Chapter 7 & 14

Representing an opinion is analogous to putting your oar in the water. You come into the argument and take all sides before you finally put your input in and attempt to direct the conversation. In the academic field, this is done through a set of rules specific to each discipline. In every case, it is important to use evidence as the foundation for any claim.

It is important to understand the audience and the culture this argument is being presented to as each requires a difference in voice and an overall knowledge of which aspects will be the most effective. The example in the text is Pepsi advertising their product to the Chinese market with the slogan "Pepsi Brings you Back to Life". However, in Chinese, they translated this to "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Grave".

Furthermore, it is important to understand the background information, such as the historical background and contextual information. For different audiences, different pieces of information will be more relevant. This evidence must come from credible sources and offer counterarguments that are respected and realistic. To deliver a persuasive argument, the tone must thus be authoritative and respectful to be most effective.

Questions for project 4

Biology:

Is gene drive too dangerous to introduce into the environment?

Is our intervention in genetics immoral/ environmentally hazardous?

When should science compromise to ethics?

Does the use of DNA as evidence in the justice system actually help?

Should patients undergo genetic testing?

Can and should genetic technology be used to extend the average human life span?

Should parents be permitted to select the gender of their children?

Government:

Should the US government invest in green jobs?

Should the US government continue to provide funding for public transportation?

Is the US Postal Service still necessary?

Should the US build a high speed rail system?

Health:

Are artificial sweeteners a safe alternative to real sugar?

Should the government impose soda taxes?

Work is a blessing

I do believe that work is a blessing, but only to an extent. It is healthy to stay active with various responsibilities and a work load that is tolerable because it provides a way to express and engage an individual. My grandfather used to be an incredibly active man, working 70 hour weeks, participating in nearly every sport, and always playing with my mother and uncles. However, after some car accidents, sports related injuries, and mental obstacles he has reversed his way of life to an extreme. Today, he stays on the couch watching whatever sport or car show is on, he barely eats, and he rarely walks more than a half mile in one day.

I believe as a result of his inactivity he has lost an incredible portion of his memory and has continuous health problems. My family constantly tries to get him to be more active by gardening, walking, or starting small projects around the house, however nothing works.

Work can also be detrimental to someone’s health. Often it can cause lack of sleep, serious levels of stress, and can distract a person from the events in their life they most want to participate in, such as their child’s baseball game, a friend’s wedding, or a holiday. Like anything, it can be a good thing in moderation. Generally, too much of anything is bad. In order to stay healthy and happy a balance between work and play must be balanced. Additionally, life will be made easier if you enjoy the work you do. Seth Godin once said, “Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” Work can be a blessing if you allow it to be, and I beg you to never overlook that.

Writing for the workplace

In writing for a formal setting such as the workplace, it is important to understand the fundamentals of the situation. Often this requires consideration of the purpose, setting, and personal stance as well as understanding which medium is best suited for the situation. In written genres, the reader is most often searching for the facts and details that pertain to the topic, which means flowery sentences and details will be passed over and may be detrimental to the professional format. There should be limited use of the first person, proper grammar, capitalizations and punctuations used correctly, and respectful titles used to describe all clients, managers, or fellow professionals.

There are strict rules behind formal writing which sharply contrast the loose structure of informal writing. Most addresses should include a respectful title, a subject, a direct message, and a sign off with a signature. It is incredibly important to analyze the situation prior to writing. What direction should it go? If you have connections that might be beneficial to elaborate in a professional letter, this may give leverage over the situation. Rules of rhetoric are incredibly important in any professional scenario as it directly supports your case. However, using an exceedingly high or blatant amount of either pathos, logos, or ethos will result in negating its powerful effects.

In professional settings, appearance is crucial to success. Whether that be appearance of the formatted letter, the fit of the suit, or the way you carry yourself, they all create an image that imparts a first impression on the intended audience. Thus, in these settings it is of utmost importance to consider these aspects by proofreading, rehearsing, or studying the information.

Shitty First Drafts

                I believe writing must be most difficult with a rapidly approaching deadline, and the pressure of an unpleasant prompt only adds to the stress. The most crucial advise I have ever received on the matter is to own the piece regardless of how little interest or connections you share with it. That can be done simply enough by allowing your voice to flow freely across whichever method of prewriting you find to be the most helpful. It is in this conceptualization period that an idea of self-interest should be pursued as it is the idea that is inherently most interesting to you, and intuitively most intriguing to the reader.

Before I begin to seriously construct an essay, I personally prefer to write intro paragraphs with a naked skeleton until my thesis is revealed in order to toy with how many offshoots I can create. In doing so I consider certain questions to shape its course. These questions include: why are you writing this piece? What purpose are you attempting to offer? If it’s persuasive, then you’re most likely attempting to open the reader’s mind to accept your point of view. The easiest way to shape an essay is with these questions, because questions are much easier to follow structurally and form a sort of checklist to establish a well-rounded essay that considers all opinions and formally refutes or reinforces them.

                Once the thesis is established, it is time for the shitty first drafts. There is no time for writer’s block or pausing for grammatical ingenuity, this period is strictly for the quickest typing, no thought to anything other than keeping up with the internal voice that bursts through your fast-working fingers.

After your ideas are down, it is time to review and revise. Revisions need serious considerations for the flow of thoughts through transitions, word choice for clarity and subconscious moods, and a thorough scan for unneeded or redundant or confusing points. Revisions should be done until you believe every word, every thought to be perfect. Once you’ve had your fill, allow a peer to revise your work, then afterwards consider their revisions and edit your work for the last time. What you’re left with is the final product.

Intro

The concept of authorship has changed dramatically with the invention of the worldwide web. Any individual who creates a YouTube video, posts on Instagram, or even writes a blog, presents their ideas to billions of others, with the possibility of a tremendous following. Often those internet celebrities seen in viral memes or videos, never intended for such an explosion, but in other cases that may have been the very result they had craved.

                Nevertheless, it must be terribly difficult to retain self-identity when a product of one’s creativity and opinions could be viewed in such a public setting. Just overnight one million people could view this post allowing my own personal voice to spread rampant to the ears of unintended audiences. What if it receives negative feedback? Or nasty letters? If I persisted in writing these posts I would most certainly change my vocabulary, become an author who was intrinsically perfect in the methods displayed by Virginia Woolf, but not an author who I would recognize. It is true everyone is an author, because everyone has a unique, internal language that at all times is attempting to burst forth through language, art, or self-expression. But only the brave let that voice remain authentic.

                The power that comes along with language remains the most intriguing part. There is not a more perfect example that comes to the top of my head than in William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” in which Antony persuades an enraged crowd to turn on the highly regarded Brutus. In utilizing the devices provided by rhetoric such as pathos, ethos, and logos, whole mobs and audiences can be persuaded to end war or cause it, build or destroy, love or murder.