Blog entry 2: Learning outcome 1

http://www.helium.com/items/579632-restaurant-reviews-the-outback-steakhouse

This restaurant review is on Outback Steakhouse.  It is a very opinion based review.  It is also a good example for learning outcome one.  The audience for this review is people who are interested in the restaurant.  The purpose of the review is to show people that it is a good place to bring a family or a good place to go out for a date.  Since the purpose of the review is to get people to go to Outback the structure of the writing is very important.  The writing starts off much differently than most do.  It begins with “Great appetizers! Great steaks! Great burgers! Great service! Great restaurant! So I guess that means I like the Outback Steakhouse. Let me tell you why.”  This sounds like something that would go into a commercial. It is very advertising.  It really overwhelms the reader in a good way.  It talks about all the good things the restaurant has to offer and explains from there.  Also this review does a great job explaining that Outback isn’t like a fast food place but it also isn’t very fancy.  For example it says “The other thing I like about Outback is the casual atmosphere. You can be wearing shorts and a T-shirt or jeans and a casual shirt and fit right in.”  This again shows the purpose because it is more informational and shows the reader what is expected if you go to this restaurant.  Also this review brings you through the process of going to this restaurant.  It first talks about what you can wear and the prices.  Then it starts to talk about food and the service of the restaurant.  It is set up in that way to again back up the purpose of showing you the restaurant and getting you to go there. 
  

Blog entry 1: Learning outcome 1

Body Ritual among the Nacirema is a perfect example for learning outcome one.   Learning outcome one is all about how the audience and purpose affect the structure of the article or writing.  The audience of this article is Americans.  The purpose of it is to show weird things Americans do on a daily or monthly basis in a different point of view.  For example this article is about describing Americans in a different way.  The “tribe” the author is explaining is called the Nacirema’s, which is American backwards, but he is actually talking about Americans.  One example the author uses in the writing is “Despite the fact that these people are so punctilious about care of the mouth, this rite involves a practice which strikes the uninitiated stranger as revolving.  It was reported to me that the ritual consists of inserting a small bundler of hog hairs into the mouth, along with certain magical powders, and then moving the bundle in a highly formalized series of gestures.”  This quote is describing Americans brushing their teeth.  The “hog hairs” are the brushes on your tooth brush and the “magical powers” is the tooth paste.  Another example the author uses is “This part of the rite involves scraping and lacerating the surface of the face with a sharp instrument.”  This quote is describing a man’s shaving of his face.  The sharp instrument is a razor and lacerating the surface of the face is the process of shaving.  The author had to think about how he was going to plan this piece because his purpose was supposed to be about Americans without them knowing.  The structure and content of this writing had to be planned out very carefully.            

Blog entry 3

There is nothing like game day, sitting in class, watching the seconds tick away from the clock.  Waiting for time to fly by.  Then finally, it is time.  School is over and there is a rush of kids who fill the hallways, but you’re only thinking about one thing: It’s game time.  It is a cool spring day.  The birds are chirping in the background.  Walking out to the field is a feeling that you couldn’t even imagine.  Seeing the freshly cut grass.  The smooth brown dirt in the infield, the bases painted a spotless white.  Nothing is like the game of baseball. 

               In this paragraph I show sensory detail a lot.  For example I talk about how as an athlete you just sit in class waiting and waiting for school to finally end.  I said “watching the seconds tick away” as in meaning it seems like it takes forever.  Also I described how the weather usually is outside during a baseball game, and I described the field.  I used sensory detail to really put the reader into my situation.  If the reader is an athlete, I tried to make that feeling come back of waiting and waiting for the game to finally happen.  If the reader goes to baseball games or is a baseball player I really put them in a place of seeing a baseball field right before a game.  The grass is freshly cut and the bases are painted a spotless white.  I try and make the reader see the field and feel like they are waiting for their game to come along instead of just telling them about it.