Lesson 8 Memo

Date: 26 October 2011

To: Romina Kline

From: Nikki Nantz

Subject: Topic of My Research Paper

The topic of my research paper is the industrialized food system in America and  the effects it has on our environment, the health of humans, and the conditions in which animals who are waiting to go to mark have to live. The question that would be answered is if there are any possible solutions to get this system back on track.

I am planning on going to library to look for any helpful books for my topic and also I plan on watching Food Inc. again. In addition to that I also plan on looking for information on the internet.

If you could let me know if my topic that I choose for my research paper is approved by October 30^th I would really appreciate it. If it is not could you please give me some suggestions of an appropriate topic?

Lesson 7

Who is the audience for your essay?

It is for a slightly resistant one

What is the thesis of essay?

It is how universal health would have a negative impact on our country

Does it include the claim and 3 supporting reasons to make it a strong thesis?

I think it does by stating how universal health care would have a negative impact on our economy and our country.

Can the audience be swayed by your claim and reasons? Why or why not? Tell why each reason is strong enough to sway a person to your way of thinking.

I think so because it brings up some good points not only for our country but how it is in the countries that currently have it. The first point is some proposed ways of how universal health care would be paid for by either raising taxes or have to cut back in other areas. The second reason being that we would have a decline in patient care and long wait periods is based off of how it is in some countries especially Canada. The third reason is how some people could choose to abuse the program by living a more extreme lifestyle than they normally would because the know that they will be covered medically if they ever got hurt. I think they those three points may be strong enough for a person who thinks that universal health care would be a good idea to may reconsider it.

I posted on Panama John’s blog lesson 9.

Sounds like you have a great plan and a very interesting essay topic. I agree with you about feeling pressure about how many points the one essay is worth, but as you said it seems to broken up and hopefully that will help. Good luck!

Lesson 6

On page 118 of Writing Arguments are two pictures of John Walker Lindh, who is an American citizen, but was part of the Afghanistan Taliban. The first picture is of him clean shaven and a shaved head looking blankly as his picture was taken. The second picture is of him taken while he was captured in Afghanistan strapped to something, naked, and blind folded. He appears to be underweight in comparison to his picture that was taken when he was sent back to the United States.  The argument that is being made is that when the picture of him in an American prison clean shaven and obviously not being starved people call for him to be punished for him crime. When the photograph of him in Afghanistan strapped down naked and looking to have been starved, people may looked at that and see that he may have been punished enough and call for his release.

The slaughter of many exotic animals and a few that are endangered early this month was a horrible sight. Terry Thompson the owner of the animals chose to end his life, but before doing so chose to release the animals. Sheriff Matt Lutz gave the order to have the animals shot on sight resulting in the death of almost 50 animals. Now the being question is should people be allowed to purchase and keep these kinds of animals as pets. A lot of people are looking at this as an example as to why owning these types of animals and having them as pets is something that needs to be strongly enforced and hopefully abolished.

I think having visual images when trying to make a point helps the reader see where the person who is doing the writing is coming from. I think it makes more of an impact on the reader when they can visually see what it is that is being talked about by the author.

Lesson 5

Which of the techniques for generating ideas for essays has been most valuable to you? Why? Give an example from the writing you have done so far. Which technique would you choose not to use again? Why?

The most valuable technique that I use to write essays is free writing. I like it because I can just wright down my ideas and not have to worry about if my grammar or punctuations are correct. I can just focus on the topic of the essay and try to generate ideas for it.

What have you learned about the writing process and/or about yourself during this lesson?

During this assignment I learned how to do several outlines that before I did not know how to do or just forgot because it has been so long since I have taken an English class.

What have you learned about your instructor's expectations of you?

I think that my professor at this point does not expect perfection but is preparing us for our final essay that is needed to be error free. When there are errors that are made on essays she gives helpful advice to help correct the problem and prepare for the future essay.

Comment on any problems you had with outlining

The only problem that I had with any of the outlines was with the classical outline. It was a little difficult because of not having enough information to try and come up with ideas.

A question to my peers

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone else was having a problem with trying to find resources for things when you are restricted so much as in the smallest community outline.  I also had a hard time finding any real issues that I felt where worthy of both a discussion and writing assignment.  I live on a military installation and although you would think that there are a lot of different things to tell you what to do or how to do it there was really only one document that governed the living areas.  Trying to come up with a second source was really hard for me so I was curious if anyone else had ideas of where to look for information.

Lesson 4

Evaluation of My Sources

For my essay Fear of Public Speaking I chose two sources. The first one is titled “Glossophobia Fear of Public Speaking” by Lisa Fritscher and the second one is information I got from the website ehow.com. I defiantly think that the first source is the most creditable because it gives the author’s name and the title from which the information came from. The second one I would have to say is the least creditable because it is just a website and it does not give an author’s name.  The reason why I had chosen to get information from that website was because it was pretty much the same information as any of the website that had researched.

Which of the suggested Tasks from Writing Arguments did you find most helpful in pre-writing your revision? Why?

I choose to do listing because it was helpful to me when I did my first assignment

Which genre of argument would you most likely write on your own? Why?

I guess I would probably post on blogs or chat rooms on my own. It is something that I currently do now.

Did you ask anyone else to make recommendations about your revising process? Why or Why not?

No I did not ask anyone for recommendations because I felt that I did not need any.

Why and how is argument both a process and a product? What is the goal of argument?

The process of an argument is where two or more groups of people try and find the best answer to a problem. A process is what a person contributes to the conversation.  Both are needed in an argument because without a process and a product a solution to a problem might not be found. The goal of an argument is to come up with the best solution to the problem.

How did previewing sections of a book (rather than simply reading them) help you to understand the material?

When there was something that I needed help with rather than reading the whole section again I just reread what I needed help with.

Lesson 3 Journal Entry

"September 11 Memorial to replace 'Ground Zero' officially?

I personally think it should not be called Ground Zero anymore. By calling it Ground Zero it is referring to what it was at the time that happened and not what it is now which is memorial site.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg would like for people to stop referring to Ground Zero as Ground Zero and start calling it by what it is The World Trade Center and the National September 11th Memorial and Museum. Many New Yorkers agree with him and have so for years. He is not asking people to forget what happened there, instead to make a place to come and remember what happened there. Although the museum will not open until September 2012 the park and the two large pools are open.