Charles's ePortfolio

              The IMRaD paper format is extremely helpful to understanding the Science “Discourse” that James Gee describes. Discourses are the ways of being, doing, believing, valuing and saying that allow one to be a part of a group.  James Gee discusses that, “… in order to gain entry into a chosen Discourse one must have the knowledge of the practices of that Discourse.” The knowledge, or the practices, of a Discourse include how to act, talk, walk and do things so one is recognized and accepted within the Discourse. Nair and Nair also talk about these practices on how an article should look and read.

                 The IMRaD Cheat Sheet is an extremely helpful tool for understanding the “Discourse” of science. Discourses are James Gee’s version of social groups where members say, do, be, believe and value the same things. In order for one to join one of these Discourses they must have what Gee calls an “apprenticeship” into the Discourse. This apprenticeship will teach one how and what to do, in other words, the practices of a particular Discourse in order to be recognized and accepted. The IMRaD Cheat Sheet helps one understand the practices needed to write and read a scientific paper so that they can be entered into the Discourse.

1. I’m working quite well with Gee’s articles, mainly because that is all we’ve done for two months, and I have a clear understanding of his views/ideas. I work quite well in my first two paragraphs but do not connect Gee with the other authors as well as can be done and I must work upon that.
2. My main point is that practices/methods make the world go round. I’m using gee and the imrad cheat sheet as well as a few Nair and Nair examples.
3. My main problem is procrastination, and also how to break-up/organize the info from the IMRaD Cheat sheet and merge it with Gee’s Building Tasks.
4. If one doesn’t know how or what to do to gain access and be in a Discourse then they aren’t really a part of that Discourse. One who doesn’t know the practices of a Discourse will be marked as a “pretender.”

1. James Gee discusses that in order to gain entry into a chosen Discourse that one must have the knowledge of the practices of that Discourse.  The knowledge, or the practices, of a Discourse include how to act, talk, walk and do things so one is recognized and accepted within the Discourse. Nair and Nair also talk about these practices on how an article should look and read.

2. Quite a large amount of Gee’s article is on how one must have access to an “apprenticeship” in order to gain entry to a Discourse. He also says how it is the only sure way one can gain access without being outed as a fraud. There are many examples of these apprenticeships, one is the girl Eliza that Haas mentions in her article. Eliza loved Biology so she went and worked at it, spent time with other students/teachers in her field and eventually joined the Discourse.

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Practices (activities)

“But, if the title suggests an innovative investigation such as … “Species richness and diversity in home gardens: a boon or bane?” it has a much better chance to attract the attention of the discerning, busy reader,” (Nair & Nair 15).

Nair and Nair are saying that the title is the first thing a potential reader sees and that it decides whether or not they will read the article. An article’s title must convey a sense of what the article is about while also attracting readers.

“Methods are usually written in past tense and passive voice with lots of headings and subheadings,” (IMRAD).

Methods, as described by the IMRAD Cheat Sheet, are what one actually did in their research. Methods are in the past and should be written that way, they will also be the least read parts of a report.

Identities

“An important point to keep in mind is that there is no standard or uniform style that is followed by all journals,” (Nair & Nair 13)

This quote states that every article is different in its own way. Nair and Nair are saying that no two articles are alike, even if they are on the same subject/topic.

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Intro. I didn’t change my intro at all. I didn’t change it because in my first draft I did not have one so I added it to my final and I believe I did a decent job explaining what my paper was about without going into to much detail.

Evi and Exp. I added many more meaningful quotes and other evidence from the texts. I mainly focused on Gee in both my First and Final drafts but I added more on Cuddy into my Final. I also contrasted the two texts as well as compared them a little in my Final.

Reorganization. I moved a paragraph on gee above a paragraph on Cuddy. I did this because for some reason I at first explained Gee some, then Cuddy, and then went back to Gee. So instead of that, I moved my full explanation of Gee in order.

New Paragraphs. I certainly made my paper longer. I added an actual intro and conclusion, as well as another smaller paragraph on Cuddy.

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1. Haas means that if one is to fully understand a text they must know the correct way to read it. This rings especially true for those entering and in college because of the complex academic texts. Haas states, “…students need a metaunderstanding of the motives of science and scientists and the history of scientific concepts.” Haas says having this “metaunderstanding” is what she and other educators believe is the only way to understand, use, and judge scientific content.

2. The myth of autonomous text is that all academic texts are, “…discrete, highly explicit, even “timeless” entities functioning without contextual support from author, reader, or culture.” All autonomous texts are not context-free, and academic texts certainly aren’t either.

3.  Haas’s study details that one could or could possibly not get better at understanding texts. Haas says, “Although…by the time she left college she had come to a greater awareness…” This quote backs up the point that one can learn how to read and understand academic texts better.

4. A rhetorical frame is a model/representation of discourse situations. A rhetorical frame can prove to be useful as Haas states that it, “…helps readers account for the motives underlying textual acts and their outcomes.” Meaning that a rhetorical frame is just another tool to understand texts better.

5. Haas and Gee have similar ideas. Haas talks about “rhetorical frames” which are tools to help one better understand texts. Gee explains that to understand a discourse one needs an “apprenticeship” which is quite similar to Haas’s frame.

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Charles Golden

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Prof. Cripps

9/25/18

2.

1. Gee says that Discourse entry is near impossible without the right training/introductory into it. I agree with this immensely.
2. Cuddy’s talk is based upon one thing, “Fake it till you become it.” I find this to be untrue and think it would be a hindrance to Discourse entry rather than a help.
3. Gee says that by purely faking it you run the risk of being outed as a pretender. On this topic, I agree with him.

3.

1. Gee says by faking it you run the risk of being outed as a pretender. “The lack of fluency may very well mark you as a pretender…,” (Gee 10). When one is marked as a pretender then that is all people will see and access to the intended Discourse will most likely be cut off. If a redneck country farmer put on a white coat, walked into a hospital, and started talking doctor jargon with the nurses and other doctors they’d think he was crazy. They would see how he looks and how he talks; as well as how he sits, stands, writes, even how he blows his nose and know or at least feel that he does not belong and that farmer’s access to joining the medical Discourse would be blocked. It would be blocked because one cannot just go in and pretend to be there. I’m pretty good at football but that doesn’t mean I’m going to walk into a Packers practice, I could definitely do it at a Patriots practice though because they are awful.
2. Gee says that Discourse entry is near impossible without the right training/introductory into it. I agree with this immensely. If one does not have the right tools, such as the terms/acts/mannerisms, he will not be accepted into his chosen Discourse. The only way to completely understand/enter a Discourse is to be, as Gee puts it, in an apprenticeship with someone already in that Discourse. This apprenticeship helps one learn how to act, speak, think, value and believe in order to be a part of the Discourse. Gee also states that one cannot just understand one thing in a Discourse but must know all of being in a particular Discourse to join it.

1. My group and I concur that my paper is pretty solid pointwise but definitely needs some work explaining those points. I have plenty of quotations but I need to learn how to sandwich them better.
2. I have many quotations and use them well but fail to introduce some of them. My group has said that I contrast Gee and Cuddy very well. I also state my own opinion within my paper.
3. My group members also say that my paper would be better if I fleshed out the argument between Gee and Cuddy more and in greater detail