Blog Post 11: "Cluster of ______ Controversy"

BLOG POST 11:"Cluster of [fill in the blank] Controversy"

1. Read Student’s Guide Section 3.4 “Invention” (pages 43-8)

What techniques do you use to generate ideas, and to clarify your ideas for writing? 

Source: https://pixabay.com/en/brainstorming-think-road-sign-413156/

One such technique is called a "mindmap" or "cluster." Refer to #6 on Student’s Guide page 45 for a quick definition and visual example of clustering.

2. There are quite a few tools out there to help you create clusters of ideas. Create a cluster/mindmap of your controversy using something like Coggle, Google Drawing (part of Google Drive), Mind42, Popplet, Twine, Wisemapping, or XMind. [Or any other tool of your choice if you already have one you like].

Adapt the information you provided in previous blog posts about your controversy into a cluster. You should include in your cluster:

• Key groups involved in the controversy.
• Major speakers/writers in those groups.
• Where these speakers/writers are making Public Speech Acts (in what kinds of media?).
• What kinds of things these groups are saying publicly about the controversy.
• The values and ideology of each group.

3. Title your blog post “Cluster of [fill in name] Controversy” and write 2-to-3 detailed sentences in which you explain what you did in your cluster. Then either embed your cluster directly into the blog post or provide us with a working hyperlink to your cluster (NOTE: if your link doesn’t work or the page it directs us to is blocked from public view, I will not be able to assign you full credit for this exercise).

4. Read/Reply/Reflect to “Cluster of [various] Controversy”

Use the Blog Directory for your course section to find two classmates without comments or replies on their “Cluster of [various] Controversy” post.

Read their post and then leave a reply engaging with the text. What did you think of the platform they used to create their cluster/mindmap if it was different from your own (remember, there were 7 listed options, plus other possibilities your peers might have explored)? If it was the same, what are your thoughts on how they used the same tool?

Go back to your own “Cluster of [various] Controversy” post. Go into editing mode and at the bottom of the post, leave a reflection about what you learned from your classmates. Be specific about how viewing and reading these other clusters/mindmaps informs your thoughts and feelings about your own. Also, reflect on what the benefits are, if any, of using these kinds of tools in the planning stages of a writing project. Is this a meaningful step in the process? Or not? Why?

Be sure to also list who you replied to and provide hyperlinks to each individual’s “Cluster of [various] Controversy” post (NOTE: if these links aren’t included or don’t work or if the page it directs us to is blocked from public view, I will not be able to assign you full credit for this exercise).