February 28, 2005
quick fix -cause and effect topic-
1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
The fast fix in weight loss
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
How people want to instantly lose weight. Health professionals, and business that stress that you can lose weight quick and easy using their products
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with.
Television -reality tv- "this could be you" appeal. The growing number of overweight people. Sedated life style. McDonaldization. Dr. Phill, Atkins diet, health conscience society, the explosion of bottle water. The burst of healthy franchises. Every thing know-a-days seem like it needs to be quick and easy
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.
Cause and effect. Effect and cause. Maybe even cause effect cause effect.
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
Statistics like how the sale of bottle water has shot up over the years.
Topic proposal
1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
Topic: public obsession and fascination to weight loss
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
Controversy: Have weight loss ads and programs helped the public obesity epidemic or has it only destroyed the self-consciousness of America's people?
Participants: Ad campaigners vs. Ad protestors
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with.
Psychological effects
Physical effects: eating disorders
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.
Weight loss publicity would only instill fear and self-doubt on society instead of a feeling of awareness .
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
Articles on the subject of weight loss
Eating disorders and their causes
topic proposal essayII
1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
Topic: The face book
Trend: It is a new way for college students to interact on line.
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
It is being used more often day after day. People will interact less face to face and there will be more virtual relationships
Participants: college students
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with.
Causes: computers, internet, email, msn, aim,
Effects: More college students will join the face book, Main form of communication will be the internet, some on will come up with a knock off version of the face book,
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.
I will focus mainly on the effects of the face book a connect to how it became popular like aim
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
What the first internet consisted of, how quickly email became popular, the different types of email and which came first, how email is close to instant messaging, how similar face book is to msn and aim, Testimony from students that use face book, when did face book start, how quickly it became popular
Michael's Essay II Topic proposal
Trends & Culture: Topic Proposal
Please respond to the questions below and copy/paste the text into a blog entry.
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1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
Nuclear Family meltdown- How are the lives of children effected?
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
Some would say single parents are fine, or maybe even 2 men or 2 women are better than the nuclear family. My opinion will be that a mom and dad, who get along, would give the best care to a child.
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with.
If mom and dad split how does this affect the children? If divorce occurs what happens to the stress levels of the single parent? How would the influence of two gay men or women change a child, or would it affect the child at all?
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.
I want to study the effects of divorce, and families with a single parent from the outset. I also want to study the effects of being raised by homosexuals.
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
I want to see research studies on how children really feel. I also want to hear stories about people who have lived in these exact circumstances. I want to see if children grow up and become self-sufficient and successful, or if they have problems developing normally in a social environment
topic proposal
1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
The overmedication of America. This relates to the theme in that prescriptions for Americans to drugs like Ritalin, Prozac, and Zoloft are at the highest levels they have ever been at in American history.
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
The main controversy is that Americas are turning more and more to prescription pills to solve their problems when in some cases the prescription pills might not be needed. Also that parents are starting to overmedicate their children for things that 20 years ago would have seemed as normal childhood behavior. Doctors every day Americans and parents of children are the participants.
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with.
Causes of this problem would be the glut of marketing that pharmaceutical companies give for every single specific problem a person might have and the pill that will cure it. Parents who choose to give their children medication because they feel it will help them in school, or are scared that society will view their children differently and want to remedy the "defect". The effects being many children are taking drugs they don't need, and even some adults are taken unnecessary medications. Another effect is the breakdown of the American family due to everyone in the family being on his or her own drug, and no longer talking to each other about problems that the family might be facing.
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.
I will be using the approach of explaining this controversy through identifying the causes first and then looking at them through the context of the effects they have caused.
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
I will be looking for research on what doctors think about this rising trend of medication, and data on the growing number of medications for children and the general public as well.
The Diet Trend
1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
My topic is the diet trend of the no/low carbohydrate diet.
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
The main controversy in this trend would be the health issue. The no/low carbohydrate diet encourages you to eat a lot protein. Eating large amounts of protein could cause damage to the heart, leading to heart attacks.
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with.
Causes: starting with no-fat diet then for some reason changed, people want to get in shape, the trend in the entertainment industry is skinny and muscular-the people watching TV or movies or reading magazines sees these stars and wants to be like them and therefore follows their diet trends to look exactly like them
Effects: it works if you want to lose weight fast, but you have to stick to it otherwise you gain the weight back, you also need to work out to increase the results, eating no carbohydrates leads to a poor diet, not resulting in a variety of foods, eating a lot of protein causes heart problems, manufactures of carbohydrates' business would decrease while meat manufactures' would increase
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.
I am not sure which approach yet I will be making but probably a little of cause in the beginning of the paper and then focus more on the effects of a no/low carbohydrate diet.
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
I am in nutrition right now so I could use that class my research source of a proper diet. I will also be looking for the effects of this diet to determine if this diet works or not. Another topic that I will be looking for as I start researching is the effect that this diet will cause to manufactures that sell carbohydrate products.
The Thug Trend
Trends & Culture: Topic Proposal
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1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
My topic is the trend of the reemergence of the "Thug" Image within hip-hop music. The reemergence of this trend could mean big profit and big problems for the music industry.
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
Should the glorification of violence, sex, and drugs be accepted just because it is a marketable trend? Rap stars and the Hip-Hop Community are the centers of this debate.
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with.
Some of the effects are the increase in "thug" clothing, more fatal incidents concerning rappers, FCC regulation of Hip-Hop Lyrics, More violence within the hip-hop community, other genres of music losing market share, an increase in marketing geared toward middle-class teens, Cable Channels having more Rap based shows
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.
I will be looking to the future to predict the toll this trend will take on society.
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
I will be looking for statistics concerning the general increase of violence among the hip-hop community, researching to find out an estimate of how many fatal incidents have occurred concerning rappers in relation to incidents in other genres. And finally I will be analyzing Nielsen ratings to see how have ratings increased in relation to the increase in the marketing of this image.
Athletes skipping college trend
Trends & Culture: Topic Proposal
Please respond to the questions below and copy/paste the text into a blog entry.
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1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
My topic is the trend of high school or college athletes skipping one or more years of school in order to go professional and earn quick money.
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
Should athletes get their full education, or if the opportunity arises, skip getting an education in order to earn money faster? Participants in this debate are mainly the athletes themselves and the immediate family surrounding them.
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with.
Some causes of this trend are fame, glory, fast money earning, the risk of getting hurt, family stability situation, and academic failure. Some effects of this trend include athletes that are not quite ready for professional competition and the desire for athletes to go back to college.
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.
I will be looking back to the past to determine why this trend has prevailed in society today. But, I might also make predictions about the future based on what many athletes have gone through in the past.
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
I will start by looking up statistics on collegiate athletes that have gone professional and also will look at specific athletes' situations. I will mainly use the internet as my main source.
plastic surgery
1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
-A recent trend in our culture today is the rising popularity of plastic surgery to alter your appearance.
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
-What causes men and women of all ages, who have no dramatic disfigurations from accidents and/or from birth, to want to change their physical appearance? What are the long term effects concerning health and future trends in culture? The participants in the debate would be the people who think it is ok to alter your physical appearance, and the people who think it is morally wrong.
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with.
-Body dysmorphic disorder, having a surgical procedure will increase their self-esteem and make them feel much better
- "With the increasing popularity of plastic surgery, combined with the reality show Extreme Makeover, it could be easy for the general public to overlook the serious nature of elective cosmetic surgical procedures," said Rod Rohrich, MD, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
-mental and physical health post-surgery
-effects of media on people's self-perception-causes people to want to alter their physical appearance-health risks and benefits-
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.
-I am thinking about finding a simple cause and finding the good and bad effects of plastic surgery.
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
-I will be looking mainly for the good and bad health related effects of plastic surgery, as well as how plastic surgery effects our popular culture today.
2nd Paper Topic Proposal
1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
What are the consequences of Iraq war?
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
Going into the war beneficial or not. People on one side argue that the war has made world safer, freed people of Iraq.
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with.
Lot of lives has been lost, we hear of more marines been killed in war everyday. Millions of dollar has been spent on the war, could have been used for other purposes. No Weapons of mass destruction were found, US credibility in world is questioned.
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches
I will state the cause and list out the effects.
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
I will look for some statistics
Other Topics.
1 Effects of Iraq War
2 How lifting ban on import of medicines from Canada will affect
3 Why is Social Security reform needed?
Karen'sTrendsTopicProposal
1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
My topic is the effects (and possibly causes) of caffeine. Americans consumption of caffeine has dramatically increased over the last (10? Or 15?) years.
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
The biggest controversy are the negative effects: whether or not caffeine is harmful, America's excessive spending, the distortion of natural sleep-cycles of an entire country and the use of other drugs to go to sleep, but also positive effects exist. I think this will be enough information, but I can also set up the story, or mention the causes of caffeine's popularity. There are many parties involved in this issue- possibly the FDA or other health organizations, the producers of caffeine products, and of course, consumers.
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with.
See above paragraph.
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.
I *plan* to use the effects approach, though some causes might be necessary, before I can decide I will have to know how my paper falls together and the conclusions I make.
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
Information, (possibly the police report/autopsy) of the (high school?) basket-ball player that died on the court, after drinking multiple Red Bulls. The amount of spending on caffeine related products, and the differences between American and foreign, mostly Asian and European (specifically British) consumption. Anything else I can get my hands on. The lifestyle trends of why a younger generation is consuming more caffeine.
Topic Proposal - Trends & Culture
1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
Guns could very well be the source of almost all deaths in America. People shooting up schools, committing suicide, and most crimes involve a gun.
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
Many people throughout the nation feel that guns are necessary. They think that guns are necessary for their protection, necessary for sport, and that they have a right to own a gun. The participants are in short the conservatives, who want guns, and the liberals, who want to ban guns
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with.
The entertainment industry could have a very big factor on the use of guns by people throughout the country. Also, the biggest cause and effect I plan to explore is that the gun is the cause of most of the crimes in the country.
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.
Explore the effect that the media has on guns, and then explore the effect that guns have on crime.
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
I will look for statistics of crimes committed by guns, as compared to all other crimes. Also, a good source of information would be the effect that the media has on gun laws. If the media plays the deadliness of guns to everyone who watches television, then does this have an effect on how careless people are with guns?
basketball
john doolittle
1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
High school athletes jumping straight to the professional status, especially in basketball
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
Kids who have a very bright future can jeopardize their career by turning pro too early. College not only prepares an athlete for the physical aspects of the professional level, but also the mental side of a sport.
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with.
The success of a few select athletes, the financial stability provided by a contract, not having the grades required to attend college or not willing to place effort into the academics of college are a few causes of this trend. This has affected the quality of the college game as well as pro game, as well as the ways players are scouted. Scouts start looking for players earlier and in many different parts of the world, looking for the diamond in the rough.
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.
I am going to examine both the causes and effects because it is the most effective way to explain my topic
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
Statistical information, I already know a lot about my topic.
Patriot Act Topic Proposal
1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
My paper will deal with the trend in heightened security and fear in daily life in the post 9/11/01 era. The paper will concentrate mainly on the Patriot Act.
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
The main controversy is that the Patriot Act may have been passed when everyone was vulnerable. In addition, there seems to be more problems created from the Act than solutions. The participants include people that had their rights violated and the supporters of the Act. Participants also include institutions and industries that have been affected. Law enforcement agencies will also be discussed and how they view and use/abuse the privileges they are granted now.
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with.
Causes and effects include: the reasons for the passage for the Act and the unintended consequences of the Patriot Act. I will also explore the public's response to the Act and its problems. Other effects are about the culture in the United States as well as any abuses and violations that the Patriot Act directly or indirectly has on the people. I will concentrate on the effects since this is a broad topic to research.
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.
I will use the future and past approaches. There is a lot of evidence to determine the effects of this topic. However, I will also try to explore the future of the Patriot Act based on what is happening today.
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
I will use a variety of sources, but I think the main ones will be internet sites and magazines. I will also use alternative media sources since these cover issues differently than the main media giants.
Topic Proposal
1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
My topic will focus on rising trend of SUVs and the harmful effects in which these vehicles produce.
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
These types of cars can be seen as beneficial. They can carry many people, they are useful and often times considered safer than regular cars in times of bad weather. Some people buy these cars for their trendy look or to simply add to their materialistic collection. However, despite how 'hot' these vehicles may be, they are harmful to the environment and can also be considered a safety hazard to other vehicles on the road.
The participants in this event are those who are for SUVs and their benefits and those who are against these vehicles.
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with.
Causes: people want trendy cars, safe cars, cars that can hold more passengers, and cars they can enjoy driving (may add elaborate detail- special rims, tinted windows, better speakers, etc.)
Effects: SUVs, although trendy, are dangerous to the environment (may cause global warming, more pollution, expend more natural resources). SUV's, because of their size, can also be hazardous to other vehicles on the road.
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.
I will be approaching this situation from the present and look into the future; I will discuss some of the main causes and focus my argument on the many effects.
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
I will mainly be researching the many hazardous/ environmental effects related to SUVs. I might also do a little research on the reason for buying these cars I the first place.
Video Game topic
1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
My topic is going to be video games. I will look at the possible effects of the video games becoming a major part of the entertainment industry. This relates to the overall theme because more and more money is being put into these games. Also, more and more time per day by our young people is being spent on these games because they are becoming increasingly more interesting.
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
The main controversy is that in playing games more and more that kids and adults will become lazier. The participants in the debate are the people who actually play these games and the people who don't. Games can also make a more public interest in things like war, depending on how many war games come out during what time the country is in.. Stuff like that I will look at.
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with.
Cause: Nintendo came out 1985
Effect: More people bought gaming systems
Cause: More companies began to make systems (Sega)
Effect: Gaming became increasingly popular
Cause: More games were made
And so on. Then the effects will be talked about after I make it to present day. like if more and more keeps being put into this industry what could happen to our youth.
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.
I plan to look to the future in my debate, but I also plan to look at the past to see trends of different types of games have caused others to be made which is using like cause to a certain effect which made another cause which in turn makes an effect. until it is present.
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
Important dates, money in the gaming industry, money being spent on single games, number of people in pay games, online gaming stats, and influential games.
Van's topic
1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
My topic will ask the question: why are people religious. Throughout the centuries of time we have turned to religion as a backbone of what we live by and it has shaped how we live today.
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
The controversy is whether or not it is valid to have a religion and which religion is the "right" one. Participants would include anybody who has a strong believe in a religion and atheists.
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with.
Some of causes of devoting our life to a religion would be:
We want to know how we were created.
We want to know what the meaning of life is.
We were born and raised a certain religion.
What are the rewards of being good?
What are the consequences of being bad?
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.
I am going to explore the reasons why we adapt religion and how we are supposed to analyze the credibility of certain religions. I probably won't explore the effects of religion because it would take up too much room in my essay.
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
I will start with the psychology aspect of religion and why humans tend to shift to religion. Research on major religions and showing how they are different from each other would be my next step in research.
Topic Proposal - Trends and Culture
1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
My topic is the snack food exchange to healthier snacks in vending machines at public schools. This relates to the overall theme and culture because in our society today, statistically, there has been an increase in obese children. In recent years, public schools have replaced soda drinks with juice.
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
The main controversy is if it is necessary for public schools to replace soda drinks and snacks with juice and nutritionally snack foods. The participants includes the school districts that are thinking or already replacing vending machines with healthier, nutritionally foods, student government, parents, and the surrounding communities of the school.
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with.
Cause: Current snacks and drinks in vending machines cause children to become obese at much earlier age
Effects: Diabetes will appear at a younger age; children and young adults are not aware of the effects of unhealthy snacks; the rate of diabetes will increase dramatically within the next few decades; Diabetes and obese adults will be an epidemic
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.
I will approach in the student's point of view, and the parent's point of view. But I will lean towards more of parent's point of view because I know the effects of unhealthy snack foods. This will show the approach of why the school districts are replacing unhealthy snack and drinks with more nutritionally snacked foods in recent years.
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
I will look for statistics from various school districts, articles that have been written by student newspapers, national media (such as newspapers and stories about this topic), what is nutritionally right for children and young adults, the effects of the "unhealthy" snacked food, and comparison of unhealthy and nutritionally snacked foods.
Proper Parenting!
1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?
The shift in disciplining your children has changed from a punishment to a reward system. This is a relatively new trend that has become increasingly popular
2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?
The participants in the debate would obviously be parents and child psychologists. The controversy involves whether it is better for the child to be punished for bad behavior or to be rewarded for good behavior.
3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with. Causes - child abuse, children developing with mental issues, child psychology. Effect - wild children, wont discipline their children, learn responsibility for their actions, control the parents, strong headed, liberal
4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.
I have not decided which approach to use, I want to look up information first and see what I can find before I decide to discuss causes or effects. I believe the effect will be the best approach to look at because most parents are concerned with how their children will turn out later in life.
5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?
I want to read recent books on child raising as well as older books. I want to look up articles written by child psychologists about the effects disciplining has on children today.
February 27, 2005
February 26, 2005
February 25, 2005
February 24, 2005
7pm at UGL
hey our paper is looking so much better.. thanks baldemar! I made changes to the paragraphs that i wrote.. so hopefully we'll get everything done tonight... 7pm, UGL.. 2nd floor like last time?? see ya'll then..
February 23, 2005
even newer than the last one!!
Download file
hey guys this is our paper with the revisions i made befor you read the whole thing read the highlighting key at the bottom of the page. then read the whole thing and we can talk about the paper on thursday.
cuasal pic
Download file
this causal claim is saying that the reason we went to war is not because we had bad inteligence but because the president is not too inteligent
February 22, 2005
Causes & Effects in Cartoons
The chapter on causal arguments begins with a cartoon (p. 207) that, as the text points out, "takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the causal relationship between the cost and the quality of health care" (p. 206). Take a few minutes to find at least one cartoon online that makes a causal claim. Please explain to us what the causal message is and copy/paste the URL to the cartoon, so we can check it out.
February 21, 2005
Charles' contribution
Our author, Clint Rainey, knows his audience very well because he is part of it. The audience is college students at the University of Texas, and being one Clint Rainey can really hit on the things he knows will resonate with them. Ethos is the way in which the author wants to be perceived by his audience in order to bring them over to his side of the argument. The author wants the audience to trust him and believe in what he is telling them. I believe that Rainey does a good job in establishing this trust by his use of humor. Knowing that his audience, college kids, are viewed as a cynical group who appreciate humor, Rainey does his best to inject humor into his argument that the media's handling of this years election was as bad if not worse than in 2000. An example of this humor can be find in the sixth paragraph of the first page of the article where Rainey talks about a "mum rule" that prevents the reporter from saying anything of value, then says he is going to abandon this rule and just call a few swing states, "albeit selectively." (Rainey)A second example of this humor is in the fourth paragraph where, "although bans on gay marriage passed by huge margins in eleven states, I don't feel comfortable calling the ballot measures, I'll just call them too close to call." (Rainey) Another type of claim that Rainey uses well in trying to prove his point is pathos. In this type of claim Rainey uses emotions to try and get the audience to believe in his point of view concerning the argument. The humor I was describing earlier goes along with the idea of using emotions to bring the audience to his side. Since we've already discussed the humor part I will go into another emotion Rainey uses, and that is disdain for the reporters who covered the election. Rainey tries to get the reader to feel this way by ridiculing one of the reporters in two paragraphs. The example comes from the third paragraph on the second page of the article where Rainey highlights the bias of the reporter by describing how the reporter at one point, ".mulling over out loud every scenario that will give Kerry victory, at one point defying logic and math by claiming that Kerry can win even if Bush gets Ohio." (Rainey) By ridiculing the reporter in showing his unabashed bias towards Kerry, Rainey uses the disdain he has raised in the reader toward the reporter to further press his claim that the media, by being biased and unprepared fouled up the coverage of this election as much as the one in 2000. The final category of claims is logos, or the use of facts to try and convince your audience of the validity of your argument. Rainey uses facts in his article to try and show the reader that he has a grasp on his subject, and by showing that he has a grasp on the subject Rainey can get the audience to further believe in his credibility and the point of his argument. The best example of the use of facts is Rainey's knowledge of the raw data of votes in certain states for the respective candidates. In the seventh and eight paragraphs on the first page of the article Rainey shows us the different states and the margins of voters for and against the candidates, and by using this data he shows the further bias of the networks by showing that in Pennsylvania while John Kerry had a 121,458 vote lead the state was called in his favor, but in Ohio where Bush actually had a 136,483 vote lead the race was deemed to close to call. In bringing this to the attention of the reader that not only is it his opinion that the networks bias affected the coverage of the election, but that the raw data also shows the same bias, reinforcing his claim. All in all whether it be ethos, logos, or pathos Clint Rainey uses the different types of claims to show his audience that in fact bias is prevalent in the networks coverage of the election and that it affected the election in a negative way almost equivalent or equivalent to the debacle of the 2000 presidential election.
February 19, 2005
February 18, 2005
Download file
heres the rougth draft for our group. its very rough we have had communication problems.
February 17, 2005
February 16, 2005
Mendy
Greenleigh makes a claim about how history should be taught to teenagers without needlessly distilling moral lessons from historical events. While this may or may not be a valid claim to make, Greenleigh fails to back his claim appropriately. To support his claim he quotes Joe McCarthy, but never states who Joe McCarthy is. Greenleigh assumes his audience, UT students, knows who Joe McCarthy is. When using a quote it is beneficial to state who the person is and why they are a creditable source to quote on the topic you are trying prove to your audience. Joe McCarthy was a senator who fought Communism in the United States and the term McCarthyism comes from his name. He had nothing to do with textbooks or the SBoE. So the students who know who Joe McCarthy is might find that he is an inappropriate historical figure to quote. To further argue his claim he states that we should not condone the actions of American heroes such as Rosa Parks, or Texas legends such as Stephen F. Austin. Is Greenleigh stating that our new textbooks will condone these figures actions? While he never states that, he seems to be implying it. Most Americans today know these two important figures in History. Do you really think the Republicans would condone their actions in history textbook? Don't you think there would be a public outcry? Implying such a bold statement without facts to back the statement makes the author lose credibility with his audience.
When writing a persuasive paper, the writer should try to make his paper flow by using correct grammar and paragraph syntax. Greenleigh seems to of missed this concept completely. If he would have read through his paper more thoroughly I think he might of noticed that he spelled Stephen F Austin's name incorrectly. He spells Stephen with a "v" as well as a "ph" in the same paragraph. Greenleigh also fails to be clear and concise. His sentences seem to be long and hard to follow. He also has several run-ons that would have been more effective if broken apart. He misused many adjectives as well. In one sentence he states that Texas has the second biggest textbook market in the U.S. How can a textbook market be "big?" I believe he meant largest textbook market in the U.S. There is also several verbs that don't agree with the plural or singular subject. Subject verb agreement is taught in the sixth grade in all Texas public schools. What does this do to the author's credibility? Would you believe an author was a good writer and researcher if he can correct elementary grammar and spelling mistakes? Lastly, the articles syntax fails to keep the flow of the article. When Greenleigh makes his claims, his supporting material can be found in other paragraphs. Instead of keeping all the related material together in one paragraph, he breaks it into two or three paragraphs. You will also notice his negligence to use topic sentences as well as closing statements. There is very little flow from one paragraph to the next. It is hard to follow an author's points in an article when the topics change so abruptly.
February 15, 2005
pinball effect
Pinball Effect
I posted the claims on a different comment thing...
The first 3 sentences is an example of pathos, being a personal experience and appealing to values. But, it's kind of a sucky use of pathos, because not everyone would agree with the author's claim, that the rose bowl or inaugural parades were boring.
There are several instances of Logos. The author describes how our brains process information in the last sent. of the first paragraph and claiming the effects of how we look at information on othe rmedia forms using facts and hard evidence. He tries to relate to the audience by comparing a web page to something we all use on a typical day, and uses a combination of logos and pathos. Maybe by claiming all these facts using logos he is trying to gain a sense of credibility, but I think that he does not seem credible at all. All the facts he points out in this part of the essay are not backed by where, or how he got the figures.
The author didn't seem to care much about the opposing view, at leat in this section, but it seemed like he was using concession during the whole section making a point to back up all his claims with 12432434534652432 facts.
February 14, 2005
Sex-ed paragraph
Apparently, the author thinks that the State Board of Education is lacking in textbooks that "properly" educate children. The author even goes so far to say that students are being "brainwashed" by the conservative textbooks. It may be true that our textbooks may be more conservative than other state's books. However, I have seen many students come out of Texas schools with very liberal views. The term brainwashing is simply too harsh, because students aren't influenced by just books, but teachers, parents, etc.
The author suggests that kids have not been taught in a non-biased atmosphere. In some cases this may be the truth with a very liberal, or very conservative teacher. However, in my experience, I had some teachers who would give their slanted opinion; and most of my other teachers would give the facts. They would then allow us to decide on which side of an issue to take. To back up his statement the author should consider polling both students and teachers, to see what is really being taught in the classrooms.
This paragraph on sex education is by far his strongest, but it is still faulty in some ways. The SBoE does have a-lot of contraceptive devices that are mentioned, but I agree with the author, instructions on their use should be provided. The author's comment on how the state stresses abstinence, and that they should keep their opinions to themselves is well founded. I say this because who knows what a kid's moral code is, and that should come from outside the school. Let's face it, not all education can or should come from school alone.
The assumption that the author makes about an abstinence only education is obviously false. He just stated in the previous paragraph that at least some safe sex education was included. However, I again agree with his statement on how contraceptive instruction should be given. The author's fact about Texas having the fifth highest teen-pregnancy rate also helps his argument about improper sex-ed. It would have been much more helpful if these kind of facts were presented throughout the argument.
False Assumptions/Claims
Over the course of this article, Ian makes amny false asumptions and claims that may hinder his ability to be credible. When writing an essay or something that is supposed to convince people to think a certain way, or move people to action, one must make claims that are believable. "Now, with renewed support from our Republican-held Texas legislature, this band of fiercely partisan right-wingers will once again, quite literally, write history with their huge buying power to pressure publishers into offering books that satiate their appetite for propoganda, and dutifully shield our little boys and girls from anti-Christian, Communist theories such as evolution." In this sentence, Greenleigh makes the Republicans that run Congress in the state of Texas seem like they are all extreme right-wingers who want nothing more than to influence the young children of Texas into believing the same as they do. This claim is amde really by his word choice in the quote above. But then Greenleigh goes on to say that these elected officials are actually "brainwashing" children through these textbooks.
Another faulty claim that Greenleigh makes is that teachers are all biased in the state of Texas. Here he tries to bring a past experience into the paper to add credibility, hoping that the audience can realate to having a biased teacher in the past. "Students should be able to consider all sides of an issue", when dealing with controversial issues that the general adult public struggle with from day to day. Greenleigh could have used better word choice maybe to re-word this paragraph to not make it seem that all teachers embrace their political views in their lesson plans. This may work for the given audience who from what one can observe, is bitter toward right sided politics. So the language against it in his arguments helps draw the audience in more.
Towards the end of the paper Greenleigh makes more false assumptions. To the objective reader, these charges would be discarded in the readers mind. But, with the given audience these biases may not be seen fully. Greenleigh begins talking about the SBoE and makes correlations between them and Joe McCarthy, the man who was responsible for the red scare in the 1950's. This can bring down the SBoE to his level by relating the two on commonground. He then assumes because of this, f the SBoE, we should not condone "Rosa Parks, or Texas legends such as Steven F. Austin" because they might lead to "civil disorder, social strife, or disregard the law." More radical claims include separating water fountains at the University of Texas, and that the history books they condone make our young Americans into "submissive drones". Overall, all of his claims to the average person may seem farfettched, but to the suggested audience, a liberal student body who probly resent the high school system (since most of the UT population is from Texas) these claims and assumptions may not be too far off in their minds. Also, another thing to look at is that the students reading this probly won't question his credibility since most of them agree with him. The readers who will question it will be the ones who oppose his views in this essay.
February 11, 2005
February 09, 2005
February 07, 2005
February 03, 2005
Journalistic approaches
In chapter 2, Glassner tells us about one journalist's reaction to the reporting of workplace violence, that of Erik Larson. What does the account of Erik Larson's article reveal about journalists' reporting as it concerns workplace violence, specifically, and their approach to the reporting of crime in general? Why, do you think, is Larson's style of journalism so important, and why aren't there more journalists -- print and electronic -- like him?
Feel free to reply to this posting or to each other as the discussion proceeds.
Choose an article
Please review the articles below and choose one to analyze for the first assignment. Use the comments feature of this entry to let everyone know which article you want to work on. You have until MONDAY, Feb. 7th, to make up your mind. The available choices are:
Greenleigh, Ian. "Textbooks Need Facts, not Dogma." The Daily Texan. 28 January 2005.
Rainey, Clint. "Post-Election Musings on the National News Media" The Daily Texan. 8 November 2004.
James, Michael. "Critics: Local News, Culture May Fade Away." ABC News. 2 June 2003.
Malone, Michael. "Silicon Insider: The Revenge Effect." ABC News. 23 January 2005.
Carlson, Emily. "Media Giants Don't Always Lead to Less Diverse Content." News@UW. 9 August 2004.
I will assign the groups based on your preferences.