Reflection Paper

This paper was a new experience. I hadn’t written a paper quite like this one before so it was interesting to try to find a way to write it. It was also interesting to try to view these speeches rhetorically and analyze them without regard to my personal opinions on their subjects. I felt I did pretty good at understanding how these rhetorical devices work. I just hope it all came out on paper the way I wanted it to. 

Writing my second essay, I felt slightly better about my process for writing. I wrote an outline and  brainstormed ideas in a more streamlines idea that helped me remember everything I wanted to include. I wrote my draft faster and tried to spend more times getting my ideas on paper and less time focusing on small details that can be worked out later. This helped me overall to write faster. I was able to edit my essay more effectively when all my ideas were already out on the paper. On style academy, I viewed the phrases and clauses exercise which helped me understand more about sentence structure. 

With my next essay, I want to give myself more time to do a deeper rewrite. I also want to be more specific about my ideas and less vague. I am happy that I did slightly better with my transitions this time around though. I hope to continue to improve with my next paper. 

Readings (And Analysis)

RR: "God, Darwin, and My College Biology Class"

The argument of this piece is that God and evolution are not comparable. The author uses multiple examples to accentuate this. Mostly, these examples focus on logic. He points out that the ideas of complexity and human uniqueness are both contrary to what biology teaches us. 

RR: "My Right to Death With Dignity at 29"

The argument of this piece is that someone terminally ill should have the opportunity to choose whether or not to die. To defend this, the author uses vivid descriptions that contrast how bad the worry of suffering would be with the peace that comes from saying goodbye on your own time. Her personal story is a convincing argument. 

AR: Martin Luther King Jr. "I Have A Dream"

This speech's argument is that America should stay true to their creed that "All men are created equal." Martin Luther King Jr uses descriptive imagery, religious language and repetition to bring his point across.

Barack Obama. National Prayer Breakfast. 

Obama's argument is that as a country and a people, we should not be so full of fear towards others of religions different to ours. Obama relates to people's morality and their Christianity in order to convince them that doing this is best. He also boosts the ethos of his argument by connecting it to past presidents such as Lincoln. With his stories, he connects to the human, everyday feelings of the audience. 

Thesis Proposal

Thesis Proposal

            The two speeches I have chosen to compare for my rhetorical analysis are Mitt Romney’s “Faith in America” and John F. Kennedy’s (JFK’s) Address to Protestant Ministers. Both of these speakers were being criticized for their religion at the time of their speeches. As a result, they both argue that their religion should not matter when being considered for candidacy. Though both JFK and Mitt Romney spoke effectively to their audiences, I believe JFK did the better job of making his message convincing to a potentially hostile audience. I’ll be discussing both speeches and arguing that JFK’s had the better rhetoric in my essay.

            Mitt Romney’s speech was given at the George Bush Presidential Library in Texas to a mostly religious audience. As such, Romney made sure to emphasize the importance of Religion in politics and in morals. He connected with them on a religious basis through religious diction. He also appeals to Ethos by connecting himself to presidents such as JFK, Lincoln and George W. Bush (who was from Texas himself). However, in the process of doing this, Romney also alienates certain groups such as Atheists and does not address them.

            What Romney does in his essay, JFK does better. Romney himself mentions the historic influence of the rhetoric in JFK’s speech. JFK addresses his protestant audience by appealing to their strong moral values. He uses imagery and vivid details to emphasize the fact that the issues at hand, not his religion, should be the focus of his campaign. In an even stronger form than Romney, JFK ties his argument back to the 1^st amendment and the constitution. The United States was based on the ideals of religious freedom and these judgements violate that. JFK makes it clear that these judgements against him are not unique. Other religious groups are under the same persecution that he is. This use of rhetoric appeals to all groups and all patriots at once.

Reflection Paper

Reflection Paper

This paper was an interesting experience for me. I wrote the first draft very quickly so it had a lot of flaws in it that I had to fix for this final draft. (Aka, I rewrote it almost entirely.) I did enjoy writing about my topic because it is something that actually interests me. However, I did find that the initial proposal for the Op-Ed was a lot easier than trying to structure the ideas into essay format.

The more that I write, the more I begin to see common flaws that I have with my writing. I tend to write vaguely and have a hard time connecting thoughts and ideas. It was hard for me to fix these in my final draft but I do think I’ve improved from my original draft. I used a few of the Style Academy videos I watched the phrases and clauses video which helped me understand how to better structure my sentences. I also watched the active vs passive voice video. This helped me understand the difference between the two voices as well as how to make sure my sentences are more active.

With my next essay, I want to start earlier on the drafts and rewrites so that I have a proper amount of time to really make sure I’m saying what I want to say. I also want to get better at having a focused thesis and using specific examples that back that thesis up nicely. Finally, I hope to improve in my formatting and transitions.

How to Begin...

One of my favorite introductions to a movie or book is the first line of the novel Pride and Prejudice. 

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

This line practically outlines the rest of the novel from the start. It deals with the common obsession of the time with getting married advantageously. It also hints at how characters in the novel will be pursuing men of good fortune like this. Its the perfect, simplistic and yet symbolic set up to the story. 

As for my favorite conclusion, I don't think many movies did it better than Inception. While some people hate the ambiguity of this ending, I think its amazing. Everything seems happy. The main character seems to wake up, go home, and see his family. Then, he spins a top. If the top falls, it means he's awake. If not, its a dream. The camera hovers on this top for a few seconds. Just when you think it might be about to fall, the screen goes black, leaving you wondering. This final shot is as mind-blowing as it is frustrating. 

I guess we'll never know. 

Thesis Proposal

           For my Opinion Editorial, I have chosen to speak about how technology has negatively affected childhood. Some people view the new generation as progression. The affect of technology on their childhood is inevitable as people become more technologically advanced. It could even be considered a good thing to have so many technologically-savvy kids growing up. However, I will seek to prove that all this technology is not necessarily a good thing and that kids born before this time had a richer, more character building experience growing up.

            I believe the worst affect of technology on childhood is lack of character building and social skills. In a world where everything is a click away, patience is a lesson which can easily be lost on young kids. Life isn’t supposed to be easy. Quick, fading happiness that comes from playing games on an I-pad cannot replace real happiness that comes from time spent doing real things in the real world. Socially, technology limits the real time experiences which taught us how to properly speak to others. Face to face interaction cannot be replaced with screen to screen.

            An argument could be made that kids aren’t losing all that much by growing up with technology. Just because technology advances it doesn’t mean that there will be no more sport teams and playing outdoors. As for social aspects, many argue that video games can foster friendship and fun just as real life experiences can. I agree, to an extent. Kids still play outdoors. However, I do think that technology has limited the amount of time they spend doing these things. As for video games, they can be fun and friendship building. But if games are all a child has, they loose much more than they gain.

            In the end, its all about moderation. Even the Church’s stance on technology supports this. Technology can be good and useful, but only if we don’t allow it to consume our lives.

Free-write OpEd

Twenty minutes of writing. Here we go.

There are plenty of issues in the world today to write about. But, after a lot of thinking, (Aka, staring at a blank page) I think I've found something which affects everyone in this crazy, modern-day world: technology. More specifically, whether or not having so much of it has ruined childhood.

The idea for this topic came from 90’s nostalgia, something that is applicable to a lot of students at BYU. Nostalgia and pride for being born in the 90's is all over the internet. Whats the big deal? Why are we so proud that we happened to grow up at a time with moon shoes and tamagotchi pets? 

Somewhere I heard that the reason 90's kids are so nostalgic is that we were alive for transition from "good old days" of playing outside to the tech-consumed world which we now live in. We feel special because we feel like the last generation to ever experience a 'simpler' and 'better' time. But, is this really true? Are 90's kids right to say that their childhood is better? 

My instinct, at least, says yes. Some of my best memories are playing in backyards, climbing trees or having giant neighborhood water balloon fights. Don't get me wrong–I played my fair share of video games growing up. I loved them. I mean, who doesn't love a good game of Mario Cart? However, I find it weird to see some of my cousins begging to play games on the I-Pad every five seconds. 

People argue that the new generation's childhood is just different and not necessarily worse than our own. Still, I can't help but think that there is a line. I don't think an overload of technology can replace the real life experiences which are so valuable to young kids. Though I don't necessarily think we should idolize the 90's the way we do, I do think the new generation has lost something valuable which we should try to get back.