A prolific painter of portraits before and after the French Revolution ...

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ch07.qxd 12/2/04 11:59 AM Page 337 explaining: the writing process 337 in a crowd of about 250,000 traveling in an antique open car moving ver-r-ry slowly. At that time in the series I was involved with a character named Nick. Some man broke through, came right up to the car and said to me, ‘Why don’t you give me a little bit of what you’ve been giving Nick?’ ” The man hung onto the car, menacingly, until she was rescued by the police. Another time, when she was in church, the reverent silence was broken by a woman’s astonished remark, “Oh, my god, Erica prays!” Margaret Mason, who plays the villainous Lisa Anderson in “Days of Our Lives,” was accosted by a woman who poured a carton of milk all over her in the supermarket. And once a woman actually tried to force her car off the Ventura Freeway. V OICE AND T ONE Writers also use voice and tone to shape and control whole passages, often in combination with other shaping strategies. In the following paragraph, Toni Bambara, author of The Salt Eaters and numerous short stories, explains what being a writer is all about. This paragraph is shaped both by a single extended example and by Bambara’s voice talking directly to the reader: When I replay the tapes on file in my head, tapes of speeches I’ve given at writing conferences over the years, I invariably hear myself saying—“A writer, like any other cultural worker, like any other member of the community, ought to try to put her/his skills in the service of the community.” Some years ago when I returned south, my picture in the paper prompted several neighbors to come visit. “You a writer? What all you write?” Before I could begin the catalogue, one old gent interrupted with—“Ya know Miz Mary down the block? She need a writer to help her send off a letter to her grandson overseas.” So I began a career as the neighborhood scribe—letters to relatives, snarling letters to the traffic chief about the promised stop sign, nasty letters to the utilities, angry letters to the principal about that confederate flag hanging in front of the school, contracts to transfer a truck from seller to buyer, etc. While my efforts have been graciously appreciated in the form of sweet potato dumplings, herb teas, hair braiding, and the like, there is still much room for improvement—“For a writer, honey, you’ve got a mighty bad hand. Didn’t they teach penmanship at that college?” Another example, I guess, of words setting things in motion. What goes around, comes around, as the elders say. C HRONOLOGICAL O RDER AND P ROCESS A NALYSIS Writers use chronological order in expository writing to help explain how to do something or how PROFESSIONAL COPY—NOT FOR RESALE
ch07.qxd 12/2/04 11:59 AM Page 338 338 Chapter 7 explaining TEACHING TIP If you require students to integrate images or experiment with document design, keep two guidelines in mind. First, have students treat images in a rhetorical context. Like a specific example or a statistic, visuals should function to further the writer’s purpose for a particular audience. Using rhetorical language to discuss visuals helps reinforce the rhetorical goals of the assignment. Second, using visuals or implementing special document designs should increase students’ interest in and ownership of their essays without distracting from the other important rhetorical goals of critical reading, thoughtful analysis, effective organization, evaluation of sources, and effective style. T IPS FOR I NTEGRATING I MAGES For your explaining essay, you may wish to integrate images (photographs, images, graphics, or charts), and you may wish to work with your document design. To integrate images with your text, first consider your rhetorical situation. • What is your purpose? Does the visual contribute to your thesis or main idea, or is it just a distraction? • Who is your audience? Is the image appropriate for your target audience? Would it make your document more appealing or attractive? Would it offend them? Would it amuse them? Would it make your point in a way that words could not? • What is your intended genre? Look at other examples of your genre. Find several examples of the kind of essay, pamphlet, Web page, article, advertisement, brochure, laboratory report, letter, or flyer. How do they use images or graphics? • What is the social/cultural context of your text? Consider whether the subject, topic, or issue you are discussing could or should be illustrated with an image or a certain document design. Use search engines and library sources to find a variety of images relevant to your topic. Start with an image search on Google or Yahoo!, but don’t forget that your library has a wealth of online image databases. If you’re looking for paintings or fine art, check Web sites for museums around the world. Having several potential images enables you to choose the one most effective for your rhetorical situation. Finally, don’t forget about your document design. Start with your purpose, audience, and genre. Consider how the genre you have selected uses the following document features. • Columns Would a text with two columns work for your purpose? • Margins and white space Avoid overcrowding words, images, and graphics on a page. Use margins and white space to emphasize key parts of your text. • Fonts Use a font appropriate to your purpose, genre, and audience. Times New Roman and Palatino Linotype are widely accepted, but do you need Franklin Gothic Demi for particular parts of your text? For special situations, perhaps consider a script face such as Felt Tip or a bolder face such as TRADE GOTHIC.If appropriate for your purpose, genre, and audience, play around with the available fonts on your computer. • Sidebars If appropriate for your text, use a sidebar for text emphasis or to add related information. Is the image appropriate for your target audience? Does the image contribute to your thesis? PROFESSIONAL COPY—NOT FOR RESALE
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