Post 8: Civil Discussions

    With how widespread social media and has become, conversating online has shifted into a more common place for various discussions to take place. When it comes to serious issues, these discussions usually devolve into unproductive arguments that nobody gets anything out of. This may be due to many people not having the patience to handle a debate, or perhaps lots are not used to dealing with people with opposing thoughts. In the U.S., these problems have negatively affected communication about current issues and what needs to be discussed in a civil manner. The weaknesses people have concerning these types of discussions could be mitigated by taking time to see other perspectives and learn how to approach discussion involving them.

Post 7: MLA Style

 The difficulties I have with MLA are in remembering the specifics of certain aspects of it. Most of the time, I have the most trouble with formatting the pages correctly. The process of setting up the margins of the pages can be difficult and tedious at times. I also try to manage the line breaks on pages to maintain the correct MLA format, and that process takes time. Properly setting up sources is something I struggle with as well. The sources in general have to be maintained and referenced a certain way, but I sometimes get them mixed up when checking the different types of sources and their correct format. Having gotten more used to it, I have less problems with it, but a single mistake can still ruin my Works Cited page. Quoting can be confusing sometimes as well, when trying to cite them properly depending on what information I have. Generally, the MLA format can be tricky to perfect, but gets easier with practice.

Post 6: Teachers as the Intended Audience

 Producing effective academic papers requires the student to acknowledge the teacher as the explicit audience. Outside of the instructed audience for an academic paper, the teacher is meant to be the reader whom you need to appeal to when deciding how you will write your paper. Establishing your understanding of the instructions and who your assigned audience is will further appeal to the teacher, as it demonstrates your grasp on writing to a particular audience. The Little Seagull Handbook suggests that knowing the purpose of the paper will let you know what type of audience you're writing to, so establish that the purpose of your academic paper is to be written in a way that correctly follows instructions in a sufficient manner. Making sure you know what your audience already knows, or in this case, what the teacher stated the audience knows, will further appeal to him or her. For writing to a certain audience, The Little Seagull Handbook recommends that you, "show an understanding of their expectations." Teachers maintain higher expectations compared to the usual non-academic audience, as they are knowledgeable on how well-written academic papers should be. So, you must write in a way that shows more professionalism and little to no errors. When writing academic papers, it is important to demonstrate how well you understand the assignment and what they're trying to teach you by having assigned it in the first place. Colorado State University's Writing Guide notes that you should acknowledge that, "professors have different expectations depending on their field," and treat them as a sort of "representative of that field." In the context of English, you should treat the reader as an academic professional who expects efficient writing and prose that they approve of. Overall successful assignments and carefully followed instructions are what will engage the professor the most, as that is what they are seeking out the most.

Post 5: Professional Blog Credibility

My author maintains its credibility by offering relevant information on software as a primary source. The blog has other subjects that focus on business or other news with technology companies, but maintains recent information about subjects. Some of the content is a primary source, like the tutorials on how to develop a program, but others are secondary. Referring to the C.R.A.P Test's question of whether a site contains information that is, "general or detailed, balanced or biased," what I'm seeing from the site is detailed insight, and balanced biases where they would even apply for the type of topic being written about. Several people run the blog, and all have show credibility with their backgrounds in technical fields. References are provided on every blogpost that uses sources for its information, as some use lots of data to support certain points in their topics. Currently, SteelKiwi is a company that specializes in software development services. Because of that, I know it would be important to ask if the information is, "intended to inform, persuade, sell, or entertain," as a blog site that is also a company may focus on trying to sell products. However, SteelKiwi doesn't, and most uses their position as a company to build their credentials by showing all that they've built, and what they focus on in the industry in order to inform the reader. This makes it more apparent to their intended audience of those interested in software or business, that they know a lot about what they're writing. Overall, SteelWiki remains a credible blog that discusses useful and knowledgeable information about software development and the aspects of business that connect to it.