Chapter 14: Argumentation

Personal Reaction:

My personal reaction to this chapter is that is was long. Really long. While long, it was also packed with information. There was so much within the chapter so that, although it was long, it didn't feel overly repetitive. The end of the chapter is full of examples of argumentative essays which I think is very helpful because if I decide I need to see what one really looks like, I have a variety of examples to choose from.

Professional Reaction:

One of the most important things discussed in chapter 14 is the development of an argumentative thesis. It shows you how to make sure that your thesis has the deciding factors of an argumentative essay. The chapter, while very long, was also very informative. After reading I felt better prepared for an essay like an argumentative essay. Another important thing the chapter discusses is the kinds of evidence, these are important because an argumentative essay is only respectable if it has solid evidence. The chapter discusses the different types of evidence and how they can be more or less convincing. It is important for students to know these things because without this knowledge they will be unsuccessful at writing argumentative essays. 

-Kristen Skuba

photo: brilliant-essay.com

Blog Review 2

1. Discuss:

A. The blog I chose to take notes on was technogorge.wordpress.com. The first thing I noticed is that the authors of the blog were not clearly visible. I wanted to name them in my notes, but I couldn't find them without clicking into each individual post. I also noticed that you couldn't read the entire post without opening a "read more" tab. This, in my opinion, makes people less likely to open and finish the article. The colors of the blog were nice. I liked the fonts, but noticed that the titles were much larger than the body paragraphs. I think the colors and the picture they chose for their header perfectly represent what I feel they were trying to create with the name TECHNOGORGE.

B. It is hard to really complete this step without the rest of my group mates. However, I was inspired the change the color palette a bit of the blog. Without my group I would not do it, but comparing their colors to ours makes outs feel much harder on the eyes. 

2. Plan: 

The biggest change I would want to make is the color scheme. If it were up to me, it would be changed to something more subtle. I do like the color, it just is hard to have as the whole screen, maybe we could invert the colors and have the background a white or light color and the text as a dark read, I think that would make it easier to look at for more time without strain from the red. 

3. Write:

   TECHNOGORGE, from first view, is beautiful. The colors are not only suited with each other but they are also easy on the eyes and the computer monitor. I liked the fonts they chose, however I felt that the titles were too large for the size of the body text. The page feels very nice, it is not too busy. In fact, it may not be busy enough. A few things I would hoped to have found seemed to be missing. One that stood out most was the lack of the authors, or any real explanation of the blogs purpose apart from a small subtitle that reads "Wasting Time in the 21st Century". Apart from those two, there are apparently no tabs that would really be worth while clicking. The only tabs relevant to the blog are the recent posts ones and those posts are all at the beginning of the webpage itself. 

   This blog does an overall good job of meeting the blog quality criteria. Apart from the few things that I've noted missing, they seem to do a very good job making sure it has what it needs to be respectable and informative. They have fonts that are easy to read, and authors who can write well. They seem to lack visuals for most of their posts (either they aren't there, or you have to 'read more' to see them), I think visuals are very important and the fact that this blog has so few makes it feel too wordy. 

   Overall, I liked this blog. It's better than expected for people our age. The things that are missing don't really take away from the content of the blog itself, but more the ease-of-use of the blog. I think the blog looks and feels modern and I think it would have appeal to the audience they seem to be reaching for. Apart from the few things they overlooked, they did an exceptional job.

-Kristen Skuba

photo:kenstonlocal.org

Blog review assignment 10/6

1. DISCUSS
a. I choose to look at the blog "SDE- Gotta Love Pizza" (http://sdegottalovepizza.blogspot.com).  I liked how they included links to all the blogs in the class on their blog. The blog itself is easy to navigate, and I like the color scheme.  It would be nice if the blog had tabs for each individual contributor. Overall the blog is nicely done, however I don't find the name too informative.
b. This part is hard to do without partners.

2. PLAN
a. I think we should add tabs for each contributor, so it's easier to find a specific person's writing.

My review:
            I took a look at the blog SDE-Gotta Love Pizza (http://sdegottalovepizza.blogspot.com).  The blog is easy to navigate and includes useful information on the english 121 assignments. The simple color scheme and layout make it easy to read and understand. At the top of the blog they included all the other blogs in the class, it's helpful for navigating and allows easy access to other blogs. The side's are a solid grey color which is a nice background when reading, it doesn't get distracting. The blog archive is a great way to find older posts without having to dig through the entire blog.
           Overall the blog SDE- Gotta Love Pizza is very well done. It's simple and easy to understand. The posts have great content as well. The only thing I was confused on is the name. I couldn't understand how pizza had anything to do with the blog. It would be funny if the contributors included a relevant picture of pizza on all of the blog posts. I also had trouble seeing some of the pictures on the blog posts, i'm not sure if this is because of my internet, or if they hadn't been uploaded properly.

Image from google images

Chapter 14. Argumentation.


Image Source: teach123.com


Professional opinion:
This chapter was very informative and the structure of the information given was well organised and clearly presented to the reader.
The steps given to plan and argumentative essay, particularly the paragraphs about collecting evidence  for an argument and also the paragraphs about the difference between deductive and inductive arguments were, the most useful parts of the chapter. It teaches the students with specific examples the correct way to lead the reader of the essay through a well structured logic. This chapter also explains in a very complete way how to avoid fallacies and other mistakes.


Personal Opinion:
I find this chapter very interesting to read. The clear way it explains how to construct an argument will be so useful to improve my essay writing skills.
Even if the chapter was long, the information was so clearly explained that I found it an easy read. I particularly liked the paragraphs about the Roguerian Argument, because it will help me to convince my reader in a less confrontational way
I will definitely use this helpful information  in my next argumentative essay.

Chapter Fourteen - Clayton Peppler

Personal Reaction: After completing chapter fourteen, the thing that stuck out to me was the Rogerian argument and the Toulmin logic. The Rogerian argument is a style of argumentation where each opponent enters into a cooperative relationship. Instead of attacking each other’s opinion, each opponent tries to find a common ground. The Toulmin logic is a model that divides arguments into three parts: claim, grounds and warrant. This is a model that I have been accustomed to throughout high school, but have been familiarized to calling it claim, data and warrant. I have used both the Rogerian argument and Toulmin logic not only in my English class, but in my public speaking class as well. In my class, we had several debates, each of which followed the Rogerian style. We were not mean and cruel to each other about differing opinions, rather we embraced the different perspectives and thoughts. We wrote our outlines in the Toulmin format and presented them along the same guidelines.

Professional Reaction: The chapter is very thorough in explaining all the different pieces that go into creating an effective argument. Argumentation is the appeal to reason and should not be confused with persuasion. When developing your thesis, make sure that it is debatable. The best way to check if your thesis is debatable is by creating an antithesis. When gathering your evidence to support your argument, make sure that the evidence is relevant, representative, and sufficient. When making your argument, it is essential that you refute any opposing arguments by showing that they are either unsound, unfair, or weak. There are many fallacies to avoid when writing an argument. If they are not avoided, these fallacies could potentially destroy your reputation and discredit the argument.

"Basic Language Literacy: Writing: Argument and Persuasion." Basic Language Literacy: Writing: Argument and Persuasion. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2015.

Summer's partnered outline.
By Eugenia Lehman
 
Image Source: http://www.rgvhc.com/

Exemplification Thesis:
Each year more parents are choosing to home-school their children rather than traditional public school in the hopes their children benefit from an individualized education program.

Ideas, points to develop:
-Homeschooling is an option for parents who might not identify with the academic culture of the place they live in.

-The levels of education have being damaged these last years by policies like "No child left behind".  Home school can be seen as an option to educate your kids to their full capacities.

-We live in a time of deep social changes with issues such as gay and transgender rights. Some parents decide to home school based on religious beliefs.

-Social media has given new options for socializing and meeting with other home schooled kids. Isolation is not a factor to consider anymore.

-Search engines and all the tools that you find online make it very accessible for parents to create a high customized plan for their kids.

Partnered Outline - Lucas Calderon

Thesis: One of the biggest problems with the most dangerous consequences African park rangers face today is an absence of tactical and medical training. They are often put in the field with little to no knowledge of small unit tactics and in most cases completely lack any first aid or field medical skills. For instance four rangers were killed when they and other rangers failed to set up an effective ambush on a group of poachers in Kenya, 2012. 

  First Aid

-       Examples of what type of first aid would be beneficial.

-       Examples of how not knowing these skills is detrimental.

-       Suggest a plan: teaching basic medical training to the rangers but also having a trained medic in each squad.

Strategies

-       Examples of how knowing strategies can be more efficient and safe compared to going into battle “blind”.

-       According to a google search that I did, there are three basic types for squad strategies: classical, balanced, and combined. Knowing these different strategies will allow the rangers to approach a situation in a correct manner.

Personal Experience

-       Talk about your personal experience over in Africa. Write about what you witnessed, observed and your personal opinion on the situation. Give examples of where you would make changes.

Compare and Contrast

-       Compare similar situations to the ones going on in Africa and explain different techniques that they implemented that were successful and how those same techniques could be applied to the rangers to help them to be successful.

Work Cited

Health Care Image. Digital image. Mental Health First Aid USA Announces Partnership with AFSP. N.p., 15 Jan. 2015. Web. 17 Sept. 2015.