Revised Paragraphs

C) In addition to chat room's many socializing abilities, online chat rooms have also become a great source of communication for other purposes. Chat rooms are very effective resources because they have even allowed me to converse with other members of my Biology class to discuss the lectures and labs. The chat room can provide a learning environment outside of the classroom. A lot of classes around campus have the chat rooms set up privately for only the students registered in that class.This is a security device that makes sure people who do not belong to a particular class do not gain access to the room. The chat room is a good resource to use inside and outside of the classroom. It provides convenience and a way to catch up on things if someone were to miss a day of class and needed notes or help.

D) In Los Angeles the use of dogs in the police force has been rejected and the use of weapons is preferred. During the Watts riots officeres employed guns as means of protection and some looters and perpetrators were killed. Dogs served as the preferred alternative to excessive force around housing developments off campus for students attending the University of California Los Angeles. At UCLA, canines were first introduced in 1979 to aid university Officers in protecting the safety of students from nearby gangs and as a result the canines caused the gangs to relocate. The purpose of canines in the police force is to provide an alternative to excessive and deadly force.

Kitman and Moore

Jamie Kitman and Patrick Moore are both supporters of protecting the environment. Kitman is the New York bureau chief for Automobile Magazine and writes about Hybrid cars not being as environmentally friendly as everyone assumes. The battery, if not recycled properly, is a big issue to the environment according to Kitman. Also, the Hybird SUV's are worse on gas mileage than regular cars. People still purchase them for better parking passes, use of special lanes of traffic, and tax breaks. The Hybrid cars are more efficient around town but when taken to the interstate, other cars get much better gas mileage.
Patrick Moore's piece discusses another way of energy for cars, nuclear energy. He states that nuclear energy is the only alternative to fading fossil fuels and the only way to save the planet from drastic climate changes. The ability to construct massive nuclear weapons from nuclear energy is a set back to this being done. Although, there are precautions are trying to be maintained or created to keep this from happening. In Japan, to make it more difficult to sell this nuclear energy in civilian materials, the Japanese have made a system where the plutonium is never separated from the uranium.
In my opinion, when a writer has experienced their topic it definitely makes me consider the opinion because it comes from knowledge and understanding. Not from estimated guesses.

Revision

Today almost everyone looks for a way to disown consequences for their actions. No one wants to deal with something they did not want in the first place. Abortion is another way out in most cases. No one knows what it literally means. It is a term. @(Therefore), you never hear of the problems women have emotionally, physically, or mentally after they have an abortion. You only hear that it makes a problem disappear. *People are not educated well enough on the issue and it is entirely too sugar coated.
In my policy paper I will discuss a policy that says that people need to know what goes on during and after an abortion. @(For example) what types of abortions there are, the effects on a woman's body it can have, why so many people never know what they are really doing, and so on to show how important it is not to protect people from the truth about the process of this act. @(Also), how I propose to deal with it is to have education classes for women who want this done. I think I have enough sources to support what I am going to write about.

Tiger Burn

The decision to not go through with Tiger Burning this year, I think is a respectful one. The recent events of the seven students who died in a fire is still very upsetting to many students. It would just be to hard on students effected by the fire to watch something be burned to death and think it to be funny. It will definitely effect the USC society in a positive way. I also think that it is good that the traditions of USC can still be somewhat lived out and not completely cancelled or anything that would make events at USC no fun any more. We are simply thinking of the respect that should be given to students who died in Ocean Isle as well we should for they deserve all we can give.

CR Chaper 7 Question 4

In Jeffrey Kluger and Richard Lindzen's articles they discuss global warming. They differ in their approaches to the discussion. Of course they both talk about the cause and effects of global warming but then they give different points of view.

In Jeffrey Kluger's "Be Worried, Be Very Worried" Kluger discusses how global warming is being caused by people and what is taking effect with global warming now. There have been many natural disasters and he seems to believe that the CO2 emissions are what is causing these disasters all over the world. It is believed that the increase in CO2 is causing the glaciers and ice caps to crumble and slush causing a rise in sea level that could "swallow large parts of coastal Florida and most of Bangladesh." He states that scientists have predicted global warming occuring and that most have concluded people are the cause of it. Another example he gives is feedback loops occuring causing soils to warm up and decompose therefore releasing gases in the air. This occurance could lead to warming and permafrost thaw. Permafrost thaw happening could cause a loss of thermoregulation, giving warmer oceans and colder continents. All of it mainly goes back to the overproduction of CO2 causing and environment for plants and animals to slowly disappear.

In Richard Lindzen's "Climate of Fear: Global-Warming Alarmists Intimidate Dissenting Scientists into Silence" Lindzen has differences in the way he discusses global warming. He feels like people overreact about this issue. He agrees CO2 should be a factor in the global warming but states "...what the public fails to grasp is that the claims neither constitute support for alarm nor establish man's responsibility for the small amount of warming that has occurred." His finding on the Iris Effect, where cirrus clouds with high temperatures can give negative climate feedback that reduce the response to growing amounts of CO2, he believes was discredited because it went against global warming. He basically believes people play it up bigger than it really is.

I agree with Lindzen's standpoint that global warming is made out bigger than it is but Kluger's article was much more effective. He had much more effective evidence and was much less biased than Lindzen was. Klugen knew how to support his theory on what he was writing. Lindzen did so poorly.

Topic Proposal for Policy Paper

Today almost everyone looks for a way to disown concequences for their actions. No one wants to deal with something they did not want in the first place. Abortion is another way out. No one knows what it literally means. It is a term. People say "I do not want this baby. I am going to have an abortion." You never hear "I do not want this baby. I am going to get a powerful vacuum to suck the baby apart into a trash bin." Oh no that would be way to harsh. You never hear of the problems women have emotionally, physically, or mentally after they have an abortion. You only hear that it makes a problem disappear. People are not educated well enough on the issue and it is entirely too sugar coated.

In my policy paper I will discuss a policy that says that people need to know what goes on during and after an abortion. Like what types of abortions there are, the effects on a woman's body it can have, why so many people never know what they are really doing, and so on to show how important it is not to protect people from the truth about the process of this act. I think I have enough sources to support what I am going to write about.

Point IV for Policy Paper

There are three things I covered in my exploratory paper. First, I discussed a little about what exactly abortion is and why it is so controversial, like the definitions and the methods used. Second, I showed the pro-life side of people who believe it is wrong to have an abortion. I gave examples and reasons to support this side and show their points, like the Bible and ethical controversies this creates. Third, I showed the pro-choice side of people who believe that a woman has every right to have an abortion and it is not wrong to do so. I also gave examples and reasons to support this side and show their beliefs, like the Bible being misinterpreted and how the definitions vary to say it is not "murder".

I think the side most dominant is the fact that it is ok to have an abortion and people do not see anything wrong with this. I think this because when people hear of abortion the word is sugar coated so much that people do not really understand what this intells. People do not see what the doctors really do or the effects it has on people afterwards. They just know it as a way out of a sticky situation. No responsibility for something they do not want. People are not educated enough on the issue.

I think the side that should be dominant is the fact that it is not ok to have an abortion. I think people need to understand what they get into if they go through with this act. An abortion generally happens when a woman gets pregnant and does not want the child. Why should we give yet another way out for people to not take responsibility for their actions by getting rid of an innocent victim.

This can be enforced as a policy to make people understand what they do before we allow them to make such an action and only allow this under strict circumstances. Show the women other options if they do not want the child, ex. giving it up for adoption.

Campus Issue

A big problem on this campus that I think most any student would agree with me on is parking. Unless you pay $320 a semester to have a parking spot in a garage you have to find a parking spot on the street. And when you are done playing "Where's Waldo?" for a parking spot because they are so limited, you still have to pay for the time you are parked there. There definitely needs to be a better parking system for students and their guests. If a student has a guest over for the night on a weekday and their guest does not go here, where should they park? Should they have to go out every few hours to feed the meter? If the university wants to charge why not make them pay a standing fee for the parking garage to park in? On the weekends parking is free on the street but there is such a limited number of spots that it does not really make a difference and the parking garages are not open. There has to be a better system than the one being used to allow for more parking, for students and non-students, and especially at a cheaper cost.

Of course with the limited space there is not much that can be done about the parking spots on campus. And it is college so almost everything that we use here is going to cost something. The university has to make their money in everyway possible.

The F-word Carolina Readers

The two writers, Achenbach and Reilly, both argue about the F-word being used to much in today's society. They think the word is not special any more and lacks creativity and meaning that it used to have. Achenbach writes on the history of the word and why it has come out within the last 40 years or so. He tells the origin of the F-word and how people are trying to sensor it out today, like Bush signing a bill trying to get the maximum fine for profanity on the radio and TV. Reilly discusses his personal experiences with the word. His main scenerio is at sports games and what Boston University is trying to do about the word during sporting events. He himself admits to cussing too much and says he is trying to quit with the help of a boook. Both writers think that the F-word should not be used so loosely without concern but should protect it as it used to be protected.

Free Write

Before I got my driver's licence, I never really paid any attention to the driving laws like wearing a seat belt. I thought it was no big deal and my mother used to always have to get onto me about wearing the seat belt. Before I got my licence I had to take a driver's education course and they explained all of the laws and why they are in place. There was a slide show showing pictures of wrecks people had been in and most of them showed the bodies. On almost all of them the leader said that the person could have lived if only they had been wearing a seat belt. Not too long after that, a friend of mine was in a car wreck and was killed. It too could have gone much better for my friend had they been wearing a seat belt. After those two things I always put on a seat belt when I get in the car. Those images and my friend come into my head whenever I get in a car and I take advantage of the fact that I was lucky enough not to have been in an accident during the times I did not see it necessary to wear a seat belt.

Extra Credit

Shanker and Randolph
In the article “The Big, Fat American Kid Crisis…And 10 Things We Should Do About It”, Eleanor Randolph claims that American children are obese and getting even bigger because of all the unhealthy food enterprises. There are ten ways she proposes to stop or help decrease obesity and the “Big Food” presence by targeting the most important aspects that cause obesity like not making so many junk food ads towards children, getting schools to give healthy snacks and banning junk food in schools, health education for everyone, and labeling food in restaurants, allowing for the possibility of her proposal to work. The piece is very effective because the goals are obtainable and little things that could have enormous helping effects. This is mainly directed towards people who can change the way things are done, like school board members or senators, to help the ones who are obese not have so many chances to become that way.

The second piece is an excerpt from The Fat Girl’s Guide to Life by Wendy Shanker which addresses the view Americans have towards body image and especially towards larger bodies. Her piece is powerful because all of her evidence is from her first hand experience as an overweight person. She writes of how she has struggled with accepting her looks because of negativity from others and herself. Her first hand experience with stereotyping and self-acceptance is something to look at for people who are unhappy with themselves or their lives. This article could be directed towards anyone because almost everyone, with the constant changing of what society says people should be like to be liked; it is hard for almost anyone to be happy with every aspect of their life.

SWA#9

When I write an exploratory paper I pick a topic, find sources and make notes, write a draft, and then revise it. I tend to write as I go along without prior planning to the paper and write down what comes to mind at the moment and then revise it when I read it again later. Two things from this chapter that could help me is asking questions about my paper when revising and making an extended list or outline. Both could help because my writing process could use more structure and more of a process to write my paper correctly. Asking the questions will allow for me to be more thorough with what needs to be in my paper. Making an outline would help me make sure I have the topics I want to discuss in my paper.
An outline is like a “skeleton” of a paper, as the book calls it. It provides a way for the writer to not have to stop and think about what to write about next because the outline does it for you. It provides a way to see a good organization on what the paper will be about so it is easier to write and put together correctly.
Three things that could be useful to me on revising my paper looking at my draft as a whole, finishing it in time to put down and read later, and asking revision questions about my paper. If I print out my paper, like the book says to do, and look at it as a whole it will be easier to catch mistakes and read more smoothly. Finishing it in time to put down and read a day later would help me because it would give me a break from writing the paper. If I write to long, I tend to just put things down at the end to finish it without really paying attention. It would give my mind a break and be able to fix mistakes I maybe would not have seen earlier. By asking questions about my paper while I am revising it, it will help to catch things that I might not have paid attention to in the first place. It gives me something to look for specifically instead of glancing over the paper.
An exploratory is written for the author and the reader to better understand an issue. It provides information from all views and allows for a deeper understanding of the issue. If an author is going to write a position paper, writing an exploratory paper first gives the author background information from past and present on his/her topic. When a writer and a reader get information-facts and opinions-it lets them all get a better understanding of what the topic truly is. Before a position can be taken by an author, he/she needs to be able to support their opinion and have a well established argument with facts from their research to back up their position.
Some ways to conduct peer review are one, to get in a small group with three or four of classmates, giving them all a copy of your paper, and reading it a loud so as you do your peers can critique it and mark problem spots. Another way is to read them silently in groups and students make notes on them before discussing them one by one a loud. Another way is to have a partner and switch papers to take home allowing for extra time to read more than once. Peer review has several advantages. It makes the writing process more sociable and is able to provide immediate feedback on your paper from someone else. It gives the writer a chance to hear what an audience thinks of his/her paper. After all, it is written for others to read and like. Someone will always have suggestions on how to make the paper a better one even if it has been critiqued over and over. It helps to have others opinions.

SWA #8

In the Carolina Reader three authors discuss issues that have come been noticed more because of their growth or need of attention; religion, politics, and social class affecting dropouts. Each article gives reasons to what is causing changes in the topic they are discussing.
The first article, “Matters of Faith Find a New Prominence on Campus” by Alan Finder in 2007, was written discussing the growing religious practices on college campuses. One of the reasons Finder gives for this is the rise in religious right in politics. Some of the main religious arguments like abortion and war leave students looking for answers. Another reason he gives is the September 11 attacks that he says “underscored for many the influence of religion on world affairs”. Another reason he states is baby boomers not imposing their religion on their children as they had had their parents do to them. This allowed for their children to find themselves and when students came to campus and tragedies happened “they sometimes feel that they don’t have resources to deal with them. And sometimes they turn to religion and courses in religion,” said Mr. Steffen, the chaplain at Lehigh University.
Religion is not the only thing growing. The second piece, “Schools of Thought: The Liberal-Conservative Divide on College Campuses” by Richard Just was published in 2003 discusses the growing and more evident active political conservatism on college campuses. Just discusses how conservative students are noticing an overwhelming liberal bias in students and faculty and staff on campuses. Much of the staff is liberal in most colleges and imposes their political views, intentionally or unintentionally, in the classrooms. Because there are so many liberals in colleges it is putting a spotlight on the minority of the conservatives, as Just states, “…though the right is still a minority on many campuses, it is undoubtedly an energized one.” This extra attention allows for extra funding to conservative newspapers and speakers, and these contributions are much greater than that of the liberals.
In the final article, “The College Dropout Boom” by David Leonhardt, suggests that the large gap between lower, middle, and upper class is a big reason why the number of college dropouts are increasing. Along with this is that “tuition bills scare some students from even applying and leaving others with years of debt.” Even if some students with lower income get in if they apply, even though they are not the preference, they may not be able to afford four or five years of school with or without scholarships. Leonhardt suggests that high schools are partly to blame for students dropping out when they do not succeed because the high schools do not prepare the students properly for going into college. Another reason is that some students may be lacking direction towards college from their family members. Some students just do not have a support system at home for them to be able to strive for a higher education.
All three of these articles raise interesting points to the ever changing college student. Although these changes in religion, politics, and dropouts may not occur in all colleges, the evidence is mainly from Ivy League schools, it is certainly interesting that the tables may turn from the old ways and beliefs of those who set the stage in colleges as to what was once tradition in schools. It all could be changing for something different because everyone wants something different.

Annotated Bibliography

Robinson, A. Bruce. "Questions About the Morality of, and Access to Abortions; Biases; Definitions." Religious Tolerance 19 Sept. 2007. 24 Oct. 2007 http://www.religoustolerance.org/abofund.htm.

This website was made by Religious Tolerance and this specific part was written by Bruce Robinson. This website gives the basic information of abortion such as statistics and what abortion is. It also give both side views on the issue. It gives political standpoints as well as religious and ethical views. Although this website is more geared towards being against abortion, it would still be good to use in my paper to better support one of the sides I am trying to give evidence for. It has so much information from both sides as well as what it could do later in someone's life and the law with court rulings on the issue. These could show where the issue could end up in later years.



"Abortion Is Prolife." Capitalism Magazine 2007. 24 Oct. 2007
http://www.abortionisprolife.com/index.htm

This is a website created by Capitalism Magazine. It gives the side of people who believe in abortion being ok to do. It has different authors involved who discuss how it is not possible for an embryo to have "rights" because it is not even a human-being. I think this website will be helpful because it is a one-sided website that can give insight in my paper on what pro-choice believers think and how they justify their side. This website could have given a little more factual things instead of just opinions of the pro-choice believers. These articles give reasoning to this side of the case completely to this side which will be helpful.



Agresti, D. James. "Abortion Facts." Just Facts Foundation 12 Oct. 2007. 24 OCt. 2007 http://www.justfacts.com/abortion.asp.

Presently, all of the writing and research is done by James D. Agresti, who has a bachelor's of science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Brown University. This website does not give sides of the issue or personal political views of the writers on the issue and tries to keep adverbs and subjective adjectives to a minimum. It just gives the facts that go to abortion. It explains the science of fertilization and when a woman gets an abortion, the long term effects that could occur. I shows the politics and how the media portrays this event without giving opinions. This will definately be of use to my paper because I can show where one side or the other gets their information and what is right and wrong.



McKinley, Brian. "Why Abortion is Biblical." 2005. 24 Oct. 2007 http://www.elroy.net/ehr/abortion.html.

This article was written by Brian Mckinley who wrote this to speak his opinion because he does not believe abortion is wrong and believes that he has not found anything in scripture that proves him wrong. One of the main points of people believing in pro-life is how it is in the Bible that it is wrong. This author uses the Bible as a way to say that God does not look down on abortion and that when people against abortion use the Bible as their reasoning they misrepresent it. This is very interesting to use because the author completely puts a different viewpoint on how the Bible is interpreted to help the pro-choice view. He explains how the Bible verses are not taught correctly and he raises many questions about the point of view taken from the Bible. Although he may not be a credible source, it is a view that may be shared by many other people with his opinion and it makes for a stable argument against the pro-life believers.



Finney, A. Raymond. "ABortion and the Bible." 4 Sept. 2003. 24 Oct. 2007. http://www.abortion-and-bible.com/
This piece was written by a retired physician, Raymond Finney. He writes this from personal and medical experience and is a firm believer in God. This is firmly pro-life and shows this sides perception of the Bible counter acting the other site I chose. I think this would be good to use in an argumentative paper because I have two site who use the same source and totally different ways to support their views. This was written by a man who just wanted to put his views out there and is definately an opinionated piece so it is not something to use for facts. I can only use it for giving a look at what this side thinks.

"About ABortion: Understanding the Issue." 11 Sept. 2000. 25 Oct. 2007 http://www.aboutabortions.com/.
This website was written as a blog which allows people to respond and give their side of the issue. It has quotes from different sources and gives different ways to look at abortion. I will probably use some of the different quotes and the reasoning given in the blog posts. It could have been more helpful if more people had responded to this post so I could have more people to go off of. This writer wants to stimulate a debate and anyone to expand on his/her points made.

"Abortion Methods." Niagara Region Right to Life Association 25 Oct. 2007 http://www.lifesite.net/abortiontypes/
This website was sponsored by Niagara Region to give information on the different types of abortions there are. It discusses the procedures of what the doctors do during any of the types and very vividly what happens to the aborted baby. This will be useful in my paper because in defining abortion, the process is a very important part. Some people use it as a term without really understanding what happens. These aspects will allow for expansion on the basics and definition of abortion. It would have been more useful if it had expanded on what it was telling like why some ways are more used than others or what is more difficult to recover from.

"Types of Abortion Procedures." American Pregnancy Association Jan. 2007. 25 Oct. 2007 http://www.americanpregnancy.org/unplannedpregnancy/abortionprocedures.html.
This association sponsored this website to also tell the different kinds of abortion, some of which that are not mentioned in the first website I gave. This gives the time in which these abortions take place, like first and second trimesters of pregnancy. This website is a pregnancy website that gives all information like how to get pregnant, pregnancy wellness, how to be prepared, etc. I think this will be useful in my paper to go along with the other abortion types website that it can be more accurate. It would be more helpful if it had given more information on the procedures and why certain ones are done during the different trimesters.

Response to CR

For the number of people who aspire to look beautiful to the world, there is certainly an enormous number of people who are obese. Mainly because the general American wants things done fast with as little effort as possible. So, instead of going into the kitchen and cooking a fresh from scratch meal, it is way easier and less time consuming to open up a frozen pizza box and popping it in the oven. In the carolina reader it suggests this. It also says "The obesity problem is really a side effect of things that are good for the economy." This suggests that all of these quick and easy things can be quite convenient and good every once in awhile when we just do not have time, but these fast and easy meals are taking over almost every meal. The figures for the money spent in the carolina reader show huge amounts of money thrown at fast food, cookies, potato chips, and restaurants. Then there is also the $124.7 billion in treatments related to obesity. If the resources were not constantly there to be able to give in to the temptations of things like french fries, perhaps America would not be so overweight. We are the richest country in the world but yet we are by far not the healthiest. Americans should put that $124.7 billion towards healthier things than medical treatments like exercising and healthier foods.

Topic Proposal and sources

An ongoing debate in society is whether or not it is ok for a woman to have abortions. Some people believe it is a woman's choice and there is not anything wrong with it. Some people believe it is against God's will to kill a little living embryo. A large piece of the debate is whether or not an aborted embryo is actually murder because murder intells the killing of an actual human being and some do not believe it is a human being.
I am writing on the two sides, pro-life and pro-choice, on abortion. One of the biggest arguments for the pro-life supporters is the religious factor. One of the sources uses the biblical verses to promote pro-choice. There is no in between on the issue, it is either one side or the other and in my paper I will show both sides and give the support both sides use to justify their beliefs.

Robinson, A. Bruce. "Questions About the Morality of, and Access to Abortion; biases;
definitions." Religious Tolerance 19 Sept. 2007. 24 Oct. 2007
http://www.religioustolerance.org/abofund.htm.

"Abortions Is Profile." Capitalism Magazine 2007. 24 Oct. 2007
http://www.abortionisprolife.com/index.htm.

Agresti, D. James. "Abortion Facts." Just Facts Foundation 12 Oct. 2007. 24 Oct. 2007
http://www.justfacts.com/abortion.asp.

McKinley, Brian. "Why Abortion Is Biblical." 2005. 24 Oct. 2007
http://www.elroy.net/ehr/abortion.html.

Finney, A. Raymond. "Abortion and the Bible." 4 Sept. 2003. 24 Oct. 2007
http://www.abortion-and-bible.com/.

Smoking Bans brainstorming

• effects to people who do smoke
• effects to people around those who smoke
• health
• constitutional rights
• smoking in restaurants
• allergies
• cancer
• odor
• birth defects to babies who have mother's who smoke during pregnancy

My Post Secret

My post secret was just about me and some friends forking someone's yard. I was not going for any particular message just that I have done it. There was an unexpected reaction to my card. Someone in my group did not know what forking was. Maybe it is just where I grew up but everyone knew what it was and most people had partaken in this act. It just shows that even the smallest things can be different just in different states. On my card I simply drew a fork and a house with forks in the yard. It is the best way to describe what I did. There was no hidden message or meaning to the card. There is no way around forking someone's yard.

Post Secret

I chose the fourth post about the person who gives a reason why they have no friends. In this text the explicit claim is that this person has no friends and they want there to be a reason for this. This person uses a reason to make themselves believe its because they are extraordinary and people are scared. I think this author is a lonely teenage girl. The way the text talks about being beautiful so people are intimidated to talk to her. It is portrayed as something a girl would say. This secret is geared toward both types of people; those who are lonely and those who only look at people who need friends but do not become a friend. It relates to people who do not have friends and can give those people a sense of comfort to know they are not the only ones who view themselves that way. It can also show how it makes people feel to be alone to those who take having friends for granted. The visual on this card, does not go along with what is being said in my opinion. I do not understand how it relates. It is just a slurred background with feet walking. I just did not get how it related to the text.

SWA #7

The advertisement I picked out is one for a shoe brand. This advertisement is directed towards younger people because it looks like a shoe brand for teenagers or younger. I do not think this advertisement does a good job of showing what it is supposed to be for because it has so much going on on the page that it is hard to look at what it wants the reader to see. When I looked at the advertisement, the only reason I knew what it was trying to sell is because it had a shoe at the bottom of the page with the name brand. The advertisement does not do a good job trying to get the reader to go after its product.

SWA #6

Realistic Idealists by Alex Williams (2005)

central claim: "...a generation whose sense of community involvement was born four years agon on Sept. 11, 2001." "Not only are more students participating, educators say, the scale of ambition seems to be continually increasing."
(pg. 59)

The author of this passage gives example after example to support this central claim. From Westside High School in Houston raising more than $16,000 for American Red Cross after Katrina to individuals like Michael Swirnow in Maryland who raised $88,000 for Habitat for Humanity to simply "give back" to the less forunate. The central claim is basically stating that many more students are getting involved in community service, especially after the horrible incidents like Katrina, the Tsunami in Asia, and September 11.
The author bases his warrants off of the fact that after every major event individuals and high schools have come together to make spectacular changes to the situations at hand. Opposing views are not well supported because of all of the efforts after the tragedies. The author tells of how some think all of the community service is simply a strategy to get into schools now. If it was a strategy, why would students not do this before all of these horrible things happened? it does not make sense to blame all of the help on this because of the circumstances it came after.
I agree with the author on this issue. I think there is a tremendous amount of help increase, mostly because it is a time when our nation truely needed it. A lot of students and high schools have really stepped up to help. My high school did fund raisers and food drives after Katrina hit to help out the victims. Therefore, I completely agree with this point of view that it has changed for the better.


Ugly, the American by James Poniewozik (pg. 154)

central claim: "And because, as our pop culture shows, Americans' attitude toward foreigners is more complex than the build-a-fencers would make it."
(pg. 154)

This author discusses the views Americans take on foreigners as well as the foreigners view on Americans. The author's main example is the hit television show Ugly Betty. In this show a young foreign girl, who is not attractive, works her way up through hard work and good values. She provides a fresh outside perspective to the magazine she works for because of her being a foreigner. The Americans view foreigners as a way of entertainment but when it comes to real life Americans do not embrace them.
In the text the author says, "That's what makes our pop culture so vital: from TV tomusic to fashion, it is constantly transfused by foreigners who are able to out-American Americans." This statement shows that foreigners have a fresh eye on our country and can show us things we could not see before and in turn they entertain us. This is focused around the central claim because the author gives examples of the different ways foreigners show us things about ourselves as a nation.
I agree with this author on the fact that American do put views on foreigners but are not afraid to use them for entertainment. The only foreigners we embrace are those who stand out and make a name for themselves.

Rehtorical Analysis

"PAY ATTENTION" (pg 365)

Central claim: "This thing I have is neurobiological; it has nothing to do with my attitude." (pg. 365)

My claim: "This article is written as an informative piece telling people that ADD is not something people can help so deal with it and accept that people have it." (pg. 1)

My revised claim: This article does make a good point for those who do not have ADD, do not assume people with it are disruptors or purposefully dont pay attention. A lot of the time it can not be helped.

My conclusion: : "She chose to take what she has and maike it part of who she is and has written about it in such a strong way that it leaves the reader thinking that we should view ADD differently than how the public perceives it."

Chosen Article and Outline

PAY ATTENTION! by Stephanie Brush (pg. 365)

I finally chose this article because the topic interested me because it is not generally talked about a whole lot. It is different and I like topics that come from people who are personnally involved in the topic they are writing about. I thought because I was so interested it would be easy to write an analysis on this article.



outline:

P1. Introduction

• Title and author
• Showing how to use T.R.A.C.E

P2. Type of Text

• Sarcastic/Funny tone (the way the author makes fun of herself)
• A laid back attitude
• The examples given of the comments she gets about her ADD

P3. Type of Reader

• People who do not have ADD to show that it is not something that is intentional and is hard to control.
• Maybe a little to people who do have it to show that there is nothing wrong with them because they have this.

P4. Type of Author

• Female who has ADD
• Writing to express what it is like to have ADD

P5. Type of Constraints

• ADD is more of something you are and not something you have.
• ADD is nothing to do with attitude and it is not "fair" to tell someone who has it that they have a problem with their attitude or they simply do not pay attention to what is going on.

P6. Type of Exigence

• Hopes to help people get a better perspective on the issue.
• To show from personnal experience what it is really like

P7. Personal Response

• I agree with the author. This is not something that can be helped a lot of times and when people are medicated it sometimes takes away from the persons personality. There is no need to be judgemental on something someone can not help.

Articles: Why and Why Not?

My Amendment by George Saunders (pg. 389)

I read this article because it is an issue that is discussed continuously in our country. I agree mostly with this author's view on same sex marriage because I am completely against it. I think it would be very easy to write on this topic because it is something I believe so firmly about.

PAY ATTENTION! (pg. 365)

I read this article because I was attracted to the section "What's So Funny?". I like comedic articles so I thought this would be an interesting section. I read this specific article because it is about the author who has ADD. The author is writing this article about herself which I find interesting because it makes you understand more about the situation by getting someones standpoint on the issue.

SWA #5

Rhetorical Analysis on Gregg Easterbrook’s Article
The author of this article, “Virginia Tech and Our Impoverished Language for Evil”, is a contributing editor at The New Republic and wrote this article to object against the media and announcers on television “sugar-coating” tragic happenings like the Virginia Tech shooting. The criminals or the crimes they commit are not spoken of for what they really are and in turn make them sound less serious than what they really are. The Virginia Tech example shows how the media and news stations would never call the criminal a “killer” or a “murderer” but instead called him a “shooter” which does not give the correct image of what really happened. The tragic massive homicide is not given that image. Gregg states “Many news reports spoke of the slaughter as if it had been a bad, bad car crash with no one really at fault.” Moral dimension is removed giving the illusion that bad things just happen instead of human wickedness making bad things happen.
With all of the talk about the media, I think this article could mainly have been targeted towards them to let the media know what they are doing. It could also possibly be directed toward the public so that people do not get caught up thinking something is not serious when things like the horrible homicide talked about in the article happen and are detrimental. His arguments are very convincing and I completely agree with his point of view on the issue. The media and television constantly try to make all bad things seem better. In my perspective, I do not understand how a mass murderer cannot be called for what he is when he did one of the most horrible things you can do and yet we cannot be judgmental on it. If that cannot be judged and shown for what it is, what can? The author stated it the best way possible when he said, “Evil exists and must be spoken of as evil, not in euphemism.” Why is there such a problem getting the hard truth about what goes on around us in the world?
The other issue that is discussed in this passage is how the criminal was being justified for what he did. The media and psychologists tried to simply play it off as a confused gunman so that the fact that real evil exists, does not get acknowledged. It is a hard thing to grasp when you have to realize and acknowledge the fact that your own species and race is capable of such heartless antics. Maybe this is the reason people cannot confront the fact that when a person kills another it makes them a murderer and when it is done in a right state of mind, it shows it is done out of pure cold heartlessness.

SWA #4

There are definitely differences between MySpace and Facebook blogs and the rhetorical analysis on David Friedman’s blog. On MySpace and Facebook, the blogs for the most part are used as a way of people expressing themselves and not towards discussing issues. Another difference is how the TRACE system of writing is placed into these two different forms of communication. David Friedman’s blog is directed towards different audiences and is more formal than the other two websites. Also, it is a controversial blog which allows for open discussion and is not much of a personal blog. Even though MySpace and Facebook can be used to talk about important topics they are generally used as more or less “journals”. People tend to use them in different writing styles such as songs, poems, letters, diaries, etc.
There are not many similarities between blogs and MySpace and Facebook. As previously stated, they can both be used to post opinions on any issue, people can read them, and can agree or disagree. If someone on MySpace or Facebook was to write a blog they probably would not use the TRACE system as well as David Friedman.

SWA #3

Megan Brotherton
English 101-56
September 4, 2007
Short Writing Assignment 3

My Argument Style
My style of argument can be derived from both consensual and adversarial. I am like a consensual arguer in that I hate fighting and I would prefer to avoid confrontation but, when I argue, I like to give reasons for my position and I am both logical and emotional when doing so. I think when arguing it is very important to give reasons for why you take the side you do. Those are some of the consensual qualities I have but if I had to choose which type of arguer I was it would be an adversarial arguer because I am not a submissive person. I like to win my arguments and am very aggressive in making my points. While I am giving my reasons for my standpoint, I tend to see things as two-sided. I think sometimes it is necessary to be aggressive in your argument to get your point across especially if it is an issue you are passionate about. The way I prefer to argue is to be aggressive, give your reasons, and get your point across but in the end look for a compromise that can overall make both sides happy.

SWA #2

Matt Miller’s article “Is Persuasion Dead?” explains how the art of persuasion seems to have vanished and that it seems almost impossible to convince someone of something they do not already believe. Miller starts off by asking if persuasion is dead and if it is, does it even matter. He gives the example of politics and how when speeches are given, they are not given to persuade any more but to win people and that number one selling books are there to back up what people who bought them already believed to begin with. Both of the examples show that he believes there is no longer an ability to persuade someone with a standpoint, to believe something else. He suggests that to be able to govern successfully in politics, it requires the influencing of how people think, therefore, since the habits of persuasion have been lost, the ability to be a leader is faltering as well. Miller’s article mainly contends that politicians have killed the art of persuasion and that people, who have a common belief or standpoint, tend to stay together and are not open to change but only to honor the other side’s opinion. Also, open-mindedness could be a way to get people to listen again and be persuaded by other, even though it could have been a big reason to the reason why people cannot be persuaded.
Miller’s entire article is about how persuasion needs to arise again and people need to be more open-minded. His statements in some cases are accurate. For instance in the election when the speeches are made, most people have their minds made up which side they take no matter what the candidates have to say. The speeches only push people more over on the side they are already on. However, Miller contradicts his paper in entirety when he starts being close-minded on George Bush’s Social Security plan. It could be taken in this part of the article that he is saying if something has many odds stacked against it, something should not be put into action or used to persuade people into something. He states, “And why, even if George Bush’s Social Security plan had been well conceived, the odds were always stacked against ambitious reform. I’m not the only one amid this mess wonders if he shouldn’t be looking for another line of work.” In doing this he becomes like the people he as so readily judged the whole paper by being on a side and holding his point of view, not wanting to change. He is being close-minded and not looking into what is done. If someone were to apply this to other things in elections, it could have some bad effects. For example, if it was looked into and there were more Democrats than Republicans then someone might say, “Well the odds are against the Republicans, why have an election at all?” People may have been persuaded into standing behind Bush’s plan when they heard what it was for or had experienced its benefits. Basically it boils down to if something does not look likely to succeed, why try? And that is not supportive to his paper.
In my experience, I would have to somewhat agree with his point of persuasion in politics. While growing up, I constantly heard adults speak their opinion on the president and political leaders pertaining to what the leaders were doing with their authority. Whenever the opposing side would give its speech, the adults I heard views from, would never consider any of the opposing team’s ideas but only somehow make it all look bad. They had their views and were sticking to them. However, the speeches were never really given to persuade anyone, who was not already of that party, to switch over but to simply further draw in the ones with that particular point of view already. So, maybe it is not necessarily the peoples fault for not being persuaded but maybe the ones who are trying to persuade.

SWA #1

Problems and Solutions with College Students’ Writing

In professor Skube’s passage, he has several concerns for today’s college students. All of his concerns; vocabulary, sentence structure, abilities to write at a high school level, and grammar, are all originated from the assumption that students do not read near enough and because the students do not read they are less able to understand the language when they do read. In the passage, Skube makes it clear that “students are hard-pressed to string together coherent sentences” and even be able to tell the difference between different parts of speech. All of these things show in the conversations with the students and in their writing.
In spite of all the inabilities in composition of college school students, these students got A’s and their GPA’s above a 3.5 in high school. Skube’s belief is that the students graduating from high school are not college material and in many cases not even good high school material. There is more and more emphasis on exit exams and SAT scores now because of the inability to trust GPA’s. These scores show more familiarity with the language as well as quickness to understand what is being portrayed through a passage and vocabulary.
In my experience as a student, I think professor Skube’s point is fairly accurate. Most students in high school do not learn how to read and write at a college level by the time they graduate. I myself did better in the class and had a better GPA than my SAT scores. The requirements for writing in college are not emphasized a great deal in high school and students do not read unless it is forced upon them. When students in my classes have been asked to define a word in a sentence, if it was not a commonly used word in the hallways of school they did not know the definition or even where to start with defining the word. Students should have been taught more strategies of reading and writing to be able to understand concepts and not just glance over words on a page.
In professor Hagstettes’ passage, he explains the concepts of aggressive reading. These concepts could be directed towards professor Skube’s targeted students in several ways and help them understand how to read and what they are reading. The biggest piece to understanding how to read is to not passively read, but to focus on truly absorbing the material. This is mainly confirming that the student understand everything they have read and followed the author through the entire material. Hagstette states to “never simply read right past elements you do not fully understand….your job as an aggressive reader is to decode the vocabulary and allusions you encounter.” I think this could be the biggest help to Skube’s targeted students as well as the initiative to question the material and challenge a writer’s argument so you better understand the underlying point the writer tries to make.
Skube’s passage is basically pointing out the problems of college students’ ability to have college level conversations, write college level papers, and use extensive vocabulary. Hagstettes’s view on how to help students read and write better is to aggressively read. Sit down with a book and understand it, do not just passively read it and take it for what it looks like. Take a dictionary and look up what you do not understand. Challenge everything and dig deeper into the message that is being sent through the passage you are reading.