in class writing

Passage A
1Did you know that until May 5 of every year, you're not really working for yourself?
2A group in Washington, D.C., has learned that it takes workers an average of four months and four days to earn enough to pay their taxes.
3The group found in its study that taxes eat up 34 percent of all the income in the United States.
4So, if workers used their entire income for taxes, they would not be threw paying them until May.
5Being that May 5 is the first day people really work for themselves, the study group has some advise.
6It would like a bill past naming May 5 “Tax Freedom Day.”
7On that day, you would give yourself a brake, regardless of how hard you've worked.
8For, from May 5 on, you would finally be your own boss.

Passage B

1Did you ever daydream about writing your life story?
2Do you think that your life is too dull, or you can’t write?
3Anyone’s life story is filled with fascinating events, and writing them down in the best way you know can give you a sense of accomplishment and, perhaps, leave a valuable inheritance to your family.
4The first thing to do is to buy a loose-leaf notebook.
5Each page of the book should be titled with a significant milestone from your life—from your first dog to your proudest moment.
6You should then jot down a few key words in the book whenever a memory comes back to you.
7The idea is not to begin with “I was born . . .” and try to write a chronological history of your whole life.
8Just delve into your passed at random; one memory will trigger another.
9It will become quiet easy after a while.
10It's also important to write in your own language.
11Plain, honest writing is the goal.

1. That singer, whoever he is, really knows how to sing the blues.
2. The woman sitting at the back table is a well-known restaurant reviewer.
3. When conditions are right, that horse can run just like its father.
4. His four favorite artists are Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Manet.
5. Let Warren and Andrea, our most skillful speakers, present our proposal.
6. Long regarded as a leading newspaper, the Washington Post boasts an outstanding staff of reporters.
7. Slowly, slyly, and cautiously, Eric slid the wallet across the table.
8. What we need is creative leadership, leadership that will encourage experimentation.
9. During high school he read Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, and Hamlet.
10. Song of Solomon, I believe, is the professor’s favorite.
11. I believe that, should the eggs break, we will have a mess.
12. Sometimes I think that people are extremely foolish.
13. I believe that a computer breakdown is a common excuse for late papers.
14. The elephant that stands on the drum is Maggie.
15. The elephant which is a hard worker and a talented performer, is found in most zoos and circuses.

Commas 2 -Insert all necessary commas into the following sentences:

1. Heeding all too well the admonition of Genesis 1:26 man has clearly established dominion over the fish of the sea the birds of the air the cattle and all the earth.
2. In fact man has gone far toward destroying all members of the animal kingdom, including of course himself.
3. In the last 150 years man has increased his extermination of mammals alone by fifty-five-fold and if the killing continues at the present rate, man may well destroy all 4062 species of mammals within thirty years.
4. Even today there are 835 endangered species, with more being added each year.
5. In India where 40000 tigers roamed in 1930 there are now only 2500 left, and the lion population currently estimated at 175, has been depleted even more severely.
6. Australia, a land of energetic sports-minded individuals, has treated its animal population no better than India has.
7. Consequently animals like the kangaroo for which Australia is famous are fast disappearing as are koala bears Tasmanian wolves and emus.
8. Because Australians were not concerned about their wildlife, in 1930 the government machine-gunned 20000 emus at one time.
9. In the United States too several species of wildlife have disappeared, and many others are close to extinction.
10. The Eastern elk and the passenger pigeon, once so plentiful in this country, are now forever gone.
11. Other animals such as the alligator, the Southern Bald eagle, and the ivory-billed woodpecker may be fated to join the growing list of species we will see no more.
12. Although alligators are protected by law, men continue to kill them for their skins, only the belly portion of which are used.
13. As long as Americans want their expensive alligator belts, handbags, and shoes, the poachers will continue to supply the skins.
14. The profit motive of course has led to the wholesale slaughter of animals like the alligator and the tiger, but many other animals have been killed for whim or pleasure.

More Parallelism

1. We were dirty, hungry, and were without a penny.
2. My roommate liked to repair things around the house and also liked his own cooking.
3. During the day, we went on long hikes, rowed around the lake, or just had leisure time.
4. She returned to pay the rent and because she had left some of her things.
5. Two things that I found hard to learn as a freshman were getting enough sleep and trimming expenses.
6. He asked me about my courses and where I was planning to go next year.
7. The doctor said that I should rest and not become excited or upset.
8. Hitler’s followers considered other nations to be racially inferior and fit only for slave labor.
9. The best way to combat juvenile delinquency is not to set up more social agencies but to restore old-fashioned discipline in the home.
10. The book explained how to build a gun cabinet, how to build a bookcase, and how to build all other types of furniture.
    
11. When I was a member of the basketball team, everyone met me with a happy smile, made lively conversation, and invited me to many parties.
12. Fires, caused by unheeding persons, have destroyed valuable forests and decreaded our lumber resources.
13. In basketball, there is never a dull moment, any team can win, and a fine display of teamwork.
14. My parents like peace and quiet and to relax in the evening at home.
15. Esther is a helpful person and who makes friends easily.
16. Yosemite is a park with spectacular scenery and which has half-tame bears.
17. My friends were always going off to jog in the park or a game of tennis.
18. The manager asked me to file an application and would I leave my number.
19. We went to rallies to protest against pesticides, oppose nuclear power, or other current auses.
20. My roommate was a smart dresser, a good student, and really knew how to talk.

I don't think you should go out with him. I heard that he doesn't have a job, meaning he won't have any money to take you out and he is probably lazy. He also just broke up with his long-term girlfriend so it's obvious he doesn't want to be committed right now.

Race is still an important consideration in American politics today. President Bush recently gave a speech on how race descrimination is causing hate crimes in schools.

Argumentative essays are meant to show your views and opinions and sway your reader to the side you have taken. My essay took an obvious side but it is not mean to sway the reader. It instead lists the reasons in which capital punishment should be abolished.

Practicing engineers and scientists say they spend half of their time writing memos and reports. This attitude shows a naive faith in the competency of their secretaries.
College students going into business think their secretaries will do their writing for them.
Many of us foolishly object to taking courses in writing.
Students going into the technical or scientific fields may think that writing is something they seldom have to do.
Young business people seldom have private secretaries.
Our notion that only poets and novelists have to write is unrealistic.
Other things being equal, a person in any field who can express ideas clearly is sure to succeed.

Today in society we have developed an unrealistic notion that only poets and novelists use writing in their professions. Many students go into the technical or secientific fields thinking that it will involve little writing, however engineers and scientists claim to spend half of their time writing memos and reports. Many business students foolishly object to taking writing courses, thinking that their secretaries will do the writing for them. What they may not realize is young people going into the field of business seldom have secretaries. This attitude also shows a naive faith in the compentency of their secretaries. Reguardless of your petricular field of work, one that can express their ideas clearly is sure to succeed.

Topic proposal for policy paper

For my policy paper, I will be choosing to write about a global proposal argument. Today in our society the media has become overwhelming. On a daily basis we are subjected to over 3,000 ads. However, media does not discriminate against who they show their ads too. Therefore, young girls with body image problems are shown thousands of half naked, seemingly perfect bodies everyday. What kind of message can this be sending them? Women who struggle with self esteem problems are reminded on an hourly basis that they are not as skinny and “perfect” as girls in magazines. But what is the media to do? It’s really not entirely their fault. As a society, we have come to rely on the media to tell us what it beautiful. 

If we were to no longer except their interpretation of beauty, they would no longer be able to sell us the image that is ruining our society. Recently Dove has come out with Campaign For Real Beauty, it is designed to promote natural beauty and promote the self esteem of young girls. The campaign urges parents to talk to their children about their body image and explain to them that the media is not real. Dove has put together multiple ad’s and commercials that are both informative and inspirational. They highlight the flaws within the media and promote the idea of natural beauty. Parents need to use the Campaign For Real Beauty to reach out to their children. We need to put a hold the media’s power now before it can take over another generation. 

This position is based off of my claim that the media is destroying the self esteem and body image of young girls, as well as adults, in our society. From my bibliography I will use “The Media’s Effect” by Body Image and "The Relations among Body Image, Physical Attractiveness, and Body Mass in Adolescence” by Child Development. I will also use information from the Dove Campaign to help address my solution to the media crisis. 

I am somewhat concerned that I will not be able to find enough information on how the Dove Campaign has actually helped people so far. Statistical evidence would really be helpful, however so far I have not be able to find any. I am also concerned that it is going to be hard to relay the powerful messages of each of their advertisements through my writing. I don’t know whether or not it would be wrong to go in depth about each ad and how they help my proposal, or if I should just use a broad description of them and focus more on my interpretation of how they could help change the world.    

in class writing #2

I believe that the USC campus should try to optimize parking for students, instead of optimizing their income off of parking tickets. There are no where near enough places to park on campus that help students conveniently get to class, without having to worry about parking tickets and fines. I think that if you are a student or teacher here at USC that live off campus, you should have a sticker on your car, and should not be charged to park at meters. Furthermore, there should be more available meter spots made for these people, or the price to park in a garage for a few hours a day should be dropped drastically. Any given day when leaving for class students know that parking is going to be an issue. This is something that the campus could easily fix if they weren't so consumed with making money. To think that it costs the same for a student who permanently lives in a dorm and leaves their car in a garage for the majority of the time, as for a student who parks in there for a few hours a week to attend class is ridiculous.

in class writing

My perspective on the drinking age has changed greatly throughout my high school and now into college years. Before I had no problem thinking that one needed to be 21 to drink alcohol, now however I think it's rediculous for it to be anything but 18. As a college student, I am surrounded by drinking. Everytime I'm in a situatation which could potentially turn out bad, I can think back to a prior experience and most of the time know how to handle the situation. Unfortunatly for teens who are sheltered and do not decided to drink till they are 21, due to the law, they will not have had this expereince. These now adults, will not have gained any experience, and therefore will not know how to handle themselves in the real world. Also, now that I am 18 and understand all of the privliges I have, its hard to understand why having a drink isn' t one of them.