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Being a chemist. Oops, science is POWERFUL!

ENGL 390, 390H, and (sometimes) 398V  Class Journal
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Entries by Marybeth Shea (1062)

Week 7: coffee cup work AND selected technical article for Assignment 3

Good morning, fine Terp-Sci Wri students.

DUE TONIGHT!  Monday's ER REVIEWING TASK.  Help each other out by being on time for each other.  Friday's ER WRITING TASK is draft 3 of the memo.  Next week? Parking lot opens for my grading of the memo.  Then, we move on to the last assignment: One-article close review.  Preview by flow chart linked here, in our celery green color now familar to you.

Let's have a lesson on writing craft that is a sub-category: document design. Document design covers a range of sub-sub topics but here, our focus is on formatting the words upon the page into "chunks" that are governed by styles guides, including MLA and APA. Here is block quote (PARA 5, the LCA paragraph) from my dissertation-->

In Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, ecologist Robin Wall Kimmerer notes:

Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.  Kimmerer (2015)

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At the end of the document, here is what is my very last citation in my 300+ bibliography-->

Kimmerer, R. W. (2015). Braiding sweetgrass. Milkweed Editions.

Note, this is too short for a hanging indent. Always be learning. Here is what one looks like for a longer paper by RWK. Recall that the hanging indent in a long bibliography helps a reader find a desired citation because the last name sits out in a "panhandle."  (I did a screen shot of this reference below, using large font to focus on the "shape" of the hanging indent.)

Now, here is a visual metaphor to remember the look of a hanging indent. 

(Think: Oklahoma!).

How to do these indents? In Scribbr, this short article will help you in both MS Word and in Google Docs.

Shall we focus on some additional details within the coffee cup memo?

  1. Common knowledge is still a topic of uncertainty for many of you. Hint: common knowledge determination is hard and varies by audience/context/purpose. This Scribbr short article will help you. 
    1. PARA 4: At the level of detail in this writing scenario (short recommendation report in memo for work), you do
      1. NOT have to use formal references for the mention of climate change problem scope (IPCC is your most authoritative reference, not paywalled, and is perfect for the referral link, CURATED, naturally.) OR the mention of the ocean/aquatic plastic problem emerging documentation (Algalita Foundation or Charles Moore Research Institute are authoritative, not paywalled, and are perfect for the referral link.).
      2. NEED to reference formally the Moore peer reviewed article or the Hocking peer reviewed article in your evaluation paragraph. 
    2. Please note, that referral links give you the opportunity to "cover your behind" (CYA) about plagiarism concerns.  So, you should be psychologically comforted by this informal reference technique.
  2. Acknowledging the other frame/green cup in the recommendation at the end of the memo.  You can do this in a number of ways, beginning with the sample sentences I have given you.  Another way to manage this is to use referral links to unpaywalled sources about the other problem and the research.  For example, you could
    1. TEAM STYRO: Send the reader to a Moore open access link.  Build Moore's reputation by a brief sentence about their ethos.  OR
    2. TEAM PAPER: Send the reader to a Hocking open access link (harder). Build Hocking's reputation by a brief sentence about their ethos.
    3. OPTION:  you could remind about incommensurality, defined in Week 6.
    4. OPTION: you could note that social behavior is at the heart of this problem because people pretty much know that a re-usuable option (after using many times to outweigh the energy and pollution associated with glass, ceramic, and metal production).
  3. Confusion about where definition stops and analysis begins: Roughly, PARA 5, the LCA paragraph is the pivot point from description that is necessary to set up the problem resolution.

 Now, topical reflection on how logos, pathos, and ethos overlap in a real example (20 second YourTube clis)-->

Posted on Monday, October 14, 2024 at 06:22AM by Registered CommenterMarybeth Shea | Comments Off

Week 6: Coffee cup memo relies on description v. analysis framing

Happy Monday. Tonight, your ER REVIEWING TASK is due.  You WILL gain knowledge as you help each other. As in the case of the rain garden memo, you will see two things:

  • level of detail (just right! Not too much, not too little, aka the Goldilocks sweet spot)
  • where to place details(which paragraph showcases the detail best?)
Recall drafting? (I love this pun so much; pardon me my composition instructor/cyclist joke) 

And for you?  You can draft off each other in a cycling or aerodynamic way. In this short 2017 web article from Cycling Tips is this quote:

So how much energy can you save from drafting? Interestingly, there seems to be little consensus among researchers that have investigated this topic. Studies have shown drag reductions of between 27% and 50% for riders that are drafting, with the exact reduction depending on a number of variables — the size and on-the-bike position of the rider in front, likewise with the rider drafting, the distance from the wheel in front, the direction and strength of the wind, and more.

(de Vroet, Matthew)

 

This, just above, shows how to do a block quote (option for you re your life cycle assessment (LCA) paragraph. Paraphrase is fine. USE THE FOUNDER definition from EPA. Please. 

We are still working off WEEK 5's guidance below, especially the flow chart (pale yellow-green large image).  I have resources on framing/thinking:

  • Focus on difference between description and analysis (key critical thinking skill) in this linked google doc (skim the embedded links, please)
  • Metadiscourse (counting out is a metadiscourse strategy) and voice propel the complexity forward with flow (science examples in this short google doc)
  • Note that description, combined with analysis, supports recommendations
New writing craft skill: Empty subjects, in the four-page google doc
A coder speaks about how to link skillfully in hypertext documents (long but worthy blog post by an expert). Skim this, please.  You can focus on the list of "rules" midway through the post.

Review (from k-12 re paragraphs with a focus on transitions--> First, begin by looking at this OWL PURDUE exhibit on useful transition words and phrases.  Back to paragraphs:  
  • look at the last sentence of each paragraph; 
  • then look at the first sentence in the next paragraph.

Do you see connection between content, including a reasonable pivot to new information?  The paragraphs, although they stand alone in topic and content, should CONNECT or TRANSITION with the surrounding paragraphs.  

Paragraph check: Ask

  • What is the paragraph doing in the document?  What type of paragraph serves this purpose? For example, a narrative paragraph can tell a brief story or present a case or example.  An illustrative paragraph – cousin to descriptive paragraphs - paints a picture.
  • Is the paragraph cohesive?  Does the content “hang” together?  Do the sentence choices achieve cohesion?  Look at the transition words and phrases in the OWL link above.  You can use them to achieve cohesion and flow between sentences. This focus is called local coherence, which is key to achieving flow.

Finally, paragraphs do not truly stand alone in most documents. Paragraphs combine to provide coherent content in a document for a reader.  Ask this:  do the paragraphs fit and support the arrangement or structure of the document?  Focus on transitions between paragraphs, which help with cohesion in the document.  Local coherence (within a paragraph) + global coherence (between paragraphs and within a document) create overall flow.

Cheap! Way To achieve cohesion between paragraphs try "chaining" by transitions. Place the  topic of the next paragraph in the last sentence of the preceding paragraph. The first sentence of the new paragraph must include that topic also. Doing this knits or binds the paragraphs to each other.  Here is how a math person would say this: 

Let ParaA be the preceding paragraph. 

Let ParaB be the following paragraph.  

Let T be the topic that should appear in both paragraphs.  

We will limit our discussion now to two sentences: 
  • the last sentence of ParaA and the 
  • first sentence of ParaB. 

In reality, ParaA and ParaB exist in a document with an arrangement of many paragraphs.

ParaA relates to ParaB through the last sentence of ParaA AND SIMULTANEOUSLY through the first sentence of ParaB. The relating elements is a topic, T;  T can be a repeated word or a phrase.  Some variation on T makes for good style.  

Tight transitions pivot on repetition of key word or short phrase. Loose transitions allow a topic substitution or phrase (selected with care for reader knowledge/background).

Food for thought: You also can use the transition space to punt or jump to another subtopic in the memo. Phrases:

Having reminded you of the central emergency of climate change, let's turn now to...

Now that you have more details on the emerging problem of ocean plastic, we can look at...

Recall that this memo is a short back-of-the-envelope analysis for our purposes. We can reconsider these frames more carefully but would face the incommensurability problem.

Wednesday preview:

  • will talk about informal (IPPCC and Algalita Foundation)  and formal sources (Hocking and Moore) 
  • "punting" with curated linked referral citations
  • cautions about the ethos of who shares information from peer reviewed research
  • discussion (critical thinking) on the incommensurability of direct comparison of climate change problem with ocean plastic problem and how to note and then punt (this link really needs curation: TBD in class)

Helpful short video to think about the complexity here of the linked problems of pollution (CO2, single use plastic) and depletion (stress upon a resource: climate system and ocean/water system. Think cycles: carbon and water).  From UMD genius Herman Daly. 

Posted on Monday, October 7, 2024 at 06:05AM by Registered CommenterMarybeth Shea | Comments Off

Week 5: on to the short recommendation (policy) memo/report

Happy rainy Monday to all of you. I had no idea this was happening!  Kermit performed on campus, last Friday.  Wonder if Turner Daily will make a dragonfly ripple ice cream, as suggested?

Eight submissions to ER thus far.  Read all of them twice.  Started my grading guidance sheet and will begin grades via ELMS email.  What good work, demonstrating the techniques with variations.  I am learning so much. Thank you.  For the rest of you? Just ge this in, asap (said gently) and move on to thinking about which hot beverage cup -- styrofoam (class of plastic) or paper -- embodies a better sustainability profile. According to science.

This NEW memo content is more complex and wide-ranging. Transitions are a way to thread the cognition for our busy readers. Your first memo focused on the definition stasis, with a evaluation move at the end.

Now, our wants a problem-solution memo about the type of coffee cup we use in our firm. Therefore, we need to frame this work with the stasis of policy (what ought we do).

Let's start by reading this short science news article from Science Daly.

Back to our boss: Jane wants a coffee cup policy for the office that is "green."  OK, that is the content for your invention.  Here is rough working arrangement (paragraphs):

POLITE OPENING, with your recommendation that previews your final policy paragraph

CONJECTURE PARAGRAPH  Problem description (our office situation, with quantifiers), with reference to national. international size of the problem

CONTEXT PARA(s) Environmental problems (energy efficiency ->climate change AND persistence of plastic in ocean -> food chain disruption)

YOUR WEIGHTED PROBLEM SOLVING METHOD (revealing your pre-analytical frame or bias)

DEFINITION-->CAUSE/EFFECT information 

Coffee cup types (how many?  Can we do this in one paragraph or do we need one per coffee cup type? Use counting technique of two or three)

PIVOT PARA from background to ANALYSIS PARAS/narrows in on you work. Tells your analysis process.

Decision criteria (HINT:  Life cycle analysis, and define this; use an EPA source) HERE, this definition helps us move to the VALUE paragraphs

CAUSE/EFFECT continued (system) -->VALUE (Harm or benefit)

Martin Hocking's work on life cycle analysis of paper v. Styrofoam

Charles Moore's work on size of ocean garbage patches

POLICY/ RECOMMENDATION (restate your recommendation, with qualifiers, as one does in science land)

Science/Research support (remind about evidence discussed above in VALUING PARAGRAPHS)

Qualification (concede reasonableness of the other position)

Concrete examples (2)

Sentences that can help you as topic sentences or transitions sentences between paragraphs

Any analysis of coffee cup choice requires use of life cycle analysis.

Life cycle analysis -- also known as cradle-to-grave -- helps capture the entire environmental effect from origin and inputs through use and, importantly, to disposal.

In my analysis, I weight [name environmental problem] more heavily than [the other problem].

Life cycle analysis can help us understand this difficult question about coffee cup sustainability

We have two choices in coffee cups: paper or plastic (Styrofoam).

Martin Hocking conducted the first -- and to date ,only -- peer-reviewed analysis of the energy embodied in coffee cup choices. (OR/Remix)

Charles Moore is among the first to alert us to the huge problem of persistent ocean plastic.

We will work through the above over the next two weeks, using stasis theory.  More on that later this week.  However, you are using the full five steps more fully than in rain garden work (primarily definition).

Lesson on paragraphs, here for early in your memo, in the definition/description move (STASIS 2) where we also need to address context.  Skill?:  Coherence in a paragraph (sample content but the paragraphs might not be complete for the purposes of your coffee cup paper):

"Meh" paragraph 

Plastic and paper cups pose problems for recycling. Ceramic cups are very energy intensive to produce. Recycling seems environmentally-sound.  Paper does not degrade deep within most landfills and the plastic coating is also difficult.  Not all plastic can be recycled.  You need to check the bottom of the container.  Landfills are increasingly full.  There is a huge "patch of garbage" in the Pacific Ocean. Supply chains of garbage recycling, especially plastic do not really work.  

Note: can you see the compare/contrast move here, even in this meh or necessary draft version?

Better paragraph

Paper and plastic both pose disposal problems.  First, not all plastic can be recycled. Check the bottom of the plastic container. "No. 1" and "No. 2" types can be recycled by most facilities. Second, paper does not degrade deep within most landfills because of low oxygen conditions. The plastic coating also interferes with decay. Landfills are increasingly full.  There are several huge "patches of garbage" in the Pacific Ocean. Recent analysis suggest that China is a source of this garbage.

Note: do you see a place for a referral citation, using the Seattle news article posted earlier? Can you find a more general article that you can refer to, about the limits of recycling and landfilling?  Recall that this iinformation, now, at this level of detail is common knowledge, even if you do know this.

 

Even better paragraph (can you see the re-thinking of content as well as sentence-level revision)

Paper and plastic both pose disposal problems.  First, not all plastic can be recycled. Check the bottom of the plastic container. "No. 1" and "No. 2" types can be recycled by most facilities. Second, paper does not degrade deep within most landfills because of low oxygen conditions. The plastic coating also interferes with decay. Landfills are increasingly full, with paper and plastic part of the waste stream. Not all plastic is recycled or landfilled. According to the Algalita Foundation,  huge "patches" of garbage in the Pacific Ocean are further evidence of of the environmental harm posed by plastic.

Notes: 1) is that referral link well curated? do you see another place for a referral citation?  Should we build a new paragraph with this iNY Times nformation or this 2022 Science Daly piece noted earlier.

 

Posted on Monday, September 30, 2024 at 06:18AM by Registered CommenterMarybeth Shea | Comments Off

Week 5: wrapping up the rain garden memo; taking stock of learning

Hello, on this mild but overcast Monday.

We deepen our skills on this definition memo, for the audience, context, purpose (yours and the reader's). First up is bookending, then, we look anew about counting out (this episode is brought to you by the number two), and a renewed look at how stasis theory helps you distill content into nimble, readable, and helpful documents.

 

Bookending is a way to show your reader WHERE the cited information comes from, and where this information ends. 

Here is an example, which underscores that bookending is a technique that improves paragraph coherence:

Rain gardens have two components, to perform their pollution and water/erosion control functions: below ground structure and above ground structure, where the plants are.  According to the helpful design manual from the Low Impact Development Center, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Cras lacinia placerat rutrum. Integer et commodo dolor, condimentum suscipit massa. Suspendisse vel quam elit. Donec nec facilisis nunc. Duis congue consequat orci, vel pharetra nibh efficitur vitae. Aliquam ornare cursus commodo. Donec ac nulla venenatis, bibendum urna sed, congue risus. Nulla ut orci velit. Praesent lectus lacus, rutrum at dapibus quis, vestibulum in erat. Nulla pharetra congue placerat. Nulla convallis, mauris non finibus fringilla, erat felis mollis ipsum, ut gravida ex mauris quis ligula. Suspendisse a ex vel justo euismod congue id nec augue. Aenean pulvinar dictum neque. Proin nec nibh ac enim accumsan volutpat. You can access this guide here, which will show you both the soil and living materials needed.

Technical writing craft note: Bookending relies on signal phrases, typically at the opening of the bookending sentence. Then, bookending is powerful in the closing sentence, where you tell the reading that the information in this citation language ends here.  This way, you help read see -- eventually -- in a paragraph with more than one source, which information goes with which citation.

I posted a link last week to OWL on signal phrases. Here are a few to use, other than the powerful "according to":

argue, assert, claim, comment, confirm, contend, declare, deny, emphasize, illustrate, imply, insist, note, observe, point out, report, respond, say, suggest, think, and write.

 YourDictionary.com offers an excellent curated list of signal phrases.  Highly recommended! Micro lesson: should I have repeated the link to OWL here?  Are you irritated as a reader to have to scroll back?

Next, another bookending=signal phrase+referral link citation example:

Rain gardens have two components, to perform their pollution and water/erosion control functions: below ground structure and above ground structure, where the plants are.  See the helpful design manual (2009)  from the Prince George's County Departmnt of the Environment, sectetur adipiscing elit. Cras lacinia placerat rutrum. Integer et commodo dolor, condimentum suscipit massa. Suspendisse vel quam elit. Donec nec facilisis nunc. Duis congue consequat orci, vel pharetra nibh efficitur vitae. Aliquam ornare cursus commodo. Donec ac nulla venenatis, bibendum urna sed, congue risus. Nulla ut orci velit. Praesent lectus lacus, rutrum at dapibus quis, vestibulum in erat. Nulla pharetra congue placerat. Nulla convallis, mauris non finibus fringilla, erat felis mollis ipsum, ut gravida ex mauris quis ligula. Suspendisse a ex vel justo euismod congue id nec augue. Aenean pulvinar dictum neque. Proin nec nibh ac enim accumsan volutpat. You can access this manual here (caution! 250+ page PDF), which will show you both the soil and living materials needed. I can also suggest these two example rain gardens, included on a 4 page PDF brochure about University of Maryland installations.

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I expect you to use at least one bookended referral citation in each of your illustrating and classifying paragraphs. This is one of the most common lapses in the rain garden memo.  Do it, not just because I request. Do this so you learn the technique to use in real-world writing that matters to you. Do you see how bookending gives you a place to think about curated referral links?

Pivot to formal citation:  Use formal APA citation in the Davis' paragraph about evaluation where you make a class. Note: announcing Davis early in the paragraph for his expertise and foundational work on bioremediation IS A SIGNAL PHRASE MOVE.   In this way, you are bookending here, too! You can use bookending with in text citation. From above:

See the Bioretention Design Manual (2009)  from the Prince George's County Department of the Environment, sectetur adipiscing elit.

You would pair this in text, parenthetical citation in the body of your memo with this at the end of the memo:

Prince George's County. (2009). Design Manual for Use of Bioretention in Stormwater Management. Prince George's County, MD Department of Environmental Protection. Watershed Protection Branch, Landover, MD. Digital version, based on 1997 first publication and updated 2009.

Other examples you can borrow from:

Davis pioneered his rain garden work with a 19897 paper in Environmental Science Today. Here are two takeaways from that paper about the effectiveness of storm water retention and pollution remediation:  1) Aliquam ornare cursus commodo. Donec 57 percent nulla venenatis, bibendum urna sed, congue risus. Nulla ut orci velit. Praesent up to 87 liters per stormwater eventlectus lacus, rutrum at dapibus quis, vestibulum in erat. 2) Nulla pharetra congue placerat. Nulla convallis, mauris non finibus fringilla, erat felis mollis ipsum, ut gravida ex mauris quis ligula.  The full paper is included with a link in the biblograph at the end of my memo.  You can see an open access summary at this abstrat. (LINK)

Counting out! I want you to see the counting out technique at the paragraph level and the document level.  The magic number for the rain garden memo is two:

  1. Two related environmental problems: storm water events and pollution carried in that water.
  2. Rain gardens have form and function that address these two problems (form and function -- two!)
  3. Rain garden (RG) form 1 = above ground biotic plant material.  RG form 2=below ground = layers of soil and media, in a depression.
  4. Two bits of evidence that reflect this pattern of two is that we can use the logos of numbers from Alan Davis/Low Impact Development Center about
    1. volume of water remediated?
    2. percentage/quantifier of sample pollution type remediated.

Back to stasis theory and the rain garden. We looked at this briefly three weeks ago. Now, you are in a better position to look at this with newer understanding. 

--

Rain garden memo is "due" for a grade on Friday, 27! The parking lot opens then, giving you a week for this work.  Metaphor?  Act like you are parking at BWI to go away. You are in long term parking and you can pick up the car when you return. How is that?

Use groupme this week to ask each other for refined writing and details. You can also ask me questions, seriously!

Tonight, you have your last ER REVIEWING TASK DUE.  Help each other and yourself. BE ON TIME. I expect that many will be busy with this today as we have three people who have completed. Looking forward to what you write in support of each other.

 

Posted on Monday, September 23, 2024 at 06:45AM by Registered CommenterMarybeth Shea | Comments Off

Week 4: rain garden continues, with sentence and paragraph details

Hello,

Thank you for such a good response to the Eli Review (ER) Writing Task.  I assigned four reviews per person, which is not as burdensom a load as you might think.  Note that you, the writer, benefit from seeing what others writer. Win-win!

Due tonight is your Reviewing Task; see ER or use the ELMS calendar to click in. BE ON TIME FOR EACH OTHER.

Knitting up from last week, I want to talk about paragraph jobs. Yes, paragraphs have a job, which is related to YOUR purpose as a writing.

  • Brief, Working Definition (what is a rain garden, briefly, by two functions)
  • Classification (what type of technology is this? Hint: low impact development and storm water management) 
  • Extended Description (Illustrative; give detail on the layers of soil and the type of plants; best to divide the complex material into two parts, plants/function and soil layers/function) 
    • include two examples; consider the ones on campus (can be sep. para OR placed at end of doc)
  • Evaluation (is this low impact technology good or bad?  Use Dr. Davis' research as you do not have authority to evaluate based on your expertise)

I want to ask return to the sentence handlouts of last week. I hope you scanned them as you will see simple, elegant ways to improve your sentence game, especially in two paragraph positions:

  1. topic sentence position
  2. transition sentence position

Placing them here for your convenience (see my strategic redundancy and meta discourse, to help you the reader aka audience?)

Now, let's think about sentences (Google doc one-pagers): 

Sentence Patterns (Bruce Ross Larson)

Buffy and Sentences

Pitch the Verb

BLUF?  Subject-verb placement early in the sentence is cognitive-frame strategy of keeping your audience within the subject as you unleash knowledge and complexity. You can think of the subject-verb pair of words as needing to follow a LEGO principle most of the time.  Can you hear the click?

Posted on Monday, September 16, 2024 at 06:12AM by Registered CommenterMarybeth Shea | Comments Off
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