SWA#8

Quinn, Elizabeth. “Steroid Use Continues Despite Health Risks to Athletes.”
About.com: Sports Medicine. 21 August 2008. 24 February 2008.
http://www.sportsmedicine.about.com/od/performanceenhancingdrugs/a/anabolicsteroids.htm.

Katz, Jeffrey. “Should We Accept Steroid Use in Sports?” NPR. 23 January 2008. 24
February 2009. http://www.npr.org/templates.story/story.php?storyid=18299098.

Keating, Steve. “Fahey Brings Change of Style to Doping Fight.’’ Reuters. 11 December
2008. 24 February 2009. < http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/steroids>.

“History of Anabolic Steroid.” Anabolic Steroid Guide. 24 February 2009.
http://www.Anabolicsteroidsguide.com/history-of-anabolic-steroid.html.

“Anabolic Steroids.” Espn.com: Drugs and Sports. 6 September 2008. 24 February 2009.
http://www.espn.go.com/special/s/drugsandsports/steroids.html.



Should steroids be allowed in sports?

Post Secret

My post secret card read, I have an obsession with high heels, but I hate wearing them because I feel too tall. I chose to use that secret because it is something I have thought about in the back of my head, but I have never really told anyone about it. I chose the background of the grass because my favorite color is green, especially that lime green shade of the grass. I went through the magazine I had and chose the tallest heals I could find to represent my feeling too tall in high heels. I hand wrote the writing in purple to give the magazine pictures my own personal touch. I am a bit of a perfectionist and so I put the border around it to give it a complete and fluid edge. The zebra pattern was just something I found that got my attention.

SWA#7

The text in this card is "the dress you mother is wearing to our wedding is absolutely hideous, I fear our photo album." The explicit claim is that the author does not like her partner's mother's dress. The author seems to think it will ruin any wedding photos they may have. The implicit claim is that the author is a woman. Generally a man would not care about a dress someone is wearing, nor how it looks. Also, the background is of a bride, which gives the assumption of the author being a woman. Here we can rule out a same-sex couple because their union is illegal in the United States. So we must assume a woman is writing this card. The visual backs up the complaint of her partner's mother's dress with the wedding scene in the back.

SWA #6

I feel this argument fails to me as an audience, because it does not seem reliable. They simply claim to be the "Hottest New Diet of 2009," but do not give adequate supporting evidence to back up their claim. The sight quotes two doctors, but does not give their history or even what kind of doctors they are. These men pictured could be paid actors who have no idea what they are talking about. There is no way for the reader to know. They grab the readers attention by stating that by taking these diet pills you can burn body fat and flush out your system. By reading the fine print at the bottom, however; it states that this product has not been approved by the FDA, so there is no way of knowing if it is safe. The advertisement's audience is women, or any woman seeking to lose weight quickly.
The ad

In Class Writing

Visual argument is much more immediate than a written argument. In a visual argument you have a picture and maybe a few words to convey an entire argument on an issue or topic. You must use a visual that will grab attention or call to controversy in order to get any response. Unlike a written argument, a visual one can be interpreted many ways by many differernt people. In a visual argument symbols or other representations are often used in place of words to bring about an comprehension of the picture.

Rhetorical Analysis #1

Essay Author and Title: Stephanie Coontz, "Taking Marriage Private"
Central Argument of the Essay:(p.364) The law should not stand in the way of two people's desire, no matter their sexual orientation, to obtain the legal rights and obligations of a dedicated relationship.
My Central Claim about the nature/effectiveness of the argument in the essay: The essay did give me a new look on same-sex marriage, however; it did not change my view nor persuade me to think differently.
This is how the author munipulated the rhetorical appeals:
The logos appeal:Couples in a relationship without the legal validity do not have any legal rights when it comes to benefits and healthcare.
The ethos appeal:Throughout the essay, Coontz gives the history of marriage and its evolution during the past decades.
The pathos appeal:She appealed to my emotions as a female, by giving the example of a woman living with a man for almost 20 years gets no government support, but just a short marriage of nine months qualifies the spouse for the Social Security benefits of the deceased.
My conclusion about the nature/effectiveness of the argument in the essay:Gave good supporting evidence to back up her claim, effective in stating that the rights that go along with a marriage license is unfair to those who are unable to get one.

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

In the essay by Brad Stone, he argues that the general public can too easily access other people's criminal records. He does execute some credibilty by adding in the example of the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1997, which says that employers must tells prospective employees of their wish to do a background check. Also, he appeals to the readers emotions by citing one of his friends speeding ticket listed as criminal activity. Most of us would not want our speeding tickets listed that way to future employers. I feel as though the author could have stated his claim, he seemed to just be concerned with getting the reader thinking, rather than make a strong argument agaisnt it.

SWA #5

In the essay “If You Run a Red Light, Will Everyone Know?” Brad Stone talks about the background check websites that are popping up. A new, free search has come up to offer those same criminal records, but without all the barriers and fees. The drawback to this new site is that not only are your private records readily available to the public, they may not show completely accurate information. This new site CriminalSearches.com shows some speeding tickets as simply a “criminal offense.” This information is not only misleading, but could be damaging if an employer were to choose the cheap way out instead of hiring an investigator. I think that the public should have access to such criminal records, but how can we be sure that such a site is accurate. If it shows a simple speeding ticket as a criminal act, how can we be sure who the actual criminals are in our community? This site could just lead to local hysteria, pinning everyone for criminals.

In the essay “Taking Marriage Private” by Stephanie Coontz , she gives many examples and facts on marriage throughout history. This essay said many things I had never heard of in regards to same sex marriage. She goes through history and shows the evolution that marriage has gone through over time. It shows the unfairness of a single piece of paper, that is that if you do not have it you have no rights to your significant other or their property. She brings about a good point that it was only recently that people needed the state’s permission to be married. While I do not agree with same sex marriage, I do not feel that we can keep them from these rights. I do feel that churches can keep them out if they so choose, but a marriage in the court house seems totally appropriate.