5 topics

We have covered many interesting and important topics in this class, all that relate to Writing and Editing in print and online. Picking just five is difficult, because there are many that have stuck out to me. One of the most important in my opinion would definitely be network. Edbauer states that a network is not a "system of frictionless pathways over which any message whatsoever can be neutrally conveyed." Edbauer says that the network is formed by the force of all messages. The network of a text affects many other aspects of it, particularly my next topic circulation. Circulation is  described as a means of movement, like how a work is spread. Many things affect the way a text is circulated, and its circulation will affect many other aspects of the work. The main thing that affects the circulation in my opinion, is my next major topic, medium. The medium of a text greatly affects the way it is circulated. A text that is digital will have a much different circulation than one that is printed. Typically in my opinion, digital texts circulate faster and to a larger amount of people than a printed text, but this can depend on many other factors. I believe that the medium is the most important aspect of a text when analyzing it, because it will truly affect everything else about the text. Another important topic that we covered in this class was audience. The audience is key in determining how a text is written and created. You will not write in the same fashion to a college student online as you would to a senior citizen in say, a magazine. The audience affects many things about the work, including the medium. For example, advertising an ad for older people will not be as effective in "Seventeen" magazine, as it would be in the newspaper. All of these factors are important for a writer who is creating a text. My last important topic in the class is exigence. We have done many projects focusing on different exigencies. Bitzer states that an exigence is "an imperfection marked by urgency," and it is waiting to be done. This is important in writing because if someone is passionate about a problem they are much more inclined to do something about it. Obviously there are many other topics that we covered in class that are important but I believe the most relevant and important ones are network, circulation, medium, audience and exigence.