Evaluation of Rhetorical Situations

To fully gauge the usefulness and credibility of a source, the rhetorical situation of the text must be evaluated. This process determines bias, credibility, and purpose in a source.

Drones


 

McCullough, Don "Drone and Moon" 04/22/2013 via Flickr CC BY 2.0

 







Author/Speaker:

Gregory S. McNeal is "a professor specializing in law and public policy". He admits that he is a supporter of drones as a commercialized hobby, revealing a bias.

Audience:

The intended audience is drone hobbyists. The author is dismayed by the lack of response to new FAA rules, and wants hobbyists to fight back. McNeal assumes that the audience does not want their hobby to be regulated.

Context:

The article was published July 10, 2014. The article is published on the Forbes website. Since Forbes is a business publication, the article's target audience is probably middle class or wealthy Americans. The article is in response to new rules regarding drone flight proposed by the FAA.
 

 F-35

 

Createordie "F-35 Lightning II" 03/13/2007 via Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author/Speaker:

David Francis is "an editor-at-large for The Fiscal Times". He writes about a wide variety of topics in many different publications. This may give him a broader view of the issue.

Audience:

The article is primarily focused on the economic downfalls of the F-35. Its target audience values economic efficiency, and is likely concerned with government spending. Its specificity to the Navy suggests that part of the target audience is current or past military servicemen.

Context:

The article was published July 31, 2014. It was published in The Fiscal Times, which explains its focus on economic aspects of the controversy.
 

 Airborne Wind Energy System

Provost, James "Airborne wind generator of flip-wing style"
09/15/2008 via Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0

Author/Speaker:

Mike Barnard holds the title of "Senior Fellow -- Wind, with the Energy and Policy Institute". He provides an about the author section accessible at the bottom of the article, or through a link at the top. Based on numerous other articles he has written, Barnard has a particular focus on clean energy and wind energy.

Audience:

The article is on a clean energy website, so the audience for this article is expected to be interested in clean energy and potentially have some background knowledge in it.

Context:

The article was published March 3, 2014, so it is fairly recent. The publication date combined with the advanced technology in the subject matter indicates that the article addresses current issues. The author references various companies' attempts within the field as examples, and analyzes their shortcomings.

I looked at Kyle and Brandon's Evaluation of Rhetorical Situations posts. Kyle's post was a good example of how using a chart format can be beneficial. Brandon delved deeper into the specificities of the biases in his articles. His high level of detail will be beneficial in upcoming blog posts. I think my post provides an adequate amount of analysis to get an understanding of the overall rhetorical situation of each article. A lot of inferences can be made that do not necessarily have to be explicitly stated.

Paragraph Analysis

Reflection on Project 1 Draft

I reviewed Nick and Kyles' quick reference guides.




Buonvino, Marco "Revision" 03/15/2015 via Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0

AUDIENCE

Who is going to be reading this document? Who am I trying to reach?

What are their values and expectations? Am I meeting those expectations?

How much information should I provide? How much background should I include without insulting their expertise?

What kind of language is suitable for this audience?

What kind of tone should I use with my audience? Do I use this tone consistently throughout the draft?


CONTEXT

What are the formatting requirements for this assignment? Do I meet these requirements?

What are the content requirements for this assignment? Do I meet them?

Does my draft reflect knowledge or skills gained in class in addition to my own ideas?

Have I addressed any grammatical issues that were addressed?

Developing a Research Question

A research question is essentially a thesis statement for research. It is the guiding question that all research is based on. It allows you to find the most relevant sources to sort through.

astronomy_blog "Research" 03/27/2012 via Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Question 1: How will the Federal Aviation Administration adapt its flight restrictions to account for the rapidly growing use of personal drones?

Question 2: Is the successful adaptation of the F-35 for each military branch impossible from an engineering standpoint?

Question 3: What is preventing high altitude, or aerial, wind energy generators from becoming commercially viable?

I have some personal research experience with each of these fields. I consider them to be some of the most interesting topics in aerospace engineering right now.

Project 1

Here is the link to the final version of my quick reference guide.

Reflection on Project 1

Project 1 is finally over, and we must move on to project 2. But first, a reflection on the lessons learned in project 1...

Skip "Reflection" 07/07/2011 via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

What challenges did you face during the Quick Reference Guide project and how did you deal with them?

The biggest challenge I faced in the construction of my quick reference guide was time. There were a wide variety of sources for my topic, because it was very broad. Sifting through information and doing the process work for the quick reference guide was demanding.





What successes did you experience on the project and how did they happen?

My initial draft contained analysis of only the key topics within the controversy. Peer review helped me understand what was missing.

What kinds of arguments, rhetorical strategies, design choices and writing practices did you find the most effective for your project? Why?

I tried to keep the writing process simple for my quick reference guide. The PIE process from the textbook helped me incorporate context, evidence, and analysis in a structured manner. Just getting a draft written and being able to revise it multiple times was a huge help.

What kinds of arguments, rhetorical strategies, design choices and writing practices did you find were not effective for your project? Why?

I found that use of social media sources was not particularly helpful in demonstrating arguments used for this controversy. Most debate among the general public regarding the issue is conducted in comments threads. Many people simply restate what was said in the blog or article, or reference other articles. It tends to be a matter of agreement or disagreement.

How was the writing process for this project similar to other school writing experiences you’ve had in the past?

The format of providing context, followed by evidence, followed by analysis is something that is fairly common in all genres of writing.

How was the writing process for this project different from other school writing experiences you’ve had in the past?

This project made me look at a subject from all perspectives. In typical essay-writing, the author takes a very specific stance in his thesis, which he supports throughout the essay.

Would any of the skills you practiced for this project be useful in your other coursework? Why or why not?

As an engineering major, most of my courses are focused on learning mathematic and scientific methodology and practical application of that methodology. As such, my primary writing genre will be the technical report. Although the two genres are quite different, I expect some similarities to surface as I continue my coursework.

Clarity, Part 2

Now that the revising process is in its final stages, it is time to take another look at the draft through a few different "Clarity" lenses.



Morales, Javier "Clarity" 03/03/2012 via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Active verbs- The active voice is used when the subject of a sentence performs an action. The passive voice is used when something is performed on the subject. Using the active voice makes writing more clear and straightforward.

Parallel ideas- When two ideas are parallel, the way they are presented in a sentence should also be identical.



Needed words- Ellipsis must be used only when excluding the word does not affect sentence clarity. Words may need to be added to complete compound structures, or complete comparisons.

Mixed constructions- To present ideas more clearly, a writer must avoid linking two ideas with incorrect grammatical structure, or linking two unrelated ideas.

Example Revision 1
"The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is among many projects to be under scrutiny, but what sets it apart is its size." In his peer review, Nick stated that this sentence seemed strange because the size of the fighter should not set it apart. This comment made me realize that my use of a pronoun instead of the F-35 program made it seem like size referred to the fighter, rather than the program as a whole. I added the needed words to fix the problem.

Example Revision 2
"The premise behind building one aircraft for three separate military branches is that the aerial needs of the branches have enough commonalities that one basic design can be altered slightly to accommodate each branch." It was also pointed out that this sentence is too wordy. The mixed construction of the sentence stems from the unclear link between the aerial needs of the branches and the concept that one basic design can be modifies to accommodate each of them. To fix this, the sentence structure and word choice were streamlined.

Identifying Basic Grammar Patterns

Clarity, Part 1

It is important to be able to think critically about your own writing. The Clarity section of Rules for Writers provides specific components of writing to focus on improving when writing or reviewing your work.

Blocker, Trey "Clarity" 09/18/2015

Emphasis- This section makes a key distinction between coordination and subordination. When two ideas are of equal importance, a writer can combine them in one compound sentence by using commas with conjunctions, semicolons with conjunctive adverbs or transitional phrases, or semicolons alone. The more important ideas should be included in main clauses. To employ subordination, A writer can place a less important idea in a subordinate clause, an appositive phrase, or a participial phrase. Emphasis can be used to stress key points and improve fluency.

Variety- Varied sentence structure makes a document more readable. During the writing process, the typical writer does not think about sentence structure. Instead, the sentence develops in accordance with the thought process of the writer. Using too many simple, or compound sentences can make the document monotonous. Similarly, excessive use of complex, or compound complex sentences can be equally monotonous. I am probably guilty of the second type of overuse.

Wordy Sentences- Eliminating redundancies is an easy revision that keeps sentences concise. Simplifying sentence structure will also make sentences more readable, but it is important to keep a varied sentence structure. Essentially writers should cut any words that do not significantly contribute to the meaning of a sentence.

Exact Words- Although it may seem like multiple words would serve the same purpose in a sentence, it is important to take the connotations of the words into account. The name of my blog (The Ladder of Abstraction) is a concept that one of my high school English teachers used to describe how specific and concrete a noun, or phrase is. Additional considerations include using the appropriate forms of words, using standard idioms, avoiding clichés, and appropriate use of figures of speech.

Thoughts on Drafting

Different genres of writing require different drafting techniques. Because essays are the most common form of writing used in high school and college classes, English textbooks tend to focus on the essay genre. In developing the quick reference guide draft, it is important to determine which parts of the textbook are applicable and which parts are not.

Blocker, Trey "Textbook" 09/18/2015

 

What parts of the book’s advice on the above bulleted topics are helpful for writing in this genre?
 

The section about paragraph development suggests breaking paragraphs into points, illustrations, and explanations is particularly helpful. It matches up well with the practicing quoting assignment that we did. Rather than making a claim as the point, in a quick reference guide the point should be to describe the subheading that the paragraph addresses. Appropriate context should preface the illustration, which can be a quote, paraphrase, or summary. Following the illustration is an explanation, where the writer analyzes the illustration and its connection to the point, or subheading. The section on organization is fairly open ended. It basically says that the writer must decide how to present his ideas logically for the genre that he is writing in.
 

What parts of the book’s advice on these topics might not be so helpful, considering the genre you’re writing in?
 

The book's section on developing a thesis can essentially be ignored for this project. A quick reference guide looks at all aspects of a topic, rather than attempting to support a central thesis. For each of the other sections, it is important to remember that there is no thesis that you are trying to support. Organization changes to the effectiveness of your description of the topic as a whole, not a single idea.

I read Mehruba and Brandons' thoughts on drafting posts. Reading these posts made me realize that each writer can adapt the book's advice to fit his own style of writing for the quick reference guide. I particularly liked Brandon's idea to still develop a broad thesis to keep the quick reference guide on topic. The writing should fit its purpose. For quick reference guides, the purpose is to inform people about all aspects of a topic in an easy-to-read manner. In my own draft, I noticed that using the PIE method too strictly made my sentence structure too uniform. I also realized that I did not cover every aspect of the topic. Finally, the implementation of a conclusion would be helpful to leave the reader with a quick summary and some final thoughts on the topic.

Draft of Quick Reference Guide

My QRG draft is largely based on the culmination of my process work. In doing my research, it was surprising to find that I had difficulty finding sources that supported the F-35 program. Yet, the program continues to be supported in Congress.

Beall, Jeffrey "Draft" 4/24/2011 via Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0

My primary concern for my QRG draft is redundancy. Please comment anywhere that the information appears twice, or seems too self explanatory. I would also like feedback about my use of graphics. Here is the link to my QRG draft.

Practicing Quoting

The following quotes represent recent reception of the newly operational F-35B Joint Strike Fighter. The quotes are taken from two political figures who take opposite sides on the issue. The full paragraph that I wrote about the quotes is available here.


Blocker, Trey Screenshot 9/12/2015

QRGs: The Genre

Quick reference guides are easy-to-use tools that allow the reader to gather a large amount of information on a particular topic. The quick reference guide is a unique genre of writing with its own conventions and purpose.



Calsidyrose "Compass Study" 8/21/2010 via Flickr CC BY 2.0

1. What do the conventions of this genre - the Quick Reference Guide - seem to be?
Quick reference guides are intended to be easy to read, while still providing a broad range of information. To do this effectively, they divide the information into subheadings that describe various components of the topic. The subheadings are often in the form of questions that a reader might ask. The heading itself serves as an overall explanation of the topic to be covered. The text is informative, and intends to represent all sides of the topic or debate. Quick reference guides often include relevant hyperlinks and images, just like blogs.

2. How are those conventions defined by the author’s formatting and design choices?
The authors tend to make the divisions between subtopics clear with spacing and large subheadings. The author will fill space along the margins with appropriate information to make the information more aesthetically pleasing.

3. What does the purpose of these QRGs seem to be?
Quick reference guides are meant to be quickly scanned for necessary information. They provide a broad base of information to cover everything that a reader might want to know about a topic. They do not focus too heavily on any specific event within the overall topic, but may suggest sources for additional reading. Like a compass, they can point you in the right direction for more detailed reading.

4. Who is the intended audience for these different QRGs? Are they all intended for similar audiences? Or different? How & why?
Quick reference guides cover a broad range of readers. They are written in a way that allows readers with no knowledge of the topic to comprehend the details. They can also provide supplemental details for knowledgeable readers, or answer a specific question the reader may have. Guides for more common topics, are likely to have fewer introductory details. Writers understand that someone who reads their quick reference guide has to have some interest in the topic, so they will cater to the audience based on the topic.

5. How do the QRGs use imagery or visuals? Why do you think they use them in this way?
Images are placed beneath subheadings that they address. Pull quotes are often used for emphasis. Charts are used to display relevant data. All of these visuals are used to display information in a more concise and appealing way.

Cluster of My Controversy

My cluster begins with the two basic sides of the F-35 debate. On the pro F-35 program side, key players include contracted companies, the partner countries and congressional and political supporters, along with their respective speakers and representatives. The F-35 program critics include the general public, as well as several key congressional and political opponents. I added a side by side listing of each sides' overall arguments for easy comparison. I also included a separate branch for planned customers of the F-35 aircraft.

Blocker, Trey Cluster Chart 9/13/2015 via Coggle
 

Making this cluster chart has helped me identify the key categories and points to include in my quick reference guide. I looked at Jayni and Ayras' cluster posts. We all took slightly different organizational approaches when making our charts, but each chart is a helpful prewriting tool in the quick reference guide draft process. Additionally, the charts provide a more visually appealing way of explaining the organizational structure of the controversy being discussed.

Annotated Bibliography in APA Style

In my high school engineering class we were taught to use the American Psychological Association's citation style, because it is the most widely recognized scientific citation style.

futureatlas.com "Citation Needed" 10/30/2010 via Flickr CC BY 2.0

Here is a link to my properly formatted annotated bibliography in Google Docs.

Examples of APA citations can be found at

https://www.umuc.edu/library/libhow/apa_examples.cfm#academicjournals.

I looked at Jessica and Ayras' annotated bibliographies. Ayra's bibliography was in APA style like mine, so the citations and formatting were very similar. Jessica's bibliography was in MLA style. APA style places more emphasis on the date of the work, while MLA is more focused on the author. My annotations were more brief than theirs, which I thin is more of a personal style preference.

Ideology in My Controversy

The F-35 program started in 1995 as a joint military venture to create an affordable fifth generation strike fighter. The intent is to build a series of multi-purpose strike fighters for the Army, Navy and Marines. The project has experienced multiple setbacks, and budget has skyrocketed in recent years, causing controversy and debate among congress and the general public.

Createordie "F-35 Lightning II" 03/13/2007 via Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Who is involved in the controversy?
The governments of the various countries involved (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States) are largely responsible for the funding of the project. Lockheed Martin won the overall contract after competing with Boeing and Northrop Grumman early on. Various components have been subcontracted to companies including Northrop Grumman and Pratt and Whitney. The general public of each of the involved nations is also invested in the project.

Who are some of the major speakers/writers within these groups?
Because the program is multi faceted and depends on various branches of many companies and governments, there is extensive leadership involvement. U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Christopher C. Bogdan is the F-35 Lightning II Program Executive Officer. Lorraine M. Martin is the Lockheed Martin Executive Vice President and General Manager of the F-35 Lightning II Program, Aeronautics. The public voice is heard primarily in the online community.

What kind of social/cultural/economic/political power does each group hold?
The government's selection of Lockheed Martin for the F-35 contract significantly impacted Lockheed Martin's standing in the aerospace industry. The U.S. government has essentially placed all of its D.O.D. aircraft funds for the foreseeable future into the F-35 program.

What resources are available to different positions?
The level of funding available for the program is dependent upon congress' annual FY budget. The multinational cooperation allows the best engineers from each of the nine countries and the involved companies to work on the project.

What does each group value?
The government's end goal is to develop a cost effective multipurpose fighter that will fit the needs of the U.S. army, navy, and marines to aid in global defense. The companies are focused on meeting the goals, deadline, and budget that the government outlines.

What counts as evidence for the different positions?
Proponents and critics alike have used test data to prove their points. Critics point to test failures, setbacks, and rising costs. Proponents select more promising tests, met deadlines and future implications of the projects success for their arguments.

Is there a power differential between the groups?
The Bush and Obama administrations have continued to support the program, while making cuts to non-essential portions. The program has been largely supported in Congress, so the opposition has been fighting a losing battle.

Is there any acknowledged common ground between the groups?
Both sides agree that the costs for the project should be kept to a minimum.

Is there any unacknowledged common ground?
People generally agree that allying with other nations for common defense is beneficial however, the amount that should be spent on defense and how much should be invested in alliances are debatable topics.

Do the various groups listen to each other?
The groups share common goals, so they tend to work together to achieve a balance. However, there are people who are so completely against the program that they insist on its termination.

Evaluation of Scholarly Sources

The following scholarly sources provide a more reliable and comprehensive look at the controversy as it has been presented to Congress.

Michael Sullivan, Travis Masters, Peter Anderson; James Bennett; Marvin Bonner; Kristine Hassinger; Megan Porter; Marie Suding; and Abby Volk, "F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Budgeted Costs by Service, 2015-2019" 04/14/2015 via U.S. GAO

Sources

1. F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program: Background and Issues for Congress

What is its purpose?
This paper was published while the fiscal year 2010 budget was being debated in congress. Its purpose was to detail the congressional debate surrounding the F-35 program and its context.

How and where is it published?
The paper is a congressional report published by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress in Washington D.C. It has been approved for public release.

What kinds of sources does it cite?
The report cites other congressional reports and scholarly articles in the footnotes. Providing citations in footnotes rather than a bibliography appears to be a convention of congressional reports.

Who is the author?
Jeremiah Gertler is a Specialist in Military Aviation. The acknowledgements also attribute a portion of the work to Ronald O’Rourke, CRS’ Specialist in Naval Affairs.

Who is its intended audience?
Congressional reports are intended to be read by politicians and their staff, so they will have adequate background knowledge of the subject matter they are proposing, debating, or voting on.

How did I find it?
I found this source by searching for F-35 Fighter in the Google Scholar database.

2. J-35 Joint Strike Fighter: Assessment Needed to Address Affordability Challenges

What is its purpose?
The paper provides an updated analysis of the cost-benefit of the F-35 program and was reported to the related congressional committees.

How and where is it published?
The paper was published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office in Washington D.C. on April 14, 2015 and released for public view.

What kinds of sources does it cite?
The paper primarily references previous G.A.O. papers

Who is the author?
The listed contributors are Michael Sullivan, Travis Masters, Assistant Director; Peter Anderson; James Bennett; Marvin Bonner; Kristine Hassinger; Megan Porter; Marie Suding; and Abby Volk. All of the contributors are G.A.O. staff members.

Who is its intended audience?
The paper was originally written to present the G.A.O.'s project funding recommendations to the congressional committees.

How did I find it?
After struggling to find a second useful article with the databases, I found a precursor to this paper in the references of one of my general sources. After realizing that it came from a U.S. government department, I searched for a more recent report and found this paper.

Evaluation of Social Media Sources


The following social media sources provide examples of the general public's opinion of the issue.

Blocker, Trey Screenshot 09/05/2015

Credibility - Ee Mien Low has a Facebook account and a Google Plus account. Both of them say he is a senior lecturer at Republic Polytechnic in Singapore.

Location - Singapore is reportedly one of the countries potentially purchasing F-35 aircraft. It is worth noting that he worked at Savi Technology Asia Pte Ltd, A Lockheed Martin Company as a software engineer from 2005-2008.

Network - Many people in the science and technology field are in his circles on Google Plus, including people from other Universities.

Content - He provides a link to a defensenews.com article, which he presumably based his claim on.

Contextual updates - While he generally posts about science and technology topics, I cannot find other posts directly related to the F-35 controversy.

Age - Although Google Plus does not show the age of his account, it shows his history of employment going back to 1999.




Blocker, Trey Screenshot 09/05/2015

Credibility - In addition to Google Plus, this Steve Martin (the name is just a coincidence) has a twitter, and has published a book. He also formed his own Jewish ministry.

Location - He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. The U.S. is the main player in the F-35 project, but there is nothing regarding the project specifically related to Charlotte, or North Carolina.

Network - Many religious figures have him in their circles.

Content - He does not offer his own opinion on the topic. Instead, he posted a link to his blog where a full article written by Ron Kampeas was posted. The article was originally posted in The Times of Israel.

Contextual updates - He seems to be interested in Israel on a spiritual basis, so he is concerned about the F-35's impact on the people of Israel. This is the only post I found related to the F-35.

Age - He joined twitter in 2009.

Evaluation of General Sources

The F-35 joint strike fighter program, contracted to Lockheed Martin, and supported by the U.S. government and numerous allies has long been a subject of controversy in the aerospace industry. The series of fighters is intended to be used by U.S. and allied military forces. Debate has sparked over the cost of the project, as well as the numerous design setbacks it has experienced.


King Jr., Samuel "110714-F-OC707-508" 07/14/2011 via Flickr Public Domain

Sources

1. "Lightning Rod: F-35 Fighter Family Capabilities and Controversies" from Defense Industry Daily

URL:
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/lightning-rod-f-35-fighter-family-capabilities-and-controversies-021922/
The URL address ends in .com, which does not give much indication of the source's credibility. However, the name of the website suggests that it is a trade publication.

Author: The article only lists Defense Industry Daily staff as the author. This makes it difficult to assess the qualifications and credibility of the author.

Last Updated: The article was last updated 07/24/2015, indicating that the information is fairly up to date.

Purpose: The article is intended to inform the reader about the issue. The article provides a large body of contextual information regarding the F-35 program and the technical specifications of the fighters. It also analyzes four reasons for the controversy.

Graphics: Small images of the various types of fighters are included throughout the article to give the reader a more physical idea of the subject. Charts describing the specifications of the planes are also used to make the data more readable.

Position on Subject: The article addresses the issue objectively, while recognizing and analyzing both sides of the argument. It explores the pros and cons of the program.

Links: The article contains links to similar publications as well as links to other articles from Defense Industry Daily. It also has an extensive list of articles for further reading organized categorically.

2. "The $1 trillion F-35 tries to be all things, but succeeds at few, say critics. But is Australia’s new weapon now too big to fail?" from news.com.au

URL:
http://www.news.com.au/technology/the-1-trillion-f35-tries-to-be-all-things-but-succeeds-at-few-say-critics-but-is-australias-new-weapon-now-too-big-to-fail/story-e6frfrnr-1226950254330
The URL ends in .com.au. This tells the reader that it is an Australian website.

Author: The author, Jamie Seidel, is from News Corp Australia Network, and has a twitter account with 112 followers. He has also written articles on similar news sites.

Last Updated: The information in this article is about a year old, as it was published 06/11/2014. All of the links are still working. It is important to keep in mind that some of the issues discussed may have been resolved, and new issues may have been discovered.

Purpose: This article is intended to inform the reader and spark debate. The author discusses common criticisms of the project, and raises questions about the implications of a potential failure.

Graphics: Like the Defense Industry Daily article, this article incorporates pictures of F-35 aircrafts, as well as an infographic of design problems.

Position on Subject: The information is once again presented objectively. As an American reader, the article offered a different perspective on the subject because of its Australian origin (Australia is also invested in the project, but not as much as America).

Links: The article offers links to sites with more information on particular topics within the controversy.

My Major

In today's society, any product, commercial or otherwise, is a result of engineering. The engineers who design these products are divided into specific engineering disciplines, which generally consist of numerous sub disciplines that are found in the workforce. I am particularly interested in Aerospace engineering.

Thomas, Carla "Shuttle Atlantis returning to Kennedy Space Center" 09/01/1998 via NASA Public Domain

1. Aerospace engineering students learn how to apply math and science to solving problems in the aerospace industry. Students must gain a strong foundation in math and science, and practice the design process. Aerospace engineering does not really diverge from other engineering disciplines until the end of the sophomore year. After this point, more focus is placed on the physical properties of flight, and how they affect the design process.

2. The aerospace industry is broad. It encompasses anything that flies, from space shuttles to hot air balloons. A distinction is typically made between the fields of atmospheric flight (aeronautical engineering), and space flight (astronautical engineering). Furthermore it is fairly common for an engineer to work in an area outside of his particular discipline, because all of engineering is so closely related. A wide variety of companies hire aerospace engineers.

3. I was introduced to engineering by one of my middle school teachers. I was interested in it, so I took an engineering course my freshman year of high school. Despite the challenge, I loved the class and ended up completing all four years of the program. I have always been fascinated by space, which led me to research aerospace engineering my junior year of high school, (Junior year engineering students at my high school are supposed to determine which type of engineering fits them best).

4. As far as space exploration goes, NASA is the company that every aerospace engineer wants to work for. While NASA has long been the premier aeronautics and space, many entrepreneurial companies have delved into space exploration, as well as commercialization of the space industry. In the aeronautical industry Boeing dominates the commercial energy, while companies like Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin support government and military flight.

5. According to the journal ranking database SCImago, the top journals in the aerospace engineering field are IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Progress in Aerospace Sciences from Elsevier Limited, and the AIAA Journal from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

I read Ayra and Jaynis' posts. Ayra is considering studying psychology, which is a field that I am not very familiar with. After reading her post I realized that many majors aside from engineering also provide a wide variety of career tracks. Jayni is an engineering major, so there are a lot of similarities between our majors. Although aerospace and chemical engineering diverge at about junior year of college, many products require various types of engineers to collaborate on the same projects.