6: Strategies

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Tweet by @killakushla on January 21, 2018 says: My prof said "You are not entitled to your opinion. You are only entitled to what you can argue for."
This his me especially w/all the fake woke pple online. It's important to know what you truly stand for, the facts and rational behind it. Otherwise, it's meaningless.

To be completely honest with y’all, this chapter might not be focused on since the book is primarily focused on GENRES. So, most of this chapter might only be in the EXPANDED version? Or it might only include the strategy of argument?

You’re ready to write. You’ve fired up your laptop, created a new page, and are ready to roll. But, after staring at the blinking cursor for a few minutes, you have no idea where to begin. No need to panic. Now is the time to consider the rhetorical situation – the purpose, audience, author, context, and text – and select a writing strategy to help develop and organize your work. Maybe you want to use narration to tell a story or description to use details in explaining how something works. This next set of chapters will explore how these strategies and others can help make your writing clear and effective.

As you read, ask yourself what sort of structure you’ve seen these strategies (or modes) used in. What kinds of content have you see when it comes to these strategies (or modes)? Do you see a strict or flexible structure used? Do you see creative content or technical content used?

Note: Strategies are fluid guidelines that can change or combine according to the goals of your writing.

Want An Example?

“The Five Modes/Strategies in Five Paragraphs... with the Theme of Shopping.”

NARRATION:

My love for shopping started when I was very young and has followed me throughout my teen and college years. Back when I was younger, and didn’t have a credit card, I had to rely on my mom to take me shopping. I remember getting very excited when she and my dad would announce a trip to Fargo because that meant we’d go to the mall. Although I wasn’t’ a shop-a-holic back then, I did love the simple act of wandering through racks of clothes as well as trying on a pile of them even if they didn’t fit. When I was in high school, I started shopping on my own at places that suited my budget. The local thrift stores became my favorite places even thought my mom disapproved of us buying secondhand items. Once I came to Fargo to go to college, I still shopped at thrift stores (there were so many more up here!), and slowly, as my income increased as well as my amount of credit, I made my way to the mall more often and started online shopping too. Although I have expanded the variety of stores I shop at, my sister and I still to this day love going to thrift stores to find cheap tees, funky bags, and weird furniture.

ILLUSTRATION OR EXAMPLE:

There are many different places a person can shop for clothing at, but it depends on what you are looking for. If you want vintage, I suggest these stores in Fargo: Savers, Dakota Boys Ranch, and the Salvation Army. If you aren’t intimidated by online shopping, try eBay.

For basics, I go to Target first, then Old Navy, and then the Gap. This list goes from cheapest to most expensive, in my opinion.

COMPARISON/CONTRAST:

While the outcome is the same, online shopping is quite different from physically shopping in a mall.

[Online Shopping- Weather doesn’t matter; don’t have to walk around and get crabby, more stores to look at that aren’t in your area.

Physically Shopping- exercise, alone time away from home, get to try on things.]

CAUSE AND EFFECT:

The effect of a good shopping trip is both beneficial and detrimental to a shop-a-holic. [Good: exercise, new clothes, good attitude, research for future purchase. Bad: costs money, wastes time that could be used doing something else, and could make you stressed out from spending money or trying on clothes that don’t fit well.]

DEFINITION (SOMEWHAT ARGUMENTATIVE):

The definition of “window shopping” is not necessarily walking by a window, peering in to see what’s for sale. Oh, no. Window shopping can be expanded to simply mean “shopping by looking and not necessarily buying.” One can window shop and purchase items or one can window shop for days without buying a dang thing. Window shopping can be done at yard sales, thrift stores, malls, department stores, and, yes, while walking down Broadway peaking at window displays. [etc.]

6.1: Argument