Most important concepts of the course

Although we have discussed many important aspects of everyday writing, the most important concepts are exigency, discourse, constraints, audience, and purpose.
Exigence is something that can't be modified. It is an imperfection marked by urgency. We read that Bitzer said that people can't make exigencies, you just have to find them and latch on to them. However, we discussed in class that rhetorical exigencies can be changed through words. It is sometimes easier to figure out what an exigency is by asking "Why did these people write what they did?" In doing this, the most important thing to consider is the audience. Almost all pieces of everyday writing are audience specific and the purpose is directly related to the intended audience. The audience acts as the mediator of change. The audience typically can change the message of the message of a piece based on what discourse community they are from.
Discourse communities are hard to define, but the way I would describe them is a group of people that have a common setting or have similar backgrounds that allow them to be categorized together for a particular reason. Discourse communities are a specific type of audience, but once you understand how to identify them, it is much easier to identify the purpose of the piece of everyday writing.
Another concept that has the ability to change a piece of writing is constraints. Constraints place limits on the way someone writes, how much they write, or when they write. They could be in terms of a physical boundary such as space, or a requirement of certain topics that have to be included.
The concepts of exigency, discourse, constraints, audience, and purpose are imperative to understanding why everyday writing is how it is, and how to understand the pieces of writing.

RW, Revived--Lawrence Lessig

http://emargin.bcu.ac.uk/emargin/textspecial?c=BcK7yZVALbgTvp0nCgd3IAcziUsJdkFf

Group 3

https://docs.google.com/document/d/10k_9Koq_MxBIlCtr7EEi3PHCHXZobxICQTmKh-nBFcg/edit?usp=sharing

Print vs digital

Print and digital texts are similar in the sense that they both have audiences and they both have a purpose. However, there are more differences than just the obvious technological versus handwritten aspect. Digital text is becoming so much more prevalent in society, and thus it is sort of replacing print text. However, I don't think that it will ever completely replace print text, as there are some forms of print text that I think will always be print, for example, post cards and grocery lists. Although digital text has already replaced so many forms of print text, for example, e-mails have replaced sending letters for the most part. In a sense, digital text is kind of putting a modern twist on writing. Back in the day, people would communicate via letters, but now people have quicker forms of communication such as text messages, e-mails, Facebook messages, etc. While digital text is becoming more and more common, I do think that print text often times has more meaning, as it takes thought, time, and effort to hand write something compared to quickly typing something on a computer. Print text is tangible, and can be kept forever, whereas text messages, e-mails, and Facebook messages eventually disappear. Since digital media has become so common, it seems to be a more common form of everyday writing. Whether the piece of everyday writing is print or digital, it will still have an audience and a purpose, as well as an important meaning behind it.

Digital vs Print

Print and digital media share similar and dissimilar qualities. Both are obvious forms of writing but the way humans interpret them are different. For example I use print when I am in need of writing something down quickly such as notes, reminders, a list and more. Digital media looks more professional and organized than print, so most of the time people will compile their print writing and make it more focused into a digital media. Also digital media is easier to find or navigate through because you can easily type in something and get a million different medias you were looking for. The relationship is that the prints are usually uploaded into digital to make it easier for people to see and choose from. I believe that some digital forms of things will replace or have already replaced print texts. Books have become digital, letters are now not written as often and are sent via digital/email, news articles are online now and slowly but surely newspapers, letters, and books will most likely be used 100% in the digital form in the near future. This means that everyday writing will occur mostly in a digital form, making it less personal and not something someone can tangibly hold and appreciate.  But it is said that everyday writing is used  to  fulfill a certain purpose for a certain audience.. So if  one  is in the situation of needing something personal or handwritten, print is the medium of choice.

Digital media is progressing and transforming the media industry. Convergence is everywhere. Books are not only in print form anymore, there are e-readers and e-books everywhere. Technology and print have come together to form new mediums of media. Personally, I don't think one form will ever replace another. Everyone has different opinions of which form they like better, print or digital. I am one of those who has a preference of print media over digital. I like to hold what I am reading in my hands. A lot of the time, I like to make markings in what I am reading which is something you can't do in a digital form. I also like to see physically where I am in a book when I am reading and a progress bar at the bottom of a Kindle doesn't do it for me. On the other hand, there are many people who prefer the digital form of media. They can have everything in one place and digital books and other forms of media are typically more inexpensive than the print form. As far as a relationship between print and digital media goes, I think they really go hand in hand. They compete with each other but at the same time, provide the same thing: media. Having these two different mediums expands the writing industry and expands everyday writing. There are more places for people to be writing and engaging in everyday writing whether it be online on a blog, or in a print form like a journal.

Olivia Caputo

Digital media vs. Print

Digital media and print go hand in hand with each other. Print is the start of the evolution of digital media. Over the years we have used print for pretty much everything we could think of. It has helped us in so many ways. Recently it has changed to everything being on the computer. With this I don’t think that digital media will completely replace print, I still think we need some forms of print. Every once in a while it is nice to get a letter over an email. Or it is nice to read a newspaper over seeing CNN online. In an article written by Malcolm Gladwell he says, “If its usefulness lies in the promotion of ongoing creative thinking, then, once that thinking is finished, the paper becomes superfluous. The solution to our paper problem, they write, is not to use less paper but to keepless paper” (Gladwell 96). This quote by Gladwell sums up why I think the use of the digital age is better in certain situations. Saying this they go hand in hand with each other. Gladwell does a good job explaining the pros and cons of paper and digital media. He talks about how paper is good and it is the basis of everything we write. Yet the digital age is for forever, and it is permanent. Paper makes you think differently then digital media. It invokes different thoughts and feelings; It holds different ideas.

Print vs. Digital Media - Brittney Smith

Print media and digital media are two mediums that are in a constant tug of ware. People usually prefer one or the other and have very strong opinions on why their preference is “better”. Although this is the popular belief, I believe it is more like a progression than anything else. Print media has obviously been established for far longer than digital media, but with advances in technology digital media has become a necessity. Today, everyone is constantly on their phones, whether it is for business, personal conversations, or social media. Digital text has become extremely popular and used very often because it is simply more accessible. I do not believe that one medium with replace the other, however. If digital media were to replace print media, our world would be extremely dull. Print media creates things such as fliers, billboards, and other signs in general, making it a necessity as well. Print media could never completely replace digital media either because of the progression of technology. Everyday writing has become easier to accomplish through both of these mediums. With the growing popularity of digital media, everyday writing is thousands of times easier to accomplish than in print text. For example, text messaging is instant as opposed to letter writing, which is not. Everyday writing is growing and becoming more and more accessible today than it ever has been before.

Print and Digital Relationship

Even though, print and digital media are different in the way they are presented to a person, they both hold significant purpose in daily life. Print media, typically a pen and paper, allows an individual to organize and manipulate the text without altering the original source. The printed media can then be converted to a digital source, such as a computer, and sent to its respected recipient instantaneously. The relationship between the two mediums is so intertwined that if one media is lost the other would suffer. For example, in a business presentation, the audience is presented with a PowerPoint to show projections of the item. They are each given a folder containing the same information but in paper format. The paper allows them to make notes that they can then present to the speaker so that they can adjust their product. The presenter can then organize the information in an order of importance and input it into a computer. The computer is an extension of the filing system. It provides a quicker way to organize and obtain a paper quickly. The digital format provides the text with no notes in the margins but rather as a clean presentation of the work. The paper format shows suggestions directly on the text allowing for easy interpretation of what the other meant. In terms of interpretation, both formats rely on the presence of the author of the work to make sense of their thought process. This includes the notes as well as the filing system they used. Both mediums rely on each other to thrive. They are interconnected. Therefore, digital works cannot replace print and vice versa.

Print vs digital media

Print is something produced by a mechanical process involving the transfer of texts, images, or designs to paper. Digital media are any media that are encoded in a machine-readable format. Digital media can be viewed, distributed, modified, and preserved on computers. Print is something that is tangible and able to write on without altering the original text. Paper is also specially flexible and allows you to look at all of the document at one time instead of one page at a time like on the computer. One medium will never replace the other medium. There is too much of a need for both for one to out way the other. This means that everyday writing will be affected by the print and digital media. The actual words and diction won't change but how it is displayed and communicated will change with the digital age. 

Nov. 3 - Suzann Slaunwhite

       Print and digital text are similar, but yet very different. They are involved in everyday life, but the amount changes with generations. My dad can barely use a computer; to online shop he finds a product he wants online and then calls to order it. The generation before mine uses computers and smartphones and digital text/print on a much larger scale than I ever did or do. These two mediums can replace each other, and many people believe that digital will.
      The digital has replaced the print in the subject of books and many magazines/newspaper. Digital text has actually revolutionized the way media, news, blogs, share the news and stories. It's hard not to prefer the bigger, better, thing, but the old, traditional way can sometimes be the best. The personal aspect of print text is something that digital can never replace, even with customizing templets for cards or websites. The digital era has gotten rid of our privacy, quiet time, and it is trying to take over print text.  
      Everyday writing applies to both of these mediums. I believe that there are equivalents in each medium as well: text messages to notes and emails to letters. They are all forms of everyday writing and there are facebook status's, blogs, instagram, and so many other sources. They each have their own branch of everyday writing, but is one more important? There relationship to each other wants to be dominant/submissive relationship were the digital text is the top dog. The digital text wants to be the number one, but I believe what is stopping it are two things: the personal aspect of print text and how we have grown up.
     I have grown up writing my notes for classes and passing notes to my friends. The print text is familiar and comfortable and personal and you cannot replace that. I still have notes from 6th grade. I believe it is more accessible and easier for me. But, kids now take iPads to class and take their notes on there and have phones. Times are changing and it may be hard to preserve print text, but there will always be people holding onto it because it makes them smile seeing their partners handwriting on a love letter. The classics are always better.

Print V. Digital

Print and digital media are pretty much the same except for the type of platform or medium they are presented on. You can convert print to digital rather easily, but that would require a change in the medium being used. Print is on paper and digital writing is usually presented on some type of technology like a computer for instance. Although the writing and words itself remain the same it is how they are chosen to be read and what they are being read on that makes the difference. Everyday writing is created to fit the needs of the audience and get a point across or serve for the writer’s personal benefit. By choosing whether to write on paper or use digital text the writer is making a decision based on what is best for his audience and what he or she thinks would work the best given the situation. Choosing the medium of which to write ultimately suggests to people the true purpose for your writing. If you choose to write a letter, people could interpret that as something very personal and not something that would easily be shared to a large group of people. Digital, however, could be interpreted as your way of getting your voice and writing heard by a large amount of people or your way of spreading your ideas or purpose to have people support it whatever that may be. 

Print vs. Digital Media- Ansley Schoen

One of the most obvious relationships between print and digital media is that digital media is often the print we hand-write typed up for organizational purposes. For me, I use each medium for specific costs. I only use print for writing in my agenda, writing reminders to myself, and for drafting ideas. For some reason, ideas just come to me quicker if I am hand-writing. Also, in most of my classes I hand-write my notes in a notebook instead of typing into a laptop. I know that I learn best from writing things down, and I've found that if I type notes in class, I may be listening, but I'm not really absorbing the material. However, I do type things when I want the appearance of whatever it is to be more organized and professional looking. For example, I type my final drafts of papers, and study guides. When I am making a study guide, I am often compiling a large amount of notes and resources into one document, so typing is faster and more efficient. Additionally, digital media can be shared, so although I can't easily share my agenda or my notes I write in a notebook, I can easily email or upload my paper to Blackboard by typing it.
Although it was predicted ten years ago that digital media would replace print, I do not think either will completely replace one another. Technology is a great tool for many aspects of our society, but the advantages of print media will probably never be the same as digital media. Print media is just too easy and quick to utilize. I do think however, that the two types of media will be combined more in the future. I already do this in my daily life. For one of my more challenging classes, the professor talks really fast, so I find myself often racing to copy down all the notes from the slide, and not even listening to her explanations. My solution to this was to print the powerpoint slides ahead of class, and then in class write on top of the printed slides the notes she gave us in class. By printing digital media, I am using both mediums to make my learning the most effective and efficient.
I thought this article was interesting, but I don't think anything it had to say will have any major implications on the future of everyday writing. Although the typical examples of everyday writing are print media, the digital types of everyday writing will probably not increase or decrease much in use.
As a "piler" myself, I liked the quote that said, "The mark of the contemporary office is not the pile. It's the file". Oftentimes, turning on my computer takes too much time and effort for me to just quickly access a file, so I will write a note on the back of whatever scrap paper I have near by. A corner of my desk is covered in different colored index cards and post-its, each with lists of things I want to accomplish in the future, but that haven't been completely checked off. The notes on the top of the pile tend to the best recent, or include the most important tasks, whereas the ones on the bottom I have mostly forgotten about. Gladwell was true in saying that piles on your desk "represent the process of active, ongoing thinking". The pile of notes on my desk is constantly changing, being sorted and thrown out, or added onto on a day when alot is on my mind. In this manner, I do not think that the concept of everyday writing will change in the future.
Word Count: 613

Print Text vs. Digital Text

Print and digital media share a lot in common. They both can be forms of everyday writing or can be more formal and not everyday writing. The biggest difference between the two is that print text is more personal than digital text. Print text allows the reader to see that the writer spent more time writing this and actually had the piece in their possession. By receiving an email, for instance, instead of a card wishing you happy birthday it looks like the writer was much more careless. Receiving a hand written piece from someone shows that the person sending it really cares about you but receiving a digital text shows that they wanted to do what was more convenient for themselves. Unfortunately with all the technological advancements digital text is more commonly used than print text. For example, instead of going to a bookstore to buy a hard copy of a book we can now download any book we want from home on our Kindle. Convenience is now the priority over having tangible objects.  But, I don’t think digital texts will ever replace print texts entirely. For me, it is easier to write down a quick reminder for myself rather than to put it in my phone. I like to write in a planner to map out my week rather than having to look in my phone for what I need to do. So I think there will always be some form of print text left even if it is diminishing. I don’t think this will change everyday writing too much because we will still write down brief thoughts and messages they just won’t be as personal.  Getting an email on your birthday instead of a card might become more commonly seen since technology is much more convenient than a paper text.

Relationship between print and digital media

Print and Digital Media both influence our everyday lives each and everyday. First, print media has had a major impact in my life as I grew up with print media as opposed to digital media in comparison to the kids of todays age. I grew up playing with coloring books, reading books out of textbooks, reading paper magazines, taking notes on lined paper, reading the paper form of the newspaper, writing to-do lists, and so much more. As a result of growing up writing with pens and paper and reading hard copies of books and having math textbook problems infront of me in a textbook to work out, I am more used to this lifestyle than the modern digital media of todays world. Kids growing up with smart phones, reading newspapers and blogs and magazines online, making notes in their phones, reading books on kindles and the ipad, having facebooks, instagrams, and twitters, are more exposed to technology than I am used to. I grew up with a flip phone that you would rarely see a kid with today, and doing math problems from a textbook. One thing that has surprised me in college is how I do my math quizzes online and homework. I do not like this feature of the digital media because I am used to being able to workout the problems from a textbook infront of me and having as much time to complete the math homework, rather than being timed online. Another factor that I feel like has changed in everyday life is letter writing and thank you note writing. With this new sense of digital media and digital technology letter writing and thank you note writing I begin to see is gradually decreasing because of texting, email writing, phone calling, and so much more. I think as a result of this digital media is starting to replace print media. Also, this means so much for everyday writing because we see everyday writing is becoming less personal through the everyday writing. It becomes less personal because when letters and thank you notes are not handwritten, then it lacks a characteristic of everyday writing. Audience is also a little eluded to because things can not be sloppy when they are typed, for example, if you were writing a letter it could be in cursive or regular text. Another idea to focus on is newspapers. Newspapers have seen a decline ever since they have become more popular online. I even have seen my parents become interested in these new innovations. My dad quit ordering the newspaper to our house and now reads it online. In comparison, print and digital media have both had an impact on everyones lives. They both share the characteristics of getting information across to others, thinking of the audience. Another way the digital media thinks of audience is because everyone is so into technology these days that people are beginning to follow the chain of patterns and make more digital media easier to access and cheaper through smart phones. This is a very interesting topic to explore that has interested me ever since the first project we have done when I wrote about thank you notes.
Word Count: 533

Vernacular vs everyday

Vernacular relates to the common language people use on a daily basis. Vernacular is more in conjunction with discourse community in that they speak in a certain way that relates to where they live and how they interact. Everyday writing is more of a way to write not based on words used to interact. Everyday writing is more based on why and how you write. They are similar in that certain vernacular can but used in everyday writing depending on the audience and who the rhetoric is writing for. Tombstones are more of a vernacular because it's not everyday that someone dies. The words used on tombstones are specific for the time being and related to the person buried there. 

Vernacular V. Everyday 10/13 - Suzann Slaunwhite

Vernacular writing focuses on the colloquial language of everyday. Its used in a more casual setting and private. Vernacular writing changes on who the audience is and the purpose. Regions help determine vernacular writing and so does the closeness of a relationship. Everyday writing is like an umbrella term and vernacular writing falls under it. Everyday writing can be formal or informal, so vernacular writing is limited to the informal. Everyday writing is used in so many mediums and I believe tombstones are one of them. Tombstones are final words in use to remember someone, like a final ode. I believe some tombstones can be vernacular if they have phrases that are specific to that person or that family. However, most of the time it is formal and polite and something sweet to give a final farewell to that person. I believe it is everyday writing because it gives a message to someone and an audience that particularly relates to that one family. My grandpas tombstone says "Sail On" and it is personal to him and my family because he was sailboat captain and racer. Whereas vernacular can be slang or just different language and everyday writing can be a myriad of sources. I believe my grandpas tombstone is formal and appropriate, but it still has that little part that represents himself and connects us to him through his memories and life. Some people wouldn't get it, but everyone would be able to appreciate it. It is almost difficult to differentiate the two because they are similar, but I do believe vernacular is a form of everyday writing. Tombstones are definitely in between the two because it has aspects of both. They can be general and formal, but also just meant for a families comfort.

Everyday writing has been established as to what it means throughout the course. Everyday writing can be defined as a rhetorical situation that the writer uses to speak to an audience about a specific situation. Everyday writing takes on many different genres, such as tattoos, zines, scrapbooks, or letters. People use everyday writing for personal reasons, to organize and visualize a situation that they want to share, and for connecting instances together. In a way, vernacular writing is a form of everyday writing. The definition of vernacular writing describes it as the use of ordinary speech as the language rather than formal writing. It also pertains to the use of common language that is associated with a specific group, time, or place. Vernacular and everyday writing are connected in a sense. They are both forms of communicating with a group or an individual person about a topic, however vernacular is more informal in nature. Vernacular is used to describe everyday activities, traditions, or situations in a way that everybody will understand. A tombstone commemorates a person who has passed away. It is a way for the living to remember the life of the deceased and to illustrate the past. Tombstones are a form of vernacular because they create a picture of the way things were in the past by using a common language that the majority of people would understand. The grave marker uses dates, a name and a symbol to help construct a time period that the dead were a part of. The have the ability of painting a story through the common elements of the vernacular speech.

Vernacular vs Everyday Writing and Tombstones

            Vernacular writing is very distinct and specific to a community. It is what makes up daily conversations and even slang that may exist in a community. Outsiders may not understand the vernacular language and may be excluded from certain parts of vernacular writing in a community. Vernacular writing may not have an important purpose and may just be the language spoken in conversation but can also be important as well. Everyday writing, however, is more general and accessible by more individuals. It can be easily understood and does not discriminate from people in a specific community.  Everyday writing is influenced by a need for change, or exigency, and is carried out by an audience who actually makes the change that a rhetor wanted. Vernacular and everyday writing both have an important role in the lives of people because they both make up how we communicate. They both work to help people prove a point or have a conversation.

Vernacular writing and everyday writing both have audiences that are needed for the writing to be effective. Tombstones have the characteristics of vernacular writing. They are specific to a certain community in format, design, and language actually used on the tombstone. The way a community wants a person to be represented after death says a lot about the culture and practices of a certain society and may mean something different in another community where the practices differ and different wording on tombstones mean different things. Every culture has a different way of writing the text on the tombstone and how they are presented, therefore making it distinct for a certain community and more like vernacular writing than everyday writing.