Forwarding

Joseph Harris states that the goal of academic writing is "not to have the final word, to bring the discussion to a close, but it push it forward, to say something new, something that seems to call for further talk and writing"(35). The idea of "forwarding" can be defined as "circulating [the author's] writing, highlighting parts of his text for the consideration of others". It is just like reading  an email, writing down your response that is meant to forward conversation about the subject, and sending it to more people who can relate to the original email. It is a public exchange of comments that have been put to use in a new context. Forwarding a text also means that the focus has been "shifted away from what the author has to say and towards your own project" (38). This is much like a conclusion of a literary essay, which brings in a new subject after commenting on the author's original purpose.

In forwarding a text, you shape the original to fit your specific goals by either.....

 illustrating (looking to other texts for examples of a point you want to make),

authorizing (invoking the expertise of another writer to support your thinking),

borrowing (drawing on terms or ideas from other writers  to use in thinking though your subject) or

extending (putting your own spin on the terms or concepts that you take from other texts).

An example of a forwarded text in the Onion is the article "Intelligent, Condescending Life Discovered In Distant Galaxy" which focuses on the momentous leap that NASA scientists have made with identifying life in other galaxies. The actual facts are that "100 billion Earth-like planets in the Milky Way, or one for every sun-type star in the galaxy, said Alan Boss, an astronomer with the Carnegie Institution and author of the new book "The Crowded Universe: The Search for Living Planets." (CNN Tech, A. Pawlowski). The Onion extends the concept that NASA publicized by instigating that the extraterrestrials used "patronizing language and backhanded compliments", saying it was "nice to finally hear from our quaint planet" and that it "certainly took humanity long enough".

So what is lost, gained, altered, or remains the same in that forwarding?

The seriousness is lost. Almost all of the facts are altered (I had to go to CNN to read  the real story). A potential huge discovery is made fun of  by the writers of the Onion, and for what purpose? Perhaps just to make the reader chuckle a bit and look at the story from a different angle, so the reader is thinking more along the lines of Of course we have identified life in other galaxies rather than I'm not sure if there is life in other galaxies. The sarcastic tone of voice takes the original story and turns it into a DUH moment for the readers.