SWA#4

In Motoko Rich’s article “Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?” explores both sides of a very hotly discussed topic of reading online. Rich uses rhetoric to go in to and explain the argument of whether online reading is beneficial or not to the technology generation that is reading more online pieces than novels and printed literature.
The article that Rich wrote originally appeared in the New York Times in 2008. The way that Rich chose to title the article foreshadowed quite a bit about what the article was to be about. By titling the article “Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?” Rich hints that the online publications and the shorthand language so often used online might have an effect when it comes down to literacy in the technology generation. It also draws the attention of readers by the intentional shorthanded way of spelling the article, something that would not usually be featured in a publication like the New York Times. So many kids have become engulfed in the world of online publications that it truly might have an effect on the literacy and reading performances of today’s youth. Rich’s audience is really for people that are unaware or in the middle on whether the online reading is truly beneficial. The article thoroughly explains both sides and gives experts opinions. Motoko Rich himself uses the article to rise a new idea, a sort of middle ground that proposes a new idea. Rich uses the article to hint that it does not benefit or hurt literacy as far as schools are concerned, but online reading teaches a new sort of learning that can be just as beneficial for children. Of course there can be constraints when it comes to the article because some people can be so far on the extremes of the issue that no matter what experts from whatever schools that Rich quotes to explain the other side the extremists won’t budge from their stance. However the author does a good job of establishing a middle ground that people interested about what the article is presenting are able to relate to, without being pushed one way or the other by the style or presentation of information in the writing. It doesn’t give closure to the issue at hand because there is really no way to prove whether the online reading hurts or harms, so Rich just leaves it at that.
“Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading” is one of the few articles that doesn’t push readers towards one side of the issue or the other in the debate on online reading. Instead the author Motoko Rich uses a balance of rhetorical concepts to present the argument in a very unbiased way that allow for the readers to form their own opinions, not have them persistently thrust upon them by the author.

SWA #3

Arguments can be found everywhere as discussed in the first chapter of Essentials of Argument. The argument can be about many different topics ranging from politics to sports, with many different opinions on a single topic. Different views are what make arguments intriguing to listen to because there are such a wide range of opinions on a single argument. One of the most intriguing arguments in the sports world at this time of year is the NFL Draft. It is being talked about constantly now, even though the season still has one more game left, and it seems like every so called expert has their opinion of what is going to happen.

The subject of the NFL draft is one of the biggest arguments in sports right now; in fact it is almost more debated than the Superbowl because there are so many possibilities. It is also a very interesting argument because unlike so many others, somebody will stand correct when the draft is completed. All of the possibilities allow for the draft analysts to try and convince the audience of the NFL that they are correct when it comes to predicting which team will draft which players when in fact nobody will know how the draft will play out until it is completed in April. However it seems like everybody that covers all of the players leading up to the draft can predict what is going to happen, each of which seems to have their own opinion. ESPN has two analysts Mel Kiper and Todd McShay covering the draft, yet their mock drafts are quite different. However it’s not just Mr. Kiper and McShay out there predicting what players will get drafted by what teams, there’s plenty of other places that seem to have their predictions like http://newnfldraft.com/ , http://www.draftking.com, and http://www.draftcountdown.com making their predictions. Despite all of the people covering the draft, none of them have the exact same drafts which makes people wondering which is the most convincing.

Subjects like the NFL draft are intriguing arguments because there are some many possible outcomes and sides about every single pick. All of the analysts try to support their audience with the evidence about the pick that seems to be correct, yet the argument will not be ending until the draft is completely over.

SWA #1

Ever since I learned how to write the letters of the alphabet I have been writing. Writing has been very important in my life ever since I was young enough to read and write. I like the joys and frustrations that come with it, especially the satisfaction that I feel once I complete whatever it is that I am writing. There have most certainly been pieces that I have written that have been more frustrating or enjoyable than others, but I know that it all serves a greater purpose, to make me a better writer.
My most frustrating writing experience that I ever encountered took place in the second grade. Every Monday when our class returned from the weekend our teacher required us to write a one page journal about what we did over the weekend. For me talking about what I did was never the issue, the problem for me was that we could not start a sentence off with the same word twice. Looking back at that assignment some might laugh at that being my most frustrating experience in the fourteen years that I’ve been writing, but for a seven year old it was quite difficult. I with had the tendency to want to start every sentence the word “the” and I would get so mad when I couldn’t think of another word to use. With my second grade vocabulary I would become so frustrated trying to find a new word to start off every sentence that made sense as well. Eventually I would get my journal written, but I never understood why we had to do it. Eleven years later I realize why, now I truly do appreciate that experience for forcing me to expand the vocabulary in my writing.
Enjoyable writing for me is writing that requires the least amount of time, however there are very few of those nowadays. But last year in my English class I did get to experience a somewhat short writing assignment that allowed me to not only get done quickly, but stay interested in as well. Our assignment was to take an article about the presidential election every week and write two paragraphs about how we viewed it. We would then have a class discussion about or writing and the opinions that we had from it. That allowed me to get the writing done quickly which is my most enjoyable part, as well as incorporate my own opinions about it. I liked the discussions not only because I found it amusing hearing people bicker back and forth about politics, but also how people interpreted the articles. New insight and different interpretations are always important for me to expand my writing. That combination of writing is always the most likeable for me because it forced me to focus on the main points and not get hug up on the details like a multipage essay would.
The effect of more difficult experiences usually is much greater on my writing, especially in that instance in second grade. Because I was still so young it shaped my writing and I have tried to incorporate that ever since. It’s been ingrained in my head ever since I have seven and I don’t think that it is going to go anywhere.