Response to Melissa Bonneville

I agree with Melissa that the book was organized effectively and actually turned out to be quite useful. I think the book was easy to read and understand, I didn't feel that I was reading something that I couldn't apply in some form. I also liked that the book gave examples of memos, websites, and e-mails. It really helped to see how they should be organized and how to make them easier for readers to use.

Like Melissa, I also liked how the book always emphasized the importance of focusing on the reader. That way, we could learn how to take a reader-centered approach in different forms of writing. I actually realized how much more effective my writing is when I focus on the reader, so I think I will continue to apply the skills I learned.

Reflection on English 402

One of the things I enjoyed most about this class is the variety of the material we covered. When I registered for the class, I just assumed we would learn how to write memos or business letters. Instead, we applied our knowledge as we worked on our projects. As the weeks progressed, I found it easier to write a memo in a useful and concise way. I currently do a lot of writing at work, so it is a good chance to apply the new skills I developed in the class.

I also learned about other areas of writing, such as freelance and journalism. I never had the time to learn about these areas, so I am glad we got to cover them in class. For instance, I had no idea that so many magazines and journals used freelance writers regularly. There are so many opportunities to do writing if you have any interest in it.

Another important thing I learned is to focus on your readers. This is especially important in the business world because readers often depend on the information they receive to do their jobs. Communicating effectively is also important in business, so your writing needs to be easy to understand and use.

I also learned about rhetoric and how to identify where it is used and in which form. This will also help me use rhetoric effectively in order to persuade my readers. I think this will be very useful because we are constantly trying to persuade others.

Response to Melisa Dawson

I think Melisa made a good point about how some people read exactly what is on their slide during a presentation. When this happens, I lose interested quickly and become bored with the presentation. I have also seen presentations where each slide had several paragraphs of writing. In that case, I don't even bother to read everything, but I don't exactly listen to the presenters reading from the slides either. This is a case where the visual aids don't make the presentation more interesting. Instead, they take away from it. So, not only are the visual aids presented ineffectively, but there are too many ideas being presented at the same time. It is easier for the audience to listen and remember the presentation if there are only a few main ideas in focus.

Ch. 17/18 Reading

Chapter 17
Although I took a speech class several years ago, this chapter brought up some useful presentation tips. I liked the section about graphics and how to display them effectively. Although graphics can help a presentation, they can also cause a lot of distraction and take away from it if presented in the wrong way. I found it useful to have an example of how to prepare effective PowerPoint slides. I also found the section on team presentations useful because it seems like my classes require more team presentations than individual. However, I don't think most speech classes focus on team presentations.

Chapter 18
I have to admit that I have no experience creating web pages or websites. However, as technology advances, it is important to be at least a little familiar with them. First, it is important to design pages that are easy to use, but attractive to the users. Also, it is important to provide navigation aids so that users can quickly find the information they need. This chapter also reminded me of a few points that our first guest speaker made in her presentation. She also mentioned that it is important to make it easy for readers to find the site on the Internet.

Response to Todd Anderson

I think Todd made a good point about identifying which revisions are most important. I agree with Todd that this is useful in the workplace. I use written communication on a regular basis, so it is important to focus on the most important parts of my writing. I simply don't have the time to go through a full revision process, but it is still important to have at least some revision. I think this would help me communicate more effectively with clients and co-workers. Also, it is important to remember that revisions should be based on what would be most useful for readers.