Feb.

21
“Thinking About the Text” Activity

1. With her title, Johna Paolino immediately establishes that this will be
a contest: Google Home against Alexa. How does she establish her
authority to write on this topic? Also in the title, by stating that she is a
user of this product
2. Where does Paolino indicate the question driving her analysis? The
2nd paragraph
3. Who is Paolino’s audience? Alexa and Google users, females Point to
specific places where she uses language to establish a connection
with readers. When she asks questions she establishes a connection by
offering a chance for her readers, in a way, to answer How would you
describe her tone? I would describe her tone as serious, originally
uncomfortable but eventually reaching comfort when establishing
equality with Google
4. Since Paolino doesn’t include any photographs or audio clips (just her
own original drawing of her subjects), the analysis largely depends on
her description of the two smart speakers. What evidence does
Paolino provide to support her stance? Pg. 273 “Why…Google Home”,
the first, second, and third paragraph of 274 What details or evidence
might you add to make her argument even stronger? Research that
mirrors Paolino’s feelings about speaking in an authoritative tone
produces discomfort on people.

Heraclitus once said “The hidden harmony is better than the obvious.”
Almost everything in the world has a hidden meaning. Even things often
overlooked such as the “Alexa” or “Google Home” smart speakers carry a
meaning; and sometimes they carry such an important meaning that it’s
astonishing how it came to be overlooked.
 In Everyone’s an Author 3rd edition, a post written by Johna Paolino is
included, titled “Google Home vs Alexa: Two Simple User Experience Design
Gestures That Delighted a Female User.” Through her title, Paolino establishes
that she will be a detailing a contest between the two smart speakers, and
establishes her authority to write on this topic by including the words “Female
User” as part of her title to indicate to her audience that she is a user of both
products. Paolino appeals to her target audience which is other Alexa and
Google Home users in addition to females, by asking questions which offer a
chance for her readers to, in a way, relate or interact with her. Originally in her
post, Paolino maintains an uncomfortable tone when detailing how with Alexa
an authoritative voice is used, but with Google Home a more relaxed,
equality-embracing manner of speaking is used, something that provides
comfort to Paolino and eventually leads to her taking on a serious tone when
discussing the importance of equality. In her analysis, Paolino is able to
provide plenty of evidence which supports her argument.
In the second paragraph of her post, Paolino mentions how she
questioned why she felt unsettled when listening to her boyfriend use “Alexa”
(272). This question leads to her analyzing why it is that the unsettling feeling
presented itself. Paolino does not use any visual aids to support her stance,
but rather uses questions and discoveries she made on her own. For example,
Paolino asks why it is that the interactions with Google Home felt natural as
opposed to those with Alexa (273). Paolino then discusses that the reason is
that the tone necessary to interact with Google Home is more equality-like
than the one required to interact with Alexa (273). Additionally, Paolino talks
about how the meaning behind the interaction with both devices extends to
feminism, and how Google Home allows for a feeling of equality as there is no
authoriative voice required for it (274). Although Paolino is able to make a
compelling argument, she could strengthen her reasoning by including
research which details others who mirror her feelings of discomfort when
speaking in a authoritative tone in order to win over the few who still aren’t
convinced with Paolino’s stance.
 All in all, Paolino goes above and beyond to discuss the symbolism of
the tone used with both Alexa and Google Home, in addition to addressing a
serious issue while analyzing the correlation between the issue and the
devices. Paolino is able to analyze something that may be overlooked or
disregarded by others. However, Paolino picks up on the issue and details its
significance and addresses what many aren’t able to see.

Feb.23
1. How many different perspectives do the authors present? 3; where, how,
and loci. (pg. 2) Multiple
2. What is the authors’ main point? Analyzing many perspectives can lead to
different interpretations, some wielding better results than others.
- 2 perspectives can lead to comparisons (pg. 2)
3. What evidence do the authors use to support their point? Many in-text
citations/other sources

Citation: Special issue

Feb.24
1. Does the author have a clear thesis? yes
2. What is the thesis? This article reviews existing literature on
e-leadership and the attendant concept of virtual teams.
3. Does the author describe or summarize the sources sufficiently for
you to understand them? Yes
4. What is the author evidence for his/her review of the literature? The
quotations from every source shows he knows what he was doin
5. How has the author organized the information? In a “this is said, but
this other source argues this etc.”
6. What can you take from this article to use in your writing? Basically
how it is a dialogue between different sources
Essay:
P!: intro
P2:Agree
P3:Sources disagree