Always something will come up-a sick child, an unplanned trip to the store, the need to travel to an internet access site-and I have to leave again,giving up my blissful idea of a day where I get to stay home, running, driving, leaving my plans behind.

At this time of year, during the spring semester, I feel very burnt out in terms of school. Spring break is so very far away; there aren’t very many holidays; and most students are so tired of doing homework assignments that are beginning to all seem like the same assignment after so long. Only the ambitious, the energetic, and the workaholics were excepted- deliberately excepted because of ambition, or resignedly excepted because they constantly must have a million things to do, school gives them a purpose in their lives to fulfill.



I waited until the end, then tiptoed to the door and into the parking lot.

“Whew!” I thought, slipping into my car so no one would be able to catch me after the performance.

It wasn’t all that crazy to come. I’d just come to see him play. No one had seen me, in the audience. Watching.

I waited for a few moments, though, and pulled onto the dark road. Finally, I settled down and my hands stopped shaking.

“I shouldn’t do that again,” I told the darkened car.

The road, I saw, was wet as if from a rainstorm-though I hadn’t heard any rain. My headlights sliced through the dark, the only headlights on this deserted stretch of road. The only sign of life on this empty stretch of blacktop was a deer that scampered across the road in front of my car. Not something to make me feel comforted in the pitch dark.

The letters are used to contact someone that holds a specific position or job title about being the focus of a research project for students in English 301. They all have similar formats and contain similar things. They are designed as a gentle probe to see whether the person would be willing to let a college student come to their place of business to observe them, look at some of their work, and possibly interview them. The letters let the person know that the student will be as unobtrusive as possible, and that they will disturb their work as little as possible.
The letters also describe the processes that the student has decided will be most effective in studying their research subject. They describe the different stages of development that occur ending in the final report, or the ethnographic report. The different deadlines and the time periods in which the student would like to meet with the research subject are outlined clearly. This way the research subject has a clear idea of what is expected of them. Finally, the student offers to share his or her research and final report with the research subject.

The letters are used to contact someone that holds a specific position or job title about being the focus of a research project for students in English 301. They all have similar formats and contain similar things. They are designed as a gentle probe to see whether the person would be willing to let a college student come to their place of business to observe them, look at some of their work, and possibly interview them. The letters let the person know that the student will be as unobtrusive as possible, and that they will disturb their work as little as possible.
The letters also describe the processes that the student has decided will be most effective in studying their research subject. They describe the different stages of development that occur ending in the final report, or the ethnographic report. The different deadlines and the time periods in which the student would like to meet with the research subject are outlined clearly. This way the research subject has a clear idea of what is expected of them. Finally, the student offers to share his or her research and final report with the research subject.

I analyzed my public relations textbook, Public Relations Strategies and Tactics (Wilcox and Cameron). My public relations textbook’s main function is to teach public relations students how to be public relations professionals capable of handling public relations campaigns for a variety of clients. The book also discusses the history of public relations to teach students about how the profession has evolved and grown. The history of public relations also includes how and when public relations developed in other countries besides the U.S. The history of public relations is important, because students learn about the ethics and legalities of public relations. Those are things that develop over long periods of time as problems develop; they are things that students need to know if they intend to work in the public relations field.
Public Relations Strategies and Tactics features case studies and examples of public relations campaigns that have been used to solve clients’ crises, to improve clients’ image, etc. These case scenarios describe different types of public relations scenarios and how these problems have been solved in the past to teach students about the creative problem solving needed in the public relations field.The text also features clear and concise writing that is easy to understand. This ensures that students understand what they are reading which then ensures the students’ success in the class and later in the professional field.
The textbook has some student activities that are designed to help students engage with the text and learn more. One of these activities is a case scenario for students to read. After reading the scenario the students should then decide what kind of public relations campaign they would design to accomplish the client’s goals. There are also questions at the end of each chapter for the students to answer. These questions are designed to help students remember important facts from the reading, and to show that they comprehended the material.

Jack Selzer used, built on, took a position on, and added to prior publications all in the first paragraph of “The Composing Processes of an Engineer.” Selzer begins by letting his audience know that there has been an overabundance of research done on the topic of composing processes of writers. Next he mentions the gap he has found in the research on writer’s composing processes that he would like to pursue. Majority of this research has been conducted on students who are still learning and journalists and novelists. He wants to study the composing habits of Kenneth E. Nelson, an engineer. He uses the research that has already been done to compare to his own research so that he can discover the differences between the composing processes of a professional technical writer and the students, journalists, and novelists that have been researched before. Selzer takes a position by saying that the teaching of technical writing has not been impacted due to the fact that professional technical writer’s have not been studied before. He adds research of a professional engineer to the abundance of research that has already been done. He also added ways in which the teaching of technical writing could be improved. For example, he suggests that teachers could teach students how to reuse material and graphics, and he also suggests that technical writing teachers not skip the invention and arranging stage of writing since this stage is very similar to other disciplines of writing.

The first thing a writer needs to be able to do is realize that his or her writing is part of “a continuous communication process.” (Faigley) Once they realize this, they will realize that it is even more important to carefully analyze their audience. According to the social perspective, a writer’s basic language, as well as content, will change depending on the writer’s audience. A writer needs to be able to analyze his/her audience correctly, and once analyzed, to be able to adapt his/her writing to fit the audience. For example, a scientist writing for a group of scientists will use language that the normal individual will have trouble understanding, but a group of teenagers may use slang language that is difficult for a group of scientists to understand. It is also important to analyze the culture and background of one’s audience. These aspects of writing are what make writing a social activity. Even though writers are not speaking verbally they are speaking to someone/people.
Another important ability a writer needs is the ability to use and incorporate technology in their writing. Faigley asserts that there is no distinction between the importance of the text and the importance of the technology used to create the text. This technological use includes charts, graphs, illustrations, etc. that are generated by a computer or some other form of technology to help illustrate points in the text.

Jack Selzer convinces his reader that his analysis of Kenneth Nelson’s writing processes are based on extensive, careful observation by writing a review of his investigation which included collecting pieces of his work, observing him while he worked, interviewing him extensively during his writing processes, and analyzing his finished work. Jack observes Nelson’s work environment, and even goes so far as to suggest changes so that Nelson will explain why he has his work environment the way that he does. Jack observes Nelson writing in said work environment, and then interviews him extensively. After each writing session, Jack asks Nelson to answer a series of written questions for a tape recorder.
Jack also gives the reader a detailed analysis of his observations and findings. He found that Nelson spent 80% of his time inventing material and arranging it. He also found that Nelson reused material he had previously written for other documents. He discusses how Nelson rarely changes his outline once he begins to write, that he writes his first draft on paper, and that he spends less that 1/5 of his time drafting. Finally, Nelson spends less than 5% of his time revising his work. Revising for him consists simply of correcting spelling, grammatical errors, and deleting any words and sentences not needed, as Nelson’s work is very concise. Thus, Nelson spends most of his time on inventing and arranging and creating his outline. Also, Jack observes that Nelson is a linear writer as he rarely revisits a stage once he has completed it. For example, once he reaches the revision stage he makes simple spelling and grammar corrections, but does not change content or rewrite.