HannahMagarian

WRT303
PublicWriting
6/07/16
MakingPersonalMattersPublic
Constantlywithinwritingwearetoldtowriteforanaudience;toformallyaddressthat
certainpersonwithpenandpaper.Todraft,revise,edit,andsubmitprivately.Hereliesthe
highlyunderestimatedpieceofpublicwriting;itsforeveryone.Withoutknowingit;wesee
publicwritingeverywherewego,fromgraffitionthestreet,tosignswithparkinglaws,to
formalletters;publicwritingsurroundsus.Nowthinkaboutit,ifyouseepublicwritingalmost
everywhereyougo,whomaretheseauthorstryingtoreach?Theanswerisassimpleasit
sounds,thepublic.Publicwritingisforanyonetryingtoconveyanopinion,shareanidea,or
createandraiseawarenessforchange,andtheoutletsbywhichthiscanbedoneareinfinite.
Publicwritingcanbeusedinmultipleoutlets,andquitefrequentlypeoplearentawareof
whentheyareseeingit,accordingtoProfessorShamoonoftheUniversityofRhodeIsland.
Somedifferentoutletsofpublicwritinginclude;weblogs,signsatrallies,motivationalspeeches,
andordinances,justtogiveafewexamples(Shamoon6).Withinthesedifferentoutletsthereare
alsofivemainpurposesforpublicwriting.Thefivetypesofpublicwritingarepersonalpublic
statements,activistwriting,argumentativewriting,informativewriting,andfoundationaland
institutionalwriting(Shamoon5).Perhapstheseoutletsarethereasonswhypublicwritingisso
public,theoutletistheworld.InacasestudysharedbyauthorShamoon,AaronFriedmanis
upsetabouttherandomlyblastingcaralarmsinhisneighborhood.Inordertodosomething
aboutthisissue;Friedmandecidedtobringhisopiniontotheneighborhoodcouncil.Whenhe

didntgethisdesiredresultheresearchedaboutcaralarmsandstartedpostinghisfindings,
eventuallyheendedupbeingpartofthelocalTransportationAlternativesgroup,andfromthere
hecontinuedtofightforhisissue(Shamoon8).Inthedurationofthisstudyweseeaspoken
complaint,Internetposts,andeventuallyanactionistakentojointheTAgroup.Thisalso
illustratespersonalpublicstatementsaswellasactivistwriting.
Oneofthereasonspublicwritingisforanyone;isduetothefactthatitchangeswith
society.Partofthishastodowiththemanyformsinwhichpublicwritingcanexist.Sincemedia
andthepublicareconstantlychanging,themeansofwhichpublicwritingisexercisedisequally
changingwiththepublic.Alargeportionofthishastodowithsocialmediaandtheaccessto
informationbeingsoeasy,thatvirtuallyanyonecanbecomefamous.Letslookatthisthrough
theeyesofDorianJ.Murray,tofurtherillustratethisexample.Dorianwasthemereageoffour
whenhewasdiagnosedwithpediatriccancer,andfoughthisbattleuntilageeight.Inthelastfew
monthsofhislifeDoriandecidedthathewantedtobecomefamousandsharehisstorywiththe
world,andthatsexactlywhathedid.ThisyoungboyfromRhodeIslandstartedsharinghis
storyabouthisbattlewithcanceronInstagramandFacebookandinonlyafewweekstime,
celebritiesstartedwearingandpostingabouthiscampaigncalledDstrong.Now,sincehis
passingthereisafoundationforpediatriccancerinhisname,theDorianJ.MurrayFoundation,
andhehasmadeatremendousimpactontheworldandthesupportforpediatriccancer.Without
thepublicsphereandtheaccessofsocialmedia,thismightnothavebeenaspossible.
Notonlyispublicwritingforanyone,butitalsoaffectseveryone.Publicwritingisall
aroundus;subconsciouslycallingforyouropinionandoccupyingyourmind.JamesJ.Hiduke;a
formerprofessorattheUniversityofIowa,explainedinanarticleaboutwhatpublicwriting

meanstohim.Hidukeclaimsthattoassignstudentsapaperandhavethemprivatelywriteit,
reviseit,submitittotheprofessor,andthenprivatelyreceiveagradeandleavethepiecealone,
istodestroythemotivationforwriting(Hiduke303).Hecomparesthisprocesstocreatinga
plane;beingtolditcanfly,andthenleavingitontheground.Duetothisbeliefheclaimedall
writingshouldbeshared,ifachangeorpurposeiscallingtobeexecutedbytheauthor(Hiduke
303).Publicwritingiscreatingtheplane,testingit,andthensendingitofftofly.Between
examplesFriedmanandDorianMurray,weseetwoplanessuccessfullyandpubliclyflyingtheir
causes.

WorksCited
Hiduke,JamesJ."PublicWriting:TheAggressiveDimension."CollegeCompositionand
Communication25.4(1974):303.JSTOR.Web.2June2016.
Shamoon,LindaK.PublicWriting.Print.