Rhetorical analysis really lets us look into the voice and tone of writings. Analyzing papers has really allowed me to be a better writer. Understanding the audience can really help determine how you would like your paper to be written.
I'm going to be honest. I don't have much time to write this.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Nov. 10 makeup assign.
My list of possible topics prior to writing research paper.
1. Current wolve problem through Idaho and western Wyoming. The wolve problem as far as I understand is currently a hot topic of debate. Ever since the wolf was declared endangered, and a bunch of wolves were transported into the area, the population has ground immensely and is killing off a lot of farm animals in the region.
2. The water controversy related directly with the golf courses in dry areas. Many people are complaining that the water used on golf courses in dry areas is limiting the amound of water in the urban areas.
3. The three gorges dam in south central china has lead to the destruction of thousands of species, relocation of people and ruining much of the landscape. The dam, though large and effective in producing energy has never been more harmful on land than any other piece of man made structure.
4. Something that owuld be easy to find a lot of information on is the el nina affect. This is another topic of controversy. many people blame this for the different weather pattersn that currently exist througout the world.
1. Current wolve problem through Idaho and western Wyoming. The wolve problem as far as I understand is currently a hot topic of debate. Ever since the wolf was declared endangered, and a bunch of wolves were transported into the area, the population has ground immensely and is killing off a lot of farm animals in the region.
2. The water controversy related directly with the golf courses in dry areas. Many people are complaining that the water used on golf courses in dry areas is limiting the amound of water in the urban areas.
3. The three gorges dam in south central china has lead to the destruction of thousands of species, relocation of people and ruining much of the landscape. The dam, though large and effective in producing energy has never been more harmful on land than any other piece of man made structure.
4. Something that owuld be easy to find a lot of information on is the el nina affect. This is another topic of controversy. many people blame this for the different weather pattersn that currently exist througout the world.
Monday, December 8, 2008
last assign.
Our group, because we are very interested in sports will make a brochure about byu athletics aimed at non mormon students. Our audience for this brochure will be all non-lds athletes who have interest in playings sports in college. We thought of several different topics before coming up with this decision. I wanted to do the option of just general academics. I wanted to show off all of byu's great academic departments and put in their rewards and honors, which would really show off byu's great academic success. We later decided that we all know a lot about the athletic programs at byu and that make for the best brochure and it's something we have a lot of interest in. We decided we could get a lot of pictures from the different athletic facilities that would attract these athletes. Coloful pictures and creative wording will be the most effective.
Audience is so important when writing anything whether it is an editorial or research paper. If you can't think of who the audience is, there is no way to write the article to target that group and completely defeats the purpose. Audience can be a deciding factor when an author is deciding what tone or voice he will be using for a paper. I learned in this class that before writing anything, the audience must be completely clear. You need to have a distinct audience before writing a paper.
Audience is so important when writing anything whether it is an editorial or research paper. If you can't think of who the audience is, there is no way to write the article to target that group and completely defeats the purpose. Audience can be a deciding factor when an author is deciding what tone or voice he will be using for a paper. I learned in this class that before writing anything, the audience must be completely clear. You need to have a distinct audience before writing a paper.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Chapter 8
The first thing that came to my mind when reading this article was the importance of being clear. Clarity is such a large factor when writing all types of papers. When I go to thinking about this topic of clarity, clarity isn’t just important in writing but in all aspects of communication whether it is in a movie, radio, books, magazines or in writing itself. The problem is how can we be more of a clear writer? I think this comes with experience and time. The author says in our book, “we never know what we want to say until we’ve written it.” This is such a clear sentence and makes complete sense. When I’m writing a paper, sometimes I feel like I am all over the place. I fell when the reader actually starts reading this paper they are going to get dizzy! The last sentence is something that struct me as insightful. It reads, “deep or complex ideas need not be expressed in obscure ways. Indeed they shouldn’t be.” Going along with clarity is coherence. Making sure that paragraphs are flowing together smoothly, and sentences actually follow idea to idea is so important to giving the reader an idea of understanding. Conciseness is something that often times writers in high school and college struggle with when given a large paper to write. When the teacher says there is a minimum of 8 pages, often times students will write for six pages and then go back in and add enough sentences of ‘blah’ until the paper has reached the eight page minimum. BUT, when conciseness is drowned with these ‘blah’ sentences, the reader may get bored or lost. Adding unconcise sentence can add unclarity and incoherency. Lastly, something that sounds so simple (and perhaps is) is punctuation. Punctuation is probably the easiest that I have mentioned, yet if punctuation is wrong, the whole paper can lose credit. The audience may come to believe that if the person can’t use proper punctuation, there is no way I can trust what the reader is saying.
I know I will need to work on all of these topics. I know that my clarity and the coherentness of my papers is a big struggle. I feel if I can continue working with these two topics, my papers will be delivered in such a convincing way. The book in chapter eight calls this deliver, deliver, deliver!
work cited with explanations.
First, when i copied my works cited page from my word document it doesn't have the correct spacing or any underlining. Im sorry, but the word document has all of the correct punctuation.
Works Cited
1. Dong, Quan. “Three Gorges Dam: Natural Flow and Dam Operations Three Gorges Dam: Natural Flow and Dam Operations.” Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 3.2 (2005): 75-76.
Basically all of these website contain very similar information. This websites information describes how the operation of the dam has the same amount of impact on the environment as the actual dam itself.
2. Edmonds, Richard Louis. “The Sanxia (Three Gorges) Project: The Environmental Argument Surrounding China’s Super Dam .” Global Ecology and Biogeography Letters 2.4 (1992): 105-125.
Contradictory to most of the articles i have found, this article in some places actually states that the dam is good for the economy and has a positive side to it!
3.Friedman, Edward. “Damming the Three Gorges: What Dam-Builders Don’t Want You to Know.” The Journal of Asian Studies 50.2 (1991): 397-398.
This is a very difficult journal to read, but describes the history of the dam dating back to the Mao era and why it is so important to them.
4.“The Grand Canal and the Three Gorges Dam: A Historical Comparison.” Trade Environment Database. 20 Nov. 2008 http://www.american.edu/TED/3gorges.htm.
This website has an extensive amount of research related to the dam. It talks about the economical, environmental, and global aspect of the dam. It also describes the history of the dam.
5.Hemming, Li. “Reservoir Resettlement in China: Past Experience and the Three Gorges Dam Reservoir Resettlement in China: Past Experience and the Three Gorges Dam .” The Geographical Journal 167.3 (2001): 195-212.
Written by a native himself, he describes how hundreds of thousands of lives have been displaced and forced to move to other locatoins.
6.Kwei-Cheong, Chau. “The Three Gorges Project of China: Resettlement Prospects and Problems The Three Gorges Project of China: Resettlement Prospects and Problems.” Ambio 24.2 (1995): 105-125.
Similar to the previous source, this paper describes how many of the inhabitants of the river around the dam were forced to living in other places.
7.Perkins, Sid. “A Dam Shame.” Science News 24 May 2003: 323.
A very bias magazine article, describing the basic horribleness rooting from the dam.
8.Porter, Glen. The three gorges dam : a perspective on relocation. N.p.: n.p., n.d.
This is a thesis given from a BYU graduate elaborating on the disaster that begun when the dam was built, but focusing more on the people themselves and less on the environment.
9.Stone, Richard. “Three Gorges Dam: Into the Unknown.” Science 1 Aug. 2008: 628-632.
When the dam was first built most people didn't know what to expect. Actually most people thought the dam would bring energy and opportunity not just for part of China but for the whole country.
10. Wu, Jianguo. “ The Three Gorges Dam: An Ecological Perspective.” Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 2.5 (2004): 241-248.
Lastly, similar to all other articles, Jianguo has a very bias opinion on the disaster that the dam has brought into his country.
Works Cited
1. Dong, Quan. “Three Gorges Dam: Natural Flow and Dam Operations Three Gorges Dam: Natural Flow and Dam Operations.” Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 3.2 (2005): 75-76.
Basically all of these website contain very similar information. This websites information describes how the operation of the dam has the same amount of impact on the environment as the actual dam itself.
2. Edmonds, Richard Louis. “The Sanxia (Three Gorges) Project: The Environmental Argument Surrounding China’s Super Dam .” Global Ecology and Biogeography Letters 2.4 (1992): 105-125.
Contradictory to most of the articles i have found, this article in some places actually states that the dam is good for the economy and has a positive side to it!
3.Friedman, Edward. “Damming the Three Gorges: What Dam-Builders Don’t Want You to Know.” The Journal of Asian Studies 50.2 (1991): 397-398.
This is a very difficult journal to read, but describes the history of the dam dating back to the Mao era and why it is so important to them.
4.“The Grand Canal and the Three Gorges Dam: A Historical Comparison.” Trade Environment Database. 20 Nov. 2008 http://www.american.edu/TED/3gorges.htm.
This website has an extensive amount of research related to the dam. It talks about the economical, environmental, and global aspect of the dam. It also describes the history of the dam.
5.Hemming, Li. “Reservoir Resettlement in China: Past Experience and the Three Gorges Dam Reservoir Resettlement in China: Past Experience and the Three Gorges Dam .” The Geographical Journal 167.3 (2001): 195-212.
Written by a native himself, he describes how hundreds of thousands of lives have been displaced and forced to move to other locatoins.
6.Kwei-Cheong, Chau. “The Three Gorges Project of China: Resettlement Prospects and Problems The Three Gorges Project of China: Resettlement Prospects and Problems.” Ambio 24.2 (1995): 105-125.
Similar to the previous source, this paper describes how many of the inhabitants of the river around the dam were forced to living in other places.
7.Perkins, Sid. “A Dam Shame.” Science News 24 May 2003: 323.
A very bias magazine article, describing the basic horribleness rooting from the dam.
8.Porter, Glen. The three gorges dam : a perspective on relocation. N.p.: n.p., n.d.
This is a thesis given from a BYU graduate elaborating on the disaster that begun when the dam was built, but focusing more on the people themselves and less on the environment.
9.Stone, Richard. “Three Gorges Dam: Into the Unknown.” Science 1 Aug. 2008: 628-632.
When the dam was first built most people didn't know what to expect. Actually most people thought the dam would bring energy and opportunity not just for part of China but for the whole country.
10. Wu, Jianguo. “ The Three Gorges Dam: An Ecological Perspective.” Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 2.5 (2004): 241-248.
Lastly, similar to all other articles, Jianguo has a very bias opinion on the disaster that the dam has brought into his country.
Monday, November 17, 2008
I have already started doing research for my research paper. I have chosen to write about the Three gorges Dam in china and the existing dilemma that it brings; the extensive amount of damage it has brought not only to the environment but to the the people in the basin area. I have a large interested in China and I think this topic would be very interesting for me to write about. I have found a lot of success finding dependable sources on this subject on the byu website and the links found thereof. I first plan on making an outline for my topic. After I make the outline for the my paper, I will gather as much information as possible. After deciding what sources have more information than others and what sources are the most dependable I will start marking the more important points in the articles. Again, I will revise my outline and starting writing my paper. I will just continually write my frist rough draft and try not to lose tract of thought. Everytime I write a paper and lose tract of what I'm saying, it is difficult to pick up were I was. I need to stay focused and motivated to get it done. Once the rough draft is done, I will edit it myself, then have several peers edit it. After my peers have edited it, I will take my paper to the writing lab. Finally, a final draft will be written and handed in.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
#4
Our group last week found a very interesting article on global warming. Contrary to the popular belief, the earth is getting warmer and warmer, this article has uses sarcasm and humor to get the point across to the reader that global warming is nonsense. We chose the article, researching articles from ebsco host. Using advanced searches, we narrowed our search to editorials on global warming.
Going to the library I learned of the many databases the library actually has. I didn't know that almost any newspaper and magazine can be found through the library's website. It was very helpful. Often times, I found myself researching off topic issues. There were so many good articles.
Going to the library I learned of the many databases the library actually has. I didn't know that almost any newspaper and magazine can be found through the library's website. It was very helpful. Often times, I found myself researching off topic issues. There were so many good articles.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Assignment #3
Assignment #3
http://www.cbs.com/specials/superbowls_greatest_commercials/index.php?id=1&p=true
The advertisement I chose for this assignment was actually voted the best super bowl commercial of all time. It aired on television a long time ago, probably in the 1970’s. The commercial has a football player who had just played a football game walking through the tunnel heading for the locker room when a young child approaches the man, Joe Green, and offers him a coke. The man accepts the offer and he throws the child his jersey. The boy is very excited and takes off with the jersey.
Pathos
As the commercial starts, there is kind of a down and angry feeling, but as Joe Green takes the accepts the coke, the music that starts playing in the background is very up beat. The lyrics, are “that’s the way it should be”. It completely takes the mood of the commercial and flips it around. Because the boy originally asks if he needs any help and ‘Mean’ Joe Green denies him, I feel very upset because it seems as though they had just lost a football game. I also feel the pain of the football player and he limps into the tunnel. Later as he takes the coke, the boy walks off sad because he just lost his coke, but the excitement of it all comes when ‘Mean’ Joe offers him his jersey. This brings a lot of joy because a nice little boy gets a great reward. The commercial ends with the feeling that a coke can help a bad game and even an injury feel better.
Ethos
First off, back when the commercial took place, ‘Mean’ Joe Green was a very famous football player. This right away gains some credibility to the coke product. If people don’t know who he is, then at least they can see and understand that he is walking out of a huge stadium (you can hear the man fans) and understand that he must be a professional football player. A lot of young people look up to this type of person. A lot of people want to be a pro football player and if they see a pro football player drinking coke, people must think, “well, then I must drink coke.”
Logos
Like I Just mentioned in the above passage, the logic behind the consumer, which is people who drink beverages, is that they should drink coke too to be like Joe Green. The logic may also be that it will make one happy no matter what the situation is. It could be losing a football game or having a bad injury. The main goal in people’s lives is to be happy so many people think that this is the rememdy. Deep down inside, they are technically thinking this but subconsciously they want happiness and will probably go ahead and try it.
The ad, is obviously effective in getting people to buy the drink. The ad was voted the best commercial in super bowl history. I believe commercials have gotten much better since that commercial came out. At the time it came out it was probably a great commercial. People obviously love the commercial and I think that it probably had a huge influence on beverage drinkers. I’m sure people started sto support coke much more.
http://www.cbs.com/specials/superbowls_greatest_commercials/index.php?id=1&p=true
The advertisement I chose for this assignment was actually voted the best super bowl commercial of all time. It aired on television a long time ago, probably in the 1970’s. The commercial has a football player who had just played a football game walking through the tunnel heading for the locker room when a young child approaches the man, Joe Green, and offers him a coke. The man accepts the offer and he throws the child his jersey. The boy is very excited and takes off with the jersey.
Pathos
As the commercial starts, there is kind of a down and angry feeling, but as Joe Green takes the accepts the coke, the music that starts playing in the background is very up beat. The lyrics, are “that’s the way it should be”. It completely takes the mood of the commercial and flips it around. Because the boy originally asks if he needs any help and ‘Mean’ Joe Green denies him, I feel very upset because it seems as though they had just lost a football game. I also feel the pain of the football player and he limps into the tunnel. Later as he takes the coke, the boy walks off sad because he just lost his coke, but the excitement of it all comes when ‘Mean’ Joe offers him his jersey. This brings a lot of joy because a nice little boy gets a great reward. The commercial ends with the feeling that a coke can help a bad game and even an injury feel better.
Ethos
First off, back when the commercial took place, ‘Mean’ Joe Green was a very famous football player. This right away gains some credibility to the coke product. If people don’t know who he is, then at least they can see and understand that he is walking out of a huge stadium (you can hear the man fans) and understand that he must be a professional football player. A lot of young people look up to this type of person. A lot of people want to be a pro football player and if they see a pro football player drinking coke, people must think, “well, then I must drink coke.”
Logos
Like I Just mentioned in the above passage, the logic behind the consumer, which is people who drink beverages, is that they should drink coke too to be like Joe Green. The logic may also be that it will make one happy no matter what the situation is. It could be losing a football game or having a bad injury. The main goal in people’s lives is to be happy so many people think that this is the rememdy. Deep down inside, they are technically thinking this but subconsciously they want happiness and will probably go ahead and try it.
The ad, is obviously effective in getting people to buy the drink. The ad was voted the best commercial in super bowl history. I believe commercials have gotten much better since that commercial came out. At the time it came out it was probably a great commercial. People obviously love the commercial and I think that it probably had a huge influence on beverage drinkers. I’m sure people started sto support coke much more.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Assignment #2
I'm really not a very big fan of writing in general but this assingment has allowed me to vent on the topic of married student housing. This problem has been on my mind for a really long time and it wasn't hard for me to write a three page paper on this issue.
When we were first given this topic to write on I thought of many different topics but one came to mind. In the first week of school, for some reason I though the whole paper was due last wednesday so I started brainstorming probably earlier than most people. I talked with my wife and figured that a very relevant issue that also is somewhat bothersome to me is how motorcyclist do not need to wear helmets in many states. I find it very ironic that when inside a much safer vehicle a seatbelt is mandatory but when on a two wheeled vehicle it is not necessary to wear a helmet. Though I have a very strong opinion on this subject, I didn't know if i would be able to write three pages. I went to my first accounting class later that week and we discussed the topic of how United States financial statements are much different than the rest of the world. I thought about writing my paper on how the United States should comply with the rest of the world, and use international financial statements. This could posssibly allow more international investors invest in our domestic markets. A few days later in class, Mr. Keeley told us that we had to write on a topic that affects BYU students and immediately the married housing situation came to my mind. Picking the topic was my first step in the process of writing this essay. The second step was to determind my thesis for the topic. I had to come up with three different supporting evidence that supports my thesis sentence. I brainstormed about five different ideas, and picked the first three that I thought of for my supporting evidence; trashed apartments, expensive, and proximity. After brainstorming and finding the evidence, it was time to write my paper. I sat down in the fifth floor of the library and pumped out my paper in about 2.5 hours. It seems kind of long for a three page paper, but I couldn't seem to get good organization with the paper. After I finished the rough draft, I didn't want to edit it, so I left that for my peer group in class a few days later. They really didn't help me with my paper that much . They all conclusively said it 'sounds good'. I met with my teacher two days later about my paper and he gave me a lot of good advice on what needs to be changed. My audience for this paper are married students who live in the BYU area. I start my paper off by telling how bad of a job BYU has done with the married housing situation. This could affend a lot of my audience, and the faith that I am trying to build with them would be gone. Mr. Keeley told me to save my thesis to the end and slowly build trust in my audience and then in the conclusion, break the news to the reader. I just finsihed editing my first rough draft. Again, I'm on the fifth floor trying to work on a lot of homework before I go golfing. I plan on taking this edited copy to the writing center with some questions on Monday. I will listen to what they have to say, edit my paper again, and then finally write the final draft. It is due next Wednesday.
I have learned that if one wants a nicely written paper, advice from others must be headed, and many drafts must be written. I hope my paper can affect the current situation of the married student housing.
When we were first given this topic to write on I thought of many different topics but one came to mind. In the first week of school, for some reason I though the whole paper was due last wednesday so I started brainstorming probably earlier than most people. I talked with my wife and figured that a very relevant issue that also is somewhat bothersome to me is how motorcyclist do not need to wear helmets in many states. I find it very ironic that when inside a much safer vehicle a seatbelt is mandatory but when on a two wheeled vehicle it is not necessary to wear a helmet. Though I have a very strong opinion on this subject, I didn't know if i would be able to write three pages. I went to my first accounting class later that week and we discussed the topic of how United States financial statements are much different than the rest of the world. I thought about writing my paper on how the United States should comply with the rest of the world, and use international financial statements. This could posssibly allow more international investors invest in our domestic markets. A few days later in class, Mr. Keeley told us that we had to write on a topic that affects BYU students and immediately the married housing situation came to my mind. Picking the topic was my first step in the process of writing this essay. The second step was to determind my thesis for the topic. I had to come up with three different supporting evidence that supports my thesis sentence. I brainstormed about five different ideas, and picked the first three that I thought of for my supporting evidence; trashed apartments, expensive, and proximity. After brainstorming and finding the evidence, it was time to write my paper. I sat down in the fifth floor of the library and pumped out my paper in about 2.5 hours. It seems kind of long for a three page paper, but I couldn't seem to get good organization with the paper. After I finished the rough draft, I didn't want to edit it, so I left that for my peer group in class a few days later. They really didn't help me with my paper that much . They all conclusively said it 'sounds good'. I met with my teacher two days later about my paper and he gave me a lot of good advice on what needs to be changed. My audience for this paper are married students who live in the BYU area. I start my paper off by telling how bad of a job BYU has done with the married housing situation. This could affend a lot of my audience, and the faith that I am trying to build with them would be gone. Mr. Keeley told me to save my thesis to the end and slowly build trust in my audience and then in the conclusion, break the news to the reader. I just finsihed editing my first rough draft. Again, I'm on the fifth floor trying to work on a lot of homework before I go golfing. I plan on taking this edited copy to the writing center with some questions on Monday. I will listen to what they have to say, edit my paper again, and then finally write the final draft. It is due next Wednesday.
I have learned that if one wants a nicely written paper, advice from others must be headed, and many drafts must be written. I hope my paper can affect the current situation of the married student housing.
Monday, September 15, 2008
assignment #1
I have chosen to write about married housing. I recently got married and finding a nice, but inexpensive apartment that was close to campus was very difficult- near impossible. I have talked to many married students that have also faced the same problem. I believe if BYU were to build more married housing, much of this problem would be resolved.
Thesis Statement:
Brigham Young University needs to build more on-campus married housing, because both off-campus and on-campus married apartments are in bad condition, off-campus married housing is very inconvenient, and off-campus married housing is very expensive.
Kronos:
This topic is not just jumping back in time. It deals with a topic that currently affects BYU students.
Kairos:
This very hot topic is currently in the maturing stage, therefore I must write a persuasive paper on how to convince my audience (people who decide whether or not to build married housing) to build more married housing.
Outline:
Intro
para 1: poor quality of married housing
para 2: very inconvenient
para 3: very expensive
conclusion
Thesis Statement:
Brigham Young University needs to build more on-campus married housing, because both off-campus and on-campus married apartments are in bad condition, off-campus married housing is very inconvenient, and off-campus married housing is very expensive.
Kronos:
This topic is not just jumping back in time. It deals with a topic that currently affects BYU students.
Kairos:
This very hot topic is currently in the maturing stage, therefore I must write a persuasive paper on how to convince my audience (people who decide whether or not to build married housing) to build more married housing.
Outline:
Intro
para 1: poor quality of married housing
para 2: very inconvenient
para 3: very expensive
conclusion
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