First Assignment Reflection

After finishing the first assignment we had for this class I learned many things from the actual type of report that we had to do, to learning a few things about the review sessions that we had. I also learned a lot about the actual types of writing that are necessary when regarding the field of business. There are many different kinds of writing that someone in this career must create, but in the specific field I was researching and the people I interviewed I found that non-academic types of writing are much more common than lengthy informative academic pieces. I also found out that on the other hand when academic reports are required that they are very important for that particular business. I also learned a lot about myself when writing this report. I learned that I need to work on being more concise when writing an informational report and maybe for any type of writing I do. I learned some about what other people were writing there reports and picked up a few things from them as well as my instructor in the group review session.

In the field I was analyzing I figured that there would be a lot of basic types of writings like emails and memos and every day formats. I was write about that, but I did not know that there would be such a large amount of these writings in just one day. I also thought in some ways there would be a lot more academic reports. But after interviewing these owners Kirk Johnson and Karen Mckinley I found that there were in fact very few academic pieces written, but those academic pieces were extremely important to there business.

One major challenge I had was the actual interviews that I had to do which was the most important part to this whole report. I have never interviewed anyone other than my parents and friends and maybe a few teachers, so actually locating and scheduling people to talk to and to sit down or even just answer the questions through email was slightly tougher than I had thought. Another big issue I struggled with was the overall format and organization of the whole report and how it should correctly be done mostly because I have never done a report.

I learned a lot form the group conferences with another student and the professor that helped me greatly on my final report. But I think that maybe it would be easier to understand what the exact issues I had with my first draft. I think that if the time were split up into fifteen minutes for each student it would be easier to manage time, and I would be able to understand and figure out what the problems I had with my paper and learn how to fix these problems.

Assignment 1 First Draft

Sheldon Miller-Embry

Professor Hem Paudel

English-102

2-4-14

Informational Report

            After interviewing two successful and happy business owners it is clear that writing plays a significant role in all kinds of business professions that students in college today are studying to grow up and pursue in their future. When interviewing the owner of three local Bearno’s restaurants in southern Indiana it was obvious to see the importance of different kinds of writing that he must do to keep his business up and running. Also after interviewing the owner of a gym for cheer and gymnastics the similar significance of professional writing techniques was distinct. Even though the types of writings in business professions usually are not as lengthy as writing in other professions they are still detrimental to the growth and production of these businesses.

            Kirk Johnson, the owner of three local Bearno’s restaurants made it clear that without his daily writing for his businesses he would not be where he is today. Kirk is a fairly wealthy man with a laid-back and friendly attitude that you might not expect from a busy restaurant owner. He attended a small community college while working at Ford where he graduated with his business degree. During the interview he says “I constantly have to stay on top of things here and all of the writing I do really helps me keep up with it all”. Obviously his writings like his emails that he sends out and receives daily keeps everything organized. He says that he hasn’t written an official academic piece since college because there is really no need for them in his business. He relies solely on his non-academic pieces such as his emails, the rules and regulations for his employees and coworkers, and also advertisement to run his business.

            Another local business owner Karen Mckinley runs a gymnastic and cheer gym, All Starz,  where she teaches and previously coached a competitive cheer team. She did not go to college, instead she began work the day after she graduated at a bank where she worked and coached cheerleading on the side when she could. She says during the interview “I started All Starz in 1982 at Becky Seiler Dance Studio by renting space from her, and I actually started coaching when I was 16 when I was a competitive gymnast”. Even though she did not attend college she still successfully runs her business for over thirty years. She says she spends about two hours a day between answering and writing emails, schedules, and reports. She also has a website or media page for her business that has a blog on it.

            These two owners and the way that they run their businesses are very similar when it comes to the types of writing that they do. Even though one owner went to college and got his degree and the other did not, both are successfully running their businesses, so obviously just because you don’t go to college or have the opportunity to doesn’t mean you can’t pursue and live your dream. And even though these businesses are very different, both are owners and use rather similar writing techniques to run their businesses. They both rely heavily on their non-academic writings like emails, reports, schedules, and media/advertisements to keep their businesses running at optimal levels.

            One non-academic source that I found was the actual menu for Bearno’s restaurants in southern Indiana which is a vital piece of writing for this business. These menu must display total complete correct grammar and intrigue the audience for his business to make any money. Kirk’s degree definitely helped him out when getting these menus organized and correctly written in a way that attracts potential customers. Another non-academic piece I found was the web page for All Starz Gymnastics. This crucial media piece must also be completely correct with all information and organized in a way that clearly portrays the atmosphere of All Starz and what All Starz is all about along with what they have to offer. These two pieces are major written pieces that affect the outcome of their businesses.

            One form of academic writing in the business field I found was an overseas business report showing an import tariff system and many other financial properties that come in to play when shipping items in and out of Honduras but can be applied to countries all over the world. This report is an official piece that is a crucial part of all big businesses that use imports and exports, and without this organized report communicating the different charges and taxes may be misinterpreted which could have a negative impact on both sides of business. One more academic piece found was a market report for ecommerce sales and profits. This can be very effective when a certain business wants to look to improve their revenue and writing this information correctly and getting all of the right information on this topic is detrimental to the success of a business.

           

Summary of interview and sources

Interview Summary:
So far I've had access and interviewed one professional,I have scheduled another interview for this coming Monday with a local cheer and gymnastic gym owner, Karen Mckinley. But the other person that I have already interviewed that I admire and have the up most respect for is my boss, Kirk Johnson, the owner of three local Bearno's in southern Indiana. He graduated and got his business degree from a small community college while working at Ford for several years, and a few years later invested in Bearno's. Most of his writings are made up of different kinds of marketing advertisements such as commercials, coupons, and all kinds of other nonacademic advertisements to help bring in money for his businesses. These are probably the most significant kinds of writing he does because without these he would not be able to keep his business running. Some other important types of nonacademic writing that he must produce frequently are various sets of instructions and rules for his business partners and employees. These are also extremely important and needed when keeping a business running smoothly and in a way that will keep profits up. He also has partners that he shares business proposals with to make possible changes and get feedback, and these are a also a huge part of his academic side of writing but these do not happen very often like his advertisements and updated guidelines.

Analysis of Sources:
Taking away from one source I found, people with a background and/or career in business do several different types of formal and informal writing. Most of the writings done in this field are memos and business letters. These are informal or nonacademic types of writing they use to communicate and pass on information to their coworkers. Memos are used almost daily to communicate basic information like deadlines to colleagues these are usually sent through email. Other kinds of writings such as business letters, which would be in the standard form of a formal letter and are generally used to apply for jobs and also pass on information. In other sources some other types of writings can be much lengthier and go into much greater detail for instance, a business proposal that brings up and offers new and innovative ideas or processes. These often require a lot of research and evidence to back up what they are trying to explain and persuade to their colleagues. Another much shorter and possibly simpler form of nonacademic writing that we see in our everyday lives are advertisements and slogans used by marketing professionals to portray and intrigue the audience to buy or invest in their specific product, this is a very significant form of writing that often gets overlooked.

Interview Questions

• How do you prepare for your academic pieces?
• How often do you use non-academic sources such as emails, instructions, etc.?
• How often do you publish your academic pieces?
• How have your past writing classes prepared you for your writing in this profession?
• What other college courses helped you in this career?
• Do you enjoy writing in this particular career?

Assignment 1 genre type

For out first assignment we must write an informative report using several different sources including information from interviews. This informative genre will be also comparing the information that we receive from each professional we interview. This report will be a formal piece to explain the roll that writing takes in that specific profession. Using  information collected by professionals will help with writing this piece. It will help us understand what kind of writing they do and how they do so. it will also show us the importance of the writing classes that they took which we are currently taking. This will also help with the clarity and credibility of this report by using  actual authentic information collected by professionals.

Analysis of Assignment 1

After reading the print out for our first assignment for an informative piece there will obviously be many aspects used in this rhetorical situation. The genre obviously is an informative piece to put together the information we have gathered from the people we interview in our specific desired profession. The purpose of this report is to increase the awareness of what this profession involves to incoming freshman. The audience of this report will be for the freshman next year that are looking to pursue a career in this specific field. My stance will be to positively and informatively explain the information received by the person being interviewed.The media being used in this report will be the people being interviewed along with the information and experience from the profession that they share.

English 101 writing assignment analysis

In English 101 I wrote an informative essay on " The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved" analyzing Hunter S. Thompson and how this piece reflected his type of writing and journalism. the audience of this essay that I was writing towards was my English professor. My stance in this essay was that "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved" was a perfect example of Thompson's gonzo journalism that he was most well-known for, "Hunter S. Thompson’s, “The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved” serves as a great example of the gonzo journalism that Thompson started and perfected". This line from my essay is in fact my thesis which was my stance which aided my purpose for this essay. Even though I was not given a specific prompt to write, knowing my professor and knowing what exactly he was looking for and expecting helped me to confidently and clearly write about and portray my stance in this piece. I could probably have made my essay better by maybe thinking about my audience being more than just my professor to maybe change up the way I wrote about Thompson and his work. But apparently I was on the right track with my essay and what I trying portray with this because I received a deserved A given all the research and effort put into it.