Weekly Reflections

At this point, I think I have finished my essay for the most part. I have it complete I am just re-reading it and double-checking everything. I am very comfortable with this type of writing I felt like breezed through it but I still like the other essays that we have done this semester. I feel like I have really learned a lot throughout them all. I didn’t have any problems that I was facing with this essay. But I do think that it took me a little bit just brainstorming and thinking back to the rest of the semester and figuring out what I struggled with the most but overall I didn’t really have many problems writing this essay at all.

Watching this video I learned that reflective thinking is more important than actual writing. It’s not only looking at past events but future writing events and how you can improve.
It’s important in becoming a better writer and a student because it allows you to realize what you did wrong and allows you to think about what you can to do improve in the future.
Reflection is an important skill for life because it allows you to think about a situation that might not have gone your way you would have liked it to and gives you the opportunity to improve and grow from that.

I have learned that arguments are a form of conversation and not a competition between two people. Arguments should be crafted in such a way that it lets others see both sides of an argument. I have learned that the legalization of marijuana is a controversial issue that has multiple viewpoints and sides. The legalization of marijuana is a hard issue to cover because of the nature of the issue. Some problems that I have faced while writing this project, are that it is hard to find unbiased sources to pull from for my writing.

Cohen’s main claim is that people see arguments as a battle with a winner and a loser but Cohen believes that in an argument there is no winner or loser he wants to change that so then arguments become a tool for communication between ideas. He gives the metaphor that war is a battle between two people. He then goes on to talk about how in this form of argument that people rely on tactics such as defense and attack instead of trying to see the positive in opposing ideas or views. When he gives the metaphor about the jury I was able to relate to his idea that arguments can become a performance in front of an audience. After watching this video it made me think about how I can use this in my writing and in my everyday life. In project 3 I can take a look at the opposing views of the other side and instead of discrediting their argument I can learn from it and work it into my essay.

Some important things that I’ve learned so far in this unit about analysis are what ethos is. I never really understood the meaning of ethos and now I understand that it is the credibility of the author and what they do to show that they know the topic. In the Op-Doc, dying in your mother’s arms, I learned that there is a specific doctor that specializes in care for dying children. I also learned that she doesn’t just care for the child but she comforts and supports the parents of the child. I think I am struggling with trying to find ways to start analyzing and coming up with ideas to analyze the video.

In the Op-Doc, Calorie Detective the filmmaker’s main purpose is to inform the audience that they need to be aware of the fact that the calorie information posted at restaurants and/or on food labels is not necessarily correct. The author’s other purpose could be that he is trying to bring awareness to the fact that they are requiring to have the calorie information but aren’t requiring it to be correct. I believe the filmmaker’s audience is anyone who reads the calorie information on food or anyone who bases their diet on calorie numbers. The filmmaker mainly uses logos throughout this film. He uses logos by providing evidence from the experiments that happened and using the numbers from each restaurant. But he also uses pathos by going to and getting food from popular restaurants that most people go to. The Calorie Detective was extremely different than the Toys of War. In the Toys of War, the filmmaker used more ethos rather than logos. It was very more emotional than the Calorie Detective.

I think that it is important for college students to read, discuss, and write about books like What the Eyes Don’t See because it teaches them about important aspects in history that they may not know. Personally, I did not know about the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan. It is also important because it shows that if you speak out against something you believe in. The book talks about how one woman, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha the director of the pediatric residency program stood up against the government to make a difference for the city and help the children of flint.

Willingham’s purpose in this article is to inform the reader about the effects of multitasking while doing tasks that require your full attention. Also, his purpose is to persuade the reader not to multitask during activities such as driving and studying. Willingham’s audience for this article are people who tend to multitask a lot. Especially people who use their phones while they drive. Willingham believes that in some ways and in some situations it is okay to multitask. But, in activities that require your full attention, it is not okay to multitask. The overall effectiveness of Willingham’s op-ed is persuasive because he gives reasons for why you shouldn’t multitask and with his reasons he gives evidence. He is trying to persuade the reader to avoid multitasking while doing tasks that require your full attention such as driving and studying.

I feel that I don’t have many strengths as a writer. I have never been very good at writing throughout my years in school. I have always struggled in my English classes in high school. I feel that my greatest weakness is putting my thoughts on paper. It is always difficult for me to start writing the paper especially my introduction. But I feel that once I have my introduction written out I can breeze through the rest of my paper. The part that causes me the most stress in composing writing projects is planning my paper and figuring out what I am going to write for the prompt. Also, getting started on my paper and finishing the introduction.

Weekly Reflections are longer, more thoughtful posts that you will complete about every week of the semester. Topics for these posts will vary by instructor, but they will usually be completed outside of class and have a specific word-count requirement.