I liked the article by Swales because it was very short and right to the point. Swales proposes and outlines a three move process he calls CARS. The first move is to establish a territory. This is where the author sets the tone and context for the article and provides the background info necessary to understanding the rest of the document. It is important to address the discourse community and use current sources and documentation to establish authority and to gain acceptance. This is a good place to provide relevant quotes and citations that affirm your point. The next move is to establish a niche in one of four ways : using a counter claim challenging previously mentioned research, indicating a gap where research has failed to elaborate upon, questioning previous research elements and suggesting what more can be done, and continuing a tradition by extending existing research. The third move is to occupy that niche as a research space with which the author will elaborate further the preexisting claims. In occupying the niche the first step is to outline your purpose for writing or continuing research. Next you must discuss current research and its findings. Then finally the author must structure the article and explain the organization and reasonings.
The next reading was by Kantz, which I did not like because of the length of the article and my lack of time to read everything. In short the article discusses ways in which students can use written sources persuasively. It was a very long article that didnt seem to have any well defined points to me. She suggests that we must interact with the text, rather than just reading and responding or writing. I think this is an interesting notion because I believe that reading and writing is a very apparent interaction and didnt need someone to tell me that. I think ultimately what she is trying to articulate is that students dont always properly use existing research or source material, and therefore dont always provide what the teacher or authority is looking or asking for. It is important to use citations effectively and not over aggressively, and one of the best ways to effectively use a citation is to frame it within your article and use it to sublimate a point or as a contradiction to your current thoughts. Then you must rationalize your reason for its use.
