COMMUNITY WRITER’S INVENTORY


1) What kind of document are you producing?
I am producing a briefing statement that will be including in a packet distributed by the Ohio Environmental Council to state legislators.

2) What are the primary and secondary rhetorical purposes of the document?
Its purpose is to inform legislators about Ohio environmental organizations and what they are doing, to explain to them the importance of these projects and environmental concerns in general, and to provide recommendations for how the goals of these projects can be reached. Particularly, FLOW’s briefing statement will be about its storm water management project and how to improve water quality based on its initiative.

3) Who is the primary reader of the document? Is there a secondary audience?
The primarily reader will be Ohio legislators, or their assistants that read their documents. A secondary community would be Ohio citizens with a particular concern for environmental issues. To my knowledge, the packet will be distributed modestly and not to the general public.

4) Further characterize your primary readers, according to any of the following categories that you believe are relevant, or others you can think of: middle class, middle age, predominantly white and Christian, highly educated, English speakers, American roots, physically capable, legislators, ideally sympathetic to community concerns.

5) Characterize any secondary readers in the same way, and note any differences between primary and secondary readers.
Very similar to above, more concerned about environmental issues out of their own will, generally not caught up in legal system.

6) Describe the situation(s) in which your reader is most likely to encounter what you have written in its finished form.
Legislators will probably be provided with this packet along with the tons of papers they are given on a daily basis. I presume that the initial interaction with the packet will be through an assistant summing up its contents. If the legislator has a concern or a specific issue to address, she or he will look at it themselves. Environmentally-concerned community members will probably go out of their way to read it or read it as part of their work with a local environmental group.
The document will probably be made available to anyone who wants it, but still not widely distributed. It has a very focused intended demographic.

7) Where did you/do you need to go to get the information you needed/need? Most of the information was provided by my community partner mentor. The rest of it was available on their website. This information is meant for those interested in the specifics of water quality work and storm water management. I did not need to conduct interviews for this project, its layout was relatively straight forward.

8) What modes of development are necessary in your document? Where and why?
I need to define non-point source pollution and watershed. I will have to talk about FLOW and their storm water management program, as well as talking about what effects this project has on the environment and the local community. It is read like a fact sheet and allows no room for my own voice (which is fine for a first project). There is no explicit argument, but he implicit one is that we need to create a better storm water management system in Columbus because of if not we are losing rich reasources that aquatic life provides.

9) Describe the writing voice that works best for your document.
10) Very formal. My voice is almost nonexistent. It is supposed to read like a briefing paper. There is no story. What is important is to convey in the least amount of words the project and why it is important.

11) Describe the general form of the finished document. One-sided page; front and back of one page; double-fold brochure; margin-to-margin; columns; other? Headings and subheadings? introduction and conclusion? Complete sentences and paragraphs? Long or short paragraphs?

12) Describe the particulars of format. Large print/standard print/small print; various fonts in various places; questions and answers; bullet points; web page links; graphical elements/enhancements (Document design/lay-out? Print in color, black and white, gray scale? Photos or graphic images? Drawings? Tables or graphs?); other?




COMMUNITY WRITER’S STATEMENT
OF AUDIENCE AND PURPOSE

Try articulating your community writing task using the pattern of information that emerged from the Community Writer’s Inventory.

I am writing a legislative briefing paper for Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed, whose mission is to My primary purpose in the document is inform and persuade legislators about FLOW’s storm water management project and its importance to the community, and my secondary purpose(s) is inform the local community about this project and its importance to my readers, who are legislators and community members with a particular concerns for environmental issues. Since my purpose and my audience will be encountering my writing in a formal setting (work or community meeting), my writing voice must be formal and concise. The form and format of the document, a 500-word factual document with background information and recommendations will also help make my points effectively. I need to research Guide to Ohio Streams (book), Background Conservation Manual (FLOW manual), and Watershed Action Plan (FLOW formal plan of action) to get the information I need to produce a credible and effective document, and I expect to develop and articulate my points using the following modes of development: listing background information on the project and proceeding to list recommendations for legislators in order to change the poor state of the storm water management system, in order to improve aquatic life and preserve the rich resources of the Olentangy River Watershed.

check-in on assignments

its funny to think about "the community served" in terms of flow's work. the community, to be accurate, is the aquatic life of the olentangy river watershed. and perhaps that is why environmental work is such a challenge. we have to convince people that these issues affect humans beings, not just the unimportant fish in the river.

wp1- im having issues with both organization and style. i started by making it into a story, and i think this could work as an approach. at this point, i have a lot of information from the two meetings ive attended (im attending one more on friday) and the office visit. how do i decide what observations not to use? how can i structure it in a single format? id like to meet with you during class tuesday to talk about this and figure out how to best organize the paper.

practical assignment- im starting to organize information for hte practical assignment briefing paper. i have to pull information from several sources, but most of them are easily accessible. by tuesday i want to have a draft done and on friday im attending a meeting that will give me an even better idea of how to further refine the paper. its due date is a week from wednesday, not that far away. and its being sent to several 'higher-ups," government officials, etc. so it has some weight (and im feeling the pressure of this).

i visited the office briefly last week (im doing my writing at home) and heather was out for the week because her grandmother passed away. so we havent been in contact much over the past week. i suppose i do better with externally-created due dates, and a lack of a due date is making it hard to prioritize this writing assignment above other course assignments without a due date.

so tonight im just doing more research for this asignment. my greatest challenge in research in knowing what information tp pull out and what not to. its incredibly difficult for me. im detail-oriented, and i seem to think a lot is important. in this project, my greatest challenge will be pulling out only what is necessary so that the editing process is not so excruciating. hoepfully i can improve upon this.

thats it for now

peace,
aaron

journal five

RJ #5 its funny to think about "the community served" in terms of flow's work. the community, to be accurate, is the aquatic life of the olentangy river watershed. and perhaps that is why environmental work is such a challenge. we have to convince people that these issues affect humans beings, not just the unimportant fish in the river. wp1- im having issues with both organization and style. i started by making it into a story, and i think this could work as an approach. at this point, i have a lot of information from the two meetings ive attended (im attending one more on friday) and the office visit. how do i decide what observations not to use? how can i structure it in a single format? id like to meet with you during class tuesday to talk about this and figure out how to best organize the paper. practical assignment- im starting to organize information for hte practical assignment briefing paper. i have to pull information from several sources, but most of them are easily accessible. by tuesday i want to have a draft done and on friday im attending a meeting that will give me an even better idea of how to further refine the paper. its due date is a week from wednesday, not that far away. and its being sent to several 'higher-ups," government officials, etc. so it has some weight (and im feeling the pressure of this). i visited the office briefly last week (im doing my writing at home) and heather was out for the week because her grandmother passed away. so we havent been in contact much over the past week. i suppose i do better with externally-created due dates, and a lack of a due date is making it hard to prioritize this writing assignment above other course assignments without a due date. so tonight im just doing more research for this asignment. my greatest challenge in research in knowing what information tp pull out and what not to. its incredibly difficult for me. im detail-oriented, and i seem to think a lot is important. in this project, my greatest challenge will be pulling out only what is necessary so that the editing process is not so excruciating. hoepfully i can improve upon this. thats it for now peace, aaron

reflection

yesterday i finally met with heather dean, watershed coordinator for FLOW. though our meeting was brief, about 30 minutes long, it was thorough and i got a feel for the FLOW office and how they operate. the FLOW office is located in a small two and a half room part in an old apartment building, near the intersection of north broadway and north high streets. heather was only accompanied in the office by one other person, jason, who seemed to serve as the secretary person (though friday was his first day). the entrance room serves at the library, secretary space, and entrance. as you go in on the left is another small room with a long table surrounded by 6 chairs (you'd be hard-pressed to fit 6 people in there). it serves as the meeting/conference room, and the only thing that prevents it from feeling overly chlostraphobic is a large north-facing window.

we began talking about the project she had proposed, which was to write a 500-word summary of their storm water projects for an environmental organization packet for ohio legislators. she was clear that the focus was to make their projects accessible to people without a technical knowledge of environmental science, as well as making the project statewide in scope (as opposed to their lower olentangy-area focus). the deadline is february 1, but she said as long as i send in the final draft by the 7th, it will be fine. monday, she will be sending me an outline of what she wants covered in the document. the main reason for the extended deadline is that on february 2nd, there will be a meeting for MORPC Greenways that will talk further about FLOW's storm water projects, and she thinks this information will be inportant for the briefing paper that i am composing. she was very exciting about my writing skills, and remarked that my emails were a sign that i had clear and organized writing skills.

after writing up the contract for this project, and the future project of helping out with their newsletter, i asked her a few technical questions about storm water management and how the whole system works. her responses were helpful, and she allowed me to logically come to conclusions after hinting at what the answers were (such as in reference to dissolved oxygen level needs for fish, and why these levels decreasing is a bad thing).

heather also referenced me to the website where there is the watershed action plan. information on storm water management can be found on there. supplementary information included a book on how storm water management affects fish and local aquatic life.

other than this, we just talked a little about how FLOW gets their funding, and talked briefly about her background. there is a funny connection because her background is in organic agriculture (as is part of mine), and she was told about kevin eigel, a local organic farmer whom i work for, when she initially arrived in columbus looking for work. pretty funny how things work out.

overall, i got a good feel for FLOW and their work, as well as cultivating a positive working relationship with heather. i am looking forward to future work with FLOW, and hope this work informs my future non-profit, as well as helping FLOW accomplish their goals.

further explorations

there are two other main reasons that i chose to take this course. first, i see it as an opportunity to work in the community. while much of my earlier college years were dedicated to communal service work, i have somewhat isolated myself from this area in the past year, primarily due to academic devotion. yet i find myself most balanced, in fact excelling the most academically, when i am involved in communal service work. at the same time, it will be an opportunity to just give. yes, i will benefit from this work as well, academically, perhaps even occupationally, and definitely as a human being, but i also just want to give of myself without receiving financial compensation. i hav observed this lately, and so many people justify decisions/make decisions based on money, and i know that i dont want money to be a/the driving motivation in my life. involvement in communal service work is an opportunity to demonstrate this. secondly, as alluded to previously, such work will be of benefit occupationally, at least that is one of the intentions of taking this course. a major part of this is utilizing what i have learned as a tool to talk about the work i intend to do. i am hoping that this service work will help me develop a vocabulary of service work, the vernacular, if you will. along with that is the benefit of working these learned skills into my resume and other documents that i use to find employment in the communal service field. overall, i am hoping that this course will provide me with the opportunity to both prepare myself for future work in this field as well as the opportunity to "do" good work in the "real world" (as opposed to only studying and taking classes).

Reflective Writing --- chapter 4 response

1. Yes, being involved in local social change work does influence the global community. Mother Theresa said somewhat to the effect that the only way to cause big changes in this world is through small acts of kindness. I agree, revolutions are composed of small acts. Yes, larger-scale projects and actions are important, but the foundation of social change is a change in ideology, in lifestyles, and such begins with small acts of kindness and love.
2. No, for each act of kindness also necessitates a reward, even if that reward is the creation of one's mind. And this is okay. From my experience, if people are doing things without serving themselves as well, they will burn out and both the individual and the community they are serving will lose out in the long term. If people are rewarded in some way, they are most likely to cultivate long-term motivation to continue in the work they are doing.
3. Religion, Physical features, Geographics. If one is of a particular religion, and the community in which they are working with practices no religion or a different religion, the individual "serving" the community may see a need to spread their religion to the community, as they may bsee it as a tool for becoming a better person. It is difficult to put these attributes aside, as they may be central to our being. We must learn to cultivate respect and gratitude for the idnetities of the people in the community that we are working with. Otherwise, our work will not be nearly as effective, and can generate negative consequences towards the identity you are trying to privelege.
4. I felt like an insider at Chabad about a year ago. I started wearing a kipa, going to Chabad often, and davvenin. There were inside jokes, lingo, speech, that many others would not have recognized. We acted as a unit, and others saw us as such. There was still a warmth for "outsiders," and in fact we tried bringing in outsiders to become insiders. However, there was still an aura of "We own this place, and we are why it is so great." No longer am I part of the in-group. I do not go to Chabad as often, I do not share time with the people in the group, and I have consciously chosen to separate myself from that gorup (for several reasons). The insider dynamic was cultivated by our need to belong, to be meaningful in some way. I see this inclination as the human inclination: we need to feel wanted, that we are important and have a purpose in this world. To have a purpose, to be human. And that's my sociological understanding of it.
5. Now I am somewhat of an outsider. There are semi-awkward encounters with these people, not simply conscious, but the logical deritive of my intentional alientation from the group. The funny thing is that I helped bring them together. I brought with me a kavanna, a spirit and passion that attracted others. And then invited them to our place for my birthday, and I believe that was one of the first times that we/they all hung out. Funny, now being an outsider. It's been about a year. Funny, scary how things work. Since I chose to be an outsider, I have been upset with myself at times for making this choice. Yet I know that I made the decision that way the most true to me, and that to be a part of that community any longer would be living a lie. This is because I cannot fully express myself in this community, that I would be limited to their limited understandings of things, that had I expressed my understandings of things, I would be disliked and stigmatized, at the least.
6. Yes I use those terms. I actually prefer the term queer for non-normative sexual identity. There are exceptable alternatives to these terms, but when using these terms to address people of these groups, I think it is for the best to use the most widely-respected terminology. Hm, interesting question. I suppose that for the groups in which I am an outsider, I use more formal terminology. And for groups in which I consider myself an insider, I use more informal terms (i.e. white rather than caucasian, among others). Something to be mindful of, I suppose.

Community- a group of people united together for a common goal.
Service- the intention and action of doing something that is viewed by the doer and the recipient of the doing as work that benefits something or someone.
Community service- the intention and action of doing work that helps fulfill the mission of a community, which is helping them learn how to fulfill this mission. It is the process of training this group for long-term sustainability. In return, the doer (i.e. "server") receives hands-on training in this work, the reward of having helpful a group, and an experience that may help the doer find employment in that field. It is a symbiotic, reciprocal, positive relationship built on trust, understanding, and kindness.

Reflective Writing --- chapter 1 response

1. Most of my past academic experience has been shaped by the educational methodology of Hutchins, that of using cannon or classic works to educate about various subjects. This has been most evident in english and history courses in high school, but has prevailed in almost every course in college. I have taken a few less-traditional courses in college, namely this service-learning course and an African American Studies course where formal papers were replacd with live debates between classmates. Still, the latter utilized classic works of the leaders of the African liberation struggles that we were studying.
2. The reason I chose to take this course was primarily to prepare myself for employment in the service world. I am still unsure of the exact reasons for this intention, and am hoping that this course will help me understand these intentions. While the course does not could toward smajor credit, it still counts towards graduation, and in that way, I need it to graduate. But I could have chosen to take a much less time-demanding course, so it is that I wanted to take this course. Another primary reason for taking this course is to have sort of a "dry run," if you will at working with communal service organizations. I have had significant experience volunteering with these types of organizations or organizing with campus organizations, but I have had little official work/writing/organizing with non-campus communal service organizations. Again, it is a means of preparation. Finally, a byproduct of this work is doing good work, that it is not merely to look to the future, but that in doing this work now, I am helping an organization that needs this help.
3. When I attended college in Cincinnati, I wrote several articles about how to take activism to end the genocide in Darfur. It was structured as an op-ed, and provided ways that each of us could take action. There are some things I would have changed about the article, such as creating a narrative and making it more poetic rather than in list form, but I think that people read it and understand the intention behind the article. I was, however, discouraged by the response of people that read it. Most congradulated me for the work I was doing, but few asked to talk about the crisis or how they could help. Was the article effective in any way? Maybe in educating people, but not so much as a tool for direct action.
4. I am indeed excited and nervous about such responsibility, but I have learned that the most effective way to learn how to do something is to learn by experience. So I will have questions, may struggle, and may get frustrated, but I will learn. Learning and doing while being mindful not to bring in negative energy will be the challenge. Apprehensions: not many, suprisingly. I'm excited to meet the people that I will be working with, and curious about the respinsibilities I will have, but not apprehensive. However, that may change right as I walk through the door.
5. Most important consequence: Uniting with people for the common good. Yes, that it is. We will be working together, on the same mission, to bring together some improvement in the lives of the people we are trying to help. That is the greatest reward, and the most significant consequence.

day 1 --- immersion into service-learning

The primary reason for taking this course is to prepare for employment in social justice organizing. Networking, writing, critical thinking, grant writing... There are all essential quiliaities to this work. While I do not expect to know everything about writing in community service work by the end of this course, I do expect to have a better idea of the expectations of community organizations, preferred methods and styles of writing, and a more thorough understanding of how these organizations work. Perhaps just as importantly, I hope that this course will help me generate a narrative about why I want to do this work, and how past experiances have led me to this point. Such a narrative and understanding of myself will be essential for obtaining employment in this field in the first place.

originally written 4 january 2007