Response to Magee, Writing about Writing, pp. 460-468
Help Received: None
Magee very quickly introduces the origins of her research question. Within the first paragraph, she explains the experiences she has had with male/female stereotypes and an analysis that she had read that explored these stereotypes. However, she does not immediately discuss her methods of addressing this question. Instead, she elaborates on the stereotypical norms concerning the differences between male and female writing. About halfway through her essay, she analyzes the college admissions essays of two of her peers, discussing how neither of them meet the female writing standards she describes previously.
I found this essay helpful in brainstorming for my rhetorical analysis. Previously I had considered writing about how the anticipated experience level of the audience affects the syllabus’ meaning; now I have another characteristic to consider – GENDER! It is no secret that STEM Fields are male-dominated, so this will likely effect both how these syllabi are written and how they are interpreted by the students.