WRITTING PROJECT THREE WEEK ONE

This is our answer to the list of tasks we need to complete for this project:

 
101 Group Work Plan

Define specific tasks necessary to complete the project. List them below.

1) Individually write letters to our each two individuals we want to interview asking for permission to interview.

2) Write out interview scripts together to plan out proper questions.

3) Conduct interviews

4) Condense information into useable and non-usable

5) Conduct additional research.

6) Outline paper format with information inputted together

7) Individually write paper off of the outline

This is the outline for our first letter to be sent to a prospective interviewee:

102 Letter Template: Include the following elements in your email interview requests. Feel free to use your own wording. Remember to bcc: your instructor to get credit for the interview request.

 Professor Kathleen Paul,

1) Introduce self

 2) Introduce Project:

I have an assignment for my English class and I would like to interview you for this project. My paper pertains to my discipline, forensic anthropology. I have to write about the technicalities of this field of study and I would really appreciate it if I could interview you for this paper so that I can add your perspective and experience into my accounts.

3) Request interview

Since you are teaching me about anthropology in ASM 104 and you are an expert in your field, I would like to consult your expertise on this matter for my paper. This interview would be for both me and a fellow classmate.

4) Specify availability (preferred and alternative times you can meet; consider using the professor's office hours if possible)

I would be willing to come in for office hours, but I am not sure if my partner has the same hours to come to the appointment. So if we can schedule an appointment that works for all of us that would be great. (what are the office hours, we would need to give a specific time, and a few of them, that way they do not feel obligated to do any “negotiating” for time slots)

6) Approximate interview length

The interview will not take much of your time. We will simply be asking you a few questions about your experience and expertise. The interview should last between thirty minutes to an hour in length.

7) Objections to recording?

Also, would it be possible to record the interview so that we have more accurate notes. If not that is okay as well, please simply let us know before we begin the interview.

8) Regards,

Alexis Abril Aldana

Word Count: 430

Chapter 13

Respons to #2:

Review: The Tragedy of "The Hunger Games"

     So “The Hunger Games”, huh?  Did you waste your $12 on that one too? I mean, “I won’t die. I promise. If you promise not to go.” Really? Everyone dies at some point. There is no avoiding that fact.  Sorry.  The extreme ideas used in the plot of this movie make it laughable.  Who would honestly believe that people would run a failing government by supporting such an expensive tournament that cost them the lives of productive citizens?  There is just no semblance of thought in this film.  Would you waste your time watching a movie filled with killing of children- something that the public detests, not watches on the big screen; a movie filled with lies and deceit- something our society fight in the courts, not supports on the street? It is not worth an ounce of your time. Not a minute of your day. Not a single bat of your eye. Fore if you watch this movie, “the odds,” will most definitely not, “be ever in your favor.”

Looking from Multiple Perspectives

STEP ONE: IDENTIFYING STAKEHOLDERS: In order to write a successful proposal, you need to you need to examine multiple perspectives: you’ll want to represent as many people’s interests as possible as you describe your problem and solution, and you’ll want to understand your resisting audience’s inclinations as you pitch your solution.

For the following arguments, identify different people who are involved in the issue,  people who are directly impacted by the problem posed, people who officiate the policies involved, people who have legitimate concerns or investments in the conversation, or other kinds of stakeholders. 

 *McKemy Junior High must reconsider its decision to cut music programs.*

          a. Parents of Students

          b. School Administration

          c. School Board Members

*ASU’s dry campus policy is injurious to the students and should be amended.*

          a. Students

         b. ASU Staff

          c. Surrounding Communities

* I propose that the ASU adopts a stricter campus security in order to keep vagrants and other potentially dangerous individuals off the school grounds.*

          a. ASUPD

          b. School Administration

          c. State Government

 
STEP TWO: Develop Context: how do these stakeholders interact with one another? Do they have the same interests, attitudes, or ideas? What do they agree on and what do they disagree on? Pick one of the debates from the first page and develop a profile for each stakeholder: what are their commonly held values, objectives, or beliefs? What kinds of information or experiences get factored into their decisions?

#1: 

         The School Administration team and the School Board members would both be on the same page in this situation.  Both would be hard to convince not to cut the programs because they are trying to conserve money on a tight budget.

         The parents would be the opposite, and would be in total support of anything that would save the programs because they want to have all of the programs and opportunities available for their children.  This is because the more options they have to involve their children, the more well-rounded they become as people as they grow towards adulthood.

#2:

          I believe that the staff and surrounding communities would both be on the same page and easily convinced to create this plan, because it would better their classroom environments and increase the safety of the day to day lives of the general public by eliminating the  stiff influence of alcohol.

          The opinion of the students would be harder to sway because of their over indulgence in the substances and the enjoyment that comes from it. 

#3:

          The ASUPD and school administration would gladly back this and would easily be convinced after being show a few statistics of the benefits more law enforcement would have on the campus environment and for the increase of the police force.

          The issue would come when trying to convince the government to support the idea.  The government is always trying to keep a tight and balanced budget, and this proposal would take funding, which would be a hard approval to gain. 

STEP THREE: Research: What would be the best method to represent or address these perspectives in a proposal essay?

 #1:

         The best idea to propose this idea was create a plan where the music program takes its skills and performances and becomes a self-funded program and does not rely on the school funding to exist.

#2:

         The best idea to propose this idea would be to create an argument where it is explained that if something is not done now then the situation will get worse, after showcasing the horrible statistics that represent the current situation.

#3:

         The best idea to propose this idea would be to show the government through statistics of how much the program would cost verses the amount of funding they would be saving from the amount of crime that would be reduced and make sure that the values balance or that the funding is less and will save them money.

 

Responses to Student Write Up 2

     I do agree with the argument made that gym and fitness facilities need to be more accessible to the students at Arizona State University.  I agree with this, mist likely because of my personal bias of living a very active/ military lifestyle that mandates fitness, and as a student who does not have a solid financial standing, a more affordable gym service is very appealing.  But there is a sufficient amount of factual amount to make me follow the ideas presented as well, re-enforcing my interest in this one movement towards a healthier life.

     A point that would strengthen the argument in the actual proposal (letter) would be to clarify how badly the student body at ASU needs to adjust to a healthier lifestyle.  Giving factual information about health issues and obesity on campus might make the issue seem more urgent and pull a quicker response.

     The audience is the Director of Campus Recreation and their views are that they want to get as much money as possible for the smallest product, just like any business person.  So the appeal that needs to be taken with the audience is a business approach.  This writer did that to an extent, but I think it could be further emphasized. 

     I believe that it is a good model of a bad example for this assignment.  The actual proposal that was to be sent did not hit close enough to the audience and goes with a less effective argument then possible. 

     The research used gives good examples of what the systems that are in place and what would work well if it was changed.  There is no information clarifying the actual issue. As stated before, there needs to be information added that gives real facts on the lack of fitness and active lifestyles on the Arizona State University campus.

     In comparison to the assignment sheet and instructions, this essay completes the requirements and would not be a failure of an assignment.  This essay would not though be considered a well executed proposal if it was actually imposed. 

Critique Assignment: Barack Obama’s 2012 Speech Accepting the Democratic Nomination for President

Elizabeth Heinz

Robert LaBarge

ENG 102

January 28^th, 2013

Critique Assignment: Barack Obama’s 2012 Speech Accepting the Democratic Nomination for President

            “Rhetoric…To which poetry would be made subsequent, or indeed rather precedent, as being less subtle and fine, but more simple, sensuous and passionate.” (Milton, John) The use of rhetoric can be found everywhere, from song lyrics to novels to public speeches.  In President Barak Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention for the 2012 election season, a well presentation of rhetoric is displayed, qualifying the piece as worthy to be placed in the chapter explaining and teaching “Well Made Arguments.”

            The first sign of a well-made argument is when credibility is built by the author, or in this case a speaker.  This can be done in many ways, and the first sign of it in this piece is in the very beginning.  President Obama begins by thanking the public and addressing his family members and his partners in his efforts.  By doing this, President Obama makes it clear to his audience that he is not taking the prize that is the cause for the speech for granted. The audience is likely to perceive this as appreciation for them, making them more like to listen to him and trust him as a speaker. 

            Another way that President Obama built credibility with his audience was by discussing the accomplishments he made during the first four years of his presidency.  He named four of such accomplishments: That the government created half a million jobs from 2009 to 2012, that the government added new standards and advancements to fuel usage, that the government opened billions of acres of land for use to explore for more oil and gas refineries, and that the government was able to work together with the Armed Forces to end military involvement overseas.  By revisiting these accomplishments President Obama makes his readers attach to his words and trusting him in that he can follow through with his claims.

            The last way that President Obama builds trust and credibility with his audience is by after stating accomplishments that he achieved by following through with previous promises, he makes more promises.  He makes two new promises: creating more jobs and producing more opportunities for clean fuel through solar and wind energies.  By making promises, the audience then clings to the President’s words and stays connected to his message, hoping for similar results to what he has previously reported to producing. 

            The way that these points of ethos were placed allowed for the argument of President Obama to be voted for President again after now receiving the nomination for president from the Democratic Party to flow easily into a place where the audience can be easily swayed using emotion.  The reader has so far been convinced that President Obama is true to his claim by his show of respect, this proof of promise, and continued promise.  Now that the listener is left in a position where they are wanting more, their emotions are easily swayed. 

            The first pull of emotional appeal comes when the President tells a story that applies to his family and to the current times for all Americans.  This story makes all people relate to him, furthering his connection to the audience.  He pulls the audience even closer by discussing his plans to achieve higher goals of success in areas that are close to the public’s heart, such as education and military involvement. 

            The last, but prevalent, emotional appeal that President Obama uses is humor. The President chides at the opposing party and makes references to everyday life that make the audience respond with laughter.  The event of this speech is a celebration after all, so the audience is not looking for all seriousness from the President, but for a lighthearted message. The sporadic inlets of comedic relief keep the reader that much more attached to the President’s message. 

            The constant draw of the reader to the message given by Mr. President Barak Obama at the Democratic Convention in response to the reception of the nomination as the Democratic representative in the 2012 election is a perfect showcase of good rhetoric.  The arguments made were made in such a way that the audience was constantly given proof and evidence as to why they should believe the President’s statements and were further swayed by the emotional attachment formed by his words.  There would be no reason that this piece would not be qualified to represent good rhetoric.  

Response to Assignment from Last Semester

Response to Assignment from Last Semester

     Last semester, one of my assignments was to write a compare or contrast essay.  I chose to write an essay that’s topic was the Arizona State Sun Devil Marching Band of 1950 to 2009.  It was a very interesting piece to write, but quite difficult being that there was very little information for me to utilize.  The essay was outlined to address first the directors of the band, then the styles of music chosen for the ensemble, then the amount of community involvement.  It was a very straight forward and informative piece.

     The Logos of the piece was very simple.  First, to understand an organization, you must understand its leaders, so the beginning of the essay addressed that topic.  Then it moved into discussing the music and events that each ensemble participated in, showing how the directors ideas influenced them.  The logical flow if the information was more appealing to the reader, as they did not have to work as hard to sort the given information.

     The Ethos of the piece was well held.  All factual evidence given was cited by viable references.  The information was also surrounded by personal examples that made the reader believe the information, not just as facts on paper, but also as a real life effect on the band.

     The Pathos of the piece was nonexistent.  There was no need for an emotional appeal for the reader to fully understand the information or the purpose.  The only emotional aspect of the piece was discussed in the section about the style of music played by the band, but the emotions discussed were blatantly stated and were not intended to have an effect on the reader.

Responses for “Not Just Words” for Chapters 16 and 17

 

Question on Pg. 506-507

     The first image is of the enemy forces in Sudan attacking the citizens.  The picture is of the enemy using all of its weapons and the different styles of transportation that they utilized to transport that weaponry.  Not only does it show this, but is also shows the intense aggression that the enemy had towards the people.  The gunmen are riding their horses, camels and helicopters with intensity and malice.

The second picture is of an execution.  The enemy is aggressively riding at the citizen on a horse and is shooting at him.  The citizen is not completely hopeless, and is armed, but does not have the means to protect himself and is killed.  The picture does not just show a normal execution, but one where the person being killed unfairly an inhumanely.

The third and final image is a before and after shot of a village being attacked by the enemy.  In the before image there are people and a temple with helicopters overhead.  In the after image the people and temple are destroyed and the helicopters were still overhead and more vehicles moving in.  The vehicles and helicopters still being there show the unnecessary aggression from the enemy.

These three images all display the worst of scenes from a horrible confrontation.  All of them are different, showcasing the different views that the different children had of the events.  But all the images show the same harsh environment.  Through the eyes of children we are able to see that the events that occurred were extremely traumatic, and the audience is more likely going to perceive the events as something that are truly meaningful because they were shown by tha artwork of children.

(Word Count = 283)

 

Question on Pg. 519

     The image shown is of a pair of work protective goggles covered in blood with a caption stating, “You got high before shop class. You thought you could handle the saw.  You were wrong.  Weed can make you do stupid things like that.”

     This is definitely a scare tactic, but it is also a logical and reasonable argument.  This add would most likely be very effective, if it were the first time it had been seen around.  The advertisements such as these have become so common in society that they now have little to no effect on the people who use the products that they are warning against.

     The text that is also used in the image is just as supporting as the picture.  They allow the reader to be informed of the story behind the message.  The text at the bottom of the image is even more of a statement though, because the bolded word, “REGRET,” makes the reader plainly understand the emotion attached to the image and warning, which is the use of pathos persuasion.

     Although these images that come from the awareness campaigns that are meant to be to get people to stop using drugs are not effective in getting already hooked users off of the drugs, they are very effective in keeping new users from ever starting the behavior. 

     In comparison the image that is showcased on Pg. 104 about drunk driving, this image has a more subtle appeal, whereas the drunk r=driving image make the viewer completely sympathetic for the person who was injured by a drunk driver.  The feeling of sympathy is more likely to stay with the viewer longer because it is not a feeling that people do not want to feel, like the fear in sighted by the Marijuana adds.

(Word Count = 298)