Paragraphs C & D

(C)
Online chat rooms have become a great source of communication. In the case of students, they provide a break from the school environment, a stress release, a way to meet new people. However, universities have begun to utilize chat rooms' communication abilities. Students can now talk with other students about help with studying, any questions they may have, and other course information. This tool has even found its way into my Biology class and lets me discuss the lectures and labs with my peers. This ability of chat rooms to create a learning environment outside of class is why they are becoming more prominent in school environments.
Whenever people are communicating over the internet, there are always concerns of security. Luckily, a lot of classes around campus have set up private chat rooms exclusive only to students registered for that class. This ensures that outsiders cannot gain access to the room.

(D)
During the Watts riots in Los Angeles, CA, police officers employed guns as means of protection, and led to the shootings of some looters and perpetrators (Knutson and Revering 64). Is there no better way of dealing with criminals than simply gunning them down? In 1979, UCLA University Officers found an alternative to the deadly force that guns cause. Dogs became the preferred method of dealing with gangs around campus housing developments. Results came fast as the gangs relocated after encounters with the canine force. Although some suspects claimed to have been bitten badly, these cases are extremely rare compared to the many documented good deeds and rescues involving human lives performed by police canines. Clearly dogs are a more suitable and effective alternative to weapons.

C- The author of this paragraph needed to separate the paragraph into two. The first needed to introduce the idea of chat rooms in schools and the second to give a reason that backs up the claim that they are beneficial to students.

D- This paragraph simply needed better organization.

Coherence Devices

*Body image is something that has always been linked with the era's cultural beliefs. In the Classical Period, namely in Greece, beauty was a full-formed woman, not disproportionate in any aspect, or a proportional man. [@Whereas, today, this is] obviously not the case for the average person. Evidence of this can be seen on magazine covers, on television, and even in music. Models today, who are supposed to be people who would look best in certain clothing, are often in much better shape than those who will be buying the clothes. Some people see this and wish that their own bodies resembled these models. [@This is an example] of how peoples' body-images are affected directly by cultural surroundings.

*Even within subgroups of cultures, body-image changes. African-Americans and Caucasian American often have different views on what makes a good body type, and it's not a case within skin color. [@For example], Caucasian Europeans or Africans may have completely differing opinions on the preferred body-image than their cousins across the Atlantic may have. [@This is also an example of] how cultures, not race, construct body-image.

[@Within particular cultures], such as American culture, body-image is not only linked to cultural ideals but to economics as well. [@This is] what Michael Rosenwald tries to say in his article titled Why America Has to Be Fat. He gives reasons as to why the economy has allowed and will continue to allow obesity in America. *The way our culture and economics intertwine is conducive to a body-image crisis among the people while it sustains the opposite image through economics.

“This exercise actually didn’t bother me. I enjoy breaking down text in order to find its inner-workings. It helps understand how you write and how you use coherence devices in writing.”

Tiger Burn.

This 'tradition' of burning the Clemson tiger, I had never heard of until I came across it this morning on the front page of the Daily Gamecock. Nevertheless, I think it would have been cool to see a giant tiger burn to ground Despite this, in light of recent tragedy, it doesn't matter how cool I think it is, it would obviously strike a bad chord with many students. So the university rightfully decided to change the 'Tiger Burn' to a 'Tiger Tear Down'. All in all, I think this was the right decision. If the tradition had been allowed to continue, it would bring back too many terrible memories for students who were affected by the beach house fire. Not only that, the single tiger tiger burning might symbolize to many the single Clemson student who died in the blaze.
I think it's pretty obvious that last year was the last year of the 'Tiger Burn' since every year, students will want to remember their fallen comrades, and every year, the school will use this reason to do something different.
'Tiger Tear Down' still has a ring to it, heck, maybe they'll fill a big tiger full of candy. That would get me pumped.

Question 5, Ch. 7.

Jamie Lincoln Kitman's essay on hybrid vehicles is very interesting. He claims that despite all of the incentives and reasons for buying a hybrid car, only a small number of situations actually benefit from the supposed higher gas mileage and environmentally friendly promises. The electric-gas powered motors only work at a high efficiency if they are driven in the cities. While some hybrids work beautifully in towns, and being the United States a mainly suburban society, driving at high speeds like on highways causes the hybrid vehicle to work just as inefficiently as any gasoline-powered vehicle. He also brings up the point that the government wants to reward drivers of hybrid by giving them various incentives. He argues this is not fair because some hybrids still work with less efficiency than conventional vehicles.
Since Kitman is a professional test-driver and writer for driving magazine, his arguments sound more believable and authentic. He has obviously driven many vehicles and knows all about how cars work. This allows him to very persuasive, since he knows so much on the issue.
Patrick Moore, who was the co-founder of the Greenpeace organization, wrote a piece on why nuclear power is important for the future of environmental and power conservation in America. His argument is that there is no better choice of a source for electrical energy than nuclear power, and gives bulleted reasons as to why some misconceptions are untrue and to why there is not much to worry about when it comes to safety.
In the 1970's, Greenpeace strongly opposed nuclear power whether it be for war or for energy. Since then, however, Moore has changed his stance. If the co-founder of a successful, pacifistic, and non-nuclear organization born during the Cold War decided to change his mind on a fundamental issue, then he must have had a legitimate reason for doing so. This makes his arguments, overall, more believable, since he is a convert.

III. Question 4

In Kluger's TIME Magazine article about the effects of global warming and what should be done about them, he explains a multitude of different problems within the environment and how pollution and CO2 emissions have caused them. He describes grandiose scenarios where part of Florida is under water, or great hurricanes will pillage cities like never before. He tells us to be worried (in the title) and inserts words like 'drought', 'deluge', and cites daunting statistical figures to back up his claim.
Richard Lindzen, on the other hand, describes a world where global warming does indeed exist and CO2 is the cause. However, he says that this does not warrant the amount of alarm as it has. He says that dissenting scientists such as himself are quieted by environmentalist groups and scientists who are backed by them. He gives a couple reasons as to why some of the mainstream scientific belief that global warming will be the end of the world is extreme and does not use proper scientific data.
While I am partial to Mr. Lindzen's stance on the topic, objectively, Kluger has done a superior job of convincing me of the dangers of global warming. He cites many more sources and provides much more evidence of global warming. He convinced me that there is really a problem with our planet right now, and something must be done to save it.
Yet, perhaps these are the desired effects of these scare tactics Lindzen writes about.

II. Topic Proposal

After writing my exploratory paper on the effects of illegal online music sharing, I found that the current system set up by the record companies, which disallows online music sharing, is only beneficial to themselves. It does not give enough to the artists and overcharges the costumers for music they can find for free online.
In this policy paper, I will appeal to my audience's bias toward music sharing, as most of them already do it. Also I will point out how record companies condemn sharing because they it means they are not in control. As stated in my exploratory paper, professional studies have been made that show no significant loss in revenue from music downloading. Music is art, and art should be free.
As far as research goes, I will most likely add a source or two more. The ones I have right now are mainly professional studies on music sharing. If I am to convince my audience of my policy change, they are going to need sources of information that are more on their level. I may quote various blogs or other public forums of opinion to grasp what some people think about online music sharing.

1. Point IV

1. The three perspectives I covered in my exploratory paper were those from the record companies, the artists, and the listeners. At the moment it is clear that power is being taken away from the record companies and more opportunities are available for listeners and musicians to consume and distribute music. It is because the RIAA and its constituents have not kept up with technology and modernity that their business model no longer works. People are finding and enjoying music more than ever before through the use of online sharing, and due to this, internet users and a whole generation has embraced an illegal method of acquiring music.
2. If you want to make an omelet, if have to break some eggs. Either the record companies change their plans and allow music sharing, finding some other way of gaining profit, or simply go away forever. Music is undoubtedly a form of art. Other art forms can be copied and shared at a lesser quality, so why not music too? The main focus of artists today is changing from the old ways of stardom, money, and fame to a focus on artistic authenticity, where some of the best artists are making music simply so they can be heard and enjoyed.

3. In order to write this as a policy paper, it must be understood that what I want done is the abolishment or weakening of the current policies. Although it is unfortunate that the record companies are going to fall, overall, from the artists only lose just a fraction of their earnings
in exchange for more publicity on the net. So if online music sharing is allowed fully with exception if the sharer is gaining profit from it, then the music industry will become less of an industry and more of an art, as it should be.

?'s for my reviewer

I would like the reviewer to ask: Has he covered all the perspectives? Has he concluded the paper properly? Was enough time spent on each perspective to thoroughly take into account each of them? Did he ever go off topic or seem to veer off course?

I'm Sorry

I feel like, with all the issues surrounding the fire at the beach over the weekend, there are a lot of unsaid things involved. What needs to be said is that there must have been alcohol involved in the incident. It is something that has yet to be said but still has bearing to the storyline. The fire occurred in the early morning which begs the question, why didn’t some of the students get out? I know it’s a tragedy and I do feel bad for all those affected, but I need to ask, how much of an effect did alcohol play on how well the students were able to react to the fire? I think if alcohol were not involved, all of the students should have been able to escape the blaze properly, awaking from their respective slumbers in time. If alcohol was present in some of the victims’ bodies, did they awake to the blaze? Or did they sleep peacefully? It may be too early, it may be too harsh, but I needed to ask.

1. 1. I write essays by thinking the paper through as I go along. Instead of making an outline on paper, I mentally prepare each paragraph in my mind and include all of the thoughts and points I needed. This allows me to include my own style into what I write, and it makes it less formulaic. I could utilize better managing my time in order to produce the best work I can. Also, I rarely go back and revise my work, and I know there are a few mistakes that Microsoft misses.

2. 2. It provides all of the information in general all at once, which would lower my stress levels in showing me that there’s not that much to do. Other than that, I do not use outlines to prepare myself, I feel my brain does well enough, and until I’m shown otherwise, outlines will remain omitted from my writing process.

3. 3. What should I cut? Sometimes I tend to be too wordy. I see it as my style; others see it as a sign of amateur writing ability. Have I avoided sexist language? I forget sometimes to not refer to a neutral subject as he and I need to be more aware of sexism in what I write. Have I used the active voice most of the time? I include this one because I see it so often in other student’s writing and would like to reiterate the importance of this rule. The passive voice is something that can kill a sentence if the writer uses it either too much or improperly.

4. 4. An exploratory paper is exactly what the name implies. It takes a topic and covers it from multiple angles in order to explore it thoroughly. It explains numerous opinions and stands on the topic to allow for a position/policy paper that attempts to answer the questions What should we do to fix this? or How can we improve this?

5. 5. In peer reviewing a student could exchange their paper with either a single other student or a group to really get a wide range of review. Peer reviews are helpful because they allow the writer to see how their audience might react to the paper. Also, the reviewers often catch mistakes that the writer missed completely, and once corrected, allows the paper to be as good as possible.

Body image is something that has always been linked with the era's cultural beliefs. In the Classical Period, namely in Greece, beauty was a full-formed woman, not disproportionate in any aspect, or a proportional man. Whereas, today, this is obviously not the case for the average person. Evidence of this can be seen on magazine covers, on television, and even in music. Models, who are supposed to be people who would look best in a certain clothing, are often in much better shape than those who will be buying the clothes. Some people see this and wish that their own bodies resembled these models. This is an example of how peoples' body-images are affected directly by cultural surroundings.
Even within subgroups of cultures body-image changes. African-Americans and Caucasian American often have different views on what makes a good body type, and it's not a case within skin color. Caucasian Europeans or Africans may have completely differing opinions on the preferred body-image than their cousins across the Atlantic may have. This, also is an example of how cultures, not race, construct body-image.
Within a certain culture, say, American culture, body-image is not only linked to cultural ideals but to economics as well. This is what Michael Rosenwald tries to say in his article titled Why America Has to Be Fat. He gives reasons as to why the economy has allowed and will continue to allow obesity in America. The way our culture and economics intertwine is conducive to a body-image crisis among the people while it sustains the opposite image through economics.

Annotated Bibliography

Bhattacharjee, Sudip, et. al. “Impact of Legal Threats on Online Music Sharing Activity: An Analysis of Music Industry Legal Actions.” The Journal of Law and Economics, Apr. 2006. Vol. XLIX.

This source is from an economics journal that studied how users who pirate and/or download music illegally would react to legal threats from large corporations like the RIAA. This will be useful for my argument so that I can explore if the RIAA’s intervention in pirating music actually stops or slows the illegal activity. It provides empirical evidence for this.

Chiang, Eric P. and Djeto Assane. “Determinants of Music Copyright Violations on the University Campus.” Journal of Cultural Economics, 9 June 2007. Vol. 31: 187-204.

This article focuses on the RIAA’s efforts to halt illegal music sharing on university campuses. It examines college students because they are both the main source of piracy and revenue for the record industry. Also, this is an important source because my audience are people who are either professors or students.

Gopal, Ram D., Sudip Bhattacharjee, and Lawrence G. Sanders. “Do Artists Benefit from Online

Music Sharing?” Journal of Business, 2006. vol. 79. no. 3.

If music artists actually benefited from online music sharing, than why is the music industry so adamant about stopping it? This is a crucial point, and this article provides some evidence of its validity. There is also evidence that more unique artists gain popularity and reputation due to music sharing. It uses advanced statistical analysis of record sales and illegal music sharing and piracy.

Grodzinsky, Frances S. and Herman T. Tavani. “P2P Networks and the Verizon v. RIAA Case: Implications for Personal Privacy and Intellectual Property.” Ethics and Information Technology, 2005. Vol. 7: 243-245.

This is a more constitutionally legal-oriented article in that it asks if the RIAA is ethically capable of overseeing the activities of illegal music sharers. It describes a case where the RIAA demanded that Verizon, an internet service provider (ISP), hand over the IP addresses of its users who were suspected of online music piracy. Verizon argued that what the RIAA was doing was infringing on the first amendment rights of users. It also reviews how music can be shared via peer-to-peer networks and programs.

Lyman, Jay. “RIAA Sues 482 Alleged File-Traders.” E-Commerce Times. 26 June 2004. 24 October 2007 <http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/34701.html>.

This news article shows that the RIAA has, at the time, made lawsuits against 482 subjects in one day. However, the article claims that with more lawsuits with which the RIAA does not follow through, the more people are going to take them less seriously. Or, if users do take them seriously, they will only retreat farther back into anonymity and find other methods of sharing music to counter the RIAA’s efforts.

McLeod, Kembrew. “MP3s Are Killing Home Taping: The Rise of Internet Distribution and Its Challenge to the Major Label Music Monopoly.” Popular Music and Society, Vol. 28, No. 4, October 2005: 521–531.

This article puts forth the idea that illegal music sharing online can actually help up-and-coming artists looking to spread their music worldwide. It also describes how many artists do not earn profit from record sales for quite some time, despite large contracts and booming sales. It explains how less and less focus is shifting away from large labels with the emergence of independent labels.

Oberholzer, Felix and Koleman Strumpf. “The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales.” Journal of Political Economy, March 2007. Vol. 115 no. 1.

This revolutionary study found that the effects of illegal music sharing are actually nearly negligible. It argues that listeners could just as easily not buy the music if it were not so readily available. Also, it claims that file sharing as a whole actually serves to increase overall music consumption. The RIAA blame the loss of total sales from 2000 to 2002 directly on piracy. This article disproves this claim allowing me to argue that the RIAA has no purpose in suing music downloaders other than to earn more money.

Styvén, Maria. “The Intangibility of Music in the Internet Age.” Popular Music in Society, Feb. 2007. Vol. 30, No. 1: 53-74.

This article focuses on the marketing of music online and the issue of intangibility. Intangibility, according to the article, presents a problem for marketers and for consumers because music is an intangible good, music providers are becoming more service-like and less goods-like.

The Degradation in the Quality of Popular Music Today

Every time I turn on the radio to a popular music station, I immediately hear either a simple hip-hop tune full of references to sex, drugs, or violence, all of which are delivered via a hook, or I hear an, again, simple rock song that is musically formulaic and lyrically cliché. What is baffling is that these types of music continue to be the most popular among listeners despite being critically berated. How is it that low quality music makes its way onto the airwaves and is accepted by the public?

My exploratory paper will argue that even though the majority of today’s popular music is musically simple or inferior, young adults listen to and still enjoy it. I will use evidence from music professionals to prove that much of the popular music today is musically and lyrically substandard. Then I will use various statistical studies to explore as to why it continues to dominate the airwaves. I will examine some popular music and analyze them to provide some examples of this cliché music.

I intend to have my audience be everyone who listens to music. If someone does not listen to any music, they would be neutral.

Reflection on my post (not so) secret.

My secret was pretty simple. I wanted to convey that I was not going to pay my bill for the school. They sent me the bill and it immediately became buried under papers on my desk. I chose the phrasing 'Why do they bill me thinking I'm going to pay??' to create humor. The reader would assume that perhaps I am irresponsible with money or contemptuous of the Financial Services of South Carolina, from which the bill arrived.
However, the reason that I am not going to pay is not that I hate USC, it's because I have no money. The reason I find it absurd for me to pay a bill is because my parents are the one's paying for all things college. It is well documented that college students are poorer than dirt, so why bill them?. They should be billing our parents. I am not going to pay because I have no way of doing so. It's that simple.

No Ghosts

In this secret, the anonymous sender is, or claims to be, a "spiritual medium". These people have often been the focus of controversy because of the nature of their work. This sender completely exposes themselves and other mediums as fakes and liars. This is an explicit claim. What is implied here is that people should stop believing these "mediums" and stop wasting their time on someone who will lie to them.
The sender wants the whole world to know about his/her experiences as a liar/spiritual medium. The intended audience is anyone who has ever questioned the authenticity of such "professionals."
The photo in the background is a ouija board, which is supposed to allow the user to tap into supernatural energy to answer questions or communicate with dead. This is an extremely appropriate background since most people regard the ouija board to be child's play. What the sender did was equate the profession of these "mediums" to a child's board game.

Aliens: WORLDS OF POSSIBILITES

This advertisement is for a exhibit at the South Carolina State Museum. Upon examining the advertisement, immediately we see a small alien character, a space background, and a speech bubble in the middle that says:
Don't Miss It!!.
Its intended audience are most likely children and their parents. So, keeping the audience in mind, the advertisement does a good job in hooking the children and the parents. First, it hooks the child with a cartoon character dressed in hip, popular clothes. Then, it catches the parents' eyes by Bolding and CAPITALIZING the words: State Museum. They do this because today's parents often want their kids to be educationally active, and a museum is perfect for such.
It also does a good job of covering all the basic information about the exhibit, such as the price, the location, when, and an overview of what is included in the presentation.
What the claim is is that this is a learning opportunity, although not necessarily for just children, that must be implied.
They support this claim by stating some of the things one could learn if they attended the exhibit. They use words like 'learn' and 'examine' to provide some more support that it is a learning activity.
Overall, this advertisement should be successful for grabbing the attention of a youngster and getting them interested in what it might have to offer them for fun.

Response to My Plan to Save Network Television

Charlie Hauck wrote a sarcastic piece poking some fun at television marketing and advertisements. The article titled My Plan to Save Network Television makes a fake proposition to disallow senior citizens from watching shows on any of the Big Four network television stations. He claims that this will increase economic power in America since t.v. shows get canceled due to the elderly watching.
This is a claim of policy. Although sarcastic, it looks to change the state of television marketing habits and those of senior citizens as well.
Something that is overlooked in this piece to me is that it states that big t.v. networks want to make sure to snatch up "those young eyes." This is a claim that television networks have it out for the children, but it is warrant that children should not get sucked into the advertising scheme.
I believe this article got its point across in that it points out advertisers' obsessions with young people and their watching/spending habits.

Response to 'Ugly, The American'

In James Poniewozik's article Ugly, The American, he examines the effect of immigration on popular television and culture. He focuses on the popular television program, Ugly Betty in which a Latin American assistant for a fashion magazine gains success through "hard work" and "perseverance". He argues that the anti-immigration sentiment of many Americans is misguided since Betty embodies most good American qualities.
Poniewozik claims that immigrants bring other cultures into America for the better because it has happened in the past and it was embraced. He uses popular culture references like Ugly Betty and reality t.v. shows to provide evidence that Americans today need "new blood" to keep the country vitalized. I think, overall, this is not enough evidence to fully convince someone that immigration is a good thing for the country.

Rhetorical Analysis

Central Claim: "Perhaps she's a star because that breakneck energy and interjection-riddled vocabulary are genuinely appealing...I prefer to believe she's made it despite the relentless ebullience, that she connects because she understands that for a whole lot of people, getting dinner on the table is a major accomplishment." p. 370

My Central Claim: "[Williams] argues in her article, Rachael Ray, My Dinner Hooker, that even with such an irritating demeanor, Rachael Ray's message to mother's and wives everywhere is still valid and applicable and even helpful." p. 1

My Conclusion: "she argues very convincingly to give the reader good reason why Ray is not as bad as most people think and by the end of the editorial, it leaves the reader wondering if Williams ever actually hated Rachael Ray in the first place." p. 4

Analysis of Rachael Ray, My Dinner Hooker

Mary Elizabeth Williams takes a very critical approach to explaining how the media giant Rachael Ray has amassed such a following despite having, in her opinion, an extremely annoying and overly zealous attitude. She argues in her article, Rachael Ray, My Dinner Hooker, that even with such an irritating demeanor, Rachael Ray’s message to mothers and wives everywhere is still valid and applicable and even helpful. Williams goes on to give personal reasons as to why Ray is both a burden and a blessing to mothers and their families, all while keeping light the tone and letting the reader know that what she writes is not that serious; just an interesting piece on a person who influences her life on a nearly daily basis.

Williams wrote this piece as an editorial for the online news source, Salon.com. Salon.com is a fairly popular site ranked 2,309 among all websites based on Alexa.com’s daily statistics. The site carries predominantly liberal news pieces with such staff writers as NPR’s Garrison Keiller and news on why the current Republican government is flawed. On Salon.com, she is the host of an online community forum known as Table Talk where registered users can comment on today’s issues ranging from politics to cooking, although she occasionally writes editorial works for the Community section of the site’s news. These editorials would speak directly to the online community of the website. Her piece on Rachael Ray would be one such editorial placed in the Home & Garden section of the forum, where readers who are interested in cooking and other household jobs can learn and share information.

The article’s main focus from the beginning brings the notion that Rachael Ray is an extremely annoying celebrity, and has spurred the creation of numerous hate sites despite being identified by Forbes “as the second most trusted person in America.” Williams wonders if she deserves either the hate or the praise. This is the question that drives the opening paragraph and grabs the reader’s attention, begging them to find out which treatment Ray really merits.

The author uses numerous cultural allusions to hook the reader into being comfortable and feeling relaxed by reminding them of things they know. The second line contains a perfect example of this. It says, “Google up ‘Rachael Ray’ and ‘hate’ and you’ll uncover an enthusiastic community…” Using Google, in particular, is an extraordinary way of including her audience within the piece. It is, after all, published on an online news site. The reader could very easily do what Williams suggests while reading this online. She even mentions some names and brands that would undoubtedly strike a chord with the reader: Oprah, The Food Network, Time Magazine, FHM, Red Bull, and even the Teen Choice Awards. The only issue with this is that all of these references are to American-focused names. This constrains some readers that may be from another country surfing the web for news.

The second paragraph begins William’s argument. She claims that people can be lumped into two categories, the one Rachael Ray is in and the one to which she belongs. This technique engages the reader because it forces them to identify with one of the two and very bluntly states her own stance on day-to-day life. This brings a constraint into the article. It is extremely possible that some of the readers are those who support Rachael Ray and do not dislike her or her “turbocharged personality” or that she can “pull a dinner out [her] ass”. Some readers may belong to the former category, unlike the author.

Williams continues to give her own opinion and tell the reader why so many people hate Rachael Ray. She writes, “Ray has no formal culinary training… She’s boasted that she’s completely unqualified for every job she ever had.” And that, “Unsurprisingly, she pisses a lot of people off.” However, in the fifth and sixth paragraphs, the reader begins to notice a change in the author’s tone. Williams begins using less insulting words and actually begins to compliment Ray. This allows the editorial to move on from more than just a complaining piece to one that takes more than one perspective and that argues consensually.

Slowly, Williams describes a facetious love/hate relationship between herself and Ray, one where Ray “grate[s] on [her] nerves like a block of Parmesan on a blade…” but is still “her fix.” She uses personal accounts of when Ray helped her in time of culinary need, that Ray is, “a regular girl who, like [her], was just trying to get dinner made without having a nervous breakdown.” What this type of writing does is try to play to some readers’ situations, in that they may be mothers or wives too.

Williams says that Ray’s work actually helps family life in America. She uses the statistic that, “less than half of American families sit down to eat together every night.” This is useful due to the claim stated earlier in the article which says that Ray helps women prepare a meal for their family in less than 30 minutes. Williams combines these two ideas logically and tells the reader about her own family and their dining habits, again, bringing a sense of comfort to the audience. Rachael Ray’s 30 minute cooking tips helped Williams on more than one occasion to get her family to sit down and eat together.

Mary Elizabeth Williams uses many tactics in this editorial, such as asking the reader questions, alluding to popular names, using humor to keep the piece light, and deceiving the reader at the beginning to keep the reader on their toes. She examines how it is that Rachael Ray is so successful and what her opinions of her were. More importantly, however, she argues very convincingly to give the reader good reason why Ray is not as bad as most people think and by the end of the editorial, it leaves the reader wondering if Williams ever actually hated Rachael Ray in any way.

Response to What Went Wrong? by Nancy Shute

Nancy Shute’s article What Went Wrong? must have received much national attention due to both that it was published in the U.S. News & World Report and that it came just two weeks after the tragedy at Virginia Tech University, on April 16, 2007. The article starts by introducing the focal point, Cho Seung-Hui, who was the killer of 34 human beings, including himself. Then, it continues, asking “why?” or “how?” did the killings occur.

Something important that I noticed about how Shute wrote this was that she stays true to her intended audience. It often focuses on how parents feel or how college students need help regularly. This caters directly to the middle age to senior citizen range of ages, and many times refers to students as ‘kids’. The use of this language is proof that the audience is not university students, as much of the article’s assertions may be offensive to some students. Since it is however in a more adult, mature tone, the journalist comes off as a little more knowledgeable or wise even.

Perhaps, Carolina Reader includes this article, despite it having a parental feel to it, was to encourage students to read and comprehend, subtly, that there are numerous ways to get help and that there are plenty of people on campus whose job it is to make students feel that they are not alone. It would be my assumption that Nancy Shute is around fifty years of age and is the mother of at least child. This situation that she in would allow for more harmony than constraint given that her audience are people like her, older.

The exigency that exists within this article very much surrounds the murders at Virginia Tech. Since it was such a tragic and nationally covered event, Shute probably did not need much outside motivation beyond what it meant to nearly everyone in America. This unifying force is the same reason why most readers did not need much outside motivation to read the article as well.

Blogging vs. Social Networking

Since the emergence of the Internet, users have been figuring out methods to opinionate, express, and represent themselves online. They have many choices of media through which to accomplish this, but two have become more popular than all other forms: blogging and social networking sites such as Facebook. With the former being the more popular, it has been estimated that there are over 70 million blogs on the net. Meanwhile, Facebook gains on average 200,000 users daily to make the total more than 40 million. Even with all this growth, are there differences between how these sites function in mass communication?

Blogs are meant to share and comment on news, photos, music, videos, and on anything else that users may want. They focus on a blogger posting something and allowing public users to access the blog, view it, and comment on it. In its simplest form, a blog is nothing more than just the sharing of new information. It does not offer much toward networking users together into a community, other than that they can subscribe to a blog and can see other users who did as well. The type of writing within text-based blogs is normally journalistic in nature, but is less constrained in the prose, as it is much more informal than, say, newspaper editorials.

Social networking websites such as, but not limited to Facebook are mainly focused on creating a forum for socializing online. Like blogs, users can post text, photos, and videos. However, Facebook’s users’ writing style is less informal than that of a blog. It is based in shorter, more personal messages to other users which allows users to speak to others in a more free and modern way. Usage of memes, abbreviations like ‘lol’, and other colloquial forms of communication is the preferred method of socializing on sites like Facebook. Unlike blogs, Facebook is less about sharing information like news and more about community and friendships among users.

So, blogs, normally, contain more information about a singular topic than social networking web pages and are a bit more formal in the writing style. This is because the information trying to be conveyed needs to be in a clear and readable style whereas on Facebook the information is not necessarily meant to be shared or is not necessarily informative even.

Adaptive Argumentation

I approach an argument assuming that I am correct, but never assuming that I must be correct. This allows me to employ a consensual style of argument that appeals to audience, that is, if at first I seem unconfident my primary target can then be eased into an argument comfortably. Then, when they don’t expect it, I can unleash my weaponry. However, instead of a never-ending onslaught of evidence and points, I push the issue subtly, sometimes without the recipient even knowing.

Sometimes using sarcasm or humor to woo someone, I present my facts quickly and try to become acclimated with whom I am speaking through the use of observational skills and keen interest into what they may be arguing in return. I believe half of this tactic comes from my mother who always taught me to think abstractly and “out of the box” but still to-the-point enough so that it is understandable. My father, on the other hand, is a very loquacious and amiable man, and he lent me knowledge in that “you can learn more from how someone looks at you, than from what they say to you.”

According to the checklist on page 21 of the Essentials of Argument, I place more as a consensual arguer yet still favor an individual’s opinion and favor abstract thinking and reasoning. This means that I tend to a group of people individually, personally. Then I give them what I know, make logical connections, and break down the issue clearly.

Since I never assume that I must be correct, if someone points out a fallacy in my thinking or reasoning that might change my mind, I will weigh my points to theirs and if mine are false, I am quick to switch sides. Adaptability is the most important characteristic, in my opinion, of argument. Knowing when I am wrong and understanding why is what will lead me closer to the truth, in the end. Knowing when my argument is failing to persuade somebody allows me to adapt and switch my technique mid-argument in order to achieve the desired outcome.

I like to think my methodology is sound, but if it is not, I am quick to change it so that it may be.

Moderate Media

Every generation in America, and likely all over the world, has had a subset within itself that challenges most aspects of their predecessors’ ideals. In the editorial piece “Seeking Balance in an Either-Or World”, columnist Kathleen Parker argues that today’s voters are less extreme than those in the past were. Parker asserts that there is a growing trend in people’s political opinions toward a more moderate ideal. Also, she claims that the modern public is beginning to look down on the right/left extremists creating a new class of moderates that are “socially liberal and fiscally conservative”.

In a nation where we tend to lump anyone into either Democrat or Republican, a 2005 Pew Poll’s findings paint a much unexpected picture, that 39 percent of voters are classified as independent or, rather, not Republican or Democrat. This comes as a bit of a shock since most of the mass media focuses on the two extremes of the political spectrum. According to popular belief, the Democrats have CNN and MSNBC while the GOP voices itself through Fox News Channel. So where in the media do independent, moderate-thinking voters go for their news and opinion pieces? The Internet.

For the past fifteen years or so, a virtual culture has emerged. The internet exists in anonymity and in cyberspace. Inside, there are countless forums for the expressing of opinions, political or not. It provides places where people of similar political views can learn without the bias that exists in mass media. These sites have become extremely popular with those who cannot find peace-of-mind in popular television news channel.

So when Parker says that today’s new voters are mainly moderate and “fence-straddlers” we can see evidence of this on the Internet, which is at the center of today’s emerging culture. This article states that this group of moderates will be a “powerful reckoning force” and judging from how much publicity the 2008 election is receiving, the Internet culture (moderates) will need much more attention.

Response to Skube and Hagstette

Every student reads, but it is the degree to which they read that concerns the true scholars in universities and schools all over the country. Whether it be the bubbly cheerleader with a perfect 4.0 GPA or the frat boy with alcoholic tendencies, each of these people often times includes a plethora of mistakes in writing. Writing papers ripe with incorrect prepositional phrasing, passive voice, dangling participles, and missing commas (or too many), students today lack skills they need to present themselves as educated, intellectual members which their GPAs should reflect. These are ideas Michael Skube puts forward and for which Todd Hagstette gives some reasoning.
Everyday, I read signs that are missing apostrophes and it bothers me to no end. I have experience in editing, as I was the copy editor for my high school’s newspaper. During my time at this post, I began to notice patterns in the mistakes that I found: there/their/they’re and its/it’s mistakes, continuous misspellings of the word ‘definitely’, run-on sentences, and many other errors that any fourth grade teacher would call common. I soon realized that the majority of the student body must have stopped learning English around the seventh grade. For these reasons, I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Skube when he claims that, “many students are hard-pressed to string together coherent sentences”.

Mr. Hagstette criticizes the way students read text and provides solutions to correct their dismal reading habits. What he says is that students need to learn how to read ‘aggressively’, which means taking class texts very seriously. He explains that the mind must be prepared mentally and the reader’s surroundings as well. I think he is correct when he says that students need to be out of their comfort zone. Too many times when I ask a fellow student how their assigned reading went, they respond saying, “I fell asleep.” Sometimes digging in to a book while in a quiet library is exactly what one would need to grasp the concepts truly; getting out of that comfort zone and into an ‘awkwardly silent’ situation. Students need to get lost in a book, not in a daydream.

So, overall, I agree with what both of these writers claim; that students need to learn first how to read, then how to write. Without a good basis in reading, writing would be like trying to fly a Boeing 747 sans flight school. Sure, after a while an observer could conceivably learn how to fly it. But would anyone really trust them to command a flight with five hundred passengers? It’s the almost the same with writers, some people simply lack the necessary background to be writing long essays or theses. I believe these two passages were very important, as some students may not have even been aware that they could be passive readers and not fulfilling their duties as scholars in using what they have learned since grade school everyday.