Ch. 10 Response

• Initial impressions are important (show that you care and take project seriosly early on).
• Think carefully about words and the ethical issue that we had involving vocabulary usage.
• We need to discuss how we're going to present our project- with a written anouncement to readers about what we're presenting to them.
• The most important achievements to describe are the final products themselves. CLARIFY audiences, purposes, uses; note the positive effects the texts will have on the community.

Ch.9 Response

The evaluation report:

How the project went and what it produced. PERSUASIVE because we need to make a credible and compelling assessment, which will end with a final grade.

I guess that our weekly group evaluations will come into play in this report. The progress and process of our work is just as important as the final deliverable. Since our group inparticular has experienced exceptional team work and collaboration, we will make emphasize this in our report. Of course we will also asses our weaknesses and make an honest claim.

Ch. 7 Response

Executing Your Project

Our group has already gathered documents from our client. (We have their basic guide to the drip irrigation and information printed from the garden's website). The existence of these documents means that our project isn't starting from scratch; we have to synthesize and adapt the existing documents into something more effective.

What we need to keep in mind:

• Our discourse community. These are the people within our community who share a common interest/concern. Our discourse community is made up of those who are interested in garderning and those who are concerned about the environment; HOWEVER, those who aren't aware of environmental issues or things such as the green movement will also be targeted. It's important that our brochure reaches everyone because "healthy living" is sometimes seen as an "upper class" concern. The drip irrigation guide has a different audience- it is those who are physically involved with the garden.
• The brochure- Include organization's history within the brochure, avoid using info that's likely to become absolete in the near future (even though there's template).
• The drip irrigation guide- A design layout that avoids flipping back and fourth between between pages, use action oriented language, place safety info before the steps to which it relates, test with actual users!

3.5.09

Today Drew, Jaime and I went to the garden to talk to some of the volunteers. My perspective on our project changed after talking to Joe, who is one of the most dedicated volunteers of the garden. We discussed our class project and our mission to make a volunteer handbook. Joe's response was that he didn't think a volunteer handbook is necessary in a project like the community garden. His belief is that community gardening is focused around working out problems as a team effort and spreading knowledge by word of mouth and hands on instruction. For a moment, this made me feel like a handbook wouldn't be a necessary project. Then I re-thought the layout of our project to focus on the community aspect of gardening. This idea can be reinforced in the handbook's text and shown in photos/clip art throughout the booklet (ex.people gardening together).
After going to the garden, we met with Shari and discussed our proposal. Rather than a handbook for volunteers, Shari and Andrea decided that they are in more of a need for a brouche. The brochure will be slightly more general, for those who are interested in the garden. Information we put in the brochure will be overviews of topics covered in our fact sheets, (and the fact sheets will be detailed descriptions of topics taken from the brochure). They are stressing information about Also, these documents need to be on the website, first and foremost. Andrea and Shari aren't as concerned about having paper copies as they are about having the information on the web site. This also slightly changes the direction of our project. We need to think about the layout of the brochure and fact sheets in terms of the one dimensional space provided by a website.

Discussion Response 2.17.09 Gender Stratification in America

Feb. 17 2009- I attended an open discussion conducted by USF St.Pete Anthropology Professor Kathryn Arthur. The topic discussed was gender stratification in America. Charts from the National Science Foundation, (dating from the 1960s to 2006), reveal that women are exceeding the number of men who hold University degrees in sciences, social sciences and non S&E. Men, however, still outweigh the number of women who hold engineering jobs (54,821 to 13,300).
Why is it that women have more degrees in sciences than engineering?

I think that women have a tendency to lean towards degrees in social sciences (79,350- the largest of any science category) because the subject matter of social science allows them to relate the history of women's struggle for gender equality.

The most shocking information discussed in this lecture was the gender pay gap in our country. The pay gap between men and women has been a sort of invisible issue to me because I've never experienced earning less than my male co-workers. Statistics of the pay gap in ink came to me like a slap in the face. "One year after college, female graduates working full time earn only about 80 percent as much as male graduates earn. After accounting for all factors known to affect wages, about one quarter of the gap remains unexplained and may be attributed to discrimination... Ten years after graduation, women working full time only earn about 69 percent as much as men working full time earn."

We dicussed ways to close the pay gap:

• Negotiate more! It's more likely for women to take the first salary offer, whereas men tend to negotiate a higher salary.
• Do research on salary before interview. (To make sure you know what you should be getting paid).
• The private sector needs to mandate and ensure equal pay. For example, the state of Minnesota keeps track and ensures, through research and periodical statistics, that men and women are being paid the same for state jobs.
• Maternity leave needs to be mandated so that women are ensured a job after they have babies.

Ch. 5 Blog

Somethings that I didn't think about, regarding our potential documents:

-Instructional documents usually include many illustrations, such as action-view drawings or photographs. *Can we come up with these drawings ourselves and have them printed on the pamphlets or should we use clip art?

-Documents are used as a reference resource. *My understanding of this is that we should list references in our documents, such as, books, web sites, and local organic farms and CSAs (A term that I learned TODAY :-) that means Community Supported Agriculture).

-Field test the documents with potential users. * Good idea but sounds like a lot of work. I want to talk to my group/instructor/Shari & Andrea about this to see if we have enough time to do this one!

Sunday 2/15 Organic Farming Workshop

The Garden held a workshop today, led by organic farming instructor Susan Huff. I attended the 2 hr workshop (11-1) and took notes that will most likely be used later on in our fact sheets or handbook. Learn to grow your own food and sustain your own life as a means of beating the system, the system being the government. This comment made by Susan during the workshop impacted me.

Saturday 2/14 mulch spread

My dad works for the city and was able to hook up a delivery of 12 cubic yards of mulch for the Garden. I spent Saturday morning wheel-barreling and spreading mulch and getting to know some of the other volunteers. It felt like a refreshing way to spend my morning!

first visit with Shari and the garden

Saturday 2/7
I met Shari Hazlett, one of the head organizationl leaders of Bartlett Community Garden.
After our rondezvous at the Saturday Morning Market (where the Garden has a booth selling native plants to raise money) we took a quick tour of the MLK & 14th Ave S. location. I saw that the Garden need more physical labor than had already been put in by hard working volunteers. Shari told me that the once trashed lot has come a long way since its revival a little less than a year ago. The Garden relies completely on volunteer services and because of this reliance, I decided that making a volunteer handbook for the non-profit organization would be very beneficial. I also met Joe, who is a specialist on drip irrigation and whom I'll later be interviewing on the functions of garden work.

2.2.09 In-Class Blog

What are your goals for your life? What are your goals for attending college? What are your goals for this class? What do you hope to accomplish by taking this class? What is your vision of your future? If you could accomplish anything, what would it be?

Short term goals: become an active member of a non-profit organization(s); complete this semester with As and Bs.
Medium term goals: travel this summer; become fluent in Spanish; start looking for internships.
Longer term goals: Get a Master's in Anthropology and a Minor in Rhetoric/Composition and begin PhD work on something that's very important to me; make a difference.

Through this class, I hope that I do something very productive in working with a non-profit orgnization. I also hope to get good writing practice and to put my skill to the test in real life response to my writing.

If I could accomplish anything, it would be to be a positive change in people's lives every day, in one way or another, while working towards conserving or planet and human diversity.

Response: First Mt. Zion visit

Mt. Zion seemed to be operating very smoothly and productlivly. I didn't expect the environment to be like a classroom; I pictured kids acting like they were in an extended recess or something. It was good to talk to the bus driver because he was able to give me technical information, such as, the room's capacity is 100 kids (including adults). I learned that there is a waiting list to get into Mt. Zion, several kids are referred by the church, and all kids are chosen on a need base. I'm interested in the area they have for teens. I'm curious if there's a sex education program at Mt.Zion and I would like to talk to (Pat?) about my ideas reguarding this.

response to homeless coalition training

What I thought was effective about the speech/ training on St.Pete homeless count:

• Defining "homeless." Sometimes people spit out commonly used words, such as homeless, without having a clear understanding of the word. I liked that we had to deifne "homeless" then give examples of people defined in this category. I think most of us had to brush aside our immediate vision of a soiled man gripping a cardboard sign, and think of a homeless person as a friend, aquaintane, or family member who doesn't have a permanent place to live.
• The guest speaker who was formerly homelss for 14 years or so. This man's story changed my mind about homeless people being just plain lazy. Hearing what an incredible and idol worthy life he lead before becoming homeless made me realize that homeless can happen to almost anyone- willing or not.

This purpose of this presentation was to ask for our help in aquiring an accurate count of the homeless in St.Pete. The larger meaning is that the homeless population is so large, the organization is reaching out to college students to help with the count. Technical communication is the means of attaining the correct number in this situation. Questionarres are carefully designed with proper wording and rhetoric, in order to make the counting process as smooth and successful as possible.

Ch. 3 Response- Service Learning Text Book

One point this chapter emphasized was the audience based orientation of technical/professional writing and the writer's responsibility to meet the values, needs, and expectations of the reader. I realize that there needs to be such a focus on the audience because the audience determines whether or not a technical piece of writing is successful. This relationship between writer and reader made me feel a bit intimidated. Then, the book used the term "audience advocacy" and this added a whole new dimension to my understanding of technical communication. Thinking of myself as an advocate and a writer, or someone who's advocating for a group of people through written language, I immediately saw the connection between writer and audience.

Another valuable point raised in this chapter was the importance of cultural awareness. "Socially constructed behaviors, values, and conditons" will vary greatly bewteen the targeted groups (audience), as well as within the groups. Investigating the values and outlooks of our audiences, which are unfamiliar to us, is necessary in order to obtain this cultural awareness. One question I have is: How exactly do we go about investigating cultural/sociological differences? I have ethnographic research in mind, but are questionarres also involved?

Ch. 2 Response- Service-Learning Text Book

Chapter Two defined technical communication as "...applied communication, communication designed to perform specific tasks or help the audience solve specific problems." Since the audience is the central benefiter of tech comm, it will be essental to keep the audienence's needs in mind. Attention to the audience's literacy level, access to information, and primary concerns will result in more successful communication.

I learned a couple (personal) benefits of doing a service-learning project: documents published by the organization and used by actual readers will make impressive additions to a writing portfolio; and valuable contacts in one's field of iterest can be made. These benefits are aside from the fact that one is helping (a non-profit agency perhaps) create documents they need, but aren't able to produce because of lack of workforce or expertise.

After reading Chapter Two, I have my mind set on working with a non-profit agency. One concern that I have with this project is the possiblity of a difference between the expectations of the organization and my instructor. What if the organization has more demands than my instructor is requiring? I'm sure that a simple compramise would solve this conflict.

Job Advertisement/ Cover letter/ Resume

Job Advertisement:
Post on Social Networking Sites (wesley chapel)
Reply to: job-990692259@craigslist.org [?]Date: 2009-01-12, 9:57PM EST
I am looking for several people to create and post on social media sites, Myspace, Facebook linkedin and more. It is very simple work. I need these sites to help us link our client sites for Search Engine Optimization. Flexable hours.
Location: wesley chapel
Compensation: $7 to start
Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
Please, no phone calls about this job!
Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.PostingID: 990692259
*I found this job advertisement on Craigslist 1/20/09. http://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/wri/990692259.html

Cover Letter:

January 20, 2009
Ms. Jane Doe
Somewhere, Wesley Chapel

Dear Ms. Doe,

I'm interested in the social networking positon you have posted on Craiglist. I'm familiar with the social media sites you mentioned in the ad and spend a good amount of time on these sites each day. I'm also taking a tecnical writing course at the University of South Florida and will be able to apply these skills to a social networking position.

Sincerely,
Amanda Sliby

Resume:

Amanda Sliby
My Address
My Phone Number

Schooling:

University of South Florida:
2007-Present
Dixie M. Hollins High School
2003-2007

Occupation:

Cody's Original Roadhouse
2005- Present

Academic Interests:

Rhetoric and Composition, Anthropology, Research, Study Abroad, Linguistics, and Communication.

Ch.1 Response Service-Learning Text Book

Chapter One defined service learning as "a method by which students learn through active participation in thoughtfully organized service; is conducted in, and meets the needs of the community; is integrated into and enhances the academic curriculum; includes structured time for reflection and helps foster civic responsibility." This definition helped me begin to set goals for this semester in technical writing. In order to learn through service, there are objectives that need to be met and these are stated within the definition of service learning.

The Stanford University model (p.4) added the idea that "students mainly write as their community service rather than about it." I love this ethnographic approach and believe it's a valuable mind set to have from start to finish. Also, the phrase "address a need in the community rather than meet a need in the community" is an important mindset; it offers a realistic point of view, puts less stress on the project, and reiterates that this is a learning process.

After reading Chapter One, I realize that one challenge I will face is "the seduction of empathy." The text argues that we'll never completely understand the lives of the people with whom we're working. I like to think that this is something that can be accomplished at the end of a servic-learning or civic engagement project.

Civic Engagement Fair Response

At The Civic Engagement Fair, I got a glimpse of the wonderful community organizations of St. Pete. The Barlett Community Garden is a fairly new project but is quicky taking root in the USF neighborhood. I spoke to the Garden's representative about a technical writing position and was given the following opportunities: write up a manual of how to work the water pump, and/or interview the knowledgable organic garneners on how to properly maintian a garden plot. I'm interested in being a part of this project, however, I'm naturally more drawn to human services organizations.

Journal 1- What is technical communication?

Amanda Sliby
Journal#1

The word technical means a cut-dry, usually without an aesthetic purpose, way of analyzing or explaining something.

The word communication is seeking to relate a collective or individual thought, idea, or acquired knowledge.

Technical Communication is relating information in a practical way.
The concept of technical communication relates to my education because I will learn how to write in terms of efficiently explaining instructions, facts, etc. This concept relates to my life because I will be working towards my overall goal of becoming an affective communicator to anyone and everyone; I think technical communication will be especially effective in communicating with the public.