Month: October 2016
Weekly write 10/28/16
It has helped me become a better writer and think about current events differently. It has helped me discover the different types of writing and their effects on the audience.
Rhetorical Analysis Essay Reflection 10/26/16
I am very pleased with my grade and I feel like it reflects my paper very well. I am a little confused about the feedback on my conclusion, but I just need to look over it some more and see what it is saying. Overall I am very pleased with my past two papers. They are both honestly better than I had expected. My writing has improved a tremendous amount over the past few months and I am very proud of that. My claims are getting stronger as I find out what kind of writer I am.
Intro to Argumentative Research Paper revision
Clayton revised my introduction. He said it was very good and he liked that I started with a fact that really caught the reader’s eye, but I could use more back up to my claim and I could make my claim a little more clear.
Original:
“Excessive drinking is responsible for more than 4,300 deaths among underage youth each year, and cost the U.S. $24 billion in economic costs in 2010. Although drinking by persons under the age of 21 is illegal, people aged 12 to 20 years drink 11% of all alcohol consumed in the United States. More than 90% of this alcohol is consumed in the form of binge drinks” (CDC). Many underage drinkers consume alcohol illegally because it provides a rush because they know they are not allowed to. For many rebellious teens, they live for the sensation of breaking the law because of the excitement it gives them. Because underage drinkers are not allowed to drink socially, when they are given the opportunity they are more likely to get alcohol poisoning from drinking too much in one time period.
Revised:
“Excessive drinking is responsible for more than 4,300 deaths among underage youth each year, and cost the U.S. $24 billion in economic costs in 2010. Although drinking by persons under the age of 21 is illegal, people aged 12 to 20 years drink 11% of all alcohol consumed in the United States. More than 90% of this alcohol is consumed in the form of binge drinks” (CDC). Underage drinking would decrease tremendously if the legal drinking age in America were lowered to 18 years old. Many underage drinkers consume alcohol illegally because it provides a rush or sensation of knowing they are not allowed. Lowering the legal age would take away the thrill of getting drunk because they are not breaking the law in order to do so, and eventually lower the percentage of alcohol consumers. For many rebellious teens, they live for the sensation of breaking the law because of the excitement it gives them. Because underage drinkers are not allowed to drink socially, when they are given the opportunity they are more likely to get alcohol poisoning from drinking too much in one time period.
Timed Writing- Argumentative Sources 10/19/16
I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to write about
Daily Write 10/12/16 Research Topic
I think I would like to write about abortion and my opinion on whether it is right or wrong. I feel like I will have a lot to write about because I know both sides of this argument very well and I can make a lot of good points in my argument.
Unit Reflection Unit 2 10/10/16
Unit 2 has helped me understand rhetorical analysis and the different ways to appeal to audiences. I did not really realize how much pictures appeal to emotions and how much writers use pathos in their columns to catch their audiences’ eyes. I have never thought of satire like I did when we learned about it. I thought comedians were just trying to be funny, but some comedians use satire and sarcasm to make their appoints, usually about politics, and help the audience view the subject in a different way.
Weekly Write 10/7/16 Check yourself
I feel like academically I am trying my best and right now that is all that I can do. I feel like I have done really well with time management, making sure I have everything done, and prioritizing between having fun and my school work. I still slightly struggle with prioritizing my classes and putting a specific class before others, but it has gotten a lot better. I really like how I have managed my time so far.
Timed Writing 10/5/16
Is Anne Frank Considered a Modern Day Syrian Girl?
Since the outbreak of the civil war in March 2011, an estimated 11 million Syrians have fled their homes in fear. Now, in the sixth year of war, 13.5 million refugees are in need of humanitarian assistance within the country. In Nicholas Kristof’s New York Times column “Anne Frank Today is a Syrian Girl”, Kristof states that the Syrian refugees today are being treated remarkably similar to the way the jews were treated during the Holocaust in the 1930’s and 40’s. Nicholas Kristof; Harvard graduate, Pulitzer Prize winner, and New York Times Op-Ed writer uses the many rhetorical strategies in order to justify to his audience how similar Americans treated european refugees during World War II and how Americans treat Syrian refugees now. Kristof uses multiple rhetorical devices to prove the need for Americans to acknowledge the severity of the Syrian crisis by comparing Syrian refugees to Holocaust victims. Nicholas Kristof comparing these two events is very effective because the audience understands the severity of the Holocaust when they may not fully understand how severe the Syrian crisis really is.
Nicholas Kristof uses many different rhetorical devices throughout this column. One of the main devices he uses is emotional appeal in order to engage his audience. Using emotions in writings hooks the readers and captivates their interest. Kristof connects a lot of emotions through pictures of Syrian refugees in need. The picture Kristof uses in “Anne Frank Today is a Syrian Girl” is a picture of Anne Frank as a child and a crying Syrian girl who is covered in dirt and blood from the airstrikes in Aleppo, Syria. Comparing these two little girls is how Kristof compares the European and Syrian refugees through emotion. Kristof also relates to emotions when he describes what is happening in Syria today in order to inform readers of how much the refugees are in need. Kristof says, “President Obama’s reluctance to do more to try to end the slaughter in Syria casts a shadow on his legacy…” (Kristof). Because the use of the word “slaughter” has such a negative connotation and visual image, it immensely affects the audience through emotion and truly gives them a descriptive image of the damage in Syria.