Reflection Unit 4

In unit 4, the focus skill is argument and evidence: what is the argument and what evidence support it? For this unit, basically it’s all about argument, and how people support it with. There are two practices text for this particular unit, the first one is ‘Body language that speaks to muggers’ and ‘Burning out at nine’. For background reading, there are three texts, which are ‘What is the evidence’?’ Statistic’ and ‘Crooked and fallacious thinking’.

In reading 4.3, ’What is the evidence’, I noticed that this chapter is focusing on the argument that used in the court which is supported by the evidence. There are two types of evidence, that are circumstantial evidence and testimonial evidence. Both types of evidence are important to support an argument on a particular event. In critical reading, the evidence is use to support our point as it support the argument given.

In reading 4.4, ‘Statistic’, the author is focusing on how some text can manipulate readers to believe their article by stating some statistics. Normally readers will believe that every information support by fact and figure is true. However some text describes ‘statistical slips’ which can be made by the author. For example, a survey has been conducted saying something about university students, while the statistic given in the report is based on college student’s survey. The readers wouldn’t know about this and blindly believe that the report is true because there is statistic given.

In reading 4.5,’Crooked and fallacious thinking’ I do understood that this text stressed that some media may lies to the audience, which meant, the idea that people believe to be true but the fact is false. There are five types of fallacious thinking, which are, transfer device, circular argument, false analogy, equivocation, either or assumption. Basically this chapter is to influence audience into some particular belief which made by the author himself.

Overall I felt as this unit is about, an argument is supported by any evidence to make it more concrete. Statistic is one of the ways the audience would believe in some text, because it is a fact. However it is to be noted that the author have certain purposed in structure their text, some might give the fallacious thinking to the audience. These entire elements are just to influence the audience to their beliefs.

Reflection Unit 3

In the reflection of unit 3, the focus skill that has been learned is positioning. As far as I’ve learned, position happened when the author tried to label or put the participant in some name or situation. To understand more about this skill, I’ve been tasked to do the ten element as I’ve mention in reflection on unit 1,on the practice text, ’Please let me go to your school’ and ‘Truth about youth.’ This text was tasked to make sure the understanding of positioning is better than before. For background reading, there are two for this focus skill, they are, Reading 3.3, Wignell (1995) ‘Critical literacy’ a linguistic perspective, and Reading 3.4, Kress (1994) ‘Speech and speakers.’

For the practice text, Please let me go to your school, the author focusing on a six-year-old child, Scarlett, who is eventually had been discriminated by The Hills Grammar School, because she is physically disabled. The author position Scarlett as the victim of the situation, and the school as the participant that refuses to enroll Scarlett into their school. For the practice text, ’Truth about youth’, the author is focusing on the result of the survey, that shows suicide, road death and environment is the three major element which strongly affect teenage life.

For reading 3.3,Critical literacy a linguistic perspective, the overall point that I understood is although a text seems simple, it always have certain deep meaning beyond that text, it shows how the author give the position to the participant in the text, that can give different perspective to the readers. In reading 3.4, Speech and speakers, however, the text explains how the author manipulate the readers,which is, by positions the reader to become the ideal reader. Each text has their own genre, however, I’m quite confuse, what is the relation between genre and positioning at the beginning,but manage to understand about it after the lecturer explanations.

Reflection Unit 2

In unit 2,the main focus skill is perspective. Perspective is a point of view from the writer. The practice texts from this unit is ‘Battling the bullies’. This text shows the audience about the seriousness of buulies in Australia, based on the writer stated so many statement that contribute to the negative sides of bullies. This shows how the writer want to tell us about the severe of bullies.

In reading 2.2,Lee(1992)’Languange,perspective,ideology’ have stress that from the language usage,it will manipulate the readers mind and through that will make readers think of certain point of view that is created by the writer themselves. When a perspective being formed the ideology will be created. Ideology here is, an idea for readers to evaluate certain article or texts.

In reading 2.3, Thwaites et al (1994)’Text and textualities’ explained that how actually a text can give impression or belief to the readers. By visual text,the writers try to deliver some belief that close to myth. Any text will have certain meaning of something. However,the writer cannot fully control the readers mind by the text because there will be a scope in some readings.

Overall , to see the ‘Battling the bullies’ by perspectives focus skill,it is clear that the writer is trying to make some manipulation over the readers. The writer create the ideology from the perspective to make the readers belief what the writer wants to.

Reflection Unit 1

In this blog, I was assigned to do a reflection on unit 1;Who Produce This Text ,For Whom and Why? Critical Literacy is mainly about how the author of an article trying to elaborate the article to the audience. To be a critical literacy student, we must be critical in every single element in focus skill. This blog is going to discuss about the focus skill, practice text and my opinion towards this topic.

The focus skill that are needed in order to do critical reading are; topic, content source, audience, rhetorical function, purpose, perspective, positioning impact and visual literacy. These ten elements contribute to do the critical reading. In reading 1.2, Martin (1987)’stories and facts’, he mentions the purposes affect the author choices are relevant to facts in general. Meanwhile in 1.3,’Rules and regulations’, Fowler focus on how an article can actually manipulate readers.

The practice text for this unit is ‘Convicted Killer’. The practice text is the text which I have to state the ten elements to be criticize on. ‘Convicted Killer’ is an article about a nurse, Deborah Parry who was accused to murder her colleague, Yvone Gilford. She had been set free after doing some payment about $ 1.7 million to the victim’s brother and was allowed to continue her nursing job in an English hospital. The author of this article was trying to convince to the readers that Parry was guilty, based on the author statement of quotations from some related people in the case.

In doing the critical reading, there have been several difficulties about the ten elements. One of it is that, I’m not quite sure about the positioning and perspective of ‘Convicted killer’. However after some consultation with the lecturer, I was managed to complete the critical reading including positioning and perspectives.