Visual Rhetoric

I think visual rhetoric is a decision we all make on a daily basis.  Sometimes we even create visual rhetoric without even realizing it.  Most of are already familiar with social media and the ability they create social circles and promote one's self.  I mostly use Facebook, Instagram, and Google+.  All three are social media networks but have different ways of using rhetoric.  Facebook users have a personalized profile to interconnect with other people, friends, and family.  It contains many forms of rhetoric from the "about me" section describing yourself, basic facts, education, work, music taste, likes and even dislikes.  This written form of rhetoric can allow someone to portray himself as a deep thinker, romantic poet, or whatever he wants the world to percieve him as.  There is also the photos that display a visual rhetoric.  Thanks to photo editing programs and photo effects, we can alter our photos to make them portray us in a different manner than the typical snapshot.  Many of these photo editing tools can be very effective in convincing your audience (in this case, your friends) to see you the way you want them too.  I may only post photos of me outdoors hiking, camping, and shooting.  My friends would naturally be lead to think, he is an outdoors guy.  The same can work any circumstance.  The actual photos can be made to create different emotional effects to the audience as well, when i posted a photo of me in the snow, I went on instagram and changed the effect to "Hudson" which added a blue color theme to my photo making the appearance that is was even colder.  The effect would have been totally changed if I put on "toaster", the audience might have had a warmer feeling that it wasn't that cold and my facial expression was sarcastic.  The last part of rhetoric in facebook, is the timeline in which we post comments on your wall and others.  To whom and what you post creates a "profile" of who you are and what you like/don't like.  Even the comments can add credibility to your profile. If Megan Fox likes a photo, instantly others may do so too because of her influence.  For my purposes, I like to use Facebook to keep up with friends over time, Instagram to put cool effects on my photos and just see current photos of my friends, and Google+ for my business related work (because it has a more professional look and has ability for google docs)  Before I learned about visual rhetoric in class, I always used it just didn't think so much about why.  Naturally most guys dress up to impress girls, or convey a sense of confidence.  Normally with the purpose that she notices him in a good way and is attracted to him.  I like a simple example my friend once used.  Men buy nice cars, not because they like nice cars, but because women like nice cars.  If a man had to, he would like in a box.  Although it may not also be true but I believe the general message is accurate, we use visual rhetoric every day to influence others around us.  This stems from the clothes we wear, the word choice we use, to the way we act.  So it is very useful to know if you want to express yourself as the "best" you.  Unless you just got married and don't give a flying anymore.  checkmate.

Daily Visual Rhetoric

Rhetoric makes its way in writing and in many other things that we create. But visual rhetoric can be seen in our daily and weekly lives. Visual rhetoric is shown through what we say, what we wear, and also what we do in our lives. This is because these three factors help in determining who someone is. When i wake up in the morning and decide to chose what i wear is visual rhetoric. The type of clothes that i chose to wear whether it be gym shorts, a baseball hat or sweats, shows that i am not going to do anything that requires nice clothing. This also shows that i enjoy sports and recreational activities. What i decide to say on a daily basis also shows visual rhetoric. Speaking with good word choice and speaking with out vulgarity shows what type of person that i am. Also when using words that are funny will show that i like being funny and that i like to laugh. If i don't say much it could mean that i am not in a very good mood. The third way that we usual visual rhetoric in our daily and weekly lives is through what we choose to do. I generally enjoy spending time with my fionce and family.  playing sports, listening to music, and playing video games.  What i enjoy doing visually demonstrates who i am as a person. Others can see that i enjoy doing things that are more active and can see that i am family centered kind of guy. Also going to school shows that i am interested in getting an education so that i can obtain a better paying job and better support a family. Almost everything that we do and say can be a form of visual rhetoric.

Visual Rhetoric

Visual rhetoric is a very powerful tool. From the way we portray our lives on Facebook, to the way we act around people we are providing information. The things we spend time doing, or improving give insight to others on what we find important. Getting ready in the mornings is often dreaded, and while spending too much time in front of a mirror can be vain, it is important to represent yourself well, as the way you take care of yourself sends a message to those surrounding you whether it be potential employers, colleagues, or professors.
It is also important to understand how we are affected by visual rhetoric. We are bombarded with media, Facebook posts, advertisements, all of which can have a negative impact. If we feel that we are "less cool" or become discouraged with tactics used by public information companies we are becoming victim to their methods, and are often worse off. The most common example is that associated with young girls and beauty ads and young boys and superheros or sports champions. If they are never told that this is not the expectation, and that they are loved under every circumstance, proper self-development can be interrupted.
Visual rhetoric is a very powerful tool, and we must use it ethically, while recognizing that not everyone does.

Visual Rhetoric

Visual rhetoric is becoming one of the biggest ways we communicate to each other in today's society. Whether it is by the media, or for friends, it is the easiest way to communicate.  One of my newest favorite pieces of visual rhetorical media is a phone app for Iphones called Tinder.  Tinder is a dating app that matches individuals who click the "like" button for each other.  It pulls information from your Facebook and allows you to view individuals who are within 20-50 miles radius of where you are. It allows you to be anonymous in the since that, the only people who can see your activity are the individuals that you match up with.  You can even chat with the.  Now the people who you don't "like" will never that you disliked them.  It is pretty discrete.  For the short amount of time that I had this app downloaded, I enjoyed my time, however, I did have some racy experiences that lead me to deleting that app.  The entire app is made of mostly pictures with very few words.  It mentions age and name. Pinterest works the same way.  All pictures with very few words. You may like whatever picture is presented and you can post on your own boards to keep the links to the ideas that you like.  Facebook has the same appeal.  Even though we can post events and messages on each others walls, a huge part of Facebook is the image that you portray of yourself.  Thankfully they have settings that allow you to guard what you are tagged in.  As much as I enjoy visual images, I do think it doesn't convey everything that words can.  We would be a lost world with out words.  Things could easily be skewed without explanation.  Often times, a picture doesn't do justice.

Visual Rhetoric

Visual rhetoric is used every day in life. It’s a way that everyone can communicate to one another. When one uses visual rhetoric they are trying to convey an image to their audience. In my life I use visual rhetoric all the time. For social networking I always seem to be trying to portray myself in a good image whether I realize it or not. I guess everyone just wants to look good in front of their friends so they always try to post the coolest photos, funny photos, etc. Anyway the point is that most people try to create an image for them, including me. I think it is a good thing in social media for everyone to use visual rhetoric because it helps show the many different personalities and characteristic of each individual. I love art as well, however I’m not good at it. In art I try to make my invention just simply nice to look at and not look like a piece of trash. I try to make my piece something that has meaning to it, whether it be a symbolic meaning, a visual meaning, or and emotional meaning. A lot of visual rhetorical art piece have symbolic meaning. By showing one characteristic they symbolize a story, an idea, a moral, a feeling, or a something else. I love to show my personality through my art as well as how I present myself to others. I think this is helpful because it can be a great tool to help other get to know me better.

Visual Rhetoric-Sterling Paulson

Visual rhetoric is becoming more and more prevalent in our society. Social media is one of the main purveyors of this visual rhetoric, but every day people of all ages and demographics are bombarded with different colors, textures, fonts, images, and graphics. Television programs and advertisements, print ads, billboards, posters and many other examples of visual rhetoric can be seen. This can be seen as a beneficial addition to society. With visual rhetoric people can easily get their point across and draw attention to their argument or advertising.  It is much more succinct than a public speech or an opinion editorial, and has a good chance of drawing a larger and more diverse audience. We see this now even in boardrooms for global corporations or in the closing arguments for litigators in trial. In these settings traditionally dominated by oratory, we can now see PowerPoint slides, posters, and graphics being used to more effectively argue points. While this may seem fascinating and great, I still think that it is important to look at all of the effects of this shift. I think that it has some detrimental aspects, as grammar and writing become less influential and therefore less important in many industries. I think that it is important to remember that visual rhetoric is a great thing, but it cannot be our only form of communication that we use.

Visual Rhetoric

One of the ways we all use visual rhetoric is social media such as Facebook. Facebook is used by almost everyone these days and allows us stay connected with each other, but it also allows us to express ourselves. Facebook is a way that many people are able to see us without us even knowing. Like the profile picture we talked about in class Facebook is an opportunity for people to see us so it may be important how we show ourselves. While I’m not one to worry about my profile picture the types of music I listen to and some of my many interests are on display for people to see so they can get a general idea of who I am. This means I might not let someone post something offensive or off color on my Facebook because my mom might see or someone else that may get the wrong impression. So how you let others see you on Facebook is important. I think that visual rhetoric is very important to learn about because it is something we use on a daily basis in today’s society even more so than writing it seems. Every day we are exposed to visual rhetoric on TV and on the internet, it is everywhere we look. If the visual rhetoric is effective, that commercial might persuade us to buy their product or use their service. If not, we may just remember it as that cheesy commercial or change the channel when it comes on. So it is important to learn how to be effective with our visual rhetoric as well as our written.

visual rhetoric

I guess the first source of my visual rhetoric is my Facebook page because that is where I have most of my pictures and other personal media. I also have a twitter but that is not much in pictures in videos for me anyway. Recently I have been on Pinterest a lot too. To clarify I would like to point out that it is not my own account but it is my fiancées and I go on simply to look at the ideas that she wants me to look at for the wedding. I actually find it very helpful because I do not have to Google search everything that she finds but it is all in one place. Computers in general are a very good source of visual rhetoric because well no one really gets on a computer to read anything. Even the companies like Microsoft, Windows, and Apple all try to make their product more appealing to us because when they look cleaner we are more inclined to want to us them (like we saw when looking at all the different websites in class).

I think that visual rhetoric is definitely good to be aware of because the things that we put on Facebook for example are used as a basis to “judge” us for other people. Also I feel like just the things that we take in everyday have a huge impact on our thoughts and well we don’t want to surround ourselves with possibly good rhetoric that portrays bad things.

Visual Rhetoric

We are constantly making statements, even if we're silent. As people, we have many senses that convey information better than any words ever have. As far as visual rhetoric, we certainly know the impact that visual advertising has on us, but we also subconciously make choices and decisions to make a statement by appearance.
The main thing that I feel we use visual rhetoric is the way we dress. We may not actively choose one set over another on a daily basis based on what information we want to convey, but our choices in clothes tell a lot about our interests and can be a window into our personalities. It may seem shallow to judge someone, by their clothes, but their appearance is the first thing that we notice when we meet someone. For example, we choose a different set of clothes for church to convey professionalism. Job interviewers will quickly deny employment if someone shows up inappropriately dressed. These things are important in our society, because of the message that our appearance brings.
When we look at the ethos, pathos, and logos of clothing choice, we can see how our choices are often direct appeals to these three points of rhetoric. We plan our appearance to give us credibility in our proffessional life and often our social life. We try to evoke a response to our audience (we hope they like what we're wearing). Our clothing also makes a statement of who we are and what our interests are. There are dozens of ways that we express ourselves by appealing to someones visual senses, but our dress and appearance is certainly a major one that is often overlooked.

Visual Rhetoric

In our day to day life we compose visual rhetoric constantly. Through forms of media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and others visual rhetoric is posted all the time.  On these media pages pictures, captions, and videos are posted hourly by different people.  These forms of media have become a large part of the visual rhetoric that we see in our society on a daily basis.   Television is another prime example of visual rhetoric.  Television is used to convey news, sports, and entertainment to people everywhere.  People now days often turn to the television to find out what’s going on in the world compared to before where people had to read the paper.  Music is another form of visual rhetoric that has made its way into our society.  Music explains feelings and emotions and can be used to describe a certain situation.  Music, the internet, television, and other forms of visual rhetoric have become a very large part of our society.

This visual rhetoric is very useful but we have to be careful that we use it in moderation.  Visual rhetoric is an excellent tool to grab the attention of people and sometimes it can explain things better than words, but we should use it in moderation.  If we use to much visual rhetoric we will lose the basic ability to write and to communicate through word.  This kind of communication is more important than visual rhetoric so we need to make sure we don’t over use it.  We need to retain our skills with the written word.  

Reading vs. Writing

I do think the processes between reading and writing are similar in a lot of aspects however, I do think they are different as well. I think that if we want to be good writers, reading is necessary.  Reading helps people to learn how to write better.  Both active processes so both take work. Reading is how we intake information while writing is somewhat of a brainstorming activity in which we put thought forward to write down.  We do analyze what we read and as do what we choose to write. But we do not effortlessly write as we do read.  Your brain can automatically read a sign without you giving it permission to.  Your brain cannot help it. However, many like myself, have to put serious thought into what to write. It is not effortless like reading. I like to think the thought process of writing is the opposite of reading. As you read your brain automatically picks up words and you input them into a box in your brain. When writing, you have to consciously open that box to put words to together to put onto paper.  It takes work.  I actually think there was a real study done on how the brain works in terms of reading. I can't remember exactly what the results were, but it did go over how your brain, at free will , will read on its own and you can't stop it from doing it.

Writing vs. Reading

Writing is both different and similar in many ways to reading. With writing, there is a writing process which consists of many steps. Some of these steps are brainstorming, revising, and proofreading. In reading there are steps that are similar but not quite the same. Instead of brainstorming, like one does in writing, in reading one might just simply skim over their reading to get a general idea of what they are reading. And like proofreading in writing, when someone reads to further understand the text, they read and reread. If one is to “revise” their reading I think of this as trying to dissect what the author is trying to say. However writing and reading are quite different from each other. I say this because of my own personal experience. For me it is a lot easier to read something and understand it than it is to understand what I’m writing about and clearly communicate my ideas to my audience. Reading is also more relaxing and less stressful because it can be used for leisurely purposes. Some of the only ways writing is leisurely for me is found in social networking and communicating to friends and family.

Both Reading and writing do take work though. Not all reading is easy or interesting. At times reading take some digging into to truly understand certain authors are trying to explain or hint at. Most writing takes lots of time to dive into to make sure all the thoughts that are put down on paper are communicated clearly and efficiently.

Writing and Reading-Sterling Paulson

I think that in order to be good readers we must read like we write. This entails following a process similar to the writing process. This "reading process" is important in helping us analyze and digest what we read. Just as we brainstorm, critique, and analyze what we write, so too must we critique and analyze what we read. This allows us to make sense of what we are reading, be able to store it as information in our own minds, and in turn use what we have read to formulate opinions on certain issues and, perhaps more importantly, write or speak on these same topics to other audiences. It is also an important step in being able to assess the validity of a source, as if we don't analyze writing in depth than we may miss logical fallacies or false claims. With this being said, writing and reading are very much related. I think that we write on a subject for others to read about it, and oftentimes we read the writing of others so that we in turn can write our own opinions on a subject. They are both performed most effectively when done in logical processes which allow our mind to analyze and digest information, and then use information to form coherent arguments. It is due to the purposes of writing and reading, as well as their related nature, that both require a similar process in order to be effective.

Reading Process

When writers write, they use a clear process of writing, whether it be an active use or subconsciously  going through the steps, at least most of the time. In the Reading process, we read many different works for different reason. We read literature for personal enjoyment or we read textbooks or guides to learn or develop skills. I think it would be fair to say that we treat different things we read differently depending on purpose. Overall, I feel that there is ample evidence that we use a reading process similar to writing to understand and comprehend what was written. In textbooks, when we read we do more than just move our sight over the words, but take the time to ensure comprehension in reading. Our grades depend on it. This means that we first try to make sense of it, essentially brainstorming. Next, we often then review what was written on paper to look for more information and to make a better capture of the author's intent, or revision. After we have read or gone through a process of thinking and deliberation, we finalize our opinions and move on. This seems awfully similar to the writing process. We can go through all sort of mediums; newspapers, magazines, instruction booklets, cookbooks, and countless pinterest entries. If the information is easier to capture, no revision is necessary. Road signs and a lot of what we do on the internet is very passive. This and similar forms of material are not analyzed at near the same depth. However, we can easily see that  there is a process to reading and comprehension.

The reading process is a must when we are trying to create a good paper. They are closely related because we have to be educated on a subject to be able to write about it. Otherwise, most of the time people will be able to tell that we are just throwing out opinion and the argument won't have much authority or be very convincing. For me I normally start off reading a bunch of titles of topics to figure out what I want to about. Then once I have a topic I will read opinions on websites like wikipedia and google to get an overall view of the topic and get some background information on it. Then I will read more articles like from the opposing viewpoints website so that I can gain my own opinion before I start writing. Then I read more informative resources that have statistics and reliable studies done. Normally with each source I just skim over it really fast by reading the first and last paragraphs to get the topic and conclusion to see the general idea. Then I'll read each paragraph to find points that I want to use in my writing. It's like writing as in I try to make it brought first to gain knowledge and then specific so that I can find things that I like or need for my writing.

Reading Process

In class we have talked a lot about the “writing process” ,but I believe there is a process to reading as well.  There are different levels of reading.  The first level of reading in my opinion is the quick read.  During this read the reader gets the general topic of the piece of writing but is mainly just reading to get the summary of the paper.  Secondly, I think there is a deeper read that happens next where the reader tries to identify the points and the topics within the writing.  The reader tries to identify how the argument is presented and tries to analyze how valid the argument is.  Finally, the last read or most in depth reading deals with revision and looking for errors or ways to make the paper stronger.  This a is very slow and observant read. This reading requires the most time and effort to perform.  Often times reading  such as this is done when a paper needs to be revised or when it is being checked for errors.  The process of reading is very similar to the writing process.  In writing there are different levels that begin with a broad approach that eventually gets more focused.  Some of these things include going from brainstorming which is very broad, all the way to refining and making a paper more concise.  Reading is the same way because often times you start out with a broad read to get the general information of a paper that eventually gets more refined to the point where the reader is looking for specific things.  Writing and reading are very closely related. 

Reading Process...not very popular

Having a writing process will always increase the quality of a paper. Because the writer can go through multiple times in their work errors will be found, new ideas will come to mind, and revisions can be made to strengthen the paper.When this is also applied to reading the reader can get a lot more out of the paper and will actually catch a lot of what he wouldn't have known when reading something only one time. The reason we make mistakes during our reading process is because our brain will focus in at the beginning and then after reading for awhile we will get bored or something will distract us so we tend to daydream about something else. It is actually quite interesting how you can day dream about something and still be subconsciously reading. This has to be something remarkable.
Reading and writing are related just like the chicken and the egg if there wasn't any writing there wouldn't be any reading, and if no one ever read anything then there wouldn't be a point of writing anything. Another relationship to reading and writing is found in how entertaining it can be to read and write. If you have a good topic that you are interested in then it writing and reading can become enjoyable. But if the topic is not interesting at all then this process could become quite torturous. But all in all its a part of life there is definitely an opposition in all things.

Research

The research process for this paper has been somewhat extensive and tiring.  I often find myself looking for supporting quotes for my opinion rather than actually researching for learning sake.  This is probably why I find research papers less meaningful to me.  I like to learn about topics through recent articles, radio talk shows and conversations with other informed people concerning the subject.  That would more likely match my research style.  However, I understand the importance of citing and drawing informed opinions from credible sources, in essence giving credit where credit is due.  I just feel that even those sources are not original, that all knowledge is unique and not any one person's property to own.  I believe that knowledge is free in obtaining and sharing.  It is in simple words, universal.   That being said, research papers must be proven in solid fact and compiled in neatly conformed quotes as to be scholarly.  So for this issues paper I chose to use BYU's library research system in finding scholarly articles and opposing viewpoints as my base point of reference for quotes.  I did my learning through google and the news and later proved it through facts and stats from the articles.  If I had any say in writing a research paper for future students, I would take away the underlining theme of globalization and let the students research a topic of their choice.  

Research

When I do research I sit there at the computer and constantly scan ebscohost and pubmed.  It is the most important part of a "research" paper.  I don't really like the process of writing a research paper and I don't feel like research paper's that I write will never be important because I am taking information off of someone's else' first hand research.  It is interesting to read about and what not but I don't care to gather information to write my own.  It is nice to be able to read off and be well-read in credible information.
I have had a hard time organizing and finding credible information specific for my paper because of the lack of authority. I know the points I want to make but I still don't know all my information.  There is one big group that is the "holy authority" over my topic so it's been difficult to find other authorities who could have other theories or concepts and methods. And I also never feel like I am passionate about whatever I am writing about.  Or maybe I just am not passionate about writing in general.  If I were to really write what I wanted to write I would write fiction.  I have opinions and I can do research but I hate wasting energy on that stuff. Globalization is a big topic and could cover more than 10 pages easily.

research

This is the first research paper that I have ever written and it’s definitely been a learning experience. I will admit that I haven’t really enjoyed it because it seems to have no real purpose behind writing such an extensive paper. Like I really feel like the hardest thing about writing this paper was imaging someone wanting to read it. I just liked the other papers more because they actually taught better communication but the research paper is just copying someone else’s hard work, restating what it all means, and giving them credit for it to some non-existent audience.

My research process has been long and is still going on. It was hard to choose a topic just because 8-10 pages is pretty daunting and really that’s a big commitment and it’s not something that I wanted to start over on once I got going. I had to use the Research Starter Guide to pick a topic that seemed to have enough sources on it. It’s been slightly frustrating because like stated above; I don’t see the point to this in real life. It’s also been easy though just because all I have to do is copy and explain the obvious. Obviously I think it is useless. So far I’ve just researched on the links provided by the library’s website. I’ve also looked on google when I just needed information that was easier to digest. Next time I would just hope that I don’t have an overlying theme like Globalization and then I can actually pick an interesting topic instead of just picking something with a lot of sources because I have to have something that relates to globalization.

Sterling Paulson-Research Process

Research is a crucial aspect of writing a well-informed, influential essay. Without it, all writing would be little more than unproven statements, broad generalities, common knowledge, and personal opinions. With my own research, I like to begin by narrowing down my topic so that I will be able to find more relevant results. This is also helpful in focusing my paper. I generally use searches of online databases for my research, including PubMed or just the search toolbar on lib.byu.edu. I generally search for peer-reviewed articles so that I know that they have some merit, credibility and relevance.  With each article, I read the title to determine how potentially useful it is, and if it passes this test I move on to looking at the year it was written, the journal, and the article abstract. If it passes each of these tests, I save it as a PDF and read it in full and take notes or highlight important information.  I find that this is a good way to find research for several reasons. It is efficient and allows me to get rid of outdated or unrelated results quickly.  It also allows me to begin formulating a more detailed outline for my paper in my head as I gather information. Highlighting and/or taking notes is also useful because it allows me to quickly find facts or statements that I want to use in my paper. This is the process that I have used for my Issues Paper, and I have noticed many of these benefits as I've worked.  I feel that through research my Issues paper has become much more focused and detailed than when I initially chose my topic, and I feel that it was fairly easy to begin writing my paper due to the fact that I had already read quite a bit of material on the subject. Overall, I feel that research can be time consuming, but for most topics it is fairly easy to find results and use research in an essay.

How I Research

For me, I often run into problems while writing when I can't find the research I need. When I have choice on what to write on, I always choose topics that I know a few things about already. I like to do things like read newspapers and such on my own so when I need to write something like this, I usually know what to write about. I usually have an opinion and can easily find the information I'm looking for. When I don't know what to write about, I tend to run into problems. I usually start my search online with something that gives me a broad overview like Wikipedia. From there I usually go on to other sources from a database or other place. Usually, I find books or other articles by looking at the bibliography of the authors of other works. This branching out usually helps me find the details I'm looking for without having to spend extensive hours. After I've had the overview and have found my sources, I decide what I want to argue and what points I want to touch on. Usually I can recall the sources that I've already looked at, but some points I've had a hard time working with. In the issues paper we're working on now I've had a hard time finding information for my second point on international relations. I've looked at most of the points before and I know the information is out there, but finding the scholastic articles relevant to my topic has been difficult at times and I've had to do a lot of digging.

Research Process

Research for me tends to be pretty easy as long as it is a well-known topic. My topic for this paper has been easy to find research for because it is well known and widely discussed. As for useful, research is a key part in this paper. By using research you’re more able to effective argue your opinion because you have outside evidence that is supporting your opinion. Using outside evidence helps by showing evidence from sources that generally have more experience and more information on the subject. We might know a little about our subject beforehand but that doesn’t make you an expert on the subject so by using outside evidence we can make more accurate claims. For this paper so far my research has come from library resources and whatever information I can find on Google. It has been easier to find more reliable sources on the library website but with Google I can be more general and broader on my subject so it brings more articles whereas with the library I have to be pretty specific about what I search in order to find anything. So far on this paper my research process has been pretty good because I was able to search for sources long before I started writing my paper. I don’t always have that opportunity so I tend to start researching as I’m writing my paper. If anything I would like to continue using this process because it has been more effective in writing my paper.

Quality time on the computer.

My research process for this paper has gone very well. There is a lot of information about the fashion industry and its effects, however it is difficult to pin down statistics. There are areas in my paper that I feel would be benefitted by providing a simple number statistic to help gain the trust of the reader, but these numbers either do not exist or are very difficult to find.
My writing process is a different story, however. I struggle a great deal with organizing papers, and it affects the power in which my argument is portrayed to the audience. I began with an outline and an intention, but over the course of my paper realized that my outline was irrelevant and my main argument lacked meat. As a result, I am in the process of reformulating my thesis in order to construct a more engaging paper.
If I had to change something about the way I researched, it would be methodically planning the way I wanted to research. I believe this would have alleviated my struggle with organization, and made the process much more seamless.

My Research Process

                The research process of an Issues Paper is very critical when writing a research paper.  The process you take to searching for facts on your topic can determine how difficult the research will be.  With my own research process I always begin by making an outline.  In my outline I try to layout my goals and topics for each and every paragraph,  by doing this it provides me with ideas of what to search for and keywords I could use in my searches.  This makes the process of finding articles much easier.  When I began the actual research for my paper I found it to be very simple because I knew what I was looking for, and I knew there was information on the topic because I have a previous knowledge on the topic.  During my research I would have my keywords for every main paragraph I wanted to discuss in my paper, and I would search in the databases for articles pertaining to these keywords.   Having a plan going into my research was so helpful because I wasn’t wasting my time with sources that didn’t pertain to my topic.  After I found my sources by doing a quick read through, I went back through each article and highlighted everything that I thought was useful.  After I did this I made notecards and organized them so each paragraph had all the facts in the order I wanted to address them.  There is not much I would improve on in terms of my research process.   I felt like this process was very efficient and worked well for me so I would use the same process again for my next research paper.  This research paper has been enjoyable to write thus far.

Spring break-Adin Lee

I have been attending BYU on and off for several years now and the hardest semester for me is always the Winter semester.  The reason why it is hard for me is because of the lack of break.  There comes a point in the semester(at least for me) where I have a hard time continuing because I have been going nonstop for weeks. Yes, one of the reasons why we don't have spring break is because there are often times deaths of fellow students, while they are either doing something stupid or because of an accident that could not have been avoided. Another reason why we don't have a spring break is because it prevents fellow students from making poor choices while on vacation.  To those who make poor choices on spring break that may get them kicked out of B.Y.U.: your fault. I think that we should be offered a spring break.  I think we work hard enough to earn it.  It could easily be worked in while still being able to have a spring and summer semester. BYU should be able to allow women's conference go on with our semesters going as they do with E.F.Y. We, as students, should be their first priority.  I know that many of my fellow students would back me up in this argument. We have only one holiday weekend the entire semester.  Even strict boarding schools have more breaks than we do!

Spring Break-Sterling Paulson

Many if not all students at BYU are aware that the University does not afford us a spring break during the school year. Many students appear to be critical of this, and many students also seem to be arguing for the University to add a spring break. However, they fail to see the greater benefits that arise from our lack of a spring break. One can see from case studies and current events that spring break activities are often costly in economic terms, and also increase the risk of injury, death, robbery or other adverse events in certain regions. Others still will state that students need a break from the rigors of school, and that a spring break would let them relax and regroup for the second half of the Winter semester.  However, I have found that taking a spring break often forces me out of a good rhythm and schedule and causes me to take several days upon return from school to get reacquainted with an academic atmosphere.  Further, I would argue that taking more breaks during the school year is unrealistic in comparison to the real world, where many people spent hours of their day in an academic/professional environment and are intellectually challenged.  Most of these jobs only give 2-4 weeks out of the year off for vacation, but the student attending Fall and Winter semesters has many more weeks than this off. The absence of a spring break is also beneficial to BYU students specifically because it allows for us to get out of school much earlier than many other comparable universities, thus giving us a longer summer break--a break that is used by many to gain undergraduate research or work experience or work to finance schooling. It is especially beneficial because it has created room for both a Spring and Summer term, which together can allow students to get an additional 18 credits in.  This is especially beneficial at BYU where many students have served LDS missions and/or service projects and are older in age than peers at other schools.  With this in mind, I believe that the absence of a Spring break is a positive thing at BYU. It keeps students out of dangerous situations, better prepares them for the professional world, and allows them to make up for time lost to service and missions.

Spring Break

With spring just around the corner and the end of school coming up I often find myself having a hard time not thinking about summer. It seems that as soon as the weather warms up every year comes the issue of spring break. Is spring break really that important to students? Of course it is, we as students work hard to get good grades and it’s always nice to have a break from school. I think that BYU should give students a spring break because it does not give us fewer days in school and serves as a morale booster to help students finish the year strong. Many would argue that we get out of school earlier than other schools because we don’t have a spring break. This is simply not true According to the academic calendar for both BYU and local UVU, classes end about the same time this semester. Classes for BYU end on April 16^th, and classes for UVU end on April 19^th. That’s only a difference of 3 days and students at UVU still received a week long spring break from March 11^th to March 16. Both universities started class on the same day January 7^th. With that information it appears the spring break could easily be done and would provide students with a necessary break before the end of school. I think that we should receive a spring break because it does not increase the amount of school days that we have and helps make students happier because they are able to have a break from school. 

Spring Break at BYU

So first of all I’m really excited that my family is coming out for spring break to come visit me. However because BYU decides to not have spring break I get to juggle my time with my family AND my classes. I think BYU should have a spring break because everyone else is going on spring break and it would be beneficial for most students to finally have time to spend with people outside of BYU, go visit family, or go a short vacation.

I cannot understand why BYU decides to give us days off of school before finals to study instead of donating those days to spring break. Yes, I know that BYU wants its students to study more for finals, but when a college student has a day off, there is no time for studying. There is only time for hanging out and procrastinating.

I would like it if BYU at least gave us two days for spring break, such as Thursday and Friday. This way they can still reserve a few days (which is enough) for studying for finals and we, as students, get enough time to relax our minds from the daily stresses of school.

Overall I would like to have a spring break like everyone else. The students, who would like to have days to study can just study during spring break if that’s really what they want. I believe that most BYU students, if you take a vote, would vote that BYU should have a spring break for its faculty and students to enjoy.

Research Process

My research process starts with looking up a broad topic. I want to see the strong and weak points in the information that i can obtain so that i can narrow my topic according to the amount of information that i can receive. Once i have found out what strong points that i can use in my research i start to search for these main points one by one. By doing so i am able to find a good amount of information on the subject that i am researching. Researching can be frustrating if there is a set subject that we have to research and if there is no way around it. This is because many times there won't be a lot of information on the given subject. But overall researching isn't very frustrating, its more tiring because it requires focusing in for a long time.

For my issues paper i was researching to find information that argued in support of the globalization of American pop culture through the media, but this did not work so well for me. I realized that most of the information and articles that I could find were against American Pop culture and argued that it had a negative influence. This changed my research process and i began to look at opposing views to American Pop Culture. The next time that I am asked to write a research paper I will first try and see what is the best trail to take before trying to take a hard trail that in the long run will make turn around to take another.

The Case for Spring Break

As the weather warms, most of us get this crazy urge to run outside. After so long of cramming and exhausting ourselves from the stresses of school and just life in general spring gives us the chance to renew and recoup. It's a shame that in spite of this that BYU makes the choice to not have a spring break as part of the routine. Let's face it, everyone needs a break every so often, and with midterms mostly finished by now we could really use some time to recoup and get ready for the rest of the term. It's been said over and over again that it's not healthy to push ourselves to a breaking point. I think it's worth it to remember that our own scriptures say that we don't need to run faster than we have strength. Yet there are some concerns and "benefits" that are raised that seem to try and take away this important time for students.
First there's the claim that BYU students shouldn't get involved in the Spring Break Culture of drinking and partying. To start with, let's look at one thing. BYU students are adults. Since so many of us serve missions, something else that's important to remember is that we have one of the oldest campuses in the nation, and well above the legal drinking age, meaning that if we really wanted to go out and get plowed, we would. There's plenty of other venues that happen outside of spring break that put peer pressure and create problems. But let's take a quick look at the facts, we live in Utah, which is hundreds of miles from a southern california beach. The likelihood of a BYU student making an active choice to go to one of these places, knowing full well what goes on there, is extremely unlikely.
The other claim that's made is the "benefit" of getting out earlier. First let's get serious. This is one week. It's basically a token amount of time that really isn't that much of a benefit. Most of us that are far from home would much rather be able to take some time to spend with family. Those of us that are staying on campus for spring and or even the summer term after that hardly get any opportunities to make the trip. Give us our spring break!

Spring break or finish the semester earlier?

Spring break is definitely an enjoyable break from school, especially because it is a weeks break from school. But one benefit of not having a spring break is that we get out of school a week earlier then all of the other universities. I have always been the one to leave the best for last. This makes getting out of school earlier more enjoyable for me because when my friends are doing their finals i can sit back and enjoy life with out school as they're stressing out. Another way to look at this issue is our classes are only 50 minutes long and between semesters there are a set amount of days between each semester and adding a weeks break could create the issue of making all of our classes longer. I enjoy only having 50 minutes in class and then moving on the next class. If we had longer classes we would be in school for a lot longer and I am sure that isn't the option that anyone is going to want.
While spring break is happening for all of the other schools BYU students aren't happy but i am sure after finals that we all will be happy to be done sooner. This can usually apply to every situation where we have to wait to gain a reward when others can have it sooner. For example if you're doing homework and you see that your friend is outside playing your favorite sport you're definitely going to be jealous. But then when you finish your homework before him and get to go and play your favorite sport, he will regret not finishing his homework sooner so that he could enjoy playing that sport with out homework on his mind.

BYU as we all know does not give us a Spring Break. I have even had a few friends from back home ask why not. I tell them that technically we are a private school so they do what they want. They say that's no excuse if it's a school run by a church because a lot of schools have spring break around Easter. Then I just figure it's not worth it to argue anymore and I just laugh and say well I get out in April, when do you finish?
Just coming back from my mission, I am used to just going for and being 100% into whatever I am trying to accomplish at the time. I am used to not having a break so I never even thought it to be that big of a deal that we didn't have one. Plus I like to look at school as pushing a big stone. I'll start pushing and then after awhile it will get easier because I get used to it but then if I stop I have to start pushing all over again and starting is the hardest part.

Spring Break? No sorry I go to BYU

I come from an area near the coast and summertime means one thing, the beach.  This especially applies after a long fall and winter of school studies and working long hours.  When the first signs of sunny days and nice weather appear around the middle of March, everyone knows what is coming. Spring break.  It is such a tradition that even elementary schools participate in it.  Spring Break gives a great opportunity to get away from the office, school studies, or other situations sometimes considered stressful.  Some of the great activities can be to go to the great outdoors to enjoy mother nature, take a splash at the water park, or soak up the sun at the beach.  The main point is to get out and enjoy yourself, take a break from the constant grind of life and its weary effects.  This includes students and parents alike.  BYU should give students a spring break to give them an opportunity to take a break from their studies, allow students and faculty to enjoy the outdoors, and regain their focus on school.  

          Many studies have shown that when a person is under constant stress for long periods of time, negative health effects may occur.  BYU is a high-level  educational institution, where grading is competitive and classes require demanding deadlines.  Now if you stack internships and a part-time job on top of that, the stress level of a student may on the roof.  Weekends are one feasible argument often used to counter the need for breaks, but we all ,as students, know that most weekends are used in catching up in upcoming assignments or exams.  The only other alternative is holidays.  This allows a student to take a break from attending classes and use that allotted time to rest or do otherwise leisurely activities.  In this particular area, we normally receive snow during the winter time and cannot participate in many outdoor activities due to the weather (with the exception of winter sports).  However, when spring arrives, the weather clears up and the sun comes out, leaving a perfect opportunity to get out and enjoy the vast outdoors.  This break from ones' studies and allowed rest/leisure time, gives the students an opportunity to "regain" their focus and prepare for the end of the semester.  Simple statistics show that a more focused and devoted student often scores highers on exams than a distracted or unmotivated student.  Although BYU may have good intentions on keeping students from participating or being near "spring break parties" involving alcohol and drug usage, it may be falling off a slippery slope.  The constant grind of exams, and stresses of life may accumulate and cause students to actually do worse that their otherwise normal performance.  As President Eyring once said concerning the effect of daily stress in procrastination, "For most of us the temptation to delay will come from one or both of two feelings. They are polar opposites: one is to be complacent about what we have already done; and the other is to feel overwhelmed by the need to do more."  We all have our agency to choose to good, and by not allowing us to choose for ourselves, we are not given the option to perform at our best.  I believe BYU should allow future spring breaks to students.

We Need a Spring Break!!!!!

                As a member of the student body of Brigham Young University it has come to my attention that we do not receive a spring break during the school year.  Brigham Young University’s inability to provide its students with a spring break ultimately hurts the students rather than helping them.  BYU should supply the students of the university with a spring break despite the schools best intentions.

                An addition of a spring break would greatly benefit the students of the BYU campus.  By giving the students a break it lets there mind rest and prepare for finals.  With the current conditions, the students are trying to study as much as they can without any breaks which isn’t necessarily healthy.  Secondly, addition of a spring break would also help students focus better as it gets closer to the end of the semester.  BYU often see’s attendance in the classroom go down once the weather gets nice.  Providing a spring break lets students enjoy the sun and helps them regain focus when they come back to school.  With the addition of a spring break the school would see grades and attendance increase for the winter semester.

                The reasons against having a spring break are very present however.  By avoiding spring break the school helps keep students safe from potentially bad spring break parties that have potential alcohol and drugs.  Also, not having a spring break gives the students a chance to have a head start on summer jobs since we are the first school done in the area. The reasons behind not having a spring break are understood.

                Ultimately, I believe that the benefits of having a spring break outweigh the risks.  Since we all signed the honor code we promised we would not put ourselves in bad situations, which includes spring break parties.  The students also would not all benefit necessarily from just having one week of a head start in the summer job market. The university should reconsider having a spring break and provide its students with a chance to get out of the classroom and out into the outdoors.

Issues Paper

My topic for my issues paper is on genital mutilation. I feel like this is a topic that many people have not heard of.  Women especially, are being circumcised in various parts of the world.  Mostly in Africa does this practice exist.  In other countries, such as the U.s., Canada, Sweden, and the U.k. is it illegal and is considered a violation of a human's rights.  Because of globalization, we are now just finding some of these things out about other culture's and religions. We know now that many women are circumcised to prevent sexual promiscuity, for marriage-worthy purposes, and other various religious issues.  It has become known that if a girl is not circumcised in some of these cultures, these women are looked down upon, scoffed at, kicked out of homes, and will probably never marry.  Not only do women develop infections and are very uncomfortable, they also die from these various procedures daily.  They are stitched up and restitched more than once in their lives. As to counter the damage that is being done to these poor women at such young ages, many organizations, such as the World Health Organization, are stepping in to make a difference.  They are finding that in order to make a difference they are having to educate individuals on sexual hygiene and the human body.  There are ethical dilemmas they are running into, one is trying to change someone's religion.  They are finding resistance in those societies where female circumcision is a belief rather than tradition.  They are finding that in order to change the way of the society is to change the thinking of their leaders and helping women find more rights within the society.   Immigrants in the U.s. that come from families who participate in female circumcision are causing problems for general surgeons, asking the surgeons to do circumcision. Also, women from the countries where they were circumcised come to the U.S. and ask for doctors to try and repair whats been damaged.

Issues Paper

My issues paper is about the globalization of technology and how some of it can help those with learning or mental challenges. The market demand for these technologies is always growing and is very competitive  This is one of the major reasons that technology advances so quickly. Like my laptop I had before my mission; it wasn't quite as quick and nice when I got home compared to everyone else's Mac Book Pros. I will also be looking at the other side of the argument because I know of a few people myself who claim that too many things like video games, computers, and tv have cause learning challenges in families members or their close friends. I do have other examples of how a stray snowball flew into the eye of a friends sister and it permanently damaged her sight and she was going to have to drop out of school but that was right when they came out with the iPad and with the technology on it the school system was able to make some programs for her to stay in school. I'm sure these advances are because of growing demand and the globalization of the market. I know there are other examples to find and probably data on the number of challenged kids now vs years ago and stuff like that.

Global Immunization-Sterling Paulson

My Globalization Issues Paper topic is global immunization. At this point I feel that it is a fairly comprehensible topic, and I think that the average person will likely consider it a worthwhile pursuit. Due to this, I think that I will be focusing much of my paper on more specific concerns. These will include topics such as what diseases we should focus our efforts on, what demographics and countries are most in need, and, most importantly, how to improve the current system of immunization. This is an issue that I am passionate about due to the fact that I am a Public Health major, and I have already learned about how effective immunization is, both in economic terms and in terms of quality of life/lifespan.

Global immunization is a simple concept, but the system is incredibly complex. It includes all levels of government, public and private funds, and both small and large non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Because there are vaccine-preventable diseases that exist not just as region-specific infections, but have an impact on a global basis, oftentimes these public and private entities must come together to coordinate these efforts. This requires that respect is paid to different cultures, economies, and governmental systems. This also requires that different countries communicate and interact with each other. This is applicable to globalization, and the fact that we have individuals and groups from different nations volunteering or working in various parts of the world is also applicable to globalization, as it fosters interaction and exchange of culture.

The most significant way in which immunization is related to globalization is the fact that there are many programs that pool together resources in implementing multinational programs. I found it interesting that the LDS Church has placed global immunization atop its list of humanitarian efforts, and in doing so they have sent resources and volunteers across the globe on a mission to prevent disease and death due to vaccine preventable diseases.

Trade with China

I'm going to write about foreign trade with China for my issues paper. The main incentives for me choosing this are first it's a topic of general high interest and second that it's a topic that coincides with my area of study. I feel that the topic has enough tied to it that I'll be able to easily write a 8-10 page paper, with some work, and that I'll be able to find enough information to argue my point. I'll admit that my thesis has largely already been formed, but I have done some research on it before so I feel a bit more justified in starting with an opinion. My main concerns with the topic are being able to focus on the topics that will make the article as strong as possible, otherwise I'll end up writing without really saying much. Another concern is fighting public opinion. I'm taking a stance that goes against the public opinion, which always means that I have an uphill battle if I'm going to convince anyone. Because of this, I'm going to have to focus a large portion of my writing to dealing with counter-arguments. This presents another problem of balancing offense and defense while asserting my claim. Overall I feel confident that I'll be able to handle writing this paper and that I'll produce something worth reading. I hope that this will allow me to better understand a few topics in my field of study and further my skills as a writer.

Issues paper- American drug war

My topic for the issues paper is on the effects of international trade, specifically the influence it has on American culture.  I chose this topic because I believe it is a huge product in the global market that plays a big role on societies.  What effect does trading and consuming have on someone in another country?  One example would be marijuana that is traded between America and Mexico.  These are rough statistics but since 2006 an average of 60,000+ people have been killed in drug-related violence.  The Drug Cartels induce a sense of fear and violence wherever they go.  Their control has even taken over many government positions and police force.  This war on the drug cartels has had a major impact in Mexico's social, economic, and physical aspects.  That violence has spilled out here into America as well, as we see gang-related violence taking root in major cities.  Sometimes we don't realize just how much international trade affects a country. Concerning globalization, this is something that happens all over the world, but for purposes of clarity I will probably focus on one foreign country.  This topic may be subject to change, depending on the availability of research material.  As for my paper I plan to write more on facts and definition, describing the problem and the negative/positive effect it has on our society.  In the conclusion I may present some possible solutions to the problem and a call to action, but I will not focus to much on this because I'm not a lawmaker or politician.  That's just not my place and I'm not that informed to do so, nor would I want some unqualified person telling me how to do my job.  I am excited to research more on this topic because it is something that interests me and is so close to my home.

Issues Topic- Thomas

At first I had a tough time trying to choose my topic about what I was going to write about. I wanted to first write about poverty and how it exists in the world and that we also needed to focus on our own poverty in our own country so we can have a bigger influence on poverty in the world and helping others more effectively. The other one of my main ideas that I had when I first started brainstorming was the effect that fast food restaurants have on the world. The reason why I ended up not choosing this topic about fast food is because I don’t really have a stance on it whether it is good or bad, and also because it seemed a bit narrow to write a 8 to 10 page paper on. This is how I came up with my topic now which is the effect that American business has in other countries. Many American businesses are in other countries because the labor is cheap and it helps us Americans have lower priced items. Many people may argue that this is outsourcing and that Americans deserve those jobs. I will take the stance that the people in those countries are people too and that they depend on those jobs for an income, which to us may seem as a terrible income but it’s enough for those people to be willing to work at those jobs. It helps give jobs to families in poverty and lower the cost of our own products.

Issues Topic

My topic for the issues paper is on transportation and whether or not it has a good impact on us as a global society. Mainly I will focus on cars as our main source of transportation but I might use alternates forms of transportation. We use cars all the time but we don’t really know how much that affects us. American cars were once manufactured mostly in America but nowadays that may not be the case. For instance, the chips and computers we find in our cars today were probably made in Asia somewhere and the car was probably pieced together in Mexico. Because cars are manufactured basically everywhere how does that affect our economy? When we stopped manufacturing cars here as much, where did those jobs go to as we outsourced to other countries for cheaper parts and cheaper labor? However, since we have outsourced to different areas of the world, has that helped us become more globalized? I would agree that the manufacturing of cars does make us more global. You can now find American made cars outside of the U.S. just like you can find imported cars here. Another issue is pretty well known and that is energy. Where do we get our energy to use our cars? What about alternate sources of energy?  There are lots of aspects that we don’t always consider when it comes to our transportation needs. Transportation has allowed us to become more connected than ever before by allowing us to reach across the global. Today we are able to get to the other side of the world in a single day. But what made all that possible and how does that affect us?

you are what you wea[w]r[ite]

sitting in a class primarily filled with dudes {i couldn't resist}, i can see how my topic may have seemed a bit absurd, or even superficial when compared to things such as genital mutilation in Africa or the drug trade on society. but, for those few that end up reading my little post here, i ask you to open your mind a little bit.
as humans, we love to explore culture. we study civilizations music writing styles, sculpting, poetry, vases, palaces, and any other artifacts indicative of culture. These artifacts often include clothing. Clothing gives us insight into what peoples valued, a peek into a moral code, and perception into every day practices or rituals. Religious apparel also offers clarity to ceremonies and practices.
This background was purely for you guys though, and in my paper I will primarily focus on the driving force fashion is in contemporary terms. i chose my claim and phrase "global force" with the knowledge that the positive and negative factors that the design, creation, marketing, and distribution of clothing has are profound and expansive. Designers garnish statuses that elevate them to celebrities, while often the construction of their garments is the direct cause of many individuals being treated inhumanely. On the other end of the spectrum, women in the middle east who previously enjoyed little to no freedom of choice are now allocated the opportunity of receiving an education in this field. It may be a small step, and many will consider it trivial, but it is the spark that could spread the flames of a movement.
Obviously this is something I feel quite passionate about, and i love the idea of discussing both the controversy and contributions that the industry of fashion has on a community level, as well as globally.

Globalization of American Media

My issue paper topic is the globalization of American media. I chose this topic because the media that is produced in the United States has greatly spread across the world. Media including music, movies, television and even video games. All of theses areas in media have become very popular in many countries around the world and the popularity continues to grow. My topic discusses the globalization of American ways and ideas through the media. Because the media is a broad communication through music, movies, radio and television, our ideas and our ways are easily transmitted to those who around these things. Those who participate in these different types of media are automatically influenced and will adopt a part of our ways and ideas.
The globalization of the American media seems to be accepted mostly by the younger generations. The older generations do not welcome the idea of changing their ways, their ideas, or their culture. The older generation believes that the influence of the American culture is corrupting the younger generation. But the younger generation enjoys the American influence because the quality of American media is far greater. From my point of view i can see that the Globalization of American media has both a good and a bad effect. Because the American media has a lot of violence, vulgarity, and sexual content, those who view it could and probably will be effected in a negative way. But the quality and the broad variety of media that the US can offer is unbeatable. This allows access to pretty much what ever you want allowing everyone to be able to enjoy what they enjoy at the best quality possible.   

Issues Paper- Basketball globalization

My issues paper topic discusses the global spread of the game of basketball.  The stance that I plan on taking with this topic deals with how the expansion of basketball is good for the game and the world.  This paper will address globalization by giving examples and commentary on how basketball is being spread to countries other than the United States.  By the game being spread to the rest of the world, many talented players have the opportunity to come play in the top league, the NBA.  The expansion also allows for the game to become popular with the fans outside the United States.  Basketball has become a very popular sport outside the US and it continues to grow in popularity.  Many countries see that the people like the game of basketball and realize that establishing good basketball programs could lead to increase national wealth.  The countries of the world have realized that basketball is becoming one of the world’s fastest growing sports and are trying to take advantage of it.  One of the countries that has tried to take advantage of the growth of basketball is Lithuania.  Lithuania was a soccer country that didn't want anything to do with basketball, but they have grown to love the sport as a nation.  The country has put a lot of money in player development.  They have paid for nice facilities and good coaching, and they are being reward for it with a strong young basketball program.  Basketball is becoming a global game that is changing the world.

Peer reviews

I like having peer reviews because it gives me another opportunity to revise my rough draft. I also feel that peer reviews can be really helpful because it helps me understand another’s point of view. It also depends on the other classmates on how the peer reviews go because they have to put in the work to help me out more. I really like it when they mark up my paper a lot and not just answer their peer review questions. I make plenty of grammatical mistakes so maybe there should be a few peer review questions on sentence fluency and other grammatical errors. I also like the peer review questions that talk about topic sentences because I tend to have trouble with my topic sentences. The best way to have an effective peer review is when everyone does their work, the more precise everyone is the more helpful the peer review is. I think talking about each paper for 15 mins. is good because some people have papers that have more to talk about and other don’t. With this next research paper that’s supposed to be 8 to 10 pages it should be really easy to talk for 15 mins. on each person’s paper. Overall I think that the peer review is fun because it is fun to see what other are writing. Also it’s fun to compare and contrast different writing styles. I liked the peer reviews and overall they are beneficial in helping us to revise our papers.

Peer Review

Peer review has a new meaning to me now than before.  That phrase used to have a negative connotation when I heard it but now I have come to realize the effectiveness of peer review.  Before I always thought of it as an opportunity of someone to downplay someone's hard work.  Now I see it was an opportunity to help and receive help some others.  A mutual service in a sense.  The reviewer has the responsibility to correct and advise the essay he is reviewing and in turn he learns about writing style and has just helped someone improve their essay.  The same is for the writer, to be able to recieve critical responses lets us see our essay from a different perspective and thus improve the clarity and strength of it.  I enjoyed the opportunity to review my peer's essays and have mine reviewed as well.  I found that I had overlooked many key points and grammatical errors that I would have overwise overlooked.  I always try to be open to critizism, even the negative and unproductive ones.  The same responsibilities of a reader and writer apply here in which we must take account for bias and try to get the positive side of the critizism.  "Take everything with a grain of salt" I always heard growing up, look for the best in everything.  This is why I believe attitude plays a big part in peer review.  In conclusion, I found peer review effective and rewarding.

Peer Review-Sterling Paulson

My first experience with an in-class peer review has been this Writing 150 course. However, in the past I have found that having a peer, parent, or teacher proofread my writing outside of class has been very beneficial. It is an effective way of having a potential audience member examine my thesis and logic for quality. It is has also been beneficial for me because I often make grammar errors or just leave out words unintentionally, and often times I do not catch these mistakes because my mind tends to automatically fill them in or correct them while I am reading. Thanks to having others review my writing, these errors are often caught before I begin my final draft. I have found that both of these benefits have held true with our in-class peer reviews. With my opinion editorial, I got very helpful feedback not just from my peers but from the instructor that helped me make a more effective argument and appeal better to my audience. With the rhetorical analysis, I received feedback that helped me examine my word choice and thesis and make appropriate corrections that improved my essay. With both of these papers, I was made aware of grammar and phrasing errors that I had yet to recognize. So with this being said, I believe that peer review is very beneficial. It helps the writer receive input and feedback from a microcosm audience, and thus it helps the writer tailor his or her argument to be most effective to the target. The only reservation that I have with peer review is that it requires not just work from the writer, but it also requires an attentive reviewer. While I have been lucky enough to get good feedback in our WRTG 150 course, there have been times in high school that I either received unhelpful, non-specific feedback or insincere feedback, such as one case where a reviewer likely did not even read my essay, just telling me that it was “good.” Overall, I would recommend continuance of our current peer review process in this course because I have seen great benefits from it.