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This Verizon adverstiment works just because it gets the reader interested in what it has to say. Printed in big, bold letters are the words"Free Razr Phones!". Everyone likes free stuff, so of course they are going to read the rest of the advertisment and see what they have to do to get the free phones. This advertisment also advertises unlimited text messaging, which makes me think that the intended audience is parents with children who have phones and text a lot. The claim is clearly stated, but you have to read the fine print to see that there is much more that has to be done before you can get the free phones. It is hard to identify the evidence, support or warrant for this advertisment.

Responses

Race Wasn’t an Issue to Him, Which Was an Issue to Me

Central Claim: The author claims that race and the way one deals with the issue of race is still a dividing line in America.

Reasons and Evidence: The author only points out personal experiences with race and doesn’t cite any other kind of evidence. She says that the reason that race is such a big dividing line is because only certain people can feel what it is like to be on the wrong side of that line and it is hard for people who have never experienced any issues with race to want to grapple with the problems it brings to society.

Warrants: The author believes that race is still a huge issue in America today and she doesn’t think that we are handling race issues the way we should be handling them.

Opposing Views: The author only states the other view through semi-dialogues with her ex husband and new friend, Jerry. She rarely shares the other side of the issue, which in the end weakens her own argument. She can’t really refute the other side if she doesn’t explain that argument as well.


Realistic Idealists

Central Claim: “Teenagers are embracing social activism with the zeal of missionaries and the executive skills of seasoned philanthropists.”

Reasons and Evidence: The author cites many college surveys and documents college admissions officials’ firsthand accounts of the increase of teenagers who participate in community service.

Warrants: The author believes that not only are teenagers participating in community service so they can impress college admission offices, but because the genuinely want to help others.

Opposing Views: The opposing view is hardly even mentioned in this article. It’s true that many more teenagers are doing community service, but the author is a little idealistic in her belief that this rise in participation is only due to the fact that these kids care more about others than previous generations. Many people do community service for no other reason than it is a graduation requirement. The author cites many examples of people doing community service because the genuinely want to, but she gives no examples from people who are required to do community service.

Rhetorical Analysis

Essay "Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid"

Central Claim: "From heat waves to storms to floods to fires to massive glacial melts, the global climate seems to be crashing around us... This is precisely what they (scientists) have been warning would happen if we continued to pump greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, trapping the heat that flows form the sun and raising global temperatures."(p.269-270)

My Claim: "In his article, Be Worried, Be Very Worried, Jeffery Kluger makes the argument that if people don't make immediate changes to the ways we impact our ecosystem, global warming will continue to devastate the earth."

My Revised Claim: By citing specific scientific examples and appealing to the audience's emotions, Jeffery Kluger makes a strong and effective argument for the immediate need to confront global warming in his article, Be Worried, Be Very Worried.

Essays and Tentative Outline

Swearing Off Swearing by Rick Reilly: Reilly’s title implies that we should swear off swearing, but he makes little argument for that case. He gives examples of how it is commonplace and almost accepted for people to swear, but he doesn’t really give us a definitive reason as to why
we need to stop.

Dropping the F-Bomb by Joel Achenbach: This article dealt mostly with where the f-word came from and the variety of situations it could be used in. It also dealt with the fact that it is starting to lose its original taboo with people today. To me, it would be hard to write an analytical essay about a cuss word

New Bill Would Defend Marriage from Sharks from The Onion: The Onion is a satirical newspaper; so therefore, this article had to be taken sarcastically. After reading the article, most people would take the author’s use of the word “sharks” as a euphemism for gay people. However, since the author doesn’t come out and say that is what he meant, it is hard to discover what he was arguing for in the first place.


Be Worried, Be Very Worried by Jeffery Kluger: I chose to write an analysis of this paper because Kluger makes a very strong argument that global warming is occurring and backs it up with scientific evidence of things that have happened and of things to come if we don’t do something to curb our current trend.
Target Audience/Why Author Wrote Article: Kluger wrote this article to anyone who has noticed the recent and devastating change in climate that is apparent on every continent. He obviously feels very stronglyabout the subject, seeing as he took the time to collect a huge amount of scientific evidence. His only problem is that it seems like he only presents one side of the argument.
Logos: There are many scientific facts that are referenced in this article. The author also lends interpretation to his audience and lets them imagine what could happen if things do not change.
Pathos: This article appeals to the audience emotionally by citing examples of tragedies that we have seen over the past few years and by shocking us with scientific predictions of what may happen over the century.
Ethos: There are numerous examples of research cited in this article, which help to create a sense of credibility in the reader. The examples are also things that the audience has seen and heard of in the past few years.
Examples: Wildfires, rising seas, etc.
Solutions: Reduce CO2 output, alternative energy
Thesis: In his article, Be Worried, Be very Worried, Jeffery Kluger makes the argument that if people don’t make immediate changes to the ways we impact the earth, global warming will continue to occur.

SWA #5

Out of all of the essays that were written in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, “Shootings” by Adam Gopnik was the one that really got to me. From his gut wrenching first line to the list shootings that have occurred internationally, Gopnik’s arguments were the ones that I could most closely identify with. I was one of the people calling a friend, trying to find out if they were ok. I was the one terrified of what I might have heard at the other end. The text itself is extremely, and sometimes bluntly honest. He was not afraid to ask the questions that other people had been wanting to ask and to point out the lawmakers repeated mistake of refusing to change something about this county’s gun control policies.
This article was written for anyone who has heard about the Virginia Tech shootings. It is impossible to read the first line and feel no empathy for the victim’s families who were desperately trying to contact their loved ones. The author clearly voices his opinions on gun control and his disappointment in our government’s failure to make more stringent laws about who can own handguns. He also gives examples of what other countries have done in the aftermath of a shooting rampage and how their new measures have prevented other such incidents. I’m sure that Gopnik could have been much harsher in his criticism of our county’s lawmakers, but due to the fact that he was writing for such a widely read paper as The New Yorker, I’m betting that he had to keep his opinions in check.
Obviously, the exigence for this article is the Tech tragedy and all of the other shootings that have occurred and our government’s failure to take action and prevent something like this from happening again. However much I agree with Gopnik, I also have to wonder if he was only reporting one side of the story. He talks about the stricter gun control laws in other countries, but he doesn’t cite any credible sources. On an emotional level, his argument is very persuasive, but in order for it to have any real merit, Gopnik needs to cite credible sources and discuss, in detail, ways that our country can deal with this recent shooting epidemic.

SWA #4

Both blogging and updating a Facebook page are great ways to inform people about your life, but I feel like Facebook is more of a social situation rather than a rhetorical situation. Most of the writing done on a Facebook page is done by other people rather than by the author themselves. On a blog, the author does the majority of the writing. With Facebook, there is little you can find on someone’s page that inspires argument or change. To me, Facebook sometimes seems like nothing more than a glorified chat room. Don’t get me wrong, I love Facebook and how it allows me to keep in touch with all of my friends just as much as the next college student. If I really wanted people to read my opinions, I would put them on a blog and encourage them to leave comments about what I wrote. A blog is constantly changing with new posts and comments left by others. While a Facebook page also changes with the comments left by people, these comments are usually just shout-outs to the person who created the page or an update on how someone is doing.
Blogging on the other hand requires some thought and can spark debate much better than a Facebook page can. The author of the blog takes the time and energy to write a specific post and wouldn’t do so if that topic didn’t matter to them. They expect comments about what they have written instead of a few words from a friend talking about a recently posted picture. With a blog, the author can truly express how they feel about certain topics through their posts instead of by joining a group or cause on Facebook.

SWA #3

Before reading this article, whenever I thought of the word “argument” I imagined the people on CNN screaming back and forth at each other or me and my dad arguing over whether or not I can get a tattoo at the dinner table. This type of arguing can be described as “traditional argument”. It usually boils down to both sides trying to prove that their point is right and that the other side is wrong. Both sides feel very strongly about their point and become stubborn and refuse to compromise, even if that means that all of their time and energy spent arguing has been for nothing. The other, less aggressive type of argument is called consensual argument and focuses more on finding a solution to a problem through mediation and compromise rather than arguing until one side gets tired and gives up. Both sides have their pros and their cons, but I think every situation needs to be dealt with individually and if one style of arguing gets both parties nowhere, they need to be mature enough to accept that fact and try something else.

SWA #2

Kathleen Parker’s article, “Seeking Balance in an Either-Or World” deals with problems faced by those who find themselves unable to take sides in an ever-evolving political world that demands loyalty to one side or the other. She uses the debate over abortion to further illustrate her point. On the pro-choice side, she can’t see justification in forcing a woman to go through with a pregnancy, but on the pro-life side, she can’t justify the termination of an innocent life either. Her solution: Better sex education in High Schools to keep people from having to make that life-altering choice. Parker believes that political parties have been “hijacked” by radicals from each side and are therefore stereotyped because of those select few. At the end of her article, Parker reveals that partisanship is no longer the norm. She says the majority of young people (who make up most of the population) identify themselves as Independents rather than Republicans or Democrats.

A central theme of Parker’s article is that of our country’s desperate need for balance. She uses parts of John Avlon’s book, Independent Nation, to support her point. He, like Parker, believes that a unique blend of perspectives should be used along with good old fashioned common sense to solve the issues at hand. He believes that leniency, along inflexibility, can lead to many problems. Instead of depending on a solely left wing or right wing mindset, different aspects of both political ideologies are needed to properly handle each individual situation.

I myself am an Independent and like Parker, have faced scrutiny by people with partisan beliefs. Most scrutiny she faces is due to her stance on many subjects. I face scrutiny, not only because of the positions I take, but because of my age. Many believe that young people are too naïve to form their own opinions. I think now is the best time to form our opinions seeing as we will be the ones running the country in the near future. Our Independent ideologies may be just what our country needs after being run by radicals for the past few decades.
I have also found it hard to find a politician who shares the same assortment of beliefs that I have and often I find myself debating what is best for the country as a whole. For instance, while I think our country should have programs that ensure proper care for all of it’s citizens, the financial commitments needed make me question whether or not that is the road our country needs to take at this point. Like Parker and so many others, I believe compromise is the first step that both political parties need to take so they can at some point meet peacefully in the middle of the road.

SWA #1

The most alarming thing that Michael Skube sees in college students now these days is their lack of basic vocabulary. Even in high school, I started noticing that the vocabularies of many of the students around me didn’t seem to get any better as they progressed through school. Most of the vocabulary we did learn in English class wasn’t in the least bit useful in everyday speaking and we forgot most of it after we took the vocab test that week. Like Mr. Skube, I also noticed that very few people in my grade read for fun outside of class. People used to ask me, “Why do you take ten hours to read a book when you can watch the movie in two”. It is people like that who often have the worst vocabularies. Instead of putting in some effort and experiencing a book word for word, like it should be experienced, most people want to be entertained. Even now, the two hour long movies are becoming too long for our short attention spans to handle.

In Todd Hagstette’s essay, he speaks about the focus a reader must have in order to properly understand a piece of writing. For some, it is almost impossible to read and take in even a paragraph of writing, let alone an entire book. Some people may find it easier to focus when they are uncomfortable, but I disagree with Mr. Hagstette and would rather be comfortable instead. If I want to absorb what I am reading, I need to focus on the words on the page instead of how sore my back is getting form sitting in an uncomfortable chair. I do agree with him however that repetition is a main factor in understanding a piece of writing. Even the most focused readers can skip over something the first time they read a piece of writing. Repetition ensures that the reader sees the piece of writing as a whole.