Chapter One - The First Reading Response

This was one of the first assignments the young scholar wrote in this class. It required him to synthesize information from a few different papers while connecting the topic to something in his own life. This paper taught him about the concepts of rhetoric, rhetorical analysis, and research communities. As mentioned previously, this paper satisfies the outcomes of Generating Inquiry. The student mentions how he was "analyzing his [roommate's] rhetoric". Understanding what analyzing rhetoric looked like and how to do it was invaluable for the rest of the course.

— Majisto

Michael Zmed

Professor Gardiakos

ENC1102H

30 August 2023

Reading Response for “Rhetoric: Making Sense of Human Interaction and Meaning Making”, “Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis”, and “Creating, Using, and Sharing information in Research Communities”

In an effort to keep my costs low and my commute short when starting my life at the University of Central Florida, I moved into an on-campus dorm with a roommate. Besides a few sleepaway camps during summers past, I had little experience living with someone outside of my immediate family. I had heard plenty of horror stories from my mother about her friends’ children and their nightmarish roommates, so I was cautious when selecting the person I would likely spend the next year living with. Prior to moving in, I had texted my roommate periodically throughout the summer, but our conversations were brief and infrequent. Most of my knowledge about him came from the small amount of information I could glean from his profile on UCF’s housing website. My move-in date arrived and I still knew very little about him. As it happened, he had moved in the day before and was out when I was bringing my things in, so my initial impressions of him came from his items.

The first thing I noticed was the sizable jar of protein powder sitting next to his fairly advanced computer. I knew he was a computer science major from his housing profile, so the presence of a gaming computer was not surprising. However, I was not expecting the protein powder. The presence of the bodybuilding supplements made me think that my roommate was likely conscious about his health and might have a positive attitude that I have come to expect from people who exercise often. Later interactions have so far proven my initial judgements to be true.

In her article “Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis”, Laura Bolin Carroll notes that despite the fact that we are told that we should not judge people by their outward appearances, we can hardly help doing so. Although I did not see my roommate in the flesh until later in the day, I was able to make judgments about him based on the items he chose to bring with him to university. Although it was likely unconscious, my roommate was telling me about himself based on how he set up the room, and I was consciously analyzing his rhetoric.

Continuing with my observations in college, in the weeks leading up to the beginning of the semester, the University of Central Florida’s bookstore frequently emailed me telling me to order the textbooks for my classes. These emails are definitely examples of ethos, pathos, and logos in action. Logos primarily came in the form of a simple fact: Some of my classes will require that I purchase textbooks. When the emails first started arriving, I did not know which of my classes I would need textbooks for. Pathos appeared in the form of a little fear. I would often get reminded that time was running out and classes were approaching. Both the Logos and Pathos of the bookstore’s arguments were solid and effective, I think. However, Ethos is where I think their advertisements fall flat. The UCF Bookstore primarily exists to sell textbooks, and it was for that reason that I decided to look for former and current student’s opinions on when and where I should get textbooks. Many people said that one should wait until the professors directly tell you to get a textbook, because it may very well be that they could provide you with a free PDF for their required reading.

Whether textbooks were required for the class or not, UCF has students constantly doing some form of research. One such group is studying how best to build ion engines for use on satellites. Although I am not a member of the club, I listened to select members from the group describe the process they went through. They started from scratch without any knowledge on how to build an ion engine. I imagine they found patents and research papers about already existing ion engines in order to study the inner workings of the engines. I assume research was primarily done and shared during club meetings. They likely tested several models before coming up with their final design. Preparing to join this discourse community starts with attending their meetings and talking to their leaders.

Researchers must use rhetoric when searching for information and supplying their own. There is a great deal of interaction occurring as they search for research questions or look for prior research to support their hypotheses. To even get to that position, they likely spoke to researchers that came before them to understand what it takes to be part of a research community, much like how Cassie learned from podcasters that came before her. By studying more experienced podcasters, Cassie could learn about what works and what fails without having to struggle to figure out the difference by herself.

Cassie wanted to become a podcaster because she loved listening to podcasts and wanted to make her mark on the medium she so enjoyed. It is often much the same with any group one joins. When we see a group creating something we find fascinating, we want to learn from them and spread their wisdom to others in the hopes that they will gain the same enjoyment from it as we have. However, knowing when we have truly joined a group is a different matter. A person can write a book, but if they never share it with anyone, can they truly consider themselves to be an author? I believe a large part of being in a group is sharing the content or experiences you have made as a member. You cannot be a member of a group and live in a vacuum at the same time.