Month: October 2016

Sports is one of my main literacies that effects how I learn now and why I make the decisions the way I do. When I was young I would play baseball with my older brother all the time. He tried to get me to pitch a certain way and I could never do it how good he wanted. He told me “I would never be a good pitcher” and I was crushed. I went in the garage and cried for hours, but i resolved to prove him wrong and I did, I now pitch in college. My brother taught me a lot and this was an isolated incident, but it gave me a new attitude an taught me how to overcome adversity through hard work and not give up.

1. Learning how to write from experience and write autobiographically. Style of writing and the content.
2. Writing can be drawn from personal experiences, and Murray argues that all forms of writing is autobiographical. He has seen from experiences his own writings have included pieces of personal information, even if it was fiction it was still based in his personal experiences.
3. The article is interesting and draws from personal experiences more than the other authors in the book. His style of writing makes it easier to follow and to understand the message he is trying to relay.
4. Murray analyzes writing and explains the thought process just like the other authors throughout the book.
5. I had never previously thought that all writing was from previous experiences, it is interesting to think about but i think he might be right. From now on ill see if I can notice writing from personal experiences in my own writing. I’m not sure if i will consciously change my writing.

Derek Tremblay                                      Help Received:

Major Garriott                                    ERH 101: Section 18 class

ERH-101-03                                         Conferences with Major Garriott (General Advice)

17 October 2016

Rhetorical Analysis of Professor Bednar’s

“Economics 301: Business Economics”

The Elon University School of Business includes the economics department at Elon University. The purpose of the economics department is to, “Develop your critical thinking, analytical and problem-solving skills. Learn the skills needed to understand changing economic conditions, what drives institutional change and how consumer behavior may change over time.” (Economics) Economics 301 is a required course to receive a business degree at Elon, it is neither an advanced class nor an introductory class, but more of a middle of the road class. Dr. Steven Bednar, a Yale graduate, is the class’ instructor.  The course explores questions such as, “What functions do firms serve, and where do firms fit in a market economy?”, and analyzing two main perspectives. One perspective deals with “maximizing profits subject to the constraints of demand, production, cost and market structure.”, another with strategy and value maximization (Economics). The general type of assignments are recurring exams that account for 60% of the final grade. Dr. Bednar engages the students of Elon in rhetorical discourse about economics through six homework assignments, newspaper responses, and quizzes, as well as three exams. The expectations of Dr. Bednar are that the students show up for class and conduct themselves in an adult manner. He implies in the syllabus that students should act like adults and put in work, even if it doesn’t count for or against their grade. The professor outlines, in the text, his expectations for behavior and for learning in a professional manner throughout the syllabus like: come to class prepared and ask questions, respect others in the class, and seek help if it is needed (My Expectations of you).  Dr. Bednar has a professional attitude through the text and he expects students to act like as such in a workplace. Dr. Bednar’s clarity and professionalism leaves a positive attitude with the students and gives them a sense of urgency to begin and start taking the class.

Goals of the syllabus are for students to develop skills necessary to “make optimal managerial decisions given different situations, and environments” (Course Description and Objectives).  These goals focus on the students learning the real life skills needed to be successful in business, not just memorization of knowledge or terms. Dr. Bednar is showing his expertise in the field because he understands that the students need to be taught more than just useless terms to be successful. By doing this he is showing a mutual respect for the students, by teaching them what they need to know to be successful in the discourse, rather than basing the class off memorization.

Dr. Bednar sets high, but reasonable, expectations for his students. He expects them to attend class and participate even though it won’t directly affect their grade. He expects maturity and he expects students to be held accountable for their work and their exams. Dr. Bednar outlines the policies for missed work stating that “there is no make-up for quizzes or newspaper articles” (Attendance) Dr. Bednar than, as a helpful note, says that “Historically, students who consistently skip Econ 301 lecture have either failed or barely passed. This is not a class that you can show up only for the exams and expect to do well in.” The professor is attempting to make a personal connection with the students to seem more friendly as he is giving them advice to help them pass the class. Treating the students more as peers than novices improves the moral and attitude of students entering the course. Dr. Bednar, rather than placing himself above the student as many other professors do, outlines expectations for himself such as preparing for the class and showing up on time, grading work in a timely manner, and offering support outside the classroom (Expectations of me). In return, Dr. Bednar outlines his expectations for students like: come to class prepared and ask questions, respect others in the class, and seek help if it is needed (My Expectations of you).

Dr. Bednar fits in very well into Gee’s definition of a Discourse. He displays the “appropriate costume and instruction on how to act, talk, and often write, so as to take on a particular role that others recognize (7)” In the syllabus text Dr. Bednar uses technical business terms because this is not an introductory course and the students should already be familiar with appropriate business lexis. Dr. Bednar is well versed in the business discourse community, and he establishes his knowledge throughout the syllabus. In the section “Course Descriptions and Objectives” he talks about “applying (the) microeconomic theory”, interpreting demand functions and elasticities, recognizing market structures, and calculating market powers. I am an Economics and Business major who hasn’t taken any business courses yet and I don’t know the meaning of most of the terms used. A beginner, such as myself, unfamiliar with the discourse community would be confused by the syllabus and would probably be unable to get a good grade in the course. Dr. Bednar is an expert in the field of business and economics, as he graduated from Yale in 2010 with a PhD (Faculty and Staff Profile). Yale is one of the top schools in the country and it gives Dr. Bednar credibility in the econ and business discourse community. Technical terms used in the syllabus sets the tone for the class and the expectations to act like a professional.

The syllabus calls for use of rhetorical discourse in order to explain to the students the purpose and mission of the class. Dr. Bednar displays exigence as he goes over the Course Description and Objectives by using his expertise in the Economics and Business discourse to outline the course to the novice students. He is trying to give the students a basic understanding of the class to the students so they can be more prepared for the class they’re taking. The audience Dr. Bednar seems to have in mind is strictly the students about to take his class. He uses “I” and addresses the student as “you”, suggesting he intends to be speaking directly to them. Dr. Bednar expects the students, based on lexis used, to already have a basic understanding of economics and business. The professor does a good job in the syllabus establishing his ethos. If the students behave professionally, Dr. Bednar will do the same, he has “the reader’s best interests at heart and is not purely self-interested.” (796)

Dr. Bednar’s syllabus for Economics 301 at Elon University is descriptive and helpful to the students taking the class. The professor’s expertise, evident by his use of lexis, and his expectations for the students outline the professional behavior Dr. Bednar requires for his class.

 

Works Cited

“Elon University – Martha and Spencer Love School of Business.” Elon.edu, http://www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/business/, Accessed 26 Oct. 2016

Economics 301: Business Economics Spring 2014 Syllabus

Gee, Literacy , Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction, WW ePages

Derek Tremblay                                      Help Received:

Major Garriott                                    ERH 101: Section 18 class

ERH-101-03                                         Conferences with Major Garriott (General Advice)

17 October 2016

Rhetorical Analysis of Professor Bednar’s

“Economics 301: Business Economics”

The Elon University School of Business includes the economics department at Elon University. The purpose of the economics department is to, “Develop your critical thinking, analytical and problem-solving skills. Learn the skills needed to understand changing economic conditions, what drives institutional change and how consumer behavior may change over time.” (Economics) Economics 301 is a required course to receive a business degree at Elon, it is neither an advanced class nor an introductory class, but more of a middle of the road class. Dr. Steven Bednar, a Yale graduate, is the class’ instructor.  The course explores questions such as, “What functions do firms serve, and where do firms fit in a market economy?”, and analyzing two main perspectives. One perspective deals with “maximizing profits subject to the constraints of demand, production, cost and market structure.”, another with strategy and value maximization. (Economics) The general type of assignments are recurring exams that account for 60% of the final grade. Dr. Bednar engages the students of Elon in rhetorical discourse about economics through six homework assignments, newspaper responses, and quizzes, as well as three exams. The expectations of Dr. Bednar are that the students show up for class and conduct themselves in an adult manner. He implies in the syllabus that students should act like adults and put in work, even if it doesn’t count for or against their grade. He outlines his expectations for students like: come to class prepared and ask questions, respect others in the class, and seek help if it is needed. (My Expectations of you) Dr. Bednar has a professional attitude through the text and he expects students to act like a professional in a workplace. The professor outlines in the text his expectations for behavior and for learning in a professional manner throughout the syllabus. Dr. Bednar’s clarity and professionalism leaves a positive attitude with the students and gives them a sense of urgency to begin and start taking the class. He implies in the syllabus that students should act like adults and put in work, even if it doesn’t count for or against their grade.

Goals of the syllabus are for students to develop skills necessary to “make optimal managerial decisions given different situations, and environments.” (Course Description and Objectives) These goals focus on the students learning the real life skills needed to be successful in business, not just memorization of knowledge or terms. Dr. Bednar is showing his expertise in the field because he understands that the students need to be taught more than just useless terms to be successful.

Dr. Bednar sets high, but reasonable, expectations for his students. He expects them to attend class and participate even though it won’t directly affect their grade. He expects maturity and he expects students to be held accountable for their work and their exams. Dr. Bednar outlines the policies for missed work stating that “there is no make-up for quizzes or newspaper articles” (Attendance) Dr. Bednar than, as a helpful note, says that “Historically, students who consistently skip Econ 301 lecture have either failed or barely passed. This is not a class that you can show up only for the exams and expect to do well in.” The professor is attempting to make a personal connection with the students to seem more friendly as he is giving them advice to help them pass the class. Treating the students more as peers than novices improves the moral and attitude of students entering the course. Dr. Bednar, rather than placing himself above the student as many other professors do, outlines expectations for himself such as preparing for the class and showing up on time, grading work in a timely manner, and offering support outside the classroom. (Expectations of me) In return, Dr. Bednar outlines his expectations for students like: come to class prepared and ask questions, respect others in the class, and seek help if it is needed. (My Expectations of you)

In the syllabus text Dr. Bednar uses technical business terms because this is not an introductory course and the students should already be familiar with appropriate business lexis. Dr. Bednar is well versed in the business discourse community, and he establishes his knowledge throughout the syllabus. In the section “Course Descriptions and Objectives” he talks about “applying (the) microeconomic theory”, interpreting demand functions and elasticities, recognizing market structures, and calculating market powers. I am an Economics and Business major who hasn’t taken any business courses yet and I don’t know the meaning of most of the terms used. A beginner, such as myself, unfamiliar with the discourse community would be confused by the syllabus and would probably be unable to get a good grade in the course. Dr. Bednar is an expert in the field of business and economics, as he graduated from Yale in 2010 with a PhD. (Faculty and Staff Profile) Yale is one of the top schools in the country and it gives Dr. Bednar credibility in the econ and business discourse community.

The syllabus calls for use of rhetorical discourse in order to explain to the students the purpose and mission of the class. Dr. Bednar displays exigence as he goes over the Course Description and Objectives by using his expertise in the Economics and Business discourse to outline the course to the novice students. He is trying to give the students a basic understanding of the class to the students so they can be more prepared for the class their taking. The audience Dr. Bednar seems to have in mind is strictly the students about to take his class. He uses “I” and addresses the student as “you”, suggesting he intends to be speaking directly to them. Dr. Bednar expects the students, based on lexis used, to already have a basic understanding of economics and business. The professor does a good job in the syllabus establishing his ethos, Dr. Bednar has “the reader’s best interests at heart and is not purely self-interested.” (796)

Dr. Bednar’s syllabus for Economics 301 at Elon University is descriptive and helpful to the students taking the class. The professor’s expertise, evident by his use of lexis, and his expectations for the students outline the professional behavior Dr. Bednar requires for his class.

 

 

What is Janet doing?

Janet explains what the paper is about and defines terms the audience should already know. It is boring and explains too much of what the audience knows.

 

What is roger doing?

Roger starts out his paper with a real world situation that grabs the reader’s attention, and it makes me want to keep reading the paper.

 

What is roger doing that’s better?

Roger doesn’t not state information the reader already knows and Roger keeps the reader interested with examples.

 

Set guidelines off Roger.

I should keep my introduction exciting, to the point and fast-paced. I should ask questions to the reader to keep them thinking and engaged with what I’m writing. I should use examples.

My writing is more like Janet since I tend to use my source as factual information, and I take for granted their expertise and research done. I could challenge the text and ask my own questions to improve my writing. I could try to understand who the author is speaking to, and I could attempt to detect bias, rather than accepting the authors writing as fact. I used quotes and didn’t explain them too well.

For paper two I need to explain from both sides the story from my paper and examine multiple sources for information. I need to write to my audience better and I need to identify who they are. I should explain in detail the information from my sources and use more text backing up my writing. Use facts to make an opinion. I should use the material to answer a question. Analyze the author and search for bias.

1: Kantz believes that facts, opinions, and arguments are actually dependent in the views and claims of the audience. “Facts” aren’t always true and are based on the audience.

2: Students are bad at interpreting texts, they make things up, they only use facts and not opinions, and lacks general argument are just a few. I think they are correct, because I experience many of the same things in my own writing. I am starting to feel better about organization and finding a general argument.

Cadet Derek Tremblay

Major Garriott

ERH-101-03

18 July 2016

“Core values, which are scholarship, discipleship”: Religious and Academic Aspects of Southern Virginia University

Discourse communities are groups of individuals, from different or similar backgrounds, who unite under a common purpose, goal, or characteristic. The Economics and Business department at universities, such as Southern Virginia University (SVU), is an example of an institute of learning participating and/or creating a specific discourse community. In the SVU business department they use an “educational model that provides the creativity, the critical thinking skills, and the articulation skills essential to have success in a highly dynamic, constantly changing and competitive business world.” Having a model such as this shows SVU’s dedication to their business program. SVU utilizes seasoned professors with “professional, real world experience” (Excellence in Teaching), economics and business staff guide SVU’s business discourse community. Seasoned professors are necessary to maintain SVU’s integrity in the business disciple. However, SVU’s discourse extends outside the secular world and into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) community. The business program at SVU unites this community with the secular business discourse community.

The SVU website lays out a plan for the business program using examples of classes someone would take and statistics showing the effectiveness of the program. Examples of former students that benefited from SVU aid the mission of the text, which is to reach out to people of different communities to make the business program attractive to potential students. The Southern Virginia University business page asserts affiliation with multiple discourse communities by integrating The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints values along with the secular principles of university Economics and Business. SVU links the two discourse communities by having religious graphics on the website and by the mission statement of the university, outlining LDS values of the school, however, they separate the use of LDS and business lexis on the business page. I will use John Swales’ theory on discourse communities as framework for this paper to analyze SVU’s use of discourse community, I judge that Southern Virginia University is able to affiliate with many discourse communities within the business/economics field, by using proper business lexis and appealing to people of different religious, ethical, and economic backgrounds.

According to Swales and his “six defining characteristics necessary and sufficient for identifying a group of individuals as a discourse community” (220), “A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals.” (220) As well as the business discourse community Southern Virginia participates in other discourse communities such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The common goal of the SVU business department is to educate students and make them well-versed in business while maintaining an LDS view as outlined by the university’s mission statement. “Students, faculty, and staff at Southern Virginia University are committed to being academically or professionally accomplished, spiritually rooted, service oriented, and self-reliant. Southern Virginia University seeks to establish a replicable self-sustaining model of higher education that can serve Latter-day Saints throughout the world.” (Mission Statement) This is a strong, assertive mission statement as it makes known the LDS principles of the school as well the importance of higher education at SVU.

The introduction of the business program starts with SVU boasting of success against other schools in business tests stating that “graduating business seniors at Southern Virginia University have collectively scored in the 90th to 95th percentile of the national ETS Major Field Test in business” (A Remarkable Achievement) and that “Southern Virginia business major students placed in the top five to ten percent nationally when compared with over 80,000 graduating seniors at over 560 other colleges and universities”(A Remarkable Achievement). These stats are impressive and the data proves that SVU is in the top percent of schools for business. They then appeal to the average person stating there are “no restrictions on who can be a business major at Southern Virginia” (A Remarkable Achievement). SVU offers open enrollment into the business program in an attempt to grow the university and appeal the business discourse community to outsiders.

The business department website of SVU does a good, but subtle, job bridging the two discourse communities of the secular world of business and The Church of Latter-day Saints. Southern Virginia University stays on the secular path while outlining the business program they offer. They explain the advantages of attending the school and taking the business program just as any other secular school would. The relation SVU uses to appeal to The Church of Latter-day Saints starts with the background of the business home screen. It depicts a student with a backpack and a stack of bibles on top of notebooks. I didn’t notice it at first, but small changes such as this one are used to keep affiliation with The Church of Latter-day Saints genre.

Intercommunication is a large part of Southern Virginia. The group of business students communicate in the classroom and meet together to form a discourse community at SVU. However, the majority of intercommunication at SVU is between professor and student. “Southern Virginia professors listen: they counsel, engage, advise, and mentor. This keeps the committed student focused, moving forward, exploring and expanding horizons” (Excellence in Teaching). Having small classrooms, like SVU, allows for greater engagement within the discourse community from its members. The faculty at SVU delivers with relevant content and experience in the business discourse community, as well in most cases, experience in the LDS community. The professors at SVU, for the most part, went to a Mormon university to receive their degree, they also have a brief statement about their families in their biography on the website. SVU uses this to be engaged more in The Church of Latter-day Saints discourse community of the university. Secular universities who are not a part of The Church of Latter-day Saints community do not mention family or religion in their professors’ biography.

Coursework requirements, as outlined on the website, are the same as any other school, indicating SVU’s commitment to the secular discourse community of Economics and Business. “Southern Virginia’s business major(s) are expected to attain a knowledge of the fundamental theories, practices, and environments of the core fields of economics and business” (Business Management & Leadership Major & Minor). This lays out the common goals of SVU for their business program to prospective students. In the course requirements SVU outlines seven learning objectives for business; accounting, economics, management, finance, marketing, legal and social environment, and international issues. These learning objectives are very atypical of a business discourse community.

Appropriate and specific business lexis is used in establishing SVU’s business expertise. The business page, however, does not use LDS lexis. Their failure to explain how the LDS church plays a part in receiving a business degree from SVU is puzzling. SVU is trying harder, at this point, to appeal to the outsiders of the LDS community, as they focus only on the business aspect of the program to attract students interested in a good business program. SVU uses genres such as the biographies of the professors and the course requirements to communicate it’s aims to students. I found that listed on the course requirements there are classes required for a business degree that you would not find at a secular school such as a leader-servant course. The LDS part of SVU is an inevitable part of attending the university much as the military is at VMI. While outsiders to such communities might only be interested in academics, they must engage in multiple discourse communities just like SVU does with business and LDS.

Suitable lexis used on their website for both the LDS community and the business community show the expertise of SVU in these discourse communities. Expertise is important when prospective students look for a school. SVU markets themselves as one of the top schools for both LDS and business.

 

Works Cited

“Business: Major and Minor.” svu.edu, http://svu.edu/academics/programs/business/, Accessed 30 Sept. 2016

 

“Mission and History.” svu.edu, http://svu.edu/about/history/, Accessed 30 Sept. 2016

 

Help Received

Conferences with Major Garriott (General Advice)

Nick Domahoski (Peer review)

 

Word Count: 1,315