My writing from this quarter aims to show an understanding of academic research and the components that it entails, a developed understanding of a rhetorical situation, and the ability to effectively analyze an academic research source.
In this portfolio I have included some of the polished writing from this quarter aiming to show the audience the sufficient learning that has taken place. These pieces were selected because I believe they show the most relevant learning and growth as a writer.
The annotated bibliography demonstrates proficiency in synthesizing and critiquing peer reviewed academic sources which were the apprptiapre souce given the rheotucal sitaiton. They show proper selection of reading while then demonstrating analytical explanations for why such articles were chosen.
The second piece of writing shows writing that is aimed for a different rhetorical situation. It demonstrated writing that is not simply academic and shows the author being able to pick the appropriate rhetorical choices for such audiences.
Both of the writing pieces choses show academic growth, an understanding of academic audiences and the ability to properly select research and information depending on the rhetorical situation.
“The skateboarding community is very welcoming, they are just used to being demonized by society, of course you’re gonna get made fun of when you start out and get called a wook, but once you’re in, it’s the most supportive group.”
Ean Carter describes the outsider community of skateboarding as a welcoming family. It may be hard to imagine the kids skating around the streets with ripped jeans and scuffed shoes, always seemingly banned from places as a family, but to those inside the community it can be an ideal outlet for self expression and athleticism.
Skateboarding culture is like no other, there is a dialect and unspoken language amongst skaters, as an outsider looking in it is seemingly impossible to understand. Skateboarding seems to lie on the outskirts of society, whether it be cities exclusive skate scenes, or suburbs posting “no skateboarding” signs, it is a culture that is unexplained to those who don’t participate. The drained swimming pools turned into half pipes for tricks, and the lack of responsibility and commitment are a few features that separate skateboarding from the rest of our ‘pristine’ culture
To many skaters the ability to elaborate on creativity and style is critical, while skae groups usually appear to be teenagers, skating knows no age limit, ranging from small children playing in their front yards to middle age commuters in between. Skating is available to all genders, intellects, religions and races.
An introduction to skateboarding
Like many kids, Ean Carter an art student from Colorado Springs got into skateboarding when he was a young kid and a neighborhood friend came over to hangout, brining a board along with him. Over the years he evolved into a relaxed street skater, skating in half pipes and goofing around on rails with friends, but when he first started it was the competitive skate scene that drew him in.
“I would classify myself as a downhill longboarder. Longboarding is kinda like a different sub category of skateboarding, it’s not really like street traditional skateboarding. It’s on longer boards, more stable setups, kinda designed for higher speeds, downhill is geared towards racing, so like with races, comps go down these big mountains roads, speeds get up to 75mph, it’s all about going the fastest and always trying to push myself to be the fasted guy out there.”
Similarly Liza a twenty year old college student from Minneapolis with strawberry blonde hair wearing vans and a flannel says “I become interested when I was six or seven, because all the kids in my neighborhood were skateboarders and I always thought it was really cool”.
“There are skate parks in every town” says Preston a Park City native, getting at the idea that this community stretches so far because of the accessibility. “All of my friends started doing it, and growing up in town, it was a fun thing to do in the summer.”
It goes to show that regardless of hometown or age many kids are drawn to skateboar
Self Expression Through Scuffed Shoes
The clothing and visual of skating is almost as big as the skating itself. It’s a community that ties itself together by the way it presents itself and the clothing is a major factor in this.
Ean is a college student, visibly laid back, cuffed pants, a baggy t shirt and sneakers, a haircut in a mullet, a visible distinction of self expression. He is relaxed embodying everything you would think of when envisioning a skateboarder.
Ean explained there’s a really big risk you’re going to rip your clothes and put massive holes in them, which means you just wear whatever.
“Sometimes I’ll go to like a thrift store or something like that to get a cheap pair of pants that I think look cool or whatever but also don’t really care if I put a massive hole in the back of them.”
A lot of times too people will wear work pants, certain brands are very popular for a lot of skateboarders because they are relatively inexpensive and pretty durable. A skate shoe culture has also emerged and Ean talked about the shoes that he wears, always ones for skating.
“Like flat soled shoes that have good grip on a board but are also somewhat durable, the majority of my shoes will have holes in the just from being absolutely thrashed.”
Preston, a Park City native firmly believes that the culture is influenced by the manner of dress. When asked if skateboarding influenced the way he dresses he responded “Yes. All Black.”
Avoiding the Law
Skateboarding gets a bad rep, and the constant signes forbidding skateboarding don’t help. When speaking to Ean about his various skating mishaps he has elaborate stories of avoiding the law.
“A lot of times like, it’s considered unlawful to skate in a lot of places, because you’re like a big liability to wherever it may be. Because if you get hurt you can like sue wherever you’re at. So like a lot of times you’ll be skating somewhere then like a security guard or like a rental cop or police officer will come up to you and like chase you off. Most of the times they are like hey you gotta leave, like alright cool sorry. Like nothing crazy but I have run from the cops before, in like more serious situations but made it out all okay.”
It’s strange to think of paying the price of a potential arrest in order to play on a skateboard, but to many, and not just nieve kids, it’s the price you pay on a daily basis.
The skating community is one that you never would envision as supportive and structured one, but speaking to Ean established a close tight knit community of empowered and passionate individuals. It’s something to think of next time you walk past a “no skateboarding sign” or see kids ripping around a local park.
Preston the park city native describes similar situations of ‘almost’ getting arrested in a Mcdonald’s parking lot when he was 15.
We have all seen the signs in public places forbidding skateboarding, with no real explanation why. This is the constant pressure that many skaters talk about. Skateboardings outside culture creates a community within for many individuals as a way to express their creativity and athleticism.
By completing the following questions, you are also granting consent for this information to be used as part of a research exercise that I am completing for my WRIT class at the University of Denver. Your participation is completely voluntary. The information you provide may be used in a class project. While profile information may be included in my writing project (i.e. your age, gender, class standing, etc.), your name will NOT be used. If at any time you do not want to answer a question, you do not have to.
Do you currently, or have you in the past skateboarded or longboarded?
If so, would you consider this to be for transportation, recreation or athletics?
Has skateboarding influenced the way you dress?
Do you wear skate sneakers such as Vans?
What is your general sense of the skateboarding community?
“The skateboarding community is very welcoming, they are just used to being demonized by society, of course you’re gonna get made fun of when you start out and get called a wook, but once you’re in, it’s the most supportive group.”
Ean Carter describes the outsider community of skateboarding as a welcoming family. It may be hard to imagine the kids skating around the streets with ripped jeans and scuffed shoes, always seemingly banned from places as a family, but to those inside the community it can be an ideal outlet for self expression and athleticism.
Ean is a college student, visibly laid back, cuffed pants, a baggy t shirt and sneakers, a haircut in a mullet, a visible distinction of self expression. He is relaxed embodying everything you would think of when envisioning a skateboarder. He got into skateboarding when he was young kid and a neighborhood friend came over to hangout, brining a board along with him. Over the years he evolved into a relaxed street skater, skating in half pipes and goofing around on rails with friends, but when he first started it was the competitive skate scene that drew him in.
“I would classify myself as a downhill longboarder. Longboarding is kinda like a different sub category of skateboarding, it’s not really like street traditional skateboarding. It’s on longer boards, more stable setups, kinda designed for higher speeds, downhill is geared towards racing, so like with races, comps go down these big mountains roads, speeds get up to 75mph, it’s all about going the fastest and always trying to push myself to be the fasted guy out there.”
The competitive longboarding scene is unrecognizable to those who haven’t witnessed it. It seems illegal to race down a giant mountain road on piece of wood, but the community drive and competitiveness that Ean described was like any other elite sport.
Skateboarding seems to lie on the outskirts of society, whether it be cities exclusive skate scenes, or suburbs posting “no skateboarding” signs, it is a culture that is seemingly unexplained to those who don’t participate. The drained swimming pools tuned into half pipes for tricks, the oversized t shirts paired with baggy jeans, and the lack of responsibility and commitment are a few features that separate skateboarding from the rest of our ‘pristine’ culture. Skateboarding gets a bad rep, and the constant signes forbidding skateboarding don’t help. When speaking to Ean about his various skating mishaps he has elaborate stories of avoiding the law.
“So like a lot of times you’ll be skating somewhere then like a security guard or like a rental cop or police officer will come up to you and like chase you off. Most of the times they are like hey you gotta leave, like alright cool sorry. Like nothing crazy but I have run from the cops before, in like more serious situations but made it out all okay.” It’s strange to think of paying the price of a potential arrest in order to play on a skateboard, but to many, and not just nieve kids, it’s the price you pay on a daily basis.
The clothing and visual of skating is almost as big as the skating itself. It’s a community that ties itself together by the way it presents itself and the clothing is a major factor in this.
Ean explained there’s a really big risk you’re going to rip your clothes and put massive holes in them, which means you just wear whatever.
“Sometimes I’ll go to like a thrift store or something like that to get a cheap pair of pants that I think look cool or whatever but also don’t really care if I put a massive hole in the back of them.”
A lot of times too people will wear work pants, certain brands are very popular for a lot of skateboarders because they are relatively inexpensive and pretty durable. A skate shoe culture has also emerged and Ean talked about the shoes that he wears, always ones for skating.
“Like flat soled shoes that have good grip on a board but are also somewhat durable, the majority of my shoes will have holes in the just from being absolutely thrashed.”
The skating community is one that you never would envision as supportive and structured one, but speaking to Ean established a close tight knit community of empowered and passionate individuals.
It’s something to think of next time you walk past a “no skateboarding sign” or see kids ripping around a local park.
A secondary discourse that I have failed to gain fluency in would be climbing. A members fluency in this discourse is essentially marked by how much time and experience they have put into climbing, and how much they improve. While a low or medium skilled climber may still know the same terminology and culture as a highly skilled climber you can not become fluent in this discourse until you are highly skilled. I personally have not gained fluency in this secondary discourse because I havnly allotted the time to dedicate myself to climbing and make improvements in my skills. In relation to the quote “You can’t be let into the game after missing the apprenticeship. Social groups will not, usually, give their social goods – whether these are status or solidarity or both – to those who are not ‘natives’ or ‘fluent users” (Gee), climbing doesn’t give their social goods to non members largely because it is a safety issues. In order to climb big walls, multi pitch trad routes or even hard boulders you need to be fluent in the discourse, in order to not be a liability to the social group around you.
