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.

SWA #4

In the essay by Brent Staples about the decline of radio, we can use TRACE to analyze his writing. The text is an argumentative essay on the depletion of small radio companies and the overtaking of larger corporations. He discusses how radio is no longer personal, but simply advertising and reruns of overplayed music. The audience can be generalized to all Americans that listen or have listened to the radio. It can be narrowed down to those Americans living in New York that listen to the radio as well. Throughout the essay the author projects his disgust with the corporatization of the radio and the difficult task he must undertake to listen to decent music. He reminisces to the days when each radio station had their own style and played different music and allowed local bands on the air. Some of the possible constraints for the author might be his living up north, specifically New York where he mentions the price for a station is around $100 million. He obviously valued the more eclectic music, seemingly as he is unsatisfied with the mainstream music played in his area. I too do not particularly care for most mainstream music played on the radio. When in my car I listen to CDs or my IPod, where I have specifically chosen the music I want to listen to. The exigence for this essay is the uprising of corporate radio and the lack of decent music to be found upon such stations. The author and I share much common ground as I can relate to the dislike of radio today and all the music and commercials. I felt as though it was not a very good argument because he did not propose a means of change, just simply stated the issue at hand.

SWA #3

There are so many enduring arguments in America today. These arguments leave many people at odds with each other over differing sides. In today’s society the death penalty is a widely controversial topic. Many Americans think that it goes against a person’s rights. I believe that once you break a law, you lose your rights.
If convicted of any crime may it be murder, kidnapping or rape and the convict is put into prison for life, what have we given them? Life in prison is a life of ease. Prisoners get television, exercise, three square meals and recreation time outside. Capital Punishment was legal until 1972 when Furman v Georgia ruled it unlawful. However; in 1976 it was reinstated in some states after Gregg v Georgia. Today only thirteen states do not have the death penalty.
If a murderer is locked up, what prevents them from killing again? Many convicted murderers do not stop once they reach jail. Fellow inmates and guards have been killed by such prisoners who are in jail for life. I believe in “an eye for an eye.” Once you take a human life, you lose the right to keep yours.
Those who argue against the death penalty claim that it goes against an individual’s rights and is cruel and unusual punishment. I must argue that the man or woman killed by such an individual lost their right to live when such a convict killed them. The death penalty is about justice, not about rights for convicts. Many men are frightened by the death penalty and therefore may not kill or commit heinous crimes to avoid it. If we take away the death penalty, then we take away any punishment for such crimes. Putting a man in jail for life gives him a free ride. While it may not be the ideal living situation for most, who can argue with free room and board on the victims tax dollars.

SWA #2

The article “Seeking Balance in an Either- Or World,” by Kathleen Parker was about the effect of an extremist policy when it comes to politics. She argued that if you are an Independent or centrist then you are considered weak or indecisive by someone from either extremist party. Her main example of such a centrist policy she has is on abortion. She is pro-life and agrees that abortion is the killing of a child, yet she does not agree with the government forcing women to have their children. She does, however; think that young people should be as educated about abortion as they are about birth control.
Throughout the article I agreed with Parker and her views on centrism, however; there were some weak points that I did not think helped her argument at all. Parker brought up the point that in today’s society you have to choose a side, you cannot stay in the middle on any topic relating to politics. While many people think that you must pick a side whether right or left, Republican or Democrat, the majority of the people in the United States actually consider themselves Independent. Parker claims the centrism is the most patriotic choice because you do not get caught up on one side agreeing with whatever they say no matter if you really do or not. Centrism allows you to reason with both sides and fall somewhere in the middle. I agree with Parker on the point that centrism is the most patriotic, but for the fact you are not tied down to one party and hopefully you can reason out the issues and pick one side or none at all, whichever is logical to you not what your party says is logical. A weak point she had in her article was by trying to argue that Independent was the only right way. While a smart choice for some it is not the only right choice, but luckily there are two other parties to choose from.
The most striking thing that I took away from this article was the point that extremists say that compromise is bad if not impossible. I think that as a united nation we should strive for compromise on the issues. Arguing with other parties and individuals does not solve the issues it only causes more within the country.

SWA #1

As a journalism major I have done and will do alot of writing. In highschool I obtained an internship through a local relief clinic. At this internship I write all the press releases and any announcements that need to be made. My best writing experience was when an article I had written for the clinic was published in the local newspaper. Since I want to make writing a career it was very rewarding to have my work published at a young age.
In highschool I took a few AP courses. The classes themselves are very stressful and the majority of the time is spent preparing for the final AP exam. That exam determines whether or not you get credit for the course. The final portion of my English 101 AP exam consisted of essay answer questions analyzing short pieces from books. In addition to the lingering hand cramp from the page after page of written answer required to answer each question, I was left with a fried feeling. I think this was my most frustrating experience because I felt I could not adequately answer the questions.
Having my work printed in the paper affected me the most as I writer. It was a leading factor in my desire to pursue writing as a career.