Response to Inna's blog

I agree with Inna that the variety of information we've learned in class was interesting and informative. Watching "The Persuaders" and pointing out all the rhetoric used was educational and displayed how we can use rhetoric get our audience to react the way we want them to. I enjoyed all our guest speakers. I always find it interesting to listen to other people talk about what they do for a living.

Things I learned in English 402

When I learned that I had to take English 402 for my degree program, I said to myself "not another English class". But after learning the applications of technical and professional writing and its importance in the real world, I am glad that I took this class especially at an early stage of my junior year. I will use the tools I've learned if necessary in my other classes and definitely in my career. So what did I learn? I've learned in order for your communication to be effective, it must be usable and persuasive. I've learned that you must always keep your readers in mind and give them the information they need. I've learned that you must take into account your reader's skills, culture, background, emotions and values when writing to them. I've learned that writing that is simple and to the point is more effective than writing with fancy words and extensive material. I've learned that organization and easy to find information is the key to structure and clarity of writing. I've learned how we use rhetoric to communicate to our readers and listeners. And I've learned that learning about writing and communication is a never ending process. In my opinion, you always learn something new every day.

In response to Melissa Dawson

Melissa,

I agree with you that public speaking is one big fear that people have. I've also heard the saying that people fear public speaking more than death. One reason I think that we fear public speaking is we don't do it often enough to overcome this fear. Take our professors for example. They speak publicly everyday as they lecture and they seem to be extremely comfortable. As we enter the workplace in the next couple of years we will most likely find ourselves conducting speeches within our organization. I'm normally a timid person and public speaking makes me nervous.

Chapter 17-18

Chapter 17 defines several guidelines on creating and delivering listener-centered oral presentations. We can use all the elements of creating reader-centered communications to prepare effective oral presentations. One important but sometimes difficult aspect of making oral presentations is to keep your audience entertained and focused on your presentation. The text states that people can read for hours at a time, but many listeners have trouble concentrating for more than twenty minutes. Some ways to prevent your audience from wandering off are to be prepared, professional, persuasive, credible, interesting and include visual aids.

Chapter 18 defines several guidelines on creating reader-centered web pages and websites. The main point of this chapter is to develop effective web pages that users can easily and quickly navigate through to find informati0n they're looking for. An example of a good web page is WSU-V's Business Department web page. When I started to develop my academic plan at the beginning of the year, I was able to refer to this web page to find everything I needed.

Pursuader's

This documentary on the world of marketing enhanced my knowledge of the marketing industry. I'll have to watch this again before I take my marketing class in the spring. To most people, marketing is simply a way for businesses to attract consumers to buy their products. But according to the Persuader's, marketing is much more than this. It's the ability to capture the emotions of individuals and figure out exactly what they need and give these needs to them in the form of products and services. As consumers, we are constantly exposed to marketing and it never ends. The persuader's accurately label marketing as "the clutter". This clutter is everywhere.

Chapter 2, 9, and 10

Chapter 2 provides valuable information on creating resume's and cover letters and accurately presents what most employers are looking for. In the beginning of the semester, we had two guest speakers from Perkins & Co., one of the largest accounting firms in Portland Or. One individual was the college recruiter and the other was the human resources manager and they both talked about what they expect when reviewing resumes and cover letters. Here are some key points they look at when hiring accountants.
Cover Letter
-Always include cover letter with resume
-Do not fax resume/cover letter. Preferred via email or mail.
-No grammatical errors
-Keep formatting consistent and easily readable
Resume
-Do not state objectives (not what the text states)
-List education at top of resume
-Include GPA and approximate graduation date
-List soft skills
-Don't be clever
-Leave off references
-Focus on the job applying for

Chapter's 9 and 10 explain the guidelines to effectively begin and end communication. The guideline "Give your readers a reason to pay attention" allows our communication to grab our audience's attention so they can continue to read our writing. This is important especially in preparing cover letter's and resume. Most employers are faced with hundreds of resume's on a daily basis and you must be able to stand out among others and present to the employers that you are the best person for the job. To accomplish this, you must catch their attention so they will remember you.

Response to readings

Son,

I agree on what you said on time management in regards to writing. This was mentioned in the text and we've all heard it before from our teachers in the past. Ideas come and go and it's important to take a break from our writing and set it aside for some time to clear our thoughts, start fresh and get re-energized to draft and re-write. Often times I find myself procrastinating when writing but this is not only a bad habit, it's inefficient because it ignores the rule of taking a break. I recently took the timed write for WSU's writing portfolio. In this situation, you have to gather your thoughts and draft your writing under the pressure of time which can be a distracter for some.