Policy/Proposal Paper

My biggest concern is the fact that I'm not meeting the length requirement. I also feel as though I probably didn't elaborate as well as I should have. I hope that I was able to be clear on my thoughts and viewpoint. Advice on how to make things clearer or to elaborate more would be great.

In Class Response 11/22/11

1. If I could change a policy on campus, I'd change the fact that in my all girls dorm, we can't have guys over until after 10:30 in the morning. I'd change this and allow them to be over after 8 am. There has been several times that I've needed help with homework, etc, but couldn't have a guyfriend over, so we'd have to go to the library or meet in the Russell House, and it would have just been easier if he was allowed over. I know that the policy is probably in place for 10:30 so that people have time to get ready in the mornings without having to worry about a guy in the hallways when we're getting out of the shower, etc.

In Class Response 11/15/11

1. Revisions: Considering I didn't have a complete essay last Thursday, my draft of essay 3 changed a lot. Going to the office hours and being able to discuss my thoughts and the sample essays also helped a lot, as well. I have learned that when writing, I have to constantly ask myself "Why?" so that I'm able to understand why some people have the thoughts that they do. I think my introduction is probably the strongest part of my paper, because I feel like I was able to relate adoption in general to gay adoption. I'm concerned that I haven't put in enough information to make all my thoughts clear and that my paper doesn't necessarily flow like it should. I also don't know if I have a clearly defined thesis.

2. Planning Essay 4: The four perspectives that I used were homosexual couples wanting to adopt, conservative Christians, psychologists, and those involved in the judicial process. My suggestion to fix the controversy of this issue, is to have more concrete laws about whether or not it should be allowed. In my opinion, parents who are willing to adopt a child without a definite home, shouldn't be denied this right, and I feel like laws should reflect that. I'm not sure if I'm going to write a policy or proposal paper, because I feel like I could go either way with it, but I believe I'll probably go with a policy paper. I know that I'm probably going to have to do more research in order to write the paper, because even though I felt like I did a lot of research for essay 3, I ended up having to do more in order to write my paper.

CR pg 326 prompts 1 and 2

1. The argument that Sedaris makes about sexuality, stereotypes, and intolerance, is that those who aren't aware of all the sides of a situation, tend to be more judgmental about things. In his piece, he's referring to gay people. Those who do not support this lifestyle might be negative or stereotype every gay person into a negative group, etc.

2. Sedaris uses humor to make Audrey seem ignorant. Humor was a good rhetorical tool because it portrayed his point, but it also gave it a more accepting tone. If he would have taken a different route and used anger, it might have been a harder piece to read, and understand.

Annotated Bibliography

Lauren Shumpert

English 102

Annotated Bibliography

Mikhaylova

Brown, HC and C Cocker. "Lesbian And Gay Fostering And Adoption: Out Of The Closet Into The             Mainstream?." Adoption & Fostering 32.4 (2008): 19-30. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 31 Oct. 2011.

     This article explores debate on whether or not lesbians and gay men should be allowed to foster/adopt children. The article also goes into the fostering and adoption processes, and what would be best for the well-being of the child. Statistics are also given on what researchers have found about children that have been adopted by gays. It is also discussed what the process should be to go about when choosing which children should be matched up with homosexual couples, and what the future looks like for the adoption process.

Sioco, MC. "What Makes A Family? A Closer Look At Gay Adoption." Children's Voice 18.6 (2009): 18-23. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 31 Oct. 2011.

     This article is about a man and his partner wanting to adopt their foster children in Florida, and the process they had to go through to try to do so. The article states what states prohibit gay adoptions, etc. It also goes into how there's nothing psychologically proven that states anything will be wrong with a child adopted by gay parents. This article also discusses to future of homosexual adoption.

Goldberg, AE, JZ Smith, and DA Kashy. "Preadoptive Factors Predicting Lesbian, Gay, And Heterosexual Couples' Relationship Quality Across The Transition To Adoptive Parenthood." Journal Of Family Psychology 24.3 (2010): 221-232. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 7 Nov. 2011.

                  This article is about the evaluation of heterosexual, lesbian, and gay adoption. The article explores whether or not the sexual orientation of the parents affected the way the children acted. Researched showed that there wasn’t a difference between the children raised by the heterosexual parents and the gay parents.

Goldberg, Abbie E., and JuliAnna Z. Smith. "Stigma, Social Context, And Mental Health: Lesbian And Gay Couples Across The Transition To Adoptive Parenthood." Journal Of Counseling Psychology 58.1 (2011): 139-150. ERIC. Web. 7 Nov. 2011.

                 Unlike in the previous article, by the same author, this one goes into how gay adoptive parents transition into parenthood. Research showed that the more support they had, the easier it was for them to get adjusted to being parents, and made their anxiety levels decrease.

"Pros and Cons of Gay Adoption | News | The Week UK." The Week UK | British & Foreign News, Opinion, Sport, People & Business. The Week, 25 Oct. 2008. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. <http://www.theweek.co.uk/welfare/35575/pros-and-cons-gay-adoption>.

                 The Week gives five pros for gay adoption and five cons. The article is pretty straight-forward, and easy to read.

Cons, Gay Couples. "Disadvantages Of Gay Adoption | LIVESTRONG.COM." LIVESTRONG.COM - Lose Weight & Get Fit with Diet, Nutrition & Fitness Tools | LIVESTRONG.COM. 19 May 2010. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/126548-disadvantages-gay-adoption/>.

                 This article strictly explores the negatives about gay adoption. It goes into how America is viewed as a Christian nation, but homosexuality is against the Christian viewpoint. It also touches on the fact that it could cause the kids to get picked on, and they won’t have the full sense of male and female role models in their lives. This article is different than the others in the fact that it openly displays why people view gay adoption as wrong.

Web. 7 Nov. 2011. <http://www.psych.utah.edu/classes/2007_spring/3260_001/studentpre/stupre-2007/gayadoption.pdf>.

                 This source is a powerpoint I found online about gay adoption that someone had made from information they had found. The powerpoint covers history, pros, and cons of gay adoption. The viewpoints stay fairly neutral, and it is disclaimed from the beginning that all the information did come from sources, and wasn’t just one person’s personal beliefs.

Robinson, B.A. "SAME-SEX PARENTING: Beliefs of Conserative Christians." Religious Tolerance. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. <http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_pare3.htm>.

                 This website strictly discusses Conservation Christian views on gay adoption. It goes over that the Bible doesn’t condone gay adoption and the children would grow up without a “mother” or “father” and that it would lead them to be homosexual themselves. They also feel that by supporting gay adoption, you’re weakening heterosexual families and values.  

Topic Proposal

The issue I will be discussing is whether or not homosexual couples should be allowed to adopt children. The people that are interested in this issue include homosexual couples, the children potentially being adopted, psychologists, and the lawyers dealing with the cases. The homosexual couples and the children being adopted are for the idea, because in a lot of cases, the children have already been with these couples through foster care, and have already gotten acquainted with their family, etc. They also believe that whatever rights heterosexuals have, they should have as well. Some psychologists support gay adoption because they haven't been able to find that anything will be wrong psychologically with the children, but others say there will be. Psychologists question whether the children will grow up and question their sexually, based off their parents, and how they will be accepted by others. The lawyers dealing with these cases tend to be more conservative and have views against it, but of course, they have to support it if they are representing the homosexual couples. My personal interest in this is just pure curiosity. I just wonder if over time, with the world changing, if things have changed with this issue as well. As of right now, I don't have a solid position on the issue, even though I lean more towards it being okay for homosexual couples to adopt.

In Class Response - November 1, 2011

The problem is whether or not homosexual people should be allowed to adopt and/or foster children. It is important because there are plenty of children that need to be adopted and it's controversial about whether or not gay people should be allowed to have the right to adopt them. The people that are affected are homosexuals and the children that need to be adopted. People might disagree because some people feel that homosexuality is not "right", and that gay adoption with teach the children that homosexuality is "right". Other people disagree because they think that the children will not get the full sense of having a real family, consisting of a mother and a father.

Writing Prompts CR pg. 301

1. The piece is arguing that if information isn't broken down, bulleted, or basically told to us, we don't really know how to process it. When we're given a huge chunk of information, we basically try to scan it to find out what it's about, and the important meaning of it instead of actually reading the whole thing and understanding everything.
2. The whole piece is a hyperbole. The author is exaggerating how all of a sudden the world receives a chunk of information, and everything basically halts. By doing this, the author is able to evoke feelings in the reader. When we start reading, we start questioning what the information was that was received and try to figure out what it means. But the author's point was that it doesn't matter what the information is, if it isn't clearly defined, we usually skip over it, and view it as unimportant.

Annotated Bibliography

Brown, HC and C Cocker. "Lesbian And Gay Fostering And Adoption: Out Of The Closet Into The Mainstream?." Adoption & Fostering 32.4 (2008): 19-30. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 31 Oct. 2011.

     This article explores debate on whether or not lesbians and gay men should be allowed to foster/adopt children. The article also goes into the fostering and adoption processes, and what would be best for the well being of the child. Statistics are also given on what researchers have found about children that have been adopted by gays. It is also discussed what the process should be to go about when choosing which children should be matched up with homosexual couples, and what the future looks like for the adoption process.

Sioco, MC. "What Makes A Family? A Closer Look At Gay Adoption." Children's Voice 18.6 (2009): 18-23. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web. 31 Oct. 2011.

     This article is about a man and his partner wanting to adopt their foster children in Florida, and the process they had to go through to try to do so. The article states what states prohibit gay adoptions, etc. It also goes into how there's nothing psychologically proven that states anything will be wrong with a child adopted by gay parents. This article also discusses to future of homosexual adoption.

SWA Writing Arguments pg. 236

1. In the piece, something can be defined as a "sport" if it uses motor skills, have a scoring system, and cannot use anything more complicated than a "simple machine". It's also a sport if it involves a ball, a footrace, turns, a score, a being physical.
2. It could be important to have accepted criteria for what constitutes as a sport, if you're going to have people competing in something for some sort of prize. If people just make up things as they go, cheating could occur or someone could end up seriously hurt. It's also not very fair for someone to be able to create a very difficult "sport" and have them competing against someone who doesn't.

Research Project Issues

1. South Carolina Gas Prices
2. Gay People Being Able To Adopt Or Not
3. Legalization Or Marijuana

> http://libcore.csd.sc.edu:50080/ebsco-web/ehost/detail?sid=3ed0a743-c71e-436c-9234-cef24698a834%40sessionmgr15&vid=1&hid=7&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=65499664
> http://libcore.csd.sc.edu:50080/ebsco-web/ehost/detail?sid=25cb2f69-1f60-4b31-ac46-f201d1cea687%40sessionmgr13&vid=1&hid=7&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=58009544
> http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fut.10115/abstract
> http://www.jstor.org/stable/1250487

Searching for gas prices in SC and their effect on consumers was very hard. I could find a good many articles on gas prices but just about none of them narrowed down to the individual effect on SC.

> http://libcore.csd.sc.edu:50080/ebsco-web/ehost/detail?sid=ff5e98be-c8e3-4ab7-8d5b-6c2938a2c8ea%40sessionmgr15&vid=1&hid=7&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=rzh&AN=2010143335
> http://libcore.csd.sc.edu:50080/ebsco-web/ehost/detail?sid=fc78f084-647e-4c22-8a3a-abdbc8d6212d%40sessionmgr15&vid=1&hid=7&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=rzh&AN=2010535257
> http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J145v04n03_05
> http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J145v07n01_06

Gay adoption was an easier topic to find information on, and this is the one that I'll probably go with for my project.

> http://libcore.csd.sc.edu:50080/ebsco-web/ehost/detail?sid=7b3fb880-aba0-4bc1-8ef9-1e710d9d539e%40sessionmgr4&vid=1&hid=7&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=55170168
> http://libcore.csd.sc.edu:50080/ebsco-web/ehost/detail?sid=994479c9-b64a-40c9-85b9-f9dc440bc5f8%40sessionmgr15&vid=1&hid=7&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=12197297
> http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/lsd/mcvay.htm
> http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=WMOdI9pC-gEC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=legalizing+marijuana&ots=hRRD_C2U4a&sig=inJvD3FWkwt0touVxJSqcKYOK_Y#v=onepage&q&f=false

The legalization of marijuana was also an easy topic to look up. I doubt that I'll go with this issue though because I feel like I can get more into the previous topic.

Internet Article Response

"Factory food artificially cheap, bad for your health"

The article claims that a lot of the food that is cheaper in quality is actually bad for us. The claim is supported by the fact that products get recalled for not being safe, animals that are being made for meat aren't properly taken care of in the factory farms, animals that aren't fed well will create poor meats to be eaten, and our water is being contaminated. I think that the article does make good points, and it is convincing. But I also understand the fact that sometimes people have to make decisions to eat a poor quality of food because that's what they are able to afford.

Carolina Reader pg. 107

Matthew Scully builds and supports his case that cruelty to animals should be a conservative cause, because it states the conservative viewpoint then ties it into his thoughts, and the facts on animal cruelty. He states that a lot of conservatives will side with those who are for killing or harming the animals, but very few actually take the time to look into what is going on. It is stated that conservatives tend to believe in traditions, but there is nothing traditional in factory farming; it is actually "rural values and a betrayal of honorable animal husbandry". Scully is basically able to sum it all up at the end of his piece by stating that we just can't take from the animals, we have to give back to them too; that we owe them life, along with a good death.

RA #2 Outline

Lauren Shumpert

RA #2 Outline

ENG 102

Title: Effectiveness of the Palm

Thesis: Even though the same product can be portrayed in several ads, if the ads are set up differently, and be targeted towards multiple groups of people, they can essentially end up varying from each other.

I.                    Visual Appeal

a.      Placement of pictures

                                                              i.      Ad 1: the hand vs. just the phone

                                                            ii.      Ad 2: the three pictures taking up majority of the picture

b.      Backgrounds

                                                              i.      Ad 1: chaotic background vs. the plain white one

                                                            ii.      Plain greyish green background – meaning sophistication?

c.       Logos/Written text

                                                              i.      Ad 1: Logo at the bottom; “organize” is written in the same orange color as the actually Palm logo so that it you associate the two together

                                                            ii.      Ad 2: Logo to the left is just a tad bit darker than the background, kind of gives a formal feel to the ad

II.                  Audience

a.      Ad 1: targets a more hectic person’s lifestyle, offering to take their chaotic life and make it more organized with the use of this phone

                                                              i.      City background

                                                            ii.      Notes scribbled all of the hand

                                                          iii.      Phone with a plain background

b.      Ad 2: targets a business associated person, it even states it in the logo that it’s for a business

III.                Effectiveness

a.      Ad 1 tends to be more effective

                                                              i.      Eye-catching

                                                            ii.      The pictures give you something to relate to

b.      Ad 2 tends to be less effective

                                                              i.      Nothing really stands out

                                                            ii.      Ad is too plain

                                                          iii.      Majority of people would just flip pass it if they saw it in a magazine

Conclusion: Based on the ad designer’s ideas, an ad can be extremely effective or not effective at all. Two very similar products can be viewed completely different based on their placing, the logos on the page, and the actual visual appeal of the pictures.

Rhetorical Analysis Topic

1. The ads that I'm analyzing are for different types of Palm phones. Even though I found both ads online, it says that they were printed in magazines, but doesn't clarify which ones.
2. I believe that the audience that they first one is targeting is more of a fast paced, hectic person. It basically states that this phone can help take you out of chaos, and make your life more orderly. The second ad seems to target a more sophisticated audience. The background is really plain, and the phones basically take up the whole page. It looks like the phones are made to really "speak for themselves".
3. Ad 1; the page is divided in half, one half (left)shows a hand with messages written all over it, there's a city scene as the background, the other half (right) has a plain background, and the phone is located in the very middle, on both halves, there's one word written above each picture, on the left, it says "chaos", on the right it says "order", the font is pretty basic, not cursive, not old-fashioned, pretty modern, easy to read, and at the bottom it states "Organize your life with palm"
Ad 2; kind of a greyish green background, 3 phones are located almost in the middle of the page, it says "Palm webOS for business" on the left side of the phones, relatively plain ad
4. I chose these two ads because even though they are advertising basically the same project, the looks of the ads are very different. While one of them seems to target a more laid-back, fast-paced person, the other is directed towards a more business-like person.

Advertisements

Advertisement 1:
     - Calvin Klein Jeans
     - Target Audience: Women
     - Product: Jeans
     - Shared Assumptions: If you have a large butt, or you want people to thing you have a large butt, you need to pay and wear these pants because they will give you a big Kim Kardashian bubble butt.
     - Claims/Reasons: You should buy these pants because you care how you look in your jeans, and you want to look good.

Advertisement 2:
     - Forever; Mariah Carey Perfume
     - Target Audience: Women who want to smell nice, and men who want their women to smell nice
     - Product: Perfume
     - Shared Assumption: You care about how you smell, you want people to think you smell nice.
     - Claims/Reasons: You should buy this perfume because it's going to make you smell good, men are going to find you sexy, and you want to smell good to attract them.

Advertisement 3:
     - Palm phone
     - Target Audience: people whose life tend to be a little chaotic, those who are always on the go, people who have a busy schedule, those who have a lot they have to remember
     - Product: phone
     - Shared Assumption: the consumer has a fast-paced hectic life and needs something to make it easier and something that's useful to them
     - Claims/Reasons: You should buy this phone because it'll take your "chaos" of a life, and make it more "order"ly.

Advertisement 4:
     - Club House butter
     - Target Audience: popcorn lovers
     - Product: butter you can sprinkle on popcorn that you make
     - Shared Assumption: Club House butter is the best; it's so good that even the popcorn loves it.
     - Claims/Reasons: You should buy this popcorn because you want it to be delicious.
    

Postsecret Card

1. My secret was based on Britney Spear's shaving her head, and I believe I conveyed it implicitly because I didn't fully state who it was and what she had done.
2. I chose to include a picture of her as a bald lady, and I chose that because I wanted people to know it was, and what she had done.
3. I used a blue pen to scratch out her eyes and write on the card. I wrote some of the words in a different way because I felt like those were the most important parts of what I was saying.
4. I wanted to portray Britney Spears as someone who needed help, and acted out because she needed help.
5. I wanted the viewers of the secret to feel bad for Britney and be understanding.

Menzel Photos Response

By going through the pictures, I've became more aware that people will basically eat anything they can eat. Most of the pictures also show how a whole family will have to ration what they eat, so that they're able to eat a small amount of food for one week. Some people only have access to certain types of foods, and that's what their meals consist of. Some countries will even serve bugs, because that's what they have an abundance of. In some places, all they have is rice, potatoes, and other veggies, and that's what their diets consist of. As an American, I'm blessed to have such a large variety of food to choose from.

Extra Credit 9/26/11

The Cooking Ape

Even though, I'm sure Wrangham's theory has caused controversy, because most people believe humans were created by a "higher power", God, most of the reviews I found were fairly neutral. In the article I read by Simon Ings, he's acceptable to Wrangham's point of view. He can identify and understand with where Wrangham is coming from. Ing believes that Wrangham does a good job of stating his theory, then giving legitimate reasoning for where his thoughts came from, such as stating how humans got their teeth, jawlines, and eating habits. Ing believes that Wrangham's thoughts are "compelling" and accurate.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/6250132/Catching-Fire-How-Cooking-Made-Us-Human-by-Richard-Wrangham-review.html

Responses 9/26/11

The Cooking Ape - Prompt #1

1. Wrangham mentions that by cooking food, our calorie intake has increased and that has helped the evolution of primates into humans. He also states that the difference between a primate's mouth, and ours, is that our mouth has been changed so that we're able to chew things that have been cooked. Wrangham also states that there's a correlation between the male roles of thousands of years ago, to their roles now. They rely on someone else to cook their meals for them, so that they're able to eat. He thinks that the first cooked meals were made by those less superior, but then eaten by those that were actually in charge; survival of the fittest.

The Pleasures of Eating - Prompt # 3

1. Since most of us live on campus, we can't necessarily grow our own food, but we can look for fruits to eat, or ask what's in certain things we eat before we choose to buy them.
2. As a college student, I do have cups of noodles, macaroni and cheese, and easy meals I can prepare like that, and that's basically the only way I'm able to make my own food. But by making my own cup of noodles, I am more conscious of what I am eating.
3. In the Russell House, we can probably ask people where the food is coming from that we eat. I'm sure someone would have to know the origin of it.
4. I guess if we really wanted to, we could find local farm's market, and purchase more fruits or veggies that we didn't have to cook, so we could easily eat them.
5. We could stuff up online about what's added into our food that we're eating.
6. We could also look up online about farming and gardening.
7. Be more aware of the things around us.

9/20/11

• Did I elaborate enough on each of my points?
• Are my thoughts well developed and easy to understand?
• Did I repeat things when I shouldn't have and did I stay on topic?
• Did I give enough information from the text to support what I was trying to say?

By creating a story-based piece, Kahn is able to get his points across in a way that is easy to read, follow, and understand. Most of Kahn's sentences are fairly short and to the point. He rarely uses sentences with multiple parts to them, and his vocabulary stays basic. "A man gunned down on a busy street. No identifying witnesses; no suspects. In this, James Wise's murder was typical". (Kahn, 58) This is a perfect example of how concise Kahn makes things. By putting his thoughts and words into short, little parts, he's able to build imagery and create an imagine of the things that are occurring, in our minds. His short sentences aren't the only thing helping create pictures in our minds, his actual words are, too. "A prisoner in his own home", "electronically shackled", "wail of police sirens", and "haunt the city", all are very loaded phrases. Not only are his sentences broken down, but the entire text is as well. Kahn does an amazing job at breaking down the text into different sections that makes the entire piece easier to understand. By breaking the text up, he's giving us time to collect our thoughts on what we just read before we start reading the next part.

SWA #7 The Story of a Snitch

Title: Snitches Get Stitches; Punishment for Talking
Thesis: Jeremy Kahn explicitly makes his point that giving up information to the police automatically makes you a snitch, and snitches do get harmed, through the use of strong pathos, engaging style, and concise points.

I. Kahn's approach to using pathos through his piece is very cunning but direct.
      A. Curious
          1. story starts off describing this man's life, and you instantly are questioning what he did to end up being "cooped up, a prisoner in his own home"
          2. Dowery turning around and finding two men following him raises flags in my mind
     B. Sympathetic
          1. knowing he was shot
          2. knowing that some people are now being patronized because they gave information to the cops
          3. Kahn mentions Dowery knowing that his friends were being shot
     C. Fearful
          1. What's going to happen to Dowery?
          2. "Why would you talk to the police? All you are doing is putting a label on yourself" (Kahn, 59)
II. By creating a story based piece, Kahn is able to get his point across in a way that's easy to read, follow, and understand.
     A. Short sentences
          1. Kahn's short sentences makes things curt and precise.
          2. "A man gunned down on a busy street. No identifying witnesses; no suspects. In this, James Wise's murder was typical." (Kahn, 58). < Use of short sentences made the image of what was happening, clear.
     B. Sections broken down into stories
          1. By breaking things down into chunks, it was easier to understand, and read.
          2. Gave you time to digest what you just read
     C. Imagery
          1. "a prisoner in his own home" pg. 55
          2. "electronically shackled to his house" pg. 57
          3. "wail of police sirens" pg. 57
          4. "haunt the city" pg. 59
III. It is made clear from the beginning, by Kahn, that those getting killed on the streets for giving information is a common and realistic thing.
     A. Ethos
          1. He's credible because he's a journalist who's ideas have been published in many papers/magazines; if they didn't find it relevant or true, they wouldn't have published it.
          2. He gives facts about the events that happened; dates, names, etc.
     B. Persuasiveness/Audience
          1. targeting an audience that's not familiar with gang activities, and crimes
          2. could be interpreted differently by those who live in an environment that Kahn describes, they could agree, or find what he says no true
Conclusion: Although, Kahn could have explored the ideas of how people who do give the police information has effected things in a positive manner, he does an excellent job of catching people's attention and making them aware of what's going on in a clear and interesting way.

Carolina Reader 9/13/11

The Story of a Snitch by Jeremy Kahn, pg. 55
- The argument that the author is making that if you are a criminal and end up giving information to the police about other crimes, you're labeled as a snitch. Often, bad things happen to snitches, and no one really comes forward, because no one wants to be killed or harmed for giving police information that they need to solve crimes.
- The strategies the author uses to portray his points, is by telling stories to give examples. Kahn talks about John Dowery Jr. and the story of his life and shooting, in order to let the readers know what happens to snitches.
- Kahn establishes ethos by giving full details about what happened. Kahn is able to give dates, and times, which makes him seem like he fully knows what he is talking about. He gives facts, and then explains them, fully. He also uses quotes and other resources to validate what he is saying. Kahn's appeal to pathos is definitely centered around making us feel sorry for the position that some people get themselves into. It's definitely sad that you can end up getting hurt by doing what you feel like is the right thing. He definitely wants us to feel sympathetic and understanding towards Dowery's decision to tell what happened, because he mentions how Dowery feels when he saw and knew his friend had been killed.

Memoirs of a Woman Doctor by Nawal el-Saadawi, pg. 275
- This passage is about a young girl who starts turning into a young woman, and how she doesn't like, and tries to reject those changes.
- The author's argument is built off of her story of her life. She tells what is happening to her, and how it makes her feel. She gives examples and then explains them. She also compares herself to her brother and how she doesn't like how he's treated in relation to how she's treated. She despises the fact that he's basically free to do whatever he wants, while she cannot.
- The author's ethos are established by the fact that she's telling about something that happened in her life. This makes her credible because it actually happened to her. Her pathos are created because she wants us to feel bad that she doesn't feel as free as her brother. She wants us to be empathetic to the fact that she feel oppressed, and held back. She also uses very loaded words to get her points across, such as "an animal immobilizing its prey", "shameful", "woman's bloody tale", etc.

Womb For Rent - For A Price

1. Ellen Goodman starts her writing off by making it seem as though some people are getting involved into "baby production" as a job. She points out that for some women in foreign countries, being a surrogate mother can make them a decade's worth of income in 9 short months. Towards the end of her piece, Goodman starts to touch on more of the ethical views of this "free market approach to baby-making". What if it's dangerous? What rights do the birth mother have? What should the children be told? And if we can't sell into slavery, or sell our children, then what gives us the right to sell our sperm/embryos?

2. Goodman's appeal to pathos include trying to make us feel bad for those who are so poor that they can help a woman out by being a  surrogate mother, and end up making a ton of much needed money for it. By mentioning the woman who saved her money for her son's heart operation, she's wanting us to feel sympathetic to these ladies. By using the quote, "We give them a baby and they give us much-needed money. It's good for them and for us", Goodman is helping us to understand where they are coming from.

3. Kairos; What motivated the author to produce this piece? I think the author was motivated to write this, to open our insights on some of the people that get involved in surrogacy. I think Goodman is also wanting to raise questions in our mind as to the roles these women play in the family/children's lives.

4. What strikes me as memorable about this piece, is the questions Goodman raises at the end. She's right by saying that slavery is illegal, and selling our children is illegal, but surrogacy could fall into that category, so why is it legal? Yes, there are some people who need it and use it positively, but like everything, some people will corrupt the system. It also does make me question the fact that there is a such thing as open adoptions for women who give their children up for adoption, but is there the same thing for if you are a surrogate mother?

Catharine Beecher

I think it's funny that even though Catharine Beecher writes about what a woman's role in a family should be, she was never a wife or a mother. It seems like she is good at giving advice on what other people should do, but she never really followed any of it herself. I do acknowledge the fact that her mother passed away when she was younger and she was left to help take care of her younger siblings, but there is a difference in taking care of your siblings and actually having children of your own. She was a strong activist in women's education, however, and did stress the fact that women should have a wide range on knowledge. But even though she supported education/teaching, she didn't believe in women suffrage.

On The Preservation Of A Good Temper In A Housekeeper

1. Based on the passage, "housekeeper" is being used to represent the woman of the house. According to Beecher, an "equable and cheerful temper" is important because the 'housekeeper' needs to be able to lead by example, and needs to set a calm environment for the children to be able to follow.

2. Beecher's list of considerations include;
     - A woman with a big family should regard her duties as "dignified, important, and difficult.
     - A woman must hold her duties to a high level and must be "elevated above petty temptations".
     - A woman needs to be prepared for her plans to be disrupted, so that when they are, she will be prepared for it.
     - A woman needs to make her plans/arrangement around her family.
     - A woman, not only should create a neat and orderly environment, but also one that's comfortable for her children to grow up in.
     - A woman should maintiain a calm tone of voice no matter what the situation is.

3. Beecher creates an assumption that there are different types of housework available in her story at the end of the passage about the girl who was cooking in the kitchen. The girl who is having to cook in the kitchen plays a different role that what the 'mistress' does. These assumptions complicate Beecher's definition of a "housekeeper", because I originally felt like she was labeling the women of the house as a housekeeper, but towards the end of the passage, she makes it clear that everyone is not the same.

Am I My Brother's Keeper?

                Am I my brother’s keeper? Am I responsible for making care of the people around me? Who do I have to look out for? Just my immediate family? Random people? People across the world? And if I am their keeper, what does that mean? These are all questions that were answered in Richard Heffner’s interview with Elie Wiesel. Throughout the interview Wiesel basically states that we should all look out for each other, and more importantly, listen and learn from what’s happened in the past, and what is still currently happening.     

One issue Elie Wiesel stresses in this passage is the role that listening plays worldwide. It is stated in the Bible that Cain does talk to Abel, but it fails to acknowledge whether or not Abel actually listens to what Cain says. There’s a clear difference between hearing and actually listening to something. When there’s lack of listening, there’s a lack of communication between people. Wiesel does state, “I believe if people talk, and they talk sincerely, with the same respect that one owes to a close friend or to God, something will come out of that, something good.” Wiesel stresses that by talking, and truly listening to others, one can offer their “presence”.

            By offering your presence, you’re basically being a “shoulder to cry on”. No one can change or take away someone’s pain, but by being there for them, when they need someone, you can truly make an impact by doing essentially nothing. Wiesel believes that true communication is to be able to “give and receive at the same time”. To communication efficiently, one must be able to clearly state their own thoughts, and be able to accept the fact that people may disagree with them. People often are in a rush to make their point, and tend to not listen to other people, and that becomes failed communication.

            Wiesel makes the point that there’s so much information flooding the Internet, television, news, etc., that it’s hard to keep our focus and keep up with everything that’s going on in the world. He agrees that sometimes it’s easier to shut things out, and keep on with our day to day routines because if we become too affected by the world around us, it can lead us to becoming “numb”. It’s also easier to focus on the positives in the world than to actually realize that there are some negatives in the world. But despite the negatives we all must accept what happens, because we need to learn from it. History can and will repeat itself, but by learning from past mistakes, we can change the future.

August 30 - In Class Response

My family's relationship with technology is very weird. My mother is eager to learn more about technology and often is searching stuff online, playing games, on Facebook, or on her phone. My dad seems to be a little bit more resistant to it. He only uses the computer if mom shows him a game that he finds interesting. He barely knows how to text, and I think that's because I taught him. He watches the same 5 channels on televisions, even though we have hundreds of channels. My brother, on the other hand, spends hours on xbox, and I feel like he often becomes attached to it, because he's brought it on family vacations several times. But it is helpful that he does keep up with technology because I know that if I ever need anything, I can send him a text, call, or message him on Facebook, and he responds back almost instantly.

SWA 2

Lauren Shumpert

ENG 102

SWA # 2

Hooked On Technology, and Paying a Price

                Matt Richtel, author of Hooked on Technology, and Paying a Price, quoted Nora Volkow’s saying that “technology is rewiring our brains”. Richtel is meaning that technology has led some people to be productive multi-taskers, while others have trouble focusing and get distracted by unnecessary information. He traces this back to technology because researchers have proven that while the Internet does let people find information more efficiently, cellphones, emails and television, often transforms people’s life, and make them more introverted.  Richtel even states that “in 2008, people consumed three times as much information each day as they did in 1960”; which proves that with the increase in technology, the spread of information and knowledge increases worldwide. Therefore, people are learning more, but they often have trouble distinguishing what information they need from what they don’t need.

                By using the Campbell family, Richtel is able to connect with his readers and stress the importance of technology use on people’s brains and thought process. The Campbell family is easy to relate to, because we often have someone in our family, or know someone who is technology-driven. By using the Campbell family, Richtel is able to prove his point in a better way because we are able to picture everything that is going on as it is happening. Most people also have witnessed people who seem so wrapped up in their job or electronics, that just about everything else comes as a second priority to them. It is also easier to have people acknowledge the importance of an issue if you put things into a story that they can relate to, and this is exactly what Richtel does.

                “The Myth of Multitasking”, which Richtel refers to in his writing, is a test that was performed by Mr. Ophir and some of his colleagues.  During the test, people were split into two groups, heavy multitaskers and those who were not. It was proven that those who were classified as heavy multitaskers did worse at the test, because they became easily distracted when useless information was added in to what they were trying to do. It was shown that the multitaskers were less efficient at juggling and solving problems. They became too wrapped up in trying to process the new, useless, information, than to use the old information to finish a task. Through this experiment, Richtel did change my thinking on multitasking. I had always had a preconceived thought that people who were able to multitask, would be able to solve problems quicker, learn more, and ultimately be more efficient. But like Richtel proved, this isn’t always the case. Sometimes those who are able to focus on one task at a time, without distractions, are able to get things done at a faster rate.

"Get Smarter"

"Get Smarter" (by Jamais Cascio) was basically about how humans can learn to adapt to their surroundings over time, and can eventually get smarter from the way the world changes. Cascio did point out that in "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" that Carr is correct when he says that the internet is making it harder for us to think, but that is something that people can overcome and change. I did like the fact that Cascio says that if technology continues to develop that it could eventually begin to work with our brains and help us obtain information that's useful to us a lot faster. That way, by using technology, we will get smarter instead of losing intelligence. By using the resources around us, such as the internet, or different drugs, we will be able to focus our thoughts and become smarter.

August 23 - In Class Response

I thought it was ironic that the piece we read in the Carolina Reader ("Is Google Making Us Stupid?" by Nicholas Carr) was about how technology makes it so that our brains have a harder time focusing on reading hard copies of things. I found this ironic because I had just finished reading the first chapter in our Writing Arguments book, and I had to kind of force myself to focus on what I was reading because my mind kept wondering back to other things. I also think that Carr's opinion that the internet is making hard copies of things obsolete is true, because it's a lot easier to just go online and find information than to go to a library and look through books.

SWA 1

                My best writing experience occurred when I was in elementary school. During fourth grade, my teacher would allow us to write for 30 minutes about whatever we wanted to. Every day, I would write a different story, and I was always so proud of myself because my teacher always made it seem like no matter what I wrote about, it was right. We would be able to share our stories, and I always liked volunteering to read mine out loud. I always felt like I had accomplished something spectacular on a daily basis. This time in my life made such an impact, that I still have the composition notebooks that I used to write in.

                During my junior year in high school, I took an AP class, and my worst writing experiences came from having to write essays in that class. I didn’t like writing in that class because I have never been the strongest writer, and it showed through my papers. I felt as though I sounded like an idiot whenever I wrote, and most of the time I would have to write about things that weren’t interesting to me; so I tried to avoid writing all together. I would try to practice my writing on a regular basis but no matter how much time I spent on them, I would always make low test grades.

                I was affected most by my worst writing experience because it made me not want to write. It took the joy out of being creative and having fun with my writing. Instead of teaching me how to write better papers, the class ended up frustrating me. I didn’t like the fact that I had to work really hard to write papers that other people would deem acceptable or not. I also didn’t like spending so much time writing something that I felt was good quality work, and being told that it wasn’t. But I’m ready to start over fresh and do a better job with this class.