Blog Post #8: Essay Exam Practice - 2

California is said to be desirable state to live in, and it's understandable: it is one of the most famous states in the U.S. due to its size, various historical areas and vast amount of business opportunities. None of that interests me, however. I would like to live California, specifically the southern region, due to its warm weather and cultural diversity.

Coming at second and third in the most desirable state to live in is Hawaii at number two and Florida at number three. These three states are known have nice, warm weather throughout the year (excluding the northern tip of California) and I believe that is the major factor in them making the list. Now, I live in Virginia, so I know a little bit about it being cold during the winter. Throughout my life living here, I have come to the conclusion that I hate cold weather. Reading and hearing weather reports from southern California saying that it is in the sixties and seventies during the winter months sounds like the perfect climate style for me.

The warm weather is not the most important deciding factor for me, though. Southern California has a very diverse population, which leads to diversity in just about everything. Perhaps the most important part in my opinion is the diverse cuisine due to the many different styles of people that live there. I have had the same style of food my entire life, and the cuisine there would be a welcome addition to my life.

The diverse culture creates many other appealing aspects, too. I enjoy learning about different cultures from around the world, and there are plenty of them in southern California. The overall culture seems much more lively and there are always unique places to go to at any time of the day. Compared to Virginia, it seems like I would never be bored while living there.

Lastly, the music scene in California seems to be much more interesting than in Virginia. As someone that makes his own music and is heavily into it, there are plenty of opportunities there. The population is so large and different that just about any form of music is accepted. With so many like-minded people surrounding me, I feel like networking and getting my music heard would be much easier.

There is a reason why California is the most popular state to live in. It is home to some of the country's largest attractions, rich culture, and a climate and areas to appeal to just about lifestyle. Not many other states can offer this, and I think the state will continue to be on top for many years to come.

Blog Post #7: Essay Exam Practice

TOPIC ONE

ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION

Thesis: Unschooling is a viable education alternative because the children can control what they learn and how they learn it. Forced education will make a child disinterested.

1. Kids would be much more interested in what they learn due to having control over what they learn and how they learn it.

2. Students are less interested in learning when being forced to learn it.

3. Should public schools and universities learn from this? Will all kids become lazy and uneducated?

TOPIC TWO

PLACES TO LIVE

Thesis: I would like to live in southern California due to its warm weather and diverse culture.

1. Weather is nice, ocean is nearby.

2. Plenty of business opportunities.

3. Cultural diversity (Diverse cuisine, population, businesses, etc.)

MOCK INTRO/CONCLUSION

California is said to be desirable state to live in, and it's understandable: it is one of the most famous states in the U.S. due to its size, various historical areas and vast amount of business opportunities. None of that interests me, however. I would like to live California, specifically the southern region, due to its cultural diversity.

There is a reason why California is the most popular state to live in. It is home to some of the country's largest attractions, rich culture, and a climate and areas to appeal to just about lifestyle. Not many other states can offer this, and I think the state will continue to be on top for many years to come.

TOPIC THREE

SCIENCE EDUCATION

Thesis: Students would be more interested in science if it was not forced on them at an early age.

1. Forced education makes the student disinterested.

2. Making science courses optional would make the student more willing to explore and learn on his/her own accord.

3. If a student is interested in a science, that should be his/her main focus.

Blog Post #6: Position Paper Prewriting - Research

Source #1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_the_United_States

This article details the history of censorship in the United States, and gives various information on how it works and how it differs from censorship in the rest of the world.

Random Facts:

• If someone curses live on air, the broadcasting network gets fined by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), rather than the person who cursed. Fines levied by the FCC can be $375,000 for one incident.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_infringement

Details copyright infringement, which is the unauthorized use of something under a copyright. For example, a musical artist uses a piece from a previously released song. The copyright holder of that song has the right to sue the artist that breached the copyright. Also involves downloaded music, movies, etc.

Random facts:

• Music can be freely downloaded in Canada, Netherlands, Spain, and Panama, so long as you do not sell it.
• Russia allows the downloading of music and movies, but sends 1 % of the sale of devices used for downloaded music and movies (computers, blank CD's/DVD's, etc.) to the original copyright holder.

Other random sources and facts:

http://articles.cnn.com/2009-06-18/justice/minnesota.music.download.fine_1_jury-instructions-fined-sheryl-crow?_s=PM:CRIME

Info: Woman fines 1.9 million dollars for downloading 24 pop songs; 80,000 per song. Each song can be legally bought for 99 cents online, which would add up to be $23.76.

Blog Post #5: Position Paper Prewriting

TOPIC ONE

Censorship in the United States

My stance: There should be no form of censorship whatsoever in the U.S. on television, radio, etc.

Opposing stance: Explicit language, violence/gore, ideas, nudity should be censored so children and fragile minds are not able to view it.

Major points of contention:

• Freedom of speech
• Would kids be allowed to view/read it?
• How does this affect impressionable minds?
• Everything will go overboard since there are no restrictions

TOPIC TWO

High School & College Education

My stance: Students should only take the classes that they want to take/or that pertain to the major. I.e. if they want to study computer science, they do not need to take a Biology class, unless they want to.

Opposing stance: Students need a varied learning experience to become the complete individual.

Major points of contention:

• Will this increase the attendance in high school/college? Increase drop out rates?
• Are these classes really necessary?
• Will this close new pathways that would've been left open? (Student takes biology, changes major to biology)
• Increase in laziness? Is being uneducated a bad thing?

Blog Post #4: Rhetorical Analysis Prewriting

Advertisement #1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vnghQVGX9M

Advertisement #2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQmJ0dpDKYU&feature=related

Logos, Ethos, Pathos

Advertisement #1: This advertisement uses all three to get its point across. It uses ethos by having a famous basketball player, Blake Griffin, in the ad. It uses logos by showing Blake Griffin going to extreme measures while sacrificing his dignity to get a cameo and get a copy of the game (costs and benefits). It uses pathos by being humorous.

Advertisement #2: This advertisement also uses all three to get its point across. It uses ethos by having a famous actor, Will Farrell, playing a character in a big budget movie to help sell the product. He also says he's a scientist (jokingly). It uses logos by saying that if you buy this product, then you will never sweat again. It uses pathos by saying if you buy this product, you will feel much better about yourself, because you're not sweating. It also is humorous to help sell it and keep the viewer's attention.

Blog Post #3: Memoir Prewriting-Setting the Scene

The People:

1. My mom. She helped me through the entire ordeal and pushed me to attend college, but never forced me to do anything.
2. My dad. He had a slightly different view on college, but still pushed me to attend college in his own way. He took a more objective approach to the situation.
3. My brother. He had a similar view as my dad, and went through the exact same thing as me. He had more knowledge on the whole college thing that my parents didn't have.
4. My friends. They were much more blunt than my parents, but had good intentions.

The Scenes:

1. My home. This is one of the biggest reasons why it took me so long to leave. I took everything I had here for granted and was not used to going out in the world on my own. I lived in my house from 2002 to 2011. It was very isolated and surrounded by trees, so there was not much interaction with other people unless I went out.
2. College. It was a reality check for me because of how different it was from my home. I had to do everything for myself as I had no one to lean on for help.

The Dialogue:

1. My family and friends always were supportive of me, but they did not sugar-coat things. They told me like it is without sounding too cold.

Blog Post #2: Memoir Prewriting-Complication

I graduated from high school a semester early in 2009. I hated it so much that made up an imaginary job (kind of) to get work release and never even attended my grade's graduation ceremony. I thought "I'm going to take a semester off to gather my thoughts and figure out what I'm going to do."

A semester turned into a year. I contemplated going to my local community college to boost my GPA, but I backed out last-minute.

That year turned into two years. My parents said they would support me no matter what I do, but I could feel they wanted me out of the house. I was actually getting tired of living there too, but every time I would think about leaving for an extended period, I would get home-sick.

I eventually gave in after about two-and-a-half years of ruminating on the subject of college, and am now a freshman majoring in Computer Science at Old Dominion University.