The Rogerian Argument

     The Rogerian argument is a very interesting assignment. We are to take the 1500 word Informative Research Essay we already did and turn it into the 2000 word Rogerian Essay. The point of the Rogerian is to take the research we have already done, which was supposed to be unbiased and not taking a side, and now take a side to argue a point. The thing that makes the Rogerian different from just an ordinary argument is we have to include points on both sides of the fence.

     Including other opinions and research is definitely something new to us. We spent the whole last assignment trying to not take a stance on our subject, just simply inform. Now we are to not only take the stance, but see and agree with others points of view on the same subject.

     This kind of thinking makes you really see both side of the fence. There is always someone who thinks there point is more important than yours. By following these directions, you not only acknowledge their point, but you sometimes even praise it. In the end you still argue that your point is the most correct, yet you add credibility to your points by acknowledging theirs. I will have to do some additional research to find points that are contradictory to mine. I will however be able to use all my initial research from the first essay. Good luck to everybody on the assignment!

Essay #3 Self-Review

     Once again another essay to write and another review process to fill out. I used the self-review sheet to check my essay before submitting the 2^nd rough draft. Once again I did not find anything earth shattering by using the review sheet.  I did however re-read and make a few wording and syntax changes. Hopefully they make my paper better.

     I still think the reason I don’t find anything earth shattering is because I do so much revising while I am writing that the draft almost becomes the final result. As I write I am constantly reviewing and may change sentences to make them better, immediately after writing them down. It is as if I put myself in the reader’s perspective as I write and I make the changes necessary to make it sound better as I go. It is not exactly a structured review process, but seems to work okay for me.

     I did however use the question on the review about transitions and content-lexical ties to help me improve my paper. I added a few transitioning statements to my paper to make it flow more smoothly from paragraph to paragraph. Hopefully it all makes sense. I think I will get someone else to proofread it before I submit next week’s final draft. Two heads are better than on, right!

American Students Falling Behind

     The topic I chose for my essay is the fact American students are not keeping pace with the rest of the world’s students. This is actually very alarming and upon doing some research the numbers didn't make me feel any better. Other industrialized nation’s students are outperforming us in almost every category currently tested. Consider this, The United States came in 23^rd or 24^th in most subjects; we can quibble, or we can face the brutal truth that we’re being out-educated (qtd. in Lee). The nation that once led the world in education is now at best 23^rd?

     How did we ever get this far behind other countries? That is a much debated issue with all sides not seeing equally on how to proceed forward in fixing this problem. If we do not get this headed in the right direction soon, upcoming generations will feel the effects of a world who does not believe in our capabilities anymore. The far reaching economic impacts of letting other countries slip by us are going to be detrimental to our society. We have to turn this around.

     We must start to turn this around by insisting that educational excellence become a priority for our politicians and educators. It cannot be fixed overnight, but we can turn this around with some hard work and dedication.

Works Cited

Lee, Kurtis. “Math, Science, Reading scores show U.S. schools slipping behind.” PBS Newshour Extra, 10 December 2011. Web. 19 Novemeber 2013.

Appearance is in the eye of the, reader?

     The appearance of a document can be just as important as the appearance of a painting, website, or any other picture. If the look isn't good, no one is going to stop to read it.

     Most people have never thought about the appearance of a document before. Think about our blogs. I know the rest of you have at least looked at the other pages just as I have. Aren't there some blogs you chose to read over others? Is it appearance related? No, are you sure? No offense to anyone, and I won’t use names, but some of them don’t make a good first impression. Picture don’t match blog, don’t preview before posting, use illegible font types/colors, etc. There is definitely something to be said for only a few color choices, simple bordering, and sticking to the written point as much as possible.

dis·or·gan·ized

disˈôrgəˌnīzd/

adjective

1. 
   

     The opinion of what is and isn't appealing, now that conversation could go on forever. I think from watching the CRAP video that there are some basic visual ideas that are taught in website design that work for all tastes. To me one of the worst is too jumbled of a page. If I have to read around your pictures and decorations, or if there is no flow to your layout, I may be inclined to stop reading your paper at all.

     Keep it simple and tasteful and I think more people will read it!

Yet another student selected reading assignment

     These assignments always kill me because I can’t decide what to use. This time I picked out five different topics and still had trouble deciding what to use. That is when I looked out my door at work and saw some kids wasting time and texting on their phones when they should have been working. Hence the topic I picked out.

     The article I selected was, “A generation of slackers? Not so much” (Catherine Rampell). I was actually looking for an article collaborating my beliefs that today’s kids have little to no work ethic, what I found was this article’s inverse opinion to my own.

     This article has several good points about how you cannot compare apples to apples the workers of today and our parents’ generation. The thesis resounds throughout the article that today's’ generation is not lazy. They are even cited some research studies to back up their arguments. It doesn't fully sway me to their point of view, but does make me think about theirs. Maybe there are some things I am not taking into consideration and I need to be more open-minded. It is still hard to believe it fully when my own real world experiences have shown me otherwise. Sometimes you have to read the other sides’ view on a subject just to see if yours is correct, and I did. After reading it I still think their thesis is flawed and incorrect. 

I am a politician, therefore I lie!

     Is the cause of all the lies the drive to win? What does that say about the morals with which our prospective politicians are conducting themselves? I think it speaks volumes, and everyone is wrong. The drive to win should not outweigh the ability to remain honest during the elections. The entire political arena seems to have accepted that twisting the truth is okay. And people not only believe the lies, they cast their ballots based upon it. Well it is not okay with me. I strongly believe we should do away with the current political party system and start over!

    That is my solution, let’s start over. Establish new political parties and regulate the way they are able to campaign. The regulation is the key, establish the committee and give them the power to regulate it. Part of the regulations should be no lies or twisted truths can be used during the campaign. Only factual based positive comments. That way the whole election is based on the accomplishments and past track records of the respective candidate’s performance. I know most of you reading this are probably saying it wouldn't work. But if you made it to where the regulators could fine them or shut them down it would. I know I wouldn't get so upset with the whole process if it were all true and upbeat.

    Your Lie, Their Truth

     I think the easiest way to summarize Kevin Kruse’s viewpoint in, “The Real Loser: Truth”  is the fact that if you spread lies enough it will become truth in many people’s eyes, no matter whether your statement is based on any real facts or not. He is absolutely correct in saying politicians and television news reporting is loaded with rhetorical non-truths.

     In fact nothing makes me madder than election time. It has gotten where anymore you cannot believe anything you hear or say during the campaign and the winner is usually the one with the most money: then they can spread the most lies and half-truths.  It gets to where I do not watch television or answer the phone during the elections.

  

     Television news reporting is the same way. The political beliefs of the people in charge are so evident I can guess their political affiliation without ever meeting them, just by how they report the news. If you want accurate non-biased news reporting you almost have to watch NPR or BBC. Networks like CNN and Fox News could actual use elephants and donkeys as their respective mascots and I don’t think anyone would be surprised.

     “A lie told more than once, always seems to become the truth”, there that is a direct quotation from me. Just make sure if you use my quote you cite me in MLA format or Mr. Sentell may give you a bad grade!