Finals Notes - Gepcm01x - English Language & New Media PDF

PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Language involves and expands ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND THE NEW MEDIA (September 24, 2024) What is the new media? interactive technology like blogs language in new media is sometimes referred to as computer-mediated communication (CMC), though it may also b...

PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Language involves and expands ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND THE NEW MEDIA (September 24, 2024) What is the new media? interactive technology like blogs language in new media is sometimes referred to as computer-mediated communication (CMC), though it may also be called any of the following. Terms describe different aspects of communication and language Vernacular: refers to the everyday language or dialect spoken by people in a particular region or community Interpersonal: involves direct, face to face interaction between individuals Spontaneous: refers to unplanned and immediate exchange of thoughts or ideas, natural flow Dialogical: involves a two-way exchange where participants engage in a conversation, actively listening and responding to each other Misspellings/Respellings Respelling is a resource whose use is subject to a variety of factors, including users ‘technoliteracy’, their considerations of audience and purpose, and physical constraints of message production (for economy and text entry reduction) (cu, 2nyt, tom/2mrw, abt, y?) ★ These increase insecurities in spelling, but also tolerance towards typographical “errors”, which are reinterpreted as outcomes of speedy text production rather than indices of lacking competence CMC is Interpersonal. It is relationship-focused rather than subject-oriented. this can be explained by the number of group chats a person CMC is Spontaneous. It is visually unplanned, unstructured, and sometimes impulsive. This spontaneity also gives rise to Net Neologisms through Lexical Creativity, such as the use of “b4n” and “f2f”, or such terms as trolls, memes, hashtag, and meh. These can be described as mediatized stylization and popular representation. CMC is Dialogical. It carries the expectation of continuous exchange. This is why most media platforms have a “Reply” or “Comment” option, while some have a “Leave a comment” button, to ensure continuous interaction The interpersonal nature of cmc is characterized by the following: Turn taking: you can take turns, Topic development: if u have something u can explore, u can take options in us Back channels: something that u cannot talk in public, u can use this as an avenue Repairs: fix issues  PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Sept. 27, 2024 Discussion (Continuation…) 1. English Language in the new media 2. Steps in achieving success in communication Communication becomes very complex because it is subject to misinterpretation Communication Attributes - They describe specific characteristics or features of communication. 1. Brief: refers to concise and direct exchanges that focus on delivering essential information quickly. 2. Multimodal: involves using multiple modes or channels to convey messages, such as text, images, audio, and video. 3. Ideological: pertains to a system of beliefs, values, and ideas that shape perspectives and interpretations of the world. Ideologically motivated. New media is inherently ideological, especially in terms of their political-economies of access and control. They are used to control people, and they are used to resist control. This is quite apparent, most especially through the symbolic power of the news and broadcast media Language use is not simply a way of communicating, but a powerful resource for representing (or manipulating) its users, especially the young people - so-called “digital natives”. None of this is especially new; every generation likes to “complain” about the next generation’s communication practices. This is an important context in which language can be seen taking place in and around new media, and how it continues to evolve with every new technological revolution taking place Communication Planning - Involves defining the types of information you will deliver, who are the intended recipients of that information, the format for communicating it, and the timing of its release and distribution The key goal is to make sure everybody gets the right message at the right time. It serves various purposes: 1. To inform 2. To persuade 3. To prevent misunderstanding 4. To present a point of view or reduce barriers The cardinal rule (?) is that “INTENT PRECEDES CONTENT”  PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Steps in Communication Planning 1. Research and analyze current situation: understand the context or problem before planning 2. Establish goals and objectives (short and long term): define what you want to achieve, both in the short and long term 3. Identify the target audience (what they know, what influences them, communication impediments, etc.): know who you’re communicating with, their knowledge, influences, and potential communication barriers 4. Conceptualize on key messages: develop clear, impactful messages that align with your goals (like ang chart) 5. Strategies on communication styles and platform(s): decide on the best methods and channels (like social media, emails, or face-to-face) to reach the audience 6. Evaluate and anticipate: assess progress and be prepared for any challenges that might arise ACADEMIC WRITING (October 1, 2024) Academic writing is distinguished principally by the audience for whom it is written Whereas a piece of reflective writing, for example, is written for yourself or for a personal development diary, academic writing, which is usually written for assessment purposes or for publication, is written for an informed audience As such, even if it is a formative piece of work, it represents an attempt to engage in the academic discourse written about a specific topic It therefore needs to display certain features that are the hallmarks of scholarly work Academic Writing Skills Academic work is an excellent way to develop strong research and writing skills ★ To build your reading comprehension, critical and creative thinking, research and analytical skills. Having a specific, “real” audience will help you engage more directly with the reader and adapt to the conventions of writing in any given genre. Principles of Academic Writing Complexity - Written language is relatively more complex than spoken language - Written texts are lexically dense compared to spoken language - they have proportionately more lexical words than grammatical words. Written texts are shorter and have longer, more complex words and phrases. They have more noun-based phrases, more nominalisations, and more lexical variation - Written language is grammatically more complex than spoken language. It has more subordinates clauses, more “that/to” complement clauses, more long sequences of prepositional phrases, more attributive adjectives and more passives than spoken language  PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Formality In general this means in an essay that you should avoid: - Colloquial words and expressions, “stuff”, “a lot of”, “thing”, “sort of,” - Abbreviated forms: “can’t”, “doesn’t”, “shouldn’t” - Two word verbs: “put off”,”bring up” - Subheadings, numbering and bullet-points in formal essays - but use them in reports - Asking questions Precision - In academic writing, be precise when using information, dates or figures. Do not use “a lot of people” instead “50 million people” Objectivity - This means that the main emphasis should be on the information and the arguments - This is related to the basic nature of academic study and academic writing, in particular - Information should be based on lectures, reading, discussion and research and it is important to make this clear Explicitness - Academic writing is explicit in several ways. It is explicit in its signposting of the organization of the ideas in the text. As a writer of academic English, it is the writer’s responsibility to make it clear to the reader how various parts of the text are related - These connections can be made explicit by the use of different signaling words Accuracy - In academic writing be accurate in the use of vocabulary. Do not confuse, for example, “phonetic” and “phonology” or “grammar” with “syntax” - Choose the correct word, for example, “meeting”, “assembly”,”gathering” or “conference” - Or from: “money”,”cash”, “currency”, “capital” or “funds” Hedging - It is often believed that academic writing particularly scientific writing, is factual, simply to convey facts and information - However it is now recognized that an important feature of academic writing is the concept of cautious language, often called “hedging” or “vague language” - In other words, it is necessary to make decisions about your stance on a particular subject, or the strength of the claims you are making - Different subjects prefer to do this in different ways October 4, 2024 Discussion (Continuation…) Using hedges and boosters will make us a good academic writer Principles of Academic Writing  PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Responsibility ★ We are responsible for all the things we are writing ★ Must be able to provide evidence and justification for any claims made ★ We have to cite the source Organization ★ It flows easily ★ Putting order to your writing in the most possible logical way ★ Methods of paragraph development (to write a good paragraph) Examples of Academic Writing Research paper Case studies Books reviews Reports Theses Avoiding Plagiarism It is a type of cheating that involves the use of another person’s ideas, words, design, art, music, etc., as one’s own in whole or in part without acknowledging the author or obtaining his or her permission. Plagiarism is not just restricted to written text, but it is applicable to other works such as ideas, design, art, and music. Plagiarism Is basically stealing Plagiarism is Presenting Someone Else’s Work or Ideas as Your Own There are two types of plagiarism which is Deliberate and Accidental: Deliberate Plagiarism ★ Sinadya mo ★ Rewriting from books or articles ★ Copy and pasting ★ Buying, downloading, o borrowing a paper Accidental Plagiarism ★ Not knowing when and how to cite ★ Not knowing how to paraphrase or summarize ★ Not knowing what “common knowledge” is ★ Recycling an old paper What does Plagiarism Look Like? Copying someone’s work Citing a source improperly Failure to cite to a source Creation of false sources (turning in another person’s work as your own)  PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Why shouldn’t I plagiarize? Plagiarism is fraud What have you learned? ★ Haven’t learned content ★ No opportunity to practice and improve writing How do you document a source? (Citing) Two types of citing: 1. In-text Citation - concisely identifies the source of information - For a direct quote: (Author’s Last Name, Year, p. Page Number) Example: (Smith, 2020, p. 45) - For paraphrasing: (Author’s Last Name, Year) Example: (Jones, 2018) What is the difference between parenthetical citation and narrative citation? In a parenthetical citation, you put the author’s name and the year of publication in parentheses at the end of the sentence. A narrative citation includes the author’s name as part of the sentence, with the year right after it in parentheses. Et al means and others Nd means no date Citing Multiple Authors Name of Authors Citation 1 author (Harris, 2020) 2 authors (Harris & Cook, 2020) 3+ authors (Harris et al., 2020) 2. References List: found at the end of the paper Book: Format: Author's Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of the book. Publisher. Example: Smith, J. (2020). Understanding Academic Writing. Oxford University Press. Journal Article: (this kind of article has many articles so be specific as possible) Format: Author's Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of the article. Title of the Journal, Volume(Issue), Page Numbers.  PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Example: Jones, A. (2018). The effects of climate change on agriculture. Environmental Science Journal, 14(2), 123-135. Websites: Format: Author's Last Name, First Initial. (Year, Month Date). Title of the web page. Website Name. URL Example: Johnson, L. (2021, May 15). How to write a problem-solution essay. Writing Tips. https://www.writingtips.com/problem-solution EMAIL PROTOCOLS (October 8, 2024) When is it appropriate to send an email? When you need to relay a short amount of information quickly When the reply can be as brief as the original message When you need to get in touch with someone you don’t see on a daily basis When you need to set up an appointment or meeting Subject Never send a professional email without one Give a brief and specific description of your reason for writing Greeting To your professors; ★ Dear Content: General Rules (More on this later…) Get to the point! ★ State your reason for writing as clearly and concisely as possible ★ Do not include unnecessary information Be clear about what you expect ★ Answer to a question ★ Arrange an appointment Put the information in a sensible order Showing Respect to Professors in Emails 1. Acknowledge that you know they are busy and you respect their time 2. Don’t ask for too much 3. When asking for a favor, give the professor the option of saying no 4. Provide possible solutions to problems Making an Appointment  PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Schedule few days in advance when possible Let the professor know when you are available - days and times Avoid writing “today” or “tomorrow.” You don’t know when the professor will see your email October 11, 2024 Discussion (Continuation…) Indicating deadlines politely …for a letter of recommendation …for a paper you are submitting to a conference or journal Apologizing When is it necessary? ★ Cannot meet a deadline ★ Must schedule an appointment ★ Missed a meeting What information should be included? Only what is necessary for the receiver to know Example: if you are sick, do not include the details ★ How you will solve the problem Beware! Email is easily misunderstood ★ When you send, be as clear as possible ★ When you receive, if you are upset by an email, wait before responding Be sure to hit “reply” rather than “reply to all”! Do not discuss confidential information in emails If you are writing a very important message, fill in the address LAST. That way, you can’t accidentally send the message before you’re ready Consider leaving the message in your “drafts” box for a day and then ending it again before sending. CREATING AN ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN MATERIAL (October 15, 2024) What is ‘Advocacy’? Advocacy is about making a change for the people you represent (the minority) It is a way to make the voice of people heard It is a way to increase power and influence of your organization to make POLICYMAKERS aware of unmet needs Giving a person support to have their voice heard. It is a service aimed at helping people understand their rights and express their views It seeks to ensure that all people in the society are able to: ★ Have their voice heard on issue that are important to them  PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION ★ Protect and promote their rights ★ Have their views and wishes genuinely considered when decisions are being made about their lives It enables nonprofit organization to shape public debate on important social issues and ensure that underserved communities have a voice in the policies that impact their lives The term encompasses a broad range of activities such as (research, public education, lobbying, and voter education) that can influence public policy What is a ‘campaign’? A campaign is a way to get support for one’s ideas and goals. A good campaign gets support from as many people as possible. Who is an ‘advocate’? One who defends or maintains a cause or proposal One who supports or promotes the interests of a cause or group A person who intercedes on behalf of another Why is Advocacy Important? Advocacy work is the catalyst of change in important policies at national or local levels It helps raise awareness of a cause and bring more potential supporters A new idea of doing things may inspire supporter to act and to get involved in your organization Process of Creating an Advocacy Plan 1. Identify an Issue ★ Make sure the issue is legit (backed by facts, 2. Set Goals and Objectives ★ Short and long term 3. Information Gathering ★ We have to know the in and outs of the issue 4. Determining Targets and Alliances ★ Look for similar minded groups (collab) 5. Messaging Strategy ★ Plan to have as many supporters as possible 6. Plan of Action ★ Are you going to have a rally? A concert? Sample Advocacy Tools Letter writing campaign Action alerts Dialogues with the congress Social media campaign Issue briefings Reports and other publications  PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Press release Blogs Videos Rallies, walks, and other events Creating an Effective Advocacy Message Elements Steps to create a CONCISE & STRONG message 1. Opening statement Make a statement that gets your audience’s attention right away May include a dramatic effect, this is the lead-in and is usually a sentence or two 2. Problem Describe the problem, who it affects and impacts 3. Facts and Data about Provide facts that are relevant to your audience the Problem ★ When we say facts, we should provide facts and data. Be specific as possible. Don’t assume that it is common knowledge 4. Story or Example of Paint a human face on the issue to make it the Problem compelling and real; must be relevant to the audience 5. Audiences’ concerns, Show audience how this fits with what they are about, values, or self-interest want, or need 6. Request Clearly state what you want the person to do, begin this with an action verb