"Introduction" New Media Design

This article did a very good job explaining what a graphic designer is. Many people usually just think graphic designers work on computers making graphics for computers only but the job is way more broad and widespread than that. I like how the article talked about the importance of graphic design with examples of subway signs and medicine bottle.
It's very true that graphic design guides us through our daily lives. Just think how all of the street signs were graphically designed so people could just quickly glance at them and know exactly what they mean. Graphic design also enhances images or pictures that may have once being old and drab looking. Remolding and old building even involves some elements of graphic design.

"Introduction: The Seventh Sense"

I really like how Truss perceives punctuation. She talks about what other writers think punctuation is and why it's so important for readers. Punctuation is viewed as the stitching and traffic signals of language. Also, punctuation relates to manners, and "punctilious" and "punctuation" are derived from the same root. Punctuation can really affect the whole meaning of a sentence, illustrated with her example of: A woman, without her man, is nothing. AND A woman: without her, man is nothing. Punctuation plays a major role in the meaning of that particular example. One example is stating how a woman is nothing, and the other one is stating how a man is nothing.
I agree that punctuation dictates the way in which we read as well as the meaning of what we read. Truss is right when she says how punctuation is the good manners of writing. I think that punctuation also affects the reader's pace as well as allows room for description for writers. For example, writing a long wordy sentence about a list of things requires commas, and without those commas, the particular sentence would make no sense. I am a grammar fanatic so when I write, I like to make sure I use perfect grammar including variety of punctuation marks.

An Appetite for Coherence: Arousing and Fulfilling Desires

In this article, Fleckenstein explains the importance of coherent writing. She gives many examples of paragraphs that are incoherent. These examples help clarify what she means about writing a coherent paper. While reading the examples, I was unable to decipher the actual context and main meaning of the story. I understood all the of the individual sentences and words, but was unable to find out what the story was actually about. Cohesiveness is very important when writing because if your sentences aren't cohesive then the whole story or message loses meaning or maybe there is simply no way to understand what anything means at all. Fleckenstein's approach to writing in regards to what the reader will think is important because essentially you are writing for some sort of audience. I think that is very crucial to read through a paper keeping in mind how your intended audience will interpret what you wrote.

Sturken and Cartwright on MEDIA

In the article the emergence of media is discussed, and different mediums are highlighted. The article talks about how media has become more and more complex and diverse with new technological advances and "bundling." Media will only become more diverse and complex as time goes on and we discover newer technology. The article also talks about the affects from the different kinds of media. It says how television is a medium that is a great distraction due to the way in which people watch it without always completely tuning in.
I think that this article does a good job at giving a clear overview on past and current media. I agree that today there are so many mediums and everybody can be categorized into a specific target audience of some sort. It's also very interesting to see the different kinds of media that people prefer to use to receive information such as news stories. Some people may like to read a newspaper because it might make them concentrate more than watching tv since tv is deemed to be a distraction. I happen to agree that tv is a distracting medium. Programs are interrupted with commercials and sometimes during new stories the overall images on the screen interfere with the reception of the actual overall message trying to be transmitted.