Reflection of Group 1-26-12

In my group during class on Thursday, we talked about multiple things. One thing that I realized that I needed to do to better my paper is get better sources. I also need to make an outline to organize my paper. Here are other suggestions that my group thought of:

• Keep paper interesting
• Keep audience in mind while writing paper (incoming freshmen)
• Make a claim and use sources to back up claim
• Focus on effectivenesss

Analysis of Three Sources for Informational Report

                For my informational report over the nursing profession I have four main sources: an interview with a nurse, a journal article, a magazine article, and one writing from a professional website.  This analysis will talk about the last three sources.

                My first source is a journal article entitled (Author)ity abroad: The life writing of colonial nurses. This article shows how past nurses’ writings influence nursing and writing in nursing today. Also, the journal article talks about methods of analysis for nurses’ life writing, the Colonial Nursing Association, letters by CNA nurses, and lastly, finding and future research in nursing. This article includes a list of references at the end which may also be helpful for my essay.

                The magazine article that I have chosen for my essay in entitled ANTICOAGULATION DRUGS: WHAT NURSES NEED TO KNOW. This is great example of an informational article that teaches other nurses’ how to do something. This article comes from the Johns Hopkins Nursing magazine which contains many forms of writings done by nurses. The article from this magazine will enlighten me to the many writing forms done in the nursing profession.

                The third source for my informational report over nursing is the National Institutes of Health website. This website contains health information, grants and funding, news and events, research and training, and much more. One particular article from this website that I will be using is one entitled How We’re Living With HIV. This article is a perfect example of the writing format done in the health field (outside of hospitals). This article catches readers’ attention with the visual effects, but also informs about the advances in HIV. It is a true academic writing that helps me understand what people in the health field write about.

Summary of Interview

                For my paper about writing in the nursing field, I interviewed Jennifer L. Wickliffe. Jennifer is a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at the University of Louisville Hospital. She mentions the high importance of writing in our interview, especially how important it is in the healthcare field. As a CNA, Jennifer doesn’t have much to write and the writing she does is very easy; she just has to make sure that everything she documents is correct. For nurses, however, the writing is extremely time consuming and tedious; many nurses stay after hours to finish “charting.” Jennifer explains the specific type of writing that she and her fellow healthcare co-workers do in this quote:

For me, I write what I did for the patient such as bathing, their I/O’s (intake/outtake), vitals, and if they refused the care I was giving. Nurses and Doctors have a little more writing to do. The Nurses have to chart the medicine that was given, any medical (errors if happened), hourly rounding, assessments etc. Doctors write orders, diagnoses, discharges, etc. (Jennifer Wickliffe)

Nurses and doctors spend about 80%-90% of their time writing daily, while CNA’s may spend about 10%-15% of their time writing daily.

                In a more technical sense of writing, Jennifer mentions that a formal tone is always used in nurses writing. Everything that they write is professional, respectful, and contains correct grammar. The main audience includes other adult healthcare professionals and lawyers. For nursing, MLA and APA format is used for writing. Research is used depending on certain situations, as shown in this quote:

CNAs don't really do any research, though I may go back in the charts to pervious charting from my coworkers to see if the patient had a bath and what they refused. Nurses might do some research on certain medicine or diagnoses so they can give better care to the patient. Doctors may do research as well, I am not for sure; but I would say they would have to do some research on a patient to better diagnose and treat him or her. (Jennifer Wickliffe)

Overall, the writing for nurses is important because the information being written is crucial to a patient’s health. They must make sure that the written information is professional, respectful, and most importantly, correct.

Exercise Two: Analyzing Quotes

The first quote that I will be analyzing is from an essay I wrote in English 101 entitled Welcome To Burlesque!

·         According to Webster’s Dictionary, burlesque is a “witty or derisive imitation” or a “broadly humorous variety show”. Basically, burlesque showcases a performance, with the main purpose being to mock or imitate and also to make the audience laugh.

I think this sample is good and meets all the requirements in exercise two.  If you were to read further into the paper, you would see how it relates to the text.

                This next quote is also from Welcome To Burlesque!

·         Film critic Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle agrees with Aguilera’s musical talent in this quote from his movie review of the film, “…Her deep, booming voice shakes the theater’s sound system…”

This sample introduces the quote well, but does not explain the quote very well. To fix this I can say something like, “The essence of LaSalle’s argument is that Christina Aguilera is a great singer.”

Summary: How My Genre Will be used in My Paper

The journal article that I have chosen contains a large amount of important information; therefore, this article is crucial for my paper. Not only will this article give me a sense of background information that I did not previously know, but also give readers background information. I will use quotes from this article to give my paper ethos and to ensure that readers believe what I am writing.

Summary of Genre

The genre of my source for class today is a journal article called “The Life Writing of Colonial Nurses”. This article is about seven pages long and is an excerpt from a book entitled “International Journal of Nursing Studies”. It is written by three people: Jessica Howell, Anne Marie Rafferty, and Anna Snaith. The paper talks about nursing and its history with writing.

Analysis of Assignment 1

I am currently studying nursing at the University of Louisville and my first assignment in English 102 will help me understand and learn more about the nursing career. This assignment is an informational report which requires me to write a report of an interview with a member of the profession I want to join in the future. Of course, the profession that I am writing about is nursing. My purpose for writing this essay is to increase the awareness of what nursing involves to college freshmen considering nursing as their major. The main audience of this paper will be college freshmen who are undecided about their future profession. The genre is an analysis essay which also requires me to synthesize different sources.  Since my audience includes undecided college students, my stance will be more critical in a hope to be helpful towards my audience.  The media of my analysis essay will be in print. I believe that writing this essay will not only help my audience make a decision, but will also inform myself about the nursing career. Hopefully, I will learn critical information regarding my future which will ensure that nursing is the path I want to take.

homework assignment #1

Rhetorical Analysis of a Visual Argument

                This essay entitled “Rhetorical Analysis of a Visual Argument” is an analysis of a popular Chanel perfume advertisement. The purpose of this essay is to argue whether or not this advertisement was successful. The purpose influenced my writing the most because I did believe that the advertisement was successful, meaning it would sell the perfume product. However, I thought the ad was a negative view of America’s society. This excerpt from my essay explains my viewpoint:

Many people, especially women (which the Chanel Nᵒ5 is targeted toward), buy material items to bring happiness into their lives. However once that item is purchased, there is still something missing, causing people to buy more. Material things are only temporary, leaving only temporary happiness. Once that liquid is gone out of that perfume bottle, then what? We should not look for happiness in material items, but rather look at all of the simple blessings in our lives that money cannot buy.

The audience of my paper is also influential on my writing. Since the Chanel perfume ad was targeted towards women, my essay is also targeted towards women. Keeping this audience in mind, I used words that women can have a connection with. For example: “beautiful”, “love”, and “glamorous”. I believe that the overall essay was O.K. and could use improvement in grammar and sentence structure.

                My essay “Rhetorical Analysis of a Visual Argument” from English 101 executed the purpose and connecting with the audience well, but lacked in grammar and sentence structure.