opinion piece, he reflects on how cars have changed for current youth when compared to his own experiences.
I think this thesis statement is very simple and to the point however it is lacking some "meat." I was always taught that a thesis statement should be one sentence, one statement, that sets the tone for your whole piece of writing. What this thesis fails to do is lay a "roadmap" for what the entire reset of the analysis will be.

In an opinion piece written for Road & Track, Jack Baruth nostalgically reminisces about his first new car and reflects on how things have changed for youth nowadays.
On the other hand, this thesis is stronger, it includes more of the rhetorical situation with the mention of the publication in Road and Track . This thesis also better defines the rhetorical strategies in the article where it move from anecdote to reflection to opinion. Finally, it is more eloquently written than the first statement.

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I commented on Victoria's and Swati's thesis statement posts. Both of them seemed to use a different approach to writing a thesis than I did. I firmly believe a thesis should be short, probably one sentence, and give the readers a taste of what I intend to write about. I don't like to go too in depth in the thesis however as I feel like it leaves me with very little to write about later.

Analyzing my Audience

Rupert Ganzer "KOL Audience" December 9, 2010 via Flickr
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In this blog post I will answer the questions on page 41 of the Student's Guide in regard to my analysis of the Road and Track article.

• Who am I writing for? What are the audience's beliefs and assumptions?

According to the rubric for the assignment, I will be writing for a freshman student in my discipline about how arguments in it are constructed.

• What position will they take on this issue? How will I need to respond to this position?

I do not think this question applies considering I'm writing literary analysis.

• What will they want to know?

My audience will want a complete and convincing analysis of the text. I need to address all relevant rhetorical strategies that create the argument. This is logos, ethos, and pathos and then a well developed look into each subtopic and how it actually creates the argument.

• How might they react to my argument?

As I wrote earlier, this is a question that applies very little to writing rhetorical analysis as I do not have an argument of my own, I'm simply examining how the author of the article makes their points.

• How am I trying to relate or connect with my audience?

I am trying to present my audience with a reasonable analysis of the article from Road and Track.

• Are there specific words, ideas, or modes of presentation that will help me relate to them in this way?

An analysis based on the rhetorical strategies that we learned about will most likely be the most useful way that I can present my analysis to my audience.

• More Development

I think my main goal in this Project is to communicate the argument and what and how the author of the article I am analyzing is saying. I honestly think writing should be very simple. You should just write what you want to say in an entertaining readable manner and not beat around the bush. Say you're point and move on.

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I read and commented on both Chloe and Hallye's blog posts. I found that my post was lacking development in comparison to their more extensive posts. I think this is because I have very much an engineering mindset: I just want to say the point and move on. This sometimes makes it hard for me to write in-depth and in a manner teachers like.

Cluster of Remembering a Golden Age of Cheap Cars

Coggle created on my computer 10/10/15

I created my Coggle in a multi-tiered manner. I started with the central goal of our piece and split it into the four main types of analysis (Logos, Ethos, Pathos, and I added Orgamization) that I'm aware of. I then further divided everything up as much as I felt I could. Notably, I saved adding actual textual examples as I think that should occur at a later stage.

Analyzing Rhetorical Strategies in "Remembering a Golden Age of Cheap Cars"

In this post I will analyse the rhetorical strategies in the opinion piece entitled Remembering a Golden Age of Cheap Cars posted on Esquire and Road & Track with the help of the Student's Guide.

This time, I included a picture of an Audi Quattro rally car at the Olympus Rally in Washington in 1985.

Raymond Culp "1985 Olympus Rally" July 5, 1985 via Flickr
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Appeals to Credibility or Character

• The entire article is essentially a long personal story about when the author first got his new car. He also subtly indicates his car enthusiast "cred" by mentioning things like "no more attainable than a Sonderwunsch steel flatnose." referring to the famous and rare Porsche option. 
• The personal story is the vehicle for the entire story so it is necessary. It is an opinion column that the the author is writing in so he has the liberty to reflect on his past if he desires to. More important is the need to be a credible and knowledgeable enthusiast as he is writing an Road and Track, a magazine probably read by very few non-enthusiasts.
• The entire tone of the article and in particular the author's "car enthusiast cred" make the author fairly credible to the audience of Road & Track.
• These strategies and indeed the message of the text itself positively effects the effectiveness of the text.
• The author certainly has biases toward supporting the proliferation of cheap and accessible cars. I see no reason why this bias should have an impact on the author's credibility.

Appeals to Emotion

• The author often uses wry humor in this article. An example of this is the sentences "If you were lucky enough to have something outrageous like a Civic Si, you barely existed in our world. You were a rich kid, and you could go to hell." This makes the article interesting an enjoyable to read. The tone and style of writing is simple and not too conversational and not too formal so that it is easy to read. As mentioned before, the text revolves around a personal story.
• The author is trying to create a nostalgic emotional response in the hackneyed "they don't make them like they used to" manner.
• The author is very successful in this endeavor (for me at least) which is in large part because I agree with his argument that the manner of cheap cars has changed and not only for the better.
• These emotions are very effective for the audience and the topic as they contribute positively to the argument.
• I don't think the emotions that are part of this piece negatively contribute to my perceived credibility for the author though I'm not sure of they contribute specifically to the author's credibility either.

Appeals to Logic

• The most noticeable aspect from the list of logos components from the Student's Guide is the logical organization. The column builds from narration of the author's own experiences to reflection on those experiences to expanding them to a greater audience.
• This organization is very effective as it is clear and leads the readers to the same conclusions as the author comes to and it is not a difficult thing for the readers to follow. This is effective for the audience.

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I read Issak and Hallye's posts. Both were very interesting topics. I think that I spent a good amount of time and effort on my article (Issak obviously spent a very long time and put significant effort into his post) and I think I probably spent about as much time as Hallye did. Though I had to change my original article from one of the original rhetorical topics I found in the last deadline to something more suitable, I find I am constantly concerned about the quality of my article and if it is good enough for this assignment. Interestingly, we all had the most trouble finding definite logical appeals in the pieces.

Analyzing the Message in "Remembering a Golden Age of Cheap Cars"

In this post I will analyse the message in the opinion piece entitled Remembering a Golden Age of Cheap Cars posted on Esquire and Road & Track with the help of the Student's Guide.

The picture is a Mazda 323 GTX rally car which was based on one of the cars that are referenced in the article.

Jim Culp "Raymond Ridge" December 3, 1986 via Flickr
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Does the author?

• Express an idea or opinion?

The author certainly expresses and opinion. He is of the opinion that twenty five years ago, automakers operated on the principle that if you offered something that your youngest customers could afford, they would have customers for life. The author then extends his belief that this care for younger customers created a different sort of youth car culture that no longer exists today.

• Respond to a particular occasion?

The author does not really respond to a situation besides reminiscing about his teenage days when he got his first new car.

• Inform the reader about a misunderstood topic?

The author does not in particular make an effort to inform readers about a misunderstood topic, he simply relates his own experiences.

• Analyze, synthesize, or interpret?

The author does not analyse, synthesize, or interpret in this article as he instead draws on his own experiences to paint a picture for readers.

• Reflect on their topic?

The author certainly reflects on his time as a teenager. He converts his own experiences into a more general reflection on how particular practices in the automotive industry appear to have changed and how priorities seem to have shifted away from what the author considers to be a particularly beneficial ethos.

• Advocate for change?

The author does not outright advocate for change in the current priorities of children and parents and car companies but subtly you can tell that if a more retroactive change occurred, the author would not be displeased.

• Move the readers to feel a certain way?

This article is certainly tinged with some aspects of nostalgia. The author wants his readers to experience some of the same appreciation for what he terms a "Golden Age of Cheap Cars."