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The root of any scientific discovery is the curiosity to pursue the unanswered questions. The scientific method involves steps like observation, hypothesis, carrying out an experiment, and then drawing out a conclusion. The beginning of the scientific method comes from observation. An inquisitiveness to figure out something new. There is a reason that not everyone is a scientist, being a scientist is a Discourse, not all can enter. Not everyone has this “inquisitiveness”. Many scientists can root their passion for science sprouting up when they were a child, science becoming apart of their primary Discourse. “We acquire this primary Discourse, not by overt instruction but by being a member of primary socializing groups”(Gee 8). Family members, friends, and even teachers are all influences on our primary Discourse. They could have given scientists the inspiration they needed to pursue their passion.

The method of observation is well written about in Haas’s Learning to Read Biology. Haa’s entire experiment on Eliza, watching her grow from a timid freshman to a well informed senior is entirely based off of observations. In her experiment Haa’s watches how a student (Eliza) grows educationally throughout college.  Haas observed how Eliza used tools she learned in freshman year, putting the knowledge to use all the way up till senior year. How subjects Eliza struggled with eventually became easy due to Eliza putting in the extra effort. “Eliza showed a level of awareness of the activity and agents of discourse that seldom was obvious in the texts she wrote”(Haas 47). Haas is saying that we do not realize we are mastering something. Through observations, Haas has come to understand that Eliza is growing and understanding the concepts she is learning thoroughly that she can now apply it to other subjects.

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Significance:

• “Keep in mind and respect the general level of the readers’ understanding and familiarity with your procedures. For example, in a manuscript for a journal targeted at researchers in biophysical aspects of agroforestry, it is not necessary to narrate all minute details of how materials were selected, drawn, prepared, and so on.” (Nair & Nair 19)
  • I thought this was a significant quote because it applies to every paper you right. Know your audience, and do not overfill with details. Write your paper with a targeted audience in mind so you can cater to them.

• “In order to understand, use, and judge scientific content students need a meta-understanding of the motives of science and scientists and the history of scientific concepts” (Haas 45)
  • I chose this as a significant moment because it so easily related to Gee’s idea on what a Discourse is. To understand scientific literature, you need to understand everything around it, like the history behind it. To join a Discourse, you need to be completely surrounded by the beliefs and values of that Discourse, and to talk, behave, and write about it.

Practices

• “By the time she had left college, she had come to a greater awareness of the rhetorical, contingent nature of her chosen field, biology”(Haas 46)
  • I used this as an example of practice because to leave college in a greater knowledge, it means that she had to put in the effort. She had to practice the skills to be a biologist.
• “I hypothesized that in her reading practices Eliza might demonstrate more rhetorical sophistication than she would in her writing where more production skills must be managed”(Haas 47)
  • Eliza is demonstrating more rhetorical sophistication than in her writing. This showed that Eliza was picking up different skills at different times based on how much she practiced them.
• “Because the Abstract is a short version of the full paper, it contains a mixture of tenses representing the tense used in reporting the respective sections of the paper”(Nair & Nair 17)
  • The Abstract is a summarized version of your research paper, it must contain every major aspect of your paper but condensed. It is limited to 250 words and needs to stand on its own. Many need to practice to get their Abstract just right

Connections

• “When readers approach a discourse situation, they presumably have some knowledge or representation of the participants, including the identity, knowledge, and background of author intended readers.”(Haas 48)
  • I connected this to Gee, you must know everything around Discourse if you want to be a part of one.
• “The section pulls everything together and shows the importance and value of the work and is, therefore, the most innovative and difficult part of the paper to write”(Nair & Nair 21)
  • This quote shows the importance of connection in a research paper. Without connections, we cannot create a discussion without connection multiple sources together.  

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1. Learning in college is not just about reading information and remembering it. It is about understanding the entire concept. As Haas states it “‘scientific literacy’ as not only the mastery of scientific facts and concepts but an understanding the ‘evolving contributions of individual scientists and group of scientists,.. the social communities and historical settings in which scientists work”(Haas 45). To understand a subject is to fully be engaged with the text, knowing the facts and history around a subject. In college we do not just read the text, we have to fully understand the concept. 
2. The “myth” Haas is talking about is the view that “ written academic texts as discrete, highly explicit, even ‘timeless’ functioning without contextual support from author, reader, or culture”(Haas 45). This myth does not inherently make sense to me, I feel that it is asking too much from a textbook. We don’t need contextual support from an author, it is a textbook we just need well worded and organized information.
3. Haas’s study of Eliza is probably a common occurrence, the longer we spend working on a subject the more prolific we become to it. Progress is hard for us to see because we make change subconsciously sometimes. “ She( Eliza) exhibited a growing cognizance of texts”(Haas 69). As Eliza continued her studies, she grew a deeper understanding of the material that she could use in other work. By studying Eliza’s growing study pattern, it could share inside into how college students develop compared to high school students.
4. A rhetorical frame is used to help readers better understand underlying themes within the text. “ A Rhetorical Frame helps the reader account for the motives underlying textual acts and their outcomes”(Haas 47-8). Rhetorical frames use participates, relationships, context, and motives to help bring certain aspects out of the text for the reader. 
5. I see a connection between Gee and Haas through their definition of “Discourses” and “scientific literacy”. Both authors state that there needs to be a deeper level of understanding and appreciation in order to truly understand each subject or Discourse. “Discourses are ways in the world; they are forms of life which integrate words, acts, values, beliefs, attitudes, and social identities”(Gee 7). To Gee, Discourses are not just one level of understanding. You need to be completely surrounded by everything a Discourse stands for to be a part of one. This is reminiscent of Haas’s view on scientific literacy,  ‘scientific literacy’ as not only the mastery of scientific facts and concepts but an understanding to the ‘evolving contributions of individual scientists and group of scientists,.. the social communities and historical settings in which scientists work”(Haas 45). In order to understand scientific literacy, you have to understand it on multiple levels, just like a Discourse. 

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Introduction: My essay has changed a lot throughout the month.  The only thing that stayed relatively the same is my opening paragraph and statement. My group and I both thought my opening statement was engaging and hooked the readers in,  so I kept it from my rough draft to my final draft. I added a thesis and stated the purpose of my essay, that Discourses shape who we are. In my rough draft, I seemed to talk without a point. So, in my final draft, I made sure I could define all of my points.

Evidence and Explanations: I added more evidence to support my claims. More quotes from Gee, and going more in-depth on the concepts that I am talking about. I elaborated on the concept of Discourse as a whole. I added about primary and secondary Discourses so the reader can fully understand what a Discourse is. My quotes in my rough draft were very “hit and run”. To fix that I added explanations to my quotes.

Reorganization: I did not do a lot of reorganizing, I mostly just added to my paragraphs I had already written.

New Paragraphs: My final paragraph is lengthier than my rough draft. I added to my conclusion statement to my final essay. I also added another paragraph to talk about primary and secondary Discourses. These extra paragraphs added a better understanding of Discourses.

My biggest concern writing this draft was making my point made while also reaching the word limit. I felt like my essay talked without a purpose. While I was not feeling very confident in my essay, my peers thought differently. Justin mentioned in my intro paragraph, “In my opinion, it is sometimes risky to start a paper with a question. However, I think you use this method very effectively and this gets the reader actively thinking about your question early in your paper”. Justin stated that he enjoyed my thought provoking hook, while Sam enjoyed my vocabulary. While they thought my paper was good, my peers thought that it could use some improvement. They told me that I understand the definition of Discourse very well, but I need to explain the idea of little d discourse, and big d discourse. I enjoy Cuddy’s work more because she seems more motivational, and I think I conveyed her enthusiasm for positive change in my essay. Although, My peers think I needed to make a better introduction to her, instead of just mentioning Cuddy right off the back. 

After discussing my essay with my peers, we determined my two biggest challenges for writing this essay. The biggest challenges in my work would be essay structure and hitting the word limit. While I understand Discourses, I need to be able to explain every aspect of Discourses that relate to Cuddy and to make it flow smoothly. I agree with my friends, after reading through my essay, I realized that I need to stronger, more understandible point. I will work on this my writing out only what flows with the point of my essay, rather than writing to write. I will try to get my readers into my perspective by asking them questions they don’t usually ask themselves, it draws readers in and makes them curious. This is why my hook was so engaging to my peers- “What is the root of your personality, the way you act, how you talk, what makes you, you?”. Questions like the ones shown in my quote engage readers in their own perspective, but once reading my essay, can see those questions from my perspective as well. 

1. Engaging readers in your text is probably the most critical factor of writing an essay. Without reader engagement, if they are not fascinated and interested in your text, they most likely will not be moved by what you are saying. 

2. To write an opinionated essay means you need to be persuasive, and to use claims that the other side makes. As Graff and Birkenstein put it, “ To keep an audience engaged, a writer needs to explain what he or she is responding to”. You need to explain that ideas that you are arguing against to so the reader can draw distinctions between either claim. Writers should use “what others say” in their own essays so they can break down the claim of others and emphasize their own points. In high school, I had to debate with other people. When it would be my turn to rebuke I would say “Diana believes that overfishing is necessary for a growing population of people, but I am here to argue against the use of unsustainable fishing practices”. I mention what my opponent is stating and what my claims are. 

Cuddy’s idea of “Fake it till you become it” is a tool that works well with Gee’s idea of “Muskfake”. A “Mushfake Discourse” means partial acquisition coupled with meta-knowledge to “make do”(13). If you are not confident with a certain topic use the term “Fake it till you become it” and push until you are. As Cuddy states “You’re going to do it and do it and do it, even if you are terrified and just having an out-of-body experience, until you have this moment where you say ‘oh my gosh, I am doing it, I have become this’ 16:54. Use your Mushfake discourse and make do, make do till you can become it.