Rodriguez 1

Andrea Rodriguez
Professor Thames
ENC 1102
22 October 2020

Reading Response 6

4. Mirabelli focuses on the genre of the menu because he claims that it is “the most important

printed text used by waiters and waitresses” (Mirabelli 16). As Mirabelli sees it, the food

workers must know the menu of the restaurant that they work for, or else they will be unable to

complete their tasks accordingly. He focuses on the genre in order to put that emphasis on how it

partakes in the food worker’s life. I think it is an effective method to solve his research question.

His research question seems to revolve the “constructed ways of reading texts (and customers)”

and other ways food service workers represent themselves to “characterize interactive service

work” (Mirabelli 7). His effectiveness is shown in the ways that he uses the menu and examples

of interactions between customers and workers of Lou’s Restaurants. Mirabelli says that a menu

is predictable, and that is why it makes for a perfect genre. It follows a certain pattern in the way

it categorizes and lists food items that the restaurant offers. He demonstrates that workers rely on

this genre in order to interact with customers. A food service worker that knows the menu by

heart makes for a trustworthy one. The conversations that Mirabelli include also show how the

menu is a useful genre. Customers are able to ask the food service workers questions about menu

items and they are quick and ready to answer.

5. In Rose’s study, he identifies two different groups of students – the blockers and the non-

blockers. The blockers seem to have been always told that “a good essay always grabs a reader’s

attention immediately” (Rose 16). From the papers that he says he has received from the blockers

group, they all seemed to have a stylistic flair. The blockers use the rules that they must catch a

reader’s attention and that they must have grammatical sentences in order for their ideas to be

‘correct.’ The blockers also seem to take their sweet time with their paper, one of Rose’s students
Rodriguez 1
Andrea Rodriguez
Professor Thames
ENC 1102
22 October 2020

turned in her paper way overdue and it was well written. Another rule that the blockers followed

was that the essay had to be perfectly outlined before it was written. They feel like they always

had problems to solve. The rules of the non-blockers varied from the blockers. They stuck with

the idea that they should write whatever they can, rather than following a strict outline. They feel

like they can throw stuff out once they complete a second draft of the paper. I think what mainly

accounts for the difference between blockers and non-blockers is that the non-blockers were not

raised with a strict ‘make a plan and follow the plan’ mentality. They understand that they write

what they can in the moment and go back to it to perfect it. The non-blockers had better flowing

papers by the end of the study as they gave themselves time to go back and give their paper some

flair.

Work Cited
Mirabelli, Tony. “Learning to Serve: The Language and Literacy of Food Service Workers.”
Writing About Writing. 3rd ed., Macmillan Learning, 2017, pp. 298-317.
Rose, Mike. “Rigid rules, Inflexible Plans, and the Stifling of Language: A Cognitive Analysis of
Writers Block.” Writing About Writing. 3rd ed., Macmillan Learning, 2017, pp. 787-801.