In Class Collaboration

In Class Collab. Spriggs Essay vs Short Articles

• take a position early, explain your position
• explain your topic’s relevance to the average reader’s real life
• present a few reasons, support your reasons with facts
• identify another point of view and respond to it
• identify real world applications/repercussions of your position
• explain important terms/ideas relevant to your topic, pictures can help
• personal experience is a powerful way to establish credibility
• providing background information also establishes authority over your subject
• use of statistics can be very convincing
• discrediting of opposing sides done carefully is good
• use of emotional persuasion is very dependant upon subject and audience
• author should be aware of pathos/logos/ethos and which will be most persuasive for their topic

Katherine Spriggs questions 1-4 on p100

1) It's clear that this is a topic that matters to Katherine Spriggs. Has she convinced you that this matters- and if so, how? How does Spriggs establish the importance of her topic?
I think that her topic is important. At first I wasn't aware of how much we can do to change decrease global warming and one of those are by buying local.

2) What counterarguments or positions other than her own does Spriggs consider- and how does she respond in each case? She says that the third world my be affected by this and replies by saying "exploiting manual labor in the third world would only be temporary solution because we will be industrializing.

3) Choose a section of Spriggs' essay that you find especially effective or ineffective. Referring to the genre features discussed on p.66, describe what makes this part of her argument persuasive- or not.
One part that she used to persuade me was "the United States is especially guilty of contributing to the problem, producing about  a quarter of all global green house gas emissions, ans playing a large part in pollution and shrinking world oil supplies as well."

4) Spriggs include several photos in her essay. How do they contribute to her argument?
She has photos of farming, crops and truck transportation which are some of the things she talks about in her essay.She says trucking is expensive financially and farming is eco friendly. Sort of like saying this vs. that. Trucking vs. farming.

Analyze p80

Analyzing a short piece of writing on pg 80

          The essay made by Katherine Spriggs was made to persuade Americans in buying local foods. She sticks to her opinion and does her research of the many ways buying local can help America and the environment.

Some of the characteristic features she used:

• "Explicit Position"- she fully explained herself about the importance of local buying. 
• "A response to what others have said or done"-  Katherine uses this characteristic feature in her writing as shown on p 96 and 97 when she says, "Some argue that buying local can actually have a negative environment effects" such as, "it would be more wasteful to try to grow pineapples in the Northeast than to have them shipped from the Caribbeans." She responds back by agreeing with the person and than says that if we were to buy local we would have to buy as mush as we can of it.  
• "Appropriate background information" - She uses multiple good resources such as "Global Warming Statistics, CNN article, and farmer experiences. 
• "A clear indication of why the topic matters" - on pg 92 she gives the main reason why we should buy local. Some of the the things she mentioned were how agriculture effects global warming. Adding to this she says that "scientists estimate that in the year 2030, there will be no glaciers left in Glacier National Park" used this strategy to alert us. 
• "Good reasons and evidence" - the good reasons are products being shipped long distance which becomes to be costly. 
• "Attention to more than one point of view"- she uses the example of hiring immigrant labor, food transportation, farming, environment and more. 
• "Authoritative tone"- Katherine spoke in a well formal tone. She seemed to be familiar with farming and how product shipping interacts with global warming. 
• "An appeal to readers' values" - At the end of her essay there were some concerns I had about local buying which she mentioned, these were how the third world will be affected? Pricing of food? Any changes in personal lifestyle?  

  

Video Group Response

11/12 Video Group Response

·         Overwhelming use of pathos

·         Use of fear, making us scared of what could happen

·         Sad background music the whole time

·         Police officer’s graphic descriptions meant to be disturbing

·         Playing on sympathy

·         Family members feeling guilt, sister talking about sending the text that ended a life

·          Give background information about the characters, create an attachment to the people who died

·         Showing brain damage guy with his doctor, having him trying to talk  about it to invoke sympathy

·         No logos used, no statistics or logic

·         No ethos, never take the position that the good thing to do is to not text and drive

·         Never directly state their message, their message is clear and important enough that it doesn’t need to be said

·         showing one person at a time, crying is more personal and emotional than many people together

·         emphasis on the “last text” showing the message they were sending/looking at when they crashed

·         message is that one text > your life

·         policeman “it never gets easier” 

Video "Texting while Driving"

I watched "Texting while Driving Documentary. The Last Text." It was about teenagers who text while driving and don't think of the dangers of it. A simple text such as "yeah" or "Where r" can take away someone's life. The video was sponsored by AT&T to remind teens or anyone who likes to be texting and driving to stop, it can wait for later; especially for those who are "comfortable" doing so. The video showed three teens of whom experienced or knew someone who had an accident. The first story was about a girl, named Ashley, who passed away after sending her last text to her sister. Her sister now feels guilt and wishes she could tell Ashley sorry. She passed away a day before her graduation. The second story was about another teen named Mariah. At age 19 she passed away while texting and driving as well. Many people loved her especially her mother who misses Mariah. They miss her a lot that they even decide to celebrate her 19th year birthday to remember her. The third story is about a young guy who experienced an accident while texting and driving. He got hurt and was sent to the hospital. Now he can not do simple things like walk or even button his own shirt because of that text message. At the end of the video I came to realize that texting and driving is not worth it. It is always better to wait because death can happen, a loved one or family members may be emotionally hurt, and guilt for the person who texted the driver can be experienced. The video was made to make us emotionally react to it by showing us pictures of real life experience, and family reactions to the accident. Pictures of the destroyed car after the accident is another way to make us realize that this could be us, and no one knows if we will make it alive or not.

In Class Lab: How Things Mean

Peace Sign Buttons:

What do they suggest?

They suggest to have peace, and make love rather than war.  With one widely known sign for peace it can get the message across easier.  The slogan: “Make love, not war,” is widely known and provides a unified message of anti war, as well as suggesting a replacement for war.  These replacements being things such as love, art, and peace.

How do they suggest it?

They suggest these ideas by the famous slogan, as well as the widely known peace sign.  Making buttons and other campaign advertisements etc is a great way to get the word out and give the message attention.  

Which elements of each image work on the viewer in various ways?

The first button is overused and has been used for a while, and not as powerful on its own.  All it states is “Peace” which is a good message in its simplicity, but does not give a clear argument or stance.  However, the second button provides a clear stance or message to add on to peace.  It provides an alternative for war.

Symbols of Patriotism:

What do they suggest?

They suggest that their given countries are really great. They express pride in their country, and they want to cultivate that pride in any citizen who sees it. Each image represents a different ideal for that country, strength, power, toughness, and perseverance through time.

How do they suggest it?

The bald eagle is a symbol of freedom and power, and stamping the american flag over its face suggests that America is strong and free like a bald eagle. The bulldog looks tough and strong in a similar way, and showing it with the British flag connects Great Britain to the power and toughness of that animal. The French image shows France’s famous motto, “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite,” engraved into what looks like the side of a building. This motto comes from the French revolution, identifying France with the democratic ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity. Visualizing this saying engraved on a wall shows that it will last a long time, saying that France’s ideals will last through time.

Which elements of each image work on the viewer in various ways?

Each visual shows something highly identifiable with a citizen of that given country. As an American, I know that the bald eagle is a huge symbol of my country and my country’s power and leadership. Likewise, the British flag and famous French motto are like that for a British or French person.  

Thesis: These images want to inspire patriotism by connecting symbols of their country to symbols of power, toughness, and perseverance.

• The bald eagle is a symbol of strength and freedom, and is connected to America by pasting the American flag physically on the eagle
• The bulldog is standing on the British flag,like a protector, embodying the toughness and strength of the country
• engraving the motto of France into stone represents the perseverance of the country, saying that their ideas and strength will never fade
• The peace signs are also a classic American message that convey the idea of positivity and love in place of war.

Reading Sources Critically

Reading Sources Critically

1. What arguments does the author make?

Tim Wise has one position, the position that states that all white people simply don’t have the right to use ‘the n word.’  His argument states that he does feel a similar way when outsiders use the term ‘redneck,’ because he could be considered one, though the term redneck isn’t nearly as offensive as the n word because of its history.

2. How persuasive do you find the argument?

Tim Wise’s argument was very persuasive because his tone wasn’t necessarily demanding or angry sounding, the whole argument was laid back, relatable, and laughable.  It was this way so much so that it didn’t seem like an argument, though it was persuasive enough to get his point across.  Tim Wise paraphrases a conversation with a student who states; “Well my black friends use it... ...why can’t I use it?  It is a double standard to say!” Where Tim replies: “Well yeah, but history has been a double standard so get the hell over it”  This is a very laughable way to talk about it, but still gets the point across loud and clear.

3. What is the author’s stance?

Tim’s stance is honestly the only valid viewpoint.  The only other stance would be the one that states racism is okay, which is so unacceptable that there isn’t a point to argue it from that stance.

4. Does the publisher bring a certain stance to the work?

The “publisher” here is Boston College, the host of Tim Wise’s lecture. Boston College has had a division dedicated to diversity, the Office of Institutional Diversity, established since 2004. This program’s mission is to “ through effective management of our diversity, is to create a competitive advantage for the University, and at the same time to help us live out the social justice imperatives inherent in our Jesuit and Catholic heritage.” It is clear that they are trying to bring diversity into their school, shown here and in the fact that they hosted Tim Wise at all.

5. Do you recognize ideas you’ve run across in other sources?

Some of us have personal experience with this situation, and we find that it varies person to person who will be offended by that word. How offended an individual person will be will greatly differ depending on your relationship with them, and how they personally feel about it.  It also depends on the culture you are from, and where you are in the world. However, it is agreed that in general, you shouldn’t use that word.

6. Does this source support or challenge your own position--or does it do both ?

We agree with the position taken in the video. If someone or some group is being offended by the use of that word, it is right to respect their opinion, especially since we are not a part of that race and culture.

7. What can you tell about the intended AUDIENCE and PURPOSE?

The audience is intended to be for anyone who is not black. The main purpose is to talk about the use of the “N” word, more specifically how it should not be used. The historical connotation of that word is too strong for anyone other than black people to use it and not be inherently offensive. A person who’s not a part of that racial group doesn’t have the right to use that word.

Group Exercise pg66

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bUSEb5nmGQLiv2EokImiaQFy6saGrm9IOiJgsevzXuc/edit?usp=sharing

Think About the genre 


Exercise for p 62.

• I had to take a position when it comes to what to do after school or after work
• What movie to watch in the movie theater when I am with friends
• At what time to get home
• At what time to see my boyfriend
• Informal Survey: Not a lot of people who are around me take a different position. It's usually  weekly.