PB2b

Messi dribbles down the field, cuts right, leaving the midfielder on his ass, not knowing what hit him. He steps over the ball--faking the first defender out-- and does a scissor to escape the presence of the next. Messi touches the ball to the outside, he shoots, he scores! Goalllllllllllllll!!!! You see, Messi used his moves in order to score, which contributed to his ultimate objective- winning the game. Moves can be used by people of all sorts in order to accomplish an ultimate goal. When applied to writing, moves can tell us a ton about a piece. By analysing the author’s moves and identifying the intentions and functions behind them, we can derive a clearer understanding of the rhetoric behind a piece and become more-cognitive readers and writers.

In the article Why Blog? the author, Alex Reid, uses several moves found in the They Say, I Say Appendix. She starts her article with a quote explaining what it takes to become an expert at something: “but the fairly self-evident bottom line point here is that becoming good at anything worth becoming good at takes a lot of time.” She follows with an explanation of the quote--her move--which clarifies the point of the quote and functions as an introduction to her entire article. This explanation is effective because it explains why the quote is significant and goes to show that you don’t necessarily have to be an expert at something for it to apply to your life. The next move I identified in the article was entertaining objections. She begins the second paragraph stating, “Of course, most students aren’t interested in becoming expert writers.” This quote functions as a comfort builder for the reader. It addresses the fact that many students aren’t interested in becoming writers, even though the article is about blogging which is a form a writing. This is effective as well because it shows the reader that they don’t have to be an expert writer in order to enjoy blogging. She then makes a concession while still holding her ground: “ I don’t think there’s anything wrong with not wanting to become an expert, professional writer, any more than there’s anything wrong with wanting to be a surgeon or a carpenter.On the other hand, unlike surgeon or carpentry, college students pursuing professional careers will need some facility with writing.” This quote entertains that fact that writing isn’t an appealing career to most, but explains that there is cross-over between writing and other professions which proves its importance and signifies the author standing her ground. She also introduces an ongoing debate: “decades of research suggests that such extrinsic motivators(grades) can actually hurt our performance on challenging intellectual tasks like writing an essay.” This prove that it is a significant issue and functions as support to answer the main question of the article: why blog?(opposed to writing in a more formal, academic manner). Lastly, the author introduces a standard view in order to make the reader feel more applicable to this article and feel as though it applies directly toward them: “As a student in a first year writing course, you may not envision yourself as a writer.”  This statement conforms to most first-year students so its function is very effective.

Aside from the moves that were provided for us, I was able to identify some effective moves from different articles on my own. In the article Teaching Two Kinds of Thinking, the author uses a move I call “Explanatory Metaphors”. These are metaphors that the author uses in order to paint a clearer picture of what they are talking about for the reader. In the article it says, “It seems to many listeners as though I’m celebrating holidays from thinking.” This gives the reader an exaggerated idea of what free-writing is like for the author. Next, the author uses a move I like to call “What I like to do”. This move gives the reader a sense of the author’s personality and allows them to form an opinion on the author’s methods without questioning where the information is coming from. For example it says, “I like to emphasize how second-order thinking often brings out people’s worst thinking.” This is effective because it make the author sound unbiased, due to him expressing his thoughts opposed to expressing them as a statement; it makes the author more credible. In this article, the author also uses a move I call “Separating Content” which structures the article in a comprehensive, easy-to-understand way. It begins with explaining first and second order thinking and is followed by a separate section that links the two together. The next section then contrasts the previously explained “links” and explains the broader picture and how they function in a section subtitled practical consequences. This is an effective way of laying out the article because the information builds upon itself and re-enforces the ideas explained in the previous sections. Next, In Navigating Genres, the author uses a move I call “fishing with a Joke”. The article begins with a joke about country music that exemplifies how understanding the conventions of the genre is necessary in order to find humor in the joke. This is effective because it not only functions as a hook for the reader, but shows what the article is going to be about. The author also uses a move I call “Downing with Evidence” which essentially means drowning the reader with evidence. The author provides tons of quotes in order to support his claims and show credibility. He explains an idea and supports his explanation with direct evidence. This move is extremely effective because it provides clarity and credibility.

Identifying the author’s moves is an essential component in understanding the rhetoric behind a piece. From identifying these moves, we can derive a better understanding of how they function and how effective they really are. By doing so, we can become better writers and readers.