After reading what James wrote I realized that there really wasn't much left unsaid about the scarf. It really isn't all that important to me even though I think it is very nice. After reading the interview account I feel like James understood that because of what he wrote about how I acquired the scarf.

As an interviewer I feel that one of my strengths is listening. I think that I tried very hard to listen and understand all the things that James told me about his bag. One issue that I had about the interview is that I already know James, and knew that he was a biker, so I don't know how much of our discussion was based on informant/interviewer trust and how much wasn't. Many of my assumptions about the bag turned out to be true, but I feel like that is because I already know so much about James.

James and I worked together before we had this class together so I already knew alot about him. I already knew that he was an avid bicyclist so many of his purchases are for someone who wants to be comfortable while riding. Knowing this I chose his bag.

This particular bag is a red Chrome messenger bag with black edging and two black straps. There are clasps and velcro, and the bag is expandable. Also there are many pockets, and some of the pockets have smaller pockets. There are very few zippers, and the bag is completely waterproof. The outside of the bag is made of a waterproof material, but the inside is also lined with a waterproof material so that any liquids carried inside will not leak out if they spill.

When I first saw this bag I automatically assumed that it was a bicyclists bag, and I turned out to be correct. Due to the materials used to make it I also assumed that it would be very heavy. I thought that James had gotten the bag just as a replacement of some kind, and that it probably wasn't all that important. I also thought that he would use the bag for school and bike trips specifically and have other bags for other trips.

Some of my assumptions turned out to be true. It is a bicyclists bag, and it is rather heavy to pick up, but once it is on the back it is not uncomfortable. Also, James does use the bag for classes and bike trips, but he uses it for weekend trips as well. Because the bag is so big James told me that he could fit the necessities for an entire weekend if he packed it correctly.

I thought that the bag was simply a replacement for an old bag but it turned out to be different. This bag was a gift that James got for himself on his birthday. It was picked out specifically for its special attributes because he special ordered it and it had to be shipped. It was also important because James was willing to wait a couple of weeks for it even though it was for his birthday. I know that James spent time picking it out because he went into detail about how he chose one with two straps instead a chest strap for comfort, and he chose red because he likes that color.

Activity 1a

All textbooks will have similar features because all textbooks have to relay information to the student in a comprehensible manner. Such features include chapters, chapter titles, page breaks, parapgraph headings, bolded or italicized vocabulary, practice exercises and chapter summaries. These different features are necessary in order to convey information in an organized manner so that it is easily understood. Ancient Rhetorics uses all of these features along with some others because it makes understanding the curriculum simpler.

The functions of the features of Ancient Rhetorics are easily understood because the layout of the book is so basic. One specific feature that has a clear function is the bolded vocabulary words. The obvious function of this feature is to call the reader's attention to an important word or phrase. Once the reader sees this word/phrase he knows that it is important and pays more attention. Another feature is the use of page breaks and headings. The page breaks are used to tell the reader that a new section is beginning so the topic or content is changing, and the headings are used to explain what is going to be discussed.

Student Activity in textbooks is meant to help the student understand the chapter content by putting it to some kind of practical use. For example in Ancient Rhetorics the student acitivities ask the reader to take the information in the chapter and apply it to everyday life somehow. It asks the reader to remember the given information, observe aspects of daily life and take the information from the textbook and apply it to that life. Other textbooks, such as mathbooks, for example, ask the reader to do sample problems similar to those in the book, and history books ask questions to test the readers understanding of the chapter's contents.

WWD Activity 1

Selzer's article on writing in the workplace uses past studies and his own research to determine how someone composes a scientific text. He mentions studies done on the writing habits of high school students and professional writers to make clear that the basic writing habits of these people are understood while the lack of study into scientific writing makes a scientist or engineers writing habits less understood. Selzer goes into great detail about how he studied Nelson making all of his findings legitimate. Through his explanations of his research he is able to list the different ways in which Nelson maps out his works and how he organizes them. For example Selzer explains Nelson's writing process from start to finish so that it is clear, then he mentions different writing techniques such as recycling certain material, and doing very little revision due to the planning process. This is all a pre-cursor to the point of his article that not enough is known about the technical writing process and more research is necessary. Selzer makes this clear by explaining that in his research he discovered many differences between Nelson's writing and a professional writer's work, but because there are not more studies to compare technical writing techniques are not as understood, or well taught, as is necessary.