Blog Reflection

I'll be honest, at first I did not really like the blog because it was inconvenient and I would always forget to do it on time. I thought it would be just unnecessary work that would be assigned just to keep us busy. As the semester went by I realized how the blog actually benefited me. It helped a lot that the blogs were always about the topics that were related to class. Such as response to the chapters, brainstorming, or just exercises from the book. Everything helped in one way or another. Another thing I liked was that we could view other students blogs as well. Overall, it was not a bad experience and it was helpful. However, I still have a hard time remembering to post a blog on time.

Brainstorming

Like many of the others, I also had a hard time trying to find a topic for my proposal essay. It seemed like my classical argument essay was more of a proposal essay because there is a clear problem and solution. I thought of a few different topics but I needed to get one that I feel really strongly about. As of now I am going to write about our environmental issues and how we are contributing to our own downfall. The solution would be how we can help and what we can do to fix the problems with our environment. This is topic I am settling for right now but if I think of something more interesting as I do my research I will probably change.

"The Hardest of the Hardcore"

We just read an essay by a student named Dylan Fujitani. The essay is titled “The Hardest of the Hardcore”. This essay was about hired contractors that are employed by the U.S. government. He explains how many of these mercenaries, hired soldiers, are overseas in the war. This student does a great job in explaining the issue and stating the facts with legitimate evidence from credible sources. He discusses six different problems that concerns his issue. All six are thoroughly researched and are logical. Although he provides good claims and evidence to back up his claim, he does not really provide any solutions. He simply states that there are problems but that just gets his point across like an informative essay. He does not propose a solution that could work. Overall, I enjoyed reading the essay because I actually learned a lot about our government and its military secrets.

Obesity

For my issue, I chose to research obesity. Obesity is a very significant issue that is overlooked for the most part. It affects the health of the people and our economy. Obesity has been increasing in the past few years while world hunger has decreased. One of the main reasons I chose this article was because of this one fact, “for the first time in human history, the number of overweight people rivals the number of underweight people… While the world’s underfed population has declined slightly since 1980 to 1.1 billion, the number of overweight people has surged to 1.1 billion”. This was appalling, and the worst part is, that this is just the beginning. There are many other problems that our world faces that are attributed to obesity. I think this would be a great topic to research and discuss.

Advertisment analysis

For my advertisement analysis I chose an ad from Sports Illustrated magazine. It is a Wrigley’s Doublemint chewing gum ad. The company is introducing a new package design that is thinner and more convenient. The text is in big bold green and white letters that reads “check out our fresh new package, new slim pack & improved flavor”, and at the bottom it reads, “goes with you”. Obviously this is a marketing scheme to keep the consumer updated on their product. Yet there is more to this ad than just the new packaging. I noticed how the entire background is black and white giving a more old fashion feel. The background is an old picnic blanket on grass. There is a new package of Wrigley’s on the blanket along with a pair of glasses. These aren’t regular modern day glasses. These glasses look like my grandfathers old pair of glasses, the ones that have that aviator shape and a light sepia tint. The glasses are there for a reason, the company introduces a new gum package but they are still trying to maintain the originality. There trying to say that it is still the classic old Wrigley that people first fell in love with. This technique also serves another purpose. It preserves Wrigley’s credibility even though they have changed their package. This advertisement appeals to both the new generation and the old generation. It is keeping up with the new changing world yet still maintaining its classic image.

Chapter 14 Reading

This chapter is about writing a classical argument. It discusses how to make an argument and take stands on issues. The introduction to the chapter clarifies the two main components involved in argumentation. The first one is “truth seeking” and the second component is “persuasion”. One of the things that helped me out a lot in this chapter is how to find an arguable issue. It shows you ways to find an argument such as asking questions. This chapter also deals with gathering evidence and determining whether or not it supports your claims. Over all this chapter was very useful but I think it would have been more useful if I had read it before starting my essay. I think it would have been easier to formulate an argument.

Freewriting about response

I'll be honest, I am really nervous about this essay. It is not the word count that scares me, its the content. I hope I can actually provide a good example of a paper. It should not be that hard to pick a side becuase I agreed with almost everything Edmundson said. As my strategy, I am re-reading Edmundson's essay but this time looking for specific important points and highlighting them to help me for support when I am actually writing my essay. Hopefully this helps me.