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.

Chapter 6 Reading

This chapter mainly focuses on reading and writing strategies. The first few paragraphs describe how to recognize the text and properly respond to the text. It also shows how important it is to formulate a strong response. The “Understanding Rhetorical Reading” passage actually helped me understand the college reading level. The four main points made were: vocabulary, unfamiliar rhetorical context, unfamiliar genre, and lack of back round knowledge. This section also discussed the different strategies to help make the reading easier to understand and gave helpful tips. A few example passages were provided to exercise the strategies. It really helped me to understand what this chapter is about and got me familiar with the type of writing and examples of strategies.

Writing assignment

Part A:
The moist soil is as soft as a brand new carpet. The thick grass fills up the spaces in between my fingers like memory foam. The placid lake soothes every single sense I possess. The distant splash of the fountain relieves the tension in my ears. As I sit here I can see the world the way it is meant to be seen. I can think clearer, breathe better, and work more efficiently. The lake glows bright green under the rays of the sun. Extravagant ripples form from the gentle breeze that blows conveniently every few minutes. The quiet geese add to the natural and organic atmosphere. This is probably the most relaxed I have been in a long time.

My brand new shorts are soaked because the grass is a little wet. I did not think it was that wet but I guess I was wrong. Many would think of a lake as a really beautiful and calm place but the reality is that that’s just a mere image in our minds. That is what we want to see. As I sit here observing the lake I notice the subtle flaws that many overlook. Water bottles, candy wrappers, and a foamy white-green substance get collected at the edges of the lake. I came down to the lake to study in a peaceful environment, what I did not realize is that I would not be alone. There are geese just roaming the area around the lake. Naturally my attention gets diverted to all the distractions.

Part B:
I must say that it was a little difficult writing from two different viewpoints but as I read over the two paragraphs I realized how a skilled writer could be very persuasive. Of, course I need a lot of work but I cannot imagine how someone skilled could easily manipulate someone’s mind. These rhetorical strategies can be very powerful.

Chapter 3

This chapter discusses the different ways that messages persuade. The angle of vision was the main topic at the beginnning of the chapter. It is when the writer chooses to write in a certain way for instance, emphasizing some points and de-emphasizing other points to manipulate the readers views or their angle of vision. This section really made me think about how I interpret articles, persuasive essays, and even political speeches. This section also helped me recognize angles of vision. Concept 9 discusses other ways messages persuade through appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos. There are also non verbal messages that persuade through visual strategies. This section helps analyze visual messages in various ways. My favorite part of this chapter was the rhetoric of clothing and other consumer items and how to analyze it. I already knew about the rhetoric of clothing but it was still interesting to read.

Get It Right. Privatized Executions.

The idea proposed by Arthur Miller is sick and twisted in my opinion. I disagreed with the entire essay until the very end. Although I was unbelieveably horrified, Miller made some really good points through out the essay which were, in fact, persuasive. I believe someones execution should not be a spectators event for the public. It is disrespectful to the condemned and their family members. It should not be seen by the public. However, Miller made a valid point toward the end in his conclusion. That is when I completely understood the main objective of his essay.

D-Hall helping Save Water

This article is titled "D-Hall Helping Save Water", JMU is making another effort to conserve energy and water to be more environment friendly. The dining hall discontinued the use of trays to help save more water. This action does not really affect JMU students significantly but it does help save water. This article is not the only one that cought my eye but it sure did leave an impression. My interest in this article is not only based on the actual topic, i really enjoyed the structure of this piece. The first paragraph was very concise and to the point. The rest of the article supported the thesis very well. There was plenty of clear evidence throughout the rest of the article. This article was well written; however, there were a few minor flaws but they did not ruin it.