Benefits of peer review

Overall i believe that peer review is very beneficial. This is because most of the time we cannot see the errors that we have in our own papers, but our peers can easily pick them out. Peer review is also beneficial because everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses in writing, so with the help of a peer we can make turn writing weaknesses into strengths. I have realized that just after doing the first two peer review activities that i have been able to avoid mistakes that i have made. I also have been able to focus more on my weaknesses. I wouldn't say peer review is like watching the super bowl but it isn't that boring. It is worth the time that we take to help our peers out and to receive needed help from our peers. To make a successful peer review session i would make sure the reviewers knew what a paper needs to be a good paper and then I would have them right down 1. What they liked about the paper 2. what the author did well in his writing 3. what the reviewer believes that the author could do to make the paper better and 4. what the author needs to fix (grammar and spelling mistakes etc.). Finally once the peer review session starts instead of having once person say everything that they thought the writer did well I would have each reviewer take turns saying one good thing that they liked so that each reviewer could build off the other. Then i would do the same with what they need to improve. This is how i would organize a peer review session. 

Peer Review-Very beneficial

          I find that the peer review for our papers is very helpful.  Getting feedback on our papers from our peers is beneficial for several reasons.  One of the main reasons I like doing peer review is that it gives me feedback on what I could do better in my paper. Many of my friends that I go to help for don’t have the time to read through my papers, so having a group of well qualified people to edit my papers is a true blessing.  Secondly, peer review is very good in the fact that my peers often have good ideas that I would have never thought of. In the two times we have done peer review I have was given many good new ideas that I used in my final draft.  For example, some sentences in my rough draft I can’t figure out how to make them less wordy, but peer review helps me fix these wordy sentences and make them short and powerful.  Finally, the outline we get to assist in the editing of the essays is very beneficial.  The questions on the outline help the editing process to be well done.  The questions help the editor focus on areas in the paper that are most crucial to a successful essay.  I really feel the peer reviews are useful part of this course. 

            If I was attempting to organize a peer review I would keep it very similar to the way we are conducting peer review sessions now.  The review of a person’s paper by multiple people is very helpful.   The discussion time (15 minutes on each paper) is sufficient in order to cover the outline and go through the paper with the writer in order to show them what needs to be changed. The only thing I might change in the organization of a peer review would be the amount of people that review an essay.  Instead of having just two people, I would have three.  I personally like to have many people to review my paper in order to find all the weak parts in my writing.   Peer review sessions are organized very well.

Peer Review

            I like peer review. It’s one of those class exercises that everyone kind of dreads when the words come out of the teachers mouth but then we actually find it to be helpful and really not that bad at all. I would definitely say that it is beneficial, especially considering that our main audience is our peers and we are trying to write in a way that they would like to read. So if they give suggestions of how to improve then we know what our audience is looking for and we can conform to their style and interests, ultimately making our papers more effective. I wouldn’t say that it is necessarily fun but it’s not a drag either. I always think it will be a drag but in the end it always helps. It also helps when the group members realize that none of us are experts and they don’t make it seem that unless you write their way then your paper will suck: which could be a feeling coming out of the writing center or places like that.

            If I were to design a peer review session I would start with the rubric most likely. I would pull out the essential points to getting an A and that’s what I would base my questions around. Really we’re just learning to communicate more effectively so I wouldn’t feel bad just showing them how to get an A because if the students fulfilled those requirements that would mean that they are communicating more effectively. Then I would just give time for them to go over the questions in groups and then review as a class.

Fallacies- playing with fire?

Fallacies are powerful rhetorical tools.  They can be used to help the reader see the writer's point of view or twist the truth into deceiving innocent bystanders to be swayed to one side.  Fallacies are so common in the media these days that it can be hard to truly distinguish what is truth and what is partial truth.  But that doesn't mean it can't be entertaining.  TV commercials are taking the trend of involving fallacies to draw humor and it is a model that has proven successful.  On the other hand we have politics, which can be a nightmare.  I have to also watch out for how much bias I am taking in because it seems each party uses fallacies to their extremes to get their point across.  So we also see fallacies being implemented for good and bad, but in my personal opinion it adds flavor to life.  Not many just want to the dull boring facts, they want exciting "Hollywood" kind of information.   As for using fallacies in my writing, I'm not sure how comfortable I would be using it.  I like to make logical appeals based on truth and fact, and overusing a fallacy may discredit my authority.  It's not a risk I would easily take.  On a moral standpoint, I would have to draw my line on certain situations between harmless fun and serious fact.  However, this is rhetorical writing so I do see the effectiveness of fallacies.  In this life there are things we control, things we have no control over, and things we can influence.  All we can do is master our dominion what we can and hope for the best.  

Fallacies.

          Fallacies are found in almost any situation.  They can be good, they can be bad, they can be whatever you make them out to be. They are often used in day to day life, as well as writing to make the story to be whatever you want it to be.  It is a very simple way to manipulate any kind of data.  I don't really appreciate skewed stories or data. I like having the full blown story or all the details and, unless it is for a good cause and don't really have an overall effect on whatever my intended audience I feel okay using them. Perhaps when trying to make a point it is okay. It can create a canvas to writing to be interesting and make for some interesting reading but I still am not okay with it. I haven't used much fallacy in my writing because I don't want to be seen as somewhat of a liar.
        I actually used to be really good at manipulating information when coming home late in high school.  I would tell my mother only certain things about where I had been, or only certain highlights about the people I had been with because I didn't want to get in too much trouble.  Even though that could be considered omitting information, I still was able to skew stories and mislead my poor mother(even though she knew better and wasn't letting on.) Is that ethical...? No. Do I still do it? No. Am I comfortable writing with fallacies? Not really. I don't want to lose my case if things are based upon fallacies or someone could find a reason to blame them.

Fallacies are seen everywhere. They are seen everywhere for a reason: when used in the proper (and I use "proper" lightly) they are effective. But what are they? When used in writing as logical fallacies they are arguments or statements meant to mislead the reader. Is it okay to use them? I think that this is a complex question that really has no right or wrong answer. I personally think that it must be looked at on a case by case basis. I don't think that they are ethical, because purposefully leading people astray and basically lying to them does not sound ethical on any level. However, I think that using an effective fallacy may be excusable when it is done to raise awareness or support for a good cause.  The problem with this is that an author who is passionate enough about an issue to write about it while likely feel like it is a good cause, and more often than not there are multiple sides to an issues. Out of this arises multiple authors representing multiple sides, and multiple sides being argued with fallacies because each author feels they represent a good cause. This makes for a confusing situation and could mean that the most convincing author is not the one who represents the best cause, but the one who uses a logical fallacy most effectively.  Do I feel comfortable using them in my own writing? Just as with my general analysis of fallacies, I think that use of fallacies in my own writing is dependent upon the situation. While I am hesitant to throw in fallacies in my writing to argue any point, I feel more comfortable in using them when I feel that I am writing about an important cause. Once again, using a fallacy is really just a judgement call. While not ethical, it could be used as a means to a greater good.

Fallacies can definitely be good and bad; it just depends on the intended purpose of the author. A lot of facetious and ironic writing can hold a fair amount of fallacies just because the author is trying to point out the ridiculousness of an argument or to add some humor to a touchy subject. That is, personally, more enjoyable to read than a lot of reading. I enjoy it especially in writing like newspapers and other short informative articles. I find those kinds of fallacies more fun and more engaging. There are obviously other kinds however. These are normally in skewed data or in some other form of misrepresentation of information. These aren't so good because I feel as though the author knowingly uses skewed sources and purposely doesn't site them because they will discredit his argument.

            I really don’t think that I have practiced enough to correctly use fallacies and I wouldn't feel super comfortable doing it. I think one thing that beginning writers like us could fall into a lot is using fallacies without realizing it (normally due to personal or popular opinion that we don’t realize we need to justify). I wouldn’t feel unethical using fallacies to be more engaging and more easy to relate to for the audience. I do think that other fallacies that change and manipulate are unethical and shouldn't be used. They are something that should be practiced before they can be used correctly just to avoid offending and criticism. 

Fallacies- Acceptable or Not?

Fallacies in the world are so commonly used.  It’s difficult to go even a day without hearing an inaccurate statement or a skewed fact.  Often times the good intentions behind a fallacy can be compromised if the fallacy is not morally correct. The moral correctness of something like a fallacy is very difficult to pin down.  In my personal opinion, fallacies are okay to use as long as are used for a good purpose and not taken over the top.  An example of a fallacy that would be acceptable in my opinion would be the skewing of data in countries that have very poor living conditions but not drastically low death rates.  Since living conditions often lead to life expectancy. I believe it would be acceptable to skew the data slightly to show that a change must be made soon. Or I would show how poor living conditions leads to life expectancy decrease. However, controversy arises when discussing how much tampering of the truth is morally correct.  I believe that the skewing of something such as data, very minimally, to make a point that otherwise count be made would be acceptable.  For example, if a country, in order to be considered for world aid, had to have one million people in poverty, and in reality I was fifty people short of the mark,  I would probably skew the data in order to better the welfare of the people that are in poverty.  Most situations I would not create such a fallacy but I believe in certain situations fallacies are acceptable to use. Determining when it is acceptable can be very challenging however. 

            In my writing I seldom use fallacies.  I would more than likely only use a fallacy if it was for a very good cause and it was very close to the truth.  I personally feel that facts are more powerful in writing, and help develop trust with the audience.  I would honestly feel slightly uncomfortable putting a intentional fallacy in my paper, but I would do it, if the situation was just right.  

Fallacies are sometimes ok.

Usually fallacies have a purpose to help the reader see the point of view of the author. But this can also be bad because it may manipulate the reader in to thinking something that isn't true. I think that fallacies are helpful and ethical when the author has good intentions and isn't trying to brainwash the reader. When an author is trying to get his readers to see how ridiculous something is using a fallacy then it can be a useful tool. In most cases when the author uses fallacies, it is because he wants to hide opposing views or evidence of his argument or opinion. In other instances the author also tries to avoid sharing correct information that would create an opposing view from the reader. Another fallacy that authors use is to trick the reader into thinking something dramatic. In these instances fallacies aren't ethical at all because the author has bad intentions to get the reader to support his side. I don't feel comfortable using fallacies in my paper because i like to convince my readers through evidence and not through using sly fallacies that trick readers into believing me. I look back and i am starting to realize that many times i have fallen into the trap of fallacies because of how well the author set them up. If an author needs to use fallacies it is usually because he is arguing for the wrong side. or he is trying too hard to convince his audience.

Sterling. Thesis

In "Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted," Malcolm Gladwell addresses activism through social media. Specifically, he argues that social media activism that has become popular as of late is not capable of forging the strong ties that are necessary for real social change. In order to illustrate this point he compares Facebook and Twitter campaigns to the campaigns of the Civil Roghts Era of the 60s. This is especially powerful as it shows how much was at stake then and how united and involved the activists were. In comparison, many of the modern examples involving social media reveal that individuals are risking little and are actually having a fairly insignificant impact, made significant in their own mind and amongst their peers. Gladwell's thesis sets out to show that real social change is a result of risk and unity, and is not accomplished by millions of uninformed westerners tweeting about events they know little about in a country with few Twitter users.

Vague Thesis - Immigration

The article I have read is “Behind the ‘Illegal Alien’ Label, Real Kids with a Lot to Contribute” by Marcos Brenton. In this article it seems like there is no clear thesis and it seems as though the article is just trying to imply one. If there was a line in this article that best stated what this article was trying to argue it would be, “The very term ‘illegal alien’ is like blood dumped in shark-infested waters” (Brenton).  This article tries to convince it’s audience that names that illegal immigrants are called are stereotypical and unfair to the many “honor students” (Brenton) that come into our country. The author also tries to state that the term “illegal alien” is just rhetoric trying to get people to dislike all illegal immigrants from coming into our country. I for one see his point in this but is does not change the fact that they are coming illegally and for free when many other immigrants are sacrificing and paying much to come to this country legally. I can see why the author does not mention this, because it would weaken his argument.  So instead, he simply goes on using other examples that try to prove his point that many people might be able to agree to. The author mentions drug lords briefly and he mainly tries to tag the illegal immigrants as honor students and hard workers. Which may be true in many cases but it is always important to realize that there are drugs coming across the border and that’s a bigger problem than just mere social labels.

Analyzing.

Analyzing isn't necessarily hard.  I found the article on being green rather insightful to what it really means to be green. I learned quite a few new things, a great example of that would be about consumerism.  Nixing consumerism is what it really means to be "green", and I think that would be the thesis of the author's analysis.  He makes a point easy simple points while using very descriptive examples on how things work now, compared to how they could/should work. He even involves the theory of how the government could change things, and emphasizes the type of power they have in this very interesting area of our culture.  I rather enjoy analyzing his points and his argument and point of interest. He does exaggerate quite a bit and uses irony in his examples. His ending point isn't the strongest point in his paper but, even still, he does make rather good points. At least I think so.  We do "buy" into the ideas of consumerism, we just haven't been smart about it.  Up until I read his article, let's just say I was uneducated on how it really works.

Analyzing an Analysis

At first I had difficulty finding the thesis in my article, "The West, the Rest, and the New Middle East: Obama in London" because the article itself is an analysis itself of President Obama's speech in London. It is not strictly a rhetorical analysis, however, which I believe was the source of my struggle. Essentially the main idea of the article is that President Obama's speech in London was much more effective than the previous two he had given, but that there would not be as much attention paid to this speech. The author, Bruce Jones, then takes the reader through some of the main points of the previous speeches, and then highlights the evidence behind the claim that the third speech was, in fact, the most important. I do not know much more information about the events for which the speech was given, outside of what was provided me by the author, but his claim seems to be reasonable.
There is great need for peace in the region, but also the growing question posed by much of the world: is the U.S. truly leading, or trying to lead from behind? According to Jones, this is is most effectively addressed in President Obama's speech in London. President Obama insisted that when measures for peace or changes in order where necessary that the U.S. was the clear authoritative center of negotiation. He also more directly addressed problems in the middle east; this is a claim that will be roughly tested in the near future. Without reading the speech myself, I can't say for certain how well President Obama represented his ideals, compared to the others, but Jones has definitely made me feel that way.

-Ashley Robinson

Thesis analysis

The Article I am writing about is, "In Defense of Globalization: Why Cultural Exchange Is Still an Overwhelming Force for Good." From the article I would have to agree with the author that globalization does not impose "american uniformity," but rather a exchange of cultures.  Thus this cultural exchange being an "overwhelming force for good."  His thesis is supporting by the reasons that we have the freedom to choose, the domination of Hollywood, the impact on language, cross-cultural exchange, and creating new identities.  For me, he provides enough evidence in a rhetorical way to convince me that globalization is more beneficial to everyone as a whole.  He uses analogies, concrete examples, and imagery to engage the reader and paint a picture of what is the reality and effects of globalization.  His thesis however in my opinion is a little too broad and doesn't exactly paint a road map for all his reasons.  This would be the only thing I would change is to make the organization of the paper more clear in the thesis.

Rhetorical Thesis

The article I have chosen is “Thoughts on Illegal Immigration” by Jack Kerwick. In this article Kerwick argues that immigration reform is a political tactic used by politicians to gain the voters and for their personal agenda. He states that there are two main reasons or fallacies provided to us by the Democratic Party to convince us of a total reform. One being that the only option other than amnesty is to do nothing and the second that we can’t afford to do nothing. Kerwick understands that something must be done about illegal immigration and that the American people understand this as well. Kerwick argues that there are of course other alternatives to total amnesty and that this is a fallacy that the liberals feed to us as truth to sway the opinions of voters. His opinion is that the liberal views are far too superficial to actually benefit immigrants or the American citizens and that amnesty is not the only solution to the problem. One problem that I can see with his thesis is that I believe there are people on both sides of politics who do genuinely care about immigration reform. His thesis does somewhat generalize that group of people saying that all of them believe this way. I think there are people in the Democratic Party who do want to help immigrants. I also think that republican candidates can do this same thing. But for the most part I do agree with what he has to say about immigration reform and that we really can’t afford to do nothing.

Green Thesis

The thesis that Alex Williams uses in his article "Buying Into The Green Movement", is as follows " That vision of an eco-sensitive life as a series of choices about what to buy appeals to millions of consumers and arguably defines the current environment movement as equal parts concern for the earth and making a stylish statement. I agree with this thesis because of the examples that we can see in every day life. Every day there seems to be a new way to go green which can only be followed by buying something eco-friendly. In a way it has also become very sad that a lot of people only go green because it is fashionable, even though they don't care about the environment at all. It seems to be more to become acceptable in the eyes of others and to have others think that you really care about the environment because you have or use green products. Because of how fashionable and acceptable it is to go green, the go green industries are becoming really profitable. This causes many companies to manufacture more products that are green which worsens our situation in the environment. Williams does a great job at setting up Kairos with the continual rise of the green movement and help's us as U.S. citizens to see how ineffective the green movement has become. If we support this movement we will just be adding to the destruction of our environment.

Why "Buying into the Green Movement" works

Because of me wanting to join half the class and do the most popular article, I am analyzing "Buying into the Green Movement" by Alex Williams. My thesis statement for the moment is as follows: Alex Williams is successful in using irony and exaggeration as devices to convey his points and subliminally convince those with an interest in the green movement to take more action other than just buying eco products. There was a bit of internal debate of whether or not the article really works to convey its message. The main problem that I had was his concluding statement that people who are buying the products view it as a first step and want to do more. To me this seems to undermine the article's call to action by making it sound like people are already moving towards reducing consumption. While mentioning it alone doesn't add to the mix, the fact that it's the last taste that the reader has from the article seems to pull the rug from under the article. However, when considering the overall article and its great use of exaggeration and pointing to the sheer irony of people effectively making no change in the environment by buying products illustrates his point well and leaves memorable bits of information that still sway the reader. He constantly goes through the shopping lists of the eco-minded to appeal his point and is very successful at showing how the products don't contribute to solving the true problem. In spite of the Achilles’s heel, the article still manages to pull it off by presenting a colorful and expressive view of the situation.

thesis

            In Barbara Ehrenreich’s article, “Wal-Martian Invasion” she discusses the internal issues behind the company of Wal-Mart.  In her thesis however, she ineffectively presents the many points that she is trying to argue.  The thesis discusses how over half of Wal-Marts own employees can’t afford the companies health insurance, let alone the products that are provided at the store.  In the article, she discusses much more than what she presents in the thesis. She discusses things such as sex discrimination, nonpayment for overtime work, poor management of medical emergencies, and other things.  She skims over all these statements with little interpretation for each, making a majority of her writing just claims, which aren’t backed with good factual evidence.  The thesis does address some of the things in the paper, such as, how many of the employees cannot pay for much of the merchandise at the store because of such low wages.  Ehrenreich uses a life example of a woman worker who can barely afford the shirt she must wear for work.  She discusses the issue of poor workers, but doesn’t go into very much detail, which ultimately weakens her argument.  Another thing the thesis fails to do is inform the reader of how employment problems at the company can be addressed.  In the article, Ehrenreich discusses briefly how Wal-Mart may be able to fix their existing problems. It is fine that she does this, but she doesn’t give the reader any warning in the thesis.  The thesis has potential for laying out some good arguments, but it doesn’t provided a well thought out map of what the article will be discussing.  This aspect might make many readers disagree with the thesis because the writer doesn’t even inform the audience of what is in the rest of the paper, causing questioning and potential distrust in the writers thesis.  It made me question the credibility and the truthfulness of the thesis being presented.  I disagree with this thesis.

Thesis

Alex William’s thesis in “Buying into the Green Movement” is that while eco-buyers think that we can reverse global warming (and other natural functions) by buying earth-friendly products, the real problem is still found in the cumulative effect of our consumption. I completely agree with the thesis. I could argue that one reason that I agree with his thesis is that his article was very well done. It is a logical argument and it shows how ridiculous buying only “green” products really is. Also it’s just common sense. I have never had the insane urge to spend $50 more at the grocery store just to get organic fruit. There are plenty of reasons why too. One: I’m not rich. Two: one reason there are so many cases of diseases like cancer and diabetes is because we eat things that are out of season. We’d be better off just buying what’s in season because it was made that way for our consumption for a reason. Three: like Williams stated, it was most likely flown in by a 747 and is super cost inefficient and is actually in-turn worse for the environment. The problem with all the eco-friendly products is that people just think it’s cool to buy them and they don’t actually research and get educated. Eco products normally cost more, take more time to acquire, and normally cause more harm than good (in the long run) with the production and transportation. I’m all for making less of an impact on the environment but I’d rather just consume less.

Favorite Author-Sterling Paulson

Unfortunately, I have let my reading for pleasure fall by the wayside as I've moved through high school and began college. However, one of the first authors that comes to my mind when I think of literature that I enjoy is JK Rowling. While she may not have the most formal style, I honestly loved her books. I think that she is an example of how a good author addresses his/her audience. She didn't put forth literature that will be pored over for years and studied in classrooms, but what she did do is create thousands of pages of writing that readers could relate to. In fact, her writing was so attractive to an audience that I included myself in that people waited in line for releases of her books way in advance. By use of imagery and good descriptions she created a vivid environment that I could almost put myself in when I read her books. Her writing also included suspense and situational set-up that made you not want to put the books down. She was also quite adept at creating situations with her characters that I could relate to as if they were my real-life peers. I think that this is what is attractive about her style. It is relatable, and in making the reader relate to characters, the reader becomes more engaged and feels an emotional investment to the characters.

Favorite Author

I have to admit, I do not read much. I could be considered to be one of those people who only read because it is assigned. Very few times have I taken the initiative to sit down and read just to read. The last time I did that I was reading a book by John Bytheway. I read the book because I wanted to and a friend wanted me to. However it was a fun book to read because of how the author engaged his readers. John Bytheway, by reading that book, is now one of my favorite authors. I know he’s a comedian (it takes skill to be funny) but he also makes his writing funny as well while managing to get his point a crossed. Reading his book was one of the few times I have actually liked reading because he made it entertaining. John put a positive outlook on everything he wrote. I also liked his style because he teaches values and lessons throughout his pieces of work.  John Bytheway’s diction plays a huge role in how he makes his points comical but clear. It is possible to enjoy reading and everyone has their preferences. I, personally enjoy more laughable and uplifting novels or articles. I also enjoy writing pieces that cause the reader to think. The best way a writer can do to make sure their audience will be interested in their writing is the writer also needs to be interested in what he/she is writing.

Chris Stewart

So all of my life I have been a bookworm. My parents would come into my room on schoolnights {typically around 12 or 12:30} to find me wrapped up in a new book, with bloodshot eyes reading by flashlight and tell me to go to sleep. I read everything in my sights. Even still, walking through a bookstore is comparable to tweedle dee in a candy store. The idea of taking in how other people feel about this in the world, or being immersed in a world they created is amazing. Given all of this, picking favorite author was extremely difficult! But one series that have read kept coming into my mind.
By no means arenthey works of literary genius, or shocking, or anything along those lines but the Great and the Terrible series by Chris Stewart honestly changed my life.
It is very heavily based in beliefs of the LDS faith, which sometimes detracts from the appeal of books to me, but this was a wonderful exception. The first book begins in the premortal existence with a family and their experience in the war in heaven. This is obviously not doctrine, but is still very spiritual and increased my testimony. The rest of the series follows this "family" through the earth life, based in modern times and very heavily centered around the war in the middle east.
While I am still quite uninformed about issues in the middle east this book opened my mind up to the people in that area, and I believe this book was a great influence on my decision to become a middle eastern studies major.
Chris Stewart just painted everything so vividly and kindly that it truly opened my heart to things that it was previously closed to. Any book that can make such a deep impact is something special, and I absolutely loved it.

-Ashley.

Favorite Book

I’m not one to read very often and I’ll be the first to admit it! But when I do read for fun I find myself enjoying non-fiction more so than fiction. I’m not sure why that is but I have always enjoyed learning and reading about historical events. However, one series that I read recently and enjoyed was “the Uglies” by Scott Westerfield. The way he describes the scenes in his book really painted a picture for me. The book takes place in the future in a society that is based on the way you look and at the age of 16 everyone undergoes a surgery to be turned from the normal “ugly” to pretty. He does a great job at really helping you visualize exactly what is happening. For instance, the main character enjoys hover boarding and a large portion of the book is based around her on her hover board. Westerfield really helps you imagine her flying through the air with her friends in the ruins of the old world. By doing this it keeps the reader entertained. If I can’t picture what the author is writing about than it is impossible for me to read the book. Another thing that this author does well is conveying the under lying message. Without actually giving an opinion you really start to understand that he is talking about the emphasis we give to looks in today’s society. It’s like he’s telling you that someday we will all end up like this awful society if we continue to focus so heavily on appearance instead of things that actually matter. I really enjoyed the series and I think he has a great style of writing.

Favorite Author - Harper Lee "To Kill a Mockingbird"

My favorite Author is Harper Lee.  My most notable experience with his writings was from high school when I read his book, "To Kill a Mockingbird".  It is a great piece of literature, with amazing characters and plot.  I like the diversity that is shown: sadness and happiness, racism and equality, immaturity and maturity, injustice and redemption. Each time I read this book, a different “universal truth” jumps out at me. When I was younger, I pondered the themes of prejudice, kindness, and dignity that run through the book, but now that I have read this as an adult, I am able to see new perspectives and themes of innocence.  It helped shaped my views as I gew up about race and relations.  I like the author writing style because she uses such strong imagery, that really engages the reader.  It often draws powerful emotions that promote self-awareness.  Her word choice is simple, but that makes the book easy to read.  The author also uses humor alot to connect with her audience.  This is apparent because as we read, the narrator is a little girl who has  a child-like perspective and often makes witty observations.  Another tool the author uses is symbolism, to create those universal truths.  All of these things really leave a lasting impression upon the reader and leaves them craving for more. To me that is what makes the novel so great, there is no beginning, middle, or end, it is like a snapshot of life.  A story that continues forever.  This is why in my opinion this book is a timeless classic, it's an american novel.  

Why I love Ender's Game

There's only one author that I would consider my favorite would be Orson Scott Card, especially in his book Ender's Game. While I must admit that some of his later books drag on, his style of writing has been a consistent favorite of mine since I first read the book in elementary school. In analysis of why I like the book so much I can see few reasons. First and foremost he nearly tells the full story from Ender's eyes which accomplishes two things. First it makes Ender feel much more of a real character; you can feel his feelings, know his thoughts, and stay current to his every move. Second, this allows for information to be carefully controlled, which means that you are unaware of things happening in the book until Ender himself finds out, which creates small surprises that keep the story suspenseful. Card also develops Ender into a very deep character who has many moral conflicts within himself. You can see throughout the book how Ender's thinking process works  and how he deals with the challenges that were placed in front of him throughout the book.
The book deals with many topics of humanity, war, and interpersonal conflicts explained through throughout, and contrasts between characters with other characters providing clear contrasts in thinking and development. Peter, Ender's brother, provides somewhat of a villain, but also an antihero. He is portrayed as an evil child who plots to seize power, yet at the same time has opinions and principles that you can't entirely disagree with. It creates a paradox of Peter being evil, yet at the same time liked as a character. For these and other reasons, Ender's Game has been my favorite book for years.

Favorite Author J.R.R. Tolkein

J.R.R. Tolkein has become my favorite author because of his series the "Lord of the Rings". He also did a very good job writing "The Hobbit". I enjoy his writing because of how well he composes his novels. He has a strong talent with getting the readers engaged into the story. This is due to how much detail he includes into his writings. When reading in Tolkein's books he very well paints a picture so that his readers see exactly what he wanted them to see. He also does a good job at creating different characters. These characters that he creates are very well distinguished one from another. As a reader i was able to see the personalities of each character and what made them different from all of the other characters.Another trait of Tolkein's writing that i enjoy is his use of words. Even though he is a intelligent person he does not try to include fancy words to try and prove a point. The diction is very well done and not too hard to understand. With the word choice that Tolkein has he can easily persuade readers to feel a certain way. He does this through the emotional appeal that is evident in his writings. When there is an intense part in the story it builds up to the event so that the readers can almost feel like they are in that same moment with the characters. Last of all i enjoy his old style in writing because it gives the book an old feeling which helps the readers think back as if this story was written a long time ago.

Favorite Author

One book that I really enjoyed in high school was recommended to me by my AP Lang teacher. I told her that I was planning on attending The Citadel in South Carolina (obviously that changed). She told me about Pat Conroy’s book, The Lords of Discipline. It’s about a senior cadet at the Military Academy in South Carolina who is charged with looking over the first black student admitted to the school. His strongest tools in the book were imagery and analogy. Now I am pretty familiar with a lot of the military terms and the process at the school because I applied at this school and the Naval Academy so the analogies weren't too necessary; but I can imagine that for someone who knew nothing, that they would be able to follow the story fairly easily. He does a really good job a relating and explaining the situation and that can help with the ethical side of the story. A lot of the corruption and foul play that goes on in the book is done by superiors and that’s important to note because the events wouldn't seem as dramatic if one didn't understand that. The imagery is what I love in this book. I went to the school and stayed there overnight to see it. When I read the book I could see myself exactly where Mr. Conroy was describing. I was in the hallways and running on the beach with the cadets. Because of the scenes painted in my head the emotional side of the book came out so much easier. It was like I was living the book and couldn't put it down.

My favorite author

 The way a story is written can greatly influence how well it is accepted.  One of my favorite books is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain.  Huckleberry Finn is a wonderful adventure story of a young boy and his friend named Jim.  During the course of the book, Huck Finn and Jim travel down the Mississippi River, coming across many instances of danger and excitement.  I love this book because it’s a great adventure story, but it also is very well written.  Mark Twain does an excellent job appealing to his audience.  One of the things that he does, that I really like, is the use of local dialect. Twain has many of the characters speak as if they are from the south, since the setting of the book is the southern part of America. By having the characters use this language; it adds appeal to the books plot and characters.  It makes everything in the book more exciting because we aren't use to such language when we read.  Another thing that Twain does well is visualization.  Twain does a great job explaining the setting and the story without making it complicated.  As a reader this is very nice because you aren't trying to piece the thought process of the writer together, instead you can just read and enjoy the book.  The last thing that I love about Mark Twain’s writing is that there is always a deeper meaning behind his story.  He has great life lessons as themes that can be found throughout his work, especially in Huckleberry Finn.  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a wonderful novel that I would recommend to anyone.

Style- Andy Cummock

I often think back to my humanities class when I hear the word "style".   More specifically about the process for critical writing, or in other words, responding to our experiences with certain arts.  We learned that the effectiveness of a critical response is split into three parts: the purpose, the style, and the audience.  The three are interconnected and when used properly, makes an essay effective.  First being, what is your purpose? Then, who is your audience? And lastly, Does your style fulfill your purpose and appeal to your audience?  So for me style plays a big role and also gives you voice in your paper.  It makes your unique and stand out from the crowd.  When I write my papers I feel like I often write without style, more of an methodical way of expressing what my claims and reasons.  Thus my papers often have a strong logos appeal and very little emotional appeals.  This is probably due to the fact that I haven't quite been able to put my "voice" into my writing.  Because when I'm around my friends, I like to laugh and have fun.  However, when I'm writing I feel like I have to go into processor mode.  Like a computer putting out data.  I mean let's face it, everybody has had that class where the professor talks monotone and within five minutes puts everyone to sleep.  That to me, says he has failed to appeal to his audience, that he has no connection with them and like a chain reaction, he can't fulfill his purpose.  Its like having all long sentences in your essays, without good diction or syntax.  It makes for a boring and plain waste of reading.  Which is why I believe, humor can help build that connection and relate yourself with your readers.  But of course everything in moderation, too much humor and your not going to be able to make a convincing argument about your issue.  So I feel like I am always faced with this problem. I like to organize my ideas and my paper with outlines and a lot of planning.  But the funniest moments I remember are always spontaneous and unrelated.  This makes it a challenge for me to put my voice in my writing while still maintaining a professional writing style.  Its something I believe through free writing can be improved to sound more fluid and more real.  So definitely something to work on for the next paper.

Christoffersen Style

I have never thought that everyone has there own style and that our own style is what can make a paper unique. I have always thought that everyone was trying to develop the right way to wright a paper, and that this way was the only. But after thinking about it i realize that if there was just one style, then reading would be very boring. The style that i use when i wright is usually emotional, backed up with facts, and with something that can help the audience relate. I believe that this helps the reader understand, enjoy and agree with what i write. But what my writing style doesn't include but my personality does is humor. I am not very good at writing humorously. I feel like being funny a lot of the times is on the spot. But knowing this makes me wonder how well being funny can help you in a paper. The style that i use also doesn't have to do much with big and fancy words (losing half of your vocabulary because of learning spanish doesn't help either). But rather the words that i usually use in my every day life. Because of high school i always thought that the papers that received good scores were those with words that have to be looked up in the dictionary to understand. One  of the things that i would like to improve on in my style is being able to create a better flow with in my paper. This includes from paragraph to paragraph and from sentence to sentence. The second area that i want to improve in my writing is being able to organize my information in a better way.

style

everyone has a style. from clothes worn, to friends chosen, to words written, we all have a brand for ourselves. trying to put that style into words can be a bit difficult sometimes, however, and if done in the first person. i think we all look at our writing style through the lens of pride, which may be an improper representation of our style, but no matter!
i diagnose my style as primarily wordy. i love choosing big, juicy, words from an ever expanding vocabulary to paint what i am trying to say. and while choosing these words is one of my favorite components of the writing process, it is also one of the most frustrating. something "on the tip of your tongue" is almost debilitating, when you know that a phrase could drive home your point, you just can't draw it to the surface. that being said, reading through a final draft with a few diamond words amidst the rough makes it all worth it.
my style also tends to be more vague than i aim for. to save readers from something repetitive i often skip some of my thought process, and lack a comprehensive map for my audience to follow. with rereading and revisions this is easily remedied, especially with the help of peers.
finally i think my style is a little bit unorthodox. i don't love following all conventional writing techniques. i try to stick to things like varying sentence length, and a clear style, but especially concerning things like five paragraph essays, the bare bones model isn't exactly my style. i am more of a blog writer, or humorous writer; i love writing in a more casual setting.
maybe i am selling myself for more than i am worth, or completely missing the mark on others perceptions of my style, but this is my "diagnosis"!

Writing Style-Sterling Paulson

Writing style definitely varies from person to person, but I feel like aspects of our writing style can be described using universal terms. My own writing style seems to be fairly logical.  I think a lot of this stems from my writing process. I begin by making an outline and listing my main ideas on it. I then use these main ideas to build paragraphs by adding supporting information. Due to this, my writing is very straight forward and tends to be very organized. I find this to be useful because it helps me make sure I am tying everything back into my thesis and staying on topic. This means that my writing style is easy to follow for the reader, but it tends to lack in emotional appeal. Something that this Op Ed assignment has helped me to realize is that I can improve my writing style by directly addressing my audience, as well as by sharing personal experiences with them. This seems to help people relate to me and my viewpoint, which is helpful when you are trying to convince them. As far as sentence length and syntax goes, I tend to use medium-length sentences, oftentimes with ideas, introductory phrases or commentary on subjects tied together through commas. The only issue that I have with this is that I sometimes feel like my sentences get too wordy or do not have enough variation in length. As a whole I feel like my writing style is logical and organized when writing on a topic, but I also feel like there is plenty of room for improvement.

Thomas Style

Writing style is very important in writing and it’s what keeps the reader interested in the paper. I find that many times when I read, I lose my focus really fast because the author is really bland (like my Engineering teacher in high school). Yes, everyone has a different writing style, but I have to admit a lot of writing styles are very similar.  I tend to lean more towards a creative way of writing just because it drags my mind away from my daily troubles and clutter in life. I feel like the Joker sometimes when it comes to writing and I think he puts it best in most cases, “Why so Serious?”. Yes, I know sometimes writing needs to be serious in order to persuade or call others to action. The fun stuff to read, however, is more humoristic. I like to add humor to my writing but at times it’s hard to find the appropriate time to add in a joke or two.

I do have trouble in my writing once every so often. I tend to repeat what I say when I need my paper to be longer. I tend to repeat what I say when I need my paper to be longer. It’s always a challenge for me to write a lot because I tend to say what I need to say pretty quickly then I go back through my paper to add in those “filler” words and sentences.  As always I need to work on my writing and I can always do better at my writing style.