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Dane DeKing Brittany Brannon English 102 15 February 2014 An Engineering Majors Take on Standard Edited English As an engineering major, it is no secret that the need for Standard Edited English is less than a top priority. However, it still plays a crucial role in many courses. Primarily, I use Standard Edited English for English papers, analysis papers, project reports, and lab reports. It is usually assumed that science related works are written in a bastardized form of Edited English that do not typically adhere to the standard conventions. Conveniently, my professors tend to be engineers and are not concerned with the actual conventions used to formulate reports. Therefore, I am free to use Standard Edited English as I find it to be a convenient model for organizing my thoughts as well as effectively delivering the necessary information. Even so, Standard Edited English, and any other form of writing, comes along with both challenges and benefits. The following is the introduction paragraph I wrote for an analysis paper in English 101: Even the most seemingly innocuous advertisements contain significant societal influences that are not consciously detectable at first glance. Many require substantial analysis to truly understand the motivations and subconscious effects behind each ad. A perfect example of these influences are two television ads. The first is from Arvin Industries Incorporated, 1951, the latter is an advertisement for

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Samsung Electronics which is currently in use. The differences between the two is readily apparent upon first glance that Arvins appears antiquated and Samsungs has a clearer, more modern look to it. Even so, there are radical differences in both of the ads that have farther reaching implications than just the way they look, each is a product of its own generation including customer expectations, the role of the television, and the technological advancements not only in television but also within the a companys ability to provide advertisements. (DeKing 1) The simple characteristics associated with Standard Edited English are what provide a useful organizational model for delivering information. Upon first glance, it is easy to see that Standard Edited English adheres to standard MLA requirements that are familiar to anyone who has been through an educational system. This is crucial because it is generally assumed that the intended audience of a work written in Standard Edited English is of a higher educational level. Therefore, it is assumed that there will be an introduction, a body, and a conclusion to the paper. The evidence above is an adequate example of an organized introduction that illustrates the main components of a standard introduction, an attention grabber, background information, and a thesis, which help the reader to comprehend exactly what to expect in the remaining paragraphs. However, the challenges associated with standard edited English usually arise from the requirements for organization, formatting, and requirements that are needed to fit the model. However, once you become familiar with it, they tend to be an afterthought that is simple and satisfying to adhere to. Conversely, the benefits greatly outweigh the challenges as it is easy to adapt Standard Edited English to any scenario. In some cases, it can change based on the rhetorical situation but the ways that I primarily use it tend to remain the same. The example

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above was part of a requirement for an English class, but it fits the model that I use regularly for my engineering reports as well. The model usually consists of an introduction introducing the analysis as well as providing background information, which is then followed by the substantial analysis and evidence for that conclusion. It is then concisely concluded in the final paragraph with a summary of why the analysis is important and how it can be related to real life or other relevant topics.

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Works Cited DeKing, Dane. Advertisements: Decades of Differences. 10/29/13 TS. The University of Kansas.

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