First Blog Post: Mountains

Hello, my name is Garrett Wojcik and I am from Plymouth, Michigan.  I am a freshman at Western Michigan University and I am majoring in History and Political Science.  I went to Plymouth High School and played trumpet in the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park Marching Band.  I also created the Ultimate Frisbee Club at my high school.  In my free time, I enjoy playing disc golf and spending time with animals, including my dog Zoe.  The following post is my first post for my Thought and Writing course, and it is a rhetorical analysis blog, featuring a blog by Steve Smith.

Blog Example:  http://mountainwandering.blogspot.com/

Blog Title: Mountain Wandering

Purpose:  Steve Smith was writing a description of the mountains he climbed towards the end of the summer of 2011.  Not only is he describing his experiences and observations, but he is allowing the reader to imagine that he is there with him.  This is an informative blog.

Audience:  The primary reader is anyone that is interested in the environment or in hiking/mountain climbing.  As one of these people, I was interested in the blog.  The writer is the owner of Mountain Wanderer Map and Book Store, and is an avid hiker, indicating that he is learned in this subject.

Genre:  This is a blog, with the goals of sharing the hiker's experience with others and recording his observations.  The writer may also be planning to persuade others to check out the mountains mentioned in his blog.

Stance:  The author has a nice, informative tone, never sounding angry or mean.  At some times, the writer includes a little bit of humor, keeping the reader from becoming bored.

Media:  Electronic.

Design:  The blog is on a web page.  The web page has a parchment-yellow background, giving it the look of an old traveler's journal.  The blog contains many pictures, each under a sentence or two describing or containing an event involving the picture.

Context:  The context is historical, for it provides information about the mountains the writer visited and with information regarding the present state and look of the mountains.