Media Kits at WSU

Here is a link to an online media kit provided by Washington State. WSU Nutritional Media Kit

Technical Writing Analysis

I chose to analyse Michael Sasser's version of the technical writing assignment for this week. I found it to be fairly obvious that Michael has experience with this type of instruction as he created a very concise re-write with a professional tone throughout. He begins with a clear description of what he is providing instructions for as well as why we would want to map a shared drive. Another point that made me feel he was technically inclined was the fact that he started the instruction numbering with 0 instead of 1. This is an interesting approach and would be acceptable in a technical environment however it may seem odd to anyone outside the industry. In this case his audience would be internal to the company so it may be expected. On the other hand, instruction step 0 is not an action step and is more appropriately labeled with a 0 instead of a 1 for this reason. Michael is polite and uses the word please. I also noted that he included the Help Desk as an option in addition to Network Administrator. In most large companies the help desk would be a more appropriate contact so it would be important to note.

For the most part the instructions are very good but I did notice that Michael used "her computer" in step 1. and "she" in step 8 which assigns a gender to the user. Throughout the rest of the instructions the user is gender neutral.

Michael's interpretation of the intended audience was different from mine. I wrote my version for the end user whereas Michael's version appears to be geared at someone helping another individual set up a drive with most steps beginning with "The user will need" or "Have the user". This implies that the user will not be setting up their own drive. There is nothing wrong with this interpretation I just found it interesting.

Michael also did a great job including details and examples such as he did in step 7 "\\server\mainfolder\applicationfolder\" If the instructions do not have screenshots it is important to give the user an idea of what they are looking for. This makes it very clear that they are doing things correctly. He also did a very good job explaining why someone would want to reconnect at logon and what that function will accomplish. He did an excellent job in step 8 stating that the user will need to map the network drive again if they log in to another computer. This may seem like common sense however having worked at a help desk myself I am painfully aware that it is not common knowledge.

Overall I though Michael made a vast improvement over the original version, he should be careful with the "her" and "she" though, this makes it seem that only girls have issues setting up drives. With those two little words omitted, Michael's version is something I would expect to see in the professional setting.

Creating a Shared Drive

How to Set up Shared Drives on Windows 95 or later

Analyzing for Rhetoric

I think it is disgusting that so many people out there take advantage of bad situations. I am shocked that there are so many scams out there preying on students and people who have lost their jobs. I have heard of some scams where people offer to employ you and with the first paycheck you cash they steal your identity and bank account information. This is not only unethical, it also seems illogical. Seriously, how much money can an unemployed person really have to steal? In my book it is right up there with banks charging overdraft fees when they KNOW for a fact that you don't have any money. But I digress.

I got a message last week in my university e-mail about a student job offer. Of course I recognized it as a scam, but the Rhetoric used was impressive. I could see how someone in a desperate situation could fall victim to their trickery.

The message was from Kim and is copied below. The black font is the original message and the blue comments are my analysis of the rhetoric. Enjoy!

Dear Student, Appealing to my Ethos - They obviously know I am a student because they sent the message to my university e-mail account.

I would like to invite you personally to become a part of our team. Again with the Ethos, now I have been personally invited. They also use Pathos by making me a part of their team.

In the time of crisis more companies are downsizing, moving overseas and outsourcing many of their positions. The buzzwords "crisis", "downsizing", and "outsourcing" strike a nerve in most Americans these days. They are forging an attack on the pathos with this sentence.

Because of this, a brand new opportunity has come about. We are looking for people to work as professional distance-based typists. If you’re eager to use your skills to make some additional cash, then you might want to consider a home typing position. Here they throw in a little logos if you stretch the definition by telling you a little about what they are offering. Again the appeal to the ethos by suggesting we have skills and the pathos by letting us know we can work from home with the family.

No experience is needed.Our requirements for distance-based typists are:-Computer with Internet access.-Good Typing Skills.-Basic Internet knowledge.-Basic Computer and Typing Skills. Logos - Not really selling anything but making it appear that the reader is qualified for the job. Obviously if one did not have Internet access they could not receive this e-mail.

You will not have to devote full time hours. These assignments can be done on your time.They may be done in Internet cafes or where ever you can get Internet access.All data entry operators work from home and are independent contractors.You typically set your own hours and work from home on projects that are enjoyable! This appeals to my pathos by making me feel like I would be really REALLY happy if I had this job. Some of the key phrases that pop out at me are "on your time." "set your own hours", "work from home", and of course "enjoyable!" I would get to work for myself AND enjoy it, sounds pretty fantastic.

Average monthly earnings start from $1000 to $3000 or more. Reel them in with the logos, facts about the cold hard cash.

If you are interested just reply to my email! Lets round it out with some ethos, make it about the reader's interest.

Best Regards, Awe she really cares, that touches my pathos.
Kim Nilson