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.

SWA #11

For articles, I think a good measure of credibility is the authors overall tone. It’s not necessarily the length or even the publisher, it’s more based on the context of the paper. If the author uses sufficient research to back up their claim and while doing so they manage to appeal to the egos, logos, and pathos of their argument, then their article should be creditable. In cases where an article does not have these qualities, one could still use this article to decided what would not be effective. Also, just because the article overall seems to not be creditable, that doesn’t mean that the whole thing should be disregarded. Creditable articles should posses an effective egos, logos, and pathos claim, while seeming unbiased and using reliable sources to back up the argument. The easiest way for an article to become non creditable is when the author expresses bias, and lacks a fully developed argument. Using non scholarly sources for information in also another easy way for the author to seem unreliable to the reader.  

Overall, if the author uses a convincing tone, unbiased opinion, reliable sources, and an argument that balances between the logic and emotion of the reader, their article should be nothing other than creditable. 

I believe that the “Columbia Council Should Support Mission, Homeless” is the most effective essay because it is persuasive, factual, and it inspires people to take action. The article opens be presenting facts about the City Councils stance on the cities homeless situation. The arguments appear to have a strong ethos and logos, making the reader easily persuaded. The pathos of the argument is of course that the writer is talking about homeless people. The end of the article is especially inspiring. It urges the City Council to gain the strength and knowledge it will take to make our city a better place.

SWA #9

To use the term “retard” directed at someone in a derogatory way, is most defiantly  “hate speech”. It is not that it is unfair to the person it is directed at (most likely having no real disability), it is however very hurtful and hateful for the family member or someone with an actual disability to have to hear, even if just in simple passing. It’s also not fair that television and the movie industry can simply toss the word around as if it is not going to hurt anyone. They have no idea who could be watching. The last thing a person with a disability needs is to feel less about themselves. By using a hateful term like “retard” to a person that has no real disabilities can only make a person with a disability feel even worse. The word should not be used. It is hurtful and disrespectful. 

To say the word retarded is “hate speech” is wrong. Yes maybe to the poor person who is being called the retard by their classmates and peers, but not to the person with an actual disability. First of all- no one would call someone with a disability retarded. That is a very outdated term for something we now call “special needs”. By advocators for special needs programs to say the word “retarded” is hate speech, they are just throwing themselves under the bus. You would not find a mother or father saying “yes- my child is retarded”... so how can they assume that by using the word, this is who a young child on the playground is comparing their peer to. If this was the case, female dogs should take offense to the term “Bitch” and homosexuals should be offended anytime something is deemed as “Gay”- even though this is a term that they openly use to disclose their sexual orientation. 

Works Cited 

Etcoff, Nancy. Survival of the Prettiest : The Science of Beauty. New York: Anchor, 2000. 15-45. 

Lehrman, Karen. "The Beautiful People." Books. 1999.The New York Times On The Web.3 Dec. 2008 <http://www.nytimes.com/books/>. 

Medscape. "What is Beautiful? A Brief Look Through History." Skin and Beauty. 2006. WebMD. 3 Dec. 2008 <http://www.webmd.com/skin-beauty/>. 

Postrel, Virginia. "The Truth About Beauty." The Atlantic March (2007): 1-4. 

Rosenblum, Gianine D., and Michael Lewis. "The Relations among Body Image, Physical Attractiveness, and Body Mass in Adolecence." Child Development 70 (1999): 50-64. 

Tenant, Keiara. "Media's idea of beauty is wrong." Statenews.comopinion. 2008. The State News. 2 Dec. 2008 <http://statenews.com>. 

Wing. "Beauty in History." Geocities. 2003. 2 Dec. 2008 <http://www.geocities.com>. 

Works Cited

Post Secret

The post card I chose is a crayon drawn picture of a house with cut out pictures of security cameras around the house. The text reads "When I was in 7th grade, I thought bullies had cameras hidden in my house." Explicitly the post card tells about a fear that this person had as a child, but implicitly by having the house hand drawn, contrast to the large security cameras, which imply someone is watching you, explains that this was a very real and scary fear for this person. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=321Kb8pBu5s

The Dove commercial -onslaught is created by the Dove Self-Esteem Fund to encourage parents to talk to their children before the media does. The commercial begins with the face of an innocent young girl and then fast forwards through different aspects of the media that could be effecting and changing her self esteem and overall self image. To me this commercial works and really speaks to the audience, especially those who are parents with young children or even teens. The fear of the media changing our youth is something everyone can relate to. This commercial is supported by the fact that media does have a lasting impression on our society and sadly it can cause people to look past the beauty that is within and strive for something that is completely fake. Overall this ad serves as a warning to our society to not lose the true beauty and innocence that we each hold inside. 

Visual vs. written arguments.

Visual arguments speak to the audience differently than written arguments. In written arguments the author must use persuasive writing tactics to persuade the reader, and it is as if they are speaking right to them. With visual arguments the author must first grab the audiences attention and then use creative mechanisms to silently make their argument. Often times if done properly, these visual arguments can be more affective because they leave more up to the imagination of the viewer/ audience.

Class Assignment

A. Copy the text below into your own blog:

Essay Author and Title:
Brad Stone and "If You Run a Red Light, Will Everyone Know?"


Central Argument of the Essay:
Is it okay for a free criminal search database to exist?



My Central Claim about the nature/effectiveness of the argument in the essay:
I agree with the author that this is an interesting argument however he does not do an affective job arguing it.



This is how the author manipulated the rhetorical appeals:

• The logos appeal: Logically it makes sense that the idea of online criminal searches violates ones right to privacy.
  



• The ethos appeal: The author uses enough quotes to back up what he is saying but he uses contradicting quotes so therefore his argument is weakened.
  



• The pathos appeal: This topic has somewhat of an emotional argument because on the one hand we know that this is an invasion of privacy however on the other hand one cannot help but wonder if their neighbors, employees or friends are criminals.
  

My conclusion about the nature/effectiveness of the argument in the essay:

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

B. Choose one of the articles from chapter 10 and substitute the Xs with your words. You will need to locate and paraphrase the thesis sttement of the essay you re analysing and to develop your own main and supporting claims. For each point, you need to boild down your text to one or two sentences only!

In class writing-

The author of "If You Run a Red Light, Will Everyone Know?" does a good job challenging the idea of ones right to privacy. However I do not like that he fails to take a secure stance on the issue and bobbles back and forth for whether its good or bad. He never offers a solution to the idea of criminal searches. However, I like that the author uses one of his own colleagues to demonstrate the effects of the website he is talking about. The author was never really able to grab my attention. The topic grabbed my attention but to me the author was not passionate enough in his writing to grab my attention.

Response to "If You Run a Red Light, Will Everyone Know?"

In today's society with the rapidly growing use of the Internet it is easy to look up almost anyone's phone number, address, and now criminal history. This ability is not necessarily a bad thing until it is abused. There is no harm in looking up an old friends phone number or making sure there are no sex offenders in the neighborhood you plan to raise your family in. But for websites like CriminalSearch.com it is imperative for the website to explain the severity of the crime. An occasional speeding ticket should not be able to label one as a criminal. On the other hand although I do believe in the right to privacy many people would feel a lot safer to know they are not living near, working with, or dating a murderer. Its not to say people cant change but if a website like this is not willing to clarify the severity of the crime, it shoudl not exist.
For example... A girl I went to high school with ran a yellow (about to turn red) light on New Years eve. She crashed into a car whos driver was drunk. She on the other hand was completly sober. The drunk driver died and she walked away fine. However after a 2 year jail sentance this now 19 year old girl is labled a murderer. Its possible to say that the drunk driver turned before his light turned green casuing her to hit him... but no one will ever really know. So now anyone anywhere can look her name up and it will them them that she is not only a criminal but a murderer. It will not say that the other driver was drunk, it will not say that he made a mistake also, it will just say that this innocent 19 year old girl has killed someone.
Its not that its not fair for the world not to know others crimes for safety purposes, its just that its not fair to not tell the whole story. Today if you are arressted for streaking- you are changed as a sex offeneder. So if one wild night in college you decide it might be a good idea to go streaking with your frat brothers keep in mind that you could be labled as a sex offender and one day people may be moving out of the very neighborhood you live in because they are scared of what you may do to their children. Its not fair but its what our society has become.

SWA 4

The End of Literacy? Don't Stop Reading addresses both the positives and negatives to our fast paced, media driven society. Gardener, the author, explains that although the great pleasure that comes from reading may someday be lost, but thats not to say people will not someday find pleasure in some other form of literature. Gardener also brings up the point that literacy is constantly evolving. No one has criticized our ancestors for their literate cave paintings so how is it fair to criticize future generations for foreseen media and internet usage. Furthermore its also unfair to say that the art of reading and writing will for sure be lost. The text brings up in interesting point- in todays society, for one to write a hang written letter or to sit in solitude and read a spiritual book truly means something. In the past they were forms of entertainment but today it symbolizes something much deeper. 

I think this text could be directed towards two specific age groups. First, older generations who worry about where the world is headed and worry for the futures of their children and grandchildren. This text has some sort of reassuring tone to it as if to help older generations see the good in the internet and media. Second, I think this text really speaks to the younger generation- the 18-25 age group. It reminds us that sitting in solitude to read a powerful book can solve almost any problem. In a world where we have become attached to our cell phones and Facebooks, it can be more beneficial to take a step back and escape the busy world than we realize. Also, it is a reminder that an apology over a Facebook message isn't always the best solution. In todays world a hand written letter itself speaks more than the words on the page. 

The author to me seems to stay in a middle ground. It's as if he realizes the possible effects this up and coming world might have, but he urges the reader to realize it will be okay. He seems to not want to scare older generations but at the same time does not want to offend the younger generation, "the notion that lies ahead is either utopia or a dystopia" (26). As a reader I found it reassuring to know that as a literate society we naturally evolve; its scary to think that older generations are in fact worried about our literate abilities. 

I agree completely with Gardeners point of view and in my mind his argument stands strong. Depending on when and where, I feel that a paper back book will always have a place in our society. I feel that writing on a key pad or writing with a pencil will make no real difference, because in the end its the context that matters. Although the desire for certain types of reading may slowly vanish, the overall desire to read will not. The beauty of writing a loved one a letter with pen and pad will only become more beautiful and the need for solitude in a fast paced society will only become greater. 

Short response to "Seeking Balance in an Either-Or World"

In Seeking Balance in an Either-Or-World, author Kathleen Parker, address the so called “middle ground” opinion of todays society. While people are often criticized for not choosing a side, be it liberal or conservative, Parker brings up the point that the middle ground is a side, the Independent.  Parker, having done multiple columns on her pro-choice position, uses abortion as an example to explain her theory. She explains that although she agrees that abortion is terrible and a decision that women may come to regret, she can still justify her pro-choice stance... “Nevertheless, I can find no was to justify government-enforced maternity” (13).  So her solution to having two opposing positions is to find a compromise. This means not having such a radical view as to say abortion is not cruel, yet not being so conservative to say it is wrong no matter what circumstances. 

When I first read this article I felt that by the author admitting to taking two opposing sides, her argument was weakened. But after reading it again I decided that this actually makes her argument stronger. The fact that she can see, unlike most blind politicians, both sides of the spectrum and chooses to find a middle ground is something that I think most of us can relate to. People should be able to choose the opinions they want to have, and due to radical liberals and extreme conservatives, more and more of the younger generation of our society is now choosing the middle road. According to Parker, Independents are the fastest growing group of voters.

In our society I believe that this “middle ground” is important because after all not everyone is going to agree on everything. As children we are taught to share, which in itself is a compromise. For parents, compromise is often the balance between discipline and affection. The middle ground should not be looked at as a way for people to escape having a “real” opinion.  If everyone was a little more willing to compromise that world would be  much nicer place.

Throughout high school I was faced with challenging writing assignments. One of the most challenging, yet rewarding, was a 25 page paper comparing The Age of Innocence to three other artworks of its time. The point of the paper was to prove that The Age of Innocence was indeed a product of its time period. I felt that this paper forced me to reach an "AH-HA" moment with my writing, where I truly came to terms with the meaning of the assignment. However, while coming to terms with this "AH-HA" moment I endured one of the most frustrating and tedious writing experiences of my life. Through this experience I realized that if the paper would not have been so challenging I would have not appreciated it, and would not have worked as hard on it. I was forced to take my writing to a new level, which made me hate, yet be thankful and proud of my work.