Homework Questions (pgs 908 & 921)

# 1, page 908: The visual argument I find most appealing is Stephanie Heyman's "Everyone a Part, No One Apart." on page 904. I find this argument most appealing because it uses the brightest colors of all of the arguments. I also was drawn to and like the play on words "everyone a part, no one apart," and how she uses basically the same words in two very different ways to portray two very different messages. I also like the fact that it looks like a collage and the words and letters look like they are cut out individually from a magazine. The visual argument I found least appealing is Melanie Frost's "Embracing Diversity in University Residences," on page 905. Although after looking at it a little more I discovered that the tree is made up of arms and hands, which is very cool, the argument did not pop right away like the other one did. It has very muted colors and is just kind of boring to look at until you realize the tree is made up of body parts.

#1, page 921: In the first argument on page 917, the argument being made is that it doesn't matter how you meet the means or requirements to get into college; as long as you do, you will be admitted. The boy does not meet the height requirement without shoes on, but with shoes on that say "racial" and "preferences" on them, he meets the requirement and is admitted. In the second argument on page 918, the argument being made is that the argument is extremely ironic. The supreme court pictured is made up of all white people, mostly men, and one African American. The poster reads "the supreme court considers whether race should be taken into account to promote diversity...", with a thought bubble above the African American reading "the irony escapes me...". I think what the argument is trying to portray is that the Supreme Court says they take race into account to promote diversity, yet there is only one person that is not white in the picture. In the third argument on page 919, affirmative action is being portrayed through a child that grows up with hardships and is accepted into college because of it. There is a woman complaining and asking why the boy gets all the breaks. I think it is trying to portray that people are frustrated because it seems as though if you have a hard life, you are automatically offered admission to college. In the fourth argument on page 920, there is a line of people that all got into college with the reason why they did get in written below them. On the right, there is a boy who didn't get in and is pointing to the boy labeled minority and saying that it is the minority's fault that he did not get in. I think the argument being made in this one is portraying that people feel like if you are a minority, you will automatically be offered admission into a college because you are a minority, even if someone else is academically more qualified than you are because colleges are trying to prove that they do not discriminate against races. In the fifth argument also on page 920, it is trying to portray that simply getting accepted into a college is pricey. You must go through tutoring, SAT classes, and summer programs just to cross the finish line, which is representing college.

I find the 4th argument to be most effective because I admit that I have been guilty of making the same argument. I think that any Caucasian that does not get into a certain program, etc. is going to assume that the minority person that did get in did so because of their race/religion/sex, etc. I think that a lot of people feel that affirmative action is taken too literally in the United States.

The argument I find the least effective is the first one because it is just not as visually appealing as the other ones. Although I do think the message being portrayed is good, the artwork does not "pop" as much as the other arguments and there is no use of color or anything that would attract the eye right away.

Visual Advertisement

The visual advertisement that I chose can be found here: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Nj_FntNBuTaM6E6JHp41M2EKzc0tLgBanZsoozpdLcq2FLqivN-2hZV5eNXalhHlrhZWxPqRdWeqP60-uSbdaDX24Q-FsLOMML186PExiaF7PiJwnYaH-yqyAK0pmLCXpopCovU7vE3O/s400/Anti_Smoking_Ads_43.jpg&imgrefurl=http://laurelgoldberg.wordpress.com/&usg=__TV4c-9yCo--F7u4ahQbMmSDAEFs=&h=400&w=320&sz=25&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=7nTqTLBkw_92oM:&tbnh=156&tbnw=119&ei=BDaiTarJBcnV0QHohpn1Dw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dloading%2Bgun%2Bwith%2Bcigarettes%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1259%26bih%3D627%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=327&vpy=73&dur=46&hovh=251&hovw=201&tx=137&ty=137&oei=BDaiTarJBcnV0QHohpn1Dw&page=1&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0

The media used for this visual text includes images and words. The medias work together; the image of a gun being loaded with cigarettes serves as the image media, while the words work in favor of anti-smoking by listing facts and consequences of smoking. The words that accompany the visual text are used to reinforce what the image is trying to portray, which is that smoking is extremely dangerous and can be deathly, or it is a "smoking gun." This visual is intended to create negative feelings about smoking, listing facts like smoking dulls your senses of smell and taste, wrinkles your skin, and may cause fatal heart attacks. This visual is designed to convey the fact that smoking is basically killing yourself, which is seen through the gun being loaded with cigarettes. It is trying to convey that if you are going to smoke cigarettes, you are basically just shooting yourself with them, because it will cause death just like being shot with a gun will. Your eye is drawn first to the hands holding the gun being loaded with the cigarettes. It takes up a majority of the space and is in the middle of the advertisement and is a color that pops against the black background. To the left, there are facts about smoking and the damages that can be done by smoking. I think the blackground is black in order to make the advertisement stand out, but also because it is a dark color, and the advertisement is dealing with a dark subject: death. The white and orange cigarettes really draw your eye to the image of the "smoking gun" and the cigarettes signifying bullets. At the bottom of the advertisement, in large white letters, it reads "Smoking Kills." This is emphasized by not only the size of the letters (they are the largest thing on the advertisement), but also by the white contrasting against the black background.

ESSAY #4: Proposing a solution to a problem-OUTLINE

Thesis Statement: Because most fossil fuel use is by burning, or combustion, which ultimately produces waste products due to fuel impurities, because this is extremely harmful to our environment and human beings, and because fossil fuel pollution can lead to other problems such as acid rain and smog, the United States should demand reduction of the use of fossil fuels through the use of the many options of alternative energy enhancements.

I. Introduction
     a. Fossil Fuel Pollution Fact: Of the largest 1,000 fossil fuel-fired power plants in the U.S., 77% are not subject to pollution controls under the Clean Air Act's New Source Review requirements (http://www.fuelfromthesun.com/pollution_%26_stats.htm)
     b. Trends of Fossil Fuels: Since 1751 approximately 337 billion tons of carbon have been released to the atmosphere from the consumption of fossil fuels and cement production. (http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/emis/tre_glob.html)
     Thesis: Because most fossil fuel use is by burning, or combustion, which ultimately produces waste products due to fuel impurities, because this is extremely harmful to our environment and human beings, and because fossil fuel pollution can lead to other problems such as acid rain and smog, the United States should demand reduction of the use of fossil fuels through the use of the many options of alternative energy enhancements. (http://www.bionomicfuel.com/reducing-pollution-from-fossil-fuels/)
II. Body
     a. Pollution by fossil fuels explanation
          i. Fossil Fuels defined http://www.essortment.com/fossil-fuel-its-impact-environment-57291.html
          ii. Impacts of fossil fuel pollution (acid rain, smog, ozone, etc.) http://newenergyalternative.com/fossil-fuels/air-pollution-as-fossil-fuels-impacts-on-environment
     b. Proposed Solution to the problem: demanding reduction of the use of fossil fuels through the use of the many options of alternative energy enhancements. Ways to do this include:
          i. http://feelfriendly.com/eliminating-pollution-how-to-eliminate.html
          ii. http://www.solarpanelinfo.com/environmental/reduce/
          iii. http://ecology.com/features/fossilvsrenewable/fossilvsrenewable.html
     c. Explanation as to why your solution will be feasible and effective
          i. FIND EVIDENCE THAT THE PROPOSED SOLUTIONS HAVE WORKED

III. Conclusion
     i. Reword Thesis Statement
     ii. Sum up main points
     iii. A statistic as to what the United States would be like it everyone adopted the proposal stated

Proposal for the US/International Space Programs

I agree with Michael Benson in saying send the ISS somewhere else. The International Space Station should be sent somewhere else because we, as Americans, are not using it and it is wasting money. If we were to sell it to a different country, like China, we would be making a huge profit, one to subsidize the expenses already put into the project. This action could also stand as a test to see if the ISS we built works correctly. After selling it to the Chinese, we would be able to see what problems persist, which would allow us to eliminate those problems if we decided to build another one. If the US does not want to sell the ISS, then we need to get people up to it to utilize it. We could further our research about space in doing so. I am positive there are people in the United States that would love to be the guinea pigs for the ISS. Either one of these proposals will fix the topic of Benson's article states: that the ISS is just wasting space and our money and something needs to be done about it.

It's All About Credibility!

For my third essay, which will define pornography, I found an article online by Michael C. Rea, of the University of Delaware. The article is titled "What is pornography?", and in it, Rea examines the question of what pornography actually is. Rea starts by giving the reader some examples of pornography and some examples of non-pornography, and then goes onto to state some definitions of pornography and the respective problems with those definitions. Rea entails six definitions of pornography, all very different in their own way. After stating all six definitions, Rea then outlines his own definition of pornography, stating that "it comes in two parts, one stating what it is for something to be used or treated as pornography, and the other stating what it is for something to be pornography." Although I do not know if Rea is a student or a professor at the University of Delaware, I believe that this article is very credible, as it seems to be his opinion. Someone's opinion is never wrong, and Rea seems to outline and entertain every different aspect of pornography in a very clear and detailed manner. I believe this article will be of great assistance when I am writing my third essay.

ESSAY 3: Defining a Concept

Pornography: What exactly is it? Is it the late night television programs that show sexual behavior...or is it historical paintings of naked women? What is considered pornography? For my essay, I will be examining pornography and what I believe to be its definition.  I will use examples of ancient art that were acceptable when they were created, and will compare them to similar pieces of art that are frowned upon in today's society.  I will also dive into comparing what is acceptable in today's society, to what would have been considered pornographic in nature, even as little as forty years ago.  I chose this topic because I feel like the definition of pornography is very controversial, especially in regards to pieces of art, and also because I think it is an idea that in recent years, has been redefined, in regards to what is allowed to be shown on T.V. today. 

Is THIS pornography?



ESSAY #2 TOPIC: An Evaluative Comparison of Two Texts

The message/argument of my two media outlets is that smoking is detrimental to one's health. I am using an article about smoking that I found on the American Cancer Society website (article can be found here: http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/CancerCauses/TobaccoCancer/CigaretteSmoking/cigarette-smoking-who-and-how-affects-health) that outlines the side effects and statistics of smoking cigarettes. My other media form is a commercial that I have seen while watching TV. This commercial can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MF4sCvkAAA, and has very powerful effects that show just how bad smoking can be for an individual. I chose to focus on an anti-smoking message because it has always been a matter that is near to my heart. My grandfather, whom I am very close with, used to be a smoker. Although he has not suffered any side effects yet (that we know about), it has always been very special to me because he quit smoking when I was born (I was his first grandchild). Because of my grandpa, I am inspired to show others just how harmful smoking can be.

1st Essay Prompt

For our first essay in which we will perform a Rhetorical Analysis, I have chosen to analyze an essay about the harmful effects of child beauty pageants. This has always been a topic that I am passionate about, as my mother was put in pageants as a child and suffered many of the negative effects. I enjoy watching TLC's "Toddlers and Tiaras," and am always amazed that parents of the young children on the show can be so selfish and forceful with their children. The areticle that I am analyzing can be found here: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/903049/the_negative_aspects_of_child_beauty.html?cat=69

Examples of children who have been subjectified to the pageant world:





Rhetorical Analysis of NappingTime!

One of my favorite blogs ever is Jill Sturrock's blog: NappingTime. I have been watching/babysitting/nannying her two little kiddos (children) for 2 years now. I am very close with the family and am in love with her two children; Sage (3 and a half years old), and Teague (1 years old). Since the Sturrock's are all the way in Washington state (where I am from), I love going on this blog each week and seeing what the family is up to. The URL for this blog is: http://nappingtime.blogspot.com/

The purpose of this argument (blog) is to keep anyone the family knows up-to-date with the Sturrock's and their family. The audience is anyone that happens to stumble upon this blog, but most likely it would just be anyone who knows the family and is interested in their day to day lives. I miss Sage and Teague very very much, so NappingTime gives me a way to connect with the family and see what is new. I enjoy looking at the pictures and cannot believe how fast "my" kids are growing up! The techniques that the blog uses includes posting pictures and videos of the kids, providing facts and interesting things that the family has been up to or doing, and using humor to let the audience get a sneak peek into the lives of the family. Often times, there are stories about the children, and Sage being almost 4, is in a hilarious stage of her life where almost everything that comes out of her mouth is funny. This uses an emotional technique in order to pull at your heartstrings and catch a glimpse of how lively and funny she really is. Facts about what is new with the family are included, with the evidence being in the pictures that are sometimes posted. I would say the blog succeeds in appealing to all those interested! NappingTime is a social blog and serves to focus on the context of connecting with others who may not be able to be there with the family (like myself!)

Sage and Teague Sledding!

A picture of the Sturrock Family.

My little "Sagie"